This year’s subject in Singapore -that I taught at the Buddhist Library- was drawing and painting the Mandala of the 5 Elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. It was a course over 2 weekends this time where the students to draw the mandala in the first weekend (and got to know all about the meaning and background of this mandala), and started to paint it according to tradition in the subsequent weekend.
In the evening I offered drawing classes at the Asian Spiritual Classics, where a big group of people learned how to draw and color (with colored pencils) Buddha’s Face. We were again working with the right proportions of the deity and the tradition, clearly explained and guided by me.
Both experienced and unexperienced drawers learned more about Tibetan Buddhist Art and its symbolism, that they applied with a lot of enthusiasm and joy. I regularly offer Mandala drawing and painting classes. To check if there’s one coming up you can go to the Upcoming Classes & Workshops section.
After my annual classes in Singapore this year I decided to visit Bali (a place I’ve been wanting to visit for a long time) and Java (to visit the Borobudur):
Bali
As it was my first time here, and I was warned by friends who had been visiting many times over many years ad I did not expect the culture to be still so strongly present. In fact, I was blown away by the sweet people I met, the beauty, art, culture and mysticism that is still there. I think the pictures I took speak for themselves.
Our first stop was Ubud where we drenched ourselves in the Balinese art and temples.
Death procession and cremation ceremony In Ubud we witnessed a Balinese death procession and cremation ceremony of a priest, where the body is placed within a ‘bull’ made out of wood, iron and fabric, together with a lot of offerings and all that the person needs in the hereafter. After that the whole thing is set on fire…. it’s such an intriguing culture.
Special ceremony in the village temple Upon hearing our interest in the Balinese culture, Buddhism and Hinduism, our driver who lives in a nearby village, invited us to a special ceremony that’s only held every 5yrs. It was in his village temple, would take place the next day and would last for 5hrs. The long procession of the villagers to the temple, the many offerings of flowers and fruits, carried in bamboo baskets by the women on top of their heads (and of course we brought a basket of offerings too), the beautiful traditional clothes (that we wore too of course), all the incense burning, the long and mystic rituals by the priest, all people sharing food and eating together, the wayang puppet play (performed by our driver, who appeared to be one of the main people of the temple)… we felt so welcome and fortunate to be invited to join as the only westerners there. It was simply unforgettable.
When we traveled further to the far east of the island (it’s much bigger than I expected) we again were so fortunate to be invited, this time to a traditional Balinese wedding.
On the picture above the wedding priest performs his rituals for the marriage, accompanied by the gamelan orchestra that plays beautiful music.
Our visit to Bali was in one word magical!
…So the deception couldn’t be bigger when we flew to Java.
It’s like the atmosphere and the people changed 180 degrees. The first few days in Yogyakarta we regretted we hadn’t stayed on Bali instead. But our main goal was to visit one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world, the Borobudur on Java, Indonesia:
The Borobudur
This ancient temple complex and Buddhist kingdom was constructed between 760 and 830 CE. In 1991 it was recognized as a World Heritage site by UNESCO.
Building Style The building style of the Borobudur was influenced by the Gupta art from India (I painted a thangka of one of the 21 Taras in Gupta style). Borobudur’s main stupa is located on the top platform, right in the center. It is surrounded by 72 smaller bell-shaped stupas that are divided on three terrace levels. Each stupa bell used to have a seated Buddha statue inside, that is partly visible through the perforated stonework. Unfortunately most of the Buddhas have their heads cut off.
How to enter Traditionally visitors follow ‘pradaksina’, meaning they enter through the eastern gate starting at the lowest level and walk clockwise around the temple, upto all following levels until the highest level -that of the nirwana- is reached. On the way one enjoys the life stories of the Buddha that are told on the beautiful reliefs.
Reliefs A total of 2,672 bas-relief panels are carved into the stone walls, creating together a length of more than 6 kilometres. It is valued as the most complete and largest ensemble of Buddha reliefs in the world and it shows incredible artistry. The hills and mountains that surround the Borobudur serve as temple guards of the temple.
Neighbouring villages The nature of the area is full of palm trees and bright green rice fields, it’s breathtaking. So the best way to visit the Borobudur is not on a day trip from Jogyakarta but to also visit the beautiful villages that surround the Borobudur and to stay there for a few nights (best in Manohara Hotel, that’s the only hotel on the temple grounds). This way you can also support and visit the people in the neighboring villages, who are are specialized in pottery and stone carving as well as tofu and tempeh making.
Guide Atik If you want to visit the Borobudur I suggest you to contact and hire Atik, a strong and independent woman (which unfortunately is very difficult to find nowadays in orthodox muslim dominated Indonesia). She was born next to the Borobudur, writes books and has her own little company called kaleidoscopeofjavatour.com. All the money she earns goes to her project in helping and educating young people from these neighboring villages, so they can get a proper job instead of begging the tourists to buy the few Borobudur souvenirs they hold in their hands (which is what most of the villagers end up doing). This way they can also support their family and send their children to school.
Sunrise The most special way to visit the Borobudur is during sunrise. The daily sunrise tour starts at 4.30am from Manohara hotel, while the usual opening hours of the temple start at 6am. We wanted to climb up the temple and meditate while the sun rises. Unfortunately it’s not possible at all to enjoy the silence on the Borobudur this early in the morning as everywhere on Java big loudspeakers are blasting the muslim call to prayer, starting in the middle of the night at 4am, forcing everybody to wake up – even at this sacred Buddhist place.
