The Bright, the Verdant and the Vibrant

Continuing apace with Chinese brush painting of flowers, birds, and bamboo...

Resuming Painting ...

I was preoccupied with looking after Hubby after he succumbed to bacterial infection of the stomach and was hospitalized for two nights early in the week. He is recovering at home now, thus enabling me to resume my favourite hobby: Chinese brush painting.

Painting flowers in the family

There were eight of us in today's Arts class, demonstrating that painting is gaining popularity among chinese ladies who have made US their home in one form or another, notwithstanding the fact that one of the newbies is my elder daugter from Oregon, CY. CY is on her penultimate day of her brief sojourn with us that has commenced earlier in the week.

As you can see from the last two paintings below, it's certainly like Mom like daughter.

Mine.

Mine.

Mine.

CY's.

CY's.

Flowers in a flourish

Different clusters of red (also crimson, ruby, apple candy, scarlet ... various terms used to denote different shades of Red Hubby saw on a window display at the Talbots Inc. at Hyde Park that he passes on his walk to the office every workday) flowers are in plentiful supply today. Hope they will brighten your day as they have done for me.

Heart Sutra and Guan Yin Pusa in Calligraphy and Painting

The Heart Sutra, or completely known as the Prajnaparamita Hrdaya Sutra (in Sanskrit, Prajna mean wisdom, and Prajnaparamita stands for wisdom acquired experientially, by means of intuitivge insight, and prefected through cultivation to the level of transcendental knowledge; it is the original wisdom of the mind, or the True Mind, and Hrdaya means heart).

The Heart Sutra was composed of excerpts from the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra, and simple words were carefully employed to convey profound meanings. Although the Chinese version contains only 260 single characters, nevertheless it embodies the entire Prajna literature in all its depth and subtlety.

Here then is my calligraphic expression of the Heart Sutra, which I have written for my Mom back home to recite everyday.


Also, the Heart Sutra is seen through the eyes of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara who is known in Chinese Buddhism as Guan Yin Pusa, as can be seen from the first line of the Heart Sutra, When the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara was coursing in the deep Prajna Paramita ...

And below is my painting of Guan Yin Pusa.

The above Italicized text are taken directly from the booklet, The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra translated by Master Lok To, published by Sutra Translation Committee of the US and Canada (1995), and printed by The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, Taiwan.

The Serene Setting of Nature

Whether single stalk or double stalk, flowers are always an appealing sight that induces relaxation. Fish, on the other hand, seems to engender the same serene state of mind when it is not solitary, which may not be surprising since animals, and humans for that matter, are social and gregarious beings.

Cranking along the bird and flower trail

Unrelenting, I continue to churn out more paintings, a tapestry of birds, flowers, and cicadas enjoying mutual company.