The Story of "Wise Guy"
This sculpture is one of the prominent pieces in my home. It is actually one of a series of 3 - a "hear no evil," a "speak no evil," and a "see no evil" Buddha. My dear friend let me borrow the "hear no evil" and "speak no evil" Buddhas. Here's why:
There is a system called the Gene Keys. Based on birth date, time and place a profile is created for each person. The profile has a "Golden Path" of 11 spheres, each relating to a different area of life, and each of these spheres is assigned one of the 64 Gene Keys. Each Gene Key is a quality, with it's range of expressions - the shadow, the gift, and the siddhi (or highest expression).
I'll use the 5th Gene Key as an example. The shadow is "impatience," the gift is "patience," and the siddhi is "timelessness." As we accept, allow, and eventually embrace the shadow, in this case "impatience," we make space for the gift to manifest within and through us, "patience" in this example, and the ultimate expression or siddhi of patience is "timelessness." We cannot force the siddhi; it's something that blooms from the foundation of living in the gift.
I was working through The Golden Path with the friend I mentioned above and we noticed how my first two Gene Keys relate to two of the Buddhas she had sitting on her shelf. My Gene Key in the first sphere (Life's Work) is Complexity/Simplicity/ Quintessence. A big part of the shadow of complexity is saying the wrong things at the wrong time ("speak no evil Buddha"). My Gene Key for the second sphere (Evolution) is Deafness/Insight/Epiphany ("hear no evil Buddha"). My friend let me borrow the two Buddhas to lightheartedly acknowledge these shadows. I find the Buddha in this photograph to be delightful.
I call this piece "Wise Guy," because the "speak no evil Buddha" is keeping his mouth shut, bridling his tongue, taking action to keep from creating complexity by saying the wrong things at the wrong time. Words are powerful. I can speak from fear or I can speak from my heart. Sometimes it takes a breath or two, or a full 24 hours, to even know what's motivating my words. I'm taking baby Buddha steps toward mindful speech, and I smile when I see Buddha filled with joy as he covers his mouth.
~Tracy Rae Clark, 2015