No Me, No Mind Photo

Photographer’s Note

"No Me, No Mind." That's what the head abbot at one monastary kept repeating when giving sermon's.

The achievement of Nibbana (often mispronounced "nirvana") is the realization that there is no "I." In our lives most of us live under a great illusion: the illusion of self, the illusion that there exists something that is a stable and unchanging, to use a more familiar term, that there exists a "soul."

This is the great teaching of the Buddha. I spent some time in monastaries in SEAsia and let me tell you his teachings are not easy to follow.

Now is this how Buddhism is practiced? Well... No. The original teachings of the Buddha have been interpreted and reinterpreted by leaders and monks over the past 2500 years and today most (both proclaimed Buddhists and non-Buddhists) believe that reincarnation and earthly karma (do good and good things happen to you) are central tenets.

But hey, that's just the way of all the great teachings. What would JC say of modern day Catholocism?

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Post-pro: I cleaned up some noise with the blur tool, and increased saturation.

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Critiques | Translate

joseelias (367) 2003-12-06 14:47

This is a daring composition, with the contrast of the silhouette against the vivid colors, and very fine details against the plane color areas.

I believe this creates a certain unbalance wich keeps me looking at this photo and I like it.

SavioCastro (601) 2003-12-06 22:13

O vermelho, o dourado e o azul são muito bem vindos nesta composição. a silhueta da estátua nos frisa o sentimento de paz que a foto nos passa. Parabéns.

rjamin (1169) 2003-12-08 6:55

Great sillhouete of the Buddha statue and the stupa. I'm not sure if I like the inclusion of the roof in the frame. Also I would focus on the stupa and make it sharp. The sillhoutte can be slightly out of focus.

I dont quite follow your notes about Buddhism. But The Buddha teaching is pretty much consistent for the last 2500 years. The core of Buddha teaching is the Four Noble truths. Quickly they are: existence of suffering, cause of suffering, end of suffering and the path to enlightenment.
However Buddhism is very flexible and adapting "religion". It doesn't force you to worship any Deities, it doesnt force you to do any rituals. When Buddhism is accepted to a culture usually it blends with the native culture. For example the Chinese Buddhist still worship Chinese Deities, which is different than he Tibetans worship. It doesnt really matter as long as you accept the Four Noble truths.