Welcome to ArtandZen.com
Here at ArtandZen we create art as an approach to understanding the profound world of Zen thinking.
Human beings are in a doomed race with time and are sometimes willing to sacrifice health and sanity by trying to squeeze every last nickel's worth out of it. But ultimately no one conquers time and we will not only lose the race but throw away the magnificence of life with both hands.
There is a natural rhythm to life and the affairs of human beings. Ben suggests that we allow that to be our rhythm as well. By making time our ally, we acquire a new serenity about how life and its rewards will flow. Living with time on our side, instead of battling against it, will give us a sense that there is enough time to get the job done. Life will have much more to offer when we add a measure of grace to it by making time our ally.
This is such a busy time of year, let's take a moment to celebrate the achievements of the last year and enjoy the graceful trajectory of our lives.
It works! The photos below show the first public activity at the Buddha Jewel Monastery in Seattle since the ArtandZen team built the Dharma Wheel terrace and planted
the Peace Pole in the center of the newly constructed Dharma Wheel. There was an immediate use of the public art installation as
witnessed in the pictures below:
The Abbot, Zen Master Jian Hu begins a walk around the Dharma Wheel and Peace Pole at a new public art installation created by an ArtandZen team.
People began to pose next to the Peace Pole on the Dharma Wheel.
And then several people gathered around the pole on the Dharma Wheel, eventually joining hands. What a wonderful use of this new public art installation!
Click here to see a video of this first wonderful day of use: Video of First Use of Dharma Wheel Terrace
A construction team, put together by ArtandZen management, was honored with the opportunity to construct a public artwork project
based on the Dharma Wheel with a special Peace Pole creation in the center (The Dharma leads to Peace).
Credit and a "thank you" for the following five history of construction photos goes to Zen Master Jian Du.
After the construction of retaining walls, the site required several days of work to stabilize the ground.
The next step was to set the foundation for the wheel and the Peace Pole.
Construction of the spokes began to give some shape to the wheel.
The final look produced a dramatic transformation of the area.
The Peace Pole message, "May Peace Prevail on Earth."
This creation, approaching 30 feet in diameter, is on a new terrace outside the Buddha Jewel Monastery in Seattle.
Check out more of the construction and final look in the following videos:
Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right
Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. Following those principles as your daily practice will
lead you to inner peace and enlightenment. To fully grasp how to live this Zen practice, you should find a teacher that works for you. This may be difficult, but this is what life is about. Seek the truth.
This diptych “Spinning the Buddha Jewel Dharma Wheel” is a set of two 30” x 40” canvases in acrylic. The set is dedicated to the Zen Masters residing at the Buddha Jewel Monastery in Seattle, WA. This painting was created to celebrate the first art show held at Buddha Jewel. The panel on the left of Guan Yin was inspired by a Hubble Telescope photo of the Eagle Nebula in the Serpent Constellation. The panel on the right of the Buddha holding a diamond in one hand, representing the Diamond Sutra, while spinning the Dharma wheel with the other was inspired by an earlier painting of the Buddha in a spiral galaxy setting, which can be viewed near the bottom of this page, called “Spinning the Cosmic Wheel”. This earlier painting was motivated years ago by my first Zen teacher, Master Jian Hu when he was the Abbot of Buddha Gate in Lafayette California. Now, he is the Abbot of Buddha Jewel, a wonderful new monastery that can be visited online at http://buddhajewel.org.
The 22” x 28” oil on canvas below is titled “Path”
The path is a central theme in Zen teaching. The intent of staying on the middle path of Zen moderation is avoiding suffering in the extremes on either side. On one side of the path is an extreme addiction to sensual pleasure and the insatiable desire to have more and more (greed). On the other side of the path is the humiliation of extreme self-denial. Both extremes are unhealthy and cause suffering. For 25 centuries individuals have traveled this middle path and not only avoided suffering, but also have found and taught an enlightened understanding of life during their journey. The middle path is where we can experience true and lasting joy during our lives and gain a clear awareness of the world around us.
Once on the path we can increase our chance of staying on the path by experiencing the true joy of living. This true joy comes from gaining wisdom as we travel the path. Wisdom is revealed through the practice of mental discipline (meditation) and ethical conduct. Zen is the joy of life we experience personally through our practice moment by moment.
It is common for one to think that impressions come to us from outside our minds, and we just react to input. Actually, our minds include everything. It is our choice in how we interpret these impressions within our mind. As the young woman in the painting above has a choice as to how her mind chooses to experience the environment around her, we all have a choice as to the state of our mind. If we leave our mind alone, it will be calm, and a calm mind is a healthy mind. A healthy mind will provide you with more of what you need to survive, be joyous, and do well.
The painting below is titled “Sun and Moon” and represents the contrasting cycle of life.
