流轉的時刻
文/易安妮
世界上的有些真實性是無法化約的。若是缺少了這個信念，很難想像人類心靈會如何運作；也很難想像如果衝動和經驗沒有意義的話，意識將如何產生。意識到一個真實且有意義的世界，和發現神聖之間，息息相關。
–馬西亞‧伊利亞德
行駛在蜿蜒的道路上，我和我的助理兼好友「采泥藝術」的立心，以及文森一同驅車前往李光裕大師的工作室：我們把台北的紛擾拋諸在腦後，將話題轉換到我們即將拜訪的隱居之地。我們陪伴著彼此：珠串般的雨滴滑落車窗，天空滿佈烏雲，轉眼間我們來到了一棟屋子前面。下車後，我們聞到了涼爽的芳香空氣，並因為能夠這樣輕鬆的呼吸而歡快的咯咯笑著。李大師用他溫暖的笑容和一把五顏六色的雨傘迎接我們。他的眼睛閃爍著光芒，似乎告訴我們在這樣的天氣繞著附近散步是再適合不過了。
確實如此，李光裕的工作室給人的第一印象便是周遭多年精心培植和美化的花園環境。他的作品被逐步安置在這殿堂中幽僻的樹叢和水景之間。這裡，不僅僅是戶外的藝術展示空間，整個園地表現了李光裕不斷演進的個人哲學、創作實踐和與自然和諧共處的生活方式。我一直期待能見到這位知名的台灣雕塑家，他的非凡事業反映出他對完美形式無止盡的追求與探尋，以表達深奧的佛教真理。身為一位長期修習佛教的學生和修行者，我步入了他的奇妙世界，彷彿在大自然中經歷一場具有神秘啟示的交響曲。
對那些較不熟悉的人而言，需要提及有兩種截然不同的佛教藝術：一種是基於傳統設計和概念的佛教文化藝術；另一種則是非特定文化形式而源於個人直觀表達的佛教藝術。從我多年來在亞洲不斷旅行和探索的過程中，我觀察到儘管有在地性的差別，佛教意象通常是印度經典藝術與中國元素相互融合的結果。非特定文化形式的佛教藝術即使是從傳統演變而來，也會因為藝術家各自不同的信念和奉獻精神而有所不同。李光裕受過正統訓練，並從事鑄造金屬雕塑或銅器這種最古老的製作物品的方式之一。然而，他獨特的創作風格融合了傳統技術及現代和西方的影響，而成為具有抽象意義的宗教象徵。
深具意義的是，他的創作過程和他嚴謹的佛教冥想是不可分的。近幾年，這種冥想被人們描述為心靈（思想）的科學。在最基本的層次上，冥想作為觀察一個人思想本質的技巧，在冥想過程中，亦能淨化心靈。語言不能準確表達這種直接和自發的現象學過程，必須從最內在的意識去審視並以其獨特的方式去體驗。用鈴木大拙的說法：「自然既是心，心既是佛，佛既是道，而道既是禪；而禪本身就超越了智者或愚者的理解。」(Barrett 1996, p 88)。李光裕通過他的藝術努力創造出直觀和感官的途徑，讓觀賞者在其內在培養出心靈經驗感知，並從中汲取智慧。就真正佛教禪宗不以文字立言的教化形式，李光裕所使用的獨特美學語言，是我們的共同文化遺產的一項饋贈，因為不論個人的宗教信仰或哲學信仰為何，它都直接訴諸我們的心靈深處。李光裕的鏤空藝術作品，正是用來表達心靈虛空和認知活動的實有真相的一種形構方式。在他的雕塑作品中，一隻手或一顆頭的形體中間可能是中空的。在某些情況下，空間裡所放置的小型物體或形狀意味著虛空和局限的並存、個體的經驗及與其相關的更大範疇之存在。此外，他還採用了一系列的象徵引導觀眾去反思我們存在的本質真相，亦即：在超越了思想、記憶和感官的波動外，有一浩瀚的虛空意識，是不變的–而也正因此–是寧靜的。這種見解，一般被認為是佛法的最佳禮物之一，也同時被巧妙地呈現在李的整個作品之中。李光裕為世界所帶來的每一個形象，都表現出無以名狀的個人轉變的時刻，這些轉變帶領我們更進一步體驗到世界是神聖的。
在園子的四處擺放著許多人體不同部位的雕塑，我們停下腳步最先看到的是《凝III》（1995年）:一個比例勻稱倚在右手上的頭部。和李光裕的所有作品一樣，它體現出李光裕精湛的鑄造技術。不過它的精緻細節以及形式表現的細微精確，才是真正展示大師風範之所在。手的指尖溫柔地蜷曲，如花瓣似的親切地擁簇並支撐安放其上的頭部。面部表情寧靜，表面的銅綠散發出一種沈著和寧靜的聯想，更強化了這份靜謐。作品被安置在一個微型瀑布的背景下，精準地捕捉到「佛性」的概念。這是李光裕對至福的表達，也許正是這種至福之感，增添了一個覺悟者被問到「你是誰？」，而簡單回答：「我是清醒者」的悠然表情。
這種介於花園景色的短暫以及意象永恆之間的和諧，完美傳達了李光裕的一種典型藝術本質：頌揚純淨的心靈，是世界良善的根源。儘管看著作品裡所捕捉到的沉靜表情，帶著一絲似乎來自美妙夢境的微笑，我們不禁懷疑，在現今社會裡，這是否只是個是美好的想望。當今全球化秩序乃是建立在利用人類慾望以及獎勵競爭而過度發展的消費主義之上，無論在任何方面，無知和侵略的循環將永遠存在。我們都受制於普遍性的神經官能症。只要是市場仍充斥著追求富裕物質生活的最新「機密」，對於我們人類和整個地球而言，痛苦的指數將不斷地上升。就其角色而言，李光裕並非過著遺世隱遁的生活，而是致力於有紀律的生活：瞭解世界大事，卻保持適當距離。
