Tuesday 18 December 2012

ERNST HAECKEL.... AND RADIOLARIA....











Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (February 16, 1834 – August 9, 1919),                                       was an eminent German biologist, naturalist, philosopher, physician,
professor and artist who discovered, described and named thousands
of new species, mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms,
and coined many terms in biology, including anthropogeny, ecology,
 phylum,
phylogeny, stem cell, and the kingdom Protista.































Monday 17 December 2012

ENSO...Zen Circles of Enlightenment...




                                  ...A few weeks ago I’ve got this beautiful book as a present… time to start my daily enso…









Ensō (円相) is a Japanese word meaning "circle" and a concept strongly associated with Zen. Ensō is one of the most common subjects of Japanese calligraphy even though it is a symbol and not a character. It symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and the void; it can also symbolize the Japanese aesthetic itself. As an "expression of the moment" it is often considered a form of minimalist expressionist art.
In Zen Buddhist painting, ensō symbolizes a moment when the mind is free to simply let the body/spirit create. The brushed ink of the circle is usually done on silk or rice paper in one movement (Bankei, however, occasionally used two strokes) and there is no possibility of modification: it shows the expressive movement of the spirit at that time. Zen Buddhists "believe that the character of the artist is fully exposed in how she or he draws an ensō. Only a person who is mentally and spiritually complete can draw a true ensō. Some artists will practice drawing an ensō daily, as a kind of Spiritual Practice."
Some artists paint ensō with an opening in the circle, while others complete the circle. For the former, the opening may express various ideas, for example that the ensō is not separate, but is part of something greater, or that imperfection is an essential and inherent aspect of existence (see also the idea of broken symmetry). The principle of controlling the balance of composition through asymmetry and irregularity is an important aspect of the Japanese aesthetic: Fukinsei (不均斉), the denial of perfection.
The ensō is also a sacred symbol in the Zen school of Buddhism, and is often used by Zen masters as a form of signature in their religious artwork. For more on the philosophy behind this see Hitsuzendo, the Way of the Brush or Zen Calligraphy.


Hitsuzendo (筆禅道 hitsuzendō), the "Art of the Brush", is believed by Zen Buddhists to be a method of achieving Samādhi (Jap.: samaai) (unification of individual with the highest reality). Hitsuzendo refers specifically to a school of Japanese Zen calligraphy to which the rating system of modern calligraphy (well-proportioned and pleasing to the eye) is foreign. Instead, the calligraphy of Hitsuzendo must breathe with the vitality of eternal experience.

True creativity is not the product of consciousness but rather the "phenomenon of life itself." True creation must arise from mu-shin 無心, the state of "no-mind," in which thought, emotions, and expectations do not matter. Truly skillful Zen calligraphy is not the product of intense "practice;" rather, it is best achieved as the product of the "no-mind" state, a high level of spirituality, and a heart free of disturbances.
To write Zen calligraphic characters that convey truly deep meaning, one must focus intensely and become one with the meaning of the characters they create. In order to do this, one must free his/her mind and heart of disturbances and focus only on the meaning of the character. Becoming one with what you create, essentially, is the philosophy behind Zen Calligraphy and other Japanese arts.

The ebook... 


















“Everything is nothing, with a twist.” - Kurt Vonnegut