Peter Szasz- Persian Miniature Artist
Peter and his mother.
Peter Szasz was born on the 27th March 1941 in Budapest, Hungary. Unfortunately, he was born into the turmoil of World War II and had to endure tremendous hardship as a young child. When his mother was pregnant with him, everybody felt sorry for the baby who would be born into the war, and so most of them had advised her to abort the baby. However, due to immense love of a mother for her child, she decided to keep him and finally gave birth to Peter Szasz.
Although he was very young, he remembered when the bombings began, he had to hide in the basement of the hospital for two whole months until the Russian army came. At the time, the Germans were on a witch hunt for Jews. That is why he and his mother had to keep moving from place to place like fugitives in order to evade the Germans.
Peter’s birth father.
His earliest memories of his father were very vague, but he remembered the day his father was sent away to the forced labour camp. Before his father departed, he saw his parents hugging and holding each other so tightly because somehow they knew that it would be the last time they would see each other. True enough, he never saw his father again.
In 1944, the German Nazis stepped up their witch hunt to identify the Jews and have them exterminated. Buildings owned by Jewish families would be marked with yellow stars to make it easier for the Nazis to find the Jews. When the Nazis finally invaded Hungary and were heading towards Peter’s home, his mother ran downstairs to remove the star in order to buy them some time so they could escape. Their first hideout was in a nunnery in Budapest that also housed other Jewish children who were hiding from the Nazis. That is why in some countries, Jewish and Christians were made to wear this yellow star in public as a badge of shame.
Peter Szasz with his mother and brother, Andrew Szasz.
In 1945, tragedy struck when he was just four years old as they were told by the Red Cross that Peter’s father had disappeared on the Russian front. His mother was absolutely devastated upon receiving this news but in order to protect her child, she had no choice but to bottle up her emotions and focus on escaping. They managed to avoid from being sent to the Nazi concentration camps. Later his mother remarried, and together with her husband, they continued their journey to freedom.
Peter had an excellent relationship with his stepfather who was a father figure to the young Peter ever since his own father had disappeared. His stepfather was a struggling artist and knowing what an artist had to go through during that time, he strongly encouraged Peter to become an architect instead when he saw Peter began to show an interest in art.
His family finally managed to leave Hungary and made it to the Austrian border. Peter’s uncle tried to convince Peter to stay with him but at that time, Peter had decided to escape to the United States. With the help of his uncle and stepfather, he was able to enter the United States in 1956. Unfortunately, his stepfather passed away shortly after the birth of his brother, Andrew Szasz.
Peter Szasz in his early days.
In the United States, Peter Szasz went to high school and later attended Washington University in St Louis. He graduated in 1963, with a major in architecture and a minor in fine arts. Later he met his wife, Andrea Brower, who bore him three children – Elijah Szasz, Amelia Szasz, and Moira Szasz.
Ever since that time, he had been very devoted to his paintings. He had a few of his own shows that displayed his artworks. Peter also opened a studio of his own in 1973 to showcase the architectural illustrations that he drew with his own hands.
He had spent almost his entire life drawing, painting, producing beautiful artworks, and thus, proving how much passion he has towards it. In 2006, Peter was diagnosed with 4th stage esophageal cancer. He went through numerous procedures and had been fighting for his life with chemotherapy. On the morning of 13th January 2017, Peter passed away peacefully at his home in Tiburon, California. Below is a footage of Peter Szasz. Towards the end of Peter’s life, he met a Tibetan monk who advised him to take part in animal liberation. Here he is, releasing the anchovies back into the ocean.
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/PeterSzaszSavingLives.mp4
Persian Miniatures
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Persian Miniature is a genre of small paintings on paper, and it can be an independent artwork by itself, or it can be a part of a book of illustrations. These paintings were intended to be kept in an album called a “muraqqa”. Amongst other Persian painting techniques, Persian Miniature is probably the most well-known form of Persian painting.
Influenced by Chinese and Mongol artwork, this painting technique became an extremely popular genre in Persian art in the 13th century. This particular tradition came into the limelight and became even more popular especially during the 15th and 16th centuries.
This technique is used to depict a variety of subjects such as evil spirits, creatures and monsters, heroes of Persian mythology and even used to portray the historical events such as wars and remarkable events of the rich patrons’ lives.
