When you need a distraction, RAVE! (video)

Caitlyn Trudnich (kroq.cbslocal.com); Dev, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

(Tove Lo) "Habits (Stay High)" She's Not on Drugs, just in love. See Sunset Strip Music Festival

Summer concerts, Los Angeles (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images/kroq.cbslocal.com)

Sigh. Coachella, Outside Lands, and HARD Summer have officially come and gone.  We’ve hung up our flower headbands and put away our wellies.  But don’t worry, there are still plenty of awesome music festivals coming up in a nearby location. From indie rock, to hip hop, to EDM, these upcoming events have something for every type of music-lover.

DIY Fest, Pomona

What's so "spiritual" about a concert? It's a communal experience with matching physical moves to a single cue, dancing to the beat. That's a way of peacefully nonverbally communicating, NVC, it's fun, it's a distraction, it can even be a celebration. We get out of our left brains and into our bodies. Then there are the lights, the stars, the other people coming together for a single purpose. It doesn't have to be a spiritual experience, but it can be!

• Dead Kennedys' singer Jello Biafra
• Unlocking The Truth to play Hollywood! (Coachella)
• Sweden's Lykke Li in L.A. ("Get Some")

Together Pangea

Echo Park Rising – August 15th-17th

Now in its fourth year, Echo Park Rising is a FREE festival, combining live music, art, food, and activities celebrating the eclectic neighborhood that is Echo Park.  Live performances from over 200 of LA’s best up-and-coming acts, including Local’s Only band Together Pangea. Enjoy strolling the local businesses and restaurants, including Blue Bag Records, Origami Vinyl, and Mohawk Bend. And it wouldn’t be a festival without yummy food!  Food trucks in attendance include Coolhaus and The Grilled Cheese Truck – mmm!

Located on main routes of Sunset Blvd., Glendale Blvd., Alvarado Ave. and Echo Park Ave. Friday 4:00-10:00 pm, Saturday 12:00-10:00 pm, Sunday 12:00-10:00 pm. Free Admission.

(Courtesy of Getty Images/Kevin Winter)

Uforia Music Festival – August 16th

Sponsored by the Hispanic American music service Uforia, this festival includes two stages, featuring popular acts in both Latin and hip hop genres, including Kid Cudi, Ludacris, and Mexican rock group Camila. Held at LA’s Exposition Park, the festival will also include a Vendor’s Village and tons of food-trucks all day.

Exposition Park, 700 State Dr., Los Angeles. 2:45 pm-12:00 am. Gen. Admission $46.05 + fees.

(Courtesy of Getty Images/Robyn Beck)

Venice Beach Music Fest – August 23rd

Whenever we visit Venice Beach, it’s guaranteed we’ll find an eclectic mix of cultures and unique arts.  The 9th Annual Venice Beach Music Fest perfectly reflects the spirit of the area, with an all-day fun and FREE experience! Live performances include legendary singer Willie Chambers, funk rockers Zen Robbi, and Middle Eastern bellydancing from Ya Harissa Bellydance Theater.  And don’t forget to hit up the after-party, featuring a founding member of Black Flag, Chuck Dukowski!

Windward Plaza Park, 1 Windward Ave., Venice Beach. 11:00 am-7:00 pm. Free admission.

(Courtesy of Getty Images/Trixie Trextor)

FYF Fest – August 23rd-24th

What began as a small music event in Echo Park created by an 18 year-old Sean Carlson, has now become a massive music festival that tons of LA festival goers look forward to every year!  Now in its 11th year and located at The LA Sports Arena and Exposition Park, this upcoming SOLD-OUT festival (like all other sellouts has lots of tickets available at the window, scalpers out front, people with a few extras, dealers, brokers, and craigslisters) promises to be a massive talent fest. With names like The Strokes, Phoenix, Interpol, Haim, Against Me!, and more, it’s sure to be a blast.

 

LA Sports Arena and Exposition Park, 3939 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles. Saturday & Sunday, 2:00 pm-12:00 am.

Long Beach Psyclone August 29th-31st

SoCal rockabilly lovers will definitely love this music festival, featuring tons of rockabilly and psychobilly performances happening all Labor Day weekend long. Held at the Seaport Marina Hotel, the weekend includes internationally known performers like The Sharks (UK) and The Long Tall Texans (UK), as well as fun record hop events, and a pool party and BBQ to culminate the weekend!

