Enlightenment

A vivid color palette and use of pointillist techniques make this painting from Rawat Vongla in Thailand a standout. The artist works in acrylic on canvas to depict a lotus flower standing tall above the water. In Buddhism, the four stages of the lotus blossom represent four types of people and their distance from enlightenment. The lotus rising up above the water will readily bloom and achieve enlightenment; while the budding blossom at the water's surface needs further knowledge and understanding to do so. The under-water lotus will eventually attain enlightenment, after extensive time and training; but the mud-buried lotus, representing a dull mind, laziness and selfishness, may never achieve enlightenment at all.