World stewardess Crews: Himalayas

Showing posts with label Himalayas. Show all posts

LIFE AS A CAT: Mountains of the Gods

<a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs104.snc4/35562_1454993608368_1039150033_31280442_5134906_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs104.snc4/35562_1454993608368_1039150033_31280442_5134906_n.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 452px;" /></a> <div style="text-align: center;">the home of felines...this is where my snowleopard beckons </div><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TbG1hrZuwEA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TbG1hrZuwEA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div>

LIFE AS A CAT: Mountains of the Gods

the home of felines...this is where my snowleopard beckons

10:28 AM

HIMALAYAS SERIES :: Tibetan Buddhist Method of Relaxation

HIMALAYAS SERIES :: Tibetan Buddhist Method of Relaxation

12:03 AM

NEW WORK ::: The Catship Has Arrived :: BODDHI, the cat messenger [HIMALAYA SERIES 3#]

<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-BUDDHYcustomtoy15eyes-txt6.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-BUDDHYcustomtoy2-600.jpg" /> NAME : BODDHI, the cat HOMELAND : Mt. Golden Blossom (Planet Citraka) CARRIER : Catship Lotus 7 ROLE :: ambassador / trickster / connector / MESSAGE :: love, liberation through light consciousness, eternal bliss through joy, nature & animal world harmony alert MEANS OF INTERACTING WITH EARTHLINGS : visualization & mental projections, parables, humor, telepathy, language of vibration control <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-BUDDHYcustomtoy10crop600.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-BUDDHYcustomDRAGON600F.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Dorje-TEACHEROFTHEMOUNT-3.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-BUDDHYcustomtoy9-600.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-BUDDHYcustomtoy-top600.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-MagicRoom11-600.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-BUDDHYcustomtoy1-600.jpg" /> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-BUDDHYcustomtoy6game600.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-BUDDHYcustomtoy13600.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">it was hard to let him go...NEXT APPEARANCE :: <a href="http://www.crewest.com/index.html">Crewest Gallery</a> Saturday, March 27 th, 6-9pm, LOS ANGELES Zakka, April 9, 6-9PM BROOKLYN, NY </div>///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// <div style="text-align: center;">This is #2 of the forthcoming series of work that will introduce the feline <a href="http://lichiban.blogspot.com/search/label/Himalayas">inhabitants of planet CITRAKA.</a> Limited edition prints are coming soon. Two-city BIC BUDDY CUSTOM ART SHOW Designed by my boy Marka27 (recently featured), CREWEST Gallery in Los Angeles have his newly launched toy platform the BIC BUDDY available, as well as 8" blanks, and the first big artist custom lineup of the year! The lineup includes Angry Woebots, Asylm, Auks, Dez Einswell, DrilOne, Enamel Kingdom, Erick Scarecrow, Gustavo Alberto Garcia Vaca, Jasper Santos, Jesse Hernandez, Jester, Jnub of “Leroy Jenkins”, kaNO, Keith Poon, Kenji Nakayama, Lichiban, Lou Pimentel, MAD, Man One, Marka27, Munk One, NC Winters, Nemo, Pen ‘Tha/Black/Krayon”, Phu!, Pon, Problak, Reactor-88, Ritzy Periwinkle, Saner, Scribe, Sket-One, Southerndrawl, Spankystokes, Nakanari, Tristan Eaton, Vyal. <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/BUDDYSHOW-FRONt.jpg" /> </div>

NEW WORK ::: The Catship Has Arrived :: BODDHI, the cat messenger [HIMALAYA SERIES 3#]

NAME : BODDHI, the cat HOMELAND : Mt. Golden Blossom (Planet Citraka) CARRIER : Catship Lotus 7 ROLE :: ambassador / trickster / connect...

