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Preparing paints in the traditional way

For many years I’ve been wanting to learn more about the traditional preparation of paints, and this month I was finally able to do so and take some time off.

De Kat in Zaandam
The best place to learn how to prepare paints is at the old and wonderful windmill called ‘The Cat’ in Zaandam.
It’s the only place left in The Netherlands that still produces pigments in the traditional way, by grinding minerals and rocks into the finest pigment powders. Next, these pigments are used to make different paints, such as the paints that are traditionally used in thangkas.
The courses were given by Pieter Keune, renowned master in the technical aspect of art materials.

If you want to learn how to work with the traditional thangka painting techniques, the best is to come to a week-long or longer thangka retreat, where there’s enough time to explain and explore.

> Check out the schedule for upcoming thangka painting retreats

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Thargey-La, the thangka painter of my lineage has passed away

On Jan. 26, 2014 I received the sad news through my teacher Andy Weber that his tibetan thangka teacher, the Master Thangka Painter Thargey-la, has passed away… He must have reached the age of about 85.
Fortunately his passing was very smooth and peaceful (as he was during his life).

Thangka lineage
Without Thargey and his lineage -he was the seventh in his family generation of thangka painters- we would not
have been in touch with this beautiful tradition and I would not have been able to pass it on. So my thangka lineage is hundreds of years old.

The picture on the left (taken by photographer Maciej Wojtkowiak in 2001) shows Thargey-la with a gorgeous and large thangka of Padmasambhava (Tibetan: Guru Rinpoche), together with his 2 consorts Mandarava and Yeshe Tsogyal.

Meeting in 2006 in Boudhanath
The pictures on the right show Thargey-la (together with me), and were taken when I visited him in his house in Boudhanath, Nepal, in 2006. I wanted to see where may lineage came from.
Thargey was a very humble man, and I was so happy to meet him and be able to pay my respect. At the time I met him, unfortunately he couldn’t paint anymore, as he ‘suffered from old age’ as the term in the Buddhist philosophy is called.

Gratitude
In gratitude I think of him and the enormous amount of beautiful mural paintings and thangkas and that he has left and can be viewed in the many monasteries in and around Boudhanath.
The Buddhas from his hand have already inspired many people and I’m sure will continue to inspire many beings on their own spiritual path.
I feel honoured to be part of this thangka lineage and with my art and courses I hope to serve as an inspiration to others, just like him.

Carmen

More pictures of Thargey-la I will put in the newsletter that I’ll send out to my students around the world about his death.

> Read more about my lineage of thangka painters

> If you want to learn more about thangka drawing and painting, check out the upcoming schedule

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NEW! Tibetan Buddhist Art Calendar

This fall the Tibetan Buddhist Art calendar 2016 was published.
A wonderful present for the Holidays!

Size: A4 (21.0 x 29.7cm / 8.27 x 11.69 inches)
Pages: 14 pages of high quality color print with a cardboard back and black spiral on the top
Subjects: each month shows a different thangka with a Buddha, Bodhisattva, Mandala, or other Tibetan Buddhist art forms, such as statue painting, including explanation and mantras.

Price includes shipping cost:
– Within The Netherlands € SOLD OUT
– All other countries € SOLD OUT or $ SOLD OUT

To order send an email with your address and the amount of calendars you would like to purchase.
After confirmation, payment can be done through Paypal or bank account and the calendar(s) will be shipped a.s.a.p.

For more Tibetan Art presents, go to the Thangka Gift Shop.

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Designing Dharma Logos

This month I designed a logo for Tara Communicatie, a communication company from The Netherlands. 

It depicts a precious jewel on a lotus. Jewels are typical tibetan buddhist symbols that are painted on thangkas and other items, such as cabinets, mani-wheels and rugs. They can be depicted with or without flames. In general, a jewel is seen as something very precious and therefore perceived as an offering. The flames surrounding it symbolize the burning away /purifying delusions and ignorance.

Visit the Dharma Designs & Logos section to see more logos that I’ve designed.

Carmen

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The Art of Venice

Creating Buddhas in the most beautiful City of Art – such a great combination!

Venetian Palazzos
Each fall in Oct. or Nov. art lovers from different countries come together in a gorgeous Venezian ‘Palazzo’ to draw Buddhas and enjoy the meditations, lectures and wonderful Italian food, made freshly every lunch by our hosts Gabriella & Enrico.

Pizza, Pasta, Spritz & Prosecco
The evenings (after your pizza or pasta) are great to wander through the streets, alleys and squares of this amazing city, and have a spritz or prosecco – as the Venetians do.

