The Zen Art Box

About this book

A work of Zen art is a teaching in visual form intended to be contemplated not only for its beauty but for the secrets it contains about being fully human fully alive. As teaching Zen art can be profound perplexing serious humoroussometimes all within the same piece; as art it stands somewhere outside standard aesthetic conventions even those of other schools of Buddhist art. It is most often identified with the expressive medium of calligraphy or brush painting but whatever the mood or medium each work is the tangible record of an unrepeatable moment in the artists mind an expression on paper of his or her understanding of the nature of things. The Zen Art Box contains forty images of brush painting and calligraphy each beautifully reproduced in fine quality on a 6 1/2" x 9" card that you can display on the enclosed folding easel stand. The back of each card includes an explanation of the art by Stephen Addiss along with commentary from John Daido Loori on the Zen wisdom contained in it. Also included is a 32-page color-illustrated booklet with essays on Zen art by both the authors.