8:49 PM

JAY ELECTRONICA :: Exhibit A [HIMALAYA SERIES #3]

JAY ELECTRONICA :: Exhibit A [HIMALAYA SERIES #3]

2:54 AM

NEW WORK ::: The Catship Has Arrived : DORJE, the teacher of the mountains [HIMALAYA SERIES #2]

<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Dorje-TEACHEROFTHEMOUNT-2.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Dorje-TEACHEROFTHEMOUNTAIN.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Dorje-TEACHEROFTHEMOUNT-1.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Dorje-TEACHEROFTHEMOUNT-3.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-MagicRoom22-600.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Dorje-TEACHEROFTHEMOUNT-4.jpg" /> NAME : DORJE, the teacher of the mountains (sage) HOMELAND : Mt. Golden Blossom (Planet Citraka) ROLE :: guide / teacher /master of non-verbal communication MESSAGE :: liberation through non-duality & light consciousness, meditation, eternal bliss MEANS OF INTERACTING WITH EARTHLINGS : visualization, mental projections, telepathy, language of vibration control, mudras MEANS OF TRANSPORT :: levitation over Spacecraft 'Lotus7' :::: <a href="http://lichiban.blogspot.com/2009/07/inner-visions.html" style="font-style: italic;">the prelude </a> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K8sanctuarykashmir.jpg" width="600" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K17boatlotus.jpg" width="600" /> <div style="text-align: left;">Mt. Kailash (Meru) one of the most sacred sites of the planet: it is believed to be the axis mundi or primordial center and birthplace of the world. It is sacred to four major religions Buddhism, Hinduism, Bon, and Jainism. In Hinduism & Buddhism, it is often depicted as the center of the world mandala, the symbolic representation of the micro- and macrocosm. In Buddhism, it is the home of the Buddha <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakrasamvara" title="Chakrasamvara">Demchok</a> (also known as Demchog or <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakrasamvara" title="Chakrasamvara">Chakrasamvara</a>),<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kailash#cite_note-4">[5]</a> who represents supreme bliss. According to legend, Milarepa defeated Naro Bon-chung, the leader of the Bon religion of Tibet in a contest by riding to the summit of the Kailash on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight" title="Sunlight">rays of the sun</a>, thus winning the battle for Tantric Buddhism over Bon in Tibet. The closest I got to Kailash was a few years ago, when I stayed in Srinagar (Kashmir, India) which lies at the foothills of the Himalayas (<a href="http://lichiban.blogspot.com/2008/12/kashmir-my-spiritual-homeland.html" style="font-style: italic;">my journal entry on the trip</a>) for a month. one day... </div><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/kailash-aerial-view.jpg" /> </div><div style="text-align: center;">inspiration :: MILAREPA, legendary yogi saint of Tibet -- this is one of his tantric parables </div><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Dorje-TEACHEROFTHEMOUNT-5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Dorje-TEACHEROFTHEMOUNT-5.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 338px; height: 449px;" /></a>VI. Songs About Vajra Love 46. Answer to Dakini Tzerima I have mastered energy and mind, May accept the mudra of your kind. 'Tis true, among many offerings, Most fruitful is mudra we could find. Your face and lotus is full of bliss, Shell shaped nadi speeds the ecstasy, Protective mark is in your recess, Through elephant get true fantasy. You are the noble body of longevity BHAM and E shapes are in your lotus secret, And in my Dorje there is a Bija HUM, When combined with PAD as the semen great, Wisdom & merit both joined together. The Bliss of two-in-one thus dictates The four blisses and four moments are The essence of the four Buddhakaya. Like the crawling of a tortoise, Should drop down slowly without loss, Then hold it in the channel central Like the camel with water control. When you spread all bliss in your body, The liberating mudra is ready:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaTgvTBVBz3wOv-F9cVz_J3pYNK6ElewEio2sRAZjWx2R8ioB3WVYL3OWWXYkaw5387Sw5bB22QfAa6oS9WhoNCNDa_jtkKaUwlkXtKcu3swpX89j0YRVtLg_gUFemLp0pODSsjGI1uco/s1600-h/mila.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449838166528437650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaTgvTBVBz3wOv-F9cVz_J3pYNK6ElewEio2sRAZjWx2R8ioB3WVYL3OWWXYkaw5387Sw5bB22QfAa6oS9WhoNCNDa_jtkKaUwlkXtKcu3swpX89j0YRVtLg_gUFemLp0pODSsjGI1uco/s400/mila.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 400px;" /></a> TIA is the bliss of equality, LE is Nirvana of reality. LA means the various coitus actions, KYI is the twixt bliss meditation, PHYAG is the intercourse this and that RGYA, Nirvana & samsara unite. LA is to contact this & act on that, KYI is do this & that & associate. PHYAG is the union of voidness & bliss, RGYA is the one beyond which nothing could pass. This is the most speedy path of union Which is blissful in both companions. Enable us to quickly be enlightened In illumination of wisdom, Leading to the great Dharmakaya, Obtaining great Sambhogakaya, Manifesting Nirmanakaya. This is a path of bliss and voidness Of no thought of no duality. This is a path of assistance By the Dakini to the reality. Following this good inspiring way Four Ladies you will in freedom stay, And remain in the realm of non-born Oh! Fairies you are always welcome. [Source : <a href="http://www.quietmountain.org/links/teachings/yogi_chen/87.htm">The Essential Songs of Milarepa </a>] <div style="text-align: center;">this is a video i <a href="http://lichiban.blogspot.com/2009/07/inner-visions.html">posted a while back</a>. was one of the inspirations <object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J-kOuHkQErc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J-kOuHkQErc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> </div>///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// <div style="text-align: center;">This is one of the first of the forthcoming series of work that will introduce the feline <a href="http://lichiban.blogspot.com/2009/08/new-work-messengers-of-kingdom-of.html">inhabitants of planet CITRAKA.</a> Limited edition prints are coming soon. </div>

