holy tree

Over the past five years I've accumulated tons of pictures from friends and family, many of which I put on my refrigerator. Yesterday I took them down and assembled them into a tree. Can you find yourself?

Fire, Satoru, and the Tree

This has been an intense time for me. My family’s good friend and spiritual advisor, Dr. Elbert Cole, died a few days ago. He was such an amazing man, huge inspiration, a positively religious figure. "Elbert was the greatest of the greatest generation. He was always there supporting, caring, loving. I have spent most of my life trying to be like him." ~My Dad. And if you met this guy, you'd know immediately---He was enlightened: And an angel. Compassionate heart, clear mind, energy and humor. All the time. I remember when he lead the service at my grandmother’s funeral (I attended via skype). He began the service with the story of the Buddha walking out of the forest for the first time after his enlightenment—a classic story. It was a sunny day, the Buddha, clothed in a simple robe, glowing in love, walked out of the forest. Someone walked over, blown away by his beauty, and asked, “Are you an angel?”

“No” Buddha replied.

“Are you a God?”

“No.”

“Are you a king?”

“No.”

Then what are you?

“I am Awake.”

(That story gives the listener an opportunity to ask “Well, am I awake?” and alas, they are! We all have basic wakefulness.)

Dr. Cole then led us in a service of appreciation for the beautiful life that gave us our own: my grandmother. God it was a great service.

Ecumenical, transreligious, serviceful, saintly, (the breadth of his work and sheer number of people he inspired is outstanding.) I’m sad he is gone, sad for my family, but also grateful, and happy that we had the rare opportunity to meet such a great being. What grace and good karma we all have! Grace!!!! I’m thankful for Dr. Cole’s long and inspiring visit, and feel deep joy waving goodbye to him. Thank you for your visit! We are all more awake and in love because of you. Infinitely more, and infinitely less.

Speaking of which, Satoru, another sparkler, is visiting ty, em, and I for golden week!

And, there was a big fire at the sumitomo chemical plant in my town. Everyone gathered in the street to watch. It felt like festival.


view from my apartment


Emily took satoru and I to the tree. The light was spectacular. and I just stumbled accross some old notes:
In "The Phenomenology of the Spirit" (1807) Hegel (echoing Jesus and Buddha) asserted that the human being contains, enfolded and shrouded within, the spirit of the absolute. This indwelling spirit, emanating as consciousness, comes to know itself as infinite only by assuming the limitations of finite existence and triumphing over them. In other words, the human is the vehicle by which God (or Buddha), as infinite Spirit or Consciousness, comes to Self-recognition...
Good to know.

Recent Life

I found this Vairocana (Cosmic Buddha) Marimokkori on my student's desk today. At first I was like "how sacrilege," but actually, a lot of buddhist deities are depicted with boners, so it's not so out of place.

This may be the most beautiful Shrine i have ever seen. We visited it after hanami in saijo.

Look who it is!!! Richard came to visit with his fiance! Emily and I were honored.

My new friend Daifuku.

Keiran is in town! We hiked up to temple #60.

Public bathing; what a gift.

Most all my western friends here in Japan absolutely love onsen (public bathing), and go about once a week, sometimes more. Tricia, Sarah, Ty, Caleb...my friend Hideyuki actually tells people his hobby is onsenning. I’ve been with him many times, we went last night, and I tell ya he is a textbook nudist: the clothes come off and he is happy as can be, dancing around, stretching, relaxing...He especially loves the outdoor baths, as do we all; sunbathing naked, or lying in the rain..it feels great on the body, doesn't it? I think public bathing also feels great on the soul.

It can even evoke a kind of spiritual (or universal) awareness, if you ask me. John Ince: “Social nudity helps erode social boundaries. Clothes are powerful visible cues of social division: between the rich and the poor, the trendy and the unfashionable. Nudity is like a uniform, signaling the most inclusive of all forms of membership—our humanity. Yet this primal uniform is at the same time ultimately individualistic, reveling the very essence of our physical idiosyncrasies. Thus the shedding of clothes simultaneously promotes social equality and personal authenticity, a sense of community and a sense of individuality.”


