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Ensō
In Zen art, an is a circle hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes to express the Zen mind, which is associated with enlightenment, emptiness, freedom, and the state of no-mind. Description The symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe ( Dharmadhatu), and (emptiness). It is characterised by a minimalism influenced by Zen Buddhist philosophy, and Japanese aesthetics. An empty circle also appears in the ten oxherding pictures which is a set of illustrations that depict Zen training. Drawing is a disciplined-creative practice of Japanese ink painting, . The tools and mechanics of drawing the are the same as those used in traditional Japanese calligraphy: One uses an ink brush to apply ink to (a thin Japanese paper). The circle may be open or closed. In the former case, the circle is incomplete, allowing for movement and development and the perfection of all things. Zen practitioners relate the idea to , the beauty of imperfection. The ...
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Japanese Aesthetics
Japanese aesthetics comprise a set of ancient ideals that include '' wabi'' (transient and stark beauty), '' sabi'' (the beauty of natural patina and aging), and '' yūgen'' (profound grace and subtlety). These ideals, and others, underpin much of Japanese cultural and aesthetic norms on what is considered tasteful or beautiful. Thus, while seen as a philosophy in Western societies, the concept of aesthetics in Japan is seen as an integral part of daily life. Japanese aesthetics now encompass a variety of ideals; some of these are traditional while others are modern and sometimes influenced by other cultures. Shinto and Buddhism Shinto is considered to be at the fountain-head of Japanese culture. With its emphasis on the wholeness of nature and character in ethics, and its celebration of the landscape, it sets the tone for Japanese aesthetics. Until the thirteenth century, Shinto remained the main influence on Japanese aesthetics. In the Buddhist tradition, all things are cons ...
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Japanese Calligraphy
, also called , is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language. Japanese writing system, Written Japanese was originally based on Man'yōgana, Chinese characters only, but the advent of the hiragana and katakana Japanese syllabaries resulted in intrinsically Japanese calligraphy styles. Styles The term shodō (書道, "way of writing") is of Chinese origin and is widely used to describe the art of Chinese calligraphy during the medieval Tang dynasty. Early Japanese calligraphy was originated from Chinese calligraphy. Many of its principles and techniques are very similar, and it recognizes the same basic writing styles: * seal script (篆書 ''tensho'') (pinyin: ''zhuànshū''). The seal script (tensho) was commonly used throughout the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) and the following Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) of China. After this time period, tensho style fell out of popularity in favor of reisho. However, tensho was still used for titles of published ...
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:Category:Japanese Words And Phrases
{{Commons Words and phrases by language Words Words Words A word is a basic element of language that carries meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consensus among linguists on its ...
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Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a population of 675,647 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Northeastern United States after New York City and Philadelphia. The larger Greater Boston metropolitan statistical area has a population of 4.9 million as of 2023, making it the largest metropolitan area in New England and the Metropolitan statistical area, eleventh-largest in the United States. Boston was founded on Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by English Puritans, Puritan settlers, who named the city after the market town of Boston, Lincolnshire in England. During the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, Boston was home to several seminal events, incl ...
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Visual Motifs
The visual system is the physiological basis of visual perception (the ability to perception, detect and process light). The system detects, phototransduction, transduces and interprets information concerning light within the visible range to construct an imaging, image and build a mental model of the surrounding environment. The visual system is associated with the eye and functionally divided into the optics, optical system (including cornea and crystalline lens, lens) and the nervous system, neural system (including the retina and visual cortex). The visual system performs a number of complex tasks based on the ''image forming'' functionality of the eye, including the formation of monocular images, the neural mechanisms underlying stereopsis and assessment of distances to (depth perception) and between objects, motion perception, pattern recognition, accurate motor coordination under visual guidance, and colour vision. Together, these facilitate higher order tasks, such as ...
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Concepts In Japanese Aesthetics
A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, psychology, and philosophy, and these disciplines are interested in the logical and psychological structure of concepts, and how they are put together to form thoughts and sentences. The study of concepts has served as an important flagship of an emerging interdisciplinary approach, cognitive science. In contemporary philosophy, three understandings of a concept prevail: * mental representations, such that a concept is an entity that exists in the mind (a mental object) * abilities peculiar to cognitive agents (mental states) * Fregean senses, abstract objects rather than a mental object or a mental state Concepts are classified into a hierarchy, higher levels of which are termed "superordinate" and lower levels termed "subordinate". Additi ...
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Shambhala Publications
Shambhala Publications is an Independent publisher, independent publishing company based in Boulder, Colorado. According to the company, it specializes in "books that present creative and conscious ways of transforming the individual, the society, and the planet". Many of its titles deal with Buddhism and related topics in Eastern studies, religion, philosophy, and martial arts. The company's name was inspired by the Sanskrit word Shambhala, referring to a mystical kingdom hidden beyond the snowpeaks of the Himalayas, according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Its authors include Chögyam Trungpa, Pema Chödrön, Thomas Cleary, Ken Wilber, Fritjof Capra, A. H. Almaas, John Daido Loori, John Stevens (scholar), John Stevens, Edward Espe Brown and Natalie Goldberg. The company is unaffiliated with Shambhala Buddhism, Shambhala International, or ''Lion's Roar (magazine), Lion's Roar'' (previously entitled ''Shambhala Sun'') magazine. History Shambhala was founded in 1969 by Samue ...
