Abundance

Sudheera Dissanayake (Sudjuice), Abundance, 2024, Synthetic Polymer on canvas, diptych, 120 x 124cm

Abundance explores an intimate journey of introspection, confronting the nature of suffering after the sudden passing of my Father. In the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha teaches that life is dukkha, a Pali word often translated as suffering. The question is not only how one accepts this truth, but whether there is solace to be found within it. The work depicts a flourishing garden of fruits and flowers, yet among them lies a snake. For me, the snake is both a personal symbol of hardship and a reminder of how suffering weaves itself into the fabric of human experience. For years, suffering consumed me. It destabilised me, pulled me inward, and left me drowning in its current. I saw only two options: continue to sink or surrender to the flow. I chose surrender, and through it I discovered meditation. Fifteen years onwards from my Father’s passing, I came to see suffering not as a curse but as a teacher. Its weight revealed lessons that, though painful, carried the seeds of gratitude. What I learned is that even in suffering, abundance is never absent. It lies quietly beneath the heaviness, revealing itself in moments of stillness.