當我們繼續漫步花園時，發現自己好像迷失在一個瀰漫午後露水的深谷中，難以判斷前方的路是否還能繼續前進或者是會跌落深谷。我們不禁想到：不也正是這種對未來的未知性，讓人類擁有好奇和冒險的精神，但也可能導致恐懼與傷害。即使我們的智能瞭解一切是不確定的，我們仍傾向於尋求安全，而避免毫無事實根據的情況。我們開發大量的附屬品，無論是關於物質事物和物質關係，亦或是關於思想、意見和計劃，一切使我們漸漸地遠離真正的智慧…我和我的同伴彼此相顧，彷若在確定彼此之間有同樣的想法。李大師則是微笑不語：或許他是唯一知道怎麼回事的人。
樹林間出現一個大型的雕塑，名為《二葉松》（2008年），它描繪了兩隻手－右手從基座向上伸出，左手由天而降，彼此指尖相觸。兩手彼此平衡而完美和諧，宛若交織在無限的能量交換中。在佛教的傳統裡，儀式手勢或手印一向是內心感受、心靈狀態或修悟者契入諸法實相的視覺表達。每一特定手指的接觸指涉了身心的本質。我們在這無限循環的接觸裡，無論看到的是人與人之間，或是自己和另一個更高的自我（真理、神、無限或自然）之間的連結，我們都被提醒著：透過意識的不斷進化，慈悲得以包容所有差異。在李光裕住所附近的花園裡，還有一個名為《合》的雕塑（2000年），兩個杯形的手掌，掌口朝下，手指牢牢地交織在一起。通常當我們想要表達深切感情時，我們會本能地扣攏雙手觸摸胸前。在佛教修行裡，雙手合十置於胸前，表示體認到與萬有存在的相互聯繫。李光裕的雕塑以藝術冥想的形式喚醒人類內在的同情心。這是一個堅定信念的強力宣言，世上還有一個更和諧、關愛的存在方式－一個屬於自己而得以與他人共享的世界。而也正是慈愛心無所不包的現存性和開放性，讓李光裕的藝術在當今世界有其獨特效力以及適切性。
當你在沉思李光裕的作品時，會不自覺地想到我們都擁有相同的本性，因此在我們的靈魂深處，得以為彼此培養出真實的情感。這種親近的關係，通常需經歷過某種危機，並跨越已知的邊界。李光裕在他豐富的人生經歷裡，曾發現自己多次失去了生命的確定性。但他不是抗拒它，而是學會了擁抱這種不安。這種不知生命為何如此開展的因素，已經成為了他的創作伴侶。他的每一件作品都表達了他對意義、真理和純粹知覺的追求：對任何人而言，這都是一個漫長而艱苦的過程。李光裕的非凡創造成果，不僅見證了他的最高技藝，也體現了他不斷克服障礙以完成精神目標的堅韌意志。
花園已漸有涼意，光線變得更加昏暗。李光裕告訴我們，到了品嚐芳香的台灣茶的時刻，於是帶著我們抄捷徑回到處所。在等候烹茶期間，文森和立心忙著在工作室裡拍照。李光裕向我揮揮手要我跟著他：而我們不需要翻譯。在房子較私密的地方，有一個美麗的聖地，藝術家每天都要花一點時間在這裡。那是一個私人的空間，裡面充滿了宗教的器物和多年來在旅行中所收集的紀念品。他邀請我進入，兩人共享了幾分鐘的沉默。這是個特別的日子，我們都微笑了：那是一種心照不宣的了然於心，一種熟悉，在這既短暫又永恆的生命時刻裡。
參考資料
Barrett, W. Ed. (1996) Zen Buddhism: selected writings of D. T. Suzuki New York: Image Books
Eliade, M. (1978) A history of Religious Ideas, vol. 1 Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Nordhaus, T; Shellenberger, M. (2007) Break Through: From the Death of the Environment to the Politics of Possibility New York: Houghton Mifflin Company
Smith, H. (1991) The World’s Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions New York: HarperCollins
Wilber, K. (1996) A brief history of everything Boston: Shambhala
Transient moments of being
Text/Antoanetta Ivanova
It is difficult to imagine how the human mind could function without the conviction that there is something irreducibly real in the world; and to imagine how consciousness could appear without a meaning on man’s impulses and experiences. Consciousness of a real and meaningful world is intimately connected with the discovery of the sacred.
–Mircea Eliade
We are driving up the winding road leading to Master Lee Kuang-Yu’s studio: Vincent, the Chini Art Gallery Lihsin, my assistant and dear friend, and I. Our conversation shifts between the Taipei chaos we have left behind and the seclusion of the place we are about to visit. From time to time we just keep each other company: beaded strings of raindrops rolling down the car windows; misty clouds drifting… then suddenly we are at the house. As we step out of the car our lungs fill up with cool fragrant air and we giggle joyously at the simple pleasure of being able to breath with ease. Master Lee greets us with a warm smile and a bunch of colourful umbrellas. With a twinkle in his eyes he tells us the weather is perfect for a walk around the property.
Indeed the first thing that strikes the visitor to Lee’s studio is the surrounding garden park, carefully cultivated and landscaped over many years. A collection of the artist’s sculptures has been gradually installed amongst the trees and water features of the sanctuary. More than an outdoor art gallery, the park has become an ever-evolving expression of Lee’s philosophy, creative practice and way of living in harmony with nature. I have been eagerly anticipating meeting the renowned Taiwanese sculptor, whose remarkable career reflects an insatiable search for the perfect form through which to express profound Buddhist truths. As a long-time student and practitioner of the Buddhist way, I enter his wondrous world as if it were a symphony of teachings performed in mystic gestures amidst Nature’s own dramatic mise-en-scène.
