f art able to break through their cultural-psychological formations to develop humanity.”
People who follow Zen perceive animate and inanimate objects from within. They let themselves be consumed by them or feel them internally, instead of trying to understand or rationally analyze them from the outside. In this way, the self-referential “I” is taken out of the equation, which is necessary to view all things as oneself:
To learn about oneself is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to perceive oneself as all things. To realize this is to cast off the body and mind of self and others. When you have reached this stage you will be detached even from enlightenment but will practice it continually without thinking about it. When people begin to seek the Dharma [outside themselves] they are immediately far removed from its location. When the Dharma has been received through the right transmission, one’s real self immediately appears.
The highest goal of Zen is reaching enlightenment, or satori. Satori may come to the individual slowly over many years, or it may suddenly spring instantaneously from the deepest parts of the self. It is often a trivial or insignificant event responsible for unleashing enlightenment spontaneously. Introspection or meditation and an awareness of spiritual truth that transcends any conventional religious dogmatic texts or rituals are significant for achieving enlightenment. Using language, writing, theory or analytical thought cannot achieve enlightenment. The intellect gets in the way of finding enlightenment because it directs the being to the “self.” From a psychological perspective, then, “Satori is the realm beyond the limits of the Self. Philosophically seen, it is insight into the synthesis of affirmation and negation; speaking metaphysically, it is intuitive apprehension that Being is Becoming, and Becoming is Being.”
When it comes to Zen art appreciation, thi...