The Buddha in the Artist

Category	#photocircle
Camera	Sony a7 r ii
Lens	Canon FD 50mm f/1.4
Location	Ajanta Caves, Maharastra - India
Photographer	@yangyanje

Waking

An upbringing with strong cultural heritage can have it's virtues in family values, profound wisdom and ancient stories which in some families were passed on through generations. Mostly hidden in metaphorical proverbs and prolific anecdotes of philosophical thought, cultural values can suddenly have their epiphany in reasoning. Like sudden revelations that occur in everyday situations such thoughts can raise the question where it all came from. For some it might have been the feeling of polarisation between western and eastern thought that conveyed the temporary satisfaction of cultural equilibrium? I am sure it's only to find out that there's infinite light around us and so much to learn from so many cultures on our beautiful blue globe. An aunt or an uncle might have once spoken of highly civilised societies in the past, who chose to take responsibility for their physical earthly presence. A civilised society with agriculture, urban infrastructures, surrounded by jungle this spiritually enlightened volk found it needless to harm living beings and the environment.

Sanskrit thought uses words to describe meanings with very holistic, yet specific approaches towards senses and their perceptions and related actions based on ethical intuitionism. "I know that I know nothing", therefore there is no knowledge but 'vidya' which describes education from the word 'vid', which means to reason upon. As we always learn and are on a constant path of attaining knowledge, knowledge is more adaptive and called 'Dhyan'( to pay attention). The humble approach that one never knows, always learns, not is but becomes isn't just modest. It's prudent readiness to abolish all preconceived ideals in assessing and formalism. With the recognition that our species has infinite growth potential and the ability to scale, isn't the only limitation to consciousness becoming exactly that transcendence of the human mind? The ability to question and to attain self knowledge is also described as 'Dhyana'. An epistemic approach when questioning axioms. 'Gyan' is referred to as the knowledge that is merely copied. Such as knowing someones name but not the person or a place but never been there. 'Gunam' 'Guṇa' or plural - 'Gunas' depending on the context can mean - an attribute from a string or strain. It originates somewhere. It could be perceived as a soul, trait, attribute or virtue but is considered to have possibly originated anywhere. In it's entirety, it is a property that one has. Knowledge as bondage is described as 'Gunam Bandhanam'. On a path to enlightenment, understanding 'kevalam' meaning 'alone' is to see it as isolated. When reasoned it is yet a part of the whole 'Chaitanya' and means consciousness.

^{Old Skool Graffiti from the mid to late 90s in Zürich}

Category	#Graffiti
Author	Twincut
Upload Date	11. November 2007
Time Period	1996-1999
Location	Zurich - Switzerland

Enticed by Ingenuity

If empathy is one word that could be used in various contexts, imagine having many words that each describe a specific approach in thinking. Growing up in a society with strict doctrines, questioning the common is often trivial to others. Confronting someone with unjust truth might bring them out of their comfort zones. When we are young and afraid of being judged by others, some might decide to pass undetected by radar. It reminds me of a 'Kunoichi' or a 'Shinobi' .

As a child no one ever forced a religion upon me, but I began to question every doctrine I could. Buddhism appealed to me as in it, everyone is an individual truth seeker. With each on their own path there's no ultimate truth imposed on everyone. Every individual truth makes up the whole path. It is a philosophy and not a religion. In westernised societies, such as the one I grew up in, there is still a strong embedded influence by the 'Prussian education system'. Returning back to Switzerland on several vacations from living in California for a few years, I began to view American consumerism very differently. While being reintroduced to European culture in bits I began to question both societies with strong external views.

During my visits I was always fascinated by graffiti. Colors and art had captivated my attention since I was a boy. Leering out the window for graffiti art while on train rides I immersed myself into a new world. On every summer vacation from LA the mysterious graffiti scene of Zurich would enthral me more. For a Culture with it's birthplace in New York, something quite different was going on in this part of the world. Specially with paint technology. Extremely secretive, some of these vigilantes expressed metaphoric messages with profound meanings. When meeting some of these artists while painting at so called "hall of fames", they would deny their identity and lift their shoulders. While guessing who they were, one noticed that many of them led peculiar lifestyles and often kept to themselves.

