5. Bodhisattva (again)

The inimitable Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, aka Steely Dan performing during the Steelyard "Sugartooth" McDan Tour of 2006.

Bodhisattva
Would you  take me by the hand
Bodhisattva
Would you take me by the hand
Can you show me
The shine of your Japan
The sparkle of your China
Can you show me
Bodhisattva
Bodhisattva

Enjoy the weekend. 

[NOTE: Those who are visiting Bodhisattva Week for the first time can find some context here; FYI, that's Jon Herrington on guitar].

4. Bodhisattva (again)

I wouldn't have known without the label. This beautifully rendered sandstone statue from late 7th century Cambodia (Khmer Empire, pre-Angkor Period), sans multiple arms, layers of necklaces, flowing white robes, vase of pure water, wish-granting jewel, or willow branch, and of ambivalent sexuality - is Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion (see Quan Ăm, Om Mani Padme Hum) and one of the most widely revered archetypes in Mahayana Buddhism.

"Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva doing deep Prajna Paramita
perceived the emptiness of all five conditions,
and was freed of pain..."

-The Heart of the Perfection of Great Wisdom Sutra 

[NOTE: Those who are visiting Bodhisattva Week for the first time can find some context here].

3. Bodhisattva (again)

This one is a bit different. Unidentified bodhisattva from the early Tang Dynasty (618-907); gilded bronze with traces of paint decoration.

'What we are doing in taking the bodhisattva vow is magnificent and glorious. We no longer are intent on creating comfort for ourselves; we work with others. This implies working with our other as well as the other other. Our other is our projections and our sense of privacy and longing to make things comfortable for ourselves. The other other is the phenomenal world outside, which is filled with screaming kids, dirty dishes, confused spiritual practitioners, and assorted sentient beings".

The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa, Volume Three.

[NOTE: Those who are visiting Bodhisattva Week for the first time can find some context here].

2. Bodhisattva (again)

Another unidentified bodhisattva. From the Song Dynasty (960-1279); wood with traces of paint and gilt decoration. 

"Bodhisattvas are beings who are dedicated to the universal awakening, or enlightenment, of everyone. They exist as guides and providers of succor to suffering beings, and offer everyone an approach to meaningful life. A bodhisattva, carrying out the work of buddhas, vows not to personally settle into the salvation of final buddhahood until he or she can assist all beings throughout the vast reaches of time and space to fully realize this liberated experience."

-Taigen Dan Leighton
Faces of Compassion: Classic Bodhisattva Archetypes and Their Modern Expression

[NOTE: Those who are visiting Bodhisattva Week for the first time can find some context here].

1. Bodhisattva (again)

[NOTE: To free up some time to work on my book (see Lower Mekong Market Chain), I have decided to offer another week of bodhisattvas. You can always use a few more of these].

The Asian wing at the Philadelphia Museum of Art contains numerous stunning examples of Buddhist iconography. I took a lot of pictures of bodhisattvas when I was there (see Bodhisattvas) - couldn't help myself. As a way of sharing some of these images, I have decided to make this Bodhisattva Week. The unidentified bodhisattva shown above is from Tang Dynasty (618-907) China; wood with traces of paint.

Everyday, the Four Bodhisattva Vows are chanted in Buddhist temples around the world:

Beings are numberless, I vow to free them.

Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them.

Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them.

The awakened way is unsurpassable, I vow to embody it. 

These vows are a tall order. Good thing there are so many bodhisattva guides out there to help us actualize them. 

First Rains

After the first rains, the dry forests in Guerrero look a bit like something that was created by Claude Monet. So many different shades of green. 

Measuring Maguey

This is what you need to inventory Agave cupreata in the dry forests of Guerrero, Mexico. A handy GPS/walkie-talkie (see GPS+Two-Way Radio), a transect rope with knots tied at measured intervals to correct for slope, a Silva Ranger compass with clinometer, a little bit of flagging, and a tally sheet for recording the data (see Field Equipment). [NOTE: The five crews can do a 10% inventory of the entire mescal production area in one day. Used to take them a week. These guys are good].  

Lower Mekong Market Chain

I am currently working on a book with Andrew Henderson (see A Palm, Two Botanists With Cameras) entitled "Systematics, Ecology, and Management of Rattans in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam: The Biological Bases of Sustainability". It's going pretty well, thanks for asking. As part of the section that I am writing now on the rattan trade, I put together a histogram that shows the value of the rattan trade in each of the three countries, how much of this actually goes to Vietnam where it is exported, and the combined production from all three countries relative to Indonesia which is the largest producer of rattan in the world.  

Couple of things to note.  A considerable proportion of the rattan produced in Laos and Cambodia goes to Vietnam. The whole region is indeed one market chain for rattan. Also, in the early 2000's, the production of rattan by Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam was a strong competitor for Indonesia. Production has notably decreased in recent years, and there is clearly a great need to manage wild stocks of rattan.

[NOTE: There are a number of caveats that apply to the data presented. Volume of rattan, rather than value, would be a more useful parameter to graph, but Laos does not report any trade data, and Vietnam records only import value. Indonesia's own data on rattan exports is significantly less than those reported by the countries that import the rattan. Grain of salt, please].      

Other Side of the Camera

Here I am talking to the mescal group in Acateyahualco, Guerrero (see Mescal Re-Visited and Meeting in Acateyahualco) about the inventory data that they have been collecting over the past five years. I know it's really important to document these interactions, and that video can be more engaging than still photos in some cases - but I really hate to be on the other side of the camera. Especially with my crummy Spanish. 

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

Paid a visit to the Sleepy Hollow cemetery outside of Tarrytown, NY this weekend. Several notable people are buried here including Andrew Carnegie, William Rockefeller, Harry and Leona Helmsley, and Samuel Gompers. I think I was most excited to find the grave of Washington Irving, commemorated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1876 poem "The Churchyard at Tarrytown:

How sweet a life was his; how sweet a death!
Living, to wing with mirth the weary hours,
Or with romantic tales the heart to cheer;
Dying, to leave a memory like the breath
Of summers full of sunshine and of showers,
A grief and gladness in the atmosphere.

Truly an idyllic spot. Gorgeous old trees, grassy knolls, and the Pocantico River winds through the whole place.