📰 Self Psychology and the Natural World at an American Buddhist Center (A free, 18-page article from 2014)
Tags: #USA #Tnh #Huayan #Nature
https://buddhistuniversity.net/content/articles/trees-my-lungs_capper-daniel
The Trees, My Lungs: Self Psychology and the Natural World at an American Buddhist Center
This study employs ethnographic field data to trace a dialogue between the self‐psychological concept of the self object and experiences regarding the concept of “interbeing” at a Vietnamese Buddhist monastery in the United States. The dialogue develops an understanding of human experiences with the nonhuman natural world which are tensive, liminal, and nondual. From the dialogue I find that the self object concept, when applied to this form of Buddhism, must be inclusive enough to embrace relationships with animals, stones, and other natural forms.
Layered Peaks and Splashing Waterfall beautifully encapsulates the duality of Hua Yan's aspirations. The sword juxtaposed with the scholar’s robe speaks volumes about his complexity. How do you interpret the interplay between ambition and introspection?
#ClevelandArt #HuaYan #ChineseArt #ArtHistory
https://clevelandart.org/art/2001.120
#ZenBuddhism, rooted in #Mahāyāna #philosophy, emphasizes direct experiential insight over conceptual elaboration. Drawing from #Madhyamaka, #Yogācāra, and #Huayan, it prioritizes immediacy 🌳, non-duality 🌀, and embodied practice 🧘♂️ — defining features of #EastAsian #Buddhism. This new post outlines #Zen's historical and philosophical foundations as part of a new #WeekendStories sub-series:
🌍 https://www.fabriziomusacchio.com/weekend_stories/told/2025/2025-06-27-zen_buddhism/
#Huayan #Buddhism advances #Nāgārjuna’s insight on #emptiness (#sunyata) by articulating the doctrine of #interpenetration: all phenomena mutually contain and reflect each other, as in Indra’s Net. This vision of radical relationality redefines reality as a seamless web, with profound ethical and philosophical implications. I put together key aspects of this doctrine and its reception in the Buddhist tradition in my latest post:
🌍 https://www.fabriziomusacchio.com/weekend_stories/told/2025/2025-06-19-interpenetration/
#WeekendStories
Layered Peaks and Splashing Waterfall captures the duality of Hua Yan's spirit—warrior and scholar. His early talent and introspective inscription reflect a complex personality. What stories might this portrait reveal about the artist’s journey?
#ClevelandArt #HuaYan #ArtHistory
https://clevelandart.org/art/2001.120
Layered Peaks and Splashing Waterfall: Portrait of Hua Yan as a Young Man | Cleveland Museum of Art
This portrait was jointly executed by Wei Shijie and Hua Yan himself who painted the landscape in the background. Hua Yan is shown here at the age of about 23. The sword at his back is a reference to his early desire for a military career, while the scholar’s robe suggests an opposing aspiration. Together these are signs of a complex personality. <br><br>The painting also reveals Hua Yan’s early talent in painting. While Wei Shijie is little known, Hua Yan would later become a well-known painter. In addition to Wei Shijie and Hua Yan, nine of Hua Yan’s contemporary friends left inscriptions on the painting.
The Open Buddhist University
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