As I understand it, the novelty and contemporaneity of schema is much like Buddhist disciples after enlightenment, who appear before others in different guises. Master Hongyi was a man of vast learning and many talents; he renounced the world and devoted himself to quiet study of the Vinaya school. Master Daoji, once enlightened, saw clearly into the true nature of the dharma and was no longer bound by the precepts, conducting himself as though half-mad. The Sixth Patriarch Huineng was enlightened upon hearing the Diamond Sutra, then joined a band of hunters deep in the mountains to contemplate the impermanence of life and death. All of these are the natural outpouring of Buddha-nature — skillful means for teaching and delivering all beings.
It is the same with painting: once you have understood the true nature of painting and plunged into its space, you may leap high and dart low, giving free rein to your powers. Every schematic expression rests upon a foundation of clear self-understanding — it is what you yourself have seen and awakened to, the mode of expression that suits you. Only upon this foundation can novelty of schema stand firm. Novelty is, in truth, one's original face: every person has a visage unlike any other's — simply wash away the powder and meet it with candour. To leap and dart about without understanding the nature of painting is mere horseplay — Dongshi aping Xishi's frown.
The contemporaneity of painting manifests in two modes: the great synthesizer, and the trailblazer. In Buddhism, Hongyi is the synthesizer, while Daoji and Huineng are trailblazers; in painting, the examples are even more numerous. The contemporaneity of painting is likewise human nature itself — the original face of the painter's experience and cultivation. It is not posturing, still less a bid to shock and startle. See with lucid clarity, and express yourself purely, leaving no residue. The beauty of painting is like the vast starry sky, without boundary: strive to find your own star, veiled in mist, and let it shine with quiet confidence, however faint its light.
— Sheng Hui, August 2017
Related: Selected works
