“From Kensho to Satori”
The Japanese word kensho is used in Zen in the sense of “seeing one’s own true nature,” the Buddha-Nature. Coming to the realization that one is a Buddha, and that all are Buddhas: Buddhas, Buddhas – everywhere!
It is always my hope that a sufferer looking at my painting or photograph will suddenly have this epiphany, this enlightenment.
Kensho and satori both have this meaning. But there is a difference: “it is customary to use the word satori when speaking of the enlightenment of the Buddha or the Zen patriarchs, and to use the word kensho when speaking of an initial enlightenment experience that still requires to be deepened.”*
My further hope for the viewer is that he will then go on to create his own, inspired now to Aspire: from kensho to satori.
* The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion (Boston: Shambhala, 1994).