There is that great artist, Spencer Tunic, who makes the news sometimes for his art happenings and photographs. Many of his volunteers say that it was the first time they had been nude in public, and with huge smiles explain how thrilling and liberating it was. Anyway, check him out, and the onsen, if you havn’t.

Ingrid Lezar - I was a bit of an apprehensive beginner, but now I love the onsen. My reflections so far have mostly revolved around ageing. So of course at the onsen you have everyone from babies to the oldest lady in the world whose bones and muscles are so contorted that it's hard to understand how she even moves around every day... and here we all are, enjoying a hot bath. It's like... whatever life throws at you, there will always be giant warm baths, and you can enjoy them no matter what.

Soul

Well, it’s over...again. 魂--"Soul" or "Spirit" in Japanese, my third collaboration with the famous butoh dancer Yasuchika Konno, and my first experience with the swami, spiritual teacher and sitarist Atasa Sangeet, over and done. I’m happy, inspired, exhausted, sad, angry, disappointed, energetic, spacious, in love, in light, and free, not all at the same time, but in waves that kind of unfold an emotional blanket with dreamglowy seams.

20 paintings sold, I got three commissions, and about 50 people came to the collaboration. Amazing success. Go We! With this final collaboration I wanted to give Niihama a spiritual expereince, “spiritual,” here meaning Universal, or deeply human; The Soul Level, or the Human Being level. I invited a butoh dancer who breathes bushi and budo, the real deal, traditional Japanese through and through, and yet avant-garde to the max, contemporary corn-rows, contemplative outlook, his chiseled mind and trained body channeld dance from the creative void--is he acting or for real?, terrifying, people gazed transfixed; the shaman took them away, deep into themselves...god it was breathtaking. And I invited a Japanese sitarist who went to India in his twenties and met his guru Osho, who gave him his name which means "The Soul of Music." He now teaches meditation and the joy of living creatively around Japan. Together our three souls created a space where people could forget themselves, remember their Selves, and ride the crazy waves of humanness; emotion, celebration, expression, invention, and our innate spiritual awareness (unlimited compassion, the human heart and soul.) I think we succeeded. I put Tibetan prayer flags and Japanese shide around the outside of the gallery to create a kind of sacred atmosphere. Shide can designate a space open for god, and tibetan prayerflags (prayers for peace) can bring to mind the people suffering in the world, inspiring compassion. Yasuchika made everyone take their shoes off at the door, another ritual for the invocation of the sacred... While people were arriving and sitting down, I played the drums, bells, and sang the Vajrasattva mantra to purify the space and please the local gods. Then Atasa and Yasuchika came out, we all bowed, Atasa gave a little talk, made everyone laugh, and then began the performance with three chimes of the Tibetan bell. I started playing the singing bowl, and the sitar slowly began to fill the room, making everyone high. Suddenly, Yasuchika, who had been sitting like a stone in meditation, sprang into the space and began his terrifyingly controlled, breathtaking dance. “The dreadful thing is that Beauty is not only terrifying but also mysterious. God and the devil are fighting there, and their battlefield is the heart of man...” Dostoevski. Atasa went back and forth between his sitar and flutes, I played the djimbes tabla-style, lightly muted with scarves, and Konno danced for about 30 minutes. After that we took a break. The lights went up and everyone walked around looking at my series of paintings, "Subtle Worlds" Second half, Atasa led us all into an amazing tonglen meditation, hands on our heart-chakras, and then two of Atasa’s friends joined us for a final jam. They were beautiful women, one played the Hang and the other her voice. “You will love her voice.” Atasas said. “She gets all here melodies directly from...” and he gestured upwards. The Japanese woman’s voice sounded like a musical instrument, Bjork mixed with Inuit throat singers, and the Hang sounded like a haunted steel ufo, taking us to the ghost world. They were a perfect accompaniment for Yasuchika’s final dance. An excerpt from the end of Atasa’s tonglen meditation: “You know how this world is a kind of hell for many people. Many people have so much suffering. Imagine taking all of their suffering into your heart and, holding it in there, the heart is so strong it transforms it into joy, and breathe out wonderful joy and peace, sending it to all the living beings.” Promply at nine, the owner of the gallery told us to stop. My friend Hachidai’s three year old daughter gave us all flowers, we thanked everyone for coming, chatted, cleaned up, and then a group of us went to eat dinner before ending up at my house. We drank sake and stayed up till 5:00 talking about everything. Atasa spoke to Yasuchika and I about the importance of selfless art and bringing beauty into the world, “not just reflecting beauty, but actually bringing more beauty into the world.” He spoke seriously about letting the self die. “Who is dancing? There is only the dance!" When your ego dies and your art is all that’s left, then it can really heal you and others. Then is comes from a more universal demention..a soul, or subtle level, one that resonates in a more mirroring kind of way for the guests.

