Invocation

This calligraphy art-piece was inspired by the the words of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche on the theme of ‘invocation’:

Dewdrop, lamp, phantom, rainbow, oasis,
Such is my life and the lives of others –
I surrender to this truth.
To the one who spoke this truth,
The Prince of the Shakyas I offer my adoration.

སྤྱན་དྲངས་ – through the power of intention སྤྱན་འདྲེན་བཏང་བ་ is to send invocation to the enlightened ones.

Within this is symbolised with a sequence of four specific syllables with their particular role, namely: dzaḥ – summon. hūṃ – enter. baṃ – merge together. hoḥ – joyously.

This also relates to the Mandala principle, which as a celestial palace of a deity and entourage, is comprised with four gates of the four cardinal directions and their respective colours:

The syllable dzaḥ is white of the eastern gate, where it takes the form of a white goddess holding an iron hook in her right hand.
The syllable hūṃ is yellow and streams out to the southern gate, where it takes the form of a yellow goddess holding a lasso in her right hand.
The syllable baṃ is red of the western gate, where it takes the form of a red goddess holding an iron chain in her right hand.
The syllable hoḥ is green and goes to the gate in the north, where it takes the form of a green goddess holding a bell in her right hand.

Although these particular instructions are found in the Sutras and Tantras, this artwork is a contemporary depiction, which is intended to give a sense of movement through space and time. Multi coloured offering flowers fall miraculously from the sky, forming a ‘heading character’ of four swirls. This is the ‘beginning’, on which the four invocation syllables in their respective cardinal colours, dance their rainbow waves of blessing.