Zen Flesh, Zen Bones compiled by Paul Reps, published by Penguin books.
I was introduced to this book by a man named Mole, I have a lot
to thank him for. This book has been with me for the last 25 years and is
probably my favourite book, it certainly is the one I've bought and given away the most. So why is it so important to me? Because it has bought me some degree understanding, of myself, my world and the world at large - and therefore a degree of peace and liberation. It has also influenced and helped me with my ability to trust my own judgement in what I do as a photographer.
It is full of Zen and pre-Zen teachings, words games almost, that are set to test your perceptions to release our minds from narrow ways of thinking (e.g., our prejudices, second-hand views, rules and ideas etc, useful once, but perhaps now obsolete), to take us into a new way of experiencing life, thus releasing us into a more open and positive world. Put simply, Zen is about expanding the mind.
The book is divided into four sections representing some of the best in
Zen thinking, these are: 101 Zen Stories, The Gateless Gate, Bulls and
Centering, plus plenty of information on Buddhism and Zen in particular.
That said, it is not a heavy book: though many of the lessons are very
hard to grasp or make sense of. Many of the stories and lessons here are hundreds of years old and come from a world that no longer exists, one in which wandering monks could gain admission to a monastery by the power of their understanding – and could equally be refused if their arguments were not sufficient. So it is also a history lesson, albeit history through the eyes of the monks and monasteries that were once an everyday part of China and Japan.
The texts here are stories designed to help monks and nuns (and the rest
of us) reach enlightenment, or at least to take a step along the way. (Is enlightenment reached in one mighty bound or a series of hops, skips and jumps?) With these you not only see what the story is telling, in that it demonstrates how enlightenment was or wasn't attained, but they are also a look through a telescope back into the old Orient where enlightenment
was a part of the fabric of society. To our way of thinking many of the texts are baffling, not least because our world is so ego-centric – the very antipathy of Zen thinking. But I think the book is well worth the questions it asks of, even if for the simple reason that we all need to break the mould of our thinking in our photography. One of the guiding principles of my own photographic and creative journey is to keep things simple. Which is why, for 99% of my work, I only use one camera and one lens: I get the shot with these or not at all. Zen thinking helps me free myself from the limitations that I have imposed on myself in my quest to become a good photographer.
For randomness in my work see pictures-at-exhibitions and randomised-photography on my website.
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