ZEN BUDDHISM NOTES
ZEN ARTS
Some examples of Zen Arts: Painting
Calligraphy
The Tea Ceremony
Flower Arranging
Gardening
Poetry
7 Characteristics of Zen Art
- ASYMMETRY
- SIMPLICITY
- EMANCIPATED LOOK
- NATURALNESS
- PROFUNDITY
- UNWORLDLINES
- STILLNESS ‘ One showing is worth a hundred sayings’
Artistic representation gives the most direct understanding of Zen. Zen art remains different from other Religious art in that it concentrates on nature and the world rather than depicting supernatural scenes. Zen art in all its forms is viewed as an act of nature in itself. Sabro Hasegava described Zen art as “a controlled accident”. In all the arts the balance of Yin and Yang is paramount.
Much of the arts blossomed during the Sung Dynasty when Monastic activity between Japan and China was rife.
Dr Suzuki describes Zen art as “the grandeur, the vastness, the inexhaustibility of nature are in man, and the sensitiveness and mystic impenetrability of the soul lies also in the bosom of nature”. When a painter paints a landscape he expresses part of himself.
Zen art is not bounded by the confines of Western attitudes. Any act can be Zen art. Art is concerned with relations rather than things and the Zen sense of the unity of all things made it possible to transfer this awareness into art.
One of the more formal practices of art is a type of calligraphy known for its dramatic strokes of black ink on white linen. The making of the ink is itself an art. The block of solid ink is rubbed on a hollow bowl, which is slightly damp. The mixture is worked to the right consistency then the ink is applied with a bamboo-handled brush and the strokes are smooth and fast yet they remain controlled and instructive reflecting the spontaneity of Zen.
A SAMPLE OF OTHER ZEN ARTS
ARCHERY
Handling a Japanese bow is a skill in itself, as they are over 8 or 9 feet high and many have weights added. The control of the body and mind involved in aiming and shooting the bow is very mindful and promotes concentration (meditation).
KENDO
Sword practice. Originally on horseback but then later on foot. These swords were made of bamboo.
IIADO
The way on the sword.
All other Zen arts involve the deliberate avoidance of detail; spaces are left for the mind to fill and there is no symbolism.