A Voice For The Animals -- An excerpt from March/April 2008 issue of Tashi Delek

Amitabha Buddhist Centre (ABC) member Kennedy Koh¡¯s design emerged the winner in the recent of Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT)¡¯s Animal Liberation Sanctuary project T-shirts design competition. Kennedy¡¯s design will be used on T-shirts and other merchandise the Sanctuary hopes to produce in the future to support the project. Kennedy talks with Tashi Delek on the inspiration behind his design.

Could you tell us some more about your winning design?

It all started with an email from an ABC member, Cecilia Tsong, who wrote, ¡°...thought you might be interested in this.¡± The reference was a link from the Mandala magazine on the Nepal Animal Liberation Sanctuary logo design competition. The brief from the organisers was to design a logo for a 13-acre park that is being created on land adjacent to Kopan Monastery in Nepal. The objective of the sanctuary is to house animals which are to be killed so that they may live out the natural course of their lives in peace and gain a higher rebirth.The sanctuary will give these animals an opportunity to gain a better rebirth because not only will they be freed from impending death,they will be exposed to the Dharma.

My first thought was to design a logo that reflects the objective of the Sanctuary. I also wanted a logo that has a broader appeal as the design will be reproduced on T-shirts, and possibly bags.

What inspired you to create this design?

The inspiration came from the Abhaya mudra which symbolises protection, peace and dispelling fear.

What is the message of your design?

In the Abhaya mudra, the raised and un-armed hand offers friendship and peace. The hand itself symbolises the sanctuary which houses all the animals within it. The central figure within the mudra is a man with out-stretched arms in the welcoming posture. The animals from the native region are represented within the hand. Green was chosen as it suggests life, growth and renewal.

Is there anything else you love doing as much as designing?

I have a very strong bond with animals and they have featured quite a lot? in my life. I grew up with dogs and chickens when I was a toddler; and ornamental fishes, rabbits, hamsters, mice and terrapins in my teens. I have always been involved in designing, for as long as I can remember ¨C as a three-year-old doodling stick figures on my bed¡­ This interest has kept me involved and evolving with graphics, illustrations, design and all forms of visual entities. Mythology and history are other subjects that? interest me as well.

¡°Today, together with a growing appreciation of the importance of human rights there is a greater awareness worldwide of the need for the protection not only of the environment, but also of animals and their rights. Where there is a mind, there are feelings such as pain, pleasure and joy. No sentient being wants pain, instead all want happiness. Since we all share these feelings at some basic level, we as rational human beings have an obligation to contribute in whatever way we can to the happiness of other species and try our best to relieve their fears and sufferings.¡± ¨C His Holiness the Dalai Lama