Here are the original people who helped Dharma The Cat get started:
| * David Lourie - Author's bio |
| * Ted Blackall - Illustrator's bio |
| * Davide Heinrich - Illustrator's bio |
| * Creating "Dharma The Cat" - article by David Lourie |
| * How I Became A Baha'i - article by Paul M Booth |
| * Dr Greg Bailey -- Hindu Contributor's bio |
| * Paul M Booth - Baha'i contributor's bio |
|
* Rev Paul Brindel - Interfaith Pastor's bio |
| * Charles Cromer -- Taoist Commentator's bio |
| * Brian Fox - Rabbi's bio |
| * George Gatenby - Buddhist Priest's bio |
| * Peter Masefield - Buddhist Scholar's bio |
| * Mari Powers - Pagan (Wiccan) Witch - biography |
| * Dr Malcolm Prentis - Christian commentator's bio |
| * Saifullah Khalid - Muslim contributor's bio |
Creating "Dharma The Cat"
Basically, the cartoons are about havoc, farce and mayhem on the the rocky path to nirvana, with a Buddhist cat, a novice monk and a mouse hell-bent on cheese." There is a young novice monk named Bodhi, who is stumbling earnestly along the Buddha’s Noble Path, succumbing to every spiritual pitfall along the way, while his cool cat Dharma observes it all with equanimity. The wise and mischievous Dharma is able to outwit his guileless, unsuspecting young master at will. And Siam, the House Mouse, always provides an extra opportunity (ie, challenge) for Bodhi’s spiritual growth.
HOW I GAVE
BIRTH TO DHARMA THE CAT
by David Lourie
The idea for "Dharma The Cat -- Philosophy With Fur" came to me one day while I was contemplating the deeper meaning of life . . . and unemployment. I was a freelance writer and documentary filmmaker at the time, as I still am. But back then I was ‘between jobs’ – way between.
I had long ago made the basic decision that money was not what my life was about. Since then I had been trying to make a living by creating projects I believed had value – both personal and social.
I know what you’re thinking: this decision may have had something to do with why I was between jobs. . . . But that’s another issue.
Getting back to that fateful day when I gave birth to Dharma The Cat: I was on the verge of making a series of phone calls to potential clients, letting them know that I was available for work – though doing it carefully, without letting on that I actually needed the work. But just as I picked up the phone to make the first call, I was suddenly distracted by a different kind of call -- a soul-piercing plaintive wail from my cat, Dharma.
Although he is lovingly cared for and exceedingly well placed in life, Dharma’s dramatic vocal styling could easily convince the neighbours that he is the most maligned creature on Earth.
On this particular occasion, as I was about to phone a potential client, Dharma insisted on displaying his hungriness with more extreme vocal styling than usual. So, pointing at the clock, I gently but firmly reminded him that he only gets fed when the big hand is on 12 and the little hand is on 5.
Strangely, my clear and patient explanation seemed to fall on deaf ears, and my attitude of perfect reasonableness went unacknowledged..
Now, I am not going to try to tell you that my cartoon strip is autobiographical. I will let you figure that out. [see Episode 1 "Time"]
Suffice it to say that no job-hunting phone calls were made on that day. Or the next. Instead, I was overwhelmed by inspiration. Eight cartoon episodes exploded out of me – and all of them produced in the short breaks between my frequent mouse-rescuing sorties out to the compost bin. [see Episode 2 "The Lesson"].
And so it was born: "Dharma The Cat – Philosophy With Fur." As the blurb goes, it all takes place “on the rocky path to nirvana with a Buddhist Cat, and novice monk and a mouse hell-bent on cheese.”
The young novice monk is named Bodhi. It is he who provides the strip’s humour, by stumbling over-earnestly along the Buddha’s Noble Path, succumbing to every spiritual pitfall along the way, and demonstrating clearly how not to do it. All the while, the cheeky and relentless Siam the Mouse provides extra challenges to Bodhi’s efforts at maintaining inner peace. And from the eye of the storm, Cool Cat Dharma observes it all with wit and equanimity. Naturally, the wise and mischievous feline is able to outwit the guileless young Bodhi at will, and this adds to Bodhi’s amusing pitfalls (and pratfalls) along the path.
