文章基本信息

标题：Art through Zen
作者：Bill Williams The Hartford Courant
期刊名称：Spokesman Review, The (Spokane)
出版年度：2004
卷号：Aug 7, 2004
出版社：Cowles Publishing Co.

Art through Zen

Bill Williams The Hartford Courant

Art through Zen "The Zen of Creativity: Cultivating Your Artistic Life" By John Daido Loori (Ballantine, 248 pages, $25.95)

BOOK REVIEW

Author connects creative process with spirituality

By Bill Williams

The Hartford Courant

"The Zen of Creativity: Cultivating Your Artistic Life"

By John Daido Loori (Ballantine, 248 pages, $25.95)

John Daido Loori has gained a reputation as a master photographer and teacher in the 24 years since he purchased a former Benedictine monastery in Mount Tremper, N.Y., and turned it into the Zen Arts Center and Zen Mountain Monastery.

"The Zen of Creativity: Cultivating Your Artistic Life" illuminates the creative process, while also shedding light on Zen Buddhism.

Loori notes that art - painting, music, calligraphy, photography - is woven into Zen training as a way of expressing "eternal truths about the nature of reality and our place in the universe."

He advises beginners to trust their intuition. He emphasizes simplicity, stillness, spontaneity and joy. Inviting black-and-white photographs and calligraphy are scattered throughout the book.

My favorite chapter is "Mystery," a concept Loori calls "the lifeblood that pumps through true religious and artistic practice." His descriptions mirror those found in other religious traditions that point to a spiritual mystery beyond words or concepts.

Loori sees photography as a sacred experience. He will spend hours sitting before a scene in nature before taking a picture, waiting and trusting. When finished, he bows in gratitude. He advises readers to trust their spiritual practice, the creative process and themselves.

Lest anyone think that grasping Zen is easy, Loori ends with this advice: "If you walk away from this book thinking you understand Zen or creativity, then I have failed."

___