Wisteria and Red Trumpet at Arcadia Library

Spring blossom is here:

The Best Offer (Movie, 2013)

Aesthetically beautiful. A tight script and amazing music. Geoffrey Rush and Sylvia Hoeks push the absolute limits in building the sexual tension. 

It's a high concept film that might appeal to the European intellectual and yet also has much to offer those who don't generally enjoy such films. 

The Martian (Movie, 2015)

Most of director Ridley Scott's big budget science fiction blockbusters have been hugely successful. The Martian is set in the near future, a future where NASA has a healthy budget and is sending manned missions to Mars. Matt Damon carries the show as Astronaut Mark Watney who finds himself marooned on the Red Planet. The high tech sets including spacecraft, Mars habitats and rovers are well detailed and completely believable. 

Who would have thought that a lone guy wandering around Mars talking to himself could be so entertaining?

The Last Witch Hunter (Movie, 2015)

Lots of CGI, lots of Vin Diesel and some other noteworthy additions too, like Elijah Wood and Michael Caine. This with kind of star power and financial backing it’s no wonder Diesel has already signed on for Part 2. 

The low light photography was extremely annoying. Not sure if it just was a mistake or to cover up poor CGI. Story is OK though.

Nyungne in Menlo Park 2016

A Nyungne Retreat is a special two-day meditation, fasting and purification retreat based on the practice of Thousand-Armed Chenrezig and is known for its power in the purification of negative karma and the accomplishment of enlightened qualities. 

This practice was originated by Gelongma Palmo, (Bhikkuni Lakshmi), who was one of the greatest masters of the 1,000-armed Chenrezig practice. 

The Nyungne is a retreat of body, speech and mind from non-virtuous actions, focusing on keeping strict vows for a two-day period, generating the Bodhisattva attitude, and reciting the sadhana of the 1000-armed Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of compassion. 

The vows to be observed include refraining from: 

* Killing. 
* Stealing. 
* Lying. 
* Sexual activities (celibacy). 
* Drinking alcohol, taking drugs, smoking cigarettes. 
* Using perfumes, wearing make-up or ornaments, singing, playing music, dancing and other forms of entertainment. 
* Eating in inappropriate times. 
* Sitting in high seats. 

A set of Nyungne consists of 2 days of strict practice. On the first day, we took one light meal in the morning and one meal at noon, and fast the rest of the day while engaging in three sessions of practice. Like other Vajrayana sadhanas, the Nyungne sadhana involves visualization of the deity, accompanied by prayers, offerings and prostrations, and extensive recitation of the mantra. The sessions begin early in the morning and conclude in the late afternoon. 

On the second day, we observed complete fasting from food and water, and also maintained strict silence, except for the recitation of the Sadhana.

Nyungne is a practice of yidam from Kriya-tantra tradition which not only helps to purify a lot of negative karma in a short time and accumulate merits but also aids in healing illness and opening the heart to compassion. It is said that pure practice on one pair of Nyungne closes the gates of rebirth in lower realms, and the pure completion of eight pairs of Nyungne's leads to rebirth in the Dewachen Pure Land.

In addition, reciting the six syllable Mani Mantra during the retreat, not only purifies the six seeds of the six realms within oneself, it also pacifies the sufferings of all beings. In this way, the practice brings peace to the entire world and can be a cause for World Peace, very appropriate and timely in these degenerate times. 

I attended all four pairs of Nyungne's and concluded early in the morning of the ninth day with a short practice session. It was lead by Lama Jampa and Ani Yangchen. Felt quite complete at the very end!

  

Nageire Moribana

雲門舞集 "稻禾"

《稻禾》向大地致敬
不分台前台後，雲門以扎實的行動呼應這行字。
林懷民口述: 我有「稻米情節」;一粒米，一畝田，與台灣土地的未來; 細節，創造歷史！

我曾在電視上觀賞過稻禾在池上的首演，是同樣節目來美巡迴演出。音樂主要是客家歌謠，投影為台東池上稻田，以舞蹈表現出稻穀的生命循環。《稻禾》的創作源自於盛產「皇帝米」的臺灣臺東池上鄉，主要是向孕育舞團的臺灣土地與人民致敬的作品。舞團創辦者暨藝術總監林懷民運用泥土、花粉、穀實、風、水、火等自然界素材為題編舞，描述稻米生命週期的同時，藉舞作委婉喻示人生，其演出融入舞者修習多年的內家拳與太極導引身法。

《稻禾》是林懷民2013年為舞團創團40周年慶的特別創作，為實地體驗稻米生命週期，帶領包含舞者與技術人員實際遠赴臺東池上鄉，與在地農友共同收割稻米，舞作預演舞臺甚至搭建於稻米田當中。從早年京劇元素運用、新店溪野地訓練，到 80 年代後引入太極導引、內家拳、武術，雲門將東方美學內化為獨特的身體語言。