Constantine Lignos

Dalai Lama says his successor will be born outside China in the ‘free world’ New book by spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism will raise the stakes in a dispute with Beijing over control of Tibet The Dalai Lama’s successor will be born outside China, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism says in a new book, raising the stakes…

Dalai Lama says his successor will be born outside China in the ‘free world’

Thank you!

Teaching my first undergrad seminar today! A course I designed called “The Body and/in Performance: Dance & Drama in Tibet & China”. What tips do you have for me, #AcademicSky?

The writers who quote him, though without citing him, take some creative liberties—adding lines, reordering lines, changing some phrasing, etc. But, more or less, this text established an aesthetics of tantric dance that were widely adopted and adapted.

This text is remarkable for a number of reasons, but perhaps mostly because it gets quoted repeatedly by Tibetan scholars across centuries and sects: Jamyang Kunga Sonam (1485-1533), the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682), Lochen Dharmasri (1654-1717/18), and Jamgon Kongtrul (1813-1899), to name a few.

Little is known about this Candragomi—he’s been confused with the 5th-7th century Indian playwright Candragomin before. But this text of his belongs to a group of short texts he wrote on the arts: dancing, chanting, drumming, drawing, etc.

O Akephalos

To distract myself from the news yesterday, I posted a new draft translation on my blog! It is a short tantric dance manual by Candragomi, a 14th century Tibetan scholar from Shalu Monastery in Central Tibet, entitled “The Dancer’s Performance: Instructions on Dance.”

A dog standing on a wrapped gifts under a Christmas tree

Merry Christmas!

Dina Martina singing on a stool amid holiday decor.

Saw the comparable Dina Martina sing several of her holiday substandards. Simply satisfactory!

Cute puppy wearing an orange and brown bandana standing by a fireplace.

Thrilled to report that Garbo’s Thanksgiving “outfit” was a hit! #dogsofbluesky

Thank you 🙏 Hi James!

Apple pie with criss-crossed top and browned sides.

My Thanksgiving apple pie 🥧

Textured sand along Black’s Beach in San Diego

Cliffs along Black’s Beach

A view of the ocean from the top of the cliffs at Black’s Beach

Conference tote bag on Black’s Beach against the shining sun

Closed out #SBLAAR24 with some beach time before going back to frigid NYC. Enjoyed meeting everyone and getting to talk about Tibetan Buddhism, ritual, and performance! Until next year…

Me too!

Sun setting over the ocean at Coronado Beach

Lovely sunset after a full day of #SBLAAR24

This sounds so interesting—how exciting!

The Mask By Georges BatailleTranslated by Constantine Lignos Among the mysteries offered to each of us through a short life, the [mystery of] the presence of masks is perhaps the most loaded with confusion …

Between 1922 and 1940, Georges Bataille wrote a piece called “The Mask,” published only after his death in 1962. He argues that masks return civilized humanity to a dark and chaotic animality: “THE MASK IS CHAOS BECOME FLESH”. I translated it for a class a few years ago and posted it here:

Hello! The image is a black-and-white photograph of a woman (Greta Garbo) standing next to a large, ornate statue (Guanyin). Garbo is dressed in a formal outfit consisting of a long-sleeved jacket with a large, ruffled collar and a matching cloche-style hat. The statue beside her is intricately carved and depicts a figure in a flowing robe holding a lotus flower in one hand. The woman is gazing upon the statue with a contemplative expression, one hand clasped in front of her and the fingers of her other hand just showing on the statue's shoulder. The background is blurred and shows a decorative interior setting.

A theatrical still of Greta Garbo in the 1934 film The Painted Veil gazing upon a standing image of Guanyin.

Looking closely, we see Garbo’s hand touching the shoulder of Guanyin, a moment of contact between the "icons." /🧵
🗃️ #filmsky #GretaGarbo

Lady Java, Storied Entertainer and Trans Nightlife Legend, Has Died Known as “Sir Lady Java,” the actress, singer, dancer, and comedian rose to prominence in the 1960s Los Angeles club scene, where she was the righteous challenger of a municipal “cross-dressing law.”

Sir Lady Java passed away on Saturday. She was a legendary drag performer in Los Angeles in the 1960s and, with the help of the ACLU, she filed one of the earliest lawsuits challenging crossdressing bans under the First Amendment after the LAPD shut down her show in 1967. She was 82.

Thanks so much! So glad to be connected.

I would love to be added to this list to connect with other PS people, if my work isn’t too tangential. Thank you for making this!

Bluesky academics, let's get to know each other! Quote this & tell me: 1) a project you are working on & 2) an odd idea/theory you aren't working on but keep thinking about.

1. History of tantric dance and embodied transmission of knowledge in the Himalaya
2. Buddhist influence in modern Greek lit

Very cool! Based on his clothing and adornments, it looks like he may be a Tibetan Buddhist lama. Or perhaps a ngakpa, a non-monastic tantrist.

Getting ready to present at #SBLAAR24 next weekend in San Diego! I’ll be talking about how embodiment within performative religious practices de-stabilizes the authority of text-centric frameworks of knowledge transmission. Panel name is “The Embodied Artist and the Artist as Text”. See you there!

Garbo is 9, believe it or not! She has looked like a puppy her whole life 😂

Omg twins!

Garbo was so stunned by all of the attention her Thanksgiving outfit got that she is now insisting on wearing sunglasses on her walk so the paparazzi can’t hound her!

It sounds incredible; I’m so excited to hear more!

That’d be great! It’s wonderful to connect on here. I’m so glad to see people working at the intersection of Buddhist and Queer/Trans studies!

They are still performed! I’ve been able to learn dances from some contemporary ritual masters in India and the US. I’d be so curious to hear about the performers in your study. Will you be at AAR next week?