Christmas London

Shortly before Christmas, I had a good opportunity for a brief travel to London to return a visit to Ayyā Dhammadīpā who came down to Vienna a couple of months ago.

Ayyā picked me up at the airport and in just two days, she showed me lovely places full of Christmas lights, the River Thames, and we had a few meals together. We visited the Indian, Chinese, and Japanese sections of the British Museum, which were filled with beautiful Buddhist art.

I felt moved by the life-size figure of an arhat, a fully enlightened being, that is around one thousand years old. It was particularly the arhat’s facial expression that caught my attention. To me, it was full of depth, strength, and dignity—like that of the Path.

I was astonished by the “Ring of Small Petals”, a contemporary Japanese metalwork by Junko Mori. She hand-forged each tiny piece of steel and then assembled them into the sculpture. It was her response to the Great Earthquake that hit Japan in 2011. I couldn’t help but think of the Enso circle. I was struck by this piece as it was very similar to how I usually envision the Enso. Not at all as neat and flat as a calligraphy painting on rice paper, but rather something multi-dimensional, organic, unfathomable—myriad miraculous ways all things are appearing, interacting, and ceasing in their interconnectedness. I also really enjoyed the combination of strong expression with the beauty and subtlety of flowering patterns. There’s definitely something about seeing the sculpture rather than just its photo. If you enjoy art and have an opportunity to see it in person, I very much recommend it.

Before leaving London, I had a delicious dinner and an interesting conversation with my generous host Angela, who is too a Buddhist practitioner and a great cook.