We Are Not Just Humans
By: Gwendolyn Alley aka Art Predator
Tags: 14th dalai lama, Buddha Nature, Buddhism, Buddhist art, Gautama Buddha, Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo, Religion and Spirituality, spiritual aspirations
Category: Fiber Arts, thangkas
We are not just humans
learning to be buddhas
but also buddhas waking up
in human form, learning
to become fully human.
And these two tracks of
development can mutually
enrich each other.
–John Wehwood
“Human Nature, Buddha Nature”
from Tricycle Spring 2011
I love that he uses the words “waking up” –I’ve been busy “waking up” in the middle of the night again this August to write as part of this year’s 3:15 Experiment. I am very interested in how we are also buddhas waking up in human form, learning how to become human. I think dreams, active imagination, social dreaming, and writing in altered states can show us how these can mutually enrich each other.
I posted my first 3:15 experiment poem from 2012 today; you can read “Sasquatch Visits” over at Art Predator.
Fabric thangka by Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo, one of the few westerners trained in the rare Buddhist art of silk applique thangkas; His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave his blessings to Leslie’s work and encouraged her to make images that speak to the spiritual aspirations of people across religions and cultures. Leslie’s fascinating story is the subject of the acclaimed documentary film, Creating Buddhas: the Making and Meaning of Fabric Thangkas.
Related articles
- Oxnard artist specializes in Tibetan appliqué (vcstar.com)
Social Dreaming
Art PredatorComments from the Collective
Compassionate Rebel 
Leave a Reply