Zenberry Magic in the Jaws of Death
Mixed media on paper. 11" x 14" 2010
Who is this lusty, luscious, little Buddha god, inside a prehistoric cave within a tiger's mouth?
There's a Zen koan about a monk who has been chased off a cliff by a pack of dangerous animals. The monk manages to catch a root as he falls. He hangs on, his hand slowly slipping off the root. Meanwhile, another pack of animals begins circling below, waiting for his inevitable fall . . . and their dinner. The monk notices a little strawberry growing in front of him. He eats it.
Inside the glaring fact of our own mortality, we can focus on the jaws of death or the delightful, magical, taste of life.