Collected Plum Blossom Paintings, Calligraphy, Poems, and Songs

The Explanation of the Buddha’s Title – “H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III”

On April 3, 2008, a solemn and dignified first-publishing ceremony of a fact-recording book entitled H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, which published jointly by the World Buddhism Publishing LLC and the World Dharma Voice, Inc., was held at the Library of the Congress of the United States. The book was also formally accepted into the collection of the Library of the Congress of the United States. Only since that time, did people in the world know that Master Wan Ko Yee, who had been broadly respected by the great masses and who had also been known as Great Dharma King Yangwo Yeshe Norbu, had been recognized by the world’s leaders, regent dharma kings, and great rinpoches of Buddhism through official documents as the third incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha, who is the primordial Sambhogakaya Buddha of the universe. The Buddha’s name is H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Since then, people began to address His Holiness the Buddha by “Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III.” This is similar to the situation that Sakyamuni Buddha’s name was Prince Siddhartha Gotama before attaining Buddhahood. However, after Sakyamuni Buddha had attained Buddhahood, His title changed to “Namo Sakyamuni Buddha.” That is why we now address His Holiness the Buddha as “H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.” In particular, on December 12, 2012, the Senate Resolution No. 614 of the United States Congress officially used “His Holiness” in the name addressing Dorje Chang Buddha III (That is to say, “H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.”) Since then, the title and status of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has been definitive by nature. And, as a matter of fact, “Dorje Chang Buddha III” is a name used legally in governmental and official legislative documents. Therefore, the previously used respected name and titles such as “Wan Ko Yee,” Great Master, and Great Dharma King no longer exist. However, the news below was published before the Buddha’s title of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III was publicly announced. At that time, people did not know about the true status of His Holiness the Buddha. Therefore, to respect the true history, we still kept the names used before the title of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III was legitimately determined in republishing this news. However, all must clearly know that the only legitimate name of His Holiness the Buddha is H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and all other names used before the legitimate determination no longer exist.

FOREWORD

When we look through all of the ancient and modern books on plum blossom paintings, it is not difficult to discover that all of the famous master plum blossom painters had extensive knowledge, deep understanding of ancient and their own contemporary times, and immense talents. No artist in history can be found who lacked virtue and learning and still was capable of painting highly exquisite plum blossom paintings. The plum blossom paintings of ancient artists such as Mian Wang and Dongxin Jin and the modern artist Changshuo Wu are splendid works based upon the profound knowledge and virtue of their creators.

We are now publishing and distributing around the world the book by His Holiness Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu (Master Wan Ko Yee) entitled Collected Plum Blossom Paintings, Calligraphy, Poems, and Songs. There is no need for us to state whether the plum blossom paintings in this book are good or not. Once one compares ancient and modern plum blossom masterpieces painted by both Chinese and non-Chinese artists with those of Master Wan Ko Yee, one will understand. As far as Master Wan Ko Yee is concerned, either positive or negative evaluations are completely inappropriate. When the Master was working on this book, His Holiness was so immersed in the Buddha-dharma and creating poems, songs, calligraphy, and paintings that He made no distinction between day and night during this long period of time. Paintings in the section “Cold Harmony” were generally painted between the hours of 2:00 and 5:00 at night. His Holiness generally began creating paintings in the “Heralding the Spring” section at 6:00 in the morning. Except when His Holiness practiced the dharma and created poetry, songs, and calligraphy, He did not utter a word during this time period, remaining silent when walking, sitting, or lying. These wondrous works of art thereby originated in the holy realm of emptiness. Hence, words such as masterpieces, superb artistry, or exquisite artwork are inadequate to describe the Master’s plum blossom paintings.

Of course, Master Wan Ko Yee is a true master artist of great repute in international art circles. Master Yee has been a professor at Auburn University in the United States. On February 10, 2004 at the British Embassy in the United States, Master Yee was formally awarded the position of “Fellow” by the highest art institute in the world, the Royal Academy of Arts in the United Kingdom. His Holiness is the only artist to receive such an honor in the over two-hundred-year history of that Academy. Master Yee is also the only person in the over two-hundred-year history of the United States whose artwork was exhibited by the United States Congress at the congressional office building. Earlier, in 2003, the Organization of American States (OAS), composed of 34 countries including the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, held the “Exhibition of Yun Sculpture Art Created and Founded by Master Wan Ko Yee for the Benefit of Mankind.” That exhibition, which took place in the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C., formally introduced to the world the artistic accomplishments of Master Wan Ko Yee. Thus, one can see that Master Wan Ko Yee’s artistic accomplishments and reputation in international art circles are the highest in the world.