For those less familiar with the particular context, it should be mentioned that there are two distinct kinds of Buddhist art: one that is cultural and strictly founded upon traditional designs and themes; the other that is non-culturally specific but rather it arises as a direct expression of an individual’s insight. From my own ongoing travels and explorations across Asia over many years, I have observed that regardless of any local variations the imagery generally display the same amalgamation of classical Indian art with Chinese elements. The non-culturally specific Buddhist art, even if derived from such traditions, varies from artist to artist based on their own sense of faith and devotion. Lee Kuang-Yu is classically trained and working with one of the most ancient methods of object making: cast metal sculpture, or bronze. His unique style, however, converges traditional techniques with Modernist and Western influences, formal references to religious symbolism with abstract interpretations.
Significantly, inseparable from Lee’s creative processes is his disciplined practice of Buddhist meditation, which in recent years has been described as science of the mind. At the most fundamental level it is a technique by which one can learn to observe the nature of one’s mind and in the process work on purifying it from its defilements. Words cannot describe such a phenomenological—immediate and spontaneous—process precisely: one must take a view from the very interiority of consciousness and experience it in their own unique way. In the words of D.T. Suzuki ‘nature is the Mind, and the Mind is the Buddha, and the Buddha is the Way, and the Way is Zen, [which in itself] is beyond the comprehension of both the wise and the ignorant.’ (Barrett 1996, p 88) Through his art Lee has strived to create intuitive and sensorial pathways by which to cultivate within the viewer an awareness of the experiential reality of mind-matter, and the wisdom that can be gained from it. In true Zen Buddhist way of ‘teaching without words’, Lee’s striking aesthetic vocabulary is a gift to our common cultural heritage for it can speak directly to our deeper psyche regardless of our individual religious beliefs or philosophical persuasions. One of the formal devices Lee deploys to express the profound truth about the complementary presence of emptiness and cognitive activity of the mind, is the hollowing of the art object. In his sculptures the shape of a hand or a head may have a hollow space at its centre. In some instances within this space smaller figures or shapes might be placed signifying the simultaneous presence of emptiness and containment, as well as individual experience and its correlation to the broader picture of existence. While Lee utilises a range of symbols these invariably lead the viewer towards reflecting upon the quintessential truth about our existence: that beyond the flickering waves of thoughts, memories and sensatons there is a vast empty space of consciousness, which is unchanging and—because of it—tranquil. This insight, regarded as one of the greatest gifts of the Buddhist doctrine, is masterfully expressed throughout Lee’s entire body of work. Every image Lee has brought into the world cherishes those inexplicable moments of personal transformation that take us closer to experiencing the world as sacred.
Around the park there are numerous sculptures depicting various parts of the human body. The first one we stop by on our gentle afternoon walk is Meditation III (1995) depicting a perfectly proportionate head reclining upon the right hand. As with all of Lee’s creations it displays a superb casting technique, but it is the exquisite precision of detail and sensuously subtle definition of form that showcase his accomplishment as Master. The hand’s fingertips are softly curled up like flower petals lovingly embracing and supporting the resting head. The facial expression is one of utter serenity, further enhanced by the patina forming upon the surface which turquoise-jade colour is associated with coolness and peacefulness. Set against the backdrop of a miniature waterfall, the work captures magnificently the concept of ‘Buddha nature’. It is Lee’s interpretation of the expression of utter bliss that perhaps graced the face of the Enlightened One when asked ‘What are you?’ and he replied simply ‘I am awake’.
The harmony between the transience of the scenery around the park and the timelessness of the image conveys perfectly one of the quintessential qualities of Lee’s art: the praise of a purity of mind as a source of all fundamental goodness in the world. Though looking at the tranquil expression captured in the artwork, with its slight smile as if caught up in a beautiful dream, one cannot help but become dubious whether in today’s society this might not be just a nice aspiration. The very order of our globalised world is built upon excessive consumerism that exploits human desires and rewards competition. This perpetuates a cycle of ignorance and aggression of extraordinary proportions, in every direction. We are all subjected to its widespread neurosis. And while the market place is flooded with the latest ‘secrets’ to a materially richer life, the misery—for us humans, and for the Earth as a whole—grows exponentially. For his part Lee Kuang-Yu has committed to living not so much a reclusive but rather a disciplined life: informed of the broader events happening in the world but keeping them at a distance.
