A Brief Report on Drawing the Lineage Logo Under the Guidance of Guru Yutang Lin
When Guru Lin appointed me to draw the Logo of the Dharma Lineage of Adi Buddha Mandala according to his draft, I thought it would not be easy to accomplish it. It was very special for the conception was filled with mystical significances and expressed the relationship among the Dharmadhatu Bodhicitta, the red Bodhi and the white Bodhi. What interested me most were the pose and its meaning of the double-dragon, and all my thoughts were centered around these from the very beginning. To conform to the abstractness principle of Logo design, I got rid of realistically drawn figures and pondered on this independently. I also asked Guru if the dragons must be drawn as one upward and one downward. Guru replied that, it did not mean that one was upward and one downward; rather, it signified that they were circling clockwise without ending. My thinking was then opened up by this teaching. It was incredible that I had never drawn drafts till in the warm afternoon of vernal equinox of this year, the first picture was done without aiming particularly for it. Before that I only incubated some ideas in my mind. Although the pose of the double-dragon and the appearance of the lotus seem different from the draft by Guru Lin, actually my inspiration originated from Guru’s conception. Double-dragon, resembling a rotating clockwise Xi Xuan (ananda-chakra, gankyil), signifies everlasting and union of bliss and sunyata. Especially considering the similarity between Xi Xuan and Guru Lin’s mudra, it is very meaningful to have this graphic appeared in the Lineage Logo. The ring junction of the two dragons, the place where the red Bodhi and the white Bodhi united, represents harmonious oneness. In the Dharmadhatu Bodhicitta, the double-dragon might be seen as solid, multidimensional and a miniature of Dharmadhatu. Under the revolving of the Bodhicitta, it could even transcend the dualistic conceptions. Guru indicated that the lotus seat signifies renunciation of worldly contaminations. On the other hand，it is also a base for the union of bliss and sunyata. Therefore, I used double-layer blossoming-up and blossoming-down lotus seat to signify enjoying the practice at ease. Besides, in the view of aesthetics, double-layer lotus is more noble and dignified. At first I regarded the top of the Dharmadhatu Bodhicitta as a "Nada," so I drew the left side of its top as higher than its right side. Guru pointed out that Dharma emphasized right side as the main side, so I changed them accordingly in light of Guru’s draft and his teaching. Guru told me in the past to put the Lineage name on the top of the Logo, using colors like a rainbow. On Guru’s Birthday I finished the colorful design in an image file. Guru instructed me to write an article to explain it. I dedicated this brief report to my dear Guru in token of gratitude and to share the guidance and blessings received from Guru with all Dharma friends. And I wrote a Gatha below to praise it: Written in Chinese on April 5, 2011 [Home][Back to list][Back to Chinese versions][Related works: My Idea of a Logo for our Lineage Logo for Dharma、 Lineage of Adi Buddha Mandala、Lineage Logo Finalized] |