Peter Szasz on Persian Miniatures
Peter became interested in this painting technique in 2008. He has had a huge passion for stories of various great spiritual traditions like those from Tibetan Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Christianity and so forth. It is due to both passions that this collection of paintings came about. In this section you will see all kinds of painting techniques that he had used and it is also an opportunity for people to know more about him and his talents. Listed below is a compilation of his artwork.
Milarepa
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Milarepa is one of the most beloved figures in a very crowded field of highly accomplished, Tibetan enlightened beings. As a way of doing penance for the sins of his youth, spent as a sorcerer, his teacher Marpa had him build and demolish three towers before imparting any teachings.
In this image Milarepa is carrying the stones to build one of the towers Marpa ordered him to build. Marpa is shown weeping out of compassion for Milarepa’s very necessary suffering.
Lama Ngokpa, a former student of Marpa, is bringing offerings to his master, including the old goat with the broken leg, representing all his possessions that Marpa requested.
Marpa’s wife, Dakmema, (One without Self) is depicted in a garden in full bloom, since she was the one who provided loving nourishment to Milarepa during his ordeal, even sneaking behind her husband’s back.
The gnarled branch over Marpa’s house, that looks almost dead, is somewhat symbolic of Mila’s history – almost having expired without any possibilities.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
Rustam Captures Rakhsh
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One of the more compelling figures of Persian mythology is the hero Rustam, as depicted in the Shah-nameh (Book of Kings) of Firdowzi. The Shah-nameh was completed around AD 1010 and seamlessly blends stories of mythological figures and events with actual history. Rustam definitely belongs to the former. His father, Zal, was abandoned in the mountains as an infant, left in the wilderness to perish, due to his unusual coloring. Never the less, he was rescued and raised by the magical bird, the Simourgh, and later assumed his rightful place on the throne of Iran.
According to legend, Rustam had superhuman strength and lived a very long life, spanning the reigns of many kings. He had to perform seven labors, such as confront a dragon, slay a witch, encounter and kill a lion and various demons. In this way, he is somewhat analogous to Hercules of Greek mythology. However, before he could embark on his heroic activities, he had to find, capture and tame the legendary horse Rakhsh. Rustam had a unique way of locating his horse. He went among the herds and pressed his hand on the backs of horses. None could bear the weight of his hand without their bellies sinking to the ground, until he spots a light colored, dappled mare with burning eyes and unusual size. When Rustam pressed his hand down on her back, the mare did not move as if unaware of the immense pressure on her body.
The painting depicts the moment when Rustam throws his lasso over the head of Rakhsh. This takes place under the gaze of the magical bird, the Simourgh. Once Rakhsh was captured and tamed, he protected and served Rustam with extraordinary strength and intelligence, staying with him ‘till the end of both of their lives.
In the painting Rustam is wearing his traditional leopard head helmet and his bull headed mace is on the ground beside him.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
The Oxherder Pictures
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The Oxherder Pictures come from the Zen tradition and depict the sequence and levels of realization of a Zen practitioner. Although it is over a thousand years old, the better-known version comes down to us from Kakuan Shien, a Chinese Zen master of the 12th century.
GOING CLOCKWISE:
- Seeking the Ox. Not quite knowing what he is searching for, bone tired, the Man carries on his quest for this something he cannot name.
- Finding the tracks. The first intimations of the Ox appear, giving new energy to the Seeker.
- First glimpse of the Ox. As bits and pieces of a larger whole become evident, the Seeker sees the tail of the Ox, but not yet the head.
- Catching the Ox. The Seeker must tightly grasp the rope and not let go. The rope is actually attached to oneself. For the first time the Man’s mechanical habits are addressed – the Ox is stubborn and unruly.
- Taming the Ox. He must hold the nose rope tight and not allow the Ox to roam. The necessity of the work to develop attention becomes evident. The Ox, the Seeker’s mechanical habits and attitudes, when tended to, becomes manageable and gentle.
- Riding the Ox home. The struggle is over, ‘gain’ and ‘loss’ no longer affect the Man. He plays on his flute, the song of an authentic search, and whoever hears this melody joins him.
- Ox forgotten, Self-alone. The mystery of the Effortless Effort now becomes practice. Only on the Ox was he able to come Home, but no longer needed, the Ox vanished.
- The Return to the Source. Alone with himself, he witnesses the ceaseless movement of everything inside him and around him. As inside and outside blend, the Seeker becomes the Center among countless Centers.
- Both Ox and Self vanishes. Ox and Man alike blend in the Silence with Emptiness.
