Flying Out of New York, What Do the Lamas Do?

You know, there has been some talk lately about which electronic devices can be used on a plane and which devices cannot. There has also been some talk about turning all electronic devices off during take-off.

Well, I don't know what the true story is and if there are any universally adhered to policies for electronic devices on planes. I have however flown regularly for the past 12 years. And, I do try and always fly with Cathay Pacific or one of its partner airlines. There are two reasons for this. The first, Cathay flies most of the routes I need to travel. Secondly, Cathay offers great, GREAT, service, as do most of their partners. But, back to my initial point which I haven't yet even started to make.

So, I have used a set of Bose headphones, electronic headphones, for years. They were purchased exclusively for air travel. I'm sure they will work perfectly fine off the plane as well. For me they work great! A friend tells me that the Sony also work well. Regardless, I recommend them to anybody that does a lot of air travel. How they work is - aside from reducing background and foreground noise - they reduce the airplane buzz in your head which more importantly reduces jet-lag. That is the unofficial scientific explanation.

However, back to the point. I have never been asked on Cathay Pacific to turn off my headphones during take-off or landing. On one occasion flying on American Airlines between New York and San Fransisco, prior to take-off, I was asked to both turn them off and to take them off my head.

Now, what is most interesting is that on my most recent flight, which I am writing about now at over 30000 feet, I was not asked once to turn off my Ipad which I was using right up until the end of final taxi immediately prior to gunning the engines and taking-off. I would have continued to use the Ipad but I opted to close the cover and put it down simply because of the shaking of the plane. I was of course still wearing the Bose headphones. So, there you have it, my point. Rules are rules as long as they are enforced or people continue to believe in them. That is the substance of it - my point.

Now, with safety aside, on another topic of some importance, it is nice that Cathay has brought back the beef tenderloin for one of the meal choices in business class on the New York to Vancouver flight. For awhile, and I can't remember for how long, but, they were experimenting with food all too much for my liking. I was fortunate tonight. They bumped me from coach seating up to business class. A class to which I am not completely unaccustomed, yet not guaranteed.

I'm sure there are ways to guarantee business class seating. Aside from money of course. I have a friend who would likely know the particular Catholic saint responsible for arranging such things. Unfortunately Tantric Buddhism does not upgrade and modernize their deities as quickly and as efficiently as the Catholic Church modernizes their saints.

For Tantric deities, if I was to take a guess as to who could assist with business class accommodation, then it would likely be some form of a wealth deity, probably peaceful, but with the added feature of a red body colour - adding a little expediency to the mix - as colours have meaning in Tantric Buddhism.

To their credit, the Catholics have books which describe all of the different saints and especially which particular saint is best suited for each and every special human need and condition. Tantric Buddhism, however, does not. In the interests of keeping up with the Roman Catholics and modernization in general, Tantrics should upgrade and offer deities, cataloged and organized, assorted for all daily human needs and conditions. Towards this common good, surely there must already be a 'Terma' out there, hidden or discovered, that addresses such things as air travel.....what do the Lamas do?

(Written Tuesday night, 20th of December).

Lecture, Leaving Chengdu, Hong Kong

The last lecture was Thursday night. It was on Tibetan Painting Styles. There were 60 + students and teachers. It seemed to go quite well with many questions at the end. There definitely needs to be a system developed for teaching Tibetan styles. There isn't anything right now that is suitable and useful.

I never like to leave Chengdu. It is a city that is comfortable for me. However, I was up at five and to the airport by seven. The flight was delayed an hour but that didn' t prevent me from getting to Hong Kong with plenty of time to catch my next flight. I had a comfortable exit row seat and a perfectly adequate breakfast on the flight. Dragon Air is not as good as Cathay but they try. Because of that extra marks are awarded.

Fortunately for the HK to JFK portion of the trip I won't be traveling in the cattle car. This will allow me to nap as well as get a little work done prior to landing. The ipad is very useful for writing without the cumbersome and large folding laptop. I am now a firm believer in ipad, or similar, technology. It made me more productive and more adaptable to changing work situations and spaces while in Chengdu. It also allows me to carry a virtual Tibetan and English library with me where ever I go.

iPad Purchase

Well it is coming on to nearly four months since I bought an IPad. It has taken a lot of getting used to because it is not very intuitive in so many ways. So far it is well worth while because I use it as a Tibetn text reader and have it loaded with all the most important collections of texts that I use frequently. It is also filled with thousands of images from collections that I am working on. It is certainly the technology I have been waiting for for a number of years. I certainly recommend it for all those people that need quick access to large collections of Tibetan texts and images. What is certain is that in the near future the features and large memory that is found on the iPad will be available on a number of other technology brands at a half or a third the price of the iPad. So far it has been my second most useful technology purchase after I upgraded to a Blackberry from a standard cellular phone.