Wisdom & Art
This year the subject was Prajnaparamita, the female Buddha of Wisdom with 4 arms.

Prajnaparamita – the female Buddha of Wisdom

Beautiful Prajnaparamita has a glowing, youthful face and golden body.
She has 4 arms, 2 of which hold a Vajra and the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, and the other 2 hands rest in her lap in meditation posture. She is adorned with a crown, bracelets, necklaces and silken scarves that float in the wind.

Heart Sutra
Prajnaparamita is the embodiment of the Heart Sutra, one of the most well-known texts in the Buddhist philosophy that contains the essence of the Buddha’s teachings.

Mantra
The mantra connected to the Heart Sutra and thus to Prajna Paramita is:

Tha Ya Tha Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha

The picture above shows the drawing of Prajna-Paramita that I made, as well as a sketch of the same Buddha by one of my students, by using the traditional grid measurements that are a big help to create such a Buddha.

See the pictures!
To see pictures of this course and the artwork that the students created go to the Venice Thangka Course 2015 album on my Thangka Painting Facebook page.

Join us next time
If you are interested in joining next year’s Tibetan Art Course in Venice, you can sign up for the newsletter to receive all information on upcoming Buddhist Art Classes.

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Painting a large mandala together!

This month I was once more invited at the Happinez festival, the biggest spiritual festival in The Netherlands.
I organized and prepared for a large project where hundreds of visitors of the festival helped creating a 4×4 meter (13.2 feet) painting of a lotus flower with 8 lotus petals. And in each leaf a tibetan symbol was painted, together forming the Eight Auspicious Symbols.

The making of
This painting was started at the previous Happinez Festival in 2013.  At the 2015 festival it was accomplished, with hundreds of people.

Here you can see the making of of the artwork the at the Happinez Festival

Symbols for the Dalai Lama
These are the same special symbols that Carmen painted to welcome the Dalai Lama in the Netherlands,
both in 2009 as in 2014.
The size of the painting at the Happinez Festival is 4×4 meter (13.2 feet) and consists of a lotus flower
with 8 lotus petals with one symbol in each leaf.

Festival
This festival, organized by the Happinez Magazine, has of an inspiring program with lectures by famous speakers from all over the world, workshops, yoga, music and delicious food. The festival is held on the beautiful fort island named Fort Voordorp near Utrecht.

See more pictures
To see more pictures and the growth of this painting go to the album ‘Happinez festival 2015‘ on the Thangka Painting Facebook page.

Exhibiting the artwork in 2017
As hundreds of people of all ages have worked on this large and beautiful painting, their energies can be seen and felt in this special work!
It will be exhibited during the next Happinez Festival in 2017.

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Learn how to create a Tibetan Mask!

Did you know that I am also asked to offer classes on Tibetan Art forms other than Thangka Painting? I’m talking about workshops in related art forms such making a traditional Tibetan Amulet, where I teach you how to create a traditional Buddhist paper amulet. This year the Rubin Museum of Art in New York has asked me to offer a course  on making masks.

Becoming Another: The Power of Masks
The signature exhibition this year at the Rubin Museum of Art in NYC is called ‘Becoming Another: The Power of Masks’ (from March 13, 2015 to February 8, 2016).
This exhibit illuminates both the common threads as the differences in the many mask traditions from Northern India, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia, Siberia, Japan, and the tribes of the North-West Coast of America. Transforming ones identity speaks to the human impulse.
In addition to this beautiful exhibition I was asked to develop a workshop on Tibetan Masks.

Tibetan Masks
I started this special workshop with my talk and slideshow on Tibetan Masks that are used in a lively costumed and masked dance called ‘Cham’ dance, that is associated with the Buddhist festivals in Tibetan Buddhism. It is traditionally performed by monks and accompanied by music from the traditional Tibetan instruments.

Sketching in the galleries
After that I led the participants around the exhibition and asked them to made sketches in the galleries
of the masks that were appealing to them. These sketches formed the basis to create 2- and 3-dimensional masks, by using all different kinds of materials. At the end of the workshop everyone went home with their own beautiful mask they created.

Would you like to learn how to create a 2 or 3 dimensional Tibetan Buddhist Mask yourself?
Check out the Buddhist Art Classes page or subscribe to the newsletter to stay posted.