Seaport Marina Hotel, 6400 E. Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach. Weekend Pass Admission $80 + fees.

Shoreline Jam Music Festival – August 30th-31st

This awesome, Labor Day Weekend event, sponsored by KROQ, features a jam-packed live music lineup, including KROQ favorites The Dirty Heads, Pepper, and Seedless!  Located at the historic Queen Mary in Long Beach, festival-goers can enjoy a cold drink and yummy food as you stroll through the many vendors and take in the scenic views of the Long Beach harbor!

The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach. General Admission $25.  VIP Admission $75 (includes 2 drink tickets, VIP Lounge access, and access to explore the Queen Mary!)

(Courtesy of Getty Images/Theo Wargo)

Made In America Festival – August 30th-31st

Co-created by hip hop mogul Jay Z in 2012, this successful festival originated in Philadelphia. But this year marks the first time the festival will be held in Los Angeles at Grand Park. The Rocky Stage, Liberty Stage, and Freedom Tent will feature performances from some of the best in rock, hip hop, and EDM, including Imagine Dragons, Kayne West, John Mayer, Iggy Azalea, Weezer, Rise Against, Capital Cities, Steve Aoki, and many more.

Grand Park, 227 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles. 2-Day Pass Admission $200 + fees.

Mad Decent Block Party – September 13th

Created by Mad Decent founder Diplo in 2008, this Block Party tour will be visiting Los Angeles in September. Taking place at the LA Center Studios, this vibrant event will include performances from members of the Mad Decent family, including Laidback Luke, singer Elliphant, and Diplo himself!  Hey, who knows?  Maybe even rapper Riff Raff will make a guest appearance.

LA Center Studios, 1201 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles. Doors 1:00 pm

(Britt Bickel)

Sunset Strip Music Festival – September 20th-21st

One of the most happening music events in LA is the SSMF! Since 2008, the iconic Sunset Strip has been filled with performances on the street and on the legendary stages of venues such as the Whiskey A Go-Go, The Roxy Theatre, and Rainbow Bar & Grill. This year, expect the Strip to get rocked with major performances including, Jane’s Addiction, Empire Of The Sun, Cold War Kids, Mayer Hawthorne, Tove Lo of "Habits (Stay High)" fame, and more.

Saturday, 2:00-11:00 pm, Sunday, 2:00-10:00 pm. 2 Day Pass Admission $125 + fees.

Sex or Death: Robin Willams' "suicide" (video)

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly; Mork; Maurice O'Connell Walshe "Buddhism and Death"

Is it funny (autoerotic asphyxiation)? Is it heavy (depression)? Sex or suicide? The loss of comedic genius, hyper-kinetic former coke-fiend and alcohol abuser Robin "Mork" Williams comes as a shock to us all. He was a funny stand up, an over-the-top Oscar-winning actor, and all around Hollywood icon. The coroner does not say he was "fully clothed" but leaves it at that, which sound erotic. But what if it was suicide?

The Great Unmentionable

(Nadeem Mayhar/flickr.com)

It is sometimes said that DEATH today has replaced SEX as "The Great Unmentionable." And certainly it is, for most people, an uncomfortable subject which they do not care to think much about.

Yet, if there is one thing that is certain in life it is that we shall all die, sooner or later. There was once a creed that declared: "Millions Now Living Will Never Die," and it had great appeal -- but all those who first heard it proclaimed are now dead. [The great appeal of New Testament Christianity is the promise of "eternal life," one of the three things living being crave and suffer over.]

So we all have to face death, whether we like it or not. And we all know it, however we may try to forget the fact. Let us, then, at least for a while, stop trying to forget it and look death straight in the face....

Death-Wish

Though there is a strong fear of death, there is, strangely enough, also a desire for it.

• [In Buddhism "craving" (tanha) refers to three things -- sensual desire, for continued being, and for annihilation, all of which lead to frustration and disappointment.]

Psychoanalysis has much to say about this, though it is perhaps not very illuminating. But the fact remains that many people show suicidal tendencies, or even actually commit suicide, whatever be the explanation.

The Buddha in fact included this "death-wish" as the third of three kinds of craving: besides desire for sense-pleasures, we find in the formula of the second of the Four Noble Truths the desire for becoming (bhava-tanha) and the desire for cessation (vibhava-tanha).

