One Flower One World

I had the fortune to view an awe-inspiring exhibition entitled 'Wandering Comfortably in the Floriculture' (一花一界 一葉一如) by Taiwanese artist Shanshan Shiao (蕭珊珊) on a recent trip to the Nan Tien Temple near Wollongong, about one and a half hour's drive south of Sydney.

The artwork comprised of pressed flowers and plant material carefully cut and placed to create images in framed silk. Some depict so realistically the texture, movement and patterns of animals, particularly birds that it is hard to believe that the feathers are made from parts of plants.

The collection varied from the realistic images of birds and animals to more whimsical creations of ballerinas, fairies and witches. Among them were also Buddhist images that evoke both the simplicity and complexity of fundamental Buddhist teachings.

Among the most striking was a depiction of Avalokitesvara, the Boddhisattva of Compassion (also known as Guan Yin 觀音 in Chinese) and a work that was the character for Zen (襌) made from dead leaves and with lotus flowers. Images such as these were simple yet loaded with symbolism and deeper meaning.

The use of space in many of the works project a deceptive sense of simplicity that is belied when one looks closer. For example, each petal has been carefully selected to make the most of the natural variation in the differing venation that occurs in them. On the temple's website [link] , one can see an image of a butterfly, made up of 1,688 individual butterflies and which took 4 years to complete. This image reflects the Buddhist idea that things are at once more simple and more involved than is first apparent.

Shanshan Shiao has completed over 400 works, but does not sell any, meaning that the opportunity to see her art is rare indeed. Currently, the exhibition is travelling as part of a tour from the Fo Guang Yuan art galleries to many galleries and museums internationally. I feel privileged to have been able to experience and appreciate this amazing collection.

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Now the reason that I was down at the temple though was due to an excursion with Unibodhi. About twenty-odd members and friends who heard about our trip came along, mostly via the long train ride down to Unanderra (Where, I hear you ask? Yeah well, south coast/southern highlands of Sydney), while my sisters and I drove down as we live quite a bit farther south than many of the others.

We had the fortune to have a friend who had been trained to give tours of the temple and he kindly offered his services and knowledge to us. So we visited the front shrine of the Thousand Hand Guan Yin, where one of the reverend nuns spoke to us after recognising our friend. Afterwards we headed inside to the courtyard area of the temple, where we partook of a vegetarian lunch, before the requisite taking of a group photo.

The main shrine was next. While we were there, there happened to be a wedding ceremony going on too. I love the artwork and the way that this hall was laid out. The focal point were five huge Buddha statues, each in different colours, with different mudras (gestures, usually of the hand in Buddhism); these all symbolised various aspects of Buddhist ideas. I learnt a lot from the brief description and discussion that ensued. Although this was the focus of the hall, there were many other amazing things to look at in this shrine, in particular, the hand painted mural in the centre of the ceiling of primal beings.

Downstairs, we entered the temple museum. In the entrance was the hall of mirrors with an exhibition of statuary and water. Other highlights of the exhibits included:

1) Miniature writing and art on rice grains, shell and hair. Pretty cool. Even with the magnifying glasses, you could only just make out some of the detail.

2) Elaborately carved piece of wood depicting the Buddha preaching. This was absolutely stunning. You could see the amount of work required for the artist to visualise what was in the wood, work with the grain, make out details like the hands and faces of individuals; all from a single piece of wood.

3) The exhibition of Shanshan Shiao as described above.

After this bit of art appreciation, we wandered through the gardens to visit the pagoda, before heading up the hill to the Gratitude Bell. Here, we rang the bell which resonated across the valley and into out bodies, in dedication of things and people for which we were grateful. Wandering over the back hills of the temple grounds, we finally found ourselves near the lotus pond. Unfortunately, the lotuses had ceased to bloom for the season, but this did not impede a session of meditation on its banks. This brought the day to a close and we repaired to the tea house for some refreshments before making our way home.

Having not visited the temple for quite a number of years now, I thoroughly enjoyed this outing as it was far more informative than previous visits had been. Whether this had more to do with the company, my increased maturity (both in age and in a better understanding of Buddhism) is debatable. Definitely a valuable experience though.