In May: Ravenna Michalsen in town! (Early start: 4:30pm)
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Kari
Apr 28, 2009, 2:20:58 PM4/28/09
to Philadelphia Young Shambhala
Hi everyone,
For the May meeting, my friend and dharma musician Ravenna Michalsen
has agreed to come and play music and give a short talk on "Women in
the Dharma." Ravenna is a really great musician and interesting
person, and I encourage you all to come out for the show and talk.
Because she needs to be at another event on Sunday evening, we are
going to start EARLY at 4:30pm, and then take a short break at 5:30
pm. Then a Part II, and after she leaves we'll do meditation and the
potluck, and maybe a more informal discussion based on her talk.
Here's a link to her website: http://www.ravennam.com/
She's also on MySpace.
And-
Here's some info from her website:
About Ravenna:
Ravenna Michalsen trained as a classical cellist for fourteen years
before turning to voice and song writing. During a retreat in 2002,
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche wrote a song-like poem for Ravenna to set to
music: “Just A Seed Waiting to Grow”, which appears in two different
versions on her new album Bloom. She began recording her dharma songs
in 2005 at the urging of Tsultrim Allione, the author of Women of
Wisdom (a collection of six hagiographies of great female Buddhist
masters), and the founder of the Tara Mandala Buddhist retreat center.
In 2007 Ravenna recorded and released her second album Dharmasong to
critical acclaim, receiving glowing reviews and an invitation to tour
in Malaysia in 2008. In February 2009 Ravenna's third album, Bloom,
was released and the national publication, Tricycle Magazine: The
Buddhist Review, published a profile on her work. Both Dharmasong and
Bloom are essentially devotional albums: sadness, joy, love and anger
are combined with utter openness, playfulness and acceptance. The
songs range from supplications to praise; from requests to questions;
from statements to apologies. Many feature prominent figures from
Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, including Yeshe Tsogyal, Machig Labdrön,
Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava), Marpa Lotsawa, Milarepa, Arya Tara and
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.
Ravenna holds a BA and MA from Yale University, she is a native of New
Haven, CT.
About Dharma Music:
Dharma Music
'Dharma' is a Sanskrit word meaning "the teachings of the Buddha",
"the way things are" or simply: "that which holds us back". The
Tibetan word for dharma is 'chö', which can be translated as: "to
heal", "to restore" or "to repair". Dharma music then is music that
turns the mind toward the teachings of the Buddha or that which holds
us back from harmful action.
The idea of combining dharma and music is very ancient. Some of the
earliest female and male disciples of the Buddha wrote songs and poems
about their experiences as new renunciates. As in the Homeric
tradition (Homer lived about 100 years before the historical Buddha;
the poet Sappho lived about 40 years before and 20 years before the
Buddha was born Homer's poems began to be sung at the All-Athenian
Festival), these songs and poems were sung or recited, memorized and
passed down to succeeding generations of renunciates. Two collections
of such songs and poems, the Theri- and Theragatha (divided by author
gender), are said to be composed by direct students of the historical
Buddha. They were collected and included in the Pali Cannon around 80
BCE; Dhammapala, working in the 400s CE, added biographical
information about the Therigathas' many authors. Both the Theri- and
Theragathas continue to be read and re-translated to this day because
of their accessibility, beauty and proximity to the very beginnings of
Buddhism.
Songs also figure prominently in the Tantric tradition as spontaneous
outpourings of realization and devotion called dohas. The Tibetan
Buddhist master Milarepa, (11th century), is probably the most well-
known composer of dohas; it is said he wrote over 100,000 of them.
Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche), Nangsa Obum, Machig Labdrön and Yeshe
Tsogyal all also used song to teach and express their practice
motivations, devotion and realization.
For the May meeting, my friend and dharma musician Ravenna Michalsen
has agreed to come and play music and give a short talk on "Women in
the Dharma." Ravenna is a really great musician and interesting
person, and I encourage you all to come out for the show and talk.
Because she needs to be at another event on Sunday evening, we are
going to start EARLY at 4:30pm, and then take a short break at 5:30
pm. Then a Part II, and after she leaves we'll do meditation and the
potluck, and maybe a more informal discussion based on her talk.
