Rod Wuetherick on fri 1 apr 05
> When Mel was talking negatively about Zen, it would
> have been great to see just ONE person stick up for Zen.
When anyone mentions any particular faith to me in terms of conversion,
which is better, which is right, etc. I always tell them go read Aldous
Huxley's; " Perennial Philosophy" and if they do in fact read it they are
welcome to come back and attempt to convert me.
Lee I'm not sure how Mel could have a pestiferous attitude towards Zen,
train in Japan and conscientiously make tea bowls without understanding the
intractable connection between Zen and the tea ceremony.
What is further odd is if that is in fact true then this is one of Mel's
inconsistent contradictions as Zen and the tea ceremony also allude or
perhaps directly imply, a through understanding of art, crafts, poetry,
calligraphy, flowers arrangement, cooking, gardening, etc.
Perhaps more generally, Zen to my understanding is the progenitor of the
aesthetic of wabi sabi that so many western potters wish to assimilate and
appropriate without understanding the reasons or the why. So much so that
the very act of creation becomes mimicry of an object and not understanding
the why of the object; which is surely greater than all combined molecules
of clay that create it.
Perhaps before anyone who foolishly denigrates Zen and mimics Japanese
aesthetics should refresh their memory of Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591).
BTW I'm not religious in any way I prefer intellectual discourse on our
relationship to theology much more interesting that practicing any
particular faith. I prefer the idea of a "Perennial Philosophy" which in my
lumpen mind is not quite so hypocritical. Thus leading acceptance instead of
intolerance.
Perhaps it is more cognizant of the fugacious nature of our lives.
Peace,
Rod
Lee Love on sat 2 apr 05
Rod Wuetherick wrote:
Thanks for responding Rod.
>When anyone mentions any particular faith to me in terms of conversion,
>which is better, which is right, etc. I always tell them go read Aldous
>Huxley's; " Perennial Philosophy" and if they do in fact read it they are
>welcome to come back and attempt to convert me.
>
>
I read it ages ago. In college also James, Jung, Huston Smith
and Joe Campbell and these people helped me form a cosmopolitan world view.
There are many ways that people study when they travel to live
in another country. It is very easy to insulate oneself, especially
if your native culture is one that dominates the world scene. In
Japan, some people go totally native and others insulate themselves
completely. Most people fall somewhere in the middle. I am lucky
to be married to someone who had a strong interest in Asian culture
before I met her. She is always amazing her Japanese students about
what she knows of traditional Japanese culture. Many traditional
aspects of culture that folks born here after the war have no interest
in and therefor, have not had a desire to learn. Pretty much, they are
wrapped up in "modern world culture." Local culture is disappearing
everywhere. Get it while you can. We might be the last generation.
>Perhaps more generally, Zen to my understanding is the progenitor of the
>aesthetic of wabi sabi that so many western potters wish to assimilate and
>appropriate without understanding the reasons or the why. So much so that
>the very act of creation becomes mimicry of an object and not understanding
>the why of the object; which is surely greater than all combined molecules
>of clay that create it.
>
>
Maybe you remember Tony C. saying how he wasn't so much
interested in "the how" of pottery anymore, but more in "the why."
Louis also alluded to this too. I am afraid that many folks back
home, especially if they don't live on either coast, see zen as being
synomomus with "mumbo-jumbo." The same way myth is thought to be
untruth or fairy tale.
The simply explanation of zen is simply the
study of the mind and how it relates to the world around it. It was
taught in an apprenticeship system. Both zen students and pottery
students are called deshis/apprentices. Actually, until recently,
most culture was handed down via this master/apprenticeship model, by
the student simply working next to someone who has mastered the
activity. So the discipline you see in zen is easily adapted to a
craft like pottery or arts like tea ceremony, ikebana or calligraphy and
painting.
Some background helps you understand the attitude toward the
work. It helps you focus on process in addition to product.
>Perhaps before anyone who foolishly denigrates Zen and mimics Japanese
>aesthetics should refresh their memory of Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591).
>
>
Last night Jean and I watched half of Rikyu, by Hiroshi
Teshigahara. What is very apparent and interesting, is that
Chojiro, the tile maker (who was given the name Raku by Rikyu),
obviously has no aesthetic sensibility. He brings a collection of
tea bowls to Rikyu for him to look at, and Rikyu's best assessment was
"mediocre." The rest were all bad. The next scene is Rikyu
supervising Chojiro's firing and Rikyu comes up with some tea bowls he
assesses them as being very good. One is a treasure.
>BTW I'm not religious in any way I prefer intellectual discourse on our
>relationship to theology much more interesting that practicing any
>particular faith. I prefer the idea of a "Perennial Philosophy" which in my
>lumpen mind is not quite so hypocritical. Thus leading acceptance instead of
>intolerance.
>
>
Me neither. Not in the typical way. As Earl pointed
out, religionists tend to want to talk but not listen.
>Perhaps it is more cognizant of the fugacious nature of our lives.
>
>
Because we have access to all times, places and culture, we
don't have excuses for provincial thinking or behavior, except laziness.
--
lee in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
http://potters.blogspot.com/ WEB LOG
http://claycraft.blogspot.com/ Photos!
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