Earth and Space News: Thich Nhat Hanh Indra's Net of Interbeing

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Friday, March 20, 2020

Ellora Caves Ally With Ajanta Caves and Thich Nhat Hanh in Indra's Net

Summary: The Ellora Caves, like the Ajanta Caves, in Maharashtra, west India, anticipate Thich Nhat Hanh in the walking meditations that Indra's net accommodates.

Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh expresses ancient India's Indra's net of infinite interconnectedness as Interbeing, in which, for example, clouds are revealed in flowers: Thich Nhat Hanh @thichnhathanh, via Facebook Feb. 22, 2020

The Ellora Caves, just as the Ajanta Caves 60 miles (96.56 kilometers) away, in Maharashtra state, western peninsular India, affirm Indra's net and Thich Nhat Hanh in actual, architectural, artistic walking meditations.

Indra's net belongs to Indra (from Sanskrit इन्द्र, "raindrop-possessing"), king of the celestials and storm god of the Aryan settlers of northwestern India by 1700 B.C.E. Vedic (from Sanskrit वेद, "knowledge" and Greek -ικός, "pertaining to") hymns, as oldest Hindu religious and Sanskrit literary texts, by 800 B.C.E. configure a spiderweb-like universe. The 2,000-year-old Mahavaipulya Buddhavatamsaka Sutra (from Sanskrit महावैपुल्यबुद्धावतंसकसूत्र, "Flower Garland Scripture") and the 3,000 to 3,200-year-old Atharvaveda (from Sanskrit अथर्ववेद, "priestly knowledge") defer to Indra's net.

Both Vedic texts envision Indra establishing a four-sided, house-like world with corner-posted walls, sunrises as entryway and sunsets as exit, and thatched roof from overcast skies.

Indra's net furnishes one infinite spiderweb that features infinite numbers of infinitely faceted, polished gems that Indra fashioned at focal points where infinite connections fit together.

Each facet, each jewel, each connection in Indra's net generates to, and guards from all other facets, jewels and connections anyone and anything, everyone and everything. Indra's net harvests, helps, hoards and hurls the Interbeing of anyone and anything, everyone and everything in any and all happenings, peoples, places, things and times. Interbeing is the interpretative invention of Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese-born ideator of nine Plum Village Tradition centers that include walking meditations among mindfulness practices and training.

Indra's net joins walking meditations in the ancient Buddhism of the Ajanta Caves and the Ellora Caves and in the modern Buddhism of Thich Nhat Hanh.

Placeful, placeless, timeless, timely Interbeing keys ancient Ajanta Caves and ancient Ellora Caves to ancient and modern walking meditations and Thich Nhat Hanh and vice versa.

Thich Nhat Hanh looks at ancient and modern Interbeing in his article, Indra's Net, for the September/October 2009 issue on Exploring Consciousness in the journal Resurgence. He mentions in the journal's 256th issue that "In Indra's net the one is present in the all, and the all is present in the one." He nestles walking meditations into Plum Village Tradition mindfulness practice and training sessions in Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand; California, Mississippi, New York; and France and Germany.

The Ajanta Caves and the Ellora Caves operated as earlier Theravada (from Sanskrit स्थविरवाद, "elders' doctrine") and later Mahayana (from Sanskrit महायान, "great vehicle") Buddhist centers.

Itinerant artisans, merchants and monks placed the Ajanta Caves and the Ellora Caves, as monastery caverns for permanent and temporary residents, proximitous to subcontinental trade routes.

Resident monks perhaps queued up daily walking meditations for themselves and for itinerant questors of Gautama Buddha (from Sanskrit गोतम, "brightness [dispels] darkness" and बुद्ध, "awakened"). Indra's net of Interbeing revealed the Buddhist founder (624 B.C.E.?-544 B.C.E.?) to contemporary participants in, and witnesses to, 45 years of walking meditations throughout northern India. It suggested him in any ancient walking meditations at the Ajanta Caves and the Ellora Caves respectively 1,300 to 2,300 and 800 to 1,600 years ago.

