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Facets of a Diamond - Blog

“Zen (and Not)”

 

Minimalist abstract black and white sumi ink painting with only two brush strokes, created for healing

Painting by John Diamond, M.D.

 

D. T. Suzuki writes that artists influenced by Zen “tend to use the fewest … strokes of the brush to express their feelings.”[1]

In that case, my paintings – now – are certainly Zen: very few strokes, so many only one.

But, to go further: what feeling to express?

The only one that really matters is Matrophilia. Well, I may not express that feeling – but at least I do acknowledge my mother and the need to express gratitude for her love.

Is there a haiku – even one – about the poet’s mother?

So, I am Zen
(sort of)
– and not.

[1] Zen and Japanese Culture (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1970), 257.

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