I have started my online Sumi-e school this year. It is interesting how when you are delivering your thoughts and knowledge, you re-evaluate them….. So as it is Easter time, I decided to revisit my Easter blog post from two years ago to see how true the thought I expressed there are for me now. As Easter is the time of rebirth and renewal, first I thought that the butterfly would be a more appropriate image for the occasion… It was a rabbit in my previous one.
The Easter had made me ponder as to where do the Eastern philosophies and art stand in this Christian (maybe pagan as well, let’s say universal) holiday.
Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ, with the importance of it being the receiving of his teachings and his wisdom. I do find that these teachings are similar to Taoist and Buddhist teachings, thus universal. Like Taoist and Buddhist teachings, Christian teachings help us see our place in the cosmos, live more with the awareness of the whole, be kind and compassionate to every living thing. When we understand and practice these teachings truly, as being (experientially), our consciousness deepens…. we understand the essence of life.
It is this understanding that comes out in art, as an extension of the art of living. Especially in the Sumi-e way of seeing and painting, as its main preoccupation is to depict the essence; that great spiritual force of life.
As far as the Taoist philosophies are concerned, the Easter reminds us the circular aspect of life…. the promise of beauty and abundant life after death
Happy Easter!