Chengdu in November

The weather in Chengdu in November should be around 15 or 16 degrees during the day. That means Celsius of course. I hope to be able to complete the survey of one large museum collection and also spend time with at least one other collection. The museum collection was partially surveyed last year but not completed. The wonderful thing about Chengdu aside from the mild climate and great food is that there is always more art to see. As everyone knows, Blogger isn't accessible in China. I will be using the alternate Blog site for occasional updates on activities: http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Jeff-on-the-Road/page-1.html

Mild Earthquake in New York

Yes, I felt the earthquake up on the 9th floor of the office building where I work in midtown Manhattan. Once I noticed it the duration seemed to only be for maybe a few seconds and then it came back and lasted 7 to 10 seconds. It was the gentle swaying - like rocking a baby - that I noticed.

Pema Rinzin at the Joshua Liner Gallery

Summer Group Exhibition 2011, from August 4 to August 27, 2011.

Pema Rinzin is once again at the Joshua Liner Gallery for the Summer Group Exhibition. He is only showing a single large painting from the 'Water Series' he began several years ago - the third and last painting in the set. To really experience the gold work in the composition you really have to bend or kneel down below the painting and look up. Only from this angle does the gold become electric and magnify the vitality and feel of the painting. The work is stunning and the enormous number of hours put into the creation of the work really pay off when viewed in just the right way to see all the detail and layers of the textures and colours. Don't be afraid to get close up or to get down on one knee and look up.

Back to the Regular Old Blog

Now that I have arrived in Hong Kong I can resume the regular Google blog for occasional news updates. The China Travel Blog will be put on hold until the next trip.

Hong Kong Airport - Heading to Chengdu

I have a few hours to wait for my flight to Chengdu so I might as well just relax. My first choice was the 'Cabin' Cathay Business Class lounge but it was very full because they are renovating the 'Wing' lounge. I moved over to the Dragonair which is a lot quieter and less humid. If I get bored here then I can move to the Quantus lounge which I have never been in.

The flight from New York was as expected except they bumped me to Business. You know I have a love hate relationship with Business Class because the coffin seats are a little short. I did catch up on movies and the food was good. The fifteen or so hours just fly by.

Well, as the five of you who read this blog know - Blogger doesn't work in China. Therefore, after today I will be using the Travelblog: http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Jeff-on-the-Road/page-1.html

I arrive in Chengdu at about 11:00 tonight and have a friend picking me up at the airport. The weekend is free and I don't have to be at the Sichuan University until 10:00 Monday morning. The jetlag will not be over by then but will definitely have lessened. I don't need to do very much prep work for the first few classes. The detailed outline was all prepared in New York and translated into Chinese. All further outlines will be based on that original model along with input from the students.

Back to China

Today is a travel day. I am heading to Chengdu via Hong Kong to spend time at the Sichuan University. Unfortunately Cathay did not bump me up to Business Class for this leg of the trip. That's O.K., sometimes it is more comfortable in coach sitting in the exit row aisle seat. I've noticed in the last few months that Cathay has downgraded the food in Business Class. I don't know if that was just for that flight or whether it is a new trend to save money.

The Sichuan University has invited me to come and teach on he subject of iconography in Tibetan art. It is not an easy subject and even more difficult to try and teach. Up until now there have been no systems, course curriculum or publications that teach a systematic and intelligible method of learning Tibetan iconography. I have spent many years thinking about a system and worked through many course models. Some failed miserably and others had moderate success. Through trial and error I believe I now have a model that will work - it just has to be proven in the field - a classroom with interested students. The graduate students at Sichuan University will be the test case.

SRG Site Up and Running Smoothly

The SRG site was down for a few days in mid April but was then back up without any problems. I dislike any down time with websites because it usually indicates a bad service provider or sloppiness on the part of the web master. I will try and do some updates on the site in the next few days - god only knows - I have the material.

Sakya Resource Guide is Temporarily Down

The SRG is down because the hosting company is doing some major changes to their infrastructure. Unfortunately I do not have a mirror site, so, that means SRG is down for up to a few days. They say maybe up to five. For those avid SRG viewers all I can recommend is that you spend a little time with the HAR site. I know it is a meager substitute but it is all I can suggest. On HAR look especially to the News page because this month, April, and it's only the 15th, there have already been thirty-four (34) news items uploaded. If you can get through all of those in the next few days while SRG is down then I will be impressed. Because, it is not just that there are 34 items, it is because there are numerous new pages added for each of those News items. It really is a lot of material not to mention the hundreds of new images that have gone up to accompany the News items.

