Zen Buddhism

You walk into a temple and come upon perfectly arranged rocks, water features, trees, and gravel raked so thoroughly that a human could not have possibly done it. Yet this is not simply a beautiful garden but one based on the principles of Zen Buddhism. Zen Buddhism is an ancient South Asian philosophical and spiritual school of thought that came to Japan from China. Zen Buddhism has many important aesthetic aspects. One of them, wabi-sabi, states:

Zen Buddhism: Definition

Zen Buddhism is a school of thought within Mahayana Buddhism focused on several essential areas, including meditation, enlightenment, aesthetics, a relationship between daily life and nature, and intuitive thinking. Today, Zen Buddhism is typically associated with Japan.

Buddhism: Roots

Buddhism arose in India sometime between the 6th and 4th century BCE. Some describe it as a religion. Others—as a philosophical and ethical tradition because it does not have deities in the Western sense.

Fig. 1 - Buddha and his attendant in Buddha’s final days, East Java. Source: Wikipedia Commons (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license).

Buddhism came from the life and teachings of prince Siddhartha Gautama (563–483 BC).

• Siddhartha Gautama was a prince who lived in present-day Nepal. He eventually gave up his worldly possessions and traveled to India despite being born into privilege. Siddhartha was on a path of spiritual and philosophical growth and transformed into a traveling religious teacher. He explored many essential ideas about existence, such as the question of suffering. Eventually, he became enlightened, hence the name Buddha, after an extended meditation under a Bodhi tree. When he reached 80, he died, but his teachings remain.

Today, Buddhism is one of the world's most famous living religions. It is prevalent in many parts of Asia and is practiced worldwide. Its adherents exceed half a billion people.

Buddhism vs. Zen Buddhism

There are three main types of Buddhism.

Zen Buddhism and Buddhism: Beliefs

Buddhism is a complex tradition with many essential concepts and beliefs. Some of them are:

Zen Buddhism: Principles

The adherents of Zen Buddhism subscribe to those above central religious beliefs of Buddhism but also emphasize ideas linked to Confucianism and Taoism, ancient Chinese schools of thought.

Some of the essential principles are:

• spiritual practices like meditation (zazen);
• the denial of the ego as a path to awakening;
• the link between attachment to the physical world and suffering;
• the illusion of human perception;
• acceptance of the current reality to surpass it;
• focus on the present moment;
• the development of positive moral qualities such as compassion;
• the belief that the world is constantly in flux;
• daily work and life, including cleaning and cooking, to cultivate inner qualities.

Fig. 2 - Pine Trees, by Tohaku Hasegawa, ink wash painting, 16th century. Source: Tokyo National Museum, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

Aesthetics of Zen Buddhism

Zen aesthetics took on many forms in Japan:

• Flora (rock gardens, bonsai trees, ikebana flower arrangement);
• Calligraphy;
• Sumi-e traditional ink painting
• Tea ceremonies;
• Kyudo (archery);
• Poetry;
• Traditional music.

Wabi-Sabi

Zen-inspired aesthetics mean that imperfection and mutability can still be perceived as being beautiful. In nature, this idea can be expressed in the following ways:

• asymmetry;
• simplicity;
• signs of aging and other types of impermanence.

These aesthetic qualities elicit a response, for instance, a sense of longing and isolation. Yet these qualities allow one to understand the limits of the physical world and attain liberation from it. Therefore, these seemingly negative features are positive in the view of Mahayana Buddhism.

Fig. 3 - Japanese calligraphy by the poet Hirose Gyokusō, 19th century. Source: Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

Calligraphy

Like Chan Buddhism, which came from China and became Zen, calligraphy also traveled to Japan from China. Some of the earliest identifiable calligraphy masters date back to the 4th century, with roots going back even earlier. Japan’s calligraphic tradition arose around the 12th century as the Heian period (794 to 1185) ended.

There are many styles and schools of calligraphy, including:

The relationship between calligraphy and Zen thinking is reciprocal. For example, a calligrapher cannot repaint over a single piece of work, so they must focus on delivering the fluidity of motion when carrying out a brush stroke. If one’s mind is clear, the body automatically channels the necessary spiritual qualities when painting letters or characters. Japanese monks practice calligraphy for meditation, such as perfecting a circle, ensō, which symbolizes enlightenment. There are also links between different Zen-inspired aesthetic practices, such as using calligraphy to calm one’s mind before a tea ceremony.

Sumi-e Painting

Like calligraphy, traditional Japanese sumi-e painting is linked to Zen Buddhism. And like calligraphy, this style of painting uses brushes and black ink. Sumi-e is minimalist and harmonious. Its strokes are as crucial as the subject of the image. Sumi-e may be used as a meditative practice.

Tea Ceremonies

Japanese tea ceremony, also known as the way of tea (chadō), is another critical custom linked to Zen Buddhism. However, tea ceremonies are usually for colleagues, friends, and family and lack formal religious aspects.

The tea ceremony typically uses matcha powder to make green tea.

Some trace the history of tea in Japan to the 9th century. 16th-century thinker and tea master Master Sen no Rikyū significantly impacted how tea was practiced.

Fig. 4 - Tea Ceremony, from Daily Life of Tokyo Women series, by Kunichika Toyohara, 1883. Source: Los Angeles Museum of Art, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

Zen Buddhism and Shinto

Japan's indigenous religion, Shinto, focuses on the power of nature and one's ancestors. Shinto means "the way of the gods (spirits)."

Its practitioners believe that everything in this world is imbued with its spirit, even rocks.

The Japanese often follow the elements of both Buddhism and Shinto called Shinbutsu-shūgō. This type of syncretism is expressed in many ways:

• the fusion of ideas and beliefs;
• dedicating shrines to both Shinto spirits (kami) and buddhas;
• shared terminology;
• participating in important holidays for both religious practices.