Kim, Kali, Kwan-yin, Kumari, Mary K (video)

Ashley Wells, Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; Sonia Narang ("The World," PRI.org, 6-18-14); KFIam640.com; Christian Today; New York Daily News

The new Madonna and Child, Kim Kardashian and North West, June '14 (hiphollywood.com)

Holy cow! Kim Yin Kardashian is now a goddess deified by American artist Hannah Kunkle

Kim, Kwan Yin, the Virg Yin as manifestations of the Goddess (Hannah Kunkle/Splash/KFI)

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Kim as black as Kali, bad tan (guyism.com)

US artist Hannah Kunkle's digital paintings feature reality TV star Kim Kardashian (Mrs. Kanye West) as various religious icons.

They were featured in an exhibition entitled "The Passion of Kim Kardashian" that opened in Brooklyn. Kunkle, 23, admits she is "strangely fascinated" by Kardashian.

Kanye and Kim, the FUTURE couple

"It's art. It's supposed to be wild and, not offensive, but prying," she told a US newspaper after various religious leaders slammed her work.
 

Father Michael Perry of Our Lady of Refuge Church in Flatbush, Brooklyn told the New York Daily News the show was "dumb and stupid." Kardashian is also portrayed as the Hindu goddess Kali, Jesus the Christ, Catholic nuns, Joan of Arc, and a Satanic priestess [like Mary Kay but selling Khroma]. More

We've just about had it with Kardashian-West, just about, but the West needs goddesses, too

Kim Kardashian Satanic high priestess with her own altar (animalnewyork.com)

Satanic priestess: Kim drops in on Kanye at Bonnaroo 2014 in seductive top (Daily Mail)

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I'm still a young hybrid (M-C)

The artist explains why she did it: "I think she is almost a patron saint of pop culture," Kunkle told the Daily News.

"She's everywhere." And in an April 2014 interview, she went beyond statements of admiration: "Kim Kardashian is God," she told VICE.

• Future goddess Honey Boo Boo is "a tiny, dimpled monster"
• VIDEO: Kim flashes lots of skin as she goes braless: Kim Kardashian stepped out in New York wearing another daring outfit and revealing [that she must be trying to become the new Madonna].
• The 5 Principles and 10 Commandments of Hinduism 
• What does it mean when one says I'm Shia or Sunni?
• Fun with fungi: the lurid bolete (wiki)
• FEMEN.org: Topless female activists

The Living Goddesses of Nepal

Sonia Narang (The World, PRI, 6-18-14); Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Along a busy thoroughfare near Kathmandu, Nepal, a passageway leads into a large, open-air courtyard. In the back corner, there’s a modest home with a red sign outside that simply reads, “Living Goddess.”

 

Kumari blessing at festival (Sonia Narang)

A narrow wooden staircase leads up to the second floor, where the goddess spends much of her childhood. She’s called a Kumari (Ku Mary), and she’s [adored] by Nepali Hindus and Buddhists, who believe she's the [embodiment] of the Hindu goddess Durga [with the power to kills one's demons].
 
In Nepal, this centuries-old tradition of choosing a young girl as a goddess continues to this day. Now, people from around the world flock here to get a glimpse of her.


 

Are there Himalayan pools in Nepal?

I got to know the mother of this Kumari after several visits to her house.
 
Her name is Shobha Bhajracharya. She has a full, round face with a sweet smile.
 
I ask her how she felt when her daughter Samita was chosen to be a Kumari a few years ago. She laughs shyly.
 

Kumari is so cool! Choose me! I can morph.

“I felt both happy and sad,” she says.

“On one hand, I felt happy because when your daughter becomes god, having a god in the home is a delightful thing.

But [on the other hand] I also got scared because I wasn’t sure if we would be able to follow all the rules.” More

Who is the Buddhist Goddess Kwan Yin?
ReligionFacts.com; edited by Wisdom Quarterly

Goddess Kwan Yin buddha-to-be with a  thousand arms (chinatourguide.com)

 
Kwan Yin (also Kuan and Guan Yin) is the bodhisattva of compassion. [A bodhisattva is a person who has vowed to develop the perfections to become a buddha].

