Macaque

This rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) monkey was kept as a pet at the military post up the hill from Mile 7 camp (see Myanmar 2005) on the Ledo Road in Kachin, Myanmar. He was, apparently, always ready to eat, and I never saw him without the spoon. 

One-Stop Shopping

You can buy almost anything you need on the streets of Hanoi.  Close-ups of two street vendor stalls are shown above.  Need chopsticks? Or a gaiwan? Or work gloves, sandpaper, or wooden sandals?  How about some pink glue?

Words

A lovely film by Will Hoffman and Daniel Mercadante (aka Everynone) for WNYC's Radiolab program. Music is by Keith Kenniff. Words are context sensitive, they have multiple interpretations, and they produce distinct consequences. No wonder right speech is the first ethical principle of The Noble Eightfold Path. [NOTE: The seed words shift seamlessly in this beautiful video. Look closely].

Yangon Taxi

Theravadan still life shot from the back seat of a Yangon taxi. One of the numerous local pagodas is shown in the background; the foreground is dominated by the rear view mirror with its garland of Plumeria flowers, mala, and strip of saffron cloth. About 90% of the population of Myanmar is Buddhist.

Comics Manifesto

Spent several hours last week at the wonderful Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. The main exhibit, NeoIntegrity, included original work from over 200 cartoonists, illustrators, and animators. Robert Crumb, Jules Feiffer, Charles M. Schulz, Theodor Giesel (Dr. Seuss), Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, Jack Kirby, Maurice Sendak - everyone was represented. One output of the exhibit was a "Comics Manifesto" (shown above).  As outlined in Point 4: Comics are about ideas, the progression of ideas, the agency of the cartoonist to have ideas, the communication of the cartoonist to the world of their ideas because agency and ideas are important and what comics are. This little museum was rich in ideas.

Folk Art

Had a lovely visit to the American Folk Art Museum yesterday. The four floors of gallery space contain a wealth of beautiful art, but I, perhaps, was most drawn to the metal sculptures by "Artist Unknown".  Two examples are shown below:

Thus Have I Seen

Bamboo Grove at Venuvana Monastery near Rajgir, India

From the Suta Sutta in the Anguttara Nikaya (AN 4.183): 

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Rajagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels’ Sanctuary. Then Vassakara the brahman, the minister to the king of Magadha, approached the Blessed One and, on arrival, exchanged courteous greetings with him. After an exchange of friendly greetings & courtesies, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One: “I am of the view, of the opinion, that when anyone speaks of what he has seen, [saying,] ‘Thus have I seen’ (see Thus I Have Seen), there is no fault in that...

[The Blessed One responded:]

“When, for one who speaks of what has been seen, unskillful mental qualities increase and skillful mental qualities decrease, then that sort of thing should not be spoken about. But when, for one who speaks of what has been seen, unskillful mental qualities decrease and skillful mental qualities increase, then that sort of thing should be spoken about..."

I'll try to keep these words in mind when posting.  [NOTE: The complete Suta Sutta, as translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, can be found here]. 

Evening at Shwedagon

The sun starts to go down in Yangon, and the temperature drops, and the lights come on - and everything takes on a whole new aura. The monk seated in the corner continues to chant and count his mala (see Sunday at Shwedagon).

Clearwater

Walked across the Hudson River last weekend on the Walkway over the Hudson at Poughkeepsie, NY. The walkway is 1.28 miles long and 212 feet above the river; the afternoon sun was blazing.  About halfway across, the Clearwater Sloop glided into view. Didn't see Pete Seeger, but he was definitely there in spirit. What a wonderful way to teach environmental science. What a beautiful river.

Cicadas

These guys are all over the trees in my backyard. After living underground for most of their lives, the final nymphal stage of the cicada emerges from the soil, climbs a nearby tree, sheds its skin, and becomes an adult. The synchronous buzzing of these insects is one of the characteristic sounds of summer.

A cicada shell;
it sang itself
utterly away.

-Matsuo Bashō