Indra's net of Interbeing teams ancient Ajanta Caves, ancient Ellora Caves and ancient walking meditations with their modern configurations and Thich Nhat Hanh, and vice versa.

Visitors find Kailasa, largest of Hindu rock-cut temples at Ellora Caves, in a faunal (lower left) and floral setting; Ellora Caves, Maharashtra, western peninsular India; Saturday, Sep. 5, 2009, 11:43:03: Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay (sankarshan), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

"About Ellora Caves." Yatra > Monuments of India > Monuments in Aurangabad. Copyrighted 2019.
Available @ https://www.yatra.com/indian-monuments/aurangabad/ellora-caves

Anh-Huong, Nguyen; and Thich Nhat Hanh. 2019. Walking Meditation. Boulder CO: Sounds True.

Barrett, Douglas. "Wall Painting (Second to Sixteenth Century)." Pages 17-48. In: Douglas Barrett and Basil Gray. Paintings of India. Treasures of Asia. Distributed in the United States by The World Publishing Company, Cleveland OH. Geneva, Switzerland: Editions d'Art Albert Skira, 1963.

Berkson, Carmel. Ellora Concept and Style. First Edition, 1992. Second Edition, 2004. New Delhi, India: Abhinav Publications.
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Burgess, Jas. (James). Report on the Elura Cave Temples and the Brahmanical and Jain Caves of Western India. The Results of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Seasons' Operations of the Archaeological Survey 1877-78, 1878-79, 1879-80. Supplementary to the Volume on "The Cave Temples of India." London [UK]: Trübner & Co., 1883.
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Cartwright, Mark. 8 March 2016. "Ellora Caves." Ancient History Encyclopedia > Article.
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Cleary, Thomas F. 1993. The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Boston MA: Shambhala Publications.

Cook, Sharell. Updated June 3, 2019. "Ajanta and Ellora Caves Essential Travel Guide." TripSavvy > Destinations > India > Maharashtra.
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Durdin-Robertson, Lawrence. 1976. The Goddesses of India, Tibet, China and Japan. With illustrations by Anna Durdin-Robertson. Huntington Castle, Clonegal, Enniscorthy, Eire: Cesara Publications.
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. 7 March 2019. "Ellora Caves." Encyclopædia Britannica > Geography & Travel > Historical Places. Chicago IL: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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"Elapura, aka: Elpāra; 6 Definition(s)." Wisdom Library.
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"Ellora Caves." Atlas Obscura > Places > Verul, India. Copyrighted 2020.
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"Ellora Caves." UNESCO > Culture > World Heritage Centre > The List > World Heritage List.
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Fergusson, James; and James Burgess. 1880. The Cave Temples of India. London [United Kingdom]: W.H. Allen @ Co., Trübner & Co. E. Stanford and W. Briggs.
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Huntington, John C.; and Dina Bangdel. "Glossary M-Y." The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art.
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"Interview with Shrikant Ganvir, Pune, January 2016." Sahapedia > Ellora Caves > Buddhist Caves of Ellora. Published 9 November 2016.
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Ions, Veronica. 1967. Indian Mythology. London UK: Paul Hamlyn Limited.

Kannal, Deepak. 25 September 2017. "A Riddle Called Ellora." Sahapedia > Overview.
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Lee, Eva. 17 February 2014. "Ellora Caves: Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain Coexistence." Eva Lee Studio.
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Malandra, Geri H. 1993. Unfolding a Mandala: The Buddhist Cave Temples at Ellora. Albany NY: State University of New York Press.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=MU44LPu3mbUC