One of them specially stood out. He did dangerous climbs on buildings, painted unreachable structures, bypassed and entered buildings complexes with highly trained security guards and even painted police stations with intricate color schemes. With such complexity and so little time, as cops patrol often, one would think he had either mastered the art of invisibility or cloaking or might have had other superpowers. The guy even managed to add characters next to his 4-7 letter name. Rarely good at both, he transcended well beyond the standard. The time needed to complete such paintings led many to believe that they were commissioned. The more I knew about the scene, the more mysterious this person became. Inspired by this person, I would train every day, run parkour, plan escape routes, tactical strategies by illustrating hypothetical scenarios and make sure I don't leave any traces or finger prints, hair or any evidence that would lead any investigation back to me. I even began developing my own techniques to deceive, distract and even had names for them.

So stealthy and incredible was when I first encountered him. He had already disappeared when I looked at his painting. Realising who had just asked me for a bit of my red spray paint, I stood there and it literally felt as if one had just met a legend. It was as if you just met Batman without a mask, but he was much cooler than Bruce Wayne. The scene had many vandals that weren't just in it for adrenalin or fame, but also to destroy property. One of which had no remorse for public and private property. I happened to team up with him at occasions. We usually strongly disagreed on the locus to paint. I preferred abandoned buildings or dull walls along the side of train tracks that fewer people would object to. Mostly what we pay taxes for. He liked highways, house walls and had a compulsion towards the provocative and an aptitude for destruction. We parted ways once I realised that his new street name became a phonetic version of the male genital. Apart from a few excursions, this was always a lone journey to me and something i'd do to challenge myself. Boy, did it feel great when spotting your piece while passing by it on a train. One day I felt a strong sense of purpose that drew me more towards complementing art forms by various means of expressing it. Hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling, sensing, seeing, moving, making sounds, recording, sequencing and writing.

An Idiosyncratic Encounter

In my previous post "Akashic Records" I mentioned an encounter with a radiant being .

Source: 'I asked him to send me a picture'

Photographer	Kevin Mchey
Instagram Link	SOURCE
Location	Unknown

During the Zurich Airport 50 Year Anniversary I got a small job. I heard about a graffiti artist who was painting the whole side of a huge building. I saw a scaffolding elevator and went to see what was happening. I witnessed a big dude painting graffiti with this brisk rhythm. With vivid movements and an energetic vibe of passion for painting, this being resonated with me as a young painter. After I spoke to him, he told me I could have helped him with the fill ins if he knew me earlier. I got a flyer with his contact. His name is Kevin.

I called him and he said: " come over, lets talk. " I decided to go and visit him with the vandal friend. Kevin happened to live in the same town I grew up in. I was surprised to arrive just a few blocks from where I actually lived during the 80s. He even knew my old neighbour peter, who came over to say hello and was surprised to see me there. I had never met anyone with such a strong, charismatic and intense presence. Kevin seemed like a lot to handle for someone ordinary. I could relate to that. Apart from belonging to an elite special forces team in the swiss army, he became something iconic to me. After all I was still very young. He inspired me to do commissioned work. I wrote proposals and got us a wall too. I visited him a few times since then. He spoke so fast, spirited and eccentric but with a humorous twist that conveyed equanimity. I happened to return with two friends from school who were open minded enough to meet such a sagacious person as he was. Every time felt almost like meeting a 'bodhicitta' (an enlightened one). He mentioned faith, destiny, karma and he spoke about various planes of existence, understanding, meditation, breathing, physical extremes, high altitude hypoxia and survival training. It was as if he spoke about one thing and described it with so many different examples. No one in the room seemed to have a clue what he was talking about. At that time none of us had a mobile phone. His kept ringing (this was the 90s). The conversation seemed like a psychological consultation. Clearly with a girl. It sounded as if he was treating a client with emotional problems like a shrink. He told her to let go. He seemed to be really good at that. After the phone call, he asked where he left us off, and continued. He left off at karma and I asked him how he meant karma when he mentioned it. Meanwhile we were passing around his sketchbook, that had some astounding, at times perplexing artwork in it. Knowing an artist might strongly influence your perspective about his or her art. In Kevin's case it seemed to give you short bursts of almost seeing the world through his eyes, which left me astonished. Mostly pencil sketches, some of them I remember were out of this world. I tried finding something on the internet, but over the years his website got taken off. Meanwhile he's a photographer. That person he once was is almost a ghost. What he said about karma seemed to stick with me. Until my next encounter with a bearded man who seemed to know everything about the universe, I didn't seem to truly understand what Kevin meant. Kevin woke me up in a way and prepared me for what was about to come, which I will detail in my next post titled "The Bearded Man".

^{After my journey to India, I painted the above canvases}

Category	@artzone @artturtle
Canvases	Graffiti on Canvases
Tools	Pencils for Sketching and Spray paint
Time Period	2012-2014
Location	Zurich - Switzerland
Artist	@yangyanje

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