World and Beings: Sherab Gyaltsen

The story is from an old Tibetan folk tale, with altogether twenty one chapters. The narrator is a corpse talking to a boy, a situation which looks bizarre upon the first gaze, but becomes clearer as it develops and comments on the illusion of life and death, confirming that death is just a transition period from one life to another. I find the tale very interesting. 

Tibetan religious paintings, known as thanka paintings, are an intrinsic part of Tibetan art. They depict different religious personalities and manifestations of the Tibetan pantheon. Chenrezig, the embodiment of compassion and the savior of Tibet, is one of the bodhisattvas whose singular mission is to save all sentient beings. He exudes impartial compassion for all creatures simply because there is no living being that has not once been one's mother or father. As all life forms are interconnected, the taking of a sheep or a goat's life is tantamount to committing matricide or patricide. Wielding the compassion of all the Buddhas, Avalokiteshvara has vowed not to rest until his mission of universal salvation is achieved.

"Greed" is an attempt to merge contemporary human experience with traditional timeless Buddhist values and beliefs still relevant today. In the symbolism of the Tibetan wheel of life, the realm of the Hungry Ghosts is the state of neurotic desire. When is desire neurotic? Desire is neurotic when it seeks from its object more than the object by its very nature is able to give or when even different satisfaction from what the object is able to give, is demanded. Let me take for example the neurotic desire for food: Sometimes people gobble down huge quantities of food, especially sweet things, while their needs are about anything but food, which has merely become a substitute for a deeper need. Psychologists claim that people consume unnecessarily large quantities of food for psychological reasons. Especially is the craving for sweets essentially a need for affection. Neurotic desire in this sense is also very often present in personal relationships; particularly in intimate personal relationships to such an extent that it appears that one hungry ghost is trying to devour another. That's the Pretas', the hungry ghosts', state of mind.

Being very interested in the inner world of human nature, in this picture I have tried to express a feature of the human character I have noticed over time. Some people appear to be very afraid and always angry, but their inner world is very kind, much like the way parents relate to their sons and daughters or like the teacher- student relationship in a Tibetan monastery where teachers never smile with students but at an inner level care deeply for them. In society the theme is reflected in many social relationships; sometimes people are good at pretending wisdom and kindness, but their inner world may be different. By judging from appearances alone we do not understand the inside quality, but are mesmerized by surface glamour and think "what a good heart this person has!" In my paintings I use unusual situations in the foreground while the figures and their shadows are different and act as symbols of the dual character of human nature. In the corner at the background is a symbol of the Buddhas' and bodhisattvas' encompassing understanding.

In Buddhist view, the people in "swamp like" or difficult situations never rescue anyone from danger nor ease anybody's pain, as humans first must adhere to the Lama's (Buddhist teacher) teachings in order to abandon their own selfishness and do something for other people. In Buddhist perspective everything is interconnected throughout the aeons of time, and everything has cause and effect. The thousand armed Chenrezig symbolizes unlimited vision. The televisions on the figures' heads are symbols of modern times. Being imprisoned within our delusions and warped thinking, we are desperately in need of rescue. Yet, the one thousand armed Chenrezig can only reveal the path of liberation to us. Like a doctor prescribing medicine he can not force it down out throats; there is always free choice. The televised figures in the swamp are too absorbed in their own delusions to feel compassion for others.

The story is from an old Tibetan folk tale, with altogether twenty one chapters. The narrator is a corpse talking to a boy, a situation which looks bizarre upon the first gaze, but becomes clearer as it develops and comments on the illusion of life and death, confirming that death is just a transition period from one life to another. I find the tale very interesting.