A Union of Three: Light, Shadow, and Darkness

My mother came from a family that included Ise Shrine painters, and my father was born to a family that had a 400-year lineage of Buddhist priests. In my late 20s, I began frequently traveling all over the world and developed an interest in the deities I encountered at each destination. Because of this background, I respect the deities of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and other religions. I am fascinated with presences that transcend human knowledge. Now, I am focused on Mother Teresa, a person who constantly followed a way of life of empathizing with people who hearts were in darkness.

Mother Teresa showed us absolute love. Humans, constantly under the shadow of death, rarely understand the accidental nature of their brief existences. The more that people become aware that their end is approaching, whether slowly or swiftly, the more fearful they become. At a fundamental level, people are aware that the universe is shrouded in darkness. Every day, when night falls, they recognize that the universe unfolding above the sky is completely dark. And, in the daytime it is typical for them to completely forget that sense of darkness. And, people have almost no memory of the time before they were born. Our souls, which eternally move toward the world of nothingness that, like the time before we were born, is wrapped in unconscious darkness, fear that change.

Nothingness is inevitable; it is a totally normal state. For we humans, who see this light-filled world in which we live as a natural, everyday existence, the world without light is like spending the night alone in a tent deep in the mountains. When blackness begins to envelop us in that darkness, we light a fire, and when that fire is about to go out, we light an alcohol lamp. It’s a very small light, but it comforts us with its flickering flame. Animals that live in herds and are at the top of their ecosystem, such as wolves and elephants, move away from their herd and live alone when death approaches. That space where isolation and darkness mix is shrouded in an overwhelming darkness. The light of the lamp will last only two more hours. During that time, they can sleep peacefully. People who can sleep in the embrace of the light we call love are happy. The same is true of the subjective mindscape. Humans, who like other animals that live in groups, face a tougher life the lower their position is within the group. When I was a volunteer at Mother House built in Calcutta by Mother Teresa, I come to know a certain man. He was rescued from a gutter where he had been lying, with half his body covered in maggots. He was placed on a bed and the maggots were removed, and he died soon thereafter. Surprisingly, the last words to come out of his mouth were the words of gratitude, “Thank you.” He didn’t blame others or his fate.

Death equally comes to all, regardless of whether you are rich or poor.

Light and darkness are life and death.
Light and shadow are subject to how we interpret the actions and fate of our lives.

The answer, I think, was provided by Mother Teresa.
She is a compass for people to find out who they are now. To me, as a person who has lived a long but short 60 years, the answer I found after 40 years of artistic pursuit is the love that Mother Teresa practiced in her life.