Jain Spirit 2003 12 No 17

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 39

Mirror Into Forgiveness
life into something more positive, is one of the many keepers of the Anima Mundi, the world soul Gandhi took much of his message of non-violence from the Jain philosophy of ahimsa and anekantvada. In our world, torn apart by violence and sectarianism, these two values of tolerance for other views and reverence for life appeal to me. Majdanek is certainly a site which has known some of the worst violence against the human spirit and a total lack of tolerance for a religion, a people and a culture.
Each morning in pooja, Jains ask to be forgiven for all they have done and in return to forgive others, with the words: "May I forgive all souls and have them forgive me." A second part of the morning pooja involves holding a mirror to reflect images of the divine (transcendent Self) into the heart centre. The practice presents a way of bringing the divine and forgiveness in our own hearts. For me this practice is beautifully described in the book Talking with Angels by four Jewish girls. It transcribes the conversations with angels agents of the divine experienced by the girls in Hungary between 1943 and 1944. Three of them perished in the concentration camps, and the only survivor published the book in 1953. I was very moved by one of the passages and its relationship to the Jain mirror (pooja) practice.
reflect it into their heart chakra. For me the clouding on the mirror is our lack of forgiveness, violence, negative judgment and lack of compassion.
The installation (June-August 2003) was in the old shoe factory where the shoes of the dead were reconditioned for shipment to Germany. The structure is vast. In it, I placed twenty scrims made from bed sheets made in the Mississippi prisons. In America it is usually the blacks and the poor who, because of inferior legal representation, die by capital punishment. On each scrim were two projections.
Most of the images come from my drawings of my dreams. For me psyche speaks to all through imagination and dreams. The women of Barrack 9 created an imaginary radio. These brave women of great faith and compassion kept their spirit alive through imagination. Faith and imagio are links to the Self, the transpersonal centre of each personality, which lies beyond the ego and is our lamp in the darkness. For me, God often speaks through dreams and visions and our experiences during small daily acts of spiritual practice.
Each viewer is asked to sit in one of the chairs, with a hand mirror mounted on it to their right. The mirror reflects an image projected on a scrim in front of the viewer, into the viewer's heart chakra. Even though I am a Catholic/Jain, the images are meant to appeal to people of all faiths, not one particular religion. There is an image of a child represented in the projections which conveys a new possibility, the birth of the viewer's spiritual child'. I once heard a Sufi mystic say that to meditate on the stars, the projections of the night sky are meant to expand our awareness of the Self into the cosmos. The boats like the Gold Irish boat are to transport us on our soul's journey.
Several of the women survivors came to the opening of the exhibition. Ewa Walecka-Kozlowska, a former member of the Polish underground movement, said that for her the piece represented the inner life of the women, which sustained them in the camp. Most holocaust monuments depict the trauma, this one she liked because it was about the spiritual life which sustains the individual in such horrific times. For me the positive response of the survivors was the most meaningful part of the experience. These women of great faith knew that survival was also an inside job. Their kindness, lack of bitterness and compassion were a great example. I am grateful for the experience of having met them, and the opportunity to do this installation 2
Jina with Sun
Golden Irish Ship with Cosmos
"Listen carefully! there is a wonderful mirror in you. A mirror that reveals all! It dwells inside of you And reflects the Divine But only in silence. If a tiny mosquito alights on its surface, the mirror is clouded. If the mirror is not clear, you cannot create. Focus all of your attention on it. Heaven does not hide before the wonderful mirror." My idea is to have each viewer meditate on an image and
Ann McCoy is an artist who lives in New York City. Her works are in many museums including the Metropolitan Musuem of Art, the Whitney, the Hirshorn, and the the Los Angeles County Museum. Her work may be seen at www.annmccoy.com
PHOTOS: MARTA KUBISZYN
December 2003 - February 2004 • Jain Spirit
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