Grandfather
Grandfather
Being here, by Mark Garry, thread pins, beads
In this stupa are kept the ashes and relics of one of the 7 Tibetan yogis who first arrived in India from Tibet in the late fifties.
Shortly after the burial of the ashes and relics, a little Bodhi Tree started growing inside breaking the wall and coming out right above the little Buddha statue inside the stupa.
Coincidence…or divine sign?
: )
Monastery of Tashi Jong, Himachal Pradesh, India, photo by Jyoti Graziano, 2011
Life of Trees, India 2011
While travelling through Rajasthan in India,
I constantly looked out in respect and admiration at the huge Peepal, Banyan and Neem trees I would encounter on the road.
In the cities I looked for them. I would go into alleyways and small streets to find their trunks and roots and discover that they were actually growing undisturbed in and out of buildings, sacred and untouched.
Under these magnificent trees people set up their little tea-shop or other small businesses; people pray, rest, play cards and work.
From their highs these beings are looking over the lives of human generations coming and going, doing their ancient job of giving us oxygen.
I thought of trees back in the West, and how nature is socialised, almost a decoration to our busy lives.
In India trees, are not only alive, but holy.
They are a blessing from the divine, and therefore cutting trees is regarded as a sin.
Since ancient times trees are considered sacred, especially certain types of trees like the Peepal, Banyan, Mango, Neem, Bael, Banana and Coconut tree. Many other plants are worshipped too like the Tulsi plant, the Indian Basil .
I was fascinated by the amount of attention and care given to sacred trees, being these washed, fed, and given offerings.
All the sacred trees are associated with one or more deities, sages and ancient religious figures and actually believed to host inside them the spirit or presence of these beings.
In ancient times when only the kings would live surrounded by walls, and enjoy a wealthy material life, yogis, sages and lay people would often take refuge under a tree, to spend the night, meditate and find shade.
Most famous is the story of prince Siddharta obtaining enlightenement under a Peepal tree.
Noticing the beauty of the relation between people and trees in India didnt stop me from noticing the new India in which the wild and extensive use of plastic, chemicals, and modern technology is producing a heavily polluted environment.
In India one can really see what the modern world serving uniquely the material needs of human beings is producing: in India waste disposal constantly happens under your eyes, there isn’t a system of hiding trash like in the West, were cleanliness is also produced at the expenses of the environment.
Yet in this changing Indiathere are still genuine acts of heart and love nowhere else to be found: remaining seeds of an ancient ecology, simple acts of respect, awareness and gratitude for all those living beings that by their presence unconditionally give resources vital to our life.
photos by Jyoti Graziano
(via born2b-free)
Togden Ami, one of the first 8 yogis who came to India from Tibet in the late fifties because of the Chinese occupation.
Last year while visiting Himachal Pradesh in India I went to visit Tashi Jong the monastery where the Tibetan yogis still go on lifelong retreat in pursue of realisation of the mind, or realising the source of mind.
While in Tashi Jong I encountered the figure of Togden Amit and visited a private house where his relics are conserved. I felt a strong peaceful energy in this place, the same as that felt in Ashram of Ramana Maharshi in Tiruvannamalai.
Somehow felt to share the photo of Togden Amit’s beautiful face, may he light up your way.
For more information about the Tashi Jong monastery and retreat centre and the Togden tradition visit
“Only once in a hundred times
Can this precious human body occur.
With the meaningless eight worldly concerns,
One takes great care to do wasteful activities.
Opportunities for death are abundant.
Opportunities for life are very few.
This life is like a butter lamp in the wind;
Holding it as permanent, one is very confused.
This life is like the shadow of the setting sun;
Though you try to escape a hundred times, it comes nearer and nearer.
One cannot find freedom by running away.
So it is said in the song of Jetsun Mila.
From virtuous karma comes the joy of fruition.
From the karma of neurotic crime, suffering occurs.
Never be deceived by this.
Therefore, guard cause and effect like your own eyes.
With revulsion towards samsara and deep yearning towards the path,
Day and night, without interruption, cultivate virtuous karma.
With great devotion and faith, be mindful without wandering.
This is the path of all the Buddhas of the past.
All the Buddhas of the present are traveling on this path.
If you enter on this path, you will never be deceived.”
