Thirty Transcendent Virtues

Several of my designs in the fields of architecture, computer science and digital art have risen to this level. However, my greatest is in the creation of kiln formed glass objects. For example, my creation, ‘Thirty Transcendent Virtues’ has been most rewarding.

I met the great architect and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller while studying architecture in college. Bucky inspired me to explore spherical geometries.

Creating a single golden rhombus in fused glass is virtuous. But successfully joining thirty glass rhombus in a spherical rhombic triacontahedron is transcendent. The individual glass facets join together using a tensile network to form a unique glass vessel that encompasses space, color, light, movement, texture, transparency, reflection, and radiance in a whole greater than its parts.

Meditation upon this glass art object enables self to witness symmetry, beauty and truth beyond self.

The Thirty Verses of Vasubandhu

Vasubandhu was the author of a wonderful, short document which we refer to as The Thirty Verses of Vasubandhu (Tri sikavijñaptikarika ). A version of this document which is translated by the famous modern-day Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh can be found at: http://pvom.org/ This is the Plum Village Online Monastery website, which is founded by Thich Nhat Hanh.

I am quite thrilled about finding The Thirty Verses of Vasubandhu translated by Thich Nhat Hanh online. Turns out that there are very few Buddhist teachings that include the number thirty (30). I know this because I have searched extensively. I performed this search because of my fascination with the Triacon which has thirty (30) faces! Now I can make a Triacon that has each individual verse of the The Thirty Verses of Vasubandhu inscribed on each face of the Triacon.