Tranquility
by Ira Eden

Rolling swell to kiss the land,
falling back to crash the advance.

Flowing in a row of building ripple,
bow down to the sandy temple.

In the distance nothing is still~
ever moving windy mountains.
Hills and vales change location.
The sea whispers to the shore:

"I must come in now to soothe your wounds,
to wash away the footsteps."

Lightly caressing the rising mass,
then receeding back into itself.

.............

Muara Ujung Genteng, West Java, Indonesia

The Waterfall

By Henry Vaughan

With what deep murmurs through time’s silent stealth

Doth thy transparent, cool, and watery wealth

Here flowing fall,

And chide and call,

As if his liquid loose retinue stayed

Lingering, and were of this steep place afraid,

The common pass

Where, clear as glass,

All must descend

Not to an end ;

But quickened by this deep and rocky grave,

Rise to a longer course more bright and brave.

……………..

Senaru, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia

It's A New Dawn

Mount Sumbing is located to the northwest of Magelang District. Views of the stratovolcano peak can be enjoyed through the district as well as from the top of Candi Borobudur. At peak altitude of 3,371m and last recorded eruption in 1730, Mt Sumbing is neither the tallest volcano or the most active one. Nonetheless, this mountain is pleasing in its graceful gradient and somewhat mystical when viewed above the morning mist of dawn.

r.

The Dangling Conversation

(a song by Simon and Garfunkel)

Its a still life water color,
Of a now late afternoon,
As the sun shines through the curtained lace
And shadows wash the room.
And we sit and drink our coffee
Couched in our indifference,
Like shells upon the shore
You can hear the ocean roar
In the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs,
Are the borders of our lives.
And you read your emily dickinson,
And I my robert frost,
And we note our place with bookmarkers
That measure what weve lost.
Like a poem poorly written
We are verses out of rhythm,
Couplets out of rhyme,
In syncopated time
Lost in the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs,
Are the borders of our lives.
Yes, we speak of things that matter,
With words that must be said,
Can analysis be worthwhile?
Is the theater really dead?
And how the room is softly faded
And I only kiss your shadow,
I cannot feel your hand,
Youre a stranger now unto me
Lost in the dangling conversation.
And the superficial sighs,
In the borders of our lives.

THE DANCING TREES

"Long before man and woman

walked the earth.

The trees walked about.

They danced.

They danced as gracefully

as the finest ballerina.

The sound of the wind

was their music.

It was a symphony unlike

any other

...."

By Terry Lowenstein

LISTEN TO THE TREES

Forests are sanctuaries. Forests are like a room, with luminous white trunks for walls. The green leaves quaking in the wind… toward the ceiling of thunder clouds passing by. In the distance, thunder rolls through the valley… the sound of birds singing within the forest mingles with the remote whisper of a creek as it rushes over the rocks in its path.

And as with people, trees have body language. Each tree is unique, has its own posture and gesture. Each has quality that makes it an individual.

(John Sexton, photographer)

The Flying Buddha

On the fifth year of his Enlightenment, when the Buddha was dwelling in Kutagarasala in Vaishali, he saw his father on the death-bed by his divine eyes. He felt the urgency of preaching his doctrine to his father for his spiritual evolution, as he was just about to attain the arahatahood. Furthermore, a war had broken out between the Sakiyans of Kapilavatthu and the Koliyans of Kolanagara (also called Vyaghapajja) over the water-dispute of the Rohini river – which demarcated the territories of the two kingdoms. As the Khattiyas of the two neighbouring kingdoms earlier enjoyed pleasant relationship; and intermarried and dined with each other, the Buddha wanted to protect the two countries as well.

The Buddha therefore, flew to Kapilavatthu to visit his father, and preached him to become an arahanta. Soon, Suddhodana became an arahanta and died.

After the death of Suddhodana, he became the peace mediator for the Sakiyans and the Koliyans. He thus averted the bloody feud between the two neighbouring tribes. Both the tribes then encouraged their men to join the Sangha as a token of gratitude for his mediation; and each extended hospitality by inviting him as its guest. The Buddha accepted both the invitations and dwelt alternately in Kapilavatthu and Koliyanagara.

See Samyutta Nikaya iv.341; Majjhima Nikaya i.387; Theragatha Atthakatha i.318.