Destruction of Javanese Hindu-Buddhist art When on Java -and especially coming from Bali- it’s sad to see that there’s hardly anything left of the authentic Javanese Hindu-Buddhist culture and art, as most is destroyed or suppressed by the fundamentalist islam in Indonesia. If you want to experience (part of the) real Javanese culture that’s still in practice it’s best to go to Bali, where many of the Javanese people fled to the past centuries, because of the islamic suppression.
Inspiration from the ancient stone reliefs
The Borobudur reliefs inspired me to make detailed drawings of them:
Stone relief of a flying Goddess
One of the gorgeous reliefs of the Borobudur.
It has a lot of detail -which is very hard to accomplish in the hard stones, and with the materials they had in the 8th Century. It shows a lot of delicacy, dedication and love for the subject, a goddess flying and dancing in the air.
Carmen’s drawing of it
Because I fell in love with these ancient stone reliefs, I started drawing some of them in detail, and gave a weekend course on drawing Flying Mystics in May 2015 in the Netherlands.
The end of the year was also the ending of the very first Thangka Painting Year Training, that I organized for a small group of more advanced thangka students, in my studio in Amsterdam.
In a series of 3 long weekends (three full days) Isa (who was painting Buddha Shakyamuni), Janneke (who was painting White Tara), Margot (who was painting the Medicine Buddha) and Sylvie (who was painting the mandala of the Eight Auspicious Symbols) learned all the aspects of making a traditional tibetan thangka.
In between the weekends they would get homework and work on it at home (if they had time), stay in touch with each other and could contact me if they needed help with their artwork.
Here’s a picture overview of the Thangka Painting Year training. If you want to see more pics, please click on the image:
1st weekend:
Creating a traditional thangka frame and canvas
The first long weekend was focused on general knowledge of Tibetan Thangka painting through lectures on the landscape and offerings, creating a reusable thangka frame and canvas, and transferring the drawing (that the students had made in a previous thangka course) onto the canvas.
2nd weekend:
Thangka Painting Techniques
In the second long weekend the thangka students learned all about pigments & paint, how to mix paints, applying the base layers, and learned the different thangka painting techniques and how to work with them. They also learned basic knowledge of different styles in Tibetan thangka painting.
3rd weekend:
Gold, Eye Opening Ceremony & Mantras
The third weekend of 3 full days was focused on the magical power of the Buddhas, preparing real gold for the thangka, applying decorations, the eye opening ceremony, and mantras and blessings on the thangka.
It was a wonderful group of people, and new friendships have been made.
Come back day: Finish the artworks
The students will work further at home and can contact me in between if they need help with their thangka.
In Spring 2018 we will come back together to check out all the (probably finished) artworks.
Thangka Year Training 2018
New dates for the Thangka Year Training will probably be starting from the second half of 2018. You can keep an eye on our Upcoming Thangka Classes page, or you can sign up for the Thangka Newsletter, so you will automatically stay informed on future thangka painting courses.
This month I chose for a very special subject for the 4 day thangka drawing retreat in Holland, that is held twice a year: not only Green Tara, but also the 21 Taras that surround her (and of course the 21 Tara subject was only done by a few of my very advanced thangka students). There were also a few new students, some of whom had never drawn before, and who started with Buddha Face before they moved on to the most famous female Buddha, Green Tara.
To see all the pictures, click on the image below, or the link below that:
Green Tara & the 21 Taras will be the subject of the annual thangka painting retreat in Italy in 2018!
So if you want to join, please sign up quickly to be sure of your space.
You can also check out our Upcoming Thangka Classes page or sign up for the Thangka Newsletter, so you will automatically stay informed on future thangka courses and subjects.
Autumn is one of the most beautiful seasons to visit Italy.
This October I offered 2 different courses in 2 beautiful cities: Venice and Bologna (the city where I first started teaching in Italy in 2008).
Padmasambhava thangka courses in Venice
Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche in Tibetan) is one of my favorite deities in the Tibetan Buddhist Pantheon.
Here you see a young me painting a Padmasambhava thangka in the year 2000. Check here how this Padmasambhava thangka has turned out!
This is the view of the annual thangka course in Venice – which cannot be beaten!
The thangka course always starts with a lecture on Padmasambhava and drinks and food afterwards, to get to know each other (but it seems a bit like a reunion as lots of people have met before or join this course each year):
Students learn how to draw Guru Rinpoche according to the Tibetan thangka tradition, and also learn his symbolism, and work with the Padmasambhava mantra and Guru Rinpoche meditations.
Situated in Italy, the thangka course is never only about art, but also about amazing food!
And on the last evening we always have a party to celebrate the arts, our friendship and the amazing Padmasambhava artwork that was created.
Venice Art Bienanale
After the course I spent some time at the biannual Venice Biennale of Art.
The best artwork in Venice!
Better than the Biennale I thought was this artwork:
Buddha Shakyamuni and the Torana of the 6 Perfections thangka course in Bologna
The weekend after Venice I was invited in Bologna -not very touristy and well worth a visit!- where I gave a thangka course on drawing The Buddha and -for the advanced students- Buddha Shakyamuni and the Aura of the Six Perfections. And of course people learnes all the meanings and symbolism of The Buddha and his mantra.
Private thangka teachings
This month I also had the pleasure to welcome the Yuliya from Kiev, Ukrain, into my studio in Amsterdam for private thangka classes. She chose to work on the Medicine Buddha:
The large 4x4m painting of the 8 Auspicious Symbols, that was created during the previous Happinez Festivals, was ready to be exhibited during the 2017 festival, this time standing up instead of laying down.