- Entering the Marketplace with helping hands. The realized Seeker returns to the world to assists ‘innkeepers and fishmongers’ in the Way of the Buddha.
The golden yellow color, indicating the void, is present at every stage of the journey, and penetrates unobstructed into the Marketplace. The water, representing nourishment and life energy, cascades from the Void all the way down, implying a vertical connection.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
Zen Master and the General
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During the ongoing civil wars in feudal Japan, an invading army would quickly sweep into a town and rapidly take over. In one particular village everyone fled into the hills before the invading army arrived – everyone, that is, except the Zen master. The General, being curious about this old fellow, went to the temple to see for himself what kind of a man this Master was. When the General wasn’t treated with the reverence and submissiveness that he was accustomed, he became furious.
“You fool!” he shouted at the Master, as he reached for his sword. “Don’t you realize you are standing before a man who could run you through without blinking an eye?”
“And do you realize,” the Master replied calmly, “that you are standing before a man who can be run through without blinking an eye?”
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
The Farmer and the Devil
A long time ago there was a farmer who lived by himself. One day he went to the market where he saw a devil in a cage. He was about the size of a large dog, had a tail and long, yellow fangs. He was sitting quietly, gnawing on a bone. Next to the cage sat a merchant. The farmer asked him if the devil was for sale.
‘Of course,’ said the merchant. ‘He is a very good devil, excellent worker, he can garden, cook, take care of livestock, a good carpenter and a fast learner. He is yours for 40,000 yen.
The farmer paid without haggling.
‘Just one more thing,’ said the merchant. ‘Since you didn’t bargain with me, I tell you this: he is a devil, of course, and devils are no good. He is an excellent devil, he will do everything you tell him, but you have to give him a routine every day. From this time to that you will feed the animals, then you clean, then you dig in the garden, then you chop wood, then you rest for an hour, but really have to rest, and so on. When left to his own devices, with no direction, then he is dangerous.’
The farmer took the devil home and everything went beautifully. The devil was obedient and an excellent worker. Every morning he received his instructions and followed them to the letter.
One day the farmer had to go to town. In the morning he summoned the devil and gave him his daily assignments, figuring to be back by the evening. In town he unexpectedly ran into an old friend, and seeing him, he forgot everything. They had some sake, then some more sake, and ended up in the ‘willow quarter’ where the ladies entertained them. The farmer woke up the next morning in a strange bed, somewhat worse for wear. With a start, he remembered the devil and rushed for home. He already saw the smoke from far away. He burst into his house and saw the devil sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room. He built an open fire and was roasting the neighbor’s child on a spit.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
The Seven Sleepers
The story of the Seven Sleepers, though little known, occurs both in the Christian tradition and the Qur’an. The Christian version goes roughly like this: in the year 250 AD the seven youths, being Christian, were threatened with persecution and were prevented from worshiping. They went to hide in a cave (some say, at Ephesus) where they fell asleep and slept for 300 years – or 390 years, if figuring by the lunar calendar. The Qur’an version is not quite as explicit. The exact number of youths is not given, could be three, or five or seven – all significant numbers.
There are at least seven Russian Orthodox icons and frescoes, along with four Persian and Turkish miniatures devoted to this – so one has to wonder why has all this energy and attention been devoted to this seemingly pedestrian story?
Several possibilities arise. One way to look at it, based on ancient traditions, teachings are not always available. Even though religions continue ‘above ground’, the esoteric content behind them is hidden. They ‘sleep’ underground for long stretches of time until they briefly appear, become available, following a law or a need we don’t see right now. The numbers 3, 5 and 7 are all significant numbers, pointing to esoteric teachings. These inner teachings are safely encased ‘underground’, in a cave, a womb of the Earth, while life whirls around them – they are kept safe.
Another facet of this same line of thought that there are seven major traditions: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hindu, Lamaism and Shamanic. These have been variously available for study through the ages but practically never together and their esoteric, transformative aspects have always been deeply hidden. Today, when wars rage on almost all the continents, the land and oceans are being poisoned, and humanity seems to stand at a cross roads in a very real way, all seven traditions are out in the open with the inner teachings available to the seeker. In that sense, one might say that the Seven Sleepers are all awake at this time of very real need.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
Orpheus and Eurydice
Orpheus was the legendary musician of Greek mythology. It was said that wild animals gathered and the deer lay down with the lion when he played his harp. Eurydice was the love of his life. On the day of their wedding she was bitten by a snake and died. Orpheus was devastated. He decided to undertake the perilous journey to the realm below and through his music, persuade Hades, King of the Underworld, to let Eurydice go.
