Sumati

Pl. and BOXES OF NIGHT in the town.

2011-07-10T05:29:00.000-07:00

German Ambassador Gräfin von Roedern

inaugurating the art exhibition 'pl.'

One of the paintings by Man Bahadur Harijan

at Sidhhartha Art Gallery in Babarmahal.

One of the four art installations by Aditya Aryal at his exhibition

'The Boxes of Night' in Picasso Artiste de la Cuisine in Jhamsikhel.

The last week of June saw two Fine Arts’ students from Kathmandu University come up with their solo Exhibition Project as the final assignment of their BFA course.
Also known by the name Manish, Man Bahadur Harijan showcased 26 of his oil paintings at Sidhhartha Art Gallery for his solo painting exhibition which was inaugurated by the German Ambassador to Nepal, Gräfin von Roedern on 23 June.
The exhibition is titled is ‘pl.’. - a short form of the English word pleural. According Manish, pl. is a series of paintings influenced from the life of working class people, who look similar from their appearance but deep down they have their individual identity in forms of multiple notions. At earlier times, only elites were portrayed on canvas by the artists but by taking the working class as the subject matter, Manish is already challenging the established fashion of art and painting.
The other unique things about Manish’s individual portraits was the composition and texture of the color used to paint the skin of the individuals that is dark and rises above the level of the canvas with many ups and downs which reminds you not of only their life but also of the place where they come from- the villages. Manish says that he has painted the same person from three different angles because he wants the viewers to question his work and interact with his work like they wish.
The exhibition is open till 23 June 2011.
Aditya Aryal’s solo exhibition titled ‘BOXES OF NIGHT’ started on 28 June at Picasso Artiste de la Cuisine in Jhamsikhel. Aditya’s exhibition had four urban art installation illuminated under neon lights, influenced by the street art, with each art installation having their individual theme or title.
‘Dizzy Bar’ was one of Aditya’s work pieces, where everything inside the bar is designed in black and white color in loose check patters and thus giving the feeling of getting dizzy once u get inside it. Aditya says dizzy bar focuses on the trend of youths who hangout too much at the bars and get dizzy during the night consuming smoke, drinks and drugs to escape the boredom.
‘Hustle and Bustle’ was another art installation that was created out of carton boxes and symbolized the dreams, needs, hope, hatred and anger of the people in Kathmandu despite being a disorganized city.
‘Penetration’ was another bold art piece by Aditya using a tyre, ropes and other materials resembling the structure of lingam. It was a symbolic representation of the dilemma in youth about sex and the wrong course they take not knowing how to deal with it.
‘Play Safe’ was a street art inspired urban installation made by using oil tins as the surface of a wall. The idea behind this art work was to just make youth aware about the drug abuse and the importance of proper education, says Aditya.
The exhibition ends on 30 June.

The Philanthropic Electric Cars Run For SIRC

2011-07-03T22:57:00.000-07:00

On the 18^th June 2011 morning, it was drizzling and the clock read exactly 8. The young and cute looking Reva cars were all lined up around the Mandala in Maitighar waiting for the actor and social activist Madan Krishna Shrestha to wave the chequered flag and thus begin the Spinal Injury Rehabilitation center E-car rally. With the what-is-happening-here-looks on their faces many passerbys and onlookers seemed intrigued by the turn of the events as it happened at this small junction of Kathmandu as the 16 electric cars headed off towards Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Center (SIRC) in Sanga, some 20 km away from Kathmandu.

Having commenced in 2009, the SIRC E-car rally was being organized for the third time as a fundraising event for SIRC so that spinal injury patients from rural areas with low economic resources could be supported for the rehabilitation. But this year it was more than just a rally, as a lot of games, fun-filled activities, delicious lunch and a beautiful day amongst greenery away from the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu were waiting for all the participants of the rally. Above all, the newly built six lane road on Arniko Highway only added up to the joy of driving for the ally participants. Within next 30 minutes all the cars reached the SIRC, established on 7 April 2002, in Sanga, as they were welcomed by fluttering small national flags and accolades from the locals and staffs of SIRC helping to raise around 2 lakhs for SIRC.

SIRC is a non-profitable and non-governmnetal organization that employs a multidisciplinary team comprised of a nursing department, a physiotherapy department, an occupational therapy department, and a social services department which includes a wheelchair service department and a vocational training department. All the departments work together in helping to rehabilitate the patients and supporting their family members too, by providing the service at minimum costs depending on their economic status.

According to Dr. Raju Dhakal, a medical officer at SIRC, altogether 800 patients have benefitted from the service of SIRC so far and three of them are currently working at SIRC as peer counselors for other patients. Sonika Dhakal, from Kathmandu, is one of them and she has been working at SIRC for past 6 years giving counseling to the spinal injury cord patients to strengthen them mentally and physically.

