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Meditative Drawing

in Pen & Ink

A Zen-Tango Workshop Manual with Armida Nagy Stickney

7/17/2010

Zen-Tango Workshop 2010

Compiled, Edited, and Written by Armida Nagy Stickney © 2010

Page | 2

―First thought, best thought‖—Vidyadharma Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche



Page | 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2 / Dedication

3/ Table of contents

5 / Introduction and matters of administration

Intention / good in the beginning

6/ Activities of the workshop / good in the middle

7/ Overview

8 / Doodling

9 / Zentangle as an artwork

Dedicated to

The dignity of every artist who seeks to bring out the goodness

and essential quality of the situation he or she reflects -- dignity

that comes from the artist's interest in the

details of life and sense of appreciation for

experience.



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10 / Zendoodle sampler

11 / Zandala as an art form

12 / Zen-Tango as an art form

13 / As a Zen practice

15 / Imagery exercise

16 / How to create the art form

17 / Symbolism in doodling

20 / Uses of doodles, zentangles, zendalas, and Zen-Tangos

As a gift or commission

21 / Resources

21 / Examples, more

26 / Zen-Tango exercise – ―ecological awareness‖

27 / Gratitude & closing intention / good in the end

APPENDICES

A / Article on facilitator 28

B / Mandala template 30

C / Zen tenets or principles 31

D / The Flower Sermon 32

E / ―The Groom‘s Arrival‖ by Paul Klee 34

F / Yin Yang symbol 35

36 / Notes and doodles



Page | 5

INTRODUCTION AND MATTERS OF ADMINISTRATION

Introducing others and self / reprint of article about facilitator (Appendix A)

Interest in workshop - feedback

Restroom locations

Payment to Sponsor

Supply needs if any

INTENTION / good in the beginning

Acknowledging that creativity takes courage (Henri Matisse quote), we are here to be with our awareness, being aware of our awareness, as we enter into the quiet, meditative zone of transmission and of receptivity of creative insights for the benefit of all beings.

“Gathering Love from above and below”



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ACTIVITIES OF THE WORKSHOP / good in the middle

Expectations expressed

Quick review of content of folder

Purification breathing (mind and breath as an experience of mindfulness)

Centering to quiet the mind, listening to space music – find the central beat,

focus your awareness there as you expand the awareness to the surrounding

instrumentation

Right-brain, left-brain, concentrated focus?

Exercise: Visualization (creating new visions in imagination)

Doodling, Zentangles, Zen-Tango explained

Exercise: Scribble and doodle as pure contouring with pen and ink

Explaining the Zen aspect of the workshop, balance, visualization

Quick review of 15 Zen tenets, focusing on i, iii, vii, viii, ix, xi, xiv. xv (in italics)

Illustratiojn: In pencil, section paper into small squares or rectangles to create

sampler / illustrate – for example, circles, squares, lines, variations of these

Exercise: Zendoodle sampler

Exercise: Zentangle creation

Exercise: Excursion into nature or observing surroundings for patterns

Exercise: Zendala (to create and to observe signature style of each participant)

Exercise: Zen-Tango, drawing a chalice as the focal object

Final product(s): Artist Trading Card to exchange here and Greeting Card to

take home

As facilitator, my expectation is to have the participants relax and open themselves

to the phenomenal world, allowing them to bring out the goodness and dignity of each that comes from their interest

in the details of life and sense of appreciation for experience.

Symbol of spirit or soul; the idea of essence



Page | 7

OVERVIEW

Anyone can create beautiful images from repetitive patterns. This method is

easy to learn and easy to do. And even though it is a specified series of steps, it

results in a creative expression that transcends its own rules.

As an art form, it is an unusual approach to art because you have no idea what

its result will be when you begin, for your creation is not restricted by your

expectations.

The method is not limited by technology although it can be. There are a lot of

tools on the internet you can use. Non-technically speaking, your creativity is

not directed by how someone else wrote a particular software program, nor

does it need batteries or electricity, computers, mice, screens and keyboards.

It simply returns us to that fundamentally human behavior of manipulating

symbols and putting marks on paper. You will discover that you can

deliberately relax and intentionally direct your attention while creating beautiful

works of art, thus making it an empowering and uplifting experience.

