Stupa of Return

During the Tang Dynasty, the Zen Buddhist tradition popularized 'stupa burials,' where pagodas were erected at the meditation sites of eminent monks after their passing. Honggu Mountain, a sacred site for Zen practice, houses this cliff-carved stone stupa as a symbol of the spiritual achievements of Master Dayuan.The stupa takes the form of a cliff relief pagoda, carved directly into the rock face. Its integration with the mountain's form embodies the eternal nature of Buddhist teachings, resonating with the Zen philosophy that 'landscape itself is Dharma.'In his later years, Tang Dynasty painter Jing Hao retreated to Honggu Mountain, where the rugged simplicity of the mountain forests influenced his brushwork philosophy. In his Notes on Brushwork, he emphasized 'bold and vigorous brushstrokes,' which may have originated from his observations of linear carvings in stone grottoes. This aesthetic also inspired my approach to the painting's rhythm. I sought to convey the weathered majesty of nature using a painting knife, while gold foil inlay reflects the passage of millennia.Today, the mountain's hues have shifted, as described in the poem Seven-Character Regulated Verse: Inscribed on Master Dayuan's Cliff-Carved Stupa at Honggu Mountain:'A millennium's mark engraved deep on cliffs, A silent pagoda faces the empty woods.'Yet in seclusion here, one can still sense the serene tranquility of this Zen sanctuary. This is not the existential void glimpsed through grand historical narratives, but rather a divine summons—a return to faith, renewed.