The Drawings of Animal Protection was inspired by Master Hung Yi (1879-1942), the 16(superscript th) master of the Vinaya School of Buddhism. The creator of the six volumes of the drawings, Feng Tze-kai (1898-1975), followed the great master and became a Buddhist at the age of 30, given the name Ying-hsing. As it turned out, the animal protection idea of the Mahayana Buddhism became the spiritual pivot in the series of drawings. But, Master Hung Yi wished the drawings to be popular art so that more good thoughts could be spread to more people through their publication. Thus, the painter used a combination of short poems and sketches to tell the many loving, sincere, and life-valuing stories of animal protection. The intention, of course, was to arouse warmth, peace, and beauty in the people. The Drawings of Animal Protection developed a wider view of animal protection. It explicated the central idea of life-protection as found in The Avatamsaka-Sutra (The Hua-yen Sutra or The Flower-adorned Sutra), and the idea that to protect life is to protect mind. It also praised the many virtues and compassions of the bodhisattva to save the suffered and to protect the painful. The book has no doubt set up a good model for the world to follow in terms of animal protection.