As we continuing our stroll through the park we find ourselves somewhat lost in a thick vale of afternoon dew. It is no longer possible to tell whether the path keeps going beyond the next set of steps or drops sharply downhill into an abyss. One cannot help but think that it is this not knowing of what’s next that makes the human spirit curious and adventurous, but it is also what causes it to be fearful and harmful. Even though we understand intellectually that everything is uncertain we tend to seek security and avoid groundlessness. We develop tremendous attachments not only to material objects and relations but also ideas, opinions, plans that push us further and further away from true wisdom… My companions and I look at each other as if to affirm we are thinking the same thoughts. Master Lee smiles without saying a word: he might be the only one who knows what is really going on around here.
Amongst the trees a monumental sculpture appears. Titled Red Pine (2008) it depicts two hands—the right one grounded at the base reaching upwards, the left descending from the heavens—touching each other at the fingertips. They balance one another in perfect harmony as if interlocked in an infinite exchange of energy. In the Buddhist tradition ritual hand gestures or mudras are the visual expression of inner feelings, states of mind or profound insights into fundamental values aspired by the practitioners of enlightenment. The touching of a given finger has its own reference to the essential elements of the mind-body. Whether we see in the infinitely looped gesture a connection between one human being to another, or oneself and the experience of a higher Self (Truth, God, Infinity or Nature), we are reminded of the evolutionary cycle of consciousness through which, eventually, all diversity can be embraced with loving-kindness. In the garden near Lee’s residence there is another sculpture Into One (2000) featuring two cupped hands with the palms facing downwards and the fingers firmly intertwined. Often when trying to express a deeply felt emotion we instinctively clasp hands together and touch the area of the heart. In Buddhist practice when the hands form the shape of a web in front of the heart it is an acknowledgement of the interconnectedness with all that exists. Lee’s sculpture offers us an artistic meditation upon the awakening of compassion within the human spirit. It is a powerful statement of the unshakable conviction that there is a more harmonious and caring way of being in the world—the world of one’s own and that shared with others. It is this presence and openness of an all-embracing, loving heart that gives the art of Lee Kuang-Yu its exceptional potency and relevancy in today’s world.
Contemplating Lee’s artworks one cannot help but think that indeed we all share the same humanity and for that reason deep down within our souls we must nurture a real affection for one other. Such an affinity usually evolves through some kind of crisis, of going over the edge of what’s known. During his rich life Lee has found himself many times loosing any sense of certainty. Rather then pushing it away he has learned to embrace the restlessness—this not knowing why life unfolds in the way it does has become his creative companion. Each one of his artworks is an expression of his own search for meaning, truth and purity of perception: a long and arduous process for any human. Lee’s extraordinary creative accomplishment is a testimony not only to his supreme artistry but also his tremendous willpower to keep overcoming obstacles, determined to get ever so close to his spiritual goal.
The atmosphere around the park has been getting cooler, the light ever so dim. Lee tells us it is time for some aromatic Taiwanese tea and takes the short-cut path to the house. Vincent and Lihsin busy themselves taking photographs around the studio while waiting for the tea to brew and Lee waves his hand at me to follow him: we won’t need translation. In the private quarters of the premise, there is a beautiful shrine where the artist spends a bit of time each day. It is an intimate space filled with religious objects and mementos collected during many years of travel. He invites me in and the two of us share a few minutes in silence. It has been an extraordinary day and we both smile: there is an unspoken knowing there is no such thing as strangers in this transient, yet timeless, moment of being.
Bibliographical references
Barrett, W. Ed. (1996) Zen Buddhism: selected writings of D. T. Suzuki New York: Image Books
Eliade, M. (1978) A history of Religious Ideas, vol. 1 Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Nordhaus, T; Shellenberger, M. (2007) Break Through: From the Death of the Environment to the Politics of Possibility New York: Houghton Mifflin Company
Smith, H. (1991) The World’s Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions New York: HarperCollins
Wilber, K. (1996) A brief history of everything Boston: Shambhala