Related to this subject:

Tibetan Cham Dance

Click here if you want to read more about the traditional costumed Buddhist dances

Wrathful deities & Masks

To learn more about Wrathful Deities in general click here and for a Wrathful Mask click here

Skull Masks

Click here if you want to know more about the Skull Masks used in Cham Dance

Deer Masks

Click here if you want to know more about Deer Masks and the meaning of deer that are used inTibetan Buddhist Art

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Make your own paints at paint mill The Cat

I’m very happy to announce a special collaboration with windmill The Cat (The Kat in Dutch) on a unique part of Holland called ‘the Zaanse Schans!’

Traditional pigment making
The Cat is the only remaining windmill in the world that produces pigments in the traditional way: by grinding rocks and minerals into the finest powder pigments, paints can be made.

Highlights of Holland
Close to Amsterdam, the Zaanse Schans is one of the highlights in the Netherlands with its vibrant and beautiful living and working community. Dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, it is packed with traditional houses and wooden windmills, and built in the typically Dutch wooden architectural style.

Workshops paint making
In the beautiful old mill The Cat new day workshops will be taken place:

• Pieter Keune -renowned master in the technical aspect of paints and art materials- will explain about the paints and pigments that were used in Asian and especially Tibetan art. After that you will learn how to traditionally prepare these paints.
• After that I will teach you how to create Tibetan symbols and decorations by using the set of paints that you have made earlier. We will paint on traditionally handmade paper, coming from a nearby windmill.
• At the end of the workshop we will have a toast with miller Piet Kempenaar, who is happy to share his stories from the many decades that he’s been running this wonderful place.

After that there’s time to explore the Zaanse Schans in peace and take great photographs, as most tourists are goneby the end of the day.

Want to join?
Check out if there are any Paint preparation & Buddhist art workshops at the Zaanse Schans coming up

Home  >  Blogs  > 2015  > July
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Lama Zopa Rinpoche visits Holland

We are delighted to welcome Lama Zopa Rinpoche back to The Netherlands!

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist scholar who is the spiritual director of the FPMT. The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition is an extensive worldwide network of Buddhist centers, projects and services, which he founded with the late Lama Yeshe in 1975.

Welcomed by The 8 Auspicious Buddhist Symbols
As a high buddhist master, Lama Zopa Rinpoche was traditionally greeted by a painting of the 8 Auspicious Symbols. This artwork was made by Carmen Mensink in 2014 on the occasion of the visit of H.H. Dalai Lama in The Netherlands in 2014.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is welcomed by a delegation of FPMT The Netherlands and a painting of the Eight Auspicious Symbols

Teachings during his visit
During this visit, Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche gave many teachings at the Buddhist Centers Maitreya Institute in Loenen (a retreat center) and Maitreya Institute Amsterdam (the city center).
He offered a weekend course on the Essence of Kadam where he explained how to practice the Dharma (teachings of the Buddha) the way the Kadampa geshes did. In Tibet, these were extraordinary lamas and commendable practitioners of Buddhism.
A week long he also offered teachings and an initiation in Great Heruka Five Deity practice. This practice of the Buddha Heruka (skt: Chakrasamvara) is in the Gelug tradition one of the three main Buddhist tantric practices. ‘Heruka’ can be translated to Wheel of Supreme Bliss; referring to it being a powerful method that leads the tantric practitioner to the supreme realization of bliss and emptiness. It is said to be especially beneficial in degenerating times.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche concluded his visit in The Netherlands by offering a the Lama Chöpa Long Life Puja.

Besides the dharma teachings that he offers all around the world, Lama Zopa Rinpoche is very committed to helping and liberating animals. He also paints statues and Tibetan buddhist deities.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche holding the hand of Geshe Sonam Ngodrup in front of the Buddhist center Maitreya Institute in Loenen (The Netherlands). Behind them Paula de Wijs (director of Maitreya Institute Amsterdam) next to Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen, and on the far right Maarten de Vries (director of Maitreya Institute Loenen)

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Flying Goddesses, Yogis, Monks & Mahasiddhas

Ever since I’ve heard many years ago of the existence of flying Yogis, Yoginis & Mahasiddhas, I’ve been very intrigued by it.

Siddhis
Flying Yogis and monks are part of the special world of Mahasiddhas and other beings with extraordinary powers (called siddhis in Sanskrit), which were regularly painted as part of old thangkas (Tibetan-Buddhist scroll paintings) and on the walls of temples.

All Buddhist schools recognize the existence of siddhis, or magical powers. When your meditation practice deepens and your concentration improves, you will most likely develop extraordinary gifts such as clairvoyance, telepathy, levitation and the memory of past lives.

