“The Way”  23" x 49" x 2"  acrylic on hand carved basswood 1998

"The Way", because in Buddhism there is no instruction on how to become enlightened, rather the emphasis is about placing one’s self on the path towards it.  And you can see that there is a road or path that continues to the horizon on both sides. To express the duality of life the work is divided into equal parts.  The wall of skulls symbolizes the reincarnations the blue figure has gone through in order to reach his level of awareness. The fallen blossoms on the cool side surround the figure and form an invisible pyramid, with the crown of his head being the apex. I chose to do this because it is a way of expressing power, and secondly because the Buddha is said to have achieved enlightenment under the "Bo Tree" in a rain of blossoms (with gift waves emanating outward through the universe).  But perhaps the most significant object in this artwork, is the blossom on the side of suffering.  It symbolizes the realization that there is no need to take a long journey.  It means that ultimate Truth is right where we are now, and the experience of ‘Atonement’ (at-ONE-ment) can be rediscovered anywhere.                              .... seek not outside yourself.

                         “Every man is his own prison. 

                          Yet every man can obtain the means to escape.

                          Never stop struggling.”

                                                           -last words of Siddhartha Gautama