Here's a link to her website: http://www.ravennam.com/
She's also on MySpace.
And-
Here's some info from her website:
About Ravenna:
Ravenna Michalsen trained as a classical cellist for fourteen years
before turning to voice and song writing. During a retreat in 2002,
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche wrote a song-like poem for Ravenna to set to
music: “Just A Seed Waiting to Grow”, which appears in two different
versions on her new album Bloom. She began recording her dharma songs
in 2005 at the urging of Tsultrim Allione, the author of Women of
Wisdom (a collection of six hagiographies of great female Buddhist
masters), and the founder of the Tara Mandala Buddhist retreat center.
In 2007 Ravenna recorded and released her second album Dharmasong to
critical acclaim, receiving glowing reviews and an invitation to tour
in Malaysia in 2008. In February 2009 Ravenna's third album, Bloom,
was released and the national publication, Tricycle Magazine: The
Buddhist Review, published a profile on her work. Both Dharmasong and
Bloom are essentially devotional albums: sadness, joy, love and anger
are combined with utter openness, playfulness and acceptance. The
songs range from supplications to praise; from requests to questions;
from statements to apologies. Many feature prominent figures from
Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, including Yeshe Tsogyal, Machig Labdrön,
Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava), Marpa Lotsawa, Milarepa, Arya Tara and
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.
Ravenna holds a BA and MA from Yale University, she is a native of New
Haven, CT.
About Dharma Music:
Dharma Music
'Dharma' is a Sanskrit word meaning "the teachings of the Buddha",
"the way things are" or simply: "that which holds us back". The
Tibetan word for dharma is 'chö', which can be translated as: "to
heal", "to restore" or "to repair". Dharma music then is music that
turns the mind toward the teachings of the Buddha or that which holds
us back from harmful action.
The idea of combining dharma and music is very ancient. Some of the
earliest female and male disciples of the Buddha wrote songs and poems
about their experiences as new renunciates. As in the Homeric
tradition (Homer lived about 100 years before the historical Buddha;
the poet Sappho lived about 40 years before and 20 years before the
Buddha was born Homer's poems began to be sung at the All-Athenian
Festival), these songs and poems were sung or recited, memorized and
passed down to succeeding generations of renunciates. Two collections
of such songs and poems, the Theri- and Theragatha (divided by author
gender), are said to be composed by direct students of the historical
Buddha. They were collected and included in the Pali Cannon around 80
BCE; Dhammapala, working in the 400s CE, added biographical
information about the Therigathas' many authors. Both the Theri- and
Theragathas continue to be read and re-translated to this day because
of their accessibility, beauty and proximity to the very beginnings of
Buddhism.
Songs also figure prominently in the Tantric tradition as spontaneous
outpourings of realization and devotion called dohas. The Tibetan
Buddhist master Milarepa, (11th century), is probably the most well-
known composer of dohas; it is said he wrote over 100,000 of them.
Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche), Nangsa Obum, Machig Labdrön and Yeshe
Tsogyal all also used song to teach and express their practice
motivations, devotion and realization.
Kari Hexem
May 8, 2009, 4:03:46 PM5/8/09
to Philadelphia Young Shambhala
Hey everyone,
Just a reminder that we're meeting this Sunday, and starting early at 4:30pm with our out-of-town guest, Ravenna Michalsen. Bring friends. Bring your moms if you think they'd be interested (it's Mothers Day, too). There's going to be a $5 suggested donation to cover her expenses, and she'll also be selling her CDs after the performance.
Then we'll do our usual potluck, and maybe close with some meditation.
Hopefully there are no other conflicting religious or national holidays in June ...
Best, Kari
Just a reminder that we're meeting this Sunday, and starting early at 4:30pm with our out-of-town guest, Ravenna Michalsen. Bring friends. Bring your moms if you think they'd be interested (it's Mothers Day, too). There's going to be a $5 suggested donation to cover her expenses, and she'll also be selling her CDs after the performance.
Then we'll do our usual potluck, and maybe close with some meditation.
Hopefully there are no other conflicting religious or national holidays in June ...
Best, Kari
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