About Ideograph - Prajnaparamita Sutra (Heart Sutra) I make ink paintings, objects and photographs. Investigating reality directly, translating observations and thoughts into images and researching the physical appearance of life is the main starting points of my work. Maybe my Eastern roots are due to this. The symbolic signs of old Chinese written-language fascinate me. The language and image are closely related. Concrete objects and abstract meaning relate to powerful communication signs. By photographing the working process, such as trees in bloom, details of waist in my kitchen and the view from my living-room, I can achieve some distance from my original starting point. This meditation allows me to seek for personal meaning. In this piece: Ideograph- Prajnaparamita Sutra (Heart Sutra). I photograph the objects that I collected recently or before and translating Buddhist Heart Sutra into the images. The meaning of Buddhist Heart Sutra is deep. I used to write the text as a daily meditation. Transforming the text into photographs, it is a challenge for me but also an interesting discovering of how the idea could work in real. Ideograph - a previous book project made in 2009. A written symbol which represents an idea or object directly rather than the particular sound of a word, as a Chinese character. The concept of this book mirrors the idea/structure of ‘Ideograph’. 在這件作品圖敘意象之般若波羅蜜多心經中，我將我過去和現在所蒐集的物件挑選、排列、拍照，將它們”翻譯”成圖像版的心經。佛經很深奧；過去我曾經以天天寫佛經做為一天中讓自己靜心的方式。轉譯心經經文變成物件圖片對我來說是一個挑戰也是一個探索如何將構思付諸實現的一個特別經驗。 圖敘意象: 這是一本作者在2009年製做編寫的書。圖敘意像是指有紀錄性質的象徵符號，它代表一種概念或是對物件的描述，不像是拉丁文字代 表聲音的聲符。這本書所討論的是以創造中國文字的概念為例而反映出作者對於自身作品的探討。 <go to the film of this book>

(pic. left)究竟涅槃/view one dwells in Nirvana; (pic.right)度一切苦厄/saved from all suffering and distress

The whole text of

Prajnaparamita Sutra
The Maha Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sutra
摩訶般若波羅密多心經

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
觀自在菩薩

when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita
行深般若波羅蜜多時

perceives that all five skandhas are empty
照見五薀皆空

and is saved from all suffering and distress.
度一切苦厄

Shariputra,
舍利子

form does not differ from emptiness,
色不異空

emptiness does not differ from form.
空不異色

That which is form is emptiness,
色即是空

that which is emptiness form.
空即是色

The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, consciousness.
受想行識，亦復如是

Shariputra,
舍利子

all dharmas are marked with emptiness;
是諸法空相

they do not appear or disappear,
不生不滅

are not tainted or pure,
不垢不淨

do not increase or decrease.
不増不減

Therefore, in emptiness no form,
是故空中無色

no feelings, perceptions, impulses, consciousness.
無受想行識

No eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind;
無眼耳鼻色聲意

no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind;
無色聲香味觸法

no realm of eyes
無眼界

and so forth until no realm of mind consciousness.
仍至無意識界

No ignorance and also no extinction of it,
無無明，亦無無明盡

and so forth until no old age and death
乃至無老死

and also no extinction of them.
亦無老死盡。

No suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path, no cognition,
無苦集滅道

also no attainment with nothing to attain.
無智亦無得

The Bodhisattva depends on Prajna Paramita
以無所得故，菩提薩埵，依般若波羅密多故

and the mind is no hindrance;
心無罣礙

without any hindrance no fears exist.
無罣礙故，無有恐怖

Far apart from every perverted view one dwells in Nirvana.
遠離顛倒夢想，究竟涅槃

In the three worlds
三世諸佛

all Buddhas depend on Prajna Paramita
依般若波羅密多故

and attain Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi.
得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提

Therefore, know that Prajna Paramita
故知般若波羅密多

is the great transcendent mantra
是大神咒

is the great bright mantra,
是大明咒

is the utmost mantra,
是無上咒

is the supreme mantra,
是無等等咒

which is able to relieve all suffering
能除一切苦

and is true, not false.
真實不虛

So proclaim the Prajna Paramita mantra,
故說般若波羅密多咒

proclaim the mantra which says:
即說咒曰：

gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha
揭諦、揭諦，波羅揭諦，波羅僧揭諦，菩提薩婆訶

gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha
揭諦、揭諦，波羅揭諦，波羅僧揭諦，菩提薩婆訶

gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha

揭諦、揭諦，波羅揭諦，波羅僧揭諦，菩提薩婆訶