It was a lot of work to prepare the huge 5x4m frame, which took several days, as well as setting it all up.
The festival itself was great and inspiring as ever, and many of the people who participated in creating this large art piece, came to visit our stand with information on thangka painting, thangkas, and Buddhist jewelry.
Check out the pictures on my Facebook and Instagram pages below:
After a super busy first half of the year, I finally had some free time in August, that I spent on my favorite festivals in Amsterdam, and in one of my favorite European cities, Paris.
One of my favorite museums for Asian art in Europe is the Guimet Museum in Paris, where I can easily spend a full day.
This August they had a great exhibition on display about Japanese Art, the traditional Japanese woodblock prints (made world famous by the artists Hokusai and Hiroshige).
My favorite Amsterdam Festivals
August is also festival time, and as I’ve been a make-up artist as well for many years -you can visit my portfolio here– lots of make-up and festival outfits are involved!
For the DragQueen Olympics I am one of the make-up artists each year, painting the faces of many drag-queens and drag-kings:
One of the festivals I always visit myself is Ruigoord Landjuweel, a hippie kind of festival, set in the little artist village of Ruigoord, just outside of Amsterdam. Four days of joy, fun, friends, music, performances, theatre & make-up (and of course I’m doing my own!)
The Sand Mandala in progress: from the first grains of sand to the dismantling ceremony
In the following pictures I show you the progress of the making of a the Sand Mandala of the Medicine Buddha, that was created by 4 Tibetan monks from Sera Jey Monastery in our Buddhist Center Maitreya Institute in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (where I teach thangka drawing and painting), in May 2017.
The buddhist monks are currently on a 3 month-tour in Europe for the creation of the tibetan sand mandalas in different buddhist centers and to perform the ancient rituals that are involved in it, as well as selling beautiful Tibetan handicrafts, all to collect donations for their monastery.
Sera Jey Monastery
The Sera Jey Monastery is one of the 3 main monastic institutes of the Gelug tradition, founded by Lama Tsong Khapa in Tibet, in the early 15th century.
After this buddhist university was totally destroyed and monks were persecuted by communist China when they invaded Tibet in the 1950’s, the Sera Jey Monastery was reestablished in Bylakuppe, South India in 1970.
Presently, Sera Jey is recognized as one of the largest monastic institutes & learning centers of traditional Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism.
The steps of creating a sand mandala
In a number of days -also by means of prayers, mantra recitation etc.- the healing energy of the Medicine Buddha is collected in this mandala.
After many days of long and hard work -almost all these monks suffer from back, shoulder and neck pains due to their many hours of sitting in this difficult position- the sand mandala is finally completely finished.
Ultimate sign of detachment
Then, at the end, the final ceremony -again with all kinds of prayers, mantras and bells etc.- takes place, after which the main lama mixes up the sand in a specific way, first in all 4 wind directions, later in 8 directions (so creating a Dharma Wheel with 8 spokes), and after that all the sand is mixed together, where all the bright colors are mixed together, becoming grey.
It’s the ultimate sign of detachment.
Energy and Blessings offered to the earth
Part of the sand -with its energy and blessings in it- is divided over small bags, and everyone who is present receives one package. Yo can put it on your altar and /or sprinkle it on the crown (chakra) on the head of a person or animal who is dying (see also the Buddhist animal care page).
Lastly, the rest of the mandala sand is offered to running water -in this case the Amsterdam Amstel River!- so that it can spread its powerful healing and blessing energies throughout the waters on the Earth.
This month we launched a new video, commissioned by Happinez Magazine, as it was shot during a day workshop on learning how to draw the Face of the Buddha according to the old Tibetan Tradition, that was won by 4 people on the occasion of the 100th Magazine Anniversary of in Happinez Magazine.
It was filmed and directed by Jacky Elbers and edited by us both.
Thangka Painting Retreat in Italy
Each year around June / July a special thangka painting retreat is held in northern Italy, at Centro Tibetano Kushi Ling.
If you want you can join me on my travels to get there:
The course starts with a great Italian (and organic) meal, and getting to know each other.
During the free hours, we can visit the pittoresque nearby village of Arco, for a well-deserved Italian gelato:
In a 10-day course there is enough time to explain and explore the special thangka painting techniques:
In the middle of the thangka painting retreat there’s more time to see the surroundings, visit the Garda Lake, or hike in the mountains:
Every year, we end this special, long thangka course with a camp fire:
We had such a great group, with people from all over the world, here we gather for a group picture at the end of the course, in front of the beautiful Stupa.
The most wonderful Thangka Painting Course in Europe
Italy & Art – such a great combination! June is one of the loveliest periods of the year to go to Italy. It offers generally good weather, warm but not so hot as in July and August.
That’s why I offer my annual thangka painting retreat every year in this period, in Northern Italy, above the Garda Lake, at the Buddhist Center of Kushi Ling, near the village of Arco.
This year the participants came from many different countries again, such as Sweden, The Netherlands, Switzerland, France, and of course Italy. Such great mix of people all together!
The Medicine Buddha & Healing Plants
The subject this year was Medicine Buddha & Healing Plants in Tibetan Medicine, a very interesting subject which is all about healing and your body and mind becoming one. Students learned all about the ‘Master of Healing Buddha’ and the most used plants and minerals that are used in Tibetan Medicine (that derives from the Indian Ayurvedic Medicine), and the illnesses that they can cure.