First Day

Today was the first day of the show. I had a pretty good turn out, three paintings sold, and some of my 6th grade students stopped by before baseball practice. It was a great day.

more art

floral portal

I am so honored. The art director at Integral Life decided to use paintings from some of their featured artists for the back of their staff's buisness cards. Can you find the two that are mine? Other artists included in this project are Bo Bartlett, Philip Rubinov Jacobson, Michael Bergt , De Es Schwertberger, and Adam Scott Miller.

Details about the new Show

The Alphabet and Naked Buddha are hidden in this painting. Can you find them?

mt. ishizuchi

there is a great video of this scene to the right. "Rick and Shikoku"

Highschool Yearbook sign. I decided to go all out.

corners

Some of you might notice that this is the fourth painting in the "Omens" series (the other three depict only three birds, an "omen" I saw again and again while studying with the Dalai Lama in India. Four is considered an unlucky number in Japan because it's a pun meaning death. "Shi." The square, like the triangle and circle, is sacred geometry and mandalic/(archetecture of heaven). Two of those birds were actually there that cloudy day (I took their picture). The other two I made up.

How many creatures and patterns can you find in the clouds? I love how our minds, in real life, can see animals and memories in clouds. It's an old pastime and great optical illusion. closure...

All my paintings from this series use photo references, sketches, or actual memories from places around my town on Shikoku (a japanese holy island and pilgrimage sight. people come from all over the world to complete the famous 88 temple pilgrimage circuambulating this island). This places and characters depicted are all real--real lived experiences I've had, while at the same time they're pure make-believe, memories at best, illusions, dreams, made up spaces, empty in the end. (just like our lives?)

That's the crazy thing about attempting realism with painting; from the very beginning it's totally unbelievable--it's just paint on wood! And yet, hopefully, with a little light, shadow, sfumato and magic, the image can trigger certain cues inside the viewer's brain and body, and the art, like a magic trick, can hover ahead of them as a kind of momentarily believable space. Then their state of consciousness can...mingle..with the painting, and some sort of exchange can take place. The dreamy situation depicted below some of you have actually visited. It's down the road from my house, by the river. Right next to that tree is a meditation room (with the secret buddha and mirror) and I swear it's on a special energy vortex or something; I always get into deep meditation very quickly there.

That's you there, embedded inside the dream-scape, quietly wandering over to the other side.

I really like how my old roommate and fellow Kansan Artist Bradford Kessler is playing with the dream theme, but in a far more multi-media trained voice. His stuff blows me away. It's so thought-full, and acts as an artifact from our new, holistic, interpenetrating multidimensional matrix post-postmodern reality. You gotta check his stuff out.

The theme of my painting show this year mom is "Yuugen," 幽玄.We don't really have a word for this in English, so I chose "Subtle Worlds" to be the other theme. The postcard:

Yuugen is a term mostly used to describe a certain aspects of artistic expression and perception. It also has religious (Buddhist) connotations. To give you an idea of what this word can mean in Japanese, the first character "yuu" is used in the word yuurei, 幽霊 which means spirit or ghost. The second character is in the word "genkan," 玄関、which means entryway or opening-space. Together, these two kanji (yuu and gen) describe the subtle feeling of profound meaning we get from certain works of poetry, dance, music, art. It's also an important aspect of wabi-sabi aesthetic. Wabi-sabi (good link) is the Japanese idea of beauty in imperfection, beauty in the old and rotting and transient, beauty in the glaringly true, and its particular to Japan, an outward expression of an inner cultural value and acceptance (the spiritual flavor of the japanese mind appearing in the art). At the beginning of tea ceremony we first bow to and honor the dead tree branch, or cracked flower vase, or wilting flower, all of which are "beautiful" in a wabi-sabi kind of way, and all of which can be powerful symbols (with dreamy meanings and transformative energies) in a yuugen kind of way. Nothing profound is necessary with Yuugen, though. Yuugen is just a subtle feeling of meaning, suggested lightly within, like a distant sound of a ship-horn, or a tiny coincidence, or a long-lost memory suddenly appearing like a ghost in a dream....

