Skip to content

Dharma Documentaries

Dharma. Culture. Ecology.

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

Mother Sela – Artist and Buddhist Nun

Posted on September 29, 2014October 1, 2014 by Dharma Documentaries
A fascinating documentary following a successful Lebanese artist as she leaves behind her previous life in the States and ordains in Sri Lanka.

Mother Seta

This is a fascinating documentary about the contemporary Lebanese artist Seta Manoukian, following her life from a successful modern artist to her decision to ordain in Sri Lanka.

Born into an Orthodox Armenian family in the Lebanon, Seta started painting when she was very young, and became one of the country’s most celebrated artists.

The first half of the film follows her career in Lebanon, where she not only was a successful artist in her right, but also a teacher at the University.

Her paintings made during the Lebanese civil war set her aside as someone who was able to convey the horror and separation of war to a distant audience.

The civil war lasted 17 years, but after many death threats and the general danger of staying in the country she left for the States after 10 years.

There she met Bhante Lakkha?a, a Sri Lankan monk who became her meditation teacher and in the second half of the film we see her traveling to Sri Lanka to ordain.

The ordination took place at the Sumathipalo Senasun Arama in Delgoda under the tutelage of Ven Pemasiri, which was founded next to my own ordination temple.

She also traveled to a cave temple just outside Kandy in the highlands to meet with another artist turned monk: Ven Bhikkhu Sumedha, whose work I have been publishing.

I would really like to see the film that was recorded on that occasion in full, as the two of them seem to me to be of one spirit. But here we have only short extracts of course.

At the end of the film it seems that Mother Sela must have left Sumathipalo at some time, and is now back in the States following the Tibetan tradition.

 

if the video does not appear on the page, please first try reloading the page, and if that doesn’t work, leave a comment so I can update the page (the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of stills click here

 

TAGS:
Culture, Dharma, Arts, Meditation, Middle East, Nuns, Paintings, Sri Lanka

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Comments do not appear straight away, but are moderated before publication

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe to our Feed

Subscribe by Email

Email


Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/2wu

Donations

This site has taken more than a dozen years and 1000s of hours to build, and has 800+ documentaries on it. If you would like to help, you can do so here. Even small amounts make a difference.

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Rights

Related Posts

  • Zen Buddhism - In Search of Self
  • In Search of Nirvana
  • Tibet, the Path to Wisdom
  • The Heart of Taoism 6, A Great Beauty Without Form
  • China Cultural Heritage: The Iron Paintings of Wuhu
  • Zen, Japanese Arts and Culture
  • Japan: Ink Painting, Landscapes of the Mind
  • The Eye-Opener
  • A Gift for the Village in Mustang
  • The Golden Age of the Arts in China, 1

Recent Posts

  • Tours of the Caves of Dunhuang
  • Angkor Wat, Ancient Hydraulic City
  • The Magical Mountain of Tibet
  • Lords of Water
  • Radioactive Waste, A Nuclear Nightmare
  • Beyond Boundaries, Buddhist Art of Gandhāra
  • The Story of Sudhana, Gallery, Level 4
  • The Story of Sudhana, Balustrade, Level 4
  • The Story of Sudhana, Balustrade, Level 3
  • The Story of Sudhana, Gallery 3, 45-88

Random Posts

  • Enlightened, an unauthorised story of the Dalai Lama
  • Pilgrimage to Koyasan
  • Beliefs Made Visible – Hindu and Buddhist Art in South Asia
  • Changpa of Ladakh
  • Buddhism in Russia
  • The Nomadic Night
  • The Genius of Photography 2: Documents for Artists
  • Xuan Zang (2016 Film)
  • Bruce Greyson: Is Consciousness Produced by the Brain
  • Koh Ker, the Lost City of Khmer Empire
© 2023 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme