Excerpt.

在佛教中的曼陀羅是僧侶冥想的工具，由僧侶細心地使用彩色的沙堆積出幾何對稱而複雜的天圓地方圖形，而在完成之後短時間內銷毀。曼陀羅圖像象徵了整個宇宙與芸芸眾生，是創作曼陀羅的人自身的映射、也是他周遭所有事物的映射。而傳統的曼陀羅用傳統的技術，反映著古老的世界觀。我總是思考著那麼在現在的世界觀下，如果我們反思我們存在的世界與我們的世界觀，在幾千年來對於生命的疑問與價值是否有所改變？

在古老的過去，人們相信世界有神，神靈是巨大的存在。而當時的人們不知道在我們眼睛所不能見的尺度之下還有千千萬萬層世界。儘管在詩人Blake的詩中曾提到「一沙一世界」、佛教中說「須彌藏芥子，芥子納須彌」，每個物體之中都是一個小世界，而小世界中還有小世界，這樣的概念僅止於抽象上的理解。一直到了近代科技發展，我們才開始意識到在肉眼看不見的世界中，還有許許多多微小微生物在生活著。

另一方面，在西方科學中，人們相信科技的發展讓人類可以控制萬物。二十世紀我們討論電腦、數位、工業製造，而生物科技與量子物理是二十一世紀最重要的科技，我們開始討論生物電腦、從無到有的創造新的生物（Synthetic Biology – 合成生物學）［註一］以及量子電腦、生物體中的量子物理現象。其無外乎就是對於更微小的元件、更複雜的系統擁有更高度的操縱度，並且將世界萬物、包含生命體，作為我們建構工業的材料。

如果使用當今最熱門的技術，讓高度精確的科技與真正生物作為繪畫材料所創造出來的的曼陀羅會是一個什麼樣子的過程與結果？曼陀羅繪製，需要專注的意識與靈巧的手，而結構的設計又是一個具象化的宇宙。這個計劃將這些元素以現代科技轉譯，創造出一個現在這個時代的曼陀羅。而這個曼陀羅的製作方式也將重新檢視當今人類對與宇宙萬物的認識、人類與微生物之間的溝通、以及古老儀式重塑。

計劃大致可以分成三部分：繪製工具、儀式、冥想。其中最技術部分的「繪製工具」為發展一套電子控制的微生物印表機、並且取得各種不同的微生物、製作畫布（養微生物的培養基）並且接上腦電波裝置到中央控制系統中。「儀式」是重新設計排練一套使用這個裝置冥想的過程：微生物將如何被裝卸、繪製曼陀羅者如何將自己大腦連接上系統、如何開始繪製。這樣的過程是否焚香、消毒、誦經、打坐 ——同時探索在資訊科技時代與生物科技時代中人們如何進入極度專注與極度潔淨的狀態中，透過「繪製工具」重塑一個會自我消長的宇宙。「冥想」則是這個作品的表演部分，每一次曼陀羅的繪製都是一次內觀經驗，而每次繪製出的曼陀羅都將有不同的結果。這部分將被拍攝，並且每一次印出的曼陀羅將會被保存並讓其自然生長。冥想將不間段的在幾周內執行，而最後每一個生長的曼陀羅都將成為每個階段冥想的記錄。

整個作品將會是一個非常俱有挑戰性的實驗過程，創作過程不僅僅是對於繪製時的精神挑戰，由於技術上的複雜性需要各種不同領域的投入與合作，也是另外一個小宇宙的建立。創作過程某種程度上就是創作作品的一部份。儘管整個過程使用高度的科學投入，結果的不可控制性直接質疑了科學所宣稱的對於事物的精確描述與歸納，其實在充滿生物的宇宙中仍有極高的不可預測性，人應該更謙卑的反省自身，內觀人之渺小，並欣賞宇宙的複雜結構。

In Buddhism, Mandala is the painting representing the universe/cosmos. The word originates in Sanskrit, which means “cosmogram” or “world in harmony”. For Tibetan tantric Buddhism, the mandala is drawn by monks using colourful sand during a ritual, and immediately destroyed when finished. The mandala is symbolising all the living creatures and the gods, the origin of universe, and its immediate destruction signifies the impermanence of existence. The process of creating the mandala, which a person projects herself, other creatures, and the surrounding into the mandala, will help to purify their images, and to understand the essence of them in a highly balanced image.

And I can’t help to think what will a modern mandala be like. Which material are we going to use to create it? What will be the symbols representing everything of the universe as we know. How can the mandala reflects our relationship and our projection of the universe nowadays?

In the ancient time, people believe the there are spirits in the world. Spirits are the enormous beings. And people at that time didn’t know there are a thousand folds of different worlds smaller than what we can see. Even though in the poem of Blake once wrote ‘To see the world in a grain of sand’, it was only the abstract understanding of the unseen world. Only until rather recently we start to realise there are billions and billions of small microorganisms living in this world of unseen.

On the other hand, the deeply western-rooted ‘Science’ makes people believe that technologies allow human being to control everything. In the 20th century we talk about digital, computers, and industrial manufacturing. In the 21st century, Biotechnology and Quantum physics become the new buzzword. We start to talk about biocomputers, synthetic biology, quantum computers and the quantum phenomenons within the living things. It is the hyper-control of everything, which we seem them all as the material of industrial manufacturing.

The question this project is trying to explore, is the translation of the traditional religious element into a new metaphysical understanding of the world. In pragmatic way, if to use these modern ‘hyper-controlling’ technologies along with living organisms, how can a ‘modern’ Mandala be created? How the world of the understanding of a modern universe can be reflected? For the  traditional Mandala, high level of concentration is required together with skilful hands, the imagery is figurative with the symbols of gods and all living things. What will these be in a modern Mandala?

The project can mainly be divided into three parts: 1) the tool for drawing, 2) the ritual, 3) performance of meditation. The first is the most technical part – the tool for drawing. It is to develop a microorganisms printer that controls by brainwave meditation, along with a ‘canvas’ (growth medium) for the microbes. The ritual is to resigned a process for using this ‘drawing machine’ for meditation: how the microbes will be loaded into the machine (under the premise it has to be sterile and ‘artistic’), how the meditator can connect herself onto the machine, how to start drawing. Does this process also need to, for example, burn incense for psychological purification? Does the person also get sterile? How would this ritual correspondent to the current technologies? The third part – Meditation – is the performative part. Each Mandala drawn, is one reflective experience, and each time the result is different. This part will be filmed, and the mandalas will be kept and grown. This performance will be continuously performed through out few weeks. Which in the end, the growing mandalas will be the record of the meditation.

The project itself is actually a challenging experiment – not just mentally, but also technically. The high complexity of technology (but still manageable DIY-hacker style) needs the involvement of different expertise. Therefore, in a way the process is the project where the uncontrollable, unpredictable result will be as an attempt of reflecting the dichotomy between the highly controllable engineering technology and the highly unpredictable biotechnology that reminds us to be humble towards the complexity of the universe always.