NEW WORK ::: The Catship Has Arrived : DORJE, the teacher of the mountains [HIMALAYA SERIES #2]

NAME : DORJE, the teacher of the mountains (sage) HOMELAND : Mt. Golden Blossom (Planet Citraka) ROLE :: guide / teacher /master of non-ve...

9:47 AM

BROOKLYN DIARIES :: IN SEARCH FOR A SPIRITUAL HOMELAND :: TIBET [HIMALAYAS SERIES #1]

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmvaQsBT0UMyRYo2pvf7s8dZP7kt_uuQkjiDBYSv4d59nFkH3F3yi9L7TWM8MqPGX-ninjK0_Ot1NlmZFc93I-uIl-Nc8GaamhPxbTfMBvxsn6kZR1Paf5SzTLAtUXrazBf2Sz2P8gxw/s1600-h/korositanka.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span class="on down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);"><img alt="Link" border="0" class="gl_link" src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449804155557178370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmvaQsBT0UMyRYo2pvf7s8dZP7kt_uuQkjiDBYSv4d59nFkH3F3yi9L7TWM8MqPGX-ninjK0_Ot1NlmZFc93I-uIl-Nc8GaamhPxbTfMBvxsn6kZR1Paf5SzTLAtUXrazBf2Sz2P8gxw/s400/korositanka.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 400px;" /></a>I'm going to feature a series of posts dedicated to my love for Tibetan/Himalayan culture & spirituality. This is the first one of the HIMALAYAS series. One of my cultural heroes is Alexander CSOMA de Koros or Körösi Csoma Sándor (1784-1842), a Hungarian pioneer of Tibetan studies who was responsible for compiling the first Tibetan-English dictionary. Born in Transylvania (not too far from where I was born), CSOMA was an adept linguist (he spoke over 10 languages) and a fellow nomad in spirit. Inspired by the quest for the "original homeland of the Magyars (the way Hungarians call themselves) in Central Asia" that has been part of my countries cultural tradition, he set out on an adventure to follow up on a traditional lore recounting that there were Magyar tribes still living in Asia. Oral legends recorded at the times when the pagan Magyars were converted by Christian missionaries in the 11th century would claim that some of the tribes had stayed in Asia. People have to this day set out to find the roots of our nomadic tribal ancestors who came and settled in the Carpatian valley (Eastern Europe ) around 9 AD...what makes the search difficult is that being a tribal-oral society, there were no written document left by the Magyars, who claimed to have been part of the Scythian tribal empire (which included many other ethnic groups like Persians, Huns, Turks, Mongols and other Asiatic tribes). Recent research based on archeological & ethnomusicological evidence found some ethnic relatives of the Hungarians in Xinjiang, the north-western province of China, called <a href="http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=168&catid=5&subcatid=89">UGARS</a>, a now Muslim minority that used to have a similar shamanistic tradition to the pre-Christian Magyar tribes.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3fnpPhLbSMRbUCKah5k4l0lt-GJusRZsx0eMWGvw5_otzOj41nYJWnbeTVnBtjRaaLucK7EESVUGbPxTmeDuA1UbiIgJexQcYqZunSZFbJ69FzOQSzs4op9L7Gnbwi3bqIUZdFRW7Mo/s1600-h/csomaszobor.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449804039733744610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3fnpPhLbSMRbUCKah5k4l0lt-GJusRZsx0eMWGvw5_otzOj41nYJWnbeTVnBtjRaaLucK7EESVUGbPxTmeDuA1UbiIgJexQcYqZunSZFbJ69FzOQSzs4op9L7Gnbwi3bqIUZdFRW7Mo/s400/csomaszobor.