my compassion tree 2020-2021
for a long time now i have connected to the beautiful energy of Avalokiteshvara , or Chenrezig , the buddhist god of compassion . He has 1000 arms with 1000 eyes in their palms , showing the vast strength of his compassion which is big enough to be able to see, and bless , all the suffering in the world .
i had the idea some years ago to represent him as a tree with 1000 leaves .
one day in the 1st lockdown here, i was thinking of this in my meditation time , and thinking yet again that i didn't now how to do it , and the clear message came ' just start with the leaves " .. so i did ...
i took all the paintings down from the end wall of my studio, and dedicated it to the compassion tree
each leaf has the name on of someone i am connected with , close family and friends , and on out to people i know less well
the compassion tree grew all through 2020 on my studio wall.
There was no pressure in making it , sometimes i would have a busy phase , painting big sheets of paper with varying greens , turning them over to draw round my hands so many times , sitting outside cutting out hands , painting , naming , sticking them up in batches . Other times there were lulls of days or weeks , and it came to a standstill at the winter solstice 2020 after 526 hands .
The comfort of this tree became a presence in my mediation world, where it has always been complete , and teaches me about receiving and giving love and compassion. It opens my heart to sit with this tree , it connects me with all these people , and with the blessings of knowing them all , and of the simple fact that we are all connected , truly .
this autumn , 2021, the time came to take it down. i wanted to honour all the hands and names, so i painted a box for them, with Chenrezig's mantra on it, and they are still a presence in my studio.
here are a few photos of the process
i had the idea some years ago to represent him as a tree with 1000 leaves .
one day in the 1st lockdown here, i was thinking of this in my meditation time , and thinking yet again that i didn't now how to do it , and the clear message came ' just start with the leaves " .. so i did ...
i took all the paintings down from the end wall of my studio, and dedicated it to the compassion tree
each leaf has the name on of someone i am connected with , close family and friends , and on out to people i know less well
the compassion tree grew all through 2020 on my studio wall.
There was no pressure in making it , sometimes i would have a busy phase , painting big sheets of paper with varying greens , turning them over to draw round my hands so many times , sitting outside cutting out hands , painting , naming , sticking them up in batches . Other times there were lulls of days or weeks , and it came to a standstill at the winter solstice 2020 after 526 hands .
The comfort of this tree became a presence in my mediation world, where it has always been complete , and teaches me about receiving and giving love and compassion. It opens my heart to sit with this tree , it connects me with all these people , and with the blessings of knowing them all , and of the simple fact that we are all connected , truly .
this autumn , 2021, the time came to take it down. i wanted to honour all the hands and names, so i painted a box for them, with Chenrezig's mantra on it, and they are still a presence in my studio.
here are a few photos of the process
