Wabi-sabi
A Japanese tea house which reflects the wabi-sabi aesthetic in Kenroku-en (兼六園) Garden Wabi-sabi (侘寂?) represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete".[1] It is a concept derived from the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence (三法印, sanbōin?), specifically impermanence (無常, mujō?) Description[edit] "Wabi-sabi is the most conspicuous and characteristic feature of traditional Japanese beauty and it occupies roughly the same position in the Japanese pantheon of aesthetic values as do the Greek ideals of beauty and perfection in the West".[1] "If an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi The words wabi and sabi do not translate easily. Modern tea vessel made in the wabi-sabi style Western use[edit]
In Praise of Shadows
In Praise of Shadows (陰翳礼讃 , In'ei Raisan?) is an essay on Japanese aesthetics by the Japanese author and novelist Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. It was translated into English by the academic students of Japanese literature Thomas Harper and Edward Seidensticker. Publication[edit] The essay was originally published in 1933 in Japanese. The translation contains a foreword by architect and educator Charles Moore and an afterword by one of the translators, Thomas J. Much shorter than the author's novels, this book is a small meditative work of 73 pages, of which 59 are the essay itself. Themes[edit] The essay consists of 16 sections that discuss traditional Japanese aesthetics in contrast with change. The text presents personal reflections on topics as diverse as architecture and its fittings, crafts, finishes, jade, food, cosmetics and mono no aware (the art of impermanence). Cultural notes[edit] Featured individuals[edit] Among the historic and contemporary individuals mentioned in the essay are:[4]
Three marks of existence
The Three marks of existence, within Buddhism, are three characteristics (Pali: tilakkhaṇa; Sanskrit: trilakṣaṇa) shared by all sentient beings, namely: impermanence (anicca); suffering or unsatisfactoriness (dukkha); non-self (Anatta). There is often a fourth Dharma Seal mentioned:[citation needed] Together the three characteristics of existence are called ti-lakkhana in Pali or tri-laksana in Sanskrit. By bringing the three (or four) seals into moment-to-moment experience through concentrated awareness, we are said to achieve wisdom—the third of the three higher trainings—the way out of samsara. Thus the method for leaving samsara involves a deep-rooted change in world view. Anicca[4][edit] [Pronounced Anitcha/Anitya] All compounded phenomena (things and experiences) are inconstant, unsteady, and impermanent. Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche states that in the four seals of the Mahayana, Nirvana should be viewed as "beyond extremes". Dukkha[edit] Anatta[edit] See also[edit] Buddhism
LUMEN HAS GONE TO THE BIRDS
In case you didn’t see them when they came out this spring, Adam Frank‘s latest line of lumen lamps is not to be missed. We fell instantly in love with his first version — a silhouette of a tree — and the new trio of bird designs sent us head-over-heels. All you do is light the little oil lamp and a shadow flock of birds erupts onto your wall. Adam Frank just generously donated a Lumen Flock to our Inhabitat reader survey giveaway, so if you take the survey now, one member of this flock could be yours…
Saudade
Saudade (European Portuguese: [sɐwˈðaðɨ], Brazilian Portuguese: [sawˈdadi] or [sawˈdadʒi], Galician: [sawˈðaðe]; plural saudades)[1] is a Portuguese and Galician word that has no direct translation in English. It describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves. Moreover, it often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing may never return.[2] A stronger form of saudade may be felt towards people and things whose whereabouts are unknown, such as a lost lover, or a family member who has gone missing. Saudade was once described as "the love that remains" after someone is gone. Saudade is the recollection of feelings, experiences, places or events that once brought excitement, pleasure, well-being, which now triggers the senses and makes one live again. In Brazil, the day of Saudade is officially celebrated on 30 January.[3][4] History[edit] Origins[edit] Definition[edit] Elements[edit] Music[edit]
Zen And The Shadow Art Of The Riddled Table
When a table and the light that passes through its glass top and sculpted stands creates such "rippled" shadows as those from the Rippled Table, it cries out for its own special room, a meditation room. It would be a dark room, even during daylight, and whatever light there was would come from a single source, a skylight or spotlight. Just one person at a time would enter, sit on a straight-back chair, above the level of the Rippled Table, and explore the infinite intricacies of the shadows formed by the Rippled Table niches and its light. Was meditation what American architect Stephen Holl had in mind when he created the Rippled Table? Perhaps. He is especially known for blending and bending light with the details of his architectural design but his architectural works are also admired for their spiritual qualities. Look at the difference in effects, now that the Rippled Table is shown in full photographic lighting. And again, photographed at an angle... source: Horm via 3Rings.
Macabre kids’ book art by Gojin Ishihara
Here is a collection of wonderfully weird illustrations by Gōjin Ishihara, whose work graced the pages of numerous kids' books in the 1970s. The first 16 images below appeared in the "Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters" (1972), which profiled supernatural creatures from Japanese legend. The other illustrations appeared in various educational and entertainment-oriented publications for children. - Kappa (river imp), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972 - Jorōgumo (lit. - Kubire-oni (strangler demon), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972 - Rokurokubi (long-necked woman), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972 - Onmoraki (bird demon), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972 - Nekomata (cat monster), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972 - Tengu (bird-like demon), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972 - Tenjō-sagari (ceiling dweller), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972 - Enma Dai-Ō (King of Hell), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972
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Crater Lake Application Diagram Structural and Surface Plans Side and Front Elevations Part 2 Components Construction Matrix Kobe City in the Background
Average Faces From Around The World
Added on Feb 08, 2011 / Category : StrangeNews / 228 Comments Finding the average face of people across the world was a tough job but someone had to do it. This guy basically takes a thousands and thousands images of everyday people from any city and the software makes an 'average' of the people, giving one final portrait. If you like this article, Share it with the world:
