As you walk across Macao, you will find cobblestone pavements in different parts of the little town. The pavements, the food stands in Patane, the cannons on Mong Ha Hill, and the Coloane residents exposing salted fish in sunlight are what I can recall of the city in nostalgia after I left the place.

When I saw some stones in a circle, it felt very ceremonial and somewhat artificial, which led me to the idea of arranging them myself. I visualized the gradual processes from nothing to something, gloom to brightness, and few to many. The stone symbolizes some sort of growth, and the leaf stands for decay. I want to convey the idea of the endless cycle of growth and decay.

Hanshan Deching, renowned as one of the four Buddhist masters in the late Ming dynasty, gave equal weight to Buddhist doctrines and meditation. The eminent monk focused on the Huayen school of dogmas and the meditation practice leading to true enlightenment. The gatha Guan Xin Ming from him, its content being doctrinal essentials for meditation practice, addresses the involvement of body and mind in the practice and the critical importance of understanding the role of mind (the heart).