• Life behind the lights
• Spread peace through thoughts, words, deeds
• Appreciations
• Vesak Features
• Heart to heart
• Letters to the editor

Life behind the lights

By Ruhanie Perera

Pushpananda Denipitiya, devotes his time and energy to the artwork that adorns many of the pandals around Colombo. "I'm not a commercial artist so most of my work is during Vesak. The rest of the year I find work in temples. But it's at this time of the year that I work round the clock," he says. It was late evening when we met him, but his little son was still urging him to have his lunch. 

This year he is doing the artwork for three pandals in the city, at Borella, Thotalanga and Peliyagoda. He started painting nearly two months ago and has been working on 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. shifts in the past few weeks. 

Having been in this trade since 1977, Pushpananda has worked on over 60 pandals. "It's a talent I inherited from my father. The skill is in my blood," he says. 

Explaining the process, he says that all the frames and even the lights boards (onto which the bulbs are fixed) are made in his workshop according to the final plan approved by the respective organising committees based on his recommendations. Thereafter the frames are covered with Amu redi (grey cloth), which is stretched over the frame, nailed down and then painted with Chemifix mixed with a white paint solution to give it a canvas- like effect. Sketches are then drawn, outlined in red paint and then filled in using "printing ink" which does not get washed off in the rain. 

Once the artwork is complete, the teams who work on the structure and the technicians take over. But Pushpananda still remains on the scene giving advice as to how best to display the artwork.

In Pettah, only Somasiri was around the pandal site. Somasiri belongs to a seven-member team that has been putting up structures for pandals for almost 20 years. "The wood we use for the structure is puvak (arecanut) mainly because it's one of the taller trees, light yet very sturdy. This structure is 55 feet high, so all the trunks are cut to that measurement. This year 180 trees have been used for this pandal. One tree costs Rs. 425 to transport to Colombo. Once the trunks are fitted into the ground we need to fix three trunks from behind at an angle to hold the structure up. Thick rope is also used to prevent the structure from leaning forward. We use a special knot so that the horizontal tree trunks don't get pushed down," explains Somasiri adding that the higher one goes, the more difficult it gets. Paid a daily wage of Rs. 500, his team completed the structure within six days working well into the early hours of the morning on the past two days.

Controlling the lights that will enhance the images depicted in the pandal at Borella is technician Sarath Ratnasiri. To him this is a matter of "giving life to an otherwise still image". The cost of this pandal, nearly Rs.eight lakhs, is being borne by The Association of United Traders according to Chairman P.K. Siripala. The lighting will be off generators this year. 

Having closed the shop he owns, Sarath has moved practically his entire shop into a small hut just behind the pandal. Inside the hut it's a maze of wires, switches and various other gadgets which all connect to the generator. Says Sarath, "Although I'm behind the pandal, I know exactly what I'm doing without having to see it. I have a diagram of the pandal on which I have worked out a colour plan, so I know exactly what goes on at any precise moment." 

H.H. Nimalwansa who is in charge of the Thotalanga pandal, put up for the past 49 years says, "Our pandal, which is 70 feet in height uses between 45,000 to 50,000 bulbs, with two flowers alone needing 1800 bulbs." 

These intricately painted works of art, illuminated by thousands of bulbs and set high up above for all to see always tell a Jathaka Story which is recorded and played once the pandal is opened, taking the form of a narrative, dialogue or verse. An emerging trend today is that this ancient tale comes with a lesson or moral adapted to suit modern living. One such is the story depicted in the Nawaloka pandal at Peliyagoda. 

Says Venerable Pannala Gnanaloka who was responsible for giving the story its modern adaptation, "This story is the Viyagga Pajja Suthraya, Lord Buddha's teachings of the noble eightfold path by which an individual may develop his present and after life. These qualities are to possess the ability to exert effort, protection, the wealth of devoted friends and to live harmoniously where life on earth is concerned. Piety, discipline, generosity and intelligence are needed to develop one's after life. What is unique about this pandal is that all these qualities are depicted in modern day situations so that more people could relate to it."

What we also may miss when the lights come on and the music begins is that the pandal is also that community's form of expression. Of the four pandals we visited, three had a very clear message, "Rulers of a country, when they go about matters irresponsibly without heeding the advice they are given, can only bring about the downfall of their nation." So politics has invaded even this significant religious festival. And significantly the pandal in Peliyagoda will proclaim tomorrow, Ratata Saamaya Uda Vewa. 

Spread peace through thoughts, words, deeds

By Olande Ananda Thera

What can we do to contribute towards achieving world peace? 

We first have to create peace and unity in our own minds. As 'the Mind is the forerunner of all states' (Mano pubbangama Dhamma...), our actions, words and thoughts are directed by our own intentions, tainted by defilements such as greed, hatred and illusion. As long as we have not attained the holy state of Arahathood, some form of Lobha, Dosa and Moha will continue to steer our bodily, verbal and mental activities.