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 316px;" /></a> Long story short, CSOMA set out for the East on foot and traveled to the frontier Himalayan regions, Ladakh, but he never reached Tibet. In Ladakh, he studied under local Tibetan Buddhist teachers or lamas and compiled the first Tibetan-English dictionary and a Tibetan Grammar (both published 1834) while studying Buddhist texts. In 1842 set out again on quest for Magyar homeland, but died on the road in Darjeeling of malaria. You can find his writings that were composed by Csoma’s teachers at his request <a href="http://csoma.mtak.hu/en/kozmologia.htm">here. </a> He was later recognized as "Csoma Bosatsu, the Bodhisattva of the Western World" by <a href="http://www.korosi-emlekpark.hu/eng/bodhisatva.php">Japanese buddhists </a>who consecrated a Tibetan tanka (see above) and a statue to him. For me, his story is not so much about 'looking for the ancestral land' but rather about 'finding home' in a country that offered him spiritual roots. As someone who believes in reincarnation, I have a hard time connecting my identity to my current ancestors alone, and I prefer to identify myself as an artist/spiritual nomad/soul traveler [we all go back to same cosmic source]. Tibet, this completely magic land with a tragic history, has always had a mysterious power over me. I've been drawn to the Tibetan visual and spiritual world since I was a child and had several dreams about living in the mountains as a young Tibetan boy. Once an isolated country with one of the most powerful, but hardly accessible traditions, the displacement of Tibetans by the Chinese government had inadvertently forced their Buddhist leaders to become the spiritual ambassadors of the world who have been playing a major role in elevating people's consciousness globally. <center><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_Xswu4SHixA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_Xswu4SHixA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object></center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Wp-erFSTaSYjPCTaDXA_36Cfvqk_HF7eHWa-EALhkCyDYBl_lpgzArIDXUep1yd47i76nW-eAKmPEgEu5-OvGHhaeuaXm16FB-0HWGjyCpPAfKPLXh01_fdLe0mDN8BNNv46zO58-vM/s1600-h/sir01_.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449803920092444354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Wp-erFSTaSYjPCTaDXA_36Cfvqk_HF7eHWa-EALhkCyDYBl_lpgzArIDXUep1yd47i76nW-eAKmPEgEu5-OvGHhaeuaXm16FB-0HWGjyCpPAfKPLXh01_fdLe0mDN8BNNv46zO58-vM/s400/sir01_.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 287px;" /></a> In our life and in the world "...the only way to break the chain reaction of confusion and pain and to work our way outward into the awakened state of mind is to take responsibility ourselves. If we do not deal with this situation of confusion, if we do not do something about it ourselves, nothing will ever happen. We cannot count on others to do it for us. It is our responsibility, and we have the tremendous power to change the course of the world's karma...As bodhisattvas...we are acknowledging that we are not going to be instigators of further chaos and misery in the world, but we are going to be liberators, bodhisattvas, inspired to work on ourselves as well as with other people." - Chögyam Trungpa /////////////////////////// In my new series, I will try to honor my spiritual debt to Tibet.

BROOKLYN DIARIES :: IN SEARCH FOR A SPIRITUAL HOMELAND :: TIBET [HIMALAYAS SERIES #1]

I'm going to feature a series of posts dedicated to my love for Tibetan/Himalayan culture & spirituality. This is the first one of t...

