‘The Ten Paramis’
an Exhibition of paintings by Stefania Russell
This is a collection of 10 paintings that has come into life during the period of a year long study, practice and reflections around these themes.
Thank You to the Insight Meditation Centre and the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies in Redwood City, California
for making this possible and deep gratitude to the teachings of Gil Fronsdal and Vanessa Able
with the support of the the whole Sangha, the community around it.
the ten paramis
Heart qualities for ethical sensitivity
The Buddhist practice to guide our daily life with Anukampa, a caring and loving connection with ourself and the world.
‘Anukampa’ oil on paper 30cm x 40cm
“Everything depends on us treating each other well.
And if we said it enough, perhaps we’d believe it,
and if we believed it enough, perhaps we’d live it,
treating every other human like someone
who holds our very existence in their hands.“
– Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
DĀna
The Field of Generosity
Connecting to a sense of Purpose.
oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm
“You gave me
What you did not have, and I gave you
What I had to give—together, we made
Something greater from the difference.”
– Alberto Ríos
nekkhamma
Renunciation
Relinquish greed, hatred and delusion.
Being aware of the possibilities of Agency and our ability to take action: cultivating freedom.
oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm
“Can I weave a nest of silence,
weave it of listening,
listening, listening,
Layer upon layer?
But one must first become small,
Nothing but a presence,
Attentive as a nesting bird,
Proffering no slightest wish
Toward anything
that might happen or be given,
Only the warm, faithful waiting,
contained in one’s smallness.
Beyond the question,
the silence.
Before the answer,
the silence.”
– May Sarton
SĪla
Ethics, Hiri & Ottapa
Restrain to any harmful motivations and unwillingness to harm others.
Exploring Autonomy and our ability to make wholesome choices.
oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm
“To be human is to become visible
while carrying what is hidden
as a gift to others.
To remember the other world in this world
is to live in your true inheritance.”
Dhammapada v.183
PAÑÑA
Wisdom
We Are What We Are Doing until We Aren’t.
Practicing with Identity.
oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm
“One who is peaceful, without hate, and fearless is said to be wise.”
Dhammapada v. 258
viriya
Vitality
Being with Dignity.
A reflection on Right Effort and Refuge.
oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm
“What people truly seek is not mere meaning but a profound sense of aliveness.”
– Joseph Campbell
khanti
Patience
To see beauty is to be beauty.
Community: a deep remembering that we are ment to mend each other
oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm
“If you can look across the distance without wanting to close it up, if you can own
your longing in the same way that you own the beauty of that blue that can never be possessed?
For something of this longing will, like the blue of distance, only be relocated,
not assuaged, by acquisition and arrival.”
– Rebecca Solni
sacca
Truthfulness
We can meet as Kin: a reflection on our shared humanity.
oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm
“In everyone’s life, there is great need for an anam cara, a soul friend. In this love, you are understood as you are without mask or pretension. The superficial and functional lies and half-truths of social acquaintance fall away, you can be as you really are. Love allows understanding to dawn, and understanding is precious.
Where you are understood, you are at home.”
– John O’Donouhe
adhitthāna
Resolution
Trusting the natural growth of our inherent potential and our capacity to heal.
oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm
“Among our most powerful human capacities is to sense how any experience can awaken the heart’s natural tendency toward freedom and care. This is what inspires the “way-seeking mind” – the inner urge to grow in wisdom and compassion.”
– Gil Fronsdal
METTA
Goodwill
Recognising the goodness that moves towards Reconciliation.
oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm
“To listen is to lean in softly with the willingness to be changed by what we hear.”
– Mark Nepo
UPEKKHA
Equanimity
Gently entering the stream of everything.
Stay open, stay present, stay loving, compassionate and caring.
The heart is tuning with the Middle Way.
oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm
“Clearly see phenomena
As they arise, here and there.
Knowing this – undefeated and unshaken-
Develop the mind.”
– Majjhima Nikaya 131
