Transformation

Divine basically means relating to, coming from, or like God or a god. It discusses the perception of statues, paintings, ritual instruments and books from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective, examining the iconographic and trigonometric functions of the images, and asserting that a primary purpose is as a ‘support for practice’ (Tib. skurten body-support). Sacred images represent the embodiment of the Buddhas, deities and masters and, once consecrated by lamas, are considered to have the power to confer blessings. Despite the instrumental function of such artifacts, however, it is also possible to identify and delineate a complex Himalayan concept of aesthetics. The text moves on to analyse the effects of the transition of Tibetan Buddhist images into different museological contexts, comparing the display of Tibetan material in the consecrated spaces of Himalayan monastery museums with their exhibition in secular museological sites in the West. monastery museums with their exhibition in secular musicological sites in the West. Outwardly, life in the Spirit manifests itself in two ways. Gifts of the Spirit will enable us to perform some specific function — such as service or healing or leading worship — with effects clearly beyond those of our own making. These gifts serve God’s purposes among his people, but they do not necessarily signify the state of our heart. We are to find out, that is, what prevents and what promotes mercifulness and kindness and patience in our souls, and we are to remove hindrances to them as much as possible, carefully substituting that which assists Christlikeness. Many well-meaning people, to give an example, cannot succeed in being kind because they are too rushed to get things done. Haste has worry, fear, and anger as close associates; it is a deadly enemy of kindness, and hence of love. If this is our problem, we may be greatly helped by a day’s retreat into solitude and silence, where we will discover that the world survives even though we are inactive. There we might prayerfully meditate to see clearly the damage done by our unkindness, and honestly compare it to what, if anything, is really gained by our hurry. We will come to understand that for the most part out hurry is really based upon pride, self-importance, fear, and lack of faith, and rarely upon the production of anything of true value for anyone. Perhaps we will end up making plans to pray daily for the people with whom we deal regularly. Or we may resolve to ask associates for forgiveness for past injuries. Whatever comes of such prayerful reflection, we may be absolutely sure that our lives will never be the same, and that we will enjoy a far greater richness of God’s reality in our lives. In the current world around us there are many who suffer and face grave challenges. We stand in solidarity with them in compassion and by practicing loving kindness to ourselves and all those around us. Taking a couple of stanzas from compassion meditation / prayers, let us engage in the power of prayer that connect us – with our beliefs and ideals more deeply helping us to hold them in our minds as we go about our daily business, and helping us to develop a stronger sense of conviction. Let us pray – may we all be well, happy and peaceful! May we all also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life. May our parents, our teachers and mentors, our friends and may all living beings across the world…be well, happy and peaceful. May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life. We move beyond the limits and suffering inherent with separation, and we can feel a rising bliss from within us, just as we move towards this recognition of connection. Hindu mythology does not often have a consistent, monolithic structure. The same myth typically appears in various versions and can be represented differently across socio-religious traditions. These myths have also been noted to have been modified by various philosophical schools over time and particularly in the Hindu tradition. These myths are taken to have deeper, often symbolic, meaning, and have been given a complex range of interpretations. Hindu epic shares the creative principles and human values found in epic everywhere. The Hindu legends embed the Indian thought about the nature of existence, the human condition and its aspirations through an interwoven contrast of characters, the good against the evil, the honest against the dishonest, the dharma-bound lover against the anti-dharma bully, the gentle and compassionate against the cruel and greedy. In these epics, everything is impermanent including matter, love and peace. Magic and miracles thrive, gods are defeated and fear for their existence, triggering wars or debates. Death threatens and re-threatens life, while life finds a way to creatively re-emerge thus conquering death. Eros persistently prevails over chaos. The Hindu epics integrate in a wide range of subjects. They include stories about how and why cosmos originated (Hindu cosmology, cosmogony), how and why humans or all life forms originated (anthropogony) along with each’s strengths and weaknesses, how gods originated along with each’s strengths and weaknesses (theogony), the battle between good gods and bad demons (theomachy), human values and how humans can live together, resolve any disagreements (ethics, axiology), healthy goals in stages of life and the different ways in which each individual can live (householder, monk, purusartha), the meaning of all existence and means of personal liberation (soteriology) as well as legends about what causes suffering, chaos and the end of time with a restart of a new cycle (eschatology). Tibetan mythology refers to the traditional as well as the religious stories that have been passed down by the Tibetan people. These myths are often passed down orally, through rituals or through traditional art like sculptures or cave paintings. They also feature a variety of different creatures ranging from gods to spirits to monsters play a significant role in Tibetan mythology with some of these myths have broken into mainstream Western media. Yeti has to be by far the most popular mythical mythological creature of Nepal. Another Nepali mythical creature, the Khyah. Gurumapa is supposedly a mythological Nepal man-eater. Lakhey, another folklore demon, is one of the scariest mythological creatures of Nepal. Kawa cha mythical creatures in Nepal is the literal translation of the Newari word for “skeleton”. Garuda is a half-man-half-eagle figure found in Hindu mythology in Nepal. The Ma la (sky dragon) is a part of the new culture and also a well-known mythological figure in Tibetan Buddhism, known as ‘Druk’. The Singha is the mythical lion that is believed to guard the entrances according to the Buddhist religion. The story of this Nepali mythical creature is tied with the story of the lake that was once Kathmandu. The Cheppu is said to be a very disfigured and dreadful creature who used to live deep inside that lake. Hitimanga, also known as Makara is usually seen placed over the hit is (stone taps) around Kathmandu valley. Indra Jatra, white elephant (Yenya Punhi) and how gloriously this festival is celebrated in Nepal. Any person who grew up in Kathmandu must have heard the children’s song about Dhaplan Khya, a large, dark and hairy creat ure who is always hungry.