David Victor Petersen's Blog, page 8

What is a Mandala?

The word mandala is often translated simply as “circle”, but it actually derives from a combination of the Sanskrit manda or “essence” and la or “container”. A form of sacred geometry, such designs have long been used as a representation of the cosmos. Mandalas are also associated with recurring themes such as our spiritual journey, the cycle of birth and death, and the interconnectedness of all things. Image of Intangibility: A Synergy of Lao Tsu's Tao Te Ching and 108 Mandalas

Who is Behind "The Eye's Mind: A Stroll Through the Davmandy Collection"?

About the Authors

The Davmandy Collection is the outcome of an extended collaboration between Dr. David Petersen and Mandy Conti. As photographers, they have travelled the globe together for more than 20 years, compiling an extensive portfolio in the process. These images then become the canvas for adventures in painstaking and elaborate digital manipulation, using a range of sophisticated software. The results are sometimes striking, sometimes whimsical, never boring. Their artwork has been viewed more than one million times online through the lang-arts.com website and various other social media channels.

Prayers in Stone: Nagasaki's A-Bomb Heritage Sites

My latest book, "Prayers in Stone: Nagasaki's A-Bomb Heritage Sites" is now available in ebook format.

Richly illustrated and with a wealth of materials never before available in English, Prayers in Stone provides an overview of more than 200 of Nagasaki's A-bomb heritage sites, including: bells; bridges; cemeteries; churches; fountains; memorials; museums; parks; schools; shrines; statues; temples; trees; and tunnels.
The entries are organized into a series of tours for the convenience of tourists actually visiting the city, and to give the general reader a sense of the layout and the proximity to the hypocenter. In addition to a forward, introduction, postscript, and reference section, the book also includes all-new translations of A-bomb literature by several atomic survivors.
Journey to Nagasaki, and discover the lessons the city has to offer.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/david-peters...

Print version coming soon!

Tao Te Ching / Daodejing: A Fresh Look at the Way and Its Virtues

Hi all,

Here are this week's picks for Taoist/Buddhist links from across the web. Enjoy!

Walk away - and clear your mind
http://wokensoul.blogspot.com/2012/02...

Re-visioning : the music of the dark
http://taoism.about.com/b/2012/02/24/...

Daily Tao: yield and flex
http://ramblingtaoist.blogspot.com/20...

Introduction to mindfulness meditation
http://zencast.org/zencast-350-introd...

An examination of pantheism
http://www.budapesttimes.hu/2012/02/2...

Excerpt from "Tao Te Ching / Daodejing: A Fresh Look at the Way and its Virtues

Tao 3
Do not praise talent
And the people will not quarrel
Do not esteem goods that are hard to obtain
And the people will not steal
Do not showcase your desires
And the people will not be disturbed
Sages govern by emptying the heart
And filling the belly
Weakening ambition
And strengthening physique
Keeping the people uninformed and free of desires
So that even the clever think twice before acting
Act to economize action
And there will be no lack of leadership

Excerpt from the introduction to "Tao Te Ching /Daodejing: A Fresh Look at the Way and its Virtues"

Suffice it to say that both Taoism and Confucianism arose as very different responses to the same sociopolitical challenges. When tensions run high, there is a very natural (we might say left-hemisphere) inclination to rush in and impose order on chaos; against this, the Tao counsels the (right-hemisphere) wisdom of harmonization, grounded on holistic appraisal of the overall situation.
The incredible endurance of Taoist and Confucian principles in China is testament to how accurately they reflect the two sides of human nature. Also telling is that fact that the singular pursuit of power that has marked so much of western culture over the last few centuries is now in the process of being tempered by a commensurate interest in Taoism and other esoteric teachings. In all things, including spirituality, nature abhors a vacuum. Or as the Tao Te Ching teaches, “heaviness is the root of lightness.”

August 9th

On this, the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, I invite you to reflect on the meaning of this event in the context of Fukushima.

The Green Legacy Hiroshima

The Green Legacy
I am proud to announce that "Survivors: The A-bombed Trees of Hiroshima" is now featured on the web page of Green Legacy Hiroshima, an initiative of The United Nation's Institute for Training and Research:

http://www.unitar.org/hiroshima/ja/no...

Excerpt from "Tao Te Ching / Daodejing : A Fresh Look at the Way and its Virtues"

Hello again everyone! I hope you enjoy the following excerpt from the introduction to my new book, Tao Te Ching / Daodejing: A Fresh Look at the Way and its Virtues.

The Tao Te Ching is a unique and enduring aspect of world culture. Translated almost as frequently as the Bible, the terse poetry of Lao Tsu’s classic has proven to be a literary, philosophical, and religious touchstone for generation after generation. The intensity of the writing is heightened by its brevity (just over 5,000 characters), and its sketchy, provisional tone, which can seem at odds with the complexities of the truths being addressed. In reality however, the resulting ambiguity masterfully disarms our defenses, freeing the content to work its magic on the periphery of the language mind, much like an incantation or a barely remembered dream. Like all good poetry, the Tao is not so much a finished product as an opportunity for encounter. In effect, we bring our existential concerns to the table, and the book reflects them back to us through the prism of universal experience.

This is not the place for a comprehensive overview of the themes in this terse yet remarkably rich book – a quick trip to the library will uncover an extensive literature of commentary stretching back literally thousands of years. Suffice it to say that both Taoism and Confucianism arose as very different responses to the same sociopolitical challenges. When tensions run high, there is a very natural (we might say left-hemisphere) inclination to rush in and impose order on chaos; against this, the Tao counsels the (right-hemisphere) wisdom of harmonization, grounded on holistic appraisal of the overall situation. The incredible endurance of Taoist and Confucian principles in China is testament to how accurately they reflect the two sides of human nature. Also telling is that fact that the singular pursuit of power that has marked so much of western culture over the last few centuries is now in the process of being tempered by a commensurate interest in Taoism and other esoteric teachings. In all things, including spirituality, nature abhors a vacuum. Or as the Tao Te Ching teaches, “heaviness is the root of lightness.”

65th Annual Memorial for the Victims of the Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki

Hello everyone

I'm blogging from Japan right now, where I was privileged to attend the a-bomb memorial ceremonies in Nagasaki on August 9th. As in Hiroshima, I have encountered no recriminations here, no bitterness - only a commitment to peace and a future unclouded by war and the threat of nuclear annihilation.












Check out Survivors: The A-bombed Trees of Hiroshima