(By Tsem Rinpoche) As Tibetan Buddhism gains prominence in the world, so too is Tibetan art being appreciated more and more. Today, many sacred Tibetan thangkas can be found in art exhibitions and museums. Just like any Buddha image, deity thangkas are considered to be holy objects and bestow great blessings to their surroundings...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Buddhas, Dharma & Practice | 22 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche) Dear friends around the world, The divine and enlightened beings can manifest in whatever form suits the needs of the people of that time and place in order to help them. They are truly compassionate in that way, and show their immense spiritual ability to be able to do so. The...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Buddhas, Dharma & Practice, Dorje Shugden | 56 Comments »
Tsa tsas are 2D images of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, saints, great masters, yogis, Mahasiddhas and Dharma protectors. The tsa tsas are usually made of a certain type of clay that has been removed of stones and other impurities. Along with the dirt or clay, the person making it would also recite certain mantras and...
Posted in Dorje Shugden, Kechara - 13 Depts | 47 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche and Pastor David) Japan, called Nihon-koku in its native Japanese, literally means the ‘State of Japan’. It is an East Asian island nation in the fringes of the Pacific Ocean, right on the eastern coast of the Asian mainland and the Korean Peninsular. To the north is the Sea of Okhotsk,...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Asia, Travel | 8 Comments »
Peter Szasz was born on the 27th March 1941 in Budapest, Hungary. Unfortunately, he was born into the turmoil of World War II and had to endure tremendous hardship as a young child. When his mother was pregnant with him, everybody felt sorry for the baby who would be born into the war, and...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Inspiration & Worthy Words | 10 Comments »
An Jung Hwan (1978-) is known for his realistic tree paintings on canvas. If you have ever thought of painting tree leaves or branches, his paintings will amaze you! To paint a tree in oil, you need clear understanding about the tree structure and anatomy. You need sharp observation about the different layers, how...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture | 25 Comments »
I have always loved architecture and blog about it whenever I can, especially houses that blend in creatively with nature. People often dream of owning big houses in big cities; who would have thought that a small house in the middle of nowhere would be so appealing? It’s amazing how creativity can turn something...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture | 13 Comments »
When I first shared with Malaysians about container homes and their benefits, most of them looked at me with a little hesitation… however, in the States, people have been using container homes for years! Some because they can’t afford the rising costs in housing property, and some because they’re cost-effective, you can get them...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture | 14 Comments »
This Couple Spent Decades Building Their Own Self-Sustaining Island Talk about extreme green. Artists Wayne Adams and Catherine King spend their days completely immersed in nature – the Canadian couple lives off-the-grid on a floating sustainable island appropriately named Freedom Cove. King and Adams say that the Cove, cast on Cypress Bay in Tofino,...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture | 10 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche) Dear friends around the world, I found this to be interesting. Obviously people have had attachments to the body which causes us to take up actions that bind us for a lifetime pulling us away sometimes from higher spiritual attainments. We think we can do something for a while, but it...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Buddhas, Dharma & Practice | 33 Comments »
Dear friends, When I was much younger, I would visit flea markets with my adult relatives and purchase as many books of all genres as I can with my savings. I would visit many libraries in the area also. I was a voracious reader and love books. I still love books. I recalled purchasing, at...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture | 16 Comments »
I have always had a deep sense of appreciation for beautiful, minimalistic designs and architecture, especially the ones that makes us feel closer to nature.
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture | 19 Comments »
Dear friends, I love this type of setting. I love this type of room, where you are indoors but as if you are living outdoors. I wanted to share this with everyone. Lovely study room. Tsem Rinpoche Scholar’s Library was designed by architect Peter Gluck and is located in the Catskill Mountains, northwest...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture | 68 Comments »
The Kalmyk community recently celebrated 60 years in the United States at a gala dinner event in Atlantic City, hosted by the Kalmyk American Culture and Arts Foundation. More than 250 people attended the colorful event held at the Trump Taj Mahal...
Posted in Students & Friends | 3 Comments »
This evening I received gifts from the staff of Kechara Discovery, Kechara Saraswati Arts & Kechara Blooms. They work under the direction of Liaison Paul Yap, who is one of the pioneers to work full time for Kechara when we first started. The staff worked very hard and recently I gave them some gifts...
Posted in Letters, Cards & Gifts | 8 Comments »
I decided to record what the cards are all about. Easier to talk and share than type… Enjoy my short video clip. Kechara has just produced a 3-part series of greeting cards!!! There are altogether 39 different scenes/cards/photos: 22 cards for the “Cool Kecharian” series 11 cards for the “Kecharian Life” series (comes...
Posted in Kechara - 13 Depts, Kechara Soup Kitchen (KSK) | 41 Comments »
Here are some pictures I found of the different ethnic groups in China, and I thought it would be interesting to share. I love the study of people, their clothes, customs, beliefs, where they come from, why they are the way they are. Fascinating to me…so many beautiful and exotic people in the world. Tsem...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, China, China 中国, Travel | 10 Comments »
(Built 1960) This house is extra-ordinary. It was built on a very steep land that nobody wanted because it would have been very expensive to build on. So a clever guy with a small budget bought it and challenged John Lautner to build a house on it with …a budget. John Lautner recalls that...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture | 8 Comments »
“Widely considered Frank Llyod Wright’s greatest masterpiece, Fallingwater hangs over a waterfall and its cantilevered design echoes its surroundings. The house was built near the community of Ohiopyle for Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. in 1932. It is now open to the public.” -Quote from PENNSYLAVANIA by Whitecap Books Ltd pg 52 This is a...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture | 11 Comments »
While spring cleaning through my personal items, the Ladrang staff and I sorted through several cards (greeting cards, birthday cards etc). One of them had a beautiful photo of Samantabhadra with his white consort that a student of mine gave to me a while ago. The style was very simple and earthy…very very beautiful....
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Kechara - 13 Depts, Vajra Yogini | 15 Comments »