Great artists in history are all characteristic of, and celebrated by, their spirit of originality: to navigate the unexplored and visualize the unimagined by way of aesthetic creativity. Inspired by this spirit, Lee Sun-Don pioneers an innovative painting genre, called Totemic Energy Oil Painting, to capture the ineffably transformative manifestations of the universe. Lee, as a Buddhist Master, is also the first in history to incorporate the ultimate Buddha dharma with western oil art in painting: on the canvas, he unfolds the complete Buddhist sutras and demonstrates the supreme gist of Buddhist philosophy. Totemic Energy Oil Painting by Master Lee is therefore not merely a work of art but involves Zen practice: each painting is a message and an enigma for the viewers to explore and contemplate. This aesthetic style brings about a rethinking of how art may embody cosmic essence while simultaneously emanating mind-awakening power to transform the viewers.

The predominant motif of Master Lee's artwork centers on Buddha, or alternatively speaking, the path to enlightenment. As the Third Patriarch of the Buddhist Forshang, Master Lee commits himself to glorifying Buddha dharma and bringing awareness to one's innate Buddhahood - such a calling is also the momentum that keeps him painting. In his own words, "It is the Buddha dharma that gives me the courage to pick up the paintbrush; what is portrayed, at the tip of that brush, is certainly the Buddha dharma!" With his brushstrokes, he illustrates the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha in the hope of inspiring all sentient beings to uncover their self-existent Buddhahood and learn to find the glory, perfection, and kindness within all existences.

Each painting of Master Lee distinctively contains a totem, or in another sense, is a totem all by itself. The totem is more than a symbol-specifically, it is the fundamental presentation of all the phenomena and all the energies of the universe; it also represents the states of perfect balance of the cosmos and the harmony of one's inner and outer worlds. The pyramids of ancient Egypt, Eight Diagrams of the Chinese Book of Changes, Swastika (卐) of Buddhism, Tibetan Mandala, Star of David of Judaism, and the Cross of Christianity, are all examples of totem.

The totem, nevertheless, is not what can be produced by purely artistic talents. Rather, it relies on spiritual accomplishment so as to understand the universe both in its essence and in its transformations, its totemic entity, and translate it into visual images. Thank to Master Lee's exclusively superb Buddhist cultivation, not only can he perceive the profound interactive energies of the universe; moreover, he knows how to use symbols - line, color, stroke, and space - to represent the universal energies in art form. The totemic artwork created by Master Lee therefore embodies both the cosmic reality and mystic power - the power to touch human minds, to elicit spiritual accordance, and to bring forth body-mind harmony in the viewers - perfectly manifesting his "aesthetics of energy."

The color presentation in Master Lee's artwork is eye-catching. The seemingly dissonant colors can always be magically combined together to evoke a nevertheless coordinating feel. In fact, colors at the tip of Master Lee's paintbrush not only deliver visual impact but express various dimensions of the dharma. Specifically, they are also means for communicating the essence of the universe.

Although having established a unique painting genre, Master Lee never stops challenging and transcending himself. He keeps navigating the new forms of presentation, e.g., energy manifestation , dharma-in-form manifestation , mind-derived manifestation , totem-bang manifestation , and ultimately-one-color manifestation. In this diversity, he provides various approaches for the viewers to reflect the self, appreciate differences, deconstruct dualistic perceptions, and gain insights into the vitality of one's innate nature.

Master Lee's art creation has received global recognition. In his recent exhibitions held in the major cities of the world, including Milan, Rome, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Singapore, and Taipei, he has been heralded as the "Pioneer of Totemic Energy Oil Painting". His totemic artwork, inspired by his Buddhist practice, discloses the true meanings of life, captures universal harmonious energy, and elicits a sense of enlightenment and transcendence in the viewer - it is truly beyond compare. By crafting a space where aesthetic creativity and Buddha dharma mutually illuminate one another, Master Lee opens up the horizon, if not exploring the frontier, of the contemporary art.