This Sunday, I attended a Zen workshop. 

The subject has always intrigued me in my quest for the Truth.  And, from the little I know of it, I find that Buddhism and the Zen way of life comes closest to my own belief of how a religion should be.  There is still much left to learn, of course.  And I hope to build on my understanding of the subject in the years to come. 

For now, let me share with you an interesting concept in Zen…

One of the most frequently occurring designs in Zen brush paintings is that of the simple open circle or enso.  Enso represents the void, the infinite, the Tao, simple existence, impermanence, emptiness, the loss of self, and enlightenment. It represents samsara, the circle of life and death. It represents the true nature of reality. This simple brushed circle, seen again and again in the meditative art of Zen practitioners really is the essence of Zen itself. Simplicity is everywhere — in the black and white ink; the single spontaneous yet mindful stroke of the brush; the circle, most simple of shapes; and in the mind of the artist, at peace or in the search for it, finding enlightenment and ultimate reality in the void.

“Enso” is a part of what is known as the ‘Ten Bulls of Zen’ – a series of paintings depicting the stages of the journey to enlightenment.

Emptiness is not a vacuum, a black hole, but the possibility of endless transformations. There is no more grasping, or self-created barriers and limitations. The Buddha-nature can shine through and express itself fully.

How simple, yet profound.