All it requires is a pen, paper, and you. You can experiment with any pen and

nib until you find the pens you like. You can try different weights and surfaces of

paper. You can spend hardly little or can buy a kit worth about $50.00 and

purchase Pigma Micron pens for about $2.70 each. For spontaneity, I

recommend you carry with you a flip note mini notebook to capture patterns

throughout a day of exploration.



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DOODLING

Americanism defined, as a verb, to draw or scribble idly, to waste time in an aimless or

foolish activity. As a noun, a design, figure, or the like, made by idle scribbling. Archaic:

a foolish or silly person.

About creative doodling:

To encourage this creative process, Dr. Jonathan Schooler, Psychiatrist at the University

of California, Santa Barbara, says, it may help if you go jogging, take a walk, do some

knitting or just sit around doodling, because relatively undemanding skills seem to free

your mind to wander productively. But you also want to be able to catch yourself at

the Eureka moment.

―For creativity you need your mind to wander, but you also need to be able to notice

that you‘re mind wandering and catch the idea when you have it. If Archimedes

[Einstein or Leonardo Da Vinci] had come up with a solution in the bathtub but didn‘t

notice he‘d had the idea, what good would it have done him?‖



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ZENTANGLE AS AN ART FORM

A zentangle is a ―doodle‖ drawing using repetitive patterns. It is usually structured within

a certain shape.

Also referred to as a zendoodle.



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ZENDOODLE SAMPLER

A collection of individual patterns for reference (creating a thumbnail booklet or

reference cards).



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ZENDALA AS AN ART FORM

A zendala is a mandala hybrid of a zentangle or Zen-Tango drawing using repetitive

patterns within a circle.

The word mandala itself is derived from the root manda, which means essence, to

which the suffix la, meaning container, has been added. Thus, mandala is a container

of essence. As an image, it may symbolize both the mind and the body. The center

can be symbolic manifestation of self.

Appendix B is a template to create a mandala. In workshop, to share with others one‘s

signature (characteristic style).

Inner Waves

As sacred art, MANDALA thangha representing

the Buddha



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ZEN-TANGO AS AN ART FORM

A Zen-Tango has been coined by me to

reflect the phenomenon of tango

physics, a quantum physics concept,

Namely, by introducing a conceptual

object into a space—like a shoe or

chalice or human face—to the field of

strings within the space, we are creating

a relationship between two types of

elementary particles: The tanguera (f)

and

its complementary tanguero (m)

particle. Simply stated, one charges

the other and creates a field of

attraction.

The quantity of charge is directly

proportional to the shape of the object.

There is a constant interaction and

introduces a potentially unstable

effect—you simple have no idea how it

will look when finished. It takes two

fields to tango.

Begin Where You End (left)

Adapting Zen-Tango to a larger painting, Holding the Space‖ (40x18 inches) (right)



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AS A ZEN PRACTICE

Because of the simplicity of creating a ―sophisticated‖ doodle, anyone can enter

the 'zone' and be relaxed and focused at the same time.

An authentic Zentangle, Zendala, or Zen-Tango relies on certain ritualistic steps that,

similar to more conventional forms of meditation, require minimal preparation: a

thought and an intent.

Preparing for ―Zentangling,‖ ―Zendalaing,‖ or‖ Zen-Tangoing‖ requires that a pen and

paper are comfortably in hand.

Each line/stroke is deliberate, intentional. If disciplined, 'meditate,' using the

―Zentangling‖ anywhere. You draw each stroke consciously and deliberately.

We are always making "strokes" with thoughts, words, deeds in our life. In fact, by

brining awareness to each deliberate stroke, you may be able to understand how

those apparently small and insignificant "strokes" of our moment-to-moment lives

contribute to one‘s conditioned responses as simply energy patterns.

The deliberate focus of each pen stroke focuses your attention as in meditation or as in

being "in the zone." As your eye follows your pen strokes, your attention shifts to a state

that allows fresh thoughts, new perspectives, and creative insights to flow unhindered

by anxiety or effort.

This concentration focus integrates both left and right hemispheres of the brain.

