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Jack Wise stepped away from his art to pursue a life as a homesteader in British Columbia in the early 1960s. He was unable to stay away from painting for long, but he returned to his art with a different approach. It was the form of the circle that emerged and persistently appeared to him to guide his work (Rimmer, Language of the Brush). Wise began to recognize the importance of the circle, as a shape, a symbol, and an icon or devotional image. Wise originally approached this circular theme spontaneously. He reveals that, in these early paintings, he was not fully aware of their meaning, but that "the circle was insistent" (Rimmer, Language of the Brush). After visits to Northern India and Tibet, Wise learned of the spiritual importance of the circular mandala, particularly in the Buddhist faith. Mandalas are images created from concentric circles and geometric shapes that contain other images or diagrams within them, systematically arranged so that they may act as a picture with lessons and meanings. The mandala has developed as part of the religion of Buddhism, which originated in India and is now practiced in a variety of forms by many people in China, Japan and Tibet, as well as in Canada and throughout the world. Meditation is
an aspect of Buddhist practice, and the mandala form is often used
to assist in focusing the attention needed to enter a meditative state.
The round mandala can help Buddhists concentrate, it can remind them
of the Enlightenment they are seeking and the deeds of Buddha, and
it can aid them as they contemplate lessons and teachings. The mandala
has other interpretations that do not replace these other roles, but
rather add to them.
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