Zen Art-Ten Oxherding Pictures

Zen art history basically can be likened to the history or essence of all things. Quite simply, because Zen equates to becoming enlightened about oneself, particularly that the true self is the essence of all things, Zen art history is all things.

Zen is a form of Buddhism that developed in China and spread to Japan. Zen focuses on meditation and the main idea that the world is beautiful when one absolves the self of desire. Often likened to an iceberg, almost all of the philosophy in Zen is below the surface. Strong preferences that involve attachment, or desires, are viewed as the principal cause of suffering in life. Perceiving the self as substantial is an illusion, and by shedding this notion and desires, one is liberated and enlightened. Coming from an anti-realist philosophical perspective, Zen philosophy teaches that there is no objectively correct and definitive perspective on anything, i.e. there is no literal truth.

In Zen, the "I" that represents the self is the engine of striving or desire. While many philosophies look to discover the "self", Zen views the "self" as the core problem to achieving enlightenment "Your self-partiality is at the root of all your illusions. There aren't any illusions when you don't have this preference for yourself." When these illusions are stripped from the individual, he or she is able to understand that their true essence is the essence of everything

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leasure is circular, repetitive, atemporal. The variety seeking of the spectator, the thrill hunter, the sexually promiscuous, always ends in the same place. It has an end. It comes to the end and has to start over. It is not a journey and return, but a closed cycle, a locked room, a cell." In Plate II, the oxherd sees the footprints of the Ox. It is through his footprints or the traces of him. The poem by Kaku-an for Plate III reads: By the stream and under the trees, scattered are the traces of the lost; The sweet-scented grasses are growing thick�did he find the way? However remote over the hills and far away the beast may wander, His nose reaches the heavens and none can conceal it. The oxherd has reached the significant first step on his way to enlightenment. He is using his senses, either through smell, site, or touch to discover through teaching the path that will lead to the truth, at least from a distance. In other words, the poem and picture represent the beginnings of insight in the oxherd. His sense will become an important source of insight into the nature of things. In all actions in life the senses will be primary, but it is only when the oxherd is able to see himself as the essence of all things

Category: History - Z