Hades agreed, on the condition that Orpheus walk ahead with Eurydice following behind, and he was not to turn around and look back until they were both completely outside of the Realm of the Dead.
Orpheus forgot himself – he was completely outside but Eurydice was still partially in the Underworld when he turned back to look. In a flash Eurydice was whisked back to the Land of the Dead, never to return.
This is another example of the many tales, the most notable one being the story of Lot’s wife from the Old Testament, where the admonition to not look back was disobeyed with dire results.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
Ulysses at the Island of Sirens
The story of Ulysses (Odysseus) from Homer’s Odyssey is well known – the various adventures and tribulations he suffered while making his way home to Ithaca from the Trojan wars. One of the more compelling episodes was his encounter with the Sirens – the legendary beings whose singing was so enchanting, so temptingly beautiful that the sailors who heard it in passing, were irresistibly attracted, and had their ships wrecked on the rocks of the island.
Odysseus, determined to hear the singing yet survive, had himself tied to the mast of his ship while he had his crew stop up their ears with wax in order not to be subjected to the tremendous pull of the siren’s song.
It is interesting to consider that the mast in this instance may be looked at as a vertical element, a something that connects the lower to the higher – a conduit between levels. A hint, perhaps, of where part of one’s attention needs to be fastened in order to both participate and resist – in the same time – the relentless, enchanting pull of the world. Brings to mind the Sufi saying ‘to be in this world but not of it’.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
St. George and the Dragon
According to legend, a Dragon lived in a cave, by a certain village, who threatened to poison and lay waste to the countryside. To appease the Dragon, the villagers used to feed him two sheep a day. When they ran out of sheep, they fed it their children, chosen by lottery. It so happened that one day the lot fell on the king’s daughter. The king was distraught but there was nothing to be done – the Princess was sent out to the cave to await her fate.
St. George happened to ride by the cave and upon learning why the beautiful Princess was weeping so pitifully, he swore to remain and protect her. Soon the Dragon burst from the cave. St. George charged it on horseback and wounded it with his lance. He then bade the Princess to put her girdle around the beast’s neck, and when she did so, the Dragon meekly followed her as if on a leash, back to the village.
One version of the tale recounts how St. George slew the dragon in front of the villagers, once they all converted to Christianity. However, there is a different version of this legend. In that, St. George does not kill the Dragon. The Princess tames the beast with the help of St. George, by tying a Silver Thread about it’s neck and leading it away – the Silver Thread called Attention. In this version the tale becomes a lesson of different facets of Attention, analogous to the fragile thread and the pointed lance.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
The Sheep, the Wolf and the Cabbage
This is a riddle rooted in the Russian folk tradition, possibly of Sufi origin. Once upon a time a man had entrusted upon him a Wolf, a Sheep and a Cabbage, to be kept safe for the duration of his journey. As long as the man was present, he was able to prevent the Wolf from eating the Sheep, and the Sheep from eating the Cabbage. However, they came to a river they had to cross, and the only means of crossing was a small rowboat, with room for just the man and one other object.
The riddle poses the question of how to transport the Wolf, the Sheep and the Cabbage to the other side of the river, one at a time and still preserve them all intact, since once left to themselves, the Wolf would destroy the Sheep and the Sheep the Cabbage.
Paraphrased from Meetings with Remarkable Men by G. I. Gurdjieff.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
The Kurd and the Red Peppers
Once upon a time a certain Kurd from a small village went into town to take care of some business. On his way home he was passing through the market place, when he spied some gorgeous looking ‘fruit’ at a fruit stand. Our Kurd has never seen anything like those beautiful ‘fruits’ and decided to avail himself of some, even though he was quite short of funds. Upon inquiring about the cost, he was happy to learn that a pound of that gorgeous ‘fruit’ was only six cents. Having exactly six cents in his pocket, he bravely purchased an entire pound, and set out for his village.
Some time later, passing by a small stream in a clearing, he sat down and took some bread and the beautiful ‘fruit’ from his bag and leisurely began to eat. But horror of horrors, in a few seconds, he felt his entire insides on fire. But in spite of this, he continued to eat.