But in the Buddhist world they won’t show it off. It is seen more as a by-product of the mind when reaching higher states of consciousness, where eventually mind becomes stronger than matter.

And all these powers are seen as mundane, and nothing compared to the ultimate siddhi, which is the full state of Enlightenment.

Flying yogis, fast running Mahasiddhas and levitating Monks
These are individuals who, through the extensive practice of the tantras -the Buddhist scriptures in Vajrayana Buddhism for the advanced practitioner- not only develop a spiritual and psychic discipline or realization, but as a by-product they develop psychic and spiritual powers as well.

“King Indrabhuti, who ruled over the Indian country of Uddiyana (in present day Pakistan) was one day sitting on the veranda of his palace looking out over the fields. In the far distance, he noticed what appeared to be a flock of red colored birds flying across the sky.
When he asked his servants what these were, they replied: “Oh, that is Buddha Shakyamuni, together with his 500 Arhats.”

The Buddha and his disciples appeared in the distance as reddish birds because of the saffron colored robes that they wore.

Radio Interview
In June 2013 The Buddhist Broadcasting Station in The Netherlands interviewed me about this subject of Flying Monks (radio program in Dutch) and in 2015 I offered the first thangka course on this subject.

Drawings
The picture above shows two drawings that I made: the first one -a graceful apsara (a celestial nymph) was based on one of the stone reliefs of the Borobudur on Java, that I recently visited and inspired me a lot. Below that I drew of a Mahasiddha monk, who is using his outer robe as a parachute to fly.

Related to this subject:

• Flying Apsara / Dakini
• Mahasiddha
• Yogi flying through the air
• Flying monk
• Flying Dakini
• Offering Goddess of Music
• Radio Documentary (Dutch)
• Flying gods in Thailand
• Offering Goddesses in Malaysia
• Flying Goddesses in Singapore

Home  >  Blogs  > 2015  > June 1
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Drawing Buddha class at a high school in Holland

This month, a high school in The Netherlands (Twents Carmel College De Thij in Oldenzaal) asked me to give a Tibetan Art class as part of their Asia project.
Around 35 children in the ages of 12-14 learned how to draw the face of the Buddha according to the Tibetan tradition, after which I showed some of her original thangkas and explained more about Asian art.

At the end of the school year they presented their artwork to the rest of the school in a beautiful exhibition.

To see more Teen Thangka Classes and teen’s artwork click here

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Sad news on April 25th:
Massive earthquake strikes Nepal

A most horrifying earthquake hit Nepal on April 25th, killing more than 7500 people…

Not only Nepal was affected but also the adjoining areas of India, Tibet and Bangladesh. Hundreds of thousands of people are instantly made homeless and across the country entire villages are destructed.
Aftershocks occurred and continued throughout Nepal within 15-20 minute intervals. Complete families are currently sleeping outside in the parks and streets as their homes were gone. And should there anything be left of their homes, they are way too afraid to sleep inside because of all the afterschocks.
This is the most powerful disaster to strike Nepal since the 1934 earthquake of Nepal-Bihar. 

Heritage sites
At several UNESCO World Heritage site in the Kathmandu Valley, many centuries-old buildings were destroyed, including Buddhist and Hindu temples and stupas, such as the world famous Swayambhu Stupa and Boudhanath Stupa.

Thargey-La
Fortunately the family of Thargey-La in Boudhanath, my thangka teacher’s teacher who passed away in 2014, are reported as safe, as well as other people I know in Kathmandu.

To see what Nepal looked like before the earthquake, view the pictures of Nepal that I made during my trip in 2007, and where I also visited Thargey-La, as I wanted to see where my own thangka painting lineage was coming from.

Please donate
As it will take many many years for the people of Nepal to get over this tragedy and to build up their homes again, all the help is needed. So please consider donating to one or more of the wonderful organizations working in Nepal.
A good list of reliable Nepal Earthquake Relief Funds can be found here.

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Robina Courtin visiting The Netherlands

Venerable Robina Courtin finally came to The Netherlands to teach!

I’ve been a big fan of this inspiring Australian nun and her work for many years and during the weekend course she gave at Maitreya Institute (Loenen, The Netherlands), I was asked to be the course coordinator and Ven. Robina’s personal assistant. I was also asked to lead the meditations in the morning by the special instructions of Robina.

Robina Courtin brings the Buddhist Dharma (teachings of the Buddha) refreshingly straight-forward – don’t be afraid to get shocked!- but she always brings it with a lot of humor.  She is the founder of the Liberation Prison Project and worked there until 2009. In this project, inmates who are interested in Buddhism are guided on their spiritual path, both in and after prison, with wonderful results.

