幽玄 The Two Main Elements In Noh Acting Were Monomane, “an Imitation Of Things,” Or The Representational
幽玄 The two main elements in Noh acting were monomane, “an imitation of things,” or the representational aspect, and 幽玄 yūgen, the symbolic aspect and spiritual core of the Noh, which took precedence and which became the touchstone of excellence in the Noh. Zeami wrote, “The essence of yūgen is true beauty and gentleness,” but not mere outward beauty: it had to suggest behind the text of the plays and the noble gestures of the actors a world impossible to define yet ultimately real. Such plays as Matsukaze, written by Kan’ami and adapted by Zeami, have a mysterious stillness that seems to envelop the visible or audible parts of the work. In other of Zeami’s dramas there is less yūgen and more action and, occasionally, even realism. Yūgen (幽玄) is one of the important concepts in traditional Japanese aesthetics. The exact translation of the word depends on the context. In the Chinese philosophical texts the term was taken from, 幽玄 yūgen meant “dim”, “deep” or “mysterious”. In the criticism of Japanese waka poetry, it was used to describe the subtle profundity of things that are only vaguely suggested by the poems. Yūgen is said to mean “a profound, mysterious sense of the beauty of the universe… and the sad beauty of human suffering”. Yūgen suggests that beyond what can be said but is not an allusion to another world. It is about this world, this experience. Ortolani, 325). Ortolani, Benito. The Japanese Theatre. Princeton University Press: Princeton, 1995
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La femme a une puissance singulière qui se compose de la réalité de la force et de l'apparence de la faiblesse.
- Victor Hugo
I have no wings, but still I fly in the sky; I have no magical power, yet like magic I journey throughout realms of illusory display, here and there, in nine directions, exploring the connections of my karma. ~ Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
常道，常名
Each ball is travelling in a straight line... but end up in a fantastic illusion
Source
Solid — like a body — sustained — loved — by the translucent — transparent and transubstantial— 道
“Baikal Zen”: Rocks that have fallen on the ice of Lake Baikal are heated by sunlight and emit infrared rays that melt the ice below. Once the sun is gone, the ice becomes solid again, creating a small support for the rock above.
The real sign of accomplishment is the decreasing of your afflictive emotions, and that your mind is becoming more peaceful. ~ Yangthang Rinpoche
Path of Life I, 1958, M.C. Escher
Medium: woodcut
Sanity Sanctity
The Fitting, Mary Cassatt, 1890-1891, Cleveland Museum of Art
I do kind gestures. Remove my appendix.
I put my ear to a flat shell and—nothing.
I play the lottery ironically. Get married.
Have a smear test. I put my ear to the beak
of a dead bird—nothing. I grow wisdom
teeth. Jog. I pick up a toddler’s telephone,
Hello? — No answer. I change a light bulb
on my own. Organize a large party. Hire
a clown. Attend a four-day stonewalling
course. Have a baby. Stop eating Coco Pops.
I put my ear right up to the slack and gaping
bonnet of a daffodil—. Get divorced. Floss.
Describe a younger person’s music taste as
“just noise.” Enjoy perusing a garden centre.
Sit in a pub without drinking. I stand at the
lip of a pouting valley—speak to me!
My echo plagiarizes. I land a real love plus
two real cats. I never meet the talking bird
again. Or the yawning hole. The panther
of purple wisps who prowls inside the air.
I change nappies. Donate my eggs. Learn
a profound lesson about sacrifice. Brunch.
No singing floorboards. No vents leaking
scentless instructions. My mission is over.
The world has zipped up her second mouth.
― Sanity, by Caroline Bird
Source: Poetry (February 2019)
“Drink water from the spring where horses drink. The horse will never drink bad water.
Lay your bed where the cat sleeps.
Eat the fruit that has been touched by a worm.
Boldly pick the mushroom on which the insects sit.
Plant the tree where the mole digs.
Build your house where the snake sits to warm itself.
Dig your fountain where the birds hide from heat.
Go to sleep and wake up at the same time with the birds – you will reap all of the days golden grains.
Eat more green – you will have strong legs and a resistant heart, like the beings of the forest.
Swim often and you will feel on earth like the fish in the water.
Look at the sky as often as possible and your thoughts will become light and clear.
Be quiet a lot, speak little – and silence will come in your heart, and your spirit will be calm and full of peace.”
- Saint Seraphim of Sarov