Right about then a fellow villager came by. Seeing the Kurd’s entire face aflame, with tears and sweat pouring off of him, yet continuing to eat the red hot pepper pods, he said to him:
“What are you doing eating those red hot pepper pods? You better stop, before you’re burnt alive!”
“Stop?” replied the Kurd. “Didn’t I spend my last six cents on them? I will go on eating if it is the last thing I do!”
And that is exactly what he did.
Paraphrased from ‘All and Everything’ by G. I. Gurdjieff.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
The Magician and the Sheep
Once upon a time there was a Magician who had a number of sheep. The sheep were well cared for until the Magician required their hide and flesh, at which time they were summarily slaughtered.
Some of the sheep began to figure out their situation and tried to escape. Once in a while a few succeeded. The Magician didn’t like losing his sheep, but being too lazy to build a fence, he decided just to HYPNOTIZE them.
First of all he suggested to them that they were immortal and being skinned will actually feel very good. Secondly, that he, the Magician was a very good master who loved his flock and was ready to do anything for them. And thirdly he suggested to them that if something were to happen, it won’t be happening just then but much, much later – so there was nothing to worry about. Furthermore, to some he suggested that they were eagles, to some that they were lions, and to some that they were men, even Magicians.
After that, he never had any trouble with his sheep trying to escape. They happily waited until such a time until their flesh and skin was required, in the firm belief that they were immortal eagles, lions, men and Magicians.
Paraphrased from In Search of the Miraculous by P. D. Ouspensky
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
The Parable of the Horse, Carriage and Driver
The Master Arrives
The Parable of the Horse, Carriage and Driver is a very ancient tale of unknown origin, brought to the West by Gurdjieff.
The equipage in its entirety presents us with a picture of Man. In it, the Horse represents the function of feelings, emotions. The Carriage stands for the body, and the Coachman is what we usually call our ‘conscious or ‘thought’.
The passengers of the carriage are represented by the multitude of characters in the painting, some quite strange and even quite unknown to each other. This is the image of our fragmented selves who can and do enter the carriage one after another and order it this way or that.
The arrival of the Master, or what might be called a unified Self, or ‘I’, can only be the result of many years’ of exacting inner work.
More can be read of this in Gurdjieff’s ‘Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson’, in the chapter titled ‘From the Author’.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
The Queen’s Room
“…this is the story of a nun chosen by a king of a state to become his queen. The sannyasini finally accepted on condition that she is given an isolated room in the royal palace to which she alone would have the key.
She used to go there every day. The king, jealous of the radiance of the queen, decided one day to follow her there to steal her secret.
The room he saw her enter was bare and whitewashed. A sackcloth robe was hanging on a nail. The queen took off her rich attire and her jewels and put on this beggar’s dress. Then she meditated for a long time, seated on the ground. At last she turned around and said to the king, ‘Here I am “myself,” the woman who loved God alone before she became a queen, and who still loves only God in His divine play.’
That queen has no name. She is part of Indian folklore.”
from ‘To Live Within’ by Lizelle Reymond and Sri Anirvan
In the center panel layout, the ‘palace’ is based on the proportions of an ancient Egyptian rock carving called a Spirit Door. Spirit Door carvings occur in many ancient cultures, all with similar proportional divisions.
The position of the queen’s room in the center panel roughly corresponds to the position of the heart in the human body.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
Lord Narayan and the Rishis
Lord Narayan was resting one day, after having stationed two faithful guardians at the palace door. Three rishis (holy men) arrived from afar and asked to see Narayan. The guards would not let them in. A quarrel broke out at the god’s door, so much so, that the rishis laid a curse on the two guardians. Awakened by the altercation Lord Narayan appeared, bowing to the rishis. At the same time he was greatly upset for nothing could erase the curse the rishis called down. It had to take effect.
Narayan turned to his two guards:
“Since you have been cursed, you must enter the round of births and deaths, but I can allow you to choose your fate. Do you wish to be born among my devotees or among my enemies?”
“What is the difference?” asked the guardians.
“If you are born among my devotees, it will take you seven lifetimes to reach me. If you are born among my enemies, it will only take you three.”
And so it happened that the guards willingly became great enemies of Narayan. Being constantly aware of their hate, they were continually reminded of the god, thus they were able to draw near him in spite of the severe obstacles they had to overcome.
Paraphrased from ‘To Live Within’ by Lizelle Reymond and Sri Anirvan.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
What is Maya?