Art, Meditation & Mantra
Also starting with the Medicine Buddha meditations in the morning and working with the Medicine Buddha mantra during the week leaves great imprints in your mind. A wonderful week to recharge your batteries, reflect on your life and to work on a unity of mind & body. And of course meeting new friends!
How to get to the Thangka Painting Retreat? There are many ways to travel to Kushi Ling, which is close to the top of Garda Lake.
People from France and Switzerland usually take the car or train, others usually fly to Verona or Milan and travel from there by train and bus.
One of my favorite ways of getting there is flying to Verona, and then taking a short train, bus or taxi ride to Peschiera (del Garda), at the bottom of the Garda Lake. From there you can take a slow or a fast boat (both run a few times a day) all the way to Riva del Garda at the top of the lake.
I prefer the slow boat, which takes approx. 4 hours and immediately brings you in vacation mood, but expecially ‘slow down’ mood and ‘zen’ mood. The boat trip (which only cost about €15,50!) offers great views over the lake, and short stops at pittoresque and colorful villages. The boat trip is a vacation in itself.
You are welcome to join me next time: When we arrive in Riva del Garda, usually around 1pm, I know this lovely restaurant where we have a great lunch with pizza or pasta, before we share a taxi (20min. drive, taxi price is only €25 divided by the amount of people joining) for the last part of our trip, arriving at our beautiful destination Kushi Ling, in the mountains and in between the olive trees.
When all the other students have arrived, we all get to know each other during a great Italian meal in the evening, followed by a wonderful 10 days of art, Buddhism, meditation, hikes through the olive fields, visits to the nearby village or the old castle, more amazing Italian food and especially lots of JOY!
I often get the question of what I love to do when I’m not busy with Tibetan and Buddhist art.
This month I had some time for these other passions:
MakeUp for theatre & photography
Ever since I was quite young I’ve been painting faces besides canvasses; for theatre and photo shoots (magazines and advertising).
These days I don’t have a lot of time to do this anymore, but this month I had, when theatre group Stenen Hoofd asked me to do their make-up on the evenings that they performed in the Polanen theatre, here in Amsterdam.
On the right you see one of the examples of make up transformation that I created: Judith, a beautiful woman was transformed in this ugly man, who played the main character in The Miser, by Moliere.
Acting / Theatre Playing
For many years working as an actress in theatre pieces made a substantial part of my income, which I did besides my freelance work as a graphic designer (of which I graduated in Art School), all in Amsterdam where I’m based.
These days I just play theatre for fun. Every year I travel to France or Berlin with a theatre group called Tokodrama.
We don’t perform there on stage for an audience, but it’s a theatre training just for ourselves, to improve our acting skills on different levels and especially have lots of fun!
This april our group went to Berlin again and the director Bart van Heel had exercises and different theatre styles – a lot of improvisation, but also performances on music, but we also got a juggling class after which we combined this with a theatre piece.
Visiting Antique and Flea Markets As my parents are antique dealers I grew up visiting flea and antique markets and developed an eye for beautiful things. I remember buying my first Buddha statue on a flea market in Brussels when I was around 11 years old. I had no clue what a Buddha really stood for but I remember being very much attracted to it and felt a connection with this image. Up until today it’s my main Buddha statue on my altar at home.
On this trip to Berlin I also visited a few flea and antique markets -in between the theatre lessons!- and bought a few lovely items: 2 older, very small (10cm high) Asian vases that are beautifully crafted, and a large bronze Buddha hand to hang on the wall, that makes the mudra of pressing the thumb and pointing finger together, the Gyana Mudra ( Mudra of Knowledge), one of the most mudras in yoga and meditation. As my house is quite full with items already it will be a challenge to find a good place for it!
Visiting Museums
During my stay in Berlin I also visited several museums, another thing that I love to do in my spare time.
I had a great time at the the Bröhan Museum (museum for Jugendstil, Art Nouveau and Art Déco), and during the extra day that I stayed in Berlin I paid a visit to the Berlinische Galerie (Modern Art – a bit too modern for me!) and the Käthe Kollwitz Museum (famous female artist from Berlin).
A few days after I got home I traveled again to Germany, this time a bit closer to the Dutch border, to Düsseldorf. There I was invited to a big party of one of my German students and her husband, Isa and Peter Hesse. My assistant and partner Roméo joined me and we stayed the weekend to visit the 2 main museums there; K20 and K21, which are connected to each other.
The first museum (K20) featured a wonderful exhibition of Otto Dix, a famous German painter who was born in 1891.
With a lot of joy and gratitude I look back at an amazing time that I’ve spent with my thangka students on the island of Sri Lanka.
This art retreat was fully booked, with students that came flying in from all over the world: The Netherlands, Singapore, United States, Belgium and England. Some of them combined this trip with a vacation in Sri Lanka or elsewhere in Asia.
The retreat was organized together with The Buddhist Library in Singapore. The spiritual director of this Buddhist center is Ven. Banthe Dhammaratana, who you see on this picture standing in between all the thangka students. Ven. Banthe is Sri Lankan and also has a big temple, the Bellanwila temple near the capital Colombo, and the Paramita Buddhist Centre, near Kandy, Sri Lanka. The latter is a retreat center, beautifully situated on a rock in the jungle, where our course was held, with subject ‘Guan Yin, the female Bodhisattva of Great Compassion’.