Although the idea for the strip appeared to be born quickly and naturally, upon further reflection I realised it was not an immaculate conception after all – the basic content had actually been brewing below the surface for quite some time.
Several years before I had written a couple of illustrated children's stories which were intended to immortalise my extraordinary cat, the late great Mugsy – who, like Dharma, was a fur-face with Buddhanature. He was the gentlest animal of any species I had ever met. I never saw him even swipe at a fly. In fact, when we found him he had been abandoned, and was starved almost to death. He obviously had never learned to hunt. And having Mugsy in the yard never kept the birds away. They would walk right past him when he was lying around on the lawn – they had him figured out.
Anyway, those Mugsy adventure stories never got published, partly because it happened to be bad timing in the marketplace, as times were too tough then to get a reputable company to publish new material from an unknown author.
So the Adventures Of Mugsy The Cat is still sitting on my shelf, for the time being, but the spirit of Mugsy has now taken rebirth as Dharma The Cat .
So why the name "Dharma" instead of "Mugsy?" That comes from the other part of the brewing process: my own practice of the dharma (the teachings of the Buddha).
I have been meditating and exploring religions and philosophies for over 30 years, and have also been making the odd documentary film on those subjects. I am not a religious person by inclination, but I do have a philosophical nature. So I would describe myself as a philosophical Buddhist, as opposed to a religious one. And because I have friends who have chosen to don the robe and go down the religious path, I can write about some of the situations they encounter. And of course, I use myself as a model for Bodhi, the spiritually-challenged novice monk who suffers from over-earnestness.
The cartoon’s humour is based on the “How Not To” approach to learning, and I have plenty of personal, long-term expertise in that area.
So it's not hard to see how the idea for this strip emerged from those two strands of my life.
The reason I am writing a strip that popularises the dharma, instead of producing a "household humour" strip with Mugsy's name, is out of appreciation of what the dharma has done for me. I have had some difficult passages in my own life, and in those times the wisdom and insight of the Buddha's philosophy empowered me to handle things with clarity and good judgment. And so, as a freelancer over the past 10 years, most of the ideas I've come up with for my own projects, whether it be a book, video, CD or whatever, has been related directly or indirectly to the Buddhadharma.
"Dharma The Cat" is designed to popularise an awareness of the teachings of the Buddha, but without specifically preaching any of them (which I would be unqualified to do). In fact, the strip does not directly present the dharma at all. It only presents the context and general subject of spiritual life in an engaging way, with humour that is universally accessible and independent of any familiarity with the dharma. But the humour is designed so it can be spoken about and analysed in terms of spiritual and religious issues, which is useful for educators and academics.
The web site (www.DharmaTheCat.com) features an Inter-Faith forum, in which spokespeople of ten major and minor religions comment on each episode of the strip in terms of their own ideology. It's a unique exercise in Comparative Religions which is personalised and quite revealing. The cartoons, in combination with this multi-faith religious commentary, are now forming the basis of classroom studies in Australia and American schools, religious organizations and discussion groups in several countries worldwide.
THE METHOD: I have often been asked about the approach I take to producing the cartoon strip. My method is to first write all the dialogue, since for me the ideas emerge as philosophical issues, not necessarily as visual gags. I then make stick figure drawings to crudely illustrate the dialogue. Then I test this very rough presentation on a variety of people of diverse mentalities, to get a good public cross section, including some people for whom this strip is ‘not intended’ -- I learn a lot from them! I then take most of their comments on board, and continue to revise and re-test the rough episodes until people will laugh out loud at the idea even despite my primitive stick figure drawings. When this happens, I know that the raw idea itself is now strong enough to produce.
So when an episode finally gets laughs of approval, I then hand it over to my extremely talented illustrator, Ted Blackall. We collaborate and workshop the idea further. He works in black and white, so I scan his final line drawings into the computer, and colour them in.
However, after producing 20 episodes that people liked, Ted and I felt sure-handed enough to proceed with the rest without the market testing stage any more.
But, having said all that, after episode 56 (the last cartoon in the book)Ted moved on, and now it’s Dave Heinrich from Adelaide who is creating the beautiful drawings for Dharma The Cat. Dave is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer in publishing and advertising, as well as a cartoonist in his own right. We are currently working on a sequel book, called “The Silk Road Adventures Of Dharma The Cat,” which spans four continents and 2,000 years of history.