Doors of Rajasthan…
In Love with Clay: the eco-sustainable clay houses of Didi Contractor in Himachal Pradesh, India
During the spring of 2011 I fell in love with a material as ancient as the Earth itself: clay. There’s something primordial and essential about clay and in the way it gives itself to other elements to be transformed and to transform: water, air, fire and even the void it creates and contains when shaped as a pot…
I will definetely write more about it in later posts…but for the moment I want to write about my meeting with Didi Contractor in Himachal Pradesh, while I was attending a short pottery course in the village of Andretta, in Kangra Valley.
Didi Contractor is a self-taught german architect devoted to build eco-sustainable buildings primarily using traditional techniques and local materials, especially clay.
“The village aesthetic of construction caught her eye and she started building houses out of materials procured from the original site, thereby reducing expense on transport. “Modern India is determined to forget all that is Indian. Often, I end up reminding the locals about traditional ways of building homes that were warmer, safer and environment friendly,” says Didi, whose work has convinced many to switch to green homes. *
Here a few photos of some of the houses I had the pleasure to visit. The houses are all built with traditional clay bricks, which means that the construction process gives work to local brick-makers. The walls are covered with a special plaster made of clay and linseed paste which makes them water-proof. Another interesting characteristic is the capacity of these structures to keep the inside cool in the summer and warm in winter.
“Didi’s houses block out harmful radiation, including microwave and electromagnetic radiation, and are designed to collapse outwards in case of an earthquake — an important factor in Himachal’s seismically active zone, where Contractor has been settled for the past 32 years.” *
Didi not only designs private houses but actively participates with young Indian and foreign architects to design buildings for non governmental organisations dedicated to promote eco-stusteinability in a fast growing India.
Soon to follow…a post on the village of Andretta and its local school of pottery
* http://www.tehelka.com/story_main48.asp?filename=Ne111210INSPIRATIONS.asp
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Innamorata dell’argilla: le case eco-sostenibili di Didi Contractor in Himachal Pradesh, India
Nella primavera del 2011 mi sono innamorata di un materiale antico quanto la Terra stessa: l’argilla. C’e’ qualcosa di primordiale e essenziale nell’argilla, nel suo darsi agli altri elementi da cui si fa trasformare e che essa stessa trasforma: acqua, aria e fuoco…e persino il vuoto che crea e contiene se modellata nella forma di vaso.
Scrivero’ di piu’ in proposito in altri post..ma qui diro’ che durante la mia breve esplorazione dell’argilla in India, ho avuto l’opportunita’ di conoscere Didi Contractor, un architetto autodidatta tedesca che in India costruisce case ecologiche con materiali locali…primo fra tutti l’argilla.
“L’estetica delle costruzioni dei villaggi ha subito catturato l’attenzione di Didi che ha iniziato a costruire con materiali locali, riducendo quindi le spese di trasporto.
“L’india moderna - dice Didi- e’ determinata a volersi dimenticare di tutto cio’ che e’ Indiano. Spesso mi ritrovo a dover ricordare alle genti locali i loro metodi tradizionali di costruire case, che erano piu’ calde, sicure e a basso impatto ambientale. Il lavoro di Didi ha oggi convinto molti a rivolgersi a tecniche tradizionali ed eco-sostenibili per la costruzione di case.” *
Qui un po’ di foto di alcune delle case che ho avuto il piacere di visitare. Le case sono tutte costruite con mattoni d’argilla tradizionali, e quindi la costruzione di tali strutture da’ la possibilita’ di dare lavoro a manodopera locale. I muri sono poi ricoperti da un intonaco di argilla e di pasta di semi di lino che li rende impermeabili. La caratteristica di queste strutture e’ la capacita’ di mantenere ambienti freschi in estate, e caldi d’inverno.
“Le case di Didi inoltre, bloccano radiazioni dannose, come quelle elettromagnetiche e sono progettate in modo da collassare verso l’esterno in caso di terremoto - un fattore importante nella zona sismica dell’Himachal Pradesh dove Didi ha vissuto negli ultimi 32 anni.”*
Oltre a case private, Didi si occupa con l’aiuto di giovani architetti indiani e stranieri di costruire strutture per organizzazioni non governative che si dedicano allo sviluppo sostenibile in India.
Presto..a seguire, un post sul paesino di Andretta e la scuola locale di ceramica
* http://www.tehelka.com/story_main48.asp?filename=Ne111210INSPIRATIONS.asp
The Lovers