2:53 AM

NEW WORK ::: MESSENGERS of the Kingdom of Citraka

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaikA2qUHneJAQRJMyLdlL1dy5ZnLCeC9PtuWJVGMuadL4dJmg2WdLoS_q-nrJTCSmMSr7M1Q-985HJjz87vbMzuYKZ4-u3efNDoYqlQakFVEjK5_S_q-Vxeq4j1jGSEpGRxN0WMfxcmM/s1600-h/lichiban-thekingdomofcitraka-6.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367829798169637298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaikA2qUHneJAQRJMyLdlL1dy5ZnLCeC9PtuWJVGMuadL4dJmg2WdLoS_q-nrJTCSmMSr7M1Q-985HJjz87vbMzuYKZ4-u3efNDoYqlQakFVEjK5_S_q-Vxeq4j1jGSEpGRxN0WMfxcmM/s400/lichiban-thekingdomofcitraka-6.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 342px; height: 335px;" /></a>These are the messengers from the KINGDOM OF CITRAKA ['Citraka' is Sanskrit for cheetah, leopard or artist.] These images appeared with an intention to protect me and channel strength while I was doing my visualization exercises. The Sages/ Gateopeners -my messengers from the feline planet of CITRAKA -need to be developed more, I was only able to capture them partially. I will work on more along this line with verbal commentaries. This one on the left is based on the symbolism of Tibetan mandalas that represent the analogous correspondence of microcosm (human) and macrocosmos (galaxy)..a diagram or map of the outer and inner kingdom. I am trying to unite my old style (which took much inspiration from Tibetan Tantric Buddhist art) back from before I went on my hiatus with my new characters, and find other media that allows me to not be confined to wood canvas (though I continue to work on raw wood, of course). Painting is a form of meditation -a chance for me to explore the inner labyrinth and focus-these new ones came with a message, certain aspects of it I'm still trying to decipher. Here are some of the texts that serve as inspiration. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHc8gl2h8tEDKwqujfEPnf8A0B40Pw2MNGmIA0RY9Vw2Y3l9fyMqKf-Z4we5uk2vNjQsowd1RlRRI3nnUhf84VjCm7Ztj5DY4rXSzQaojXxXQl6fUGpO03u5HoknG79PDi84mWR63k9HU/s1600-h/lichiban-thekingdomofcitraka-4.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367831053540273490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHc8gl2h8tEDKwqujfEPnf8A0B40Pw2MNGmIA0RY9Vw2Y3l9fyMqKf-Z4we5uk2vNjQsowd1RlRRI3nnUhf84VjCm7Ztj5DY4rXSzQaojXxXQl6fUGpO03u5HoknG79PDi84mWR63k9HU/s400/lichiban-thekingdomofcitraka-4.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 387px;" /></a>AN OCEAN OF OFFERING CLOUDS A Light Offering Prayer <div style="font-family:arial;">I consider that this lamp is made of the finest precious metal,</div> <div style="font-family:arial;">And is as vast as the entire billionfold universe.<o:p></o:p></div> It is filled completely with the finest essence of butter,<o:p></o:p> And in its centre is planted a wick as large as Mount Meru.<o:p></o:p> Its flame is alight and has the nature of the five wisdoms;<o:p></o:p> In appearance, it blazes with the dazzling splendour of a billion suns,<o:p></o:p> Its light pervading everywhere throughout all the realms of the ten directions.<o:p></o:p> Out of this radiant expanse, appear vast clouds of offerings like Samantabhadra’s,<o:p></o:p> To make gifts throughout all eternity, until the very ends of time,<o:p></o:p> So that the objects of our prayers, be they living or dead,<o:p></o:p> Gather the two accumulations, purify the two kinds of obscuration,<o:p></o:p> And swiftly attain unsurpassable awakening.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p>composed by Gatön Vāgindra Some of my inspirations came from the Spandakarika , or “Song of the Sacred Tremor,” is one of the essential texts of Kashmiri Tantric Shaivism. To read the full text, visit <a href="http://www.danielodier.com/ENGLISH/Texts/Spandakarika_e.html">here</a>. [1.]The venerated Shankari (Shakti), source of energy, opens her eyes and the universe is reabsorbed in pure consciousness; she closes them and the universe is manifested within her.[2.] The sacred tremor, the very place of creation and return, is completely limitless because its nature is formless.[22.]The profound and stable sacred tremor can be reached in extreme states: anger, intense joy, mental wandering, or the drive toward survival . <div style="text-align: center;">::: Caduceaus ::: Kokala ::: Energy Flow ::" The Sage of Citraka </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/lichiban-thekingdomofcitraka-1.jpg" /> [23. 24.]When the tantrika gives himself over to Shiva/Shakti, the sun and the moon come up in the central channel.[48.] The energy of the sacred tremor that passes through the vulgar person enslaves him, whereas this same energy liberates the person who is on the Path. [49. 50.]The subtle body itself is an obstacle that is tied to limited intelligence and to the ego. The enslaved person has experiences that are tied to his beliefs and to the idea that he has of his body, and in this way thing perpetuates the tie. :::: Magic Pelo ::: Revelation </div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/lichiban-thekingdomofcitraka-5.jpg" /> ::: Spirit Transformers: Kokala 1 & 2 ::: <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/lichiban-thekingdomofcitraka-3.jpg" /> [51]But when the tantrika becomes established in the sacred tremor of reality, he liberates the flow of manifestation and return, and in this way takes pleasure in the universal freedom, as a master of the wheel of energies." FREEDOM IS IN THE HEART OF THE BEHOLDER. the mind can never take you there </div>

