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| It is an expression of the beauty that lies in the brief transition between the coming and going of life, both in joy and melancholy that make up our lot as humans. |
It eschews intellectualism and pretense and instead aims to unearth and frame the beauty that left by the flows of nature. W-S embodies the Zen nihilist cosmic view and seeks beauty in imperfections found in all things, in a constant state of flux, evolve from nothing and devolve back into nothing.
The message of W-S in view of the ever-encroaching materiality of Western society, is as relevant today as it was in 13th century Japan.
Style of painting known as Ma-Hsia school, derived from Southern Song dynasty artists Ma Yuan and Hsia Kuei, which used less brushwork. For example, they used mist as a device to suggest landmass and give painting a light, ethereal quality. Ma Yuan would often be called “one corner ma” because he would restrict most of his painting to a single corner of the canvas, leaving the rest blank.
It has been suggested that some of the mystery and intrigue surrounding the ethereal properties of W-S art was intentionally promoted by the iemoto families, whose incomes had been severely diminished by the emerge of Kamakura. Without their funds for more ornate and gorgeous artifacts, the iemoto families turned their attention to regularly available W-S style art, and then enhanced the value by enshrouding it in mystery.
History of Zen
Buddhism was founded in NE India and was based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who is now knowns as Buddha, or the Enlightened one. Born into a life of luxury in 563 BC he was so struck by the suffering of those living outside the palace that he was spurred to renounce all material world and seek the answers to the mysteries of life. After passing through a stage of extreme asceticism, he Buddha took the middle path, which avoided the pitfalls of overindulgence and self-denial, and after a great struggle he was able to attain enlightenment under a bodhi tree. Four Noble Truths
- Life is suffering
- All suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality and the resultant craving, attachment and grasping which stem from such ignorance.
- Suffering can be stopped by overcoming ignorance and one’s attachment to the material world.
- The path that leads away from suffering is the noble eightfold path, which consists of right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right-mindedness, and right contemplation. The Taoist movement in China fused with the new ideas coming from Indian to form Ch’an school of Buddhism, which later became known as Zen in Japan. Taoism has been described as “the art of being in the world.”
mushin “no heart” where one is free of mundane attachments or desires. satori state of enlightenment
Humans are slaves to words and the reason they produce. With the development of language, this cognitive grasp of reality means that everything that we perceive is subject to these mental processes, and so from childhood we lose the ability to directly perceive the world.
Poe
Science! true daughter of the Old Time thou art! Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes. Why preyest thou thus upon the poet’s heart, Vulture, whose wings are dull realities
Zen would say that in adopting, too completely, the scientific view of reality we have closed the door on a more holistic view of life and are limiting ourselves to a rather mundane view of something altogether extraordinary.
The Foundation of Wabi Sabi
The foundation of wabi sabi art forms like the tea ceremony and flower arrangements were laid by exponents such as Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591). Oddly the Japanese have been seen to be abandoning their religious heritage for the material hedonism produced in the west, and yet there is a growing interest in the west for the spiritual values found in Zen. Ironically the future of Zen and its artistic representative, wabi sabi, may well lie outside of Japan and it is the west’s growing disillusionment with the empty promises of materialism that may provide the necessary impetus for the widespread adoption of Zen wisdom. The West, who arguably started the undermining of Zen thought, may well hold the key to its future survival.
Sen no Rikyu
The story goes that Rikyu saw a rustic roof tile whose rough texture and subtle nuance of color caught his imagination. He asked the roof tiler to create utensils for his tea ceremony, thus sparking the tradition.
Wabi Sabi is not fully the work of nature, or fully the work of man - it is a symbiosis between the two. Riyku told his son to clean the area surrounding the tea room. Every twig was cleaned up, and the stones were scrubbed. Then Rikyu went over to the maple tree that was crimson with with the autumn leaf and shook the beautiful tree so that the leaves fell randomly on the floor. He let the artistry of nature put the finishing touches on the earnest endeavors.
