Rashid
Everyday Buddhas by Rashid
Everyday Buddhas by Rashid – reproduced by permission – click on picture to see bigger version
Rashid‘s Buddha drawings have been regulary seen in the Viha Connections magazine and are part of the many illustrations in his poetry book Life Is One Blessed Thing After Another.
He writes us about his Buddhas:
"There is a tattered photocopy of a buddha statue always on my wall. Is it from a Burmese or Cambodian sculpture? Is it third or fourteenth century? I still don’t know. It touches me at some point that I can‘t locate, in a way I can’t describe.
Some half forgotten story comes to me about a buddhist master staying overnight in a temple by a river. He liked to honour Buddha by making little carvings of him everywhere he went. There was insufficient wood around and in the morning when he went his way, the local monks were horrified to find their temple statue had been carved into a thousand wood-chip buddhas which floated down the river.
Some years ago, I thought to make as many drawings of this photocopy as it took to reach the source of inspiration. I would work quite small and use just black and white to narrow down the field, to focus the intent, to frame the koan.
So all day and every day, I drew for weeks. The drawings followed no particular pattern and no rules. I would draw with miniature precision or with absolute abandon. left handed or with brushes in each hand, at night, with scissors, from inspiration and from no-inspiration.
I offer them as milestones on the Way of Meditation."
The drawings can also be bought as prints, available from Rashid directly. They are also included in his poetry book Life Is One Blessed Thing After Another which can be purchased from the publisher Tree Tongue Publishing or directly from Rashid (rashidmaxwell@yahoo.com).