Why annihilation? Since life is -- by its very nature -- frustrating, we can never get it on our own terms; therefore, there is an urge to quit the whole thing. The fallacy, of course, lies in the fact that one will not just get off the carousel so easily. Why? Death by suicide, like any other death, is followed immediately by rebirth in some plane of existence or other -- quite possibly in one worse than this one.

The traditional Christian view is that suicide is a "mortal sin" -- with the implication that it would be a case of "out of the frying-pan and into the fire."

Some psychoanalysts speak -- ignorantly -- of the "Nirvana-principle" in connection with the death-wish. But what we are here dealing with is not in fact the urge for true liberation, but merely an escapist-reaction to disappointment, frustration, and suffering of all kinds.

Disappointment

Sign or cry, but death is no escape.

[What is this "suffering" (dukkha) Buddhism speaks so much of? The Buddha defined it as: "Now this, meditators, is the ennobling truth of suffering: Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, DEATH is suffering; sorrow, lamentation (crying), pain (illness), grief, and despair (losing hope) are suffering; coming into contact with the unloved is suffering; separation from the loved is suffering; not getting what we want is suffering. In brief, the Five Aggregates that are clung to are suffering."]

Only if by insight more profound than that of the Freudians, this revulsion is followed by complete equanimity can it be turned towards the supramundane, which is the goal (nirvana) of Buddhism. This will not happen spontaneously.

It should be noted that the "death-wish" here referred to is associated in Buddhism with the "heresy of annihilationism" already mentioned.

Robin Williams reaching out to his wife in hell with appreciation and regret in this clip from 1998's modern version of Dante's Inferno, "What Dreams May Come"

[This is the belief that death brings annihilation, the wrong view of scientists and materialists that there is nothing further at death by the demise of the physical body. This is a pernicious view that leads to much suffering here and hereafter, but by holding to the wrong view that there will be no hereafter, people who hold this view do not worry about the consequences. BEFORE they die, they are sure to realize that there is more to come. Of course, by then it's really late to do or think anything about it other than regret. This is why the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths and showed the path to making an end of ALL suffering, which does not happen with simple death. Some may rejoice that we do not die, but we do in a sense because this personality, this ego, this name, body, karmic result, these relations, these abilities are all hurtling toward destruction; it will not survive. Something will but not I, me, and mine. Death is certain, and rebirth is worse as it insures that there is more suffering and disappointment to come, sometimes much worse depending on the karma, our deeds of body-speech-and-mind, we make now.]

In a somewhat aggressive form it can even serve to mask repressed fear of death. This would seem to explain the vehemence with which people like Dr. Ernest Jones assert the desirability of their anti-survivalist views. By way of curiosity, it may be mentioned that a distinguished biologist has gone on record as declaring that whether or not we believe in survival is entirely determined by our genes, which is pushing determinism pretty far. More

Yoga, Meditation in Action: Seane Corn (video)

Yogi Seven, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly; Krista Tippett, Trent Gilliss (onbeing.org)

 

American Yogini Seane Corn

Yoga has infiltrated law schools and strip malls, churches and hospitals. This 5,000-year-old spiritual technology is converging with 21st-century medical science and with many religious and philosophical perspectives.
 

Midwesterner Seane Corn ("Off the Mat Into the World") takes us inside the practicalities and power of yoga [mainly those limbs of an ancient eightfold practice focusing on physical postures and breath regulation]. Corn describes how it helps her face the darkness in herself and the world and how she’s come to see yoga as a form of body prayer. More

• Listen to the radio show/podcast
• When Yoga Gets Really Real  When I moved to Jerusalem two years ago, I thought for sure that I would continue my yoga practice, especially after having yoga present in my life in so many ways for so many years. And I thought that I would even find others in this holy city to practice with. A sangha (spiritual community), a space, a teacher...

Exploring Mysteries, Encouraging a Love Affair with Life Parker Palmer pays homage with words of wisdom on "the savage and beautiful country that lies in between."

  

Living with Yoga: rehabilitation

Molested at 6-years-old, Corn made a gift of that experience -- not in spite of it -- by transforming the shame and darkness. She works with child prostitutes and sex trafficking here in the U.S. and in Buddhist countries like Cambodia. She went through a period of drug abuse, sex abuse, and other efforts to numb out and check out. But when she faced and actually dealt with and transformed the shadow, she was able to venture on the road to becoming whole.

  

VIDEO: Body Prayer
Trent Gilliss (onbeing.orgj)

For Seane Corn, yoga is much more than a practice in flexibility. It’s a way of applying spiritual lessons to real-world problems and personal issues. One way she channels her energy and love is through a practice she calls “body prayer,” as she shares in this video from Yoga from the Heart.

She shared this perspective about “body prayer” in the show, “Yoga, Meditation in Action”:
 

“I trust that if I do my yoga practice, I’m going to get stronger and more flexible. If I stay in alignment, if I don’t push, if I don’t force, then my body will organically open in time.

“I know that if I breathe deeply, I’ll oxygenate my body. It has an influence on my nervous system. These things are fixed and I know to be true.

“But I also recognize that it’s a mystical practice, and you can use your body as an expression of your devotion. So the way that you place your hands, the ways that you step a foot forward or back, everything is done as an offering. I offer the movements to someone I love or to the healing of the planet.

 

Hope I can do yoga like Seane during this war

“And so if I’m moving from a state of love and my heart is open to that connection between myself and another person or myself and the universe, it becomes an active form of prayer, of meditation, of grace.

“And when you’re offering your practice as a gift, as I was in that particular DVD, as I do often, I was offering to my dad who’s very ill. And so when I have an intention behind what I’m doing, then it becomes so fluid. Because if I fall out of a pose I’m not going to swear, I’m not going to get disappointed or frustrated. 

Titling a Show on Seane Corn’s Yoga

“I’m going to realize that this is my offering, and I don’t want to offer that energy to my father. I only want to offer him my love. And so I let my body reflect that. And when you link the body with the breath, when my focus is solely on getting the pose to embrace the breath that I’m actualizing, then the practice, it’s almost in slow motion.

“It has a sense of effortlessness. When people can connect to that, it takes the pressure off of trying to do it perfectly. It just becomes a real expression of their own heart.

“Sometimes it’s graceful and elegant, other times it’s kind of funky and abstract, but it’s authentic to who the person is. It’s their own poetry.” More

Learn a New Word; Parker Palmer Reminds Us That Work Doesn't Define You; Yoga Mom and Child; The Ethics of Lockpicking?

This week inspired a lesson from Ralph Waldo Emerson, a poetic reflection on being more than doing from Parker Palmer, a precious moment that will make you smile, and a peculiar story about a lockpicker that will make you think.

"Monkey Mind" in Meditation

Michael Carr; CC Liu, Pat Macpherson, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly (Wiki edit)

What's monkey mind? Hold on a second, I'll look on Wisdom Quarterly (Huffington Post).

.

Obsessed with sexy distractions (Uhohbro).

Monkey mind (or mind monkey) comes from the Chinese word xinyuan and the Sino-Japanese shin'en (心猿), literally, "heart-/mind-monkey").

It is a Buddhist term meaning "restless, unsettled, capricious, whimsical, fanciful, inconstant, confused, indecisive, uncontrollable." In addition to Buddhist writings -- including Chinese Chan and Japanese Zen (two Mahayana sects giving their pronunciations of the Pali term jhan'a and the Sanskrit dhyan'a), Consciousness-Only, Pure Land, and Shingon -- this "monkey mind" psychological metaphor was adopted in Taoism, Neo-Confucianism, poetry, drama, and literature.

"Mind-monkey" occurs in two reversible four-character idioms with yima or iba (意馬), literally, "thought-/will-horse," most frequently used in Chinese xinyuanyima (心猿意馬) and Japanese ibashin'en (意馬心猿).

The "Monkey King" Sun Wukong in the Journey to the West personifies the mind-monkey. Note that much of the following summarizes Michael Carr ("'Mind-Monkey' Metaphors in Chinese and Japanese Dictionaries," International Journal of Lexicography 1993, 6.3:149-180). 

Linguistic and cultural background

Mind monkey piggy backs on horse idea (Tang Dynasty)

"Mind-monkey" (心猿) is an animal metaphor. Some figures of speech are cross-linguistically common, verging upon being linguistic universals.

Many languages use "monkey" or "ape" words to mean "mimic," for instance, Italian scimmiottare "to mock, to mimic" and scimmia "monkey, ape," Japanese sarumane (猿真似), literally, "monkey imitation," "copycat, superficial imitation," and the English monkey see, monkey do or to ape. Other animal metaphors have culture-specific meanings. Compare English chickenhearted as "cowardly, timid," "easily frightened" and Chinese jixin (雞心), literally, "chicken heart," "heart-shaped, cordate."