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 March 2020. "Ellora Caves Are Painted, Sculpted Temples Like and Unlike Ajanta Caves." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/03/ellora-caves-are-painted-sculpted.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 6 March 2020. "Ailing Ellora Caves Are Among Ameliorable World Heritage Centre Sites." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/03/ailing-ellora-caves-are-among.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 28 February 2020. "Schneider's Leaf-Nosed Bats Are Artful Annihilators at Ellora Caves." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/02/schneiders-leaf-nosed-bats-are-artful.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 21 February 2020. "Greater Indian False Vampire Bats Are Artful Assassins at Ellora Caves." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/02/greater-indian-false-vampire-bats-are.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 February 2020. "Are Grey Junglefowl Avoiding Artful Areas Around Ellora Caves?" Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/02/are-grey-junglefowl-avoiding-artful.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 February 2020. "Blue Indian Peafowl No Longer Prettify the Artistic Ellora Caves." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/02/blue-indian-peafowl-no-longer-prettify.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 31 January 2020. "Ellora Caves Sanctuary Gardens Artfully Adjoin Ellora Caves Artistry." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/01/ellora-caves-sanctuary-gardens-artfully.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 24 January 2020. "Ellora Caves Teak Forest Trees Anchor Ellora Caves Rain Gardens." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/01/ellora-caves-teak-forest-trees-anchor.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 January 2020. "Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings and Gardens and Bhimbetka Sanctuary Gardens." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/01/ajanta-cave-wall-paintings-and-gardens.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 January 2020. "Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings, Ajanta Rain Gardens, Bhimbetka Rain Gardens." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/01/ajanta-cave-wall-paintings-ajanta-rain.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 31 May 2019. "Thich Nhat Hanh, Indra's Net at Bat Nha and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-indras-net-at-bat-nha.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 April 2019. "Thich Nhat Hanh, Tu Hieu Temple Walks and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/04/thich-nhat-hanh-tu-hieu-temple-walks.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 29 March 2019. "Thich Nhat Hanh, Walking Meditations and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/thich-nhat-hanh-walking-meditations-and.html

Narayana, Hari. 25 November 2012. "The Ellora Caves - An Introduction." India That Was: A Legacy Unfolded.
Available @ http://indiathatwas.com/2012/11/the-ellora-caves-an-introduction/

Nhat Hanh, Thich. September/October 2009. "Indra's Net." Resurgence Issue 256: Exploring Consciousness.
Available @ https://www.resurgence.org/magazine/issue256-exploring-consciousness.html

Owen, Lisa N. 2012. Carving Devotion in the Jain Caves at Ellora. Leiden, The Netherlands; and Boston MA: Brill.
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Pereira, José. 1977. Monolithic Jinas: The Iconography of the Jain Temples of Ellora. Delhi, Varanasi and Patna, India: Motilal Banarsidass.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books/about/Monolithic_Jinas.html?id=LMTgiygj4-oC

Poduval, Jayaram. 21 November 2018. "The Architecture of Ellora Caves." Sahapedia > Article.
Available @ https://www.sahapedia.org/the-architecture-of-ellora-caves

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Revire, Nicolas. 2011. "Some Reconsiderations of Pendant-Legged Buddha Images in the Dvāravatī Artistic Tradition." Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 31: 37-49.
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Singh, Rajesh Kumar. 26 November 2019. "Obituary: Walter M. Spink (Feb 16, 1928 - Nov 24, 2019)." Caves of India > Walter Spink.
Available @ https://cavesofindia.org/2019/11/26/prof-spink/

Spink, Walter M. 1967. Ajanta to Ellora. Mumbai, India: Marg Publications.

Spink, Walter M. 1967. "Ellora's Earliest Phase." Off Print of the Bulletin of the American Academy of Benares 1: 11-22.

Thich Nhat Hanh @thichnhathanh. 22 February 2020. "Imagine, for a moment, a beautiful flower. That flower might be an orchid or a rose, or even a simple little daisy growing beside a path. Looking into a flower, we can see that it is full of life. It contains soil, rain, and sunshine. It is also full of clouds, oceans, and minerals. It is even full of space and time. In fact, the whole cosmos is present in this one little flower. If we took out just one of these 'non-flower' elements, the flower would not be there." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/thichnhathanh/photos/a.136121339634/10157246764074635/

"Tibetan + Sanskrit Words." Madhyamaka Introduction to the Middle Way > Study.
Available @ https://madhyamaka.com/study/tibetan-sanskrit/

Friday, July 5, 2019

Thich Nhat Hanh and Indra's Net at Parallax Press and Ajanta Cave 17

Summary: Indra's net attaches encyclopedic Ajanta cave 17 in ancient India to Parallax Press of founder Thich Nhat Hanh in modern California, and vice-versa.

Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh founded Parallax Press in 1986 as a nonprofit publisher on the art of mindful living and Engaged Buddhism: Parallax Press @ParallaxPress, via Facebook May 15, 2019

Indra's net of interactive, interconnected Interbeing assembles Ajanta cave 17 wall paintings and sculptures in central-west India for and from Parallax Press of founder Thich Nhat Hanh in Berkeley, California, and vice-versa.

Indra, Iranaian deity brought by Aryan invaders of northwest India before 1700 BCE, built our world with four corner-posts and walls, two doors and one roof. He confined corner-posts and walls, doors for conducting the sun in and out, and thatched roof of overcast sky within his bejeweled, infinite, interactive, interconnected net. One facet of one jewel at one horizontal and vertical demarcation of one interconnection defers to all facets of all jewels at all demarcations and vice-versa.

Thich Nhat Hanh explains for the Journal Resurgence, "In Indra's net, the one is present in the all, and the all is present in the one."

The 1,500-plus-year-old Ajanta cave 17 wall paintings and sculptures function as ancient, visual encyclopedia volumes and publishing houses on the seventh Buddha (from Sanskrit बुद्ध, "awakened").

Itinerant artisans between the third and first centuries BCE and the fifth and eighth centuries CE generated Ajanta (from Sanskrit अजित, "benevolent") monastery and prayer-hall caves. The 113.19- by 84.09-foot (34.5- by 25.63-meter) vihara (from Sanskrit विहार, "walking [hall]") cave 17 has a first- and second-phase prayer-hall cave within a first-phase monastery. Its chaitya-like (from Sanskrit चैत्य, "memorial monument") prayer-hall chapels; colonnaded porch; 20-pillar, 4,095.99-square-foot (380.53-square-meter) hall; shrine; and vestibule illustrate jataka (from Sanskrit जातक, "born under") tales.

Ajanta cave 17 wall paintings and sculptures journey biographically through Gautama (from Sanskrit गोतम, "brightness [dispels] darkness") Buddha's 550 bodhisattva (from Sanskrit बोधिसत्त्व, "enlightened existence") reincarnations.

Indra's net knows Ajanta cave 17 biographical wall paintings and sculptures in Maharashtra state for and from Parallax Press of founder Thich Nhat Hanh and vice-versa.

Ajanta cave 17 wall paintings and sculptures look at Gautama Buddha as the bodhisattva buffalo Mahisha, cloud-horse Valahassa, deer Nigrodha and Ruru and eight-legged stag Sharabha. They move ancient Sangha (from Sanskrit संघ, "multitude") lay and monastic community members through illustrated biographies of bodhisattva elephants Hasti, Matiposaka, Nalagiri of Rajagaha and Shaddanta. They note the bodhisattva fish Machchha, golden goose Dhatarattha of Kancanaguha cave, King Sibi of Aritthapura, monkey king Mahakapi of Benares and Prince Sutasoma of Hastinapur.

Ajanta cave 17, like the Vietnamese homeland of Thich Nhat Hanh, observes Theravada (from Sanskrit स्थविरवाद, "elders' doctrine") and Mahayana (from Sanskrit महायान, "great vehicle") Buddhism.

Mass-enlightening, older Mahayana Buddhism prevails over self-enlightening, younger Theravada in Ajanta cave 17 wall paintings and sculptures and the Parallax Press of founder Thich Nhat Hanh.

