L’art de la composition florale, l’ikebana, se présente à l’observateur comme une installation éphémère dans un espace d’intenses circulations. Il se produit une relation dialogique toujours changeante entre des « Je » et des « Tu » — un « Je » et un « Tu » — et la « présence » d’un « entre », un « figural » sans figuration. Quand le « Je » est le maître Sôfû Teshigahara et le « Tu » son fils, (...) le cinéaste Hiroshi Teshigahara, l’installation entraîne la réalisation d’un film, Ikebana, tributaire des complexités liées à l’outil cinématographique — mouvements de la caméra, zooms. Le film achevé, permanent, est-il alors un « Cela », un objet fini, voire obsolète, ou peut-il rester un « Je » vivant susceptible de solliciter de nouveaux « Tu », dans une expérience de « pure vitalité »? The art of floral composition, the ikebana, presents itself to the observer like an ephemeral installation in a space of intense circulations. There is an ever-changing dialogical relationship between “I” and “You”—an “I” and a “You” —and the “presence” of an “in between”, a “figural” without figuration. When the “I” is the master Sôfû Teshigahara and the “You” his son, the filmmaker Hiroshi Teshigahara, the installation involves the making of a film, Ikebana, and the complexities related to the cinematographic tool—movements of the camera, zooms. Is the finished, permanent film then a “That”, a finite or even obsolete object, or can it remain a living “I” capable of soliciting new “You” in an experience of “pure vitality”? (shrink)

This article establishes itself first in a kind of slough, a lack of inspiration, and transvalues this via Fred Wah’s poem “Ikebana” and Roland Barthes’s celebration of haiku as a form that “lacks inspiration.” Following Barthes on “the minimal act of writing that is Notation,” this article explores and theorizes the status of the notational in and for poetics. The article registers and sustains the ambiguity in notatio, notationis and suggests that the notational points to a conceptual dialectic between (...) condensation and dilation. Poets Tonya Foster and W. S. Graham offer key cases, as do the author’s own poems. The article moves from haikus and other short forms (including the imagist poem) to haibuns (a mixed form of verse and prose) to questions of accent as a mode of differentiation from the surround. Drawing on Claudia Rankine and Jacques Rancière (as well as on classical rhetoric), the article also shows how the notational as censure might register antagonisms and not only accents or gestures (as notational forms are typically glossed). Alert to the enmeshment of notational forms with other media—such as the novel and photography—the article suggests in its final turn that a notational poetics can also vivify the (sometimes latent) diegetic aspect of short, minimal, “uninspired,” supposedly “immediate” notational forms and practices, as we see in the dance of notation and annotation, or in the unfolding of haiku within mixed forms such as the haibun. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Zen Pathways: An Introduction to the Philosophy and Practice of Zen Buddhism (禅道の千路) by Bret W. Davis (review)Steve G. LoftsBret W. Davis, Zen Pathways: An Introduction to the Philosophy and Practice of Zen Buddhism (禅道の千路)There is no shortage of books on Zen from almost every imaginable angle. And so, what makes Zen Pathways: An Introduction to the Philosophy and Practice of Zen Buddhism (禅道の千路) by Bret W. Davis unique (...) enough to take up and read, and even re-read? And who should read it? The answers to these questions depend on who you are and what you are looking for. If you are simply curious about what Zen philosophy and practice is or is not, a student, a professor looking for a textbook on Zen Buddhism for your course, or a practitioner seeking to deepen your understanding of what it is that you are practicing, then you will almost certainly enjoy and profit greatly from this book. Davis brings to the page over thirty years of active engagement with Zen Buddhism as a practitioner, teacher of philosophy and Zen Buddhism, and scholar. Davis provides his reader with an accessible, comprehensive, and well-documented introduction to the teachings and practices of Zen Buddhism. What makes this introduction stand out and be particularly effective is that Davis provides us with a scholarly and philosophical account of Zen Buddhism that is animated by his personal experience as a long-term practitioner in Japan at the Rinzai Zen monastery of Shōkokuji and as a teacher and director of the Heart of Zen