I wear white! Goddess power!

She venerated by East Asian Buddhists [particularly in the very Hindu-influenced Mahayana school, having morphed from the Hindu god Avalokitesvara].

Commonly known as the "Goddess of Mercy," Kwan Yin is also revered by Chinese Taoists as an Immortal. The name Kwan Yin is short for Kuan Shih Yin (Guan Shi Yin), which means "Observing the Sounds of the World [One Who Hears the Cries of the World]."

Braless in Paris, France (M-C)

In Japanese, she is called Kannon, or more formally Kanzeon; the spelling Kwannon, resulting from an obsolete system of romanization, is sometimes also seen. In Korea, she is called Kwan-um or Kwan-se-um. In Vietnamese, she is called Quan Âm or Quan Thế Âm Bồ Tát [Kwan Yin Bodhisattva].

Kuan Yin is the Chinese name for the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. However, folk traditions in China and other East Asian countries have added many distinctive characteristics and legends [to the original Brahminical/Hindu legend]. Most notably, while Avalokitesvara can be depicted as either male or female, Kuan Yin is usually depicted as a young woman, whereas Avalokitesvara in other countries is usually depicted as a man.

My make up is optional! No, Kim!

Along with Buddhism, Kwan Yin's veneration was introduced into China as early as the 1st century CE, and reached Japan by way of Korea soon after Buddhism was first introduced into the country from the mid-7th century.
 
Representations of the bodhisattva in China prior to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) were masculine in appearance. Images which later displayed attributes of both genders are believed to be in accordance with the Lotus Sutra, where Avalokitesvara has the supernatural power of assuming any form required to relieve suffering and also has the power to grant children.
 

I don't git it! - I'm "Kim Yin" now. (PH)

Because this bodhisattva is considered the personification of compassion and kindness [more like Princess Diana of Wales or the original Goddess DIANA, who now appears in the form of the Hunger Games' Jennifer Lawrence], a mother-goddess and patron of mothers and seamen, the representation in China was further interpreted in an all female form around the 12th century. In the modern period, Kuan Yin is most often represented as a beautiful, white-robed woman... More

 

Kwan Yin in Theravada Buddhist Thailand, Wat Plai Laem, Ko Samui (sandrobisaro.com)

But I want to be the All-American Goddess! Notice me! I'm Lindsay "The Luóhàn" Lohan!

  
NY to legalize medical marijuana
[Hey, Lindsay,] New York is poised to become the 23rd state to legalize medical marijuana, but smoking it will not be allowed under... [So why don't you move there?]

I'm a Mexican-American Buddhist

Crystal Quintero, Pfc. Sandoval; Amber Larson, Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; LA Times

Mexican-Americans and other Latinos wandering around the City of Angels (latimes.com)

Latino celebs like Chicana Selena Gomez on the streets of L.A. (PeopleEnEspanol.com)

Los Angeles' favorite soccer/futbol team, like its favorite cuisine, comes from Mexico (AP)

 

It's all about directly experiencing the Truth

Q: If you were a "Mexican Buddhist," wouldn't you live in L.A.?

A: I guess that's true. I don't live in Latin America. I must be a Mexican-American Buddhist because I live in Los Angeles.

Buddhist temples here are very welcoming to people who speak Spanish or Spanglish. They try to be very accommodating to explain the Dharma or offer meditation instruction.

La Virgen de Guadalupe as Latin Guan Yin

Beyond Chino Hills, far to the east near the massive Hindu mandir which is larger than the Malibu forest mandir, there is a large Thai Buddhist temple that tried to get a permit from the city to build a golden stupa. The city said it was too big. So they cut it down to size and set it in the parking lot. That temple has a little guest house dedicated to Native Americans, who were once the locals before colonization and incorporation. When one asks the monks why it's there, they explain that it's out of reverence for the people who originally settled that land.

