If You Could See the Heart Sutra
TSUNEO IWASAKI (1917–2002) was born on July 9, 1917, into a Kyoto family that highly valued education. Along with his six sisters, he, too, became a teacher of biology. He did not start painting until the sixth decade of his life, after retiring from his career as a biologist. Over the following years, Iwasaki revealed ever deeper layers of his motivations and creative process, including the original question that inspired him to take up a paintbrush: “How do I pass on what I’ve learned about life, death, and healing?” He passed away without knowing that His Holiness the Dalai Lama would one day bless his art for its power to illuminate resonances in Buddhist and scientific views of reality.
Iwasaki’s compassion for all beings was forged in the crucible of war. Like many veterans, he preferred not to dwell on details of his wartime experience, but it was clear to