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Marusankakushikaku
, also known as , or in English as ''The Universe'', is a '' zenga'' by Sengai, a Japanese monk and artist, thought to have been made between 1819 and 1828. The work consists of a circle, a triangle and a square drawn in ink on paper, and has been called the "most mysterious work left by Sengai" due to its simplicity and ambiguity. It hangs in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts in Tokyo. Description consists of three simple geometric shapes, drawn freehand in ink on ''washi is traditional Japanese paper processed by hand using fibers from the inner bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub (''Edgeworthia chrysantha''), or the paper mulberry (''kōzo'') bush. ''Washi'' is generally tougher than ordinary ...'' paper – from right to left, a , a , and a . The circle is drawn in the darkest ink, and the square in the lightest ink. The work is tall and wide. On the left edge of the work is Sengai's (sign and seal) and the inscribed phrase , referring to Shōfuku- ...
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Wuji (philosophy)
In Chinese philosophy, ''wuji'' (, meaning 'without limit') originally referred to infinity. In Neo-Confucianism, Neo-Confucian cosmology, it came to mean the "primordial universe" prior to the "Taiji (philosophy), Supreme Ultimate" state of being. Definition In Chinese language, Chinese, the word ''wuji'' is a compound (linguistics), compound of Mu (negative), ''wu'' (meaning nothingness) and ''ji''. ''Ji'' () is a word with several meanings. Most often used to mean "pole" or "roof, ridgepole", it can also be used in the same figurative as in English to mean "geographical pole", "poles of astronomical bodies#Magnetic poles, magnetic pole", etc. In Traditional Chinese medicine it is the ''Chong mai'' () or the central Meridian of the Eight extra meridians, eight extra Meridians. Common English translations of the cosmological ''wuji'' are "ultimateless" or "limitless", but other versions are "the ultimate of Nothingness", "that which has no Pole", or "Non-Polar". Usage ''Wu ...
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Ouroboros
The ouroboros or uroboros (; ) is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent symbolism, snake or European dragon, dragon Autocannibalism, eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via Egyptian mythology, ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek Magical Papyri, Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gnosticism and Hermeticism and, most notably, in alchemy. Some snakes, such as rat snakes, have been known to consume themselves. Name and interpretation The term derives , from ''oura'' 'tail' plus ''-boros'' '-eating'. The ''ouroboros'' is often interpreted as a symbol for eternal cyclic renewal or a Eternal return, cycle of life, death and rebirth; the snake's Sloughing, skin-sloughing symbolises the Metempsychosis, transmigration of souls. The snake biting its own tail is a fertility symbol in some religions: the tail is a Phallus, phallic symbol and the mouth is a yonic or womb-like symbol. Historical representations Ancient Egypt One ...
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Ink Wash Painting
Ink wash painting ( zh, t=水墨畫, s=水墨画, p=shuǐmòhuà) is a type of Chinese ink brush painting which uses Wash (visual arts), washes of black ink, such as that used in East Asian calligraphy, in different concentrations. It emerged during the Tang dynasty of China (618–907), and overturned earlier, more Realism (arts), realistic techniques. It is typically monochrome, using only shades of black, with a great emphasis on virtuoso brushwork and conveying the perceived "spirit" or "essence" of a subject over direct Mimesis, imitation. Ink wash painting flourished from the Song dynasty in China (960–1279) onwards, as well as in Japan after it was introduced by Zen Buddhist monks in the Muromachi period, 14th century. Some Western scholars divide Chinese painting (including ink wash painting) into three periods: times of representation, times of expression, and historical Oriental art. Chinese scholars have their own views which may be different; they believe that contempo ...
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Dhyāna In Buddhism
In the oldest texts of Buddhism, ''dhyāna'' () or ''jhāna'' () is a component of the training of the mind (''bhavana''), commonly translated as Buddhist meditation, meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions and "burn up" the Kleshas (Buddhism), defilements, leading to a "state of perfect equanimity and awareness (''Upekṣā, upekkhā-Sati (Buddhism), sati-Purity in Buddhism, parisuddhi'')." ''Dhyāna'' may have been the core practice of pre-sectarian Buddhism, in combination with several related practices which together lead to perfected mindfulness and detachment. In the later commentarial tradition, which has survived in present-day Theravada, Theravāda, ''dhyāna'' is equated with "concentration", a state of one-pointed absorption in which there is a diminished awareness of the surroundings. In the contemporary Theravāda-based Vipassana movement, this absorbed state of mind is regarded as unnecessary and even non-beneficial for t ...
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