The seas provide half of our oxygen, and food for a billion people. Let’s give them the protection they deserve.
Tsewang Rinpoche was invited to give a Buddhist talk at the opening reception of COMPASSION: For the Animals Great and Small, an interdisciplinary project by artist Mary Ting. Ting created the exhibition and a series of public programs to create awareness and promote change, in response to the plight of animals such as elephants, rhinos, tigers, bears and others, victimized by poaching for the Chinese market. The exhibition, at Gallery 456 @ Chinese American Arts Councils, features a series of drawings and installation of recycled cardboard animal sculptures by the artist and her John Jay College students.
The oceans produce half of our oxygen
Rinpoche framed his lecture in an accessible way, beginning with the basic Buddhist view of Cause and Effect; a cause with reap its corresponding effect, and then expanding this to justify the necessity for human beings to co-exist in harmony with other living things and the environment. Next, he exposed the Buddhist belief in reincarnation that all sentient beings were once our own parents, and by that perspective, it is necessary that we do not subject them to pain and abuse. Further, we should cultivate our innate compassion and empathy to all sentient beings, since they are like us in wanting to be free of any form of suffering. Rinpoche concluded that compassion towards all living creatures, and consideration towards the environment. The talk was attended by some 100 guests, who proceeded to ask more questions.
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Visual artist Marry Ting is two-time recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship, 2012 Lower Manhattan Cultural Council MCAF grantee, 2010 Gottlieb Foundation individual grant, Lambent Fellowship, Pollack Krasner Foundation among others. Her residencies include MacDowell Colony, Lower Eastside Printshop Special Editions, Dieu Donne Papermill Workspace, and others