SHADOW DANCING

Wednesday, March 21st, 2007

Shadows in an empty room, not seen,

Nor heard, not touched, nor smelt, unknown to sense

Dancing dimly beneath my sight, a sheen

Sheltering tears torn to earth they evince.

Suns, bright stars beneath my feet, silent formed

Dreams, shades dancing beneath my words in time.

An endless dance. shadows silently born

By one, and two, my heart shadowed in thine.

A shadow dance, but real as true, a life

Shared between me and you. Shadows streaked by

Tears reclaimed. Shadows short as a breeze, strike

A spark of stars. Dreams dreaming dreams that cry.

Strike once, twice, thrice. Then still, silent verbs shout

Shadows shorn of emptiness, spiral out.

http://www.shardsofconsciousness.com/category/poetry/

By That Long Scan of Waves
by Walt Whitman
(1819-1892)

By that long scan of waves, myself call'd back, resumed upon myself,
In every crest some undulating light or shade--some retrospect,
Joys, travels, studies, silent panoramas--scenes ephemeral,
The long past war, the battles, hospital sights, the wounded and the dead,
Myself through every by-gone phase--my idle youth--old age at hand,
My three-score years of life summ'd up, and more, and past,
By any grand ideal tried, intentionless, the whole a nothing,
And haply yet some drop within God's scheme's ensemble--some
wave, or part of wave,
Like one of yours, ye multitudinous ocean.

Images was made with Hasselblad 501C, 250mm Carl Zeiss Plannar Lens, yellow filter and used Kodak Tmax 100. The Film was developed with Pyrocat MC and the print was developed with Dektol.

Thanks for Ananda for introducing me to the lovely poem of Whitman

LAWANG SEWU

Lawang Sewu, a short distance from Simpang Lima, Semarang, Indonesia is one of the city landmark. Lawang Sewu or in English known as thousand doors has a long history. The architects was Jacob Klinkhamer and BJ Queendag. Currently the function changed into Indonesian Railway Office. After second aggression of the Dutch the building then became a military headquarter of the military district of Central Java. During the Second World War, in 5 days battle of Semarang, this building became a base camp of Indonesian heroic in fighting against Japanese.

This building had underground prisons, underground tunnels, and of course many-many doors. Visitors can get confused to find the way out after pass the entrance of the building since so many doors with a similar shape.

BOROBUDUR SUNRISE

Admiring the grandeur of Borobudur at day and seeing details of each statue and stones with relief of the constructors is something that people from around the world are longing to do. However, not many people realize that Borobudur also has other unique view, namely the scenery of the beautiful rising sun that blows the statue of Buddha sitting cross-legged at the peak of the temple that was constructed in the ninth century. The rising sun with its bright light will at least encourage you to live the life one year ahead, and for sure it becomes a remembrance that wisdom or nirvana symbolized by the peak of this temple is the main destination of your life. Once the sky in the east begins to shine, you are ready to see the movement of the sunrise. Once the reddish yellow light emerges, it means dawn has come in the peak of Borobudur symbolizing nirvana. (http://www.yogyes.com/en/yogyakarta-tourism-article/borobudur-sunrise/)

I used Canon 30D camera with 70-200 lens.

BOROBUDUR RELIEF

Borobudur is a ninth century Buddist Mahayana monument in Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome is located at the center of the top platform. It is surrounded by seventy-two perforated stupas, each containing one sitting Buddha statue.The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely, Kamadhatu (the world of desire); Rupadhatu (the world of forms); and Arupadhatu (the world of formless). During the journey, the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur)

I used a 6x6 Hasselblad 501C and 50mm zeiss plannar lens with yellow filter. The film was Ilford HP5+ 400, developed in pyrocat, and the print was made on Ilford Multigrade IV FB Glossy paper developed in Dektol and ansco 120.

BOROBUDUR AT WAISAK

A nicely lit Borobudur temple in central Java. During the main celebrations of Waisak here, the temple is decorated with bright light with a big altar in front. Waisak commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha. This celebration is enlivened by religious and social activities in Buddhist temples and centered in Borobudur as the largest Buddhist temple in Indonesia. This event occur exactly on the Full Moon Purnama Sidhi. (http://www.expat.or.id/info/holidays.html)

I used Canon Eos3 Camera, with double exposure, the film is positive slide Fuji Velvia 50