 

The four morphological elements of Chinese xinyuanyima or Japanese shin'en'iba are xin or shin (心) "heart, mind", yi or i (意) "thought," yuan or en (猿) "monkey," and ma or ba (馬) "horse."

The 心 "heart, mind" and 意 "idea, will"

Mr. Simian! - No, I just meant a pony ride on the "will horse," not us horsing around!

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The psychological components of the "mind-monkey will-horse" metaphor are Chinese xin or Sino-Japanese shin or kokoro (心) "heart, mind, feelings, affections, center" and yi or i (意) "thought, idea, opinion, sentiment, will, wish, meaning."

This Chinese character 心 was graphically simplified from an original pictogram of a heart and 意 "thought, think" is an ideogram combining 心 under yin (音) "sound, tone, voice" denoting "sound in the mind, thought, idea."

 

In Chinese Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism, xin/shin (心) "heart, mind" generally translates Sanskrit citta "mind, process of mind, state of mind, consciousness" and yi/i (意) translates Sanskrit manas "the mental organ, deliberation."

 

Some Buddhist authors have used 心 and 意 interchangeably for "mind, cognition, thought." Compare these Digital Dictionary of Buddhism glosses:

• 心 "Spirit, motive, sense. The mind as the seat of intelligence, mentality, idea. (Sanskrit citta)... Thought, intellect, feeling (Sanskrit mānasa)"
• 意 "Thought, intellect (Sanskrit manas, Tibetan yid), the mind, (Sanskrit citta, Tibetan sems)."

For example, take the Buddhist word Chinese xin-yi-shi or Japanese shin-i-shiki (心意識), literally, "mind, thought, and cognition" that compounds three near-synonyms.

 

The Abhidharma theory uses this word as a general term for "mind, mentality." But Yogacara's theory of Eight Consciousnesses distinguishes xin/shin (心) "store consciousness," yi/i (意) "manas consciousness," and shi/shiki (識) "six object-contingent consciousnesses."

 

Xinyuanyima (心猿意馬), literally, "mind-monkey idea-horse," "distracted, indecisive, restless" is comparable with some other Chinese collocations:

• xinmanyizu (心滿意足) "heart-full mind-complete," "perfectly content, fully satisfied."
• xinhuiyilan (心灰意懶) "heart-ashes mind-sluggish," "disheartened, discouraged, hopeless" (or xinhuiyileng (心灰意冷) with leng "cold, frosty."
• xinhuangyiluan (心慌意亂) "heart-flustered mind-disordered," "alarmed and hysterical, perturbed."
• xinfanyiluan (心煩意亂) "heart-vexed mind-disordered," "terribly upset, confused and worried"...

"Mind-monkey" in English

Prozac (fluoride) calcifies the pineal gland

Monkey mind and mind monkey both occur in English usage, originally as translations of xinyuan or shin'en and later as culturally-independent images. Carr concludes:

Xinyuan-yima (心猿意馬) "monkey of the heart/mind and horse of the ideas/will" has been a successful metaphor. What began 1500 years ago as a Buddhist import evolved into a standard Chinese and Japanese literary phrase.

Rosenthal (1989:361) says a proverb's success "'depends on certain imponderables," particularly rhythm and phrasing. Of the two animals in this metaphor, the "monkey" phrase was stronger than the "horse" because xinyuan "mind-monkey" was occasionally used alone (e.g., Wuzhenpian) and it had more viable variants (e.g., qingyuan 情猿 "emotion-monkey" in Ci'en zhuan).

The "mental-monkey" choice of words aptly reflects restlessness, curiosity, and mimicry associated with this animal. Dudbridge (1970:168) explains how "the random, uncontrollable movements of the monkey symbolise the waywardness of the naive human mind before it achieves a composure which only Buddhist discipline can effect" (1993:166). More

Study: Why do men visit prostitutes?

Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly; Julie Bindel (The Guardian); Hillary Duff

Why men use prostitutes: The reasons why many men pay for sex are revealed in the interviews that make up a major new piece of research.
 

"I don't get anything out of sex with prostitutes except for a bad feeling," says Ben. An apparently average, thirtysomething, middle-class man, Ben had taken an extended lunchbreak from his job in advertising to talk about his experiences of buying sex. Shy and slightly nervous, he told me, "I am hoping that talking about it might help me work out why I do it."