However, we can do something to diminish these factors. We can become more generous and less greedy by practising Dana. We can become less irritated and angry by practising Metta in thought, word and deed. We can overcome Moha or illusion by practising Bhavana or Meditation. The Pali words used by the Buddha for these trainings are Dana, Sila, Bhavana. They lead us from conflict and suffering (Dukkha) to a state, free from Dukkha - Vimukti or liberation or Nirvana. 

Practising Meditation

Even among Buddhists there is a lot of misconception as to what meditation is all about. Some believe meditation is only for monks and nuns and therefore cannot be practised by lay people. Others may think that meditation means to sit like a Buddha statue, fix one's mind on a single object and empty one's mind completely. Others believe one can only meditate in jungles or at the foot of a tree or in an empty house (Aranya gato va, Rukkhamula gato va, Sunnyaghara gato va). There are yet others who think one should meditate to get more money, power, fly, walk on water, get supernatural psychic powers and so on.

According to the Buddha's teaching, there are basically two forms of meditation. One is Samatha Bhavana or Tranquility Meditation and the other is Vipassana Bhavana or Insight Meditation.

In Samatha Bhavana, one concentrates on an object, either within one's body or outside; or dwells on a quality (such as Metta, Karuna - loving kindness or compassion) and develops peace of mind through concentration.

In Vipassana Bhavana, one gains insight into the reality of matter and mind through the practice of Right Mindfulness (Samma Sati) on body, feelings, mind and mind objects (Kaya, Vedana, Citta & Dhamma). Vipassana meditation can be practised in an intensive form by attending a Meditation Retreat Centre (observing Noble Silence and practising sitting and walking meditation the whole day long for an extended period) or it can be practised in daily life. 

In our daily life, we spend about six to eight hours sleeping. What about the other 16-18 hours of our waking state? If we practise formal meditation i.e. Metta Bhavana (loving kindness) and Anapana Sati (mindfulness of breathing) for 10-20 minutes in the morning and again in the night, we are still left with about 16 hours of the day. 

What do we do with the rest of our time? Is it possible to integrate meditation into our daily life? 

In the Satipattana Sutta (the teaching on the establishment of Mindfulness), Buddha stated that one should practise this mindfulness at all times - while walking, sitting, standing and lying down, while eating, while looking up and down, while stretching and bending and even while going to the bathroom. There is no time and place where we cannot practise Mindfulness (Sati) except perhaps during our sleeping hours. 

If we are mindful of our thoughts, words and deeds, and we have a clear comprehension of the situation we are in (Sampajanya), then our words and deeds will be most suitable and skilful, leading to the upliftment of both ourselves and others. Meditation is not necessarily deep absorption and concentration on one chosen subject. It is rather to be aware and mindful of every moment and to retain that mindfulness and some form of equilibrium, equanimity. Then peace will start entering our minds: a peace which already is a part of our mind, our basic nature, our Shining Mind (Pabhassara Citta), our birth-right! We have to let go of the unnecessary dross and dust which have obscured that shining mind like uninvited guests (Agantuka Kilesas). 

Most people drift off to the past and future, and are not aware that the mind is doing that. If one becomes aware of the distracted mind, then the attention is again focused on the present moment and the mind gets collected. Many of us get into trouble because we live in the past or think too much about the future, based on hope and fear. Rather than wasting our energies on these 'mind trips' to the past and future, we can focus on the present.

We should keep two three-letter words in mind: DIN -Do It Now and KIV - Keep In View.When we can do something in the present, it is better to do it then and there and do it well and completely finish it, not leaving a trace behind. 

We should distinguish here between the 'technical past' and the 'psychological past' and also about the 'technical future' and the 'psychological future'. By 'technical past' we mean all the knowledge, skills and memories that we need to function in our profession or our work or our daily lives. We need that. We should not forget that technical past even though we do not need to think about it when not needed. By 'psychological past' we mean carrying the burden of the hurts and flatteries of the past, the regrets of things not done or not properly done. These stand in the way of perceiving and living in the present.

By technical future, we infer, to plan anything like a journey or the construction of a house. We need to plan according to our best knowledge and skills. Without planning, nothing would be created or constructed. Even the coconuts or mangoes would not fall off the trees by themselves unless we planted the trees and nurtured them! Psychological future means to hope and fear about how one will function in the future, to worry about the results of our actions. These hopes and fears again stand in the way of perceiving the present and functioning properly and fully in the present. Therefore, both the psychological past and the psychological future should be made aware in the present when they occur to our mind's eye and be dropped, like we would rather drop an unnecessary burden. 

If we can get rid of greed, hatred and delusion, then 90 per cent of our problems would be solved. The practice of Mindfulness in daily life is one way of purifying our minds, speech and actions and of overcoming conflict and suffering both for on self and others. It can bring us closer to the highest goal of all Buddhists i.e the attainment of Nibbana, the stainless state of mind - the highest peace and happiness.

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