Painting of the 8 Auspicious Symbols to welcome H.H. Dalai Lama for his visit in The Netherlands
On June 4th 2009, His Holiness The Dalai Lama paid a visit to Amsterdam. A very special event, because it was his first visit in The Netherlands in 10 years. And according to the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, a highly respected lama is welcomed by painting the Eight Auspicious Symbols in front of the temple. And though this wasn't a temple but a huge conference hall, I was asked to design and co-ordinate this project. An opportunity I'm so grateful for!
I designed a lotus flower with in each petal one of the symbols. The painting was made on the day before the Dalai Lama would come to give his teachings. A group of 6 people was working on it all day, from 11AM to 10PM.
At night, we covered it with with plastic. The next morning, thousands of people would come to the teachings and see the 5 meter in diameter (197 inches) painting on their way to the entrance.
At the end of this wonderful day, I when all 18.000 people had left, it started raining a little and I went outside to check the 8 Auspicious Symbols. We had purposely painted it with just pigments and water, so eventually it would be washed away by the rain, signifying the impermanence of all phenomena, just like the dismantling of a sand mandala. ...It was very touching to see how people spontaniously had put roses around the painting!
H.H. the Dalai Lama and was inspiring about 18,000 people this day with his words. After his teachings, I had the fortunate opportunity to offer him some of my thangka work, which he blessed. WOW, I felt so lucky!