The sage Narada was hundreds of years old and was able to move freely through all the different realms of consciousness. He was very close to Lord Krishna and he could ask him all kinds of questions. One day they were walking across the countryside, and Narada asked the Lord: “Sir, can you please explain to me the secret of this magic called Maya?”
Krishna thought for a while, since to understand Maya is to understand life in its entirety, but he truly loved Narada and thus the Lord replied: “Of course. Let’s sit down here under this tree, and I shall tell you all about it. But first, Narada, it is awfully hot. Would you get us a glass of water?”
“Of course,” Narada replied and he immediately set off walking across the fields towards a distant village, whose roof tops were barely visible in the shimmering haze of the afternoon’s heat. As he walked, and walked some more, with the sun’s heat beating down on him, soon he could only think of the water he was about to drink.
After what seemed like a very long time, he finally reached the village and knocked on the door of the first house he came to. The door opened, and there stood the most beautiful young woman he has ever seen. She greeted Narada with a dazzling smile, and something happened to him that never happened before. Unknown feelings rushed through him, and after considerable effort, all he could say was: “Will you marry me?” And she said yes.
They settled down and their union was blessed. They greatly loved one another, and soon, children began to arrive. Narada’s household became a very busy one. There was food to be cooked, livestock to be looked after, house to be cleaned, and land to be worked. Their lives were filled to the brim. Narada and his wife were occupied completely in their world. As time passed, the children became adults, married, and they in turn had children.
Narada became the head of a great family and a highly respected member of the community. He acquired more land, more livestock, and lived with his beloved wife, children, and grandchildren in blissful harmony.
Then the monsoon came. The placid river nearby became a raging torrent, and Narada’s house, his lands, his livestock, his children and grandchildren, and worst of all, his dearly beloved wife, were all, all swept away. He was devastated. Only he remained in the midst of ruins and destruction, standing by himself, where just a few minutes ago a vibrant, full life was taking place. Indescribable grief possessed him as he fell on his knees, and cried out: “Krishna! Krishna!”
At once the floodwaters disappeared and there was Sri Krishna, standing by the tree where they sat, what seemed to be so many years ago.
“Narada,” the Lord asked gently, “where is my glass of water?”
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
The Mango Tree
A number of devotees in a mango orchard were talking among themselves. Each one was very familiar with the kind of mangoes grown in their provinces and best way to grow them. They started counting all the different varieties of mangoes growing in the orchard and a discussion started about how they should be grown.
In no time the discussion became a heated argument about how to grow mangoes and which were the best mangoes to be had. Suddenly the owner of the orchard arrived, and much surprised at the goings on, said to the devotees: “Why do you not eat this beautiful ripe fruit hanging on the branches in front of you, instead of counting the leaves on the trees?”
After Sri Anirvan, from ‘To Live Within’ by Lizelle Reymond.
Disclaimer: The information above was sourced from the official website of Peter Szasz. It’s made available here for purely educational, non-commercial purposes.
His other artworks
Source: https://www.peterszaszmemorial.com
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- Jiddu Krishnamurti- The Freedom Fighter
- The Life of Yul Brynner (1920 – 1985)
- 16 Unique Places in Japan
- The Art of Thangka Painting
- Shall We Hate The Jews and Those Different Than Us?
- The lady who rescued 2,500 infants, Irena Sendler
- The Secrets of Ukraine’s Shameful ‘Holocaust of Bullets’
- Nicholas Roerich & art (1874-1947)
- Milarepa’s Cave
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Would just like to clarify a few things. I am his Peter’s Daughter. Peter was diagnosed in 2016, not 2006. Also Andrea Bower was NOT our Mother. He met my Mother Mary Szasz, another beautiful artist who passed a year prior to him in Dec of 2015.
They originally met at Washington State, but later was set up on a blind date in San Francisco, where they fell in love. After they seperated, years later he met Andrea. Only because this is my lineage and his story, with our Mother was a beautiful one.
Peter Szasz- Persian Miniature Artist born in Budapest, Hungary. Unfortunately, he was born into the turmoil of World War II and had to endure tremendous hardships. Miniature painting is a traditional style of art that is very detailed, style was a hybrid, drawing. These Persian miniatures are usually considered the best miniatures of all the small paintings produced in Middle Eastern countries. Looking at all these paintings in this post is amazing indeed. It tell us more with detailed explanation as drawn in the paintings for readers to understand better. Loved to see those beautiful miniature paintings, all are delicate handmade paintings.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
The stories that are told with the help of the visuals are stunning and evokes much emotions for the person reading it. The stories are almost zen like, like koans, and sometimes there is no answer or end to the dilemma presented by the stories.