And that's the end of the story . . . so far. – David Lourie
TED BLACKALL is the original illustrator and collaborator on "Dharma The Cat." He is a commercial artist, storyboard artist and oil painter. He, too, lives on Sydney's northern beaches.
DAVID HEINRICH - David Heinrich took over from Ted Blackall after Episode 55. David is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer in publishing and advertising. He has illustrated for Mad Magazine, Batman, Penthouse and The Phantom, as well as drawn for PlayStation games. His cartoons have been animated online at Threshold Entertainment of Hollywood, and he has designed a number of webzines such as Autospeed.com.au. David lives in Adelaide, Australia, where he teaches computing literacy and web design to disadvantaged young people, while running his own design studio, Ursis, with clients including corporate advertising -- www.webfolio.com.au
GREGORY MILLET BAILEY, DOB
2/7/48.
Reader in Sanskrit, Dept. of Asian Studies, La Trobe
University
Three books published on Sanskrit literature and
mythology.
Between forty and fifty published articles on the same
subject.
One book to be published soon on contemporary Australian society
and culture.
I have taught subjects on Hinduism, Buddhism, Sanskrit
and
Introduction to Asian Religions for the past twenty years, and can also
teach Indian literature and history.
I have travelled to India six times
and at present I am completing the second volume of a translation of the Ganesha
Puraana, a book on Sanskrit poetry and a joint authored work on early Buddhist
social history.
I am divorced with three teenage duaghters and live just
outside of Melbourne, Australia, in St. Andrews.
PAUL M BOOTH is our Baha'i contributor. Born: 15 June 1948 England. Contracted poliomyelitis at age 16 months. Doctor's prognosis: "Will never sit up and will certainly not live beyond the age of five".
Employment (in chronological order): Assistant to the Buyer of a plastics firm; storekeeper, then book-keeper and general administrator in an electronics (amateur radio) firm; Solicitors Clerk (cashier) then Assistant to Chief Accountant of same firm; January 1987-July 94, Treasury Officer for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the UK. July '94-Jan '95 full-time Secretary National Teaching Committee. Now retired due to Late Effects of Polio (LEP).
Recognition of Baha'u'llah*: Having investigated a number of religions and recognised their unity, decided that belief in God was enough and that it was when one starts labelling oneself that the trouble starts, but coming accross the Baha'i Faith convinced him otherwise.
HOW
I BECAME A BAHA'I by Paul M Booth: I was interested in
personal growth which led to learning Transcendental Meditation (if it was good
enough for the Beatles it was good enough for yours truly!), and for a time was
happy that was all that was needed.
Whilst doing voluntary work for the
Samaritans in 1974, came across an erroneous reference in their A - Z
(subsequently corrected) which read "Bahá'í Faith - Eastern Meditation
Sect". When visiting meditation teacher, mentioned having come across "a
new meditation group - the Baha'i Faith".
"No it isn't", quoth
she.
"Yes it is" contradicted
he".
"No it isn't", insisted
she.
"How do you know?" enquired
he,
"Because I am a Baha’i" ...
(she won the argument).
She had only recently become a Baha’i and had been wondering how best to tell her TM students about her exciting discovery which, she felt, was the fruit of her meditations. She explained that although meditation was very important in the Faith’s teachings, the Baha’i Faith was far far more. Indeed, far from being a "sect" it was an independent religion whose goal is to unite mankind.
Having learned enough to excite interest and
the details of a forthcoming public meeting, attended same. Was particularly
struck by the diversity of the people and the fact that they all spoke lovingly
of all the Prophets of God. Thought: "something that can bring this motley lot
together under one roof talking about religion in such harmony, bears looking
into".
Fortuitously, the next public meeting had an Indian lady -
Mehrangiz Munsif - as the speaker and her subject was "Prayer And Meditation" -
my particular interest. A point she made was: "If you pray for guidance but
don't meditate, it is like knocking at a door and then not waiting for an
answer". Mehrangiz stressed that having received what one felt was guidance, one
then had to act.
