Art By Tali Landsman

Saying Our Farewell To our Zen Temple Retreat In The Hokianga, New Zealand We have arrived in New Zealand to pack our personal belongings and vacate our house in the Hokianga. The house is now sold, and the family who has bought it has also purchased all the furniture and our barely used car, so our packing included only my art, studio and personal items. If you were to look at the house, it seems so pretty and uncluttered, but it is amazing how much stuff we had to throw away, donate or pack. We have had to sort through fifteen years of tax papers, journals, books, mementos, clothing, magazines, souvenirs, bicycles and cycling equipment, art, etc. We have spent our days packing, which was not made any easier by the strange and stormy summer we have had in NZ this year. The frequent storms made for a hot and very humid summer, and we left all the windows and doors open day and night, to invite the cool breeze in. Finally, the heat wave eased off and we again enjoyed the m...

The Beaches of Sri Lanka - Hambantota, Mirissa, Weligama, Unawatuna, Galle Fort, Ahungala and Negombo Before leaving Sri Lanka, we decided to spend a few days at the beach. When we first landed in Sri Lanka, we saw quite a lot of tourists who had come with nothing but shorts and bathing suits, carrying their surf boards. I felt my heart surge with a similar desire for the beach. I had to remind myself that this time, we had come to Sri Lanka to do a Buddhist pilgrimage and to visit some of the many ancient Buddhist sites. As it turned out, Sri Lanka really took my breath away. The pilgrimage exceeded all of my expectations and more. I really had no idea that Sri Lanka had so many ancient rock and cave temples tucked away in the jungles. From Yala National Park, it was only a short drive to Hambantota. We had booked a wonderful room in the lavish Shangri-la Golf Club and Spa by the sea. We gave our driver two days off, and we spent those days resting by the pool, readi...

Wewurukannala Raja Maha Vihara Temple in Dikwella, Sri Lanka, and A Jataka Tale About The Monkey's Heart Wewurukannala Temple is located east of Matara town, in the town of Dikwella. It is a large temple complex with amazing Buddhist sculptures, art, paintings, and frescos. The Wewurukannala Vihara temple was constructed during the reign of King Rajadhi (1782 – 1798), although there might have been an older, smaller temple on the site before that. There is a large sculpture of a seated Buddha that is 160ft tall, the largest statue in all of Sri Lanka, which you can approach via a long set of many stairs. The old temple is now enclosed inside a newer building, and you can peek into it to see the old statues and shrines. The newer temple, which is now 250 years old, has a fantastic white entrance facade with lions decorating its front walls, designed in typical Sri Lankan architectural style. I have seen similar white wall facades around Sri Lanka, decorating the entr...