Water Into Water
Sculpture in Honor of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama's
Visit to Stanford University, November 4, 2005

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The opportunity to create a sculpture in honor of his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s visit to Stanford University in November of 2005 presented challenges both physical and philosophical in order to arrive at a meaningful solution appropriate to the personage and the occasion. The Dalai Lama was invited by Stanford University to engage in meditation, lectures and discussion with the academic community and general public over a 3 day period in November, 2005. During this visit, a luncheon was given in his honor by friends, donors and guests of the Asian Religions & Culturative Initiative (ARC) – Tibet Studies at Stanford, for which I was asked to carve a sculpture located prominently in the room. The piece would be situated on a table at the entrance and rest alongside the Guest Book, which the Dalai Lama inscribed and signed at the event, and which all guests likewise signed while contemplating the sculpture, as they arrived.

I chose to carve a simple, low sculpture that wouldn’t intrude or compete with the Guest Book, and could be easily viewed and appreciated from a standing vantage point looking down. Exploring Buddhist philosophy and reading up on the Dalai Lama’s life and beliefs, I felt that imagery of a slow moving pool of water (his name means little wave I believe) would capture best the spirit of his visit and an aspect of Buddhism that had meaning for me.

This black and white marble sculpture depicts a gentle pool whose concentric rings emanate from the center in a wheel of soft, deep ripples. It is a metaphor for the inevitable and natural sequence and consequence of a single act – one pebble thrown in a pond; a single drop of water landing in a still stream; one thought or act, either kind or cruel – and the effect it invariably has in nature and the universe in ever widening rings of different depths and shapes – that ultimately disappear and become still water again.

The piece is being exhibited currently at the Smith-Andersen Gallery in Palo Alto.