Painting the Dao

150 ak25.1 Water, Pine and Stone Conversation, No.18 Ink and watercolour on cloud-dragon paper 141 × 78 cm, Hong Kong, January 2025 Six artist seals 水松石山房 Shuisongshi shanfang (Water, Pine and Stone Retreat) 竹虛老人 Zhuxu laoren (Old man as empty inside as bamboo) 養石閒人 Yangshi xianren (Idler who cherishes stones) 山外山樵 Shanwai shanqiao (Mountain woodcutter who is not in the mountains) 如如居士 Ruru Jushi (Retired scholar who believes all doctrines equal) 石狂 Shikuang (Stone fool) inscr iption You must step outside of time, into the wilderness of the world and of the mind to see dragons dance. They do not respond to casual interest. In the world of red dust dragons are recognised as myth, symbols of whatever suits the interpreting mind, but they become real enough when you leave behind the Stage of Time where the interpreting mind no longer governs but becomes a plaything of the imagination. I find that dragons are particularly fond of assuming the form of ancient trees, whether dead or alive is immaterial, dragons care not about such distractions as raiment; the pure and flexible form of long-dead pines suffices. Unfettered, they can become the calligraphic expression of the movement of the cosmos. The more time I spend with them the more comfortable they become and the more often I am invited to join the dance. Inscribed at the Nodding Stone Garden at the Edge of the Universe by the Master of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat in the first days of 2025.