Ancient Mexico in Mesoamerica was partially usurped to form the United States. Mesoamerica included North and Central America, including California, where the people remember the Mayan, Aztec, Toltec, and Olmec empires (wiki)

 

Reality check: El Pueblo de L.A.

Going West (Hsi Lai) temple-complex in Hacienda Heights on the border with Orange County is very welcoming, too. They are a Taiwanese Mahayana missionary movement, so one expects it. One does not expect to be so warmly treated in about 100 much smaller temples that dot Latin neighborhoods all over L.A. County.

Q: And what Dharma message do you like best?

Jessica Alba, mom, Beverly Hills

A: The message of independent thinking. The Dharma is not about faith or priestly authority. It is about free inquiry and a sangha, a community, that includes the people who practice the Path. The Kalama Sutra tells us so, as do so many teachings of the Buddha.

Like the original Protestant movement opposing corrupt Catholic institutions, Buddhism says we don't need an intermediary between us and the Truth, us and reality, us and enlightenment (seeing things as they really are), seeing the end-of-suffering (nirvana).

Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) loves Lucy

We don't need idols, Gods, or heroes. They're all well and good. What we need is practice and insight. And that's up to us. No one gets anywhere without help, but no one can help us so much that they are doing it for us. No one can do it for us. I think Mexican-Americans can really relate to this. Maybe all Americans in our diversity can, like disaffected Presbyterians and languishing Lutherans [Editor: Like my dad, you mean?] What did people want but a direct experience of sacred knowledge, liberating enlightenment, of the divine, of the entheogenic (godhood-within) experience.

Speaking of diversity, before there was America there was Mexico. And Mexico was the place for diversity. It still is! The Los Angeles Times recently (hardcopy June 13, online June 12, 2014) had a front page story titled "Mestizo Nation: Mexican DNA reveals a staggering range of diversity"! Mestizo means "mixed" (miscegenation, which was illegal in the U.S. until the 1950s, but has been and is now one of the most popular things Anglos and Latinos do, like Sofia Vergara and "Al Bundy" on Modern Family as the new Lucy and her Hispanic hubby).

Afghan, Chinese Buddhist missionaries to Cali

"Mexico," it seems, gets its name from one Indian tribe, the Mexica or Mēxihcatls, who were Aztecs. Mexicans again became the majority group in sunny California in 2013, but now we're Mexican-Americans, and many of us are interested in Buddhism. After all, what few know is that Buddhism arrived in Mexico and California LONG before Europeans, Columbus, or Christianity.

 

Mestizo Nation 
Geoffrey Mohan (Science: latimes.com)
Mexico boasts a staggering genetic diversity, study shows

Writers, artists, and historians have long pondered what it means to be Mexican. Now science has offered its answer, and it could change how medicine uses racial and ethnic categories to assess disease risk, testing, and treatment.

• California no longer has a white majority (Think Progress) 
• Hospital to train barbers in black areas to test for hypertension
• Teaching Through Trauma: How poverty affects kids' brains

Academy Awards come to Hollywood (preview)

Ashley Wells, Seven, CC Liu, Amber Larson, Dev, Wisdom Quarterly; AirTalk's Mantle, Loewenstein, and guest film critics prerecorded at the Egyptian Theatre (KPCC FM, SCPR.org)

Golden Oscar overlooking Hollywood lights, L.A., viewed from Griffith Observatory (below); golden Buddha towering over Nan, Thailand (above) in a haze (abilityriddle/flickr.com).

Oscar statue seen high atop space observatory in view of the stars, Hollywood, CA before 83rd Annual Academy Awards to be held Sunday, March 2, 2014 in rain-soaked LA (KAT/WQ).

   
Oscar ballots at the ready! Academy Awards preview

Oscar statue (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

KPCC film critics give the how and why on marking viewing-party ballots for awards-worthy films. For the 11th annual “FilmWeek on AirTalk” Academy Awards preview, Host Larry Mantle is joined by Wade Major of boxoffice.com, Tim Cogshell of Box Office Magazine, Alynda Wheat of People Magazine, Peter Rainer of the Christian Science Monitor, Henry Sheehan of dearhenrysheehan.com, Charles Solomon of amazon.com, regular KPCC Film Critic Lael Loewenstein, and Justin Chang of Variety.