Eminent and extremely virtuous monastics of the highest order in the world have openly and in accordance with the dharma affirmed that Master Wan Ko Yee is a Great Dharma King who is the reincarnation of the most holy being in the universe. The dharma king name of the Great Dharma King is H.H. Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu. Therefore, how could the talents and wisdom of ordinary people be mentioned in the same breath with His Holiness’s talents and wisdom? His Holiness’s knowledge and moral character naturally excel those possessed by the ancients as well as those possessed by His contemporaries.

H.H. Great Dharma King’s accomplishments in poetry, song, calligraphy, and painting are of course but a drop of water in His vast ocean of accomplishments. Wielding the brush with great facility, His Holiness creates paintings that are completely devoid of mundane garishness, have the exquisite look of ancient bronze and stone inscriptions, and are imbued with a scholarly air. His Holiness’s poetic, calligraphic, and painting skills have surpassed the ordinary and reached the consummate mastery of a holy being. Still, such skills are but a drop of water in His Holiness’s vast ocean of skills.

Anyone who wants to truly understand the state of realization of H.H. Great Dharma King should read the book A Treasury of True Buddha-Dharma. That treasure book, which is unprecedented in the history of this world, contains the tremendous accomplishments of this one person in thirty categories. After reading that book, you will indeed understand what the relationship is within Buddhism in this world and even within Buddhism in the entire dharma realm between H.H. Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu and other dharma kings, rinpoches, and eminent exoteric Buddhist monastics. You will see that plum blossom paintings are merely a minuscule portion of the accomplishments of H.H. Great Dharma King. Nonetheless, such paintings express the peak of artistic perfection.

H.H. Great Dharma King’s paintings embody solid skills. His Holiness’s profound skills in realistic style painting can be seen in works such as “Plum Grove Ablaze,” “Old Tree,” “Corner of a Plum Blossom Forest,” “Winter Powder,” “Powerful Brushstrokes with Great Life-Force,” and “Drunk in a Green Garden.” Through this style, H.H. Great Dharma King has in one leap transcended the mundane. Another style that is based on grand artistic conception and is filled with a scholarly air can be seen in works such as “The True Source of Calligraphy and Painting,” “Plum Fragrance in the Holy Realm,” “The Tattered Brush and Wild Wood,” “Brush and Ink Bring Refined Mastery,” and “Refined Brush Feelings.” We then come to the style in which H.H. Great Dharma King is very sparing with ink, as if it were gold. In this style we see H.H. Great Dharma King’s inner artistic powers and His extensive knowledge and talents. The elegance, richness, and scholarly air this style reflects remind us of ancient bronze and stone inscriptions. Paintings in this style include “Elegance Due to Childlike Innocence,” “The Firmament in a Single Stroke,” “The Charm of Ink Sentiments,” “Cold Harmony Heralds the Spring,” “Style,” and “Grand Artistic Conception.” Finally, we come to a style of swirling harmony and unending variation. This graceful, non-worldly, elegantly simple style is expressed in works such as “Red Plums in Mist,” “Transcendent Ink Harmony,” “Purple Blossoms Amid Branches That Dance Like Coiling Dragons,” “High-Style Gracefulness,” and “The Wintry Harmony of Supple Twigs.” H.H. Great Dharma King has full mastery of all of these plum blossom painting styles, each one of which contains profound and extensive knowledge. Running through all of the paintings in this book is prajna wisdom. How could those possessing common painting skills ever paint such paintings?

Within the realm of painting, H.H. Great Dharma King has mastered fields such as splash-ink painting in the freehand brushwork style, painting in the fine and detailed brushwork style, painting in the “small freehand” brushwork style with a scholarly air, oil painting, watercolor painting, gouache painting, painting of faux jade-plates, and tile painting. The subjects of His Holiness’s paintings include landscapes, flowers and birds, scenery, flowers and vegetation, figures, land animals, grass and insects, and water animals. In the categories of flowers and vegetation alone, His Holiness has painted lotuses, plum blossoms, peonies, Chinese flowering crabapples, trees, and bamboo. Hence, one can see that the collection of plum blossom paintings in this book merely compose a small portion of H.H. Great Dharma King’s paintings in the categories of flowers and vegetation.

