Nice ideas⊠I have a favorite passage and @yodhaâs doodles were inspiring me to think of how I would illustrate it if presented with the challenge (I donât do Dhamma doodles, but have done various types of art in the past, though not specifically âBuddhistâ). All I could think of was something similar to Sujithâs ideaâjust an outline sitting in meditation, empty on the inside with empty space around. The passage is:
This is peaceful, this is sublime, the stilling of all activities, the reliquishing of all acquisitions, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, nibbÄna.
Itâs found in several suttas, some being AN 11.7, AN 11.8, AN 10.60, AN 3.32, AN 9.36, AN 11.18, AN 11.19
It reminds me the project of Tilorien: Weâd like to have a main building and 3 kutis. And there is also a little stream. Iâve seen no fish however so far!
Hmmm, Iâll think about it. After I disappointed you earlier today on the perception of gender thread, I donât want to disappoint you again!
But the Bahiya sutta never seemed very inspiring to me⊠So weâll see.
But on the bright side, @Matâs requested brahmavihara doodle is ready and will be posted tomorrow!
The discussion between @anon29387788, @Linda and @Sujith about how to illustrate âletting goâ suggests that people are engaging with the Buddhaâs teaching in a different way because of the doodles. I donât think you should doubt whether these are effective as teaching tools.
As you can see, the glowing blade color is blue. Iâd pull it out of the computer to get a better photo but itâs currently running Xubuntu. The red dots symbolically convey the message âhands off, this light saber is mineâ.
Iâve always loved bhikkhuni Sumedhaâs story in the Therigatha and am trying to make a doodle of it. But the only freely available translation is C.A.F. Rhys Davidâs, and the archaic language is making me dizzyâŠ
If anyone has a copy of Normanâs translation of the Therigatha, it would be great if you could send me a PM with Theri Sumedhaâs verses (Mahavagga - at the very end of the Therigatha). Thanks a lot!
Edit: Apparently there is also a newer translation by Charles Hallisay. If anyone has that one, that would be great, too!
Edit 2: Thanks so much, @Linda, for sending Normanâs translation!
@yodha
Oops, I just realzied Iâm not sure if I sent the one you wanted as the book cover says both CAF Rhys Davids and KR Norman and both the monks and nuns verses are in one volume. So maybe itâs already the one you have. Itâs the PTS edition, revised ed 1997.
I just sent you the translation by Charles Hallisay as well. I had forgotten I had a copy of that one.
I have a couple of true Star Wars anecdotes to share that you might find amusing.
I was once passing through airport security in a busy airport in the USA. I was actually slowly asked by an airport security guard (with a tone of wonder in his voice) âAre you a Jedi?â. I replied (in a deadpan tone of voice) âAlmostâ. It was a priceless moment.
I just spent 15 months in Sri Lanka. I made friends with one ethnic Sinhalese monk, about 30 years old. We got to talking about our childhoods (and how radically different they were), and I asked him if he had ever seen Star Wars. No, never. Well, surely he at least had heard about it. No, not at all. So he had absolutely no idea what Star Wars was. Correct. At which point I thought to myself âwhat planet is this?â Had he ever played with Lego (which was a major cornerstone of my childhood)? No. Had he seen the Lego movie? No. Had he ever seen so much as one Lego brick, ever? No. He did eventually relate how one of his favorite childhood toys was clay, which gave one a lot of creative leeway to create things, much like Lego.
So anyway, if you ever meet ethnic Sri Lankan monks, they might not get the Star Wars reference whatsoever, or if they do, they might think youâre a complete space freakazoid, what with the light saber. They can be intensely, intensely conservative, so just heads up on that.
BTW: speaking of Lego, your artwork reminds me of Cloud Koo Koo Land. Iâm venturing a guess perhaps youâve been there as a layperson. Perhaps Iâve been there myself. Note: I confess to watching the Lego movie on a long flight from the USA to Australia, about 8 hours into the flight when meditation in my economy class seat became too unbearable.
I have an artwork request: what would âCloud non-Koo Koo Landâ look like? You know, Deva realms? Perhaps with Devas and DevÄ«s floating around, or Bhikkhus and BhikkhunÄ«s with psychic powers. And furthermore, if you would like a more difficult challenge, can you please incorporate a Lego Bhikkhu or BhikkhunÄ« in your artwork? (After looking through Google images, it seems it has not been done yet).
PS: When youâre passing through airport security, never pull out your light saber, or they might freak out on you major.
Hereâs a Doodle I did about 3 weeks ago (before happening across this thread). I did this Doodle in about 7 seconds, with a black Gel pen. Do I Doodle much? Absolutely not.
This is my âartistâs conceptionâ of arahantship, which Iâm aspiring to:
Thank you.
