Artist Statement

Buddhas and bodhisattvas are all around us, but we never notice it. Why? It is because our Buddhahood, the source of true wisdom, is covered by our ignorance. We are as the blind--we fail to perceive the sun because of our blindness, not because the sun does not exist. Such an understanding is the inspiration from which this painting was composed.

On the left side of the painting is the drapery highlighted in red, the color signifying purification. The drapery is decorated with the totems that embody the Forshang Dharma--the supreme Buddhist doctrines for uncovering the drapery and thereby manifesting the Buddhahood inherent in each one of us. On the right, there unveils a Buddha’s face with an eye one third open. He is greeting us with a smile. It looks as if he has been waiting for our visit for so long -- waiting for us to finally come to realize our innate Buddha nature and to eventually meet him face to face.

Of all the paintings of The King of Rulai Series, this is the first one that I portrayed a Buddha with an “open eye”. This painting was created in the GP DEVA Frontier Art at Shanghai, China -- which perhaps implied certain significance?! Despite disclosing with only one eye, it happens to perfectly capture the auspiciousness and profundity of the “unique insight”.