This album of plum blossom paintings, created out of H.H. Great Dharma King’s free and masterful command of the brush, displays for everyone unique, consummate, and soul-stirring artistry. H.H. Great Dharma King’s paintings have surpassed the thick garishness and dark scholarly tone of other high-grade paintings in this world. His Holiness has attained superlative skills in a technique whereby thin, light ink can be clearly seen over thick, black ink. No other artist could possibly apply such an amazing technique. It is difficult to find any other artist among the countless famous artists throughout history who has reached such a level of artistic realization. It can truly be said that these plum blossom paintings are sacred creations that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

The market price for Master Wan Ko Yee’s calligraphy and paintings in international auctions is extremely high. In 2000, his original works “Majesty” and “Venerable Da Li Wan” sold at an international auction for US$2,125,327 and US$2,207,912, respectively. Because Master Yee is the Great Dharma King called H.H. Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu, in 2007 the International Buddhism Sangha Association openly conducted at Hua Zang Si (Temple) in San Francisco a sale of three paintings by the Great Dharma King that the Association had in its collection. One of those paintings called “Two Flowers; One Lotus Capsule; One Dharma Nature” depicted lotus flowers. It was sold for US$300,000 per square foot. On that painting was the Master’s signature in the form of the two Chinese characters “Wan Ko,” His Holiness’s fingerprint, and the stamp from His calligraphy and painting seal. Another painting that depicted plum blossoms was inscribed with the two Chinese characters “Wan Ko” and had one fingerprint of the Master on it. That painting sold for US$210,000 per square foot. The third painting called “Pasture in Spring (A Shepard Boy Herding Cattle)” is a superb work of art whose price is US$900,000 per square foot. The Dharma King’s holy name “Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu” is inscribed on it in Chinese characters. There are also the fingerprint of the Dharma King and His Dharma King seal on it. It is truly a rare and precious work of art. However, since the buyer’s offering price for that painting was only US$540,000 per square foot, it has not yet been sold. Nevertheless, what is the import of such a high offering price? If the price of the painting “Venerable Da Li Wan” that was sold at an auction in 2000 had been calculated at only US$300,000 per square foot, it would have been sold for US$10,000,000. We have included these few paintings in this book so that everyone can appreciate them.

The Calligraphy and Paintings Authentication Committee would like to solemnly declare something in this foreword. Many counterfeit paintings and calligraphic works of Master Wan Ko Yee have recently appeared in society even though such works bear the true seal of Master Wan Ko Yee. This has occurred because various kinds of people in society used different methods to collect or acquire seals used by Master Wan Ko Yee in His early artistic stage. These were seals stamped by the Master on works of calligraphy and paintings as well as His unofficial personal seals carved from stone. As a result, there inevitably appeared counterfeit paintings with real seals on them.

H.H. Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu is not just a separate, individual person. Rather, His Holiness is directly connected with the reputation and image of all of Buddhism. Thus, the International Buddhism Sangha Association must uphold the dignity of Buddhism and the devotion of people toward Buddhism. The Great Dharma King’s paintings absolutely cannot be sold for low prices. From now on, all of H.H. Great Dharma King’s calligraphy and paintings must be authenticated according to the following process. The Calligraphy and Paintings Authentication Committee composed of committee members from United International World Buddhism Association Headquarters, International Buddhism Sangha Association, and Superb Art Museum of America must examine the work in question and pass a resolution stating that the work is authentic. That resolution must be signed by committee members representing all three organizations. That resolution must then be handed over to H.H. Great Dharma King, who will decide whether He will inscribe on the calligraphy or painting the name of the work, whether He will affix His Holiness’s fingerprint on the work, and whether He will affix His newly carved seal now used on His works of calligraphy and paintings. Unless the painting contains the fingerprint of Master Wan Ko Yee, contains the seal now used for calligraphy and paintings, and comes with an authentication certificate issued by the Calligraphy and Paintings Authentication Committee, then that painting will be deemed to be counterfeit. All masterpiece paintings of H.H. Great Dharma King will contain His Holiness’s fingerprint and the Great Dharma King seal and will be inscribed with His Holiness’s dharma king name. These masterpieces must have been empowered (blessed) and authenticated through a Buddha-dharma ceremony.

We are publishing this book of fifty plum blossom paintings under the dharma king name of His Holiness. The theme of these paintings is “Cold Harmony Heralds the Spring.” Each painting is accompanied by a classical or modern poem or song personally composed by H.H. Great Dharma King. Additionally, this book is interspersed with some calligraphy written by the Great Dharma King. English translations of the poems and songs are provided. For the first time in history, this most wonderful and precious collection of plum blossom paintings combines poetry, song, calligraphy, and painting into one cohesive body. This holy Collected Plum Blossom Paintings, Calligraphy, Poems, and Songs is the best book of its kind in the history of the world.

International Arts Publishing

February 2007