In Person and Online

Japanese Zen Aesthetics with Enkyo Roshi & Guest Mitsue Nagase

Sunday, July 14
9:30am — 11:25am

Join Us for a Talk by Enkyo Roshi

Japanese Zen Aesthetics

with Special Guest: Mitsue Nagase

Following a talk by Enkyo Roshi, Mitsue Nagse will introduce her book:

Gardens of Awakening

A Guide to the Aesthetics, History, and Spirituality

of Kyoto’s Zen Landscapes

Written by Kaz Tanahashi with Photographs by Mitsue Nagase

Publishers Note: Renowned artist Kaz Tanahashi reveals the deep, inner spiritual connections that Zen gardens can foster, with over 75 stunning full-color photos of the masterpiece gardens of Kyōto, Japan.

Imagine yourself in Kyōto, Japan, gazing at an ancient temple garden. How would you contextualize what you are seeing? What is the history of the contemplative art form of Zen gardening, which has flourished for centuries? What aesthetic principles inform it?

Richly illustrated with full-color photographs, Gardens of Awakening guides you through a series of Zen temple gardens created from the fourteenth through seventeenth centuries. Some are teeming with plants and flowing water, while others have only rocks and sand. All share in the Zen aesthetics of awakening.

Through essays and commentary on Mitsue Nagase’s striking photographs, beloved Zen artist and translator Kaz Tanahashi presents the gardens in terms of seven qualities that arise from Zen practice: direct, ordinary, vigorous, gleaming, pivotal, nondual, and inexhaustible. Relating these qualities to the development of Zen culture and its influence on Japanese art, Gardens of Awakening invites you deep into the heart of Zen.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase.

MITSUE NAGASE is a photographer who divides her time between her native Japan, Germany, and the U.S. Her photography is influenced by her studies in Miksang, a contemplative approach to photography as a spiritual practice, which she also teaches. For further information about her work and activities, visit: www.mitsuenagase.com.

KAZUAKI TANAHASHI, a Japanese-trained calligrapher, is the pioneer of the genre of “one-stroke painting” as well as the creator of multicolor enso (Zen circles). His brushwork has been shown in exhibitions in galleries, museums, and universities all over the world. Tanahashi is the author of over forty books, including Painting PeaceHeart of the Brush, and The Heart Sutra.

Schedule:

9:30 – 9:35 Service
9:35 – 10:05 Zazen
10:05 – 10:15 Kinhin
10:15 – 10:45 Zazen
10:45 – 10:55 Kinhin
10:55 – 11:25 Dharma talk with presentation

Connect with Us

Join Village Zendo's newsletter to receive updates on events, workshops and retreats, and our monthly bulletin.

Thank you for subscribing!