Zen Art for Meditation [Mass Market Paperback]

Stewart W. Holmes (Author), Chimyo Horioka (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1978

This book is about emptiness and silence—the mind-expanding emptiness of Zen painting, and the reverberating silence of haiku poetry. Through imaginative participation in the visions of painters and poets, its readers are led to the realization that, in the author's words, "emptiness, silence, is not nothingness, but fullness. Your fullness."

This cultural tradition has informed many distinguished lives and works of art. The work of painters like Niten, Liang K'ai, and Toba, and of painters like Basho, Buson, and Issa reflects the wholeness, spontaneity, and humanity of the Zen vision. Those who desire a glimpse into the world of intuitive contact with nature offered by Zen meditation will find these paintings, commentaries, and haiku poems especially rewarding. They enable the reader to experience the unique power of Zen art—it's capacity to fuse esthetic appreciation, personal intuition, and knowledge of life into one creative event.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stewart W. Holmes has made extensive forays--via general semantics and Zen--into the realm of nonverbal experience. As an officer of the Cambridge Buddhist Association, he was well acquainted with its former president, the eminent Zen scholar Daisetz Suzuki. Dr. Shinichi Hisamatsu, the founder of the Association, was his first Zen master. Among his other publications are Meaning in Language and articles for a number of journals. At present Dr. Holmes, who holds a Ph.D. in English from Yale University, is on the English faculty of Castleton State College, Vermont.

Chimyo Horioka, who is responsible for the nonverbal aspects of this volume, is Far Eastern Librarian in the Asiatic Department of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and author of many articles on Buddhist art. A priest of the Shingon sect and graduate of Koyasan University, he also studied philosophy at Hamburg and Koenigsberg universities. He has been president of the Cambridge Buddhist Association since the death of Dr. Daisetz Suzuki in 1966.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 116 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing (December 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804812551
• ISBN-13: 978-0804812559
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #666,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Japanese & Haiku
  • #34 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Asia > Japan
  • #85 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > Meditations

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply beautiful, timeless book., January 12, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Memphis, Tennesse, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zen Art for Meditation (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought my copy of this small treasure fifteen years ago, and few books have ever worn so well. It is as fresh and beautiful for me today as when I first read it. The book is divided into fifteen chapters, each devoted to a central tenet of Zen Buddhism, which is then elaborated upon through the presentation of several Chinese or Japanese paintings and a number of haiku, all of which are masterfully related to the tenet through a simple prose explantion. The tone is often light and playful, but the insights are profound, and the various parts of the book flow together flawlessly. It is a true pleasure to have and to read. You can't go wrong here.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for your backpack, March 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Zen Art for Meditation (Mass Market Paperback)

One copy of this elegant book lives in my backpack. On a 15-day walk through Wales, I used the 15 tenets -- around which the book is organized -- one each day, as the focus for that day's experiences. Holmes's Zen tenets enriched this hike immeasurably. The insights connecting text, art, and haiku are freshly realized with each meditative dip into this timeless book.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightened reading, April 7, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Zen Art for Meditation (Mass Market Paperback)

A wonderful little book, for those intertested in zen and haiku and Asian art. We in introduced to the inter-connectedness of the haiku poets and the paintings, which reflect the spirt of enlightenment. Contains many of the great haiku of the past. An excellent starter book for someone who is curious about zen, and also a fine refresher course for the long-time student of Eastern thought. I've bought many copies as gifts for friends. Highly recommended