Sightseeing tour to Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa & Dambulla
After Buddhism started in India, Sri Lanka was the very first country where Buddhism spread, in the 3rd century BCE, way before Buddhism traveled to the rest of Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, Birma, Thailand, Mongolia, Bhutan, etc.)
After the drawing and painting week our group, together with Ven. Banthe, traveled to the most famous Buddhist Sites in Sri Lanka, including Dambulla, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa. It was a wonderful 4 day vacation all the students, who had become friends in the meantime.
NOTE:
We are aiming to organize this special art retreat every three years.
If you want to stay informed please subscribe to the Newsletter
A short blog this time, as I’m super busy preparing for the Buddhist Art course that I will offer in Sri Lanka from Feb 23 to March 5, which is organized together with The Buddhist Library in Singapore.
The course is fully booked, with students flying in from all over the world: Singapore, The Netherlands, USA, Belgium, Austria and the UK.
Sightseeing tour
Sri Lanka was the first country where Buddhism spread, already in the 3rd century BCE, way before Buddhism came to the rest of Asia (China, Tibet, Japan, Korea, Birma, Thailand, Bhutan, Mongolia etc.)
Very special about this course is that it includes a 4 day sightseeing tour to all the famous Buddhist Sites in Sri Lanka, such as Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Dambulla.
Will this course be held next year?
We don’t know if this course will be organized more often, but if so we will inform you via the Upcoming Buddhist Art Courses page or via the Newsletter.
‘Gravure’ of Green Tara
In February I also made a gravure of Green Tara, after one of my drawings of her.
I engraved her face in a metal plate, which is very hard to do, and made a couple prints by using an etching press:
Creating a large Tibetan Mandala
with Carmen Mensink
[su_photo_panel color=”#970f00″ shadow=”0px 1px 2px #eeeeee” photo=”https://www.tibetan-buddhist-art.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Museumnacht-Nieuwe-Kerk-Tibetaanse-Mandala-Carmen-Mensink-1-1.jpg”]More than 100 Visitors joined in painting this mandala during Museum Night![/su_photo_panel]
Some years ago, Carmen painted the specialMandala of the 5 Elements, a mandala that consists of the elements of Earth – Water – Fire – Air – Space, that you see below.
Tibetan Mandala of the Five Elements, painted by Carmen Mensink
The Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) on Dam Square in Amsterdam (in the heart of the historical city centre) asked Carmen Mensink to create an event for Museum Night, and she thought that it would be great to create a large (2x2m) version of this special mandala, with the visitors that walked in during Museum Night.
After a lot of preparation in the weeks before the event, Carmen and her assistant Roméo set everything up in the choir of the church in the day time.
The mandala was set up in between the two wishing trees by Yoko Ono, where people could write a wish on a small piece of paper and hang it in one of the trees.
When the doors of the New Church opened at 7pm for the start of Museum Night, the first visitors that stood in line were very happy to make a start with the mandala, and started to paint from the center, going outwards.
More and more people joined. Some joined us and painted for 5 minutes, others stayed for hours.
[su_photo_panel color=”#970f00″ shadow=”0px 1px 2px #eeeeee” photo=”https://www.tibetan-buddhist-art.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/museumnacht-nieuwe-kerk-tibetaanse-mandala-carmen-mensink-foto-Roel-Determeijer-5.jpg”]Photo by Roel Determeijer[/su_photo_panel]
During the hours of Museum Night, besides guiding the painters, Carmen explained all the backgrounds and meanings of this particular mandala.
The basis of the old Indian Ayurvedic Medicine was formed by these 5 elements of fire, earth, air, water and space. Later on, this system was incorporated in Tibetan Medicine.
These five elements and their energies also live within ourselves.
They are connected to our chakras and also correlated to emotions, body types, illnesses, thinking styles, and character for example.
Furthermore, the colors that are used in this mandala are the colors of the 5 Buddha Families. and each color has deep symbolism.
[su_photo_panel color=”#970f00″ shadow=”0px 1px 2px #eeeeee” photo=”https://www.tibetan-buddhist-art.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/museumnacht-nieuwe-kerk-tibetaanse-mandala-carmen-mensink-foto-Roel-Determeijer-7.jpg”]Photo by Roel Determeijer[/su_photo_panel]
And as the evening slowly grew into the night, and more and more visitors put in their joy and effort, the mandala came more and more into existence.
Through Carmen’s information and the lovely vibe, visitors started to have lively conversations together, while working on the mandala.
[su_photo_panel color=”#970f00″ shadow=”0px 1px 2px #eeeeee” photo=”https://www.tibetan-buddhist-art.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/museumnacht-nieuwe-kerk-tibetaanse-mandala-carmen-mensink-foto-Roel-Determeijer-4.jpg”]Photo by Roel Determeijer[/su_photo_panel]
She furthermore explained that this particular mandala was used centuries ago by Nepalese and Tibetan doctors (a doctor practicing Tibetan Medicine is called amchi) to explain the relationship between the diseases and their treatments.
This thangka -if you compare it to other Tibetan mandalas- is a very simple one. It’s a copy of Carmen’s teacher Andy Weber’s Five Elements thangka, which is in turn a copy of a Nepalese mandala from the 16th Century.
When it got closer to the end of the evening (2am) the final touches were painted, such as some shading effects (see left and right picture above). The Amsterdam Museum Night 2018 was an incredible night, where people met each other over art, meditation and wonderful conversation.
The Mandala is still on view!
