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It's a surreal world!

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July 2, 2007
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:iconelftantra:
"Transgender Buddha Faces Mara" by Cody Seekins (www.codyart.tk) Oil on Canvas, 28" x 36", Original for Sale

This is a better image of a painting i created in Thailand, which i'm resubmitting. For those who haven't seen the work yet, it is quintessentially about the Theravada/Mahayana Buddhist legend of when Buddha was tempted by Mara before reaching true perfection of enlightenment, but with a visual spin not typical to the tradition. There is much more, but i'll leave those aspects for you to entertain! :)
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Daily Deviation

Given 2010-02-13
~elftantra invokes the amazing mysteries of shamanic practice, the formal training of art academia, and the rich memories of his life in Thailand where Buddhist tradition sits at the center of the cultural mandala. Transgender Buddha Faces Mara welcomes us into a celebratory feast of colorful form, surreal landscape, and spiritual allegory. The effect is sublime and wholly satisfying. ( Suggested by *HisHalfElf and Featured by $spinegrinder )
love 4 4 joy 1 1 wow 7 7 mad 0 0 sad 0 0 fear 0 0 neutral 0 0
:iconigonya:
~iGonya Dec 28, 2011  Hobbyist General Artist
*So uniquely awkward and beautiful!
*The depiction of Buddha's days of temptation speak powerfully of how righteous is the Noble Path.
*It proves so vividly the truth of keeping our lives right even when the all-so-common rut of seduction finds it inescapable to deviate the instances of good within. . .
*This is certainly a staggering work of art genially rendered.

--
May your life be blessed with color,
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:iconelftantra:
~elftantra Mar 22, 2012
Sorry for taking so long to respond. Your in depth read of my painting is touching, thank you for the passion and the sincerity to engage my work from the heart and mind. That i could find resonance with you is satisfying and gives me great honor. Namaste!
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:iconstifz:
~Stifz Oct 26, 2011  Student Artist
i really like the Concept of your painting man,,
and ofcourse i really love the painting itself :)
i love the buddha (l)
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:iconelftantra:
~elftantra Oct 31, 2011
I sincerely feel and appreciate your resonance with the work. Thank you! :heart:
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:icondannyboy108:
!Dannyboy108 Oct 5, 2011  Hobbyist General Artist
I love this piece. And I love the way the story tells us that He never overcame Mara by any force other than the wisdom of seeing that the very nature of mara, or distraction, is primordially pure; nothing to reject. One of the great hidden, symbolic, teachings on the mind :-)

--
'We have two problems: Overly believing in believable things and overly not believing in unbelievable things'
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:iconelftantra:
~elftantra Oct 5, 2011
Thanks Dannyboy, I think that quality of non-rejection was woven most specifically into the tantric mudra for consciousness which is engaging the sort of masquerade tongue of Mara in my painting. It is neither being propelled into Mara nor retracting from it-- the center of meditation is everywhere.
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:icondannyboy108:
!Dannyboy108 Oct 5, 2011  Hobbyist General Artist
Looking at the hand touching the tongue again...or rather re-looking at it after what you just wrote....it's a very gentle, tender touch. I didn't fully appreciate that before. I can see I'm going to keep coming back to this page :-)

--
'We have two problems: Overly believing in believable things and overly not believing in unbelievable things'
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:iconantybee:
~AntyBee Apr 11, 2011  Hobbyist General Artist
Being Buddhist, tg, and a fan of the surreal i pretty much had to favorite this. Salvador Dalí is surely smiling down on this from Heaven... or up on it from you-know-where, which likely has the more aesthetically pleasing scenery for surrealists.

--
An ugly truth is better than a pretty lie.
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:iconelftantra:
~elftantra Apr 19, 2011
yesss!!! :) Very glad my painting found such central correlation in you, and vice versa. Hopefully Dali is beaming at the work from a Buddhist Deva space. :heart:
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:icondjkellyaz:
~djkellyaz Mar 9, 2011
incredible skill
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