Julie Bindel

I, too, was hoping to understand his motives better. Ben was one of 700 men interviewed for a major international research project seeking to uncover the reality about men who buy sex. The project spanned six countries. And of the 103 customers we spoke to in London -- where I was one of the researchers -- most were surprisingly keen to discuss their experiences.

The men didn't fall into obvious stereotypes. They were aged between 18 and 70 years old; they were white, black, Asian, eastern European; most were employed, and many were ­educated beyond [high]school level. In the main they were presentable, polite, with average-to-good social skills. Many were husbands and boyfriends; just over half were either married or in a relationship with a woman.

 

Science: 700 men were interviewed for the research project, which aimed to find out why men solicit and buy sex (Christina Griffiths/Getty Images/Flickr RM).

 

Research published in 2005 found that the numbers of men who pay for sex had doubled in a decade. The ­authors attributed this rise to "a greater acceptability of commercial sexual contact," yet many of our ­interviewees told us that they felt ­intense guilt and shame about paying for sex.

"I'm not satisfied in my mind" was how one described his feelings after paying for sex. Another told me that he felt "disappointed -- what a waste of money," "lonely still," and "guilty about my relationship with my wife." In fact, many of the men were a mass of contradictions. Despite finding their experiences "unfulfilling, empty, terrible," they continued to visit prostitutes.

 

Call to legalize World Cup sex trade

I interviewed 12 of the men, and found it a fascinating experience. One told me about his experience of childhood cruelty and neglect and linked this to his inability to form close ­relationships with anyone, particularly women.

Alex admitted sex with ­prostitutes made him feel empty, but he had no idea how to get to know women "through the usual routes." When I asked him about his feelings ­towards the women he buys he said that, on the one hand, he wants ­prostitutes to get to know and like him. On the other hand, he is "not under ­delusions" that the encounters are anything like a real relationship. More

• READ: Research report on men who buy sex (PDF)
• COMMENTS (334)

• Inquiry fails to find single trafficker who forced anybody into prostitution
• Prostitution and trafficking – the anatomy of a moral panic
  
• Sex trafficking: we can learn from victim
  
• Sex trafficking: a futile war of statistics
• No trafficking? Well, there's a hell of a lot of women suffering
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• Prostitution
• Social exclusion
• Women
• Teenager's painting of penis on parents' roof spotted in space 
• Tackling the trafficking myths
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• Belle de Jour, you're nothing like her
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• Tracy Quan: Male prostitution comes to Nevada

Sex, Chocolate, and Buddhism

Dhr. Seven and Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly; S.F. Asian Art Museum (asianart.org)

Gorgeous Idea

Rare Buddhist masterpieces on display

Imagine talks that are informal, impromptu, in-gallery conversations. Imagine that they are facilitated by scholars, artists, filmmakers, and writers. Imagine that the facilitators explore ideas arising from the artwork on view in the exhibition "Gorgeous." And when done imaging, visit the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco to see them brought to life. Each facilitator presents an idea that piques the curiosity of the host and the audience then engages in a session to investigate it through two or three artworks:

• Gorgeous Idea: The Aura of an Ore with Jeff Durham

  August 7, 2014, 7:00-8:00 pm (free with museum admission, $5 after 5:00 pm. Meet near the information desk. Evenings, Talks, and Lectures. Buddhist expert Jeff Durham hosted "Enter the Mandala: Cosmic Mind Maps" at the Norton Simon.
  
• Sex, Chocolate, and Kimonos with Tina Takemoto

  August 14, 7:00-8:00 pm (free with museum admission, $5 after 5:00 pm). Meet near the information desk:

Caveat emptor: you get what you pay for.

How do artists use sex, food, physicality, and clothing to seduce and deceive viewers? Tina Takemoto explores how sexuality and race are deployed in artworks presented in Gorgeous that engage with cross-dressing, masquerade, embodiment, and ethnic drag.

Tina Takemoto is an artist and associate professor of visual studies at California College of the Arts in San Francisco.
 
Takemoto's research explores the hidden dimensions of same-sex intimacy and queer sexuality for Japanese Americans incarcerated during WW II. She has...received grants funded by Art Matters, James Irvine Foundation, and San Francisco Arts Commission. Her film Looking for Jiro received Best Experimental Film Jury Award at the Austin Gay and Lesbian Int'l Film Festival. Her articles appear in Afterimage, Art Journal, GLQ, Performance Research, Radical Teacher, Theatre Survey, Women and Performance, and the anthology Thinking Through the Skin. Takemoto is board president of the Queer Cultural Center and co-founder of Queer Conversations on Culture and the Arts. On occasion, she makes guerrilla appearances as Michael Jackson and Bjork-Geisha.