That's the Japanese theme of this show. The English theme, Subtle Worlds, I'll let you decide what it means. (although I'll just say that if you could see the series together you'd notice they all contain subtle gradations of color. I love subtle gradations..)

The Cove

New pic of David and Margot. I can't wait to see them again!!!

other news:

God, I am a total wreck after watching the academy award winner for best documentary The Cove; I”ve been waiting years for this movie, having been an activist back home, and now I tearfully remember the many reasons why I stopped eating fish. My god, I had forgotten. I had forgotten and fallen in love with wasabi and raw tuna.

Conclusion: We have to give the ocean a break! If we don't, the ocean will die and we will loose the fish forever. That’s the story that makes sense. And it’s in our own fish-eating interest to cut back. Setting aside the ethics behind giving rights to other sentient beings, in the spirit of imperialism and selfishness we should cut back on our meat to ensure its existence in our future. After looking at it evenly and thoughtfully, I can see why that’s the rational thing to do,

But people addicted don't act rationally when they are threatened, do they. Addicted to money, power, drugs, or meat, most people don't think about it. They just try to get it while they can because they know it won’t last. This may be a “pre-rational” initial reaction, but it’s natural.

I like to think that one person not eating any meat counts as two or three people cutting back. That’s great power.

And then, there is the terrifying truth that dolphins are indeed sentient, they have a neo-cortex implying they can think. They show signs of kindness, creativity, and are almost unanimously agreed upon to be playful in nature. The ones in Taiji must, in their last moments, like Jacob in Lost, hope they are wrong about us.

Thank god the film makes it very clear that the creepy Japanese fishermen in the film are not “the Japanese.” They interview people who live outside Taiji and predictably nobody knows about it. I’ve tested that here in Niihama and its true; nearly nobody knows. In the movie they are shocked that it goes on. “We Japanese like dolphins, We don't think dolphins are food.”

God, the terrified city hall worker and father with two sons, five and seven, who says if they put the contaminated dolphin meat in the lunches the kids will have to eat it. He stares into space, says nothing else...

The movie surprisingly ends on a good note; light, wondrous hope... My tears of sadness flowed seamlessly into tears of joy, which allowed them to safely increase in power—a very strange and new experience (I don't cry often).

The music could have been better, but it was good enough to not impede on the erupting emotions (so much music in films just dams it up for me...it’s awful).

I often speak of film in High Praise for being, in many important ways, the greatest works of art ever, or should I say the ones with the most power. Not just monetarily...films have the power to move the viewer to tears. On occasion dance can do it, acting can, music can, and a painting can but only to very sensitive people. food can, sex can, but its rare. Not even death can always move us to tears. Film, on the other hand, if done well, can take us away into dream land and cause us to weep uncontrollably. We loose power, lose it, and flow open in new ways. No doubt it’s because they use so many other forms of art to capture the senses, Truth and Writing for the mind, composition for the eyes, sound and music for the ears, acting or directing for the body, goodness for the heart, everything is captivated with film. The art is coming at us from every angle.

This isn’t just “Art as Entertainment,” but also “Art as Mirror” reflecting cultural views and values, and “Art as Creator”, actually co-creating new views, and thus new worlds. It’s “Art as Helper” helping usher in a new, more free, more full, more healthy, more good, more true, and more beautiful world.

Will this film also exemplify Art as Healing or Art as Medicine? I hope so.

I can see why it won the Oscar.

Bobby Mcferrin, New Paintings, and the Poster

moon point

reflected light

I've become obsessivly fascinated with how tiny puddles in the ground can magically reflect the vast sky and myriad of beings within it. Now that's a Great trick! I painted a bunch of crows in this painting. How many can you find?

Mt. Ishizuchi (unfinished)

Gates

Poster for the upcoming Butoh collaboration "Soul". This year, the famous sitarist and Swami Atasa will be playing with us. Unbelievable.