Report from Formosa

Sailing into the Golden Age through Master’s Art

By the Taipei News Group (Originally in Chinese)

[Taipei] From October 29 to November 3, 2005, initiates from the Taipei Center held an exhibition of Supreme Master Ching Hai’s art work entitled "Sailing into the Golden Age" at the Taipei Municipal Social Education Hall. The event, which combined spiritual insights and visual art, was welcomed by citizens from many sectors of Formosan society.

On October 29, approximately two hundred guests, including numerous Formosan celebrities, graced the opening ceremony, during which the fellow practitioners provided musical entertainment and exquisite tea and snacks. In his speech at the ceremony, well-known artist Mr. Zhuo Clement said, "The very first time I saw Supreme Master Ching Hai’s paintings I was certain that they were masterpieces by a master artist. Each of these works reveals the Supreme Master’s spiritual insights and inner bliss in Her daily life, and contains great depth."

Master's pictures and elegant, uniquely designed Longevity Lamps attracted the attention of many art experts and members of the general public. For example, even before the opening ceremony graphic design teacher Ms. Huang of the Guangfu Elementary School was at the venue appreciating the works and was especially impressed by the painting Heavenly Flowers, about which she said, “This piece seems to represent lotus blooms in the heart of Supreme Master Ching Hai and denotes the state of non-contamination by the secular world." Another visitor, Mr. Liu Zhao-Ming is a legendary figure in Formosa who rose to fame overnight when he painted a 42-foot dragon in 95 seconds. Mr. Liu is also an expert in the art of mounting calligraphy and paintings, and more than a decade ago he helped frame many of Master's photographs and read Her publications. He especially admired the picture frames that Master personally designed, each of which was exclusively crafted to match a specific picture so as to better convey its message. Although the frames were made using ordinary woodworking techniques, they perfectly highlighted the original, innocent and unpretentious style of Master’s paintings. On the second day, Mr. Liu brought a group of students to the exhibition, explained to them the profound message conveyed by Master's art work and shared his interpretation of each painting.

◄◄ Well-known Formosan artist Mr. Zhuo Clement

On November 2, modern artist Mr. Zhang Yong-Chun came to the Taipei Municipal Social Education Hall to promote the release of one of his folk song recordings. And on visiting the exhibition of Master’s art, he intuitively perceived Her high spiritual level and noble state and identified with Her ideal of encouraging the spirit of “Truth, Virtue and Beauty,” saying, “I recognize that Master is trying to introduce the spiritual realm and transmit the message of beauty to the world through artistic creation.” Mr. Zhang also asked for a sample booklet to learn more about the Quan Yin Method and Master's teachings, and expressed interest in visiting the Hsihu Center.

In addition, many people with affinity learned the Convenient Form of meditation during the exhibition. Among them was Mr. Kalev Keeroja, an Estonian artist performing in Formosa who used his spare time to visit the exhibition. Mr. Keeroja really loved Master's paintings and Longevity Lamps, and when he learned that a Convenient Method teaching session was being held he was delighted and immediately asked to participate. Then after learning the Method he was very pleased and said, “I’ll contact the local practitioners upon returning to Estonia so I can learn more about Master's teachings.” Thus, thanks to Master's blessings, the feast of visual art and spiritual inspiration Sailing into the Golden Age ended on a successful note. ♥