Now, the reason for the goat? Well, the mountain goat picture was taken some years ago outside of a small cave that clings precariously onto a cliff a few hundred feet above my cabin in the mountains. You can tell by the beautiful white fur that it was the fall. I am actually going to the cabin tomorrow. If I see anymore mountain goats then I will surely take a photo. Usually at this time of year I see more moose and elk. I hope a bear hasn't gotten into my supplies. Usually they are too quick to photograph especially if you come across one on a path - they usually bolt for the cover of underbrush and forest. The bears at the cabin are quite wild and not as familiar with people.

Resolving the Dalai Lama resignation crisis: Jamyang Norbu

Read Jamyang Norbu on the Dalai Lama resignation........

http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=29312&article=Resolving+the+Dalai+Lama+resignation+crisis%3a+Jamyang+Norbu

The Dalai Lama Abdicates

The Dalai Lama abdicating his government role and abdicating future
Dalai Lamas from the role of leader of Tibetans should be received as big news and a big step towards the Tibetan culture in exile entering the 21st century.

This is a must read..........

http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=29310&article=The+Untouchables+of+Dharamsala

--- Jeff

"His Holiness the Dalai Lama has done the opposite: he’s decided to
abdicate his political powers to an elected leadership, committing the
400-year old institution of the Dalai Lama to history. At a time when
street revolutions are afoot and despots are fighting to retain their
last bastions, the Dalai Lama and his people are engaged in a polite
pingpong exchange. He wants his people to choose their own leadership
while they — unable to rise above their emotions — are pleading with
him to continue."

"As a child, my first image of the Dalai Lama was on a postage stamp.
He was holding a child, so we were envious and our parents said we
were the unfortunate ones. For Tibetans, he is the reincarnation of
Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva who vowed to be with us until we all
achieve nirvana. So when he’s making fundamental changes — terminating
the Ganden Phodrang government that’s existed since 1642 — it’s a
deeply emotional moment and the change is unlikely to be easy." (www.phayul.com)

Gene Smith - Memorial Service: Feb. 12th, 2011

Public Memorial

A public memorial service for E. Gene Smith will be held at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, at 1047 Amsterdam Ave. at 112th St., New York, NY on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at 2:00 pm.

See up to date information on the TBRC website.

Pema Rinzin - Opening Tonight

The First Tibetan Contemporary Solo Show in Chelsea, New York.
Opening: Jan 27th 2010 ( 06:00 PM to 09:00 PM)
Location: Joshua Liner Art Gallery
Artist: Pema Rinzin
Title: Compassion Transformed.

This is it! The opening is tonight at 6:00. I am looking forward to seeing a number of paintings on exhibition that I have not yet had a chance to see and enjoy, also the set of three abstract portraits.

Tuesday in Hong Kong

Tuesday morning was a good opportunity to sleep in and relax. We didn't really get motivated until after breakfast and then in the early afternoon took the ferry from Kowloon across the water into Hong Kong. A few hours were spent meeting with art dealers and looking at various objects. Later in the day we met up with some good friends and then went for drinks followed by a late leisurely dinner at an Australian steak house in the heart of Hong Kong's bustling nightlife district. It was a good time with lots of laughing and joking. We arrived back to the hotel before midnight and were asleep almost minutes later.

Wednesday Morning: It was easy getting up at six in the morning and packing. On short trips luggage and packing is so easy. Unfortunately Cathay was not able to upgrade us to Business Class but still we have good seats anyway. With luck the flight won't be too busy.

Taipai on a Grey Cloudy Monday Morning

The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity from looking at collections on Friday and Saturday, a music recital on an ancient Chinese table top stringed instrument, and viewing another large collection on Sunday morning and two more in the afternoon. Today we will relax a little and then head over to the Palace Museum after lunch. There is a Gesar exhibition on display.

A friends flew in from Beijing via Hong Kong last night. He is supposed to come to the museum with us - although also known to be a late sleeper.

My head cold didn't get any better and I have been suffering with it. The nose has stopped running - possibly re-charging

Tonight we leave for the airport at 5:30 and fly out at 8:20 for Hong Kong.