Jataka tales of Princes Suvanna Sama of Himavant and Vessantara of Sivirattha qualify as Mahayana Buddhist in biographical, encyclopedia Ajanta cave 17 wall paintings and sculptures. Ajanta cave 17 wall paintings and sculptures of giant wheels reveal Gautama Buddha's 550th reincarnation as Sakyan Prince Siddhartha (from Sanskrit सिद्धार्थ, "successful") Gautama (624?-544 BCE?). They suggest Buddhism's steady spread southward through King Udayin (died 19 BCE) of Magadha and through Prince Vijaya of Sinhapura (died 50 BCE) into Sri Lanka.

Indra's net ties Ajanta cave 17 wall paintings and sculptures to Parallax Press of founder Thich Nhat Hanh through mass-enlightening, self-enlightening teachings of its sculpted Buddha.

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Vessantara Jataka, depicted in Ajanta Cave 17, relates Gautama Buddha's previous incarnation as a prince who epitomizes perfect generosity by giving away everything; Ajanta Caves, Maharasthra, west-central India; Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, 09:09: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ajanta_Cave_17_Scene_of_the_Vessantara_Jataka.jpg; Jean-Pierre Dalbéra (dalbera), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/16603507037

For further information:

"About Parallax Press." Parallax Press.
Available @ https://www.parallax.org/

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Anandajoti, Bhante. "Ajanta Cave Temples 16 & 17, Maharashtra." PhotoDharma > India > Maharashtra Cave Sites > Cave Sites Near Aurangabad.
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Anh-Huong, Nguyen; and Thich Nhat Hanh. 2019. Walking Meditation. Boulder CO: Sounds True.

Bankar, M.V.; and N.P. Bhosle. November-December 2017. "Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants in Ajanta Region (MS) India." IOSR Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences Volume 12, Issue 6 Ver. II: 59-64.
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Burgess, J. (James). 1879. "Notes on the Bauddha Rock-Temples of Ajanta, Their Paintings and Sculptures, and on the Paintings of the Bagh Caves, Modern Bauddha Mythology, &c." Archaeological Society of Western India, no. 9. Bombay, India: Government Central Press.
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Fergusson, James. 1845. Illustrations of the Rock-Cut Temples of India: Text to Accompany the Folio Volume of Plates. London, England.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 28 June 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, La Boi and Ajanta Cave 16 Ace Outstanding Inner Peace.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 21 June 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh and Indra's Net at Van Hanh and Ajanta Cave 1.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/thich-nhat-hanh-and-indras-net-at-van.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 June 2019. “Indra's Net Affects Thich Nhat Hanh, Phap Van and Ajanta Cave 2.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/indras-net-affects-thich-nhat-hanh-phap.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 June 2019. "Thich Nhat Hanh, Indra's Net at Phuong Boi and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/thich-nhat-hanh-indras-net-at-phuong.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 24 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Stream Entering Monastery and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-stream-entering.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Thai Plum Village and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-thai-plum-village-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, AIAB Hong Kong and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-aiab-hong-kong-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, EIAB Germany and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-eiab-germany-and-ajanta.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 26 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Deer Park Monastery and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/04/thich-nhat-hanh-deer-park-monastery-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Blue Cliff Monastery and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/04/thich-nhat-hanh-blue-cliff-monastery.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Plum Village Tradition and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/04/thich-nhat-hanh-plum-village-tradition.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Tu Hieu Temple Walks and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/04/thich-nhat-hanh-tu-hieu-temple-walks.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 13.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_22.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 12.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 8 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 8.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_8.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 15A/30.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_1.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 February 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Pithora Wall Art.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 February 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 29.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_15.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 8 February 2019. “Ajanta Cave 26 in 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/ajanta-cave-26-in-200th-anniversary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 February 2019. “Ajanta Cave 19 in 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/ajanta-cave-19-in-200th-anniversary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 25 January 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings in Ajanta Cave 9.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 January 2019. “Ancient Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings and Inscriptions in Ajanta Cave 10.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/ancient-ajanta-cave-wall-paintings-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 January 2019. “Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings Ailing at World Heritage Centre Site.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/ajanta-cave-wall-paintings-ailing-at.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 January 2019. “Accurate, Ancient, Artistic Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings to Buddha.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/accurate-ancient-artistic-ajanta-cave.html

Nhat Hanh, Thich. 2017. The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now. New York NY: HarperCollins.

