Aurelio Madrid Drew My Portrait

It's not every day that a person you've never met before tells you they want to draw your portrait.

And then, two days later, they send it to you.

On a daily basis I engage with an assortment of multi-faceted individuals via Twitter.

There is a conception that the Internet dis-connects us as well as connects us. But I am interested in the ways it draws us closer to our social nature.

Composing art for someone--especially a stranger--is like a mystic tie. Now that Aurelio has drawn these pictures of me, I'm curious about him.

Aurelio Madrid's blog, "Luctor et Emergo", fuses paintings, drawings, interviews, and topics as diverse as coin-collecting and Buddhist metaphysical thought.

What is most striking to me about Aurelio's blog is that he reminds me of myself. Having meditated for five years and studied Buddhist philosophy, I am in awe of his meticulous writings on karma, cause and effect, and the nine consciousnesses.

Aurelio goes so far as to diagram aspects of Buddhist philosophy in a colorful and mystical representation. I love the intermingling of art, philosophy and religion. It reminds me of some of the mandalas that Carl Jung painted.



The artist uses the diagram to explain the concept of "Fundamental Darkness". He writes:

Fundamental Darkness is many things, including not recognizing our own Buddha nature & not recognizing the Buddha nature in others. A key difference from a traditional/western notion of evil, is that we Buddhists acknowledge that fundamental darkness is latent in all of life (including our own), rather than occurring only in specific individuals/groups exclusively. The theory is that we can use it as a motivation, a catalyst to improve, & as an impetus to strive for enlightenment.

Is this a sign that I should go back to studying Buddhism? Or maybe just pick up meditation again?

While I'm not a Buddhist, I can identify with Aurelio's passionate interest in the philosophy. Furthermore, I know something about the kind of person he is for creating these portraits. He longs to connect with strangers.

Nothing brings me more joy than communicating with the unknown. I love the diversity of humans on earth, the bottomless source of individuals and personalities. There are so many gifts that each of us have to give away. We hold so many secrets inside and are dying to reveal ourselves to each other . . .