MOUNTAINS IN THE SKY

There are mountains on two sides—the east and west—of the valley where I live. This morning, the view to the mountains to the east was painted all in grays—the mountains layered, one behind the other, high up into the sky.

Wait a minute—they seem taller than usual today! What’s that all about?

I realized what I was seeing was an illusion created by the "The Great Painter" a perfect rendering of a mountain painted with a cloud. Interestingly, the painted mountain was positioned just behind and just above what the Buddhists call "Enlightenment Mountain" a striking peak with a rounded over summit which watches protectively over the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas.

When I looked again, the cloud had become more transparent—with the sun rising behind it from the east. An important reminder, this fleeting work of art, of the temporal nature of life on this planet. Here is The Great Painter showing me a wonderful picture—done in watercolor—as a subtle reminder of "time versus eternity".

One more thing I am reminded of: This wisdom comes from my first mentor—G. Scott Wright—a great man, ahead of his time, who was my art teacher in 8th grade. "It’s important to remember that the sun doesn’t rise or set," he told our wide-eyed class. "It’s the Earth turning."

I think of how The Great Painter creates this illusion every day, and every evening. Poems are written about it, songs are sung about it—sunrise, sunset.