This large Mandala of the 5 Elements, that carries the joyful energies of over 100 people, is still on view at the exhibition ‘The Life of Buddha, Path to the Present’, in De Nieuwe Kerk on Dam Square (right in in Amsterdam’s city centre), until Feb 3, 2019.
In this exhibition, more than sixty works of art, both old and new, have come together spectacularly in De Nieuwe Kerk. You can admire a wealth of millennia-old objects and modern artworks by, among others, Ai Weiwei and Yoko Ono. The oldest object dates from the third century, the youngest from 2018; and a few works of art have been made especially for this exhibition.
When you visit the exhibition, Carmen Mensink’s Tibetan Mandala artwork can be found in the choir of the church, in between the wishing trees of Yoko Ono.
The Exhibition was opened by the Dalai Lama
On Saturday September 15, 2018, His Holiness the Dalai Lama opened the exhibition ‘The Life of Buddha, Path to the Present’ in De Nieuwe Kerk (the New Church on Dam Square in Amsterdam).
The exhibition tells the life story of the Buddha. Born in the fifth century BC. as a wealthy prince named Siddharta, he opted radically for another life at the age of 29. His life phases symbolize Buddhism and form the story of the exhibition: birth, transition, enlightenment, first teachings and death. Read more about the exhibition The Life of Buddha – Path to Present
The Dalai Lama looking at his personal thangka of Buddha Shakyamuni surrounded by scenes of his life, that he loaned to this exhibition. Photo: Jeppe Schilder
The red carpet painting with Eight Auspicious Symbols welcomed the Dalai Lama, created by Carmen For the previous visits of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to The Netherlands in 2009 and 2014, according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, thangka painter Carmen Mensink was asked to create large paintings of the 8 Auspicious Symbols to welcome this special master in her country. For his visit to Amsterdam and Rotterdam in 2018 she was asked for this again -a very big honour.
HH the Dalai Lama walks over the 8 Auspicious Symbols while greeting different visitors, who are waiting with a white kata (blessing scarf) in their hands to pay their respect to him.
Big Card, size: 6×8″ (15x21cm) Price: €4 per piece / 5 pieces: €15 / 10 pieces: €25 (Excl. shipping costs)
Larger discounts are possible when ordering larger amounts. Special prices for resellers.
Symposium ‘Compassion & Technology‘
Seated under contemporary artist Ai Weiwei’s artwork ‘Tree’ (2010), HH. the Dalai Lama participated in a dialogue on Compassion and Technology.
He spoke with young people, technological innovators and scientists, including Faculty Members of content partner SingularityU The Netherlands, and with robot AV1.
The dialogue, organized by De Nieuwe Kerk and SingularityU, formed the ceremonial opening of the exhibition ‘Buddha’s Life – Path to the Present’.
The tree of Ai Weiwei is made from old trees in China, a country that is currently undergoing huge urban transformation. In this way he tries to preserve history. In the exhibition it refers to the tree in Bodh Gaya under which Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha, found enlightenment, the highest state of consciousness.
After this excited morning at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, Carmen and Romeo had to immediately pack up the artworks and travel to Rotterdam, to install the red carpet artwork in the private quarters of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Ahoy Convention Center, where he would be welcomed by and walk over the Eight Auspicious Symbols for the next two mornings as well.
HH the Dalai Lama offered several talks and teachings on Sept 16 and 17, 2018. On Sunday he offered a public talk on ‘Why compassion is essential in our troubled world’, followed by A teaching given by GesheThupten Jinpa, who is HH the Dalai Lama’s main translator and is also known for his book ‘A fearless heart: how the courage to be compassionate can transform our lives.’
The day ended with a film screening of ‘The Last Dalai Lama’, directed by Mickey Lemle, about His Holiness’ interest in research into methods through which we can learn to understand our emotions. 12.000 people attended the teachings in Rotterdam. (Photos by Olivier Adam and Jurjen Donkers)
On Monday morning, September 17, HH the Dalai Lama offered a Buddhist teaching on Langri Thangpa’s text ‘Eight Verses for Training the Mind in Compassion.’ This text gives a clear explanation of how to develop and practice compassion.
Carmen’s 8 Auspicious Symbols are featured on stage and on screen. She designed a banner of the symbols for the stage, as the original red carpet painting was installed backstage, at His Holiness’s private quarters at the event hall.
Carmen creating the red carpet with Eight Auspicious Symbols
For the previous visits of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to The Netherlands in 2009 and 2014, thangka painter Carmen Mensink was asked to create large paintings of the 8 Auspicious Symbols to welcome this special master in her country -according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
For his recent visit to Amsterdam and Rotterdam in 2018 she was asked for this again – a huge honour.
Here you can read all about the making of this artwork, the events with the Dalai Lama where this was used, the exhibition of Buddha’s Life that the Dalai Lama opened, and future events coming up (that you can participate in as well!).
The making of:
Carmen started this large project in 2014 when she was asked for this by the organization of the Dalai Lama’s visit in The Netherlands that year.
A very big honour that she happily took on!
It took weeks of preparation, searching for the right kind of canvas, the right paints that would endure rains and storms, the right colors and all the other materials. After this, Carmen and her assistant Roméo drew all the symbols and texts on this 9 meter (30 ft) large painting.
The day before HH the Dalai Lama’s visit in 2014, ten of Carmen’s thangka art students helped her to paint this large red carpet.
Though it was a very long day -we worked almost non-stop from 10am to 9pm- it was a very joyful day!
