Painting the Dao

86 ak14.99 A Notable Irony Ink and watercolour on Arches paper 52 × 26 cm, New York, September 2014 One painted artist seal 石 Shi (Stone) Published The Master of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat, Beyond the Stage of Time , i: Realised Realms (Hong Kong: Rasti Chinese Art, 2020), 153 inscr iption A notable irony in the history of staves revolved around the Permanently Puzzled Lay Devotee of the Way, who carried with him his own homunculus, which, I suspect, did little to resolve his permanent puzzlement. He owned one of the finest Fire Staves I have ever encountered. Regrettably, it decided one day to self-immolate, thereby removing itself from the thrall of its owner, who, being a devotee of the Way, was indifferent to the outcome but enjoyed the spectacle, as did his homunculus. Inscribed by the Master of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat at the Corner Suite of the Garden at the Edge of the Universe in the early autumn of 2014, New York, late at night.