What a treat, thank you Beatrix.
Thank you for sharing the mesmerizing artwork of Peter Szasz, who is artfully applying subtle colors on rich details. This article introduces me to Persian Miniature Art that appeared to be a perfect compliment to fables, folklores, and legends. It could be due to the way how Persian Miniature Art can present a single tale or a series of tales in a single artwork. I like this art form very much. It reminds me of some of the story books I read when I was young. It is not very common to find it in adult books I think.
A very captivative art by Peter Szasz. Each and every painting have their own story and well describe. I get to know him more by reading his short biography in the article. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing about the life and times of Peter Szasz. H was definitely a very talented artist capturing moments in religious history for all posterity.
I feel that he had a traumatic early life but everything was much better later on in his life. It makes for an exciting read towards the beginning of the article and its sad that he never saw his father again after being dragged away by the nazis. That must have been really painful for him and not something I would wish on anyone.
Nevertheless, he escaped to America and developed his talent for art. I am not a connoisseur of art but I really like his artwork. I don’t think his watercolours were particularly outstanding but they were good. But what really was remarkable were his Persian miniature artwork. It’s not so much the technique or the way he drew them but also the subject matter in which he crossed Tibetan, Indian, European subject matters into drawing method with great success. The marriage is beautiful, somewhat evocative and has this dream-like quality.
Peter Szasz was a talented artist born in Hungary during the world war II,having gone through alot hardship as a child.He went to US and graduated with a major in Architecture and a minor in Fine Arts.
His painting technique was very unique ,graceful,imaginative,cultural and expressive reveiling each of his paintings with stories of various spiritual related from different religions.
Peter spent his last years devoting his time to painting and drawing beautiful and amazing paintings from Persian Miniature arti to architectual and images.Its wonderful that he did animals liberation after meeting a Tibetan monk during the late staged of cancer illness.
I do enjoyed admiring his beautiful miniature painting and stories.
May his works inspired other artists to continue his legacy.
Thank you Rinpoche and Beatrix Ooi for sharing.
Very touching and inspiring story about Peter Szasz. And his artwork is very beautiful. Love the pictures and the stories related to them. I havent finished all of them yet,but will do so. Great work on this write up Beatrix. Do keep it up! 🙂
Throughout his hardship during his early days as a refugee running from persecution from the Nazi and the loss of his father, Peter Szasz did not lose his passion to be an artist.
Escaping to USA at the tender age of 15 years, Peter Szasz remembered his step father’s advice and qualified as an architect as being a painter was hard to earn a living.
Yet it never deterred his passion with art. He also studied fine arts in university besides architecture.
The collection of paintings and artwork by Peter Szasz are beautiful and each piece painted with a lesson or story so that the paintings are admired and the stories told in art are lessons of life too.
The painting of the great Tibetan mystic, Milarepa is so well done with the story so well depicted.
A great article for artistic people to see the paintings. Thank you Beatrix for your dedication to post the paintings for our viewing, beautiful.
Dear Beatrix,
Thanks for the above article of this great man, Mr. Peter and his works. As I scrolled through and read the description each of it, somehow I found that some of the paintings depicted Buddhist teachings well. Each of the painting has its own meaning and teaching. For example, 1. the Oxherder pictures is akin to the depiction of the stages of meditation, 2. the Kurd and the Red Peppers is akin to the the truth of Buddha’s teaching but somehow we human continue and enjoy to be blinded, due to greed and attachment, 3. the Queen’s room is akin to the teaching emptiness of self, 4. the Lord Narayan and the Rhisis is like the practice of tantrayana which is faster way to enlightenment but it comes with a hefty price where we will be challenged constantly attacking our delusions in a hard way, 5. What is Maya? Is akin to the story of Venerable Ananda being put under the magic spell of a lady and the teaching on craving and grasping, 6. the mango tree is like the reminder for us derive the essence of Buddhas teaching I.e enlightenment versus finding only the happiness in this life or the next perhaps. Hence, we forgot to ‘eat’ the fruit of the teachings.
And then when I examined further, I, as an outsider, I also have the tendencies to impute meaning into these pictures whereas the painter (Mr. Peter) might have drawn it out of passion without much thought. How silly it is and at the same time, how profound! Thank you