The Bodhisattva Dances to the Chant, Crossing the Waves

The Bodhisattva dances while listening to the sound of the chant (Yeombul). The waves surge ceaselessly, and the world is never quiet. Thoughts arise, the mind shakes, and afflictions (bönnoe) return relentlessly, changing their form. Within that fierce flow, the Bodhisattva dances, alone and in stillness.

His dance is neither ostentation nor passion. He simply flows, wholly entrusting his body and mind to every single syllable of the chant. His feet step on the clouds, and his fingertips caress the wind. Even when everything else is shaking, he flows flexibly, unshaken. The Bodhisattva does not avoid the waves. He resolutely crosses the waves. Those waves are the world's desires, his own afflictions, and the ceaseless turmoil of the mind. But within that, he becomes even freer.

This painting poses a question: What shakes, what flows, and what remains still? I painted the Bodhisattva while ceaselessly contemplating that question, like chanting. He was still while dancing, and remained unstained by the world even while crossing the waves.