Nhat Hanh, Thich. 2014. Is Nothing Something? Kids' Questions and Zen Answers About Life, Death, Family, Friendship, and Everything in Between.Plum Blossom Books. Berkeley CA: Parallax Press.

Nhat Hanh, Thich. 2006. The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion. Berkeley CA: Parallax Press.

Nhat Hanh, Thich. September/October 2009. "Indra's Net." Resurgence Issue 256: Exploring Consciousness.
Available @ https://www.resurgence.org/magazine/issue256-exploring-consciousness.html

Parallax Press @ParallaxPress. 15 May 2019. "Sit. Breathe. Happy #worldmeditationday #Repost @thichnhathanhsangha ・・・ "Sit just to enjoy your sitting; you don't need to attain any goal. Each moment of sitting meditation brings you back to life." — Thích Nhất Hạnh Illustration © Jason DeAntonis @jasondeantonisart." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/ParallaxPress/photos/a.388433512105/10156498203157106/

Parallax Press @ParallaxPress. 25 February 2019. "Thank you for sharing. #Repost @wheremindfulmatters ・・・ Is Nothing Something? From the Is Nothing Something book by @thichnhathanhsangha I love using Thich Nhat Hanh’s works to inspire others @parallaxpress such a wonderful books with rich questions for kids and adults." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/ParallaxPress/photos/a.388433512105/10156327943382106/

Pisani, Ludovico. 6 August 2013. "The Ajanta Cave Paintings." The Global Dispatches > Articles and Culture.
Available @ http://www.theglobaldispatches.com/articles/the-ajanta-cave-paintings

Saddhatissa, H. 1976. The Life of Buddha. New York NY: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.

Saraswati, Atmaprajnananda. "Ajanta - Cave 17-25."
Available @ https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/ajanta---cave-17---25

Satish. "Ajanta Cave 17 - Mahayana Vihara." U.A. Satish > India > Maharashtra.
Available @ https://uasatish.com/ajanta-cave-17-mahayana-vihara/

Singh, Rajesh. 2012. An Introduction to the Ajanta Caves: With Examples of Six Caves. Vadodara, India: Hari Sena Press Private Limited.

Singh, Rajesh Kumar. 2017. Ajanta Cave No. 1: Documented According to the Ajanta Corpus of Dieter Schlingloff (Photographic Compendium, Ajanta Narrative Painting). Vadodara, India: Hari Sena Press Private Limited.

Somathilake, Mahinda. June 2013. "Painted Jataka Stories of Ancient Sri Lanka." International Journal of Arts and Commerce 2(6): 139-150.
Available @ https://ijac.org.uk/images/frontImages/gallery/Vol._2_No._6/14.pdf

Spink, Walter M. 2018. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 1: The End of the Golden Age. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/1. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M. 2018. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 2: Arguments about Ajanta. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/2. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M. 2005. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 3: The Arrival of the Uninvited. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/3. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M. 2008. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 4: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture - Year by Year. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/4. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M. 2006. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 5: Cave by Cave. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/5. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter. 2017. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 7: Bagh, Dandin, Cells and Cell Doorways. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/7. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M; and Naomichi Yaguchi. 2014. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 6: Defining Features. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/6. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Uno, Tomoko; and Yoshiko Shimazdu. "Thermal Environment in Ajanta Caves." Archi-Cultural Translations through the Silk Road: 2nd International Conference, Mukogawa Women's University, Nishinomiya, Japan, July 14-16, 2012, Proceedings.
Available @ http://www.mukogawa-u.ac.jp/~iasu2012/pdf/iaSU2012_Proceedings_401.pdf

"World Heritage Sites -- About Ajanta Caves 01 to 29." Archeological Survey of India > Monuments > World Heritage Site > Ajanta > About Caves.
Available @ https://web.archive.org/web/20120501151253/http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_whs_ajanta_caves.asp

Friday, June 28, 2019

Thich Nhat Hanh, La Boi and Ajanta Cave 16 Ace Outstanding Inner Peace

Summary: Indra's net of interactive, interconnected Interbeing allies Outstanding Inner Peace aspired by Ajanta cave 16 and La Boi and awarded to Thich Nhat Hanh.