• AUDIO: LISTEN NOW

COMMENTARY

Give me an award for my art!

The most important category this year is "Best Documentary," and we have our fingers crossed for Jeremy Scahill and Richard Rowley's "Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield" (Democracy Now!). But it is a tough category this year with other great choices such as The Act of Killing (about Indonesia, its military regime, and the million Indonesians they killed to stay in power and enrich themselves), The Square (about Egypt's Arab Spring centered in Tahrir Square), and 20 Feet from Stardom (about the best part of most pop music, the amazing and unsung back-up singers). 

Hollywood Oscar, Griffith Park (ocio.go)

And then there's "Magnetism" in space between Sandy Bollocks and Ceorgie Glooney, which will probably sweep the whole show along with Jared Leto's "San Antonio Sellers Club" ably supported by Matt Mc Something or other. And we have our fingers crossed that this is finally Johnny Depp's year for his fantastic work as the pirate in "Saving Capt. Phillips." *Wink* See all of the nominees in all of the categories so as to memorize all of the fine minutiae for your Sunday viewing party: oscar.go.com/nominees

• LIVE: Full Oscar coverage, breaking news (Huff Post)
• "12 Years a Slave" sweeps Spirit Awards! (LN/LA Times)

OSCARS 2014: Complete LIST of nominees and WINNERS

"White Rabbit" Arabic version by Mayssa Karaa for "American Hustle"

Los Angeles skyline in window as viewed from Tinsel Town/Hollywood

The lunar "Year of the Horse" (2014)

CC Liu, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; 123newyear.com

Year of the Horse logo (123newyear.com)

  

I had a white pony once but renounced it all.

The year 2014 is considered the "Year of the Horse" according to the Chinese zodiac, which uses the lunar calendar. It begins January 31, 2014 and ends on February 18, 2015.

The Chinese zodiac is comprised of 12 animal signs (one mythical, the others ordinary). The horse is the seventh among them. It symbolizes graciousness, dignity, momentum, and firmness. In Chinese culture, people born during the Year of the Horse are regarded as witty, elegant, eloquent, and charming speakers.

Most of them possess a gift for getting their way by going through the hearts of other people. People bearing the horse sign strive towards seeking freedom and happiness.

• The 12 zodiac signs apply based only on the birth year. Everyone born this year, 12 years before now, and 12 years before then are all that sign. Last year was the Year of the Snake, which will happen again in 12 years. The world's zodiac charts, their astrological calendars, differ from one another, adhering to their own system and predictive value.

Personality

Happy Year of the Horse (photo.elsoar.com)

Horse people are lively, bright, and are known for their physical strength. They can express themselves well when communicating with other people. People born under the sign of the horse prefer to stay at peaceful places.... (Hunger Game's catty "Katniss Everdeen," Jennifer Lawrence, is actually a celebrity horse; expect to see her on a lot of gossip magazine covers in the years to come).

Relationships for Year of the Horse

Lawrence's middle finger mudra (Getty Images)

In matters related to love horse people -- according to the Chinese zodiac -- often suffer bad luck. 

Heartbreak is often experienced by horse people. They need to exercise caution and watch out for feeble bonds that do not survive over time. 

Sometimes their propensity to indulge in overspending or their financial struggles come into their way of maintaining love bonds. They can become too dependent on others, and this makes them vulnerable. They need to watch out for the tendency to bring out feelings too quickly, long before others.

Such candor about love (infatuation) might not be taken in a positive way. And their strategies to resolve their love issues also tend to be their own. (Maybe get the advice of others in stable relationships instead of running wild). More

 

Chinese Spring Festival, 2014 Lunar New Year...
Chinese New Year - Wikipedia
Hong Kong Chinese New Year (Tourism Board)
What Does Your Chinese Zodiac Animal Mean?
Does Year of the Horse Begin January 1 Or Later?
When Is Chinese New Year In 2014?