Chinese Painting and Zen - Chinese Painting Library

Author: Bei Yu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: Chinese painting art is not only aesthetically aligned with Zen practice but also harmoniously resonates with Zen principles in matters of form, methods, tools, and many other aspects. In the duality of things, painting, like Zen practice, has never been dogmatic but seeks transcendence. In terms of form, Chinese painting advocates "understanding the essence and forgetting the form." Forgetting the form is not the same as distorting it. It is both formless and form, both tangible and intangible—it encompasses both. Forgetting the form does not reject form but focuses on the inherent nature. Only when the essence is perceived can the form be forgotten. Both tangible and intangible forms are attachments to form. Only by forgetting the form can one be unburdened by it, achieving transcendence over form. In terms of methods, Chinese painting promotes "methodlessness as the ultimate method." Here, methodlessness means forgetting the method. It is both method and non-method, both tangible and intangible—it embodies both. It is not a rejection of technique but a refinement of technique to the point of freedom, achieving transcendence over technique.