Heart Light – Painting Figure of Guanyin Bodhisattva
I was born in southern Fujian and grew up in the atmosphere of Buddha worship. In my hometown, almost every household worships Amitabha and Guanyin Bodhisattva. The great philosopher Zhu Xi in Song dynasty praised the social customs of pious worship of Buddha in southern Fujian with “This place is called the realm of Buddhist; in this place, saints can be found everywhere. ” In my memory, when I was still a child, my old grandma with bound feet always closed the door, took out the statue of Guanyin from the closet, lit a stick of incense and worshipped it for quite a while on 1st and 15th day of every month, and the birthday of Guanyin Bodhisattva. That was the time of “Cultural Revolution” when feudalistic superstition was badly pressed. The farthest place she has been to was Putuo Mountain, to worship Buddha. The most she talked of was Guanyin Bodhisattva. Imperceptibly, a cognition sense of Buddha worship and an intimacy for Buddhism were rooted in my little heart.
At the end of 1970s when I was studying at Academy of Art I knew Master Hong Yi from the essays of Feng Zikai and knew the Master had deep affections for southern Fujian. Master Hong Yi spent his later life in promoting and practice Buddhism in southern Fujian. I approached and learned about Buddhism from Master Hong Yi’s books like Wan Qing Collection. Buddhism has been introduced into China for more than 2000years; together with local Chinese Taoism and Confucianism form a relatively sound philosophy and become an extremely important component of Chinese culture and the principal part of religious belief. Guanyin Bodhisattva in Buddhism is deeply rooted in the hearts of Chinese people with an image who can perceive the cries of the suffered and give them help. It has become a synonym of Buddhism in national people’s hearts. While the figure of Guanyin Bodhisattva has been changed from a 2m-up male to a merciful female, from divine to humanized.
Xiamen South Putuo Temple is so named for its position to the south of Zhejiang Putuo Mountain. The main statue worshipped in the temple is the Guanyin Bodhisattva with thousands of hands and eyes. At the beginning of 1990s, I lived in the temple for as long as three years and assisted Master Miao Zhan, Master Ben Ru and Master Yong Ru in establishment of the first Buddhist charity in Mainland China, i.e. Xiamen Nan Putuo Temple Charity Foundation. The Charity takes the merciful wishes of Guanyin Bodhisattva as its objective and interprets Buddhism through worldly dhammas to serve the society and benefits the broad masses.
If everyone could keep the wishes of Guanyin Bodhisattva in mind, then he can give up the petty self for the great self , and exterminate the evil and follow the good to serve the society, just like a bright lamp illuminating the heart. Thus, I paint the figure of Guanyin Bodhisattva and wish for the peace of the world, the nation and the people, for everyone keeping good thoughts and for a harmonious society. And every time when I show others my paintings of Guanyin Bodhisattva’s figure or give them as gifts, I alert myself and feel joyful together with others as well. The heart light never dies out.
Written by Lin Liangfeng in Bi Yun Wo Hotel in Huaxi District, Guizhou on Aug.4, 2008