invincible

"when i despair, i remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. there have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. think of it--always."~ m.gandhi

"invincible"
16 x 20 canvas
mixed media
2009

this was inspired from my "indestructible". it is about advancing your inner compassion to the greater level even after those evil and intolerable people/events which have occurred in your life. rather to succumb to hell, negativity, or hopeless, just simply change your mind. no one can do this for you but yourself. in nichiren daishonin's buddhism, it is called "ichinen sanzen" is the wish-granting gem. there are as many sides to this gem as there are living beings. each side reflects its own reality.

our life is a wish-granting gem.

when we peer into our lives we can barely see our own reflection. but when we polish our lives through chanting and making efforts to improve ourselves, we can see ourselves reflected clearly. when our gem is polished in this way we can see beyond our own reflection and see inside the gem that is the ultimate reality of all life.

a determination (ichi) at the core of your being makes real (nen) that self-pledge in all the realms (sanzen) of your life." the above can be found here.

this time, i did more thinking than feeling. i also looked at 2 different things. then i came up with a concept unlike "indestructible" but they both turned out very satisfying...

i will break it down to the main components briefly, so here i go...

if you look closely, there's spanish, english and chinese. now a days,in los angeles, we live in a trilingual world. the chinese words which are right behind quanyin says literally "is heart is buddha, is heart be buddha". to me, it means more like if buddha is in one's heart, then one shall act as a buddha. all the english are understood. as for the spanish, puta de hombre means man whore, and cobarde is coward. the chinese by quanyin's feet also means coward.

"courageous people can overcome anything. cowardly people, on the other hand, because of their lack of courage, fail to savor the true, profound joys of life. this is truly unfortunate."~d.ikeda

above, the "mayan codex" adaptation by millennium twain, its the mayan deities chaak (rain) and plumed serpent, kulkulcan. i was so attracted to this image that i had to incorporate it into this piece. of course, it's my own version. you have to flip the image to really see it. what i see in the original is an ancient mayan man squatting down making medicine with tools. my version is this 30 years old mayan man pretty much full of himself and killing himself, his own genital. the big long tongue represent the countless tale of his lies from this living being. there are several parts of the male and the female genitals around representing the ruthlessness of this man and this woman, maria dimarucut, possibly infecting others with HIV or STDs. these two can careless if others may want and need to life for the sake of their children.

i've been wanting to paint frida kahlo as quanyin bodhisattva and i thought this was the perfect opportunity as i chose quanyin. quanyin can be found here. even-though i don't worship any gods, i often find comfort in guanyin bodhisattva as i grew up learning about her from my mother. she always taught us the importance of compassion towards the less fortunate and stressed the importance to not deceive others at our own expense.

angels only exist in western religions. but i had to give her wings because i discovered that angels do exist in many different forms and even if quanyin is from the east or a myth or from thousands of years ago.

usually quanyin has been depicted with a gem or diamond on her forehead, mine is the revolution star. usually, she holds a bottle of holy water or spreads holy water from her bottle, my version is spreading the revolution stars!

in this piece, it was my intention to not have anything in front of quanyin as life moves forward, we leave all those ugliness behind no matter what. it's not easy to deal with when one steals from another, the truth or actual tangible things, however, its important to make progress daily. as long as there is progress, that's what matters. everyday as a human being, it is human revolution. there are people who are aware of habitual liars, even those who lived almost half of a century yet they chose to wreck other's life using fame, status, or money. i find that extremely sickening, but whatever makes them sleep at night.

"people only become human if they are educated as human beings. it is not birth that makes us such.only when we are raised as human beings do we become human. that's why education is so important."~d.ikeda

the 43 is actually the age of this woman, maria dimarucut, who is loaded with money, she is aware what this man does and is absolutely okay with it. one may wonder why. there are so many possibilities, if one has no children, no partner, they are probably willing to do whatever it takes to not be alone. i believe, as we age, we shall age gracefully with wisdom and compassion. as a female, using material possessions to purchase a human being is beyond unethical and sad. it's extremely hard to digest how thick people's skin can be and simply pretend they haven't harmed anyone directly or indirectly. however, we must possess compassion to those who have no morals or sense of value in life to really appreciate life ourselves. as the saying, the moon, the sun, and the truth cannot be hidden...
it's this kind of woman who nurtures this kind of man, for him to continuously take advantages of females in this world. it only require little intellect, we all know what the future holds for these two, be happy for them.

as a woman of the 21st century, i believe in standing up for yourself. it's so crucial for females to not just settle and accept their circumstances. it's hard for people to really take this kind of things seriously until it happens to their own sister, mother, friend, or themselves. we have just one life to live, you choose how you want your life to be, not be dictated by a man who just uses words.

"to possess both wisdom and compassion is the heart of our human revolution. if you have wisdom alone and lack compassion, it will be a cold, perverse wisdom. if you have compassion alone and lack wisdom, you cannot give happiness to others. you are even likely to lead them in the wrong direction, and you won't be able to achieve your own happiness."~d.ikeda

early stage...

the little diseased boy by the heart is about this mayan man who had put a curse on him under the higher power. a swear was made and shortly, this boy was diagnosed with "kawasaki" disease or here. not even science understand where it comes from. i firmly believe the higher power had to show this man that he just couldn't casually make a swear on the life of his own son in order to gain physical and material pleasures for himself. you just don't do that no matter what, if you are going to cheat or lie to another human being. be a man and take responsibilities of your own action, not your own child. the life of a child is so precious, one just can't go around using their own child to make believe. no one can top this mayan man.

"lies are truly frightening, because they not only deceive others but also destroy one's own humanity. ~d.ikeda

there are words on quanyin's clothing to represent the memories of the damages, they don't go away but they do heal. as holy as quanyin is, she's my version, she has "puta de hombre" on her wings because it will fly away with this one time experience of encountering a man whore in her life time.

a lotus flower grows and blooms simantenously in the muddiest water. it represent cause and effect in our daily lives. in this lotus, you should see that within this flower, there's the devil and the angle which equals to one. it is within all of us, however, we get to choose which one gets to dictate our daily lives.

as for all the eyes, they represent the higher power and all the eyes of all the kind of gods which humans believe in. believe it or not. some kind of power exist.

"ralph waldo emerson says "good nature is plentiful, but we want justice with a heart of steel, to fight down the proud." if people are merely good natured, then those who are arrogant and highhanded will have free rein to carry on as they please. only those who fight with hearts of steel are people of justice. "~d.ikeda

this lifetime will never come again, if another woman wrecks your home, let her have that trash you chose to throw away, you will be so glad you stood up for yourself. then just sit back and relax, enjoy your new life full of endless possibilities.

the end...

i have prints and cards for sale on my esty store. the image is printed on sumptuous, glimmering paper which creates a shimmer look. the print simply glows, it is lustrous, lively and lovely.

(all of grigio's art cards are printed on the same exact card stock). you have to see it in person, it's very nice quality!

i will have this image along with "indestructible" at the local stores in 2 weeks. i will have them in prints, cards, candles, buttons, magnets, etc.!