Beautiful Imperfection

It is inhumane not to regret the passing of life. And just as inhumane not to dream of paradise.

“Oh for the wings, for the wings of a dove! Far away, far away would I rove. In the wilderness build me a nest, and remain there forever at rest.” Salms

And yet — A dove might loathe flying. There you go, smash the ideal. Return to the uncarved block. The raw, living material of what you are made of.

Sabi (寂)

The beautiful and the must-have in one’s life quality of privacy, practiced by solitude, not merely physical, but the ever flowing experience of creating a mountain of solitude for yourself , even in the middle of an uproar. To not be a rubber stamp. The mood of solitariness. It’s not isolation, it’s a flowing state of inner independence.

Wabi (侘)

The simplicity in life. The sudden recognition of how faithfull the weeds are, growing where no one asked them to. The feeling when you suddenly recognize the water washing off the pebbles where they were there way before you were ever existing and they will keep washing off long after you will be gone. How the chirping of the sparrow in the eves suddenly takes your mind away from important and dreadful business. Simplicity that saves you when you didn’t even know you needed saving

Aware (哀れ)

The humane or the most humanness feeling tone of regret and sadness about life’s impermanence and passing. The regret of the passing of life, which somehow makes that very passing beautiful and fun. To be “perfectly human”, in Zen. The Buddha keeps a small bad habit - to stay human. It’s like the salt in the stew. Even a great sage will have in him a touch of regret that life is fleeting. Without that touch of regret he’s not human and he’s incapable of compassion towards people that regret very much that life is fleeting. Awari is that feeling in the aftermath of a great banquet where the table is dirty, the glasses are empty, and crushed napkins are everywhere. But somehow the merriment is still there.

Furyu (風流)

The sense of the fisherman who digs the atmosphere of fishing, and rather not only fishing to catch fish, but also loving and enjoying whatever he’s happened to experience while trying to catch fish. “Elegance” it is translated. The elegant poorman. The aristocratic bum. Rich poverty. Getting with it and living with style.

Yugen (幽玄)

The flower which grows from the rock. The mysterious emergence of everything from the complete darkness. It is darker than dark. It is blacker than black. In the book of Genesis: “And darkness covered the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Everybody has in their back of their minds an image of THE place that you want to go to. A certain feeling of “there ought to be somewhere the thing i always wanted”. That place far on top of that hill which your heart desires to arrive at. Only to find a mirror. It was you. It is inhumane to not regret the passing of life. And it is likewise inhumane not to have the paradeis fantasy. Of the mysterious place just over the crest of a hill. Seeking and seeking for that thing you gotta have, well, you’ve got it, but nobody is gonna believe it. But there it is, the very thing that you are is the paradise land that you’re looking for at the end of the line. And it’s far more reliable than any kind of external scene you could love or cling to.