Despite there being much in the Faith that I
could accept wholeheartedly - especially the concept of progressive revelation
(i.e. that God has sent His special Messengers eg Krsna, the Buddha, Christ etc
throughout history with the teachings appropriate to the time) as had already
reached this conclusion - there were one or two major barriers. Not least of
these being my the decision not to be "labelled". However, the more I read about
the Faith, the more I fell in love with the teachings and the Central Figures. I
also felt I could not intellectually deny that what Baha’u’llah said was true. I
eventually reached the stage where I had to resort to prayer to resolve my
quandary.
I remembered Mehrangiz' advice and remember to this day the
words of my simple prayer: "Dear Lord, how best can I serve Thee?", I
meditated, and meditated. I won’t claim a blinding light or voice from heaven
but the most persistent thought that kept nagging at me was: "Become a Baha'i,
become a Baha’i". Recalling her words that having received guidance one must
then act, I immediately went to see the nearest Baha'is and declared my faith on
their doorstep in Feb 1974 (As I recollect, some four to eight weeks from first
hearing of the Faith).
Have never looked back. The Faith has enriched my
life beyond all measure and I pray that I may be permitted to serve Baha’u’llah
for what remains of this life and in all the worlds of God. -- Paul
M Booth paul@nur.win-uk.net
* The official Baha'i www site is: www.bahai.org or see
http://oneworld.wa.com/bahai/magazine/pg17.html
REV PAUL BRINDEL is an ordained Interfaith Minister in Santa Cruz, on the beautiful Central California Coast. He lives with his Son Noah, also an Interfaith Minister, and three cats, one of whom, Sweetie, looks just like Dharma. Pastor Paul is a Program Director at the Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, Inc. an anti-poverty agency. He has directed "The Shelter Project", working with shelterless people for 14 years. He produces videos for The Interfaith Seminary in Santa Cruz. Currently he is editing the “Masters Series,” visits with Masters and friends, from many faith wisdom traditions, who present at the Seminary. e-mail: hn0005@handsnet.org
CHARLES CROMER (our Taoist commentator): I was born in 1974 in Orlando, Florida. I completed a family of eight brothers and sisters. My father was in the U.S. Air Force, thus we moved around quite a bit. When I was only a few months old, my family moved to Athens, Greece. This is where I lived for the next 3 years of my life. This is also where I learned my first language, Greek. My family then moved to Panama City, Florida. This is where my home has been ever since. This is where I discovered the Tao.
My first exposure to Taoism was through the old series "Kung Fu" with David Carradine. This show intrigued me. The principles, the morals, and the basic line of thought made me wish to become more like this "Grasshopper". I learned from these shows many fundamentals of Taoism. But up to this point, I only knew it as a show with a wonderful message. It was later that I would find out that this message had a name, Taoism.
After watching "Kung Fu" for some time, I happened across a book by David Carradine titled "Spirit of Shaolin: A Kung Fu Philosophy". I bought the book and was introduced to the teachings of many wonderful sages. Lao Tzu, the Buddha, Chuang Tzu, Confucius were all in this book. But the book philosophically revolved around Taoism. It was here that my philosophy of life gained a name.
I began reading many different translations of the "Tao Te Ching" by Lao Tzu. It was here the true learning, or I should say unlearning, began. The philosophy became a part of me. Not because I wished to fit into a category, but because I have always thought of life in similar ways and now this philosophy provided a basis for that thought and a route to take my evolution farther.
As time passed on I began to study other religions and philosophies. Comparative religion became a hobby of mine. I was amazed to find such similarities in many world faiths, especially Christianity. It was at this point the the birth of the Taoist Circle Organization came about.
I had just started messing around with web page design, and decided to make a web page with some of my favorite quotes from my rapidly growing library. Once the pages were completed I began to get requests for more quotes similar to the ones on my page. Thus I began to get a small list of people interested in Taoism and philosophy. Then the people on this list began sending me interesting stuff, links etc. I then shared it with the others on the list. Eventually this was refined into what is now the Taoist Circle Newsletter. Along with the newsletter all the other services popped up to help other Taoists communicate with one another in various fashions. From that point I have spent most of my free time devoted to condensing the the Taoist groups, pages, and information into an easy to access format so seekers of this philosophy need not wade through the tons of useless information on the net, to get quality information.
