The Slovak National Museum opened a unique exhibition,
giving us a chance to learn more about the culture of Tibet.
It shows rare Buddha statues, scroll paintings
and different art pieces.
You can also try to create some of the art yourselves,
under guidance of experienced teachers.
The exhibition Space and Joy carries the legacy of
a culture old more than 2550 years.
It is a very rare occasion to see such statues.
They are borrowed from private collections
and their owners use them for everyday meditation.
The statues serve the practitioners as inspiration for
recognizing mind’s perfect qualities
such as compassion, wisdom and power.
Meditating then unlocks something like a view into a mirror,
in which we see our own true beautiful face.
If you want to try such meditation,
it is enough to visit one of the lectures of Buddhism teachers.
Within the public meditations, people have the opportunity
to get to know the methods, the Buddhist practice,
with which we recognize our mind, our natural state.
So it is direct experience, not only something intellectual.
It is not necessary to have previous knowledge,
because it is shortly explained before.
It is enough to just relax and follow the flow of the events.
The meditation takes around 15 to 20 minutes.
Sculptural art is highly respected in Tibet,
thanks to deep symbolism.
Making of such a statue takes sometimes up to 5 years.
Besides Tibet,
the statues are manufactured also in Nepal and India.
The interesting point is that the more beautiful
and elaborated the work is,
the more powerful effect it has on the mind in meditation.
Tibetan artists produce statues by casting bronze and copper.
To make their masterpieces even more impressive,
they grace them with precious stones.
Much less work is needed for producing the so called Tsa-Tsas,
small clay imprints of Buddhas.
In the creative workshops you can try their production for yourself.
The plaster is of course used nowadays,
back then it was made out of clay.
It is a very popular artifact,
in Tibet for example they are lined up along the roads
or important pilgrimage places.
And here at the museum people can produce such imprint
and then take it home with them.
I have accepted it because of the philosophy and the view on art.
And as I say, the art is the most beautiful expression
of the soul in the material world
and you can see it here. Every object is a little jewel.
More than 180 pieces of Tibetan art
and a rich accompanying program for each day,
that all waits for you in the Slovak National Museum
until the end of February.