NEW WORK ::: MESSENGERS of the Kingdom of Citraka

These are the messengers from the KINGDOM OF CITRAKA ['Citraka' is Sanskrit for cheetah, leopard or artist.] These images appeared w...

10:19 PM

inner visions

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83miIqRR2kMPO1Tw-sZJtN0mq3dZ3VbKi4ccQBnIYQaSW4IM7i5HXmg3stT2_nf9Br-BwajXVRxx6WBfgT4WUP5pC_FwDVS2LIdScGjm9zFLXkaK8A6ub6JH1wWzyL5NCQ5HXlXzaS78/s1600-h/Himalaya_Sunset_by_balaa.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363669586737093666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83miIqRR2kMPO1Tw-sZJtN0mq3dZ3VbKi4ccQBnIYQaSW4IM7i5HXmg3stT2_nf9Br-BwajXVRxx6WBfgT4WUP5pC_FwDVS2LIdScGjm9zFLXkaK8A6ub6JH1wWzyL5NCQ5HXlXzaS78/s400/Himalaya_Sunset_by_balaa.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 289px; height: 433px;" /></a>This is one of the reasons why I'm drawn to the Himalayas...I've been there in my dreams countless times as a child (i believe beyond this life), visited its foothills as an adult, and made a vow to go back. It is one of the most important power centers of this planet and I feel it is one of my spiritual homelands. The force that drew me there made me stop doing art for years and pursue an interest in a Kashmiri-Himalayan form of Sufism as a student of Persian and Islamic mysticism. The main person I was drawn to was a Persian-speaking Muslim mystic from the thirteenth century called Najm ad-din Kubra who had a discipline involving spiritual alchemy and visualization techniques of the seven colored subtle centers of the body (called latifah), much like the system of chakras developed in India and adopted into Tibetan Buddhism that developed in the Himalayas (there is very little reliable information on the web about Kubra and the order he founded, but this <a href="http://www.sufi.it/sufismo/maestri/Najmuddin_kubra.htm">link</a> gives a tiny glimpse of what Kubra was all about). Kubra's teachings were carried to Kashmir and became the foundation of the Kubrawiyya order of Sufism. If you would like to know more about the Kubrawis and another Kashmiri Sufi order that sprung off of their order, I recommend two of my friends' work (once you study something this obscure, you're bound to meet and befriend the two main experts on the subject). Check out <a href="http://www.bookfinder.com/author/jamal-j-elias/">Jamal Elias: The Throne Carrier of God : The Life and Though of 'Ala ad-dawla as-Simnani</a>. The available online as a partial scanned preview <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=zqc01-Y6XfMC&dq=jamal+elias+throne+carrier&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=FXaCSs71CduQtgfG8JXPCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false">here</a> and <a href="http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl&st=sl&qi=GwcSh83W2VLDl6ChmShMpkOCpw4_8714528079_1:34:128&bq=author%3Dshahzad%2520bashir%26title%3Dmessianic%2520hopes%2520and%2520mystical%2520visions%2520the%2520nurbakhshiya%2520between%2520medieval%2520and%2520modern%2520islam%2520studies%2520in%2520comparative%2520religion">Shahzad Bashir: </a><a href="http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl&st=sl&qi=GwcSh83W2VLDl6ChmShMpkOCpw4_8714528079_1:34:128&bq=author%3Dshahzad%2520bashir%26title%3Dmessianic%2520hopes%2520and%2520mystical%2520visions%2520the%2520nurbakhshiya%2520between%2520medieval%2520and%2520modern%2520islam%2520studies%2520in%2520comparative%2520religion">Messianic Hopes and Mystical Visions: The Nurbakhshiyya Between Medieval and Modern Islam</a>, which you can also peep <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=uom79HNFPGgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=jamal+elias+throne+carrier&source=gbs_similarbooks_s&cad=1#v=onepage&q=jamal%20elias%20throne%20carrier&f=false">here </a>. After spending several years learning the languages and everything I could find about this line of teaching, I <a href="http://lichiban.blogspot.com/2008/12/kashmir-my-spiritual-homeland.html">went to Srinagar, Kashmir</a> to seek the legacy of the Sufis and Tibetan Buddhist teachings (as a grad student) and returned completely reborn (as an artist)...Ironically, what made me want to pursue my studies was what ended up releasing me from a carrier path that was no longer giving me any sort of spiritual satisfaction. I quit school and decided to approach my search from an angle that was more true to who I am..more of a visionary than an academic. I had to restart from scratch...but I feel more alive than ever and my passion for seeking the truth keeps me going even when the conditions get fucked up. [artwork by balaa] <div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;">This is for my fellow seekers who have been asking me to share more of my spiritual interests through my blog...a rare glimpse into the life of Tibetan Buddhists masters who have dedicated their life to finding enlightment, and much like their Sufi counterparts, were seeking liberation through the realization of the fundamental unity of all beings...that is the true meaning of LOVE...the most powerful vibration of the universe and the biggest threat to those who have usurped this-wordly power through a discourse of war and fundamental difference (=inborn inequality) between beings. </div></div><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J-kOuHkQErc&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J-kOuHkQErc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object> [This is a rare footage from 1963, when for the first time, the Dalai Lama allowed a Westerner, Desjardins, to film the heart of the Tibetan tradition. The original 60s commentaries are dated, take it with a grain of salt] </div>

