Over the past six months, in anticipation of the prime minister’s visit, Chinese Buddhist master Jinke Xuanlei and his disciples have been at work preparing two unique portraits of the PM – arguably the first ever artistic renditions by Chinese painters of an Indian leader.
Jinke Xuanlei, who has a following in China for teaching Esoteric Buddhism, says his project was, in part, motivated by a recent trip to India. His larger mission is to revive the once-strong Buddhism connection between the two countries.
“Through this painting, I want to represent the friendship between India and China and the combining of the spirits of the dragon and elephant before Prime Minister Modi visits,” he told INNLIVE in an exclusive interview, speaking at his sprawling Beijing base located in a leafy park in the south of the city.
The Buddhism link is set to receive much attention during Modi’s three-day visit, which will start on Thursday in Xi’an – the city where famed Buddhist monk Xuan Zang translated scriptures that he brought back from his travels to India.
Xuanlei now wants to reintroduce Buddhist philosophy in India — part of his mission when he toured the country recently.
The monk gave INNLIVE an exclusive preview of the paintings. The first of the two paintings depicts Modi and Xi, standing under an elephant and dragon. The second has Modi alone, standing next to plum, pine and bamboo.
Yin Dang, one of the two painters who assisted Xuanlei, says the three objects in China invoke symbolism referring to “everlasting friendship”.
A message written by Xuanlei blesses Modi to receive wisdom and enlightenment.
Fellow painter Fang Rui says the paintings took six months to complete, with a number of Buddhist rituals followed, from preparing fruits to burning incense.
“The master taught us incantations to invoke the Buddha,” she said, “and we created this with his guidance”.
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