Happiness and Kindness

“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.”

Dalai Lama

I did this beach shoot with Yannick today and it involved me in a 18th Century Victorian hat, jacket and shirt and black Levi’s jeans and blue converse all-star shoes. I was holding cardboard boxes with the word happiness written in black Indian ink in one and the text kindness in the second. I am not sure why I chose the suit for this video shoot but the words happiness and kindness are words commonly used in the Dalia Lamas vocabulary and they summarise his Buddhist compassionate wisdom.

I am not sure if it made the shoot better or worse but we did the shoot at about an hour after midday so my face was in shadow but the text in the boxes was mainly in light.

Perhaps in 18th century when this suit was popular, the people that wore them would have had no contact with Tibet or the current Dalai Lama of that era. However, these days the West is deeply influenced by the Dalai Lamas teaching and profound leadership skills.

“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”

Dalai Lama

The first Dalai Lama quote I used in this artist statement was about cultivating happiness and this last one about kindness and these are the two key words in this beach performance.

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

 Buddha

I love this Buddha quote and when I think of the Dalai Lama, I think this description is very apt.

I think that today I am sort of the Dalai Lamas cat and I feel protected and loved just by thinking and writing about him and his Buddhist philosophy.