Besides the teachings she offered this month at the Maitreya Institute, Robina gave lectures to students at the VU University in Amsterdam, who want to become spiritual counselor in prisons. She also spent a day visiting the penitentiary in Zutphen to talk to the prisoners.

If you would like to listen to Ven. Robina’s teachings you can look her up on Youtube. She will probably be back in The Netherlands in 2017, but as she travels the world you can check out the teaching schedule on her website (see below).

Robina Courtin

Ven. Robina was ordained in the late 1970s, and since then has worked full time since then for the FPMT, founded by Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. She has served over the years as editorial director of Wisdom Publications, editor of Mandala Magazine, executive director of Liberation Prison Project, and currently as a touring teacher of Buddhism. Her life and work with prisoners have been documented in the films Chasing Buddha and Key to Freedom. To read more go to robinacourtin.com

The FPMT

The FPMT is an organization devoted to preserving and spreading Mahayana Buddhism worldwide by creating opportunities to listen, reflect, meditate, practice and actualize the unmistaken teachings of the Buddha and based on that experience spreading the Dharma to sentient beings.

They provide integrated education through which people’s hearts and minds can be transformed into their highest potential for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of universal responsibility and service. They are committed to creating harmonious environments and helping all beings develop their full potential of infinite compassion and wisdom.

The organization is based on the Buddhist tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet as taught by the founder, the late Lama Thubten Yeshe and the current spiritual director, Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche.

To read more go to fpmt.org

Lama Thubten Yeshe

Lama Thubten Yeshe was born in Tibet in 1935 an at the age of six, he entered Sera Monastic University in Tibet where he studied until 1959, when as Lama Yeshe himself has said, “In that year the Chinese kindly told us that it was time to leave Tibet and meet the outside world.”

Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche -teacher and disciple since their exile in India- met their first Western students in 1965. Six years later they settled at Kopan, a small hamlet near Kathmandu in Nepal. In 1974, the Lamas were invited to start teaching in the West, which would eventually result in The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition. Lama Yeshe died in 1984.

To read more go to lamayeshe.com

Wisdom Publications

Wisdom Publications is a leading publisher of classic and contemporary and Buddhist books as well as practical works on mindfulness. Over 30 years, Wisdom has developed a list of over 300 beautifully produced and finely edited titles that are distributed worldwide and have been translated into more than 30 languages.

To read more go to wisdompubs.org

Liberation Prison Project

Liberation Prison Project offers spiritual advice and teachings to people in prison interested in exploring, studying and practicing Buddhism. They also provide them with books and materials. The organization and social services project is affiliated with the FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition), and since its foundation in 1996 the Liberation Prison Project has supported the Buddhist practice of over 20,000 prisoners. They are mainly active in the U.S. and Australia, but also have branches in Mexico, New Zealand, Mongolia, Spain and Italy.

To read more go to liberationprisonproject.org

Home  >  Blogs  > 2015  > March
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Geisha Exhibition & Buddha Flag painting project at the Museum of Ethnology

This month I visited the wonderful exhibition about the Geishas from Kyoto, Japan, a place that’s very high on my wish list to travel to.

A long training
The exhibit shows the whole procedure the geisha’s have to undergo and their training in all different kind of arts, such as dancing and playing and musical instruments, as well as the many traditional customs and rituals that a geisha should know.

Beautiful kimonos
At the exhibit it’s also very interesting to learn more about kimonos and how they are worn. A true geisha has many different kimonos that she wears in the different seasons, and more specifically there are also different kimonos to express the different months. The geisha exhibition is on display till April 6, 2015.

Buddhism Weekend

One was also able to visit the Geisha exhibit during the Buddhism Weekend at the same Museum of Ethnology (in Dutch: Museum Volkenkunde), in Leiden, the Netherlands on March 7 & 8.

Buddha flag painting project
At this Buddhist festival I gave lectures on the 5 Buddha Families and guided tours on Amitabha Buddha.
This was all connected to the large painting project of 5 different and colored flags (each over 4 meters long)

here you could have joined Carmen in painting the first large flag of the series, the red flag of the red Buddha Amitabha. The museum also exhibited the artwork I created for the Dalai Lama‘s visit in 2014.

The next Buddhism Weekend -where you can join Carmen in painting the blue flag of Akshobhya Buddha- will be on March 19 & 20, 2016.