Thus I am here writing for this wonderful forum, hoping to share the wealth of knowledge that Taoism has brought me. For more information on Taoism please feel free to email me at Ccdrogan@aol.com, or visit my site at the Taoist Circle Organization at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/7201/index.html
RABBI BRIAN FOX
is the Senior Rabbi at Temple Emanuel, Woollahra. He is a pommie
(London) a Kiwi (Auckland) an Ozzie (Sydney). In short, he is personally
responsible for the international Jewish conspiracy. bdfam@ozemail.com.au
REV JOKYO GEORGE GATENBY has had a life-long enthusiasm for the teaching of the Buddha, with a special interest in Abhidharma, Yogacara and Pure Land teachings. In 1968 he graduated from the Australian College of Theology and between 1978 and 1994 studied Mahayana teachings under the personal guidance of two Masters of the Pure Land School. In 1994 he was ordained a priest at Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha in Kyoto.
He is convenor of Horai Association of Australia, the Australian branch of the study group founded by the contemporary Pure Land Master Zuiken Saizo Inagaki (1885 - 1981) and gives occasional Dharma talks at the headquarters of the Hongwanji Budhist Mission in Sydney. george.gatenby@ibm.net
DAVID LOURIE is me -- I write "Dharma The Cat," and I created this web site. In addition to web sites I also design games, and am a professional writer. I live on the peninsula north of Sydney, Australia, with my wife and cat. e-mail david@dharmathecat.com.
PETER MASEFIELD holds a B.A. (Hons.)
and a Ph.D. from the University of Lancaster, and his doctoral dissertation,
supervised by Ninian Smart, has since been published as "Divine Revelation in
Pali Buddhism" (1986). He has taught at the Universities of Manchester,
Durham, Edinburgh, Otago and Sydney, where he also organised the fifteenth
Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions. He
has travelled widely in Buddhist countries in South and South East Asia, and his
other publications include translations of the commentaries on the Petavatthu,
Vimanavatthu and Udana for the Pali Text Society. He is presently working on a
translation of the Itivuttaka and its commentary.
masefiel@zip.com.au
MARI POWERS is a Wiccan Priestess and has followed this path all of her adult life. She has studied and taught classes on Tarot, healing, trance work, ritual construction, magic, mythology, poetry and magical gardening. She was ordained on October 30, 1999, and is now officially Reverend Mari Powers with Circle Sanctuary. email o_yemaya@hotmail.com
Dr Malcolm
Prentis
DR MALCOLM PRENTIS was born in Auchenflower, Brisbane in 1948 and was educated there and in Perth and Sydney, including at Perth Modern School, Brisbane Boys' College and at Queensland, Sydney, Macquarie and New England Universities.
His ancestors included Irish and German Roman Catholics, Anglicans, English Methodists, Lutherans and English, Scottish and West Indian Presbyterians. He was baptised in St Lucia Presbyterian Church by the Rev. Fred McKay who later succeeded "Flynn of the Inland" at the head of the Australian Inland Mission. He was confirmed at 20, ordained an elder at 21 and was involved in church youth work for many years.
He is presently a member and
elder of the Forest Kirk Uniting Church, French's Forest, in the northern
suburbs of Sydney.
He is Vice- President of the
Uniting Church Records and Historical Society and editor of Church Heritage
(Uniting Church historical journal). Malcolm's wife teaches at an Anglican
school and they have three teenage children. His hobbies include reading, film
& tv, genealogy
Khalid Saifullah is the National Vice President Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, Australia. He was born in 1931 and matriculated from Talim-ul-Islam High School Qadian, India. During his school days he was a science student, but was fortunate to have studied Arabic and Translation of Holy Quran, and other religious teachings, which he developed further, later in life, through private study. He obtained degree in Engineering, in 1954, from Punjab University Lahore, Pakistan, followed later by one-year training in Copenhagen. He joined the service of WAPDA, Govt. of Pakistan , in 1955, from where he obtained early retirement in 1988, while he was serving as Chief Engineer / Director General. He migrated to Australia in December 1988, where he was admitted as Member Inst. of Engineers ( Australia ) and Chartered Professional Engineer. He served the Public Service of Commonwealth of Australia for over six years, and retired in 1996. He has contributed numerous articles in English and Urdu Journals and Periodicals. He is the Naib Amir ( National Vice President ) of Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Australia.
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