inner visions

This is one of the reasons why I'm drawn to the Himalayas...I've been there in my dreams countless times as a child (i believe beyon...

3:35 PM

KASHMIR: my spiritual homeland

<div style="text-align: center;">In the summer of 2006, I spent a month in Srinagar, Kashmir, the part of Kashmir that is now part of India. The Himalayas have been calling me since I was a child...I used to dream that I was a young boy living in a small tribe up in the mountains, which I later identified with images of Tibet. Kashmir's capital Srinagar, which lays in a valley at the foot of the Himalayas used to be the most precious pearl of the Mughal Empire, during which time they named it "Paradise on Earth" because of its breath-taking beauty and lovely climate. It took me two years to revisit my journey there. Kashmir changed my life in ways I could only understand later...the experiences I had there are still hard to verbalize but I am ready to share some of the glimpses of this magical land and the beauty of its people. <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K3landscape.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K4lichibankashmir.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K5plane.jpg" /> my favorite, the AMBASSADOR, now used as cabs and governmental vehicles that provide a royal bulletproof ride around the city ::: the auto-riksha...one of the most hazardous vehicles ever to hit the roads of a metropolis (Delhi, India). My arrival midnight at the Delhi airport was one of the biggest tests of my courage as a lone traveler. My first sight as my cab pulled out of the airport was an accident involving a motorbike rider on an unlit two-lane road...no one was stopping for the man whose severed leg was lying 5 feet away from him...that sight haunted me for weeks. :::wheels::: <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K1cars.jpg" /> In the late 90s and then in 2002, there were serious threats of nuclear warfare between India and Pakistan over the territory of Kashmir. As a result, "peace" has been tenuous and is heavily guarded by the military (to learn more, read an interview with Chomsky <a href="http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4249">here</a>). I was in Delhi ready to get on the plane to Kashmir when my local Kashmiri host called me to say that I shouldn't get on the plane, since the violence has escalated and there are regular grenade-attacks targeting the military but taking mostly civilian victims. I had my ticket and I wasn't about to turn around after having traveled more than 18 hrs to get there..."Well, I guess we'll just have to protect you a little more carefully." said my host family, to whom I owe so much for their hospitality. ::guns:: <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K19soldiers.jpg" /> "Paradise on Earth" is now Paradise Lost. The military presence in the city is overwhelming..imagine spotting from the corners of your eyes at least two AK47 per block sticking out from unexpected places. Most of the violence that summer was targeting soldiers who were ordered by the government to protect the peace in the region. Since the military was everywhere, it meant that the threat of being blown away by a random grenade that someone has thrown at them was very high. During the month I was there, there were several deadly incidents that sadly affected women and children passing by, including at the house of the Sufi healer I planned to visit that week. <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K13guns.jpg" /> ::: the sanctuary::: My journey that eventually brought me to Kashmir began several years ago with a book called The Man of Light by Henry Corbin who introduced me to Najm al-din Kubra. Kubra was a sage from Khwarazm (now in Uzbekistan) who developed a spiritual practice based on a color theory of light that seemed to have integrated Sufi tradition with tantric Buddhist meditation techniques and other Central Asian spiritual teachings. the shrine of Shah Hamadan, the 14th century Sufi traveler, who brought the teachings of Kubra to the Kashmiri valley. <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K6shrinesufikashmir.