The Zen of Creativity: Cultivating Your Artistic Life
by John Daido Loori
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Description
For many of us, the return of Zen conjures up images of rock gardens and gently flowing waterfalls. We think of mindfulness and meditation, immersion in a state of being where meaning is found through simplicity. Zen lore has been absorbed by Western practitioners and pop culture alike, yet there is a specific area of this ancient tradition that hasn't been fully explored in the West. Now, in The Zen of Creativity, American Zen master John Daido Loori presents a book that taps the principles show more of the Zen arts and aesthetic as a means to unlock creativity and find freedom in the various dimensions of our existence. Loori dissolves the barriers between art and spirituality, opening up the possibility of meeting life with spontaneity, grace, and peace. Zen Buddhism is steeped in the arts. In spiritual ways, calligraphy, poetry, painting, the tea ceremony, and flower arranging can point us toward our essential, boundless nature. Brilliantly interpreting the teachings of the artless arts, Loori illuminates various elements that awaken our creativity, among them still point, the center of each moment that focuses on the tranquility within; simplicity, in which the creative process is uncluttered and unlimited, like a cloudless sky; spontaneity, a way to navigate through life without preconceptions, with a freshness in which everything becomes new; mystery, a sense of trust in the unknown; creative feedback, the systematic use of an audience to receive noncritical input about our art; art koans, exercises based on paradoxical questions that can be resolved only through artistic expression. Loori shows how these elements interpenetrate and function not only in art, but in all our endeavors. Beautifully illustrated and punctuated with poems and reflections from Loori's own spiritual journey, The Zen of Creativity presents a multilayered, bottomless source of insight into our creativity. Appealing equally to spiritual seekers, artists, and veteran Buddhist practitioners, this book is perfect for those wishing to discover new means of self-awareness and expression--and to restore equanimity and freedom amid the vicissitudes of our lives. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This book is what Julia Cameron's "Artist's Way" should have been (sorry, my opinion!): anecdotal, with exercises, but without the self-indulgence. In fact, rather than engaging in perpetual self reflection, he pulls us away from our preoccupation with ourselves and into the world of the "object as it is"
I'm not sure why: but the concept of Zen is intriguing; especially because I live in a non zen world. To see the concept tied to creativity was interesting; but it's one of those type of books which you need to read over and over because the author did not take the time to make the zen creativity tips concrete; but then again: can zen be concrete? It's one of those books you don't want to pass on or discard: but I can't figure out why.
This is an amazing book, by the great Zen teacher John Daido Loori
Zen ja luovuus tutkii ja pohtii luovaa prosessia syvällä filosofisella tasolla, sekä käsittelee zenbuddhalaista itämaista taidetta ja näiden yhteyksiä.
Dec 15, 2015Finnish
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Author Information
60+ Works 1,954 Members
John Daido Loori (1931-2009) was one of the West's leading Zen masters and the author of numerous books, including The Eight Gates of Zen and The True Dharma Eye. He was the founder and director of the Mountains and Rivers Order (MRO), an organization of Zen Buddhist temples, practice centers, and meditation groups in the United States and abroad. show more He also founded Dharma Communications, an educational and outreach branch of the MRO. show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Zen of Creativity: Cultivating Your Artistic Life
- Original publication date
- 2004
- Epigraph
- Come said the muse,
Sing me a song no poet yet has chanted,
Sing me the universal.
In this broad earth of ours,
Amid the measureless grossness and the slag,
Enclosed and safe within its central heart,
Ne... (show all)stles the seed perfection.
-- Walt Whitman - First words
- Creativity is our birthright.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)On the other hand, if you can appreciate the process and are willing to engage it, you will have a way to return to your inherent perfection, the intrinsic wisdom of your life.
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- Members
- 277
- Popularity
- 116,003
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (4.03)
- Languages
- English, Finnish, Hebrew
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
- ASINs
- 1