• The Skin/Skein I’m In with Việt Lê

  September 4, 7:00-8:00 pm (free with museum admission, $5 after 5:00 pm). Meet near the information desk.
• Behind Closed Doors with Michael Stabile

  September 11, 7:00-8:00 pm (free with museum admission, $5 after 5:00 pm). Meet near the information desk. Details

Sex, Chocolate, and Buddhism
Wisdom Quarterly and Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda (Question Time)

Don't we have a parlor to get to? - Oh, S, we're gonna to be late! - I think they'll understand.

.

"Chocolate" is a fruit seed crushed with sugar.

We have a gorgeous idea, too. Crystal, what should our idea be? We can tell Jeff, and maybe he'll do it.

 

We can take a cue from Prof. Takemoto and concentrate on sex and chocolate! Did you know that chocolate is a fruit? 

What are you talking about? Chocolat is a fat. 

 

Yes, but Theobroma cacao -- "cocoa, the food of the devas" is the bitter crushed pit of a tropical fruit mixed with sugar or some sweetener, like raw agave, to take the edge off.

Chocolate Buddha (Patosoftineto/flickr)

That's rad; we should make raw chocolate, mold it into little Buddha bars, and hand them out at our talk -- our parlor room discussion -- about sex.

They would never go for it. San Francisco is way too uptight.

Maybe, but they let Jeff do Cosmic Mandalas in the main gallery, converting museum space into an actual, working sacred mandala.

True, that's true. But sex is a touchy subject for Americans. We're Judeo-Christian Puritans whether we like it or not, and most of us don't even realize how uptight we are.

"Touchy" subject is right. Maybe we should start with hugs -- chocolates and a snuggle party!

This is a Parlor.

Whatever, did you know that all sexual misconduct is sexual conduct BUT not all sexual conduct is sexual misconduct?

The real life mandala at the SF Asian Art Museum (Dr. Jeff Durham/asianart.org)

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A woman discover the sensual scent of flowers

What, well, obviously! "All whales are fish, but not all fish are whales."

Fish are whales?

Whatever, things that live and swim in water all day.

What is sexual misconduct?

Who cares, our talk will be about sexual conduct.

Cool.

But Amber's not going to give the go ahead on this presentation.

Hmmm...I've got it! We'll run it by Seth instead.

Yes!

Worse comes to worse, we'll convince Ashley.

No, worse comes to worse they'll say we're parlor talkers. That chocolate had better be good, good like fudge.

We can quote Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, the renowned Sri Lankan Theravada scholar-monk from Malaysia who says in Question Time:

Is sex bad?

As human beings, we have bodies that crave for all kinds of pleasures. Not only sex, we crave for food, pleasurable fragrances, sounds, sights, tastes, and tangibles.

If we deny ourselves these as being "sinful" then we repress natural desires. Instead of repressing these natural desires, we must seek to understand how and why they arise and to realize that it is not in our best intere3sts to pander to physical desires.

The victim of maya (illusion) sees the body as real and craves to satisfy a longing for sense desires (kama), which covers all kinds of sensual pleasure.

As the person, the being, matures spiritually, illusion is replaced with knowledge and wisdom (vidya and prajna). With spiritual matureity, the body is seen as an illusion and the person naturally grows out of craving. Here we see the spritually advanced being renounces sex (and other five sense strand pursuits) just as a child stops playing with toys as s/he grows up.

Quagmire is a pandaka (Family Guy)

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with sex. What is wrong is attachment and slavery to it, in believing that indulgence in sex can bring ultimate happiness.

This is the problem with the exploitation of sex by the mass entertainment industry today -- perpetuating the myth that sex can bring lasting happiness.

The third of the Five Precepts recited in daily Buddhist practice is, "I undertake the training rule to refrain from sexual misconduct." 

First, let's not that there is no compulsion, no fear of punishment for the infringement of any "divine law" here, but rather -- when we recognize the danger of attachment to sex, we freely take the steps (training rule) to grow out of it, that is, "I undertake."

(From Question Time with Venerable Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, 2012, pp. 40-41, Buddhist Maha Vihara, Malaysia, Sasana Abhiwurdhi Wardhana Society).