What should distinguish humans from unevolved and unenlightened life forms is our ability to be compassionate and protect life.
We now know that anger can cause lung disease. One of the best ways to eliminate anger is to commit to a daily period of meditation. We have found that meditating early in the morning, as a way to start the day, is most effective. You won’t know, though, unless you try and experience the feeling of being truly connected to the rest of the universe. Practicing meditation is the beginning. It is the key to enlightenment and living a healthy, joyful, and compassionate life. Please seek out more information, and connect with a teacher if possible, but start meditating today.
You can just go to a search engine and type in Zen meditation and find out for yourself. If you find a particularly helpful site, please let us know.
Sitting in Zen meditation not only helps in achieving enlightenment, but also aids in improving mental and physical health along the way. Shunryu Suzuki (a Zen monk) once mused that he wished he could be a frog. He felt frogs sat better than he did (in meditation). Suzuki admired their patience, never getting sleepy, doing things appropriately, “They never miss anything, they are always calm and still.” Suzuki’s feelings were the inspiration for the art below titled “Deep Meditation.” The frog sits, taking only what is necessary to sustain life.
Living fully in each moment, known as “big mind,” is the result of the mindfulness achieved in meditation. The opposite of mindfulness is “monkey-mind,” or the practice of jumping around chasing every thought that occurs to us. “Moon in the Well” is a recent version (executed by request as a wall mural) of a popular Zen painting “Gibbon and the Reflection of the Moon” by Hakuin Ekaku (1685 - 1768). It is an illustration of the danger of confusing appearance with truth. The foolish monkey is reaching for a reflection of the moon in a well. He falls in and drowns. That is why it is important to calm our monkey minds and seek the enlightenment of our big mind.
When we sit in perfect calmness, we are one with all things; “Wherever I go, I meet myself.” In the following painting, “Mabry Mill,” there is a feeling of happiness and peacefulness, and the trust of a boy and his dog in a beautiful setting. As children, we sometimes revel in a meditative state naturally, before we unlearn this sense in the requirements of “growing up.” Cycling back through meditation to the state of a childlike wonder of the universe is a joyous path.
In Zen, emptiness does not mean nothingness. Emptiness is about change. Everything we see is in transition from one form to another. Freeing ourselves from fixed views is essential to the path toward enlightenment. In “Metamorphosis” below this concept is offered in the depiction of a planetary scene cycling through the emptiness of space to another state of change and transition. What we view and cling to as real is just a sensual consideration in any given moment. Everything will change in the next moment. If we resist that change we suffer. Letting go of one’s considerations and ceasing to cling to “our reality” is a way to leave our fears behind and experience the freedom that emptiness provides and be in a state of enlightenment and true joy.
Another key concept in Zen living is compassion. Let’s face it; we’re all in the same boat. Palden Gyatso, a Tibetan monk, encourages people to value the needs of others over their own, which in turn will take care of their own needs as well. Below is series of paintings of lighthouses and light keepers (a very compassionate activity); the following three works of art are: "Benefaction", "Light Keeper", and "Mariner’s Dream."
Without the compassionate and hard work of the light keepers, danger would have overtaken many coastal travelers.
It is easy to imagine mariners long at sea dreamed hopefully of spotting a lighthouse.
Another important Zen concept is the admonition not to be caught up in dualistic thinking. In other words, avoid the habit of judging things as good or bad. In the painting below, “Out of Order,” There is a compelling message about technology and the natural order of the universe. We do seem to be more and more reliant upon technology to provide us with information. This is not a good thing or a bad thing, like using the Internet as we are for communication. It just is what it is. We just need to be careful though about those things upon which we become dependent.
Abstract art offers an opportunity to explore how we see life around us. Below are a couple of works that are a bit more obscure as to what they depict. One can read in their own reality, or not see anything of consequence at all. No titles are provided on these next two paintings to leave the reality to you the viewer. However, they are from photographs of common everyday scenes of the same item. Can you guess what they are? For an answer or to discuss art and Zen contact the artist here: Frank@ArtandZen.com
In the painting below, some whimsical artistic liberty was taken with Chinese calligraphy in this piece “Happiness and Prosperity,” where a couple of characters look like two individuals jumping over a hurdle together. Isn’t it better to have a teacher, friend, or someone with whom you can take life’s journey and help each other stay on the path?
The painting below, “Spinning the Cosmic Wheel” is view of the universal nature of enlightenment. Life is much less painful and more enjoyable when we connect to the limitless expanse of the universe with our big minds.
Other paintings for consideration:
The Watch 18" x 24" acrylic and oil on canvas
Serenity 60" by 120" acrylic on wall
Please do not reproduce any contents of this site without permission. Please send an email to: Frank@ArtandZen.com if you would like to have original works created for you, or just discuss art and Zen.
Thank you very much.
Solo Flame 30" x 15" oil on canvas