On the road to Nirvana, by Htein Lin

On the Road to Nirvana

In August 2007, Htein Lin and his pregnant wife Vicky were planning to return to Myanmar from London to attend the opening of the new US embassy in Yangon. Htein Lin was already checked in at London Heathrow Airport when the Myanmar Embassy in London called to inform him that Vicky’s visa had been cancelled, and that action might be taken against him upon arrival at Yangon airport. They said it was because of the media coverage of his prison paintings, which were showing at the time at Asia House in London. It was also a time of tension in Yangon, building up to the Saffron Revolution.

Since they already had tickets to Singapore, they decided to reroute and visit Bodh Gaya and other Buddhist sites in India and Nepal. While traveling from Sāvatthi (Thawatti) to Rajagaha, their rented carbroke down. As it was taking a while to get fixed, Htein Lin spread a large cloth he had brought with himout on the highway and started drawing a circle in the middle of the canvas. Then he drew the lions fromthe Ashoka Pillar. The road was clear of cars, so he could paint without interruption.

Since the car was still not fixed, they returned to Sāvatthi and spent the night at a Burmese monastery. The prayer hall was very spacious, so he spread out the cloth again, and painted images of the birth of the Buddha, his ascension, and more, themes he had also painted in his later years in prison.

Having spent so long confined in a small prison cell, now that he was free, Htein Lin always enjoys working on large paintings. But he must have been a little crazy to carry such a large piece of canvas on a pilgrimage to India. After they returned from India, Htein Lin continued working on the large painting but could not finish it. Later, after practicing Vipassana meditation daily, he drew pictures of yogis meditating in the empty space below and finally completed it in 2020.More than 2,500 years ago, the Buddha was enlightened and showed how to break free from the cycle of rebirth, samsara and attain nirvana, enlightenment.

As someone who does Vipassana meditation everyday, Htein Lin named this painting “On The Road to Nirvana"