Meditation Group at Loyola University Maryland. However, as the Japanese subtitle of this work, 禅道の千路, makes clear, there are “a thousand paths of the way of Zen,” and Davis is careful to show us the paths he has traveled while leaving it to the reader to find their own paths along the way.In the course of the book’s twenty-four chapters, Davis provides his reader with a clear account and philosophical interpretation of [End Page 159] the core teachings of Buddhism (the four noble truths, impermanence, the no-self doctrine, co-origination and interconnection of the one and the many, nirvana and samsara, the great death, and so on), always relating his theoretical explanations to the concrete perspective of the practice of Zen Buddhism. His account of Zen Buddhism situates it in the historical tradition of Buddhism as it was transplanted from India to China, from China to Japan, and today from Japan to other places in the world. Davis connects these teachings to the practice of Zen, providing readers with a concrete and firsthand introduction to such Zen practices as zazen (seated meditation), kinhin (walking meditation), sanzen (interviews with a teacher), koān work, and samu (meditative work), and to the Zen practice of cultivating naturalness (jinen) in and through such art forms as karate and flower arrangement (ikebana), the Japanese aesthetics of “cut-continuance” and wabi-sabi, as well as Zen-inspired gardens, painting, and music. The book also explores a number of classical and contemporary philosophical issues from the standpoint of Zen Buddhism: the problem of the one and the many, the ethical relation to the other, the problem of evil, the nature of love, freedom and determinacy, what is God, our relation to nature, and so on. Finally, the presentation of the core teachings of Zen Buddhism and the discussion of philosophical issues is undertaken in and through an intercultural and interreligious dialogue in which the similarities and dissimilarities between different cultural and faith traditions are explored and used to help illustrate the unique standpoint of Zen Buddhism. One can mention here Chapter 12 titled “Dying to Live: Zen, Pure Land Buddhism, and Christianity.” This synoptic view of Zen Buddhism is presented in an elegant, personal style that is clear, concise, and expresses a genuine passion and spirit of openness. In copious endnotes, Davis has also provided the reader with a wealth of material for further study that has been judiciously selected from good English translations of readings in the classical works as well as contemporary scholarship. Finally, with an eye to the use of this text in a classroom or in study groups, Davis has... (shrink)

Face à l’extension d’un art disséminé, nous nous arrêtons sur un registre de pratiques et de notions malentendues, les arts martiaux japonais, confondus avec des « sports de combat ». Par « art » nous entendons une conduite soucieuse de mener une pratique et une production à la perfection, et foncièrement à la perfection de soi, quelle que soit la manière culturelle locale d’envisager cet état d’accomplissement. En regard de l’art du bouquet ( ikebana ), de pratiques shintoïstes (comme (...) le kototama ), nous examinons des notions comme celle d’art martial ou bugei, littéralement l’art ( gei ) d’arrêter la lance ( bu ). Ce que les Occidentaux ont interprété comme un « art de la guerre » se voulait un « art de la paix ». Les arts martiaux japonais mobilisent en ce sens des notions et des expériences parfois connues en Occident comme le ki, l’énergie, ou méconnues comme le shin (le cœur-esprit), le ma (l’espace-temps) ou l’ aï (l’un). Nous nous proposons de démonter un malentendu à partir d’une pratique artistique, le kino-michi, élaboré par Masamichi Noro, dérivée de l’aïkido, en vue de comprendre en quoi ces bugei sont une éducation, une élévation de l’âme et du corps au même titre que la musique ou la danse. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:In Memoriam:Benjamin Lee Wren (1931–2006)Peter A. HuffAlmost a year after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated his beloved New Orleans, Benjamin Wren, longtime member of the history department at Loyola University–New Orleans, died on July 20, 2006. Wren joined the Loyola faculty in 1970 and taught popular courses in Chinese history, Japanese history, and world history. He is best remembered for his unprecedented courses in Zen and the unique campus (...) zendo where he taught them. His courses integrated meditation practice, philosophical reflection, historical investigation, and a bit of group therapy into what many students have described as life-changing experiences.Wren was the son of an American Marine and a Hong Kong native who met in Tientsin, China. Growing up in the American South during the Great Depression and World War II, he encountered firsthand the racism and xenophobia that defined the Bible Belt as a distinct cultural region in the first half of the twentieth century. He entered the Society of Jesus when he was seventeen years of age and earned degrees from Spring Hill College, Saint Louis University, and the University of Arizona. Nearly fifty years later, he left the Jesuits and married Patricia Wren.Wren's professional life did not follow the path of the conventional academic career. For several years he taught in Jesuit high schools. After discovering a book on the Japanese art of flower arranging in a Texas public library, he pursued graduate studies in Asian religion and history. Like many of his generation, he was influenced by Jean Dechanet's Christian Yoga and Dom Aelred Graham's Zen Catholicism. He studied Zen with Yamada Roshi in Kamakura and ikebana with Sofu Teshigahara of the Sogetsu School in Tokyo. He initiated his Zen courses at Loyola partially in response to student unrest in the wake of the Kent State massacre.Wren published very little and did not easily negotiate the tenure process. His Zen among the Magnolias (1999) represents more personal testimony than scholarly argument. He did, however, have the extraordinary ability to stretch his students' imaginations and aspirations beyond the formal limitations of higher education and professional expectations. I saw this dimension of his [End Page 137] work very clearly when he served as the keynote speaker for Centenary College's 2004 one-day conference on "The Dharma in Dixie," a program featuring leaders and practitioners from Louisiana's Hindu and Buddhist communities. Wren's animated talk, fusing a whirlwind tour of Chinese history with a riveting critique of contemporary American culture, was by all accounts the highlight of the event.In Zen among the Magnolias, Wren wrote, "The two symbols used to write the word Zen are the symbols for God and warfare. For us who come out of a Judaic/ Christian background, we have the tradition of Jacob fighting with God and emerging from the fight with a new name, Israel (He who has fought with God)" (p. 7). By the time he spoke at my institution, Wren was already engaged in his final battle with cancer. During the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, we lost track of each other. Then I heard of the memorial service to be held in his honor at an Episcopal church in a New Orleans suburb."Zen Ben" Wren's brand of personal passion and intellectual integrity is a rare commodity in today's corporate academy. "The best teachers," he said, "never lose their student IDs, and they also bring out the master in their respective students" (p. 16). Loyola's zendo once housed an unforgettable teacher. [End Page 138]Peter A. HuffCentenary College of LouisianaCopyright © 2007 The University of Hawai'i Press... (shrink)

In this essay I wish to discuss the theme of wisdom from within the field of aesthetics and to present the aesthetics of Japanese flower art of ikebana, kadô, as an example. Concepts of nature, beauty and wisdom will be related to each other: we have plenty of knowledge of nature, but we need deep wisdom to understand nature of beauty, and spiritual wisdom to see and enjoy beauty of nature. Through flower art of ikebana I search to (...) discover the essence of beauty of nature, a path to wisdom within the saying “See beauty in nature, cultivate elegance in spirit”. (shrink)

When the borderline cases of art occur in non-art categories, the debate of artistic status arises not only with regard to the individual cases but also with regard to the category to which they belong. The identity of the individual case tends to be defined in connection to the category it belongs to. It tends to formulate that, if the individual case is art, then the entire category is also art, and if the category is not art, then the individual (...) case is also not art. Such a view inevitably hampers the artistic status of works arising from the non-art categories. This article argues that the individual cases and their belonging categories need not be strictly interlocking and that they could possess multiple identities depending on the context that they are present. Thus the point shifts from whether the case is or is not art in its absolute sense to ‘when’ is it art. (shrink)