Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. Chan is itself derived from the Sanskrit Dhyana, which means “meditation”. Between A.D. 400 and 900 there arose out of the interplay of Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism the school of Ch’an or Zen, with its astonishing technique of teaching liberation by “direct pointing” instead of discussion. The fundamental position of Zen is that it has nothing to say, or, again, that nature is not a problem…
The blue hills are simply blue hills;
The white clouds are simply white clouds…
That is the whole of Zen, and therefore when the student approaches the master with some such artificial question as, “How do I enter the path to liberation?” the master replies, “Do you hear the stream?”, “Yes.” “There is the way to enter.” Or, simpler still, to the question, “What is the meaning of Buddhism?” he answers, “Three dried turds!!!”
The difficulty of Zen is the almost overwhelming problem of getting anyone to see that life-and-death is not a problem. The Zen master tackles this by asking the student to find out for whom the world is a problem, for whom is pleasure desirable and pain undesirable, thus turning consciousness back upon itself to discover the ego.
But of course it turns out that this mythical “I” that seems to confront experience or to be trapped in the world is nowhere to be found…
———
This was meant to be The Enso, circle of infinity, a symbol of Zen Buddhism…
The Zen circle, a popular motif in Zen art, represents the entire universe in a single, perfect stroke. Although simple, images like this are difficult to paint successfully and thus must be done with a clear mind focused on the task.
I tried to make The Enso with the red burning traces of a half-burned fire-wood… I set the timer and went to the front of the Lens to draw The Enso on air in a 20-sec exposure…
[...] Mahiyangana stupa in Sri Lanka, an exhibit of classic ink painting in Hong Kong, and photographer Kaveh Saffari’s depiction and description of the Zen form, enso (pictured). You’ll find listings organized [...]
Notes
Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. Chan is itself derived from the Sanskrit Dhyana, which means “meditation”. Between A.D. 400 and 900 there arose out of the interplay of Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism the school of Ch’an or Zen, with its astonishing technique of teaching liberation by “direct pointing” instead of discussion. The fundamental position of Zen is that it has nothing to say, or, again, that nature is not a problem…
The blue hills are simply blue hills;
The white clouds are simply white clouds…
That is the whole of Zen, and therefore when the student approaches the master with some such artificial question as, “How do I enter the path to liberation?” the master replies, “Do you hear the stream?”, “Yes.” “There is the way to enter.” Or, simpler still, to the question, “What is the meaning of Buddhism?” he answers, “Three dried turds!!!”
The difficulty of Zen is the almost overwhelming problem of getting anyone to see that life-and-death is not a problem. The Zen master tackles this by asking the student to find out for whom the world is a problem, for whom is pleasure desirable and pain undesirable, thus turning consciousness back upon itself to discover the ego.
But of course it turns out that this mythical “I” that seems to confront experience or to be trapped in the world is nowhere to be found…
———
This was meant to be The Enso, circle of infinity, a symbol of Zen Buddhism…
The Zen circle, a popular motif in Zen art, represents the entire universe in a single, perfect stroke. Although simple, images like this are difficult to paint successfully and thus must be done with a clear mind focused on the task.
I tried to make The Enso with the red burning traces of a half-burned fire-wood… I set the timer and went to the front of the Lens to draw The Enso on air in a 20-sec exposure…
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6 Comments
This is really GREAT!
Comment by ida — September 5, 2008 @ 8:18 pm
very nice shot well done!
Comment by saman — September 7, 2008 @ 11:45 pm
Tanx saman… Its so nice of u…
Comment by Kaveh — September 7, 2008 @ 11:54 pm
[...] Mahiyangana stupa in Sri Lanka, an exhibit of classic ink painting in Hong Kong, and photographer Kaveh Saffari’s depiction and description of the Zen form, enso (pictured). You’ll find listings organized [...]
Pingback by Shambhala Sun Space » For the Love of Buddhist Art — September 12, 2008 @ 2:43 pm
Bravo indeed! this is excellent work!
Comment by ida — September 15, 2008 @ 11:24 am
excellent work indeed!
Comment by ida — September 15, 2008 @ 11:25 am
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