Besides the rehabilitation service, SIRC is also trying to spread awareness among people, especially of rural communities to keep them from having spinal injury, by going to the rural communities and teaching them on how to be careful in order to not have spinal injury and what immediately should be done if there is an injury in a case.

Buddhist Ethics

2010-06-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

Ethics

The term Ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos which can mean custom, habit, character or disposition.

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that covers a whole family of things that have a real importance in everyday. Ethics is a system of moral principles, at its simplest which affects how people make decisions and lead their lives and it is concerned with what is good for individuals and society and is also described as moral philosophy. Ethics lies at the heart of all human endeavors, from the foundations of human civilization and the great religions, to the day-to-day decisions we all make in the course of our lives.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, there is no God as such, unlike many people believe and it is a way of living, more than a religion. So, it is up to human beings themselves to perform right action and make this world better. Buddhism considers a behavior ethical only if it does not cause harm to one self or other. It is also noteworthy that in Buddhism, ethical behavior is necessary not only because it is based on right or wrong but also because it is the means to attain enlightenment. The two main Buddhist sects are Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism, but there are many more.

The Basis of Buddhist Ethics
For common Buddhists, the foundation for an ethical behavior is formed on the basis of four noble truth and eightfold path: all this is troubled or suffering (dukkha); there is a pattern in the conditioned arising of trouble/suffering; there is a pattern in the dissolution of trouble/suffering; and there is a path by means of which such a resolution is possible. According to the fourth truth—the practice of the Noble 8-Fold Path—we can dissolve the pattern of conditions that brings about suffering by developing right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

The Eightfold Path

The path to liberation from these miserable states of being, as taught by the Buddha, has eight points and is known as the eightfold path. The first point is called right view -- the right way to view the world. Wrong view occurs when we impose our expectations onto things; expectations about how we hope things will be, or about how we are afraid things might be. Right view occurs when we see things simply, as they are. It is an open and accommodating attitude. We abandon hope and fear and take joy in a simple straight-forward approach to life.

The second point of the path is called right intention. It proceeds from right view. If we are able to abandon our expectations, our hopes and fears, we no longer need to be manipulative. We don't have to try to con situations into our preconceived notions of how they should be. We work with what is. Our intentions are pure.

The third aspect of the path is right speech. Once our intentions are pure, we no longer have to be embarrassed about our speech. Since we aren't trying to manipulate people, we don't have to be hesitant about what we say, nor do we need to try bluff our way through a conversation with any sort of phoney confidence. We say what needs to be said, very simply in a genuine way.

The fourth point on the path, right discipline, involves a kind of renunciation. We need to give up our tendency to complicate issues. We practice simplicity. We have a simple straight-forward relationship with our dinner, our job, our house and our family. We give up all the unnecessary and frivolous complications that we usually try to cloud our relationships with.

Right livelihood is the fifth step on the path. It is only natural and right that we should earn our living. Often, many of us don't particularly enjoy our jobs. We can't wait to get home from work and begrudge the amount of time that our job takes away from our enjoyment of the good life. Perhaps, we might wish we had a more glamorous job. We don't feel that our job in a factory or office is in keeping with the image we want to project. The truth is, that we should be glad of our job, whatever it is. We should form a simple relationship with it. We need to perform it properly, with attention to detail.

The sixth aspect of the path is right effort. Wrong effort is struggle. We often approach a spiritual discipline as though we need to conquer our evil side and promote our good side. We are locked in combat with ourselves and try to obliterate the tiniest negative tendency. Right effort doesn't involve struggle at all. When we see things as they are, we can work with them, gently and without any kind of aggression whatsoever.

Right mindfulness, the seventh step, involves precision and clarity. We are mindful of the tiniest details of our experience. We are mindful of the way we talk, the way we perform our jobs, our posture, our attitude toward our friends and family, every detail.

Right concentration, or absorption is the eighth point of the path. Usually we are absorbed in absentmindedness. Our minds are completely captivated by all sorts of entertainment and speculations. Right absorption means that we are completely absorbed in nowness, in things as they are. This can only happen if we have some sort of discipline, such as sitting meditation. We might even say that without the discipline of sitting meditation, we can't walk the eightfold path at all. Sitting meditation cuts through our absentmindedness. It provides a space or gap in our preoccupation with ourselves.

In sum, the root of Buddhism lies in developing skillful insight into the interdependent origination of all things and, through this, redirecting the movement of our situation from samsara toward nirvana—that is, from cycles of chronic trouble and suffering toward release from those cycles. The five percepts based on these eight noble truth are:

· Prevent taking life of beings. Every living being has a right to life and it should be honored by one and all.

· Prevent taking things not given. One should neither steel nor accept things meant for someone else.

· Prevent sensual misconduct. One should not only refrain from sexual misconduct but also avoid excessive sensual pleasure of any kind (like gluttony)

· Prevent making false statements. This not only includes lying but also slander and speech that might cause harm to others.

· Prevent taking substances that cause intoxication. This precept is important in the sense that it could be the cause of other four precepts being broken.

In addition to these, the Theravada Buddhists also observe three more precepts on special holy occasions. The three rules are followed by the members of Sangha on a regular basis.

· Prevent taking food at unsuitable time – from noon one day to sunrise next day

· Prevent any form of entertainment as well as items used to beautify one.

· Prevent the use of high beds.

In Buddhism the ethical quality of actions depends on the mental factors associated with their commission or even contemplation, and on the impact they have on the well-being of others. If action is committed with greed, aversion or delusion it is unwholesome (akusala), but the degree of moral reprehensibility (and karmic consequence) depends on a whole host of factors. Even an "accidental" killing could have adverse consequences if it was caused through negligence and un-mindfulness, which is a kind of "Delusion" (moha). What has been said of the rule regarding killing, may also be extended to the other ethical precepts as well. So, furthermore what we can say is, if we are to see the operation of media in today’s world through the eyes of Buddha, then we would see how media is being used as a tool by a few elite groups or powerful people in the society to serve their personal interest. Media certainly has become delusive, in the name of competition and maximum profit making, which would be all the more disappointing through Buddha’s prospect.

Besides, making false statements or promoting and facilitating false statement is prohibited if the basis of ethics in Buddhism is to be comprehended, but bearing in mind the practice of media these days, truth has been overshadowed by forged proclamations. We can look at the way Iraq war and Afghanistan war being justified in the name of ‘War against terror’ by many American and British media alike. Or we can take example of our own country, espe. During maoist insurgency, the state owned media and the maoist owned media made numerous false claims, trying to pull people on their sides and justify their deeds in the battlefield.

Also, right speech in media would seem to provide a natural point of departure for developing a Buddhist critique of content-focused media ethics. Minimally, practicing right speech means communicating in such a way that new troubles and stresses do not arise and already existing ones are eased. The basis of this type of communication is compassion—literally, a relationship of shared feeling or emotion. That is why media needs to be more cautious and sensitive if serving people is to be their true purpose. Contrary to right speech are communicative practices that are harsh, false, untimely, connected with harm, focused on gossip, idle or purposeless, and characterized by inner hate or contempt. Such practices lead to weariness and disappointment. That is why media needs to be more cautious and sensitive if serving people is to be their true purpose. As Buddhism would have advocated, it should emphasize more on how to curb all the sufferings rather than just talk about all the sufferings and do nothing to actually fight against it. For example, newspapers and television channels tend to give news on violence, war and negativity provoking news rather than giving optimistic news or positive thoughts.

In Buddhism the goal of ethical conduct is self- control, self-understanding, and self-development. It is an essential prerequisite for the training of the mind, the elimination of ignorance and the attainment of Enlightenment. But looking at media presence and its intention in the society, what can be said is more and more people are being manipulated through the ‘message’ in media. People have become dependent on media for every bit of information and thus have lost the track of self-control and self-understanding. Media in a way has taken advantage of the busyness of people in their day-to-day life and gives what they want people to know rather than what people really should know creating a sort colonization of ideas. And with the boom of online media and advertising, far from being value-neutral, they have come to play a pivotal role in an ongoing “colonization of ideas” through which the attentive resources needed to meaningfully resolve our own troubles and suffering are instead being systematically depleted.

While there are no legal steps to prevent the viewing of “pornography” through different medium (at least even when it involves the depiction of children in sexual situations), what we can clearly say is this is against the sensual conduct, one of the basis of Buddhist ethics. The way things are people are getting exposed to pornographic content in media creates further imbalance in sexual conduct in society. It leads to increase in rape, prostitution, sex trafficking and so on.

Besides, there are “false” advertising that leads consumers to potential harm, the remarkably effective “Camel Joe” ad campaign in 1980s in US which had strong correlations between the cartoon campaign and rising child and adolescent tobacco use, and well-established links between tobacco use and a wide array of health risks. Besides, using of intoxicating substance itself stands so unethical that there is no way of compromising with the free promotion and publicity of the same. So from all the above discussions what we can understand is media ethics continues to be a protracted “fence walk”, through Buddhist perspective.