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K8sanctuarykashmir.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K16devotion.jpg" /> The local architecture reflects Kashmir's position as a meeting point of cultures: many of the mosques had features similar to those of Buddhist stupas you found in neighboring Ladakh and Tibet. <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K7houses.jpg" /> On the night of my arrival, I had a chance to meet the father of Kashmir's world-renowned contemporary poet <a href="http://www.nortonpoets.com/alia.htm">Agha Shahid Ali</a> (who used to live in the US and passed away in 2001), whose book, "Country Without A Post-office" earned him the title "the ambassador of Kashmir's pain." One of the most wonderful people I've encountered on my travels, he treated me and my hosts with the most incredible 10 course dinner sampling dishes from Kashmiri Hindu and Muslim culinary traditions. I copied this into my journal from his son, Shahid Ali's book of poetry that he showed me... "Srinagar haunches like a wild cat: lonely sentries, wretched in bunkers at the city's bridges, far from their homes in the plains, licensed to kill...while the Jhelum flows under them, sometimes with a dismembered body. On Zero Bridge the jeeps rush by. The candles go out as travelers unable to light up the velvet Void." <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K10oldruins.jpg" /> ::: street life ::: <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K14street.jpg" /> ::: the people ::: generations of mothers :::: the beautiful women I met in Delhi at the Nizamuddin Chishti shrine. the lady on the right reminded me of my grandmother. <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K2MOTHERCHILDelders.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K9kiddos.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K11gyspies.jpg" /> the Gujar "gypsies", a nomadic tribe that set up their tents behind the house I was staying at. I would come regularly and try to make a connection with them. Part of me that is still connected with my nomadic heritage was really drawn to these folks. <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K12gujars.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K12kashmirikidos.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K12kashmirgypsies.jpg" /> The people of Kashmir have faced decades of civil war, intense economic hardships, and the daily threats of violence remain to this day. The sustained presence of fear has left unimaginable scars 0n people's soul. Their beauty and resilience amidst the harshest living conditions remain my continued source of inspiration and serve as a reminder of the fragility of human life and that we as people are one at the core. <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K15people.jpg" /> Lake Dal of Srinagar with its famed boat-houses, surrounded by the Himalayas. The only place where I felt the presence of peace. I took these shots from my boat as I was taken to the place where lotuses bloom. <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K17boatlotus.jpg" /> <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K18kashmirlake.jpg" /> :::windows::: <img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K19yeeswindows.jpg" /> Most importantly, I give thanks to the man who has served the peoples of Kashmir with his healing power for several decades. He opened his doors to me and treated me like a granddaughter. Meeting him has changed my life at the core. I pray that he is safe and is in good health and that he can continue to mediate love from the purest source. In'shallah I'll make it back there in this life time. </div>

KASHMIR: my spiritual homeland

In the summer of 2006, I spent a month in Srinagar, Kashmir, the part of Kashmir that is now part of India. The Himalayas have been calling ...

5:40 PM