Taipai - Saturday Morning

It is unusual for me but every once and awhile I wake up with, or come down with, a cold. That's what I feel I have right now and since yesterday. It started off with a slight cough and turned into a kind of headache. I broke a fever in the middle of the night and have been gradually feeling better ever since - although it is only ten in the morning and the activities of the day haven't started yet.

Yesterday we left Hong Kong early and traveled uneventfully to Taipei. The flight was only an hour and a half and served breakfast - a ham and cheese sandwich - surprisingly good (compared with excessive congee). We made our way to the hotel and got settled before going out for what might have been the best Chinese organic vegetarian lunch ever. There were several dishes that were just outstanding. The little shop off of a side street or ally only had about eight tables with four seats for each - not a restaurant one would naturally choose. Bourdain is unlikely to have ever been there.

After lunch we had time to visit a Dharma Mart, Buddha Bazaar, Dharma Mall catering to all of one's Buddhist needs - notions, potions, images, mock offerings and torma, Dharma texts, sadhanas (with Chinese translation), household goods, furniture, soap, oil and of course prayer wheels - solar, electric, battery, wind and hand powered. It was an adventure.

The main event for the day was meeting with a Chinese dealer with a large collection of sculpture and paintings. It was an amazing time. There were many works that I had never seen before and some were very good, very interesting and captivated the mind for long periods. We were there most of the rest of the day and well into the night. We were able to grab some dinner at the hotel lounge before retiring for evening, and me into a feverish state.

The two images above are of the beautifully manicured Buddhist Nunnery in Hong Kong (quietest place in the city). The second image is attempting to show some of the dozens of miniature trees on the park grounds. The remaining leaves (remember it is winter here) do not appear clearly in the photo. The trees could easily have been props in either the movie Lord of the Rings or Avatar.

Friday Morning on the South China Sea

If it's Friday it must be Taipai. Well, not quite yet. We still have to get to the Hong Kong airport which is about 25 minutes from the YMCA Hotel in Kowloon. After that the flight to Taipai will only be about an hour and a half.

Yesterday afternoon was spent looking at some interesting pieces of art followed by a leisurely dim sum lunch. Following lunch we spent the afternoon in the Chi Lin Nunnery and temple compound. It is very quiet there - a hidden part of Hong Kong so far unknown to tourists. The nunnery also has a beautiful park in front with ponds and waterfalls, a tea house (literally the quietest place in Hong Kong) and a vegetarian restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious dinner before returning to the hotel.

No images yet - I didn't have time yesterday or this morning to download the files from the camera to the computer. In Taipai there should be more time for downtime and details - unless of course I am completely mistaken!

YMCA Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific was nice enough to upgrade the two of us to Business Class yesterday. Arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday afternoon after losing a half day because of the international dateline. It is actually Thursday morning here now as I write this entry.

We had a coffee in the lobby of the YMCA Hotel yesterday and then ran into a friend from Kathmandu as he exited the elevator in the hotel. He was in Hong Kong on business and the last time I saw him was in a restaurant in Kathmnadu three years ago. The world is becoming ever smaller.

Later, after a short rest, we met up with our host and went for a traditional dinner at an upscale Shanghai restaurant. Needless to say I don't think I like the food that much. I have become very picky about my Chinese diet especially when I can't recognize it out of a line-up. I also enjoy taking my food from the plate and putting it into my mouth directly rather than having to pick out all of the bones, skin, bits of shell, etc., but most importantly I want to know what it is. Is that really so much to ask?

The weather is cool here with mostly 60s during the day - somewhat cloudy. It is winter after all!

We are only here today and then leave early in the morning for Taipai. The flight leaves at 9:00. For the next few days we have all of the recommended restaurants reserved (by our host) along with the meetings lined up. Basically we will be hitting the ground in Taipai running until arriving back in the Hong Kong YMCA late on Monday night. Tuesday will be a full day in Hong Kong to finish up any last minute work before flying back to NY on Wednesday morning.

With luck I will have better images for the next entry.

Later...

--- Jeff

Taiwan Bound

I am off to China again, but this time I'm heading for Taiwan to check out the Himalayan and Tibetan collections at the Palace Museum in Taipai, Taiwan. There are many collections of Tibetan art in Taiwan both private and museum. Hopefully I will see as many as possible in the short amount of time that this trip allows.

I liked this saying:

"THOUGH A MAN BE LEARNED
IF HE DOES NOT APPLY HIS KNOWLEDGE
HE RESEMBLES THE BLIND MAN
WHO WITH A LAMP IN THE HAND CANNOT SEE THE ROAD."

A friend told me this one over Christmas:

"Nine tenths of belief IS reality."