During the night the paints had time to dry, and in the early next morning Carmen and her assistant Roméo placed the large painting right in front of the entrance of Ahoy, Rotterdam, where HH. the Dalai Lama would offer teachings all weekend.
During the following years, 2015-2017, the artwork was featured several times, such as to welcome Lama Zopa Rinpoche to the new Buddhist Retreat Center in Loenen (Veluwe), as well as during exhibitions at the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden (Museum voor Volkenkunde), and spiritual center De Roos in Amsterdam.
For the Dalai Lama’s subsequent visit to the Netherlands in 2018, the organization asked Carmen to use this painting again for this major event. It took her a full week to restore, repaint and adjust the artwork.
The red carpet painting was first used in De Nieuwe Kerk (The New Church) on the Dam Square in Amsterdam, where HH the Dalai Lama would open a special exhibition on the life of Buddha and attend a symposium, before he would offer teachings in the subsequent days.
Left: Carmen makes the preparations in De Nieuwe Kerk a few days prior to the Dalai Lama’s visit
Right: On the day itself, the hundreds of people in the church that are attending the symposium are waiting in excitement for HH. the Dalai Lama to enter through this door, where he will be greeted in the traditional Tibetan Buddhist way by The 8 Auspicious Symbols. Photos: Romeo Raspan / Carmen Mensink
Left: Carmen hanging the painted welcome text under which HH. the Dalai Lama will be interviewed by the Dutch press and where pictures with officials will be taken
Right: Carmen with her assistent Roméo under the welcome text Photos: Romeo Raspan / Carmen Mensink
HH the Dalai Lama walks over the 8 Auspicious Symbols while greeting different visitors.
We are also waiting with a white kata (blessing scarf) in our hands to pay our respect to him. When he gets to Romeo he offers him a special and personal blessing, really wonderful! Photos: Carmen Mensink
After HH the Dalai Lama’s spectacular entrance, the Symposium on Technology & Compassion started, where he went into dialogue with young people, technological innovators and scientists.
(you can watch this back via the video below)
After that, HH the Dalai Lama opened the new exhibition ‘Buddha’s Life, Path to the Present’ that can be visited till Feb 3, 2019, see below for more info. Photo: Carmen Mensink
Teachings in Rotterdam
After this excited morning at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, Carmen and Romeo had to immediately pack up the artworks and travel to Rotterdam, to install the red carpet artwork in the private quarters of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Ahoy Convention Center, where he would be welcomed by and walk over the Eight Auspicious Symbols for the next two mornings as well.
HH the Dalai Lama offered several talks and teachings on Sept 16 and 17, 2018.
On Sunday he offered a public talk on ‘Why compassion is essential in our troubled world.’ Photo: Olivier Adam
This was followed by A teaching given by Geshe Thupten Jinpa, who is HH the Dalai Lama’s main translator and is also known for his book ‘A fearless heart: how the courage to be compassionate can transform our lives.’
The day ended with a film screening of ‘The Last Dalai Lama’, directed by Mickey Lemle, about His Holiness’ interest in research into methods through which we can learn to understand our emotions.
12.000 people attended the teachings in Rotterdam. Photo: Jurjen Donkers
On Monday morning, 17 September, HH the Dalai Lama offered a Buddhist teaching on Langri Thangpa’s text ‘Eight Verses for Training the Mind in Compassion.’ This text gives a clear explanation of how to develop and practice compassion.
Carmen’s 8 Auspicious Symbols are featured on stage and on screen. She designed a banner of the symbols for the stage, as the original red carpet painting was installed backstage, at His Holiness’s private quarters. Photo: Carmen Mensink
Carmen’s behind her booth during this event, where she sold her thangka paintings, thangka cards, bookmarks and stickers, as well as Tibetan and Nepalese jewellery and other precious items. During these two days she raffled 3 thangka workshops to people who signed up to the Tibetan Buddhist Art Newsletter. Photo: Roméo Raspan
Before the Dalai Lama’s public talk on Saturday, Richard Gere, actor and chairman of International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), marked ICT’s 30th jubilee with a discussion about The Dalai Lama’s life inside and outside Tibet. Photo: Olivier Adam
Photo: Jurjen Donkers
Carmen was also introduced to Richard Gere and his wife before that; they had a lovely conversation while waiting together next to the red carpet painting with 8 Auspicious Symbols for the Dalai Lama to arrive.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and members of the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) holding a certificate denoting the financial grant ICT will give to the Dalai Lama Institute for Higher Education as a gift of gratitude to His Holiness during their program at the Ahoy convention centre in Rotterdam, Netherlands on September 16, 2018. Carmen’s 8 Auspicious Symbols are featured in the background. Photo: Jurjen Donkers
Big Card, size: 6×8″ (15x21cm) Price: €4 per piece / 5 pieces: €15 / 10 pieces: €25 (Excl. shipping costs)
Larger discounts are possible when ordering larger amounts. Special prices for resellers.
Symposium ‘Compassion & Technology‘
Seated under contemporary artist Ai Weiwei’s artwork Tree (2010), HH. the Dalai Lama participated in a dialogue on Compassion and Technology. He spoke with young people, technological innovators and scientists, including Faculty Members of content partner SingularityU The Netherlands. And with robot AV1. The dialogue, organized by De Nieuwe Kerk and SingularityU, formed the ceremonial opening of the exhibition ‘Buddha’s Life – Path to the Present’.
Photos: Oliver Adam
The tree of Ai Weiwei is made from old trees in China, a country that is currently undergoing huge urban transformation. In this way he tries to preserve history. In the exhibition it refers to the tree in Bodh Gaya under which Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha, found enlightenment, the highest state of consciousness.
You can watch the dialogue on Compassion & Technology with HH. the Dalai Lama here:
Opening of the exhibition ‘Buddha’s Life – Path to the Present’ by HH. the Dalai Lama
On Saturday September 15, 2018, His Holiness the Dalai Lama opened the exhibition ‘The Life of Buddha, Path to the Present’ in De Nieuwe Kerk (the New Church on Dam Square in Amsterdam).
In this exhibition, more than sixty works of art, both old and new, have come together spectacularly in De Nieuwe Kerk. You can admire a wealth of millennia-old objects and modern artworks by, among others, Ai Weiwei and Yoko Ono. The oldest object dates from the third century, the youngest from 2018; and a few works of art have been made especially for this exhibition.
The exhibition tells the life story of the Buddha. Born in the fifth century BC. as a wealthy prince named Siddharta, he opted radically for another life at the age of 29. His life phases symbolize Buddhism and form the story of the exhibition: birth, transition, enlightenment, first teachings and death.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama looking at his personal thangka of Buddha Shakyamuni surrounded by scenes of his life, that was loaned to this exhibition. Photo: Jeppe Schilder
Help paint a Tibetan Mandala during the Museum Night 2018!
Tibetan Mandala of the Five Elements, painted by Carmen Mensink
During the museum night on Saturday 3 November (from 19.00-24.00) Carmen will conduct a large painting project, where all visitors can help paint this beautiful Tibetan Mandala of the 5 Elements during the Buddha Exhibition in De Nieuwe Kerk. This is how it is advertized on their website:
Thangka-workshop with Carmen Mensink Are you completely impressed by the Buddhist art in the exhibition The Life of Buddha, and can you stare for hours at the painting (thangka) depicting the life story of Buddha, on loan by none other than the Dalai Lama? Carmen Mensink specializes in making these Buddhist paintings, and gives workshops worldwide in which she shares her knowledge. During the Museum Night, she leads a painting project wherein every visitor of the Museum Night can participate! All night everyone can work on a huge copy of a sixteenth-century Mandala of the 5 Elements used by Nepalese and Tibetan physicians. She not only helps you with painting, but will also tell you more about the backgrounds, symbolism and meaning of this mandala. Nov. 3, 2018, from 19-24 hrs, you can join at any time this evening, and as long or short as you wish. See you there!
To buy a passe-partout for the Museum Night (€19,95) or more info go to Museumnacht Amsterdam
See you soon!
As HH. the Dalai Lama is 83 years old and having some illnesses, this 2018 visit to The Netherlands may have been the last one. This is also the reason why thousands of Tibetans living in Europe came together for a private audience with their spiritual leader in Rotterdam.
We hope and pray that he may stay with us for many more years to come, and keeps on being such an inspiration to so many beings.
Photo left: Olivier Adam / Photo right: Claudia Lucke
In Ubud we witnessed a Balinese death procession and cremation ceremony of a priest, where the body is placed within a ‘bull’ made out of wood, iron and fabric, together with a lot of offerings and all that the person needs in the hereafter. After that the whole thing is set on fire…. it’s such an intriguing culture.
Traditionally visitors follow ‘pradaksina’, meaning they enter through the eastern gate starting at the lowest level and walk clockwise around the temple, upto all following levels until the highest level -that of the nirwana- is reached. On the way one enjoys the life stories of the Buddha that are told on the beautiful reliefs. 
Green Tara & the 21 Taras thangka course
You are welcome to join me next time:
MakeUp for theatre & photography
Acting / Theatre Playing
for but I remember being very much attracted to it and felt a connection with this image. Up until today it’s my main Buddha statue on my altar at home.
Visiting Museums
With a lot of joy and gratitude I look back at an amazing time that I’ve spent with my thangka students on the island of Sri Lanka.
A short blog this time, as I’m super busy preparing for the Buddhist Art course that I will offer in Sri Lanka from Feb 23 to March 5, which is organized together with The Buddhist Library in Singapore.
During the hours of Museum Night, besides guiding the painters, Carmen explained all the backgrounds and meanings of this particular mandala.
And as the evening slowly grew into the night, and more and more visitors put in their joy and effort, the mandala came more and more into existence.
The cards that were made from this artwork can be ordered in the 
Symposium ‘Compassion & 
The tree of Ai Weiwei is made from old trees in China, a country that is currently undergoing huge urban transformation. In this way he tries to preserve history. In the exhibition it refers to the tree in Bodh Gaya under which Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha, found enlightenment, the highest state of consciousness.
Dalai Lama’s teachings in Rotterdam
On Sunday he offered a public talk on ‘Why compassion is essential in our troubled world’, followed by A teaching given by GesheThupten Jinpa, who is HH the Dalai Lama’s main translator and is also known for his book ‘A fearless heart: how the courage to be compassionate can transform our lives.’
On Monday morning, September 17, HH the Dalai Lama offered a Buddhist teaching on Langri Thangpa’s text ‘Eight Verses for Training the Mind in Compassion.’ This text gives a clear explanation of how to develop and practice compassion.
After HH the Dalai Lama’s spectacular entrance, the Symposium on Technology & Compassion started, where he went into dialogue with young people, technological innovators and scientists.