Quoting from The Intention Experiment by Lynne McTaggart, author of The Field, “until

recently, scientists believed that the two sides of the brain work more or less

independently. The left side was depicted as the “accountant,” responsible for

logical, analytical, linear thinking, and speech; and the right side as the “artist,”

providing spatial orientation, musical and artistic ability, and intuition. But Peter

Fenwick, consultant neuropsychiatrist at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford and the

Institute of Psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital gathered evidence to show that speech

and many other functions are produced in both sides of the brain and that the brain

works best when it can operate as a totality. During meditation, both sides

communicate in a particularly harmonious manner.” Furthermore, concentrated

attention not only enlarges certain mechanism of perception, it also tunes out “noise,”

freeing the brain to focus on a single thought: an awareness of what is happening at

the present moment.” This all happens in the act of meditation.



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See Appendix C for 15 Zen principles one of which is ―the realities of life are most truly

seen in everyday things and actions.‖ Those principles typed in italics apply to the

process of ―Zen-Tangoing.‖

The following two Haikus, each made to be read in one breath, focus on the essence of

the Zen-Tango process:

Experience mind Instant Presence, body-breath Lines fade into one Experience mind Here and now body and breath Lines becoming one

It was at the Flower Sermon in India, given by the Buddha, that “ZEN” had its beginnings

as a concept and philosophy. Though some may say that Zen is a religion, it is not. A

religion requires a deity, and there is no deity in Zen. See Appendix D for a brief

description of its effect to the development of mind experiences.



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IMAGERY EXERCISE

To create new visions in imagination, you will be guided to visualize mirrors to

reflect changes in your mind. Both spheres of the brain will be exercised. You

will be noting movement from the right to the left—this pushes things into the

past. You will notice movement from the left to the right—this pushes things

into the future. Opening your eyes, will you be present?

Close your eyes.

Breathe out three times—full and noisy if necessary.

Counting backwards from three to one, as you breathe out each time,

it is count 3, count 2, and count 1.

At one (1), breathe out once more to see the one (1) become a zero (0).

See the zero (0) growing in size and becoming a circular mirror.

Looking into the mirror, see a disturbing, damaging, or destructive

situations happening in your community, the nation, or the world.

Breathe out once, and wipe the image away—off the mirror, from right to

left, with your left hand.

Now, turn the mirror over to see a positive change, movement or

development happening in your community, the nation, or the world.

Breathe out once, and wipe the image away—off the mirror from left to

right, with your right hand.

Breathe out once more before you open your eyes.

Reflect on your first thought. Write it down or draw it.

Source: Healing into Immortality by Gerald Epstein

Then, let it go.

Note:

o From left to right (hemisphere): future thoughts

o From right to left (hemisphere): past thoughts

o Focus inwardly at the Third Eye (the pineal gland): Present thoughts or

emptiness?

It is held that when the pineal gland becomes activated, it activates the

line of communication between self and higher planes.



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HOW TO CREATE THE ARTFORM

Draw a border outlining the shape of the zentangle, zendala, or Zen-Tango.

It is very common to use a square shape. The shape can be any size or shape.

At the beginning, the shape is usually relatively small (about 3-5 inches wide) as

most are completed in one sitting. Option is to tape off the areas to remain

blank.

Draw strings.

Strings are lines that divide the shape into individual cells. Draw curved lines,

zigzags, and/or some straight lines to section off each cell. Option is to draw one

continuous line.

See Appendix E to view a famous doodle painting plus one more.

You can start out with pencil and then go over it with pen and ink. Use a good gum

eraser to remove the pencil marks.

Fill one cell at a time with a repetitive pattern.

Just draw. The purpose is to let your mind/hand connection flow with patterns

that already stored in your mind. There is no need to plan a pattern; planning is

optional.

Repeat with each cell another repetitive pattern.

Change the pattern within each cell. Add another pattern within a cell. Build

several patterns within a cell.

Tip: Use contrasting patterns of design between adjacent/contiguous cells

patterns for balance. Balance dark and

light elements. White space should be

employed so that there is a flowing quality

to the drawing. Some can get heavy and

or dark if that is not your intention.

Fill in areas with a more porous point pen.

Add color or shading as desired.



Page | 17

SYMBOLISM IN DOODLING

They tend to represent the early development of visual vocabulary. Some images tend

to characterize gender propensities—for example, favoring circles over straight lines or

flowers over arrows, or drawing three-dimensional boxes.

Doodles of flowers indicate a gentle personality, a love of nature, sometimes childlike

innocence or wistfulness. They represent the feminine, passive aspect of the universe.

Some flowers, with a star-like structure, represent the sun or the masculine.

Doodles of arrows indicate an active personality, moving forward, exploring, having

keen time awareness of the future. They represent ambition, sometimes aggression,

desire for action. As a careful outline, they indicate a desire for progression or

advancement, especially if it is pointed upwards. Traditionally, arrows have a

masculine connotation.



Page | 18

Doodles of boxes and perspective forms are considered quite an advanced stage in

artistic development. They can hark back to our experience of artistic training—

drawing class, technical drawing. It can indicate an ordered mind and love of routine.

People with a good sense of spatial relationships engage in 3-D boxes. A stack of

boxes might indicate great stress, especially if the stack looks as if it can topple.

Artists, designers, and others who use technical drawing or geometry are often

interested in three-dimensional drawing and enjoy experimenting with its forms. Drawing

these shapes may be motivated by a requirement to experiment with design, or an

experience of interesting three-dimensional illusions, such as in an Escher drawing.

In any event, it is a creative expression of your present energy-stillness or your energy in

a given point in “time.”

To decipher, go to—

http://drawsketch.about.com/cs/tipsandideas/a/doodle.htm

Excerpt: Doodling is also an outlet for frustrated artistic expression. The arts in our

society have become 'spectator sports' reserved for the talented, while the rest of

us are too embarrassed to sing (except in the shower), dance (except for some foot-

tapping) or draw (except for doodling). These fundamental outlets for creative

expression have been stymied by a combination of social pressure (fear of inadequacy)

and lack of training (our overfull school curriculums leaving little room for the arts,

combined with a flawed view of artistic developments innate and not to be 'messed

with' by education.‖




Page | 19

Invest in a copy of Dictionary of Symbols by Carl. G. Liungman, c 1991, a reference

work in Western ideograms.

Or go to http://www.symbols.com/encylopedia--

Symbol 2:22

02:22 · Turn back and fetch itis the significance of this clothes

sign from Ghana. It is synonymous with inGroup 1. The sign can be analyzed

as a combination of , for the direction back, and for a return, with the

sign for capture, capturing. See also in Group 20.

For the ultimate symbol, go to Appendix F. Viewed mentally in 3-D, it is a double helix—

a space curve of intertwined helices having the same axis.

http://www.symbols.com/encylopedia--

http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/01/index.html

http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/20/index.html

http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/01/011.html






Page | 20

USES OF DOODLES, ZENTANGLES, ZENDALAS, & ZEN-TANGOS

Practically, there is no limit to its uses.

To unblock To meditate To gift To explore To analyze To experience To serve as backgrounds for artwork To abstract To journal To relax To heal More….Quilting, scrapbooking, playing, making polymer-clay

zentangles, stitching, mind wandering (daydreaming)

Can you think of any other uses no one has thought of yet?

Young Amrit

AS A GIFT OR COMMISSION

As a gift or commission, always start by making a list of things you associate with the

person who is to receive your drawing. After completing the drawing, look to see how

many symbols are represented in your list of things.

As an Artist Trading Card: ATC, 2.5x3.5 inches in size, collectible art.



Page | 21

RESOURCES

http://www.onlinesketchpad.com/ Use the online sketch pad to draw,

scribble or doodle. Features include several brush options, a wide selection of

colors and the tools to create shapes and the like.

http://www.drawinggames.net/paintball.html Offers different online drawing

games.

http://software.informer.com/getfree-doodle-block-drawing/ Some

freeware downloads as well as commercial software.

http://doodlewall.com/ Create your doodle wall online and share with an

international community of doodlers.

http://swap-bot.com You could join an art-swap group at http://swap-

bot.com/

http://www.milliande.com/Zendoodle-Sampler-Zentangle-Pattern-Styles-

Tutorial.html Milliande, a mixed media artist and biologist from East

Germany living in the United Kingdom, offers a tutorial of patterns and styles

Magna Doodle toy, created in 1974, is the magnetophoretic display panel, filled

with a thick, opaque white liquid containing tiny dark magnetic particles and a

stylus to draw on its surface.

http://zentangle.com Claim to have ―developed‖ zentangle, Maria and Rick

of Zentangle, Inc., expertly market Zentangle by offering classes, certificate of

completion, kits, newsletters. Problem is that they have copyrighted Zentangle,

making it their property in the United States, when it is a universal art form.

http://drawsketch.about.com/cs/tipsandideas/a/doodle.htm Good site to

get doodle symbolism.

http://www.onlinesketchpad.com/

