Thursday, March 1, 2018
Sunday, November 12, 2017
History of meditation
History of meditation
In the west, by 20 BCE Philo of Alexandria had written on some form of "spiritual exercises" involving attention (prosoche) and concentration and by the 3rd century Plotinus had developed meditative techniques.
The Pāli Canon, which dates to 1st century BCE considers Indian Buddhist meditation as a step towards liberation. By the time Buddhism was spreading in China, the Vimalakirti Sutra which dates to 100 CE included a number of passages on meditation, clearly pointing to Zen (known as Chan in China, Thiền in Vietnam, and Seon in Korea). The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism introduced meditation to other Asian countries, and in 653 the first meditation hall was opened in Singapore. Returning from China around 1227, Dōgen wrote the instructions for zazen.
The Islamic practice of Dhikr had involved the repetition of the 99 Names of God since the 8th or 9th century. By the 12th century, the practice of Sufism included specific meditative techniques, and its followers practiced breathing controls and the repetition of holy words. Interactions with Indians, Nepalese or the Sufis may have influenced the Eastern Christian meditation approach to hesychasm, but this can not be proved. Between the 10th and 14th centuries, hesychasm was developed, particularly on Mount Athos in Greece, and involves the repetition of the Jesus prayer.
Western Christian meditation contrasts with most other approaches in that it does not involve the repetition of any phrase or action and requires no specific posture. Western Christian meditation progressed from the 6th century practice of Bible reading among Benedictine monks called Lectio Divina, i.e. divine reading. Its four formal steps as a "ladder" were defined by the monk Guigo II in the 12th century with the Latin terms lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio (i.e. read, ponder, pray, contemplate). Western Christian meditation was further developed by saints such as Ignatius of Loyola and Teresa of Avila in the 16th century.
Secular forms of meditation were introduced in India in the 1950s as a Westernized form of Hindu meditative techniques and arrived in Australia in the late 1950s and, the United States and Europe in the 1960s. Rather than focusing on spiritual growth, secular meditation emphasizes stress reduction, relaxation and self-improvement. Both spiritual and secular forms of meditation have been subjects of scientific analyses. Research on meditation began in 1931, with scientific research increasing dramatically during the 1970s and 1980s. Since the beginning of the '70s more than a thousand studies of meditation in English-language have been reported. However, after 60 years of scientific study, the exact mechanism at work in meditation remains unclear.
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Monday, November 6, 2017
Sunday, November 5, 2017
Mandala gallery
Mandala gallery
Green purple flower mandala
Distemper paints on paper
Blue red flower mandala
Distemper paints on paper
Venus flower mandala
Distemper paints on paper
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Mandala gallery
Mandala gallery
Multicolor mandala
Distemper paints on paper
Lace mandala
Distemper paints on paper
Harmony mandala
Distemper paints on paper
Moon flower mandala
Distemper paints on paper
Red mystery mandala
Distemper paints on paper
Mandala gallery
Mandala gallery
Blue green flower mandala
Distemper paints on paper
Vintage mandala
Distemper paints on paper
Distemper paints on paper
Orange mandala
Distemper paints on paper
Gemstone mandala
Distemper paints on paper
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Monday, April 3, 2017
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Nature mandala
Nature mandala
Distemper paints on paper
MANDALA ON CANVAS
“Knock, And He'll open the door
Vanish, And He'll make you shine like the sun
Fall, And He'll raise you to the heavens
Become nothing, And He'll turn you into everything.”
― Jalaluddin Rumi
“Knock, And He'll open the door
Vanish, And He'll make you shine like the sun
Fall, And He'll raise you to the heavens
Become nothing, And He'll turn you into everything.”
― Jalaluddin Rumi
Sun mandala on canvas
Sun mandala on canvas
MANDALA ON CANVAS
“In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art.”
― Jalaluddin Rumi
“In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art.”
― Jalaluddin Rumi
Sunday, March 5, 2017
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