Lotus
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.
The photo-heavy trend at TOA continues!
Last Sunday afternoon Morgan and I were walking around the southern end of Newtown, where it borders on St Peters. This lotus is a companion piece to the Eyes Of Ganesha (below). It's not from the same image, but its on the same stretch of wall alongside. Morgan took this image of another lotus on the same wall, which I also love. The colours and the quality of the line work in these images really lifts them above standard graffiti in my opinion. Stunning.
7 comments:
I imagine you both getting around the locale like two tourists - really cute. Have a simply serene evening...
ie. as tourists regarding the camera's i mean but also as if experiencing everything afresh.
Yeah, it's lovely to have someone to show things to, or as in this case to discover together. The fact that we both like photography also means that we have a common interest and can point things out to each other. It's fun.
I heart the lotus, both in its beauty as a flower but also because of its important symbolism in Buddhism. Growing from the mud up toward the light, it's a symbol of purity, and transformation. The weekly meditation group that I ran for two and half years was called the Lotus Group. And I also have a large lotus tattoo on my leg. Love the pic, TOA.
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The lotus (Sanskrit padma; Tibetan pad ma) does not grow in Tibet and so Tibetan art has only stylized versions of it. Nevertheless, it is one of Buddhism's best recognized motifs since every important deity is associated in some manner with the lotus, either being seated upon it or holding one in their hands.
The roots of a lotus are in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the heavily scented flower lies above the water, basking in the sunlight. This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment. Though there are other water plants that bloom above the water, it is only the lotus which, owing to the strength of its stem, regularly rises eight to twelve inches above the surface.
Thus says the Lalitavistara, "the spirit of the best of men is spotless, like the lotus in the muddy water which does not adhere to it." According to another scholar, "in esoteric Buddhism, the heart of the beings is like an unopened lotus: when the virtues of the Buddha develop therein, the lotus blossoms; that is why the Buddha sits on a lotus bloom."
Significantly, the color of the lotus too has an important bearing on the symbology associated with it:
White Lotus (Skt. pundarika; Tib. pad ma dkar po): This represents the state of spiritual perfection and total mental purity (bodhi). It is associated with the White Tara and proclaims her perfect nature, a quality which is reinforced by the color of her body.
Red Lotus (Skt. kamala; Tib: pad ma chu skyes): This signifies the original nature and purity of the heart (hrdya). It is the lotus of love, compassion, passion and all other qualities of the heart. It is the flower of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.
Blue Lotus (Skt. utpala; Tib. ut pa la): This is a symbol of the victory of the spirit over the senses, and signifies the wisdom of knowledge. Not surprisingly, it is the preferred flower of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom.
Pink Lotus (Skt. padma; Tib. pad ma dmar po): This the supreme lotus, generally reserved for the highest deity. Thus naturally it is associated with the Great Buddha himself.
Courtesy of www.religionfacts.com
Nice one Bodhi - your prints have white, pink and in the backgrounds blue :)
I can't top bodhi for analysis, but I reckon it's a supercool flower. I've seen a lot of impressive graffiti over east, unlike WA where it's just felt marker tags all over everything.
I really like this kind of mural work, and some of the better stencils, but tagging just drives me nuts. It's like dogs pissing on their territory. No creativity. The taggers are often very disrespectful of where and what they tag too. There is a lovely sculpture in Newtown that I have seen tagged, it gets cleaned and then tagged again. Very annoying.
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