SnR was given a chance for harakiri (literally abdomen cut as the stomach was considered the area where the soul resides). He had a final tea ceremony where the concentration and attention to detail were exemplary. He gave the tea utensils to his friends except for his own, which he crushed in his hands saying “no more will this cup, tainted with the lips of misfortune, be used by another.” His friends left, and he revealed a white death robe underneath and said
Welcome to thee, O sword of eternity, Through Buddha, And through Dharuma alike, Thou hast cleft thy way
Furyu monji (literally not standing on letters) denotes the Zen concept that no deep understanding can be transferred by the spoken word.
This feels true, but also how have I learned what I’ve learned. I suppose through books, and experience of encountering things (mentally, or on earth). Maybe what is being reached here is that in the short term, an understanding cannot be made. The words will lack the twisting nuance. You can teach someone something, but arguing in text on the internet with strangers maybe doesn’t produce a change of mind
Wabi comes from wabu, which means to languish, and the adjective washishii which is used to describe the sentiments of loneliness, forlornness, and wretchedness.
Sabi was used in a literary sense to convey a sense of desolation, like reeds withered by frost. Later it became more about mujo, the existential transience of life.
Wabi Sabi is an intuitive appreciation of a transient beauty in the physical world that reflects the irreversible flow of life in the spiritual world. It is an understated beauty that exists in the modest, rustic, imperfect or even decayed, an aesthetic sensibility that finds a melancholic beauty in the impermanence of all things.
Fujiwara no Sadaie
As I look afar, I see neither cherry trees, Nor tinted leaves, Only a modest hut on the shore, In the twilight of an autumn eve.
The pachinko parlor is another Japanese architectural disaster that one could say is the complete antithesis of wabi sabi. These buildings which can house hundreds of machines are often tastelessly situated in the middle of attractive rural scenery decked out with a plethora of blazing pink and purple neon lights; they are glitzy, cheap, brash, noisy, money-oriented dens of iniquity.
Japan’s first gardens were inspired mainly by Shinto beliefs and were initially no more than open gravel spaces where it was thought that kami, or spirits would be encouraged to visit.
Basho: A poem that suggests 70-80 percent of its subject may be good, but a poem that suggests 50-60 percent will always retain its intrigue.
To be alone It is a color that cannot be named: This mountain where cedars rise Into the autumn dusk
kintsugi - (gold-kin) (repair-tsugi) - often the greatest pots were thought to be discarded by their creators.
The herd instinct that underscores man’s status as social animal seeps from every pore and its influence is clear in the field of aesthetic appreciation.
Wabi Sabi traits:
- no shiny uniform materials
- materials that show the passage of time
- materials whose devolution is expressive and attractive
- asymmetry or irregularity
- no artistry
- no symbolism
- the piece evolves in a natural and unforced way
- rough, uneven
- variegated and random
- textures transformed by sporadic processes
- no harsh, strong colors
- subdued lighting
- colors and dyes from natural sources
- diffuse and murky colors
- matte colors that lack uniformity
- no embellishment or ostentation
- unrefined and raw
- use of freely available materials
- nothing surplus to requirement
- significant areas of “nothing” in interiors and gardens
- ample spaces around all accent pieces
- accent pieces at an absolute minimum
- careful and constant observation of physical balances found in nature
- no prescribed formulae
- no regular or uniform shapes
- design elements balanced in a way that looks completely natural and unforced
- pieces that are intimate and personal
- all works produced with humility and simplicity
For some a knot in a piece of wood might be seem as an unattractive flaw that should be cut out. For some the lack of order and consistency makes thing ugly, for they are not easy to categorize and might find them unappealing or unattractive to the eye. On the other hand, from a different perspective the object because it doesn’t yield to a common form, may hold far more potential to stimulate new mental activity in much the way that an infant begins to explore the world. It is precisely the deviation from the preconceived notions of beauty that presents a new challenge in the way that we perceive an object. Wabi sabi can therefore be seen as both beautiful and ugly, but the resulting emotional response will ultimately depend on the disposition of the audience.
With his intense respect for life, Ryokan’s behavior was, by today’s standards, a little eccentric. He would warm his public lice by placing them out in the evening sun. He managed to set fire to his hut while trying to burn a small hole in the roof for a bamboo shoot to pass through.