The 2019 Luxembourg Peace Prize includes "la silla por la paz" (chair for peace), a three-legged chair statuette designed by Duván López, artist from Quindío department, western central Colombia who now lives in Besalú, Gironès province, northeast of Catalonia's capital city, Barcelona: Thich Nhat Hanh @thichnhathanh, via Facebook June 16, 2019

Indra's net of interactive, interconnected Interbeing addresses in Ajanta cave 16 wall paintings and sculptures and affirms in La Boi Publishing House the Outstanding Inner Peace award accorded to Thich Nhat Hanh.

The Schengen Peace Foundation and the World Peace Forum, for eight years now, bundle into 12 categories outstanding peace awards for annual ceremonies based in Luxembourg. Luxembourg Peace Prize ceremonies in the European Parliament's Robert Schuman Building celebrate peace activism, art, education, efforts, environmentalism, health, journalism, organization, process, support, technology and youth. Eighth annual Luxembourg Peace Prize deliveries June 14, 2019, double with the 34th anniversary of the Schengen Agreement by Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands and West Germany.

The Schengen Agreement eliminates border checks at common borders and internal border controls and establishes common visa policies for 400 million Europeans in 26 member states.

Indra, Iranian deity with northwest Indian followers by 1700 BCE, flung an infinitely bejeweled, connected, faceted net around our world's house-like corner-posts, doors, roof and walls.

Thich Nhat Hanh generalizes for the journal Resurgence, "In Indra's net, the one is present in the all, and the all is present in the one." The 1,500-plus-year-old Ajanta cave 16 wall paintings and sculptures in Maharashtra state, India, harbor activist, artistic, educational, environmental, inner, journalistic, organized, supportive, technological peace and vice-versa. A pillared façade, two stone elephants, two windows and three doors introduce the fifth-century, single-story 63.98- by 73.82- by 15.09-foot (19.5- by 22.5- by 4.6-meter) cave.

Buddhist, perhaps Hindu, perhaps Jain artisans journeyed to Ajanta (from Sanskrit अजित, "invincible") between the third and first centuries BCE and the fifth and eighth centuries.

Common-era vihara (from Sanskrit विहार, "walking [hall]") 16 knows first- and second-phase chaitya-like (from Sanskrit चैत्य, "memorial monument") assembly, main, prayer halls with 63.98-foot (19.5-meter) walls.

Ajanta cave 16 lodges chaitya-like pradakshina (from Sanskrit प्रदक्षिण, "to the right turning") aisles and corridors, between pillars and wall paintings and sculptures, to rear-wall shrines. It manifests a chaitya-like, common-era, 1,500-plus-year-old, second-phase, 63.98- by 9.84-foot (19.5- by 3-meter) veranda and chaitya-like, 1,500-plus-year-old, second-phase cave ceiling, pillar and walling paintings and sculptures. It nets painted, sculpted jataka (from Sanskrit जातक, "born under") biographical tales of Siddhartha Gautama (624?-544 BCE?, from Sanskrit सिद्धार्थ, "successful" and गोतम, "brightness dispels] darkness").

Ajanta cave 16 wall paintings and sculptures observe Gautama Buddha's (from Sanskrit बुद्ध, "awakened") 549 bodhisattva (from Sanskrit बोधिसत्त्व, "enlightened existence") reincarnations and 550th as Siddhartha.

Ajanta cave 16 presents the sage Asita predicting newborn Siddhartha's Buddhahood and 35-year-old Siddhartha enlightened after Neranjara River area wealthy landowner's daughter Sujata prepares milk rice.

Siddhartha converting merchants Bhalluka and Tapussu, half-brother Nanda and, with airy, fiery, watery miracles, Sravasti townspeople qualify as quintessential Ajanta cave 16 wall paintings and sculptures. Ajanta cave 16 reveals Gautama Buddha as self-sacrificing elephant Hasti and virtuous Amara's wise husband Mahosadha and as Siddhartha teaching continuous energy flow and sitting meditations. Varahadeva, minister to Satavahana Dynasty Emperor Harishena (died 477?), sponsored Ajanta cave 16 that all "enter that peaceful and noble state free from sorrow and disease."

Indra's net of interactive, interconnected Interbeing ties Outstanding Inner Peace in Ajanta cave 16 to, since 1964, La Boi of founder Thich Nhat Hanh and vice-versa.

Two elephants guard the staired entrance to encyclopedic, one-story vihara (monastery) Ajanta Cave 16; Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra, west-central India; Wikimedia Commons page created Monday, Sep. 5, 2016, by Anupamg via UploadWizard: Anupamg, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

"Ajanta Caves." UNESCO > Culture > World Heritage Centre > The List > World Heritage List.
Available @ http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/242

Anh-Huong, Nguyen; and Thich Nhat Hanh. 2019. Walking Meditation. Boulder CO: Sounds True.

Barrett, Douglas E.; and Basil Gray. 1963. Painting of India. Geneva, Switzerland: Skira, Treasures of Asia. Distributed in the United States by World Publishing Co., Cleveland OH.

Behl, Benoy K. 2005. The Ajanta Caves: Ancient Paintings of Buddhist India. London UK: Thames & Hudson.

Fergusson, James; and James Burgess. 1880. The Cave Temples of India. London, England: W.H. Allen & Co.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cavetemplesofind00ferguoft/

Gupte, R.S.; and B.D. Mahajan. 1962. Ajanta, Ellora and Aurangabad Caves. Bombay, India: D.B. Taraporevala Sons and Co.

Nga, Minh. 23 June 2019. "Mindfulness Master Thich Nhat Hanh Honored with Global Peace Prize." VnExpress > News.
Available @ https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/mindfulness-master-thich-nhat-hanh-honored-with-global-peace-prize-3942144.html

Nhat Hanh, Thich. 2009. The Blooming of a Lotus: Guided Meditation for Achieving the Miracle of Mindfulness. Revised edition. Boston MA: Beacon Press.

Nhat Hanh, Thich. 1999. Đường Xưa Mây Trắng. Third edition. Lá Bối.

Nhat Hanh, Thich. 1994. Sen Búp Từng Cánh Hé. First edition. Lá Bối.

Nhat Hanh, Thich. 1987. Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha. Berkeley CA: Parallax Press.

Nhat Hanh, Thich. September/October 2009. "Indra's Net." Resurgence Issue 256: Exploring Consciousness.
Available @ https://www.resurgence.org/magazine/issue256-exploring-consciousness.html

Pisani, Ludovico. 6 August 2013. "The Ajanta Cave Paintings." The Global Dispatches > Articles and Culture.
Available @ http://www.theglobaldispatches.com/articles/the-ajanta-cave-paintings

Saddhatissa, H. 1976. The Life of Buddha. New York NY: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.

Singh, Rajesh. 2012. An Introduction to the Ajanta Caves: With Examples of Six Caves. Vadodara, India: Hari Sena Press Private Limited.

Spink, Walter M. 2006. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 5: Cave by Cave. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/5. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Thich Nhat Hanh @thichnhathanh. 16 June 2019. "This week, Thay was awarded the World Peace Forum 2019 Luxemburg Peace Prize for Outstanding Inner Peace. Thay's attendant, Brother Phap Huu, represented the community to accept the award on his behalf. Congratulations! www.LuxembourgPeacePrize.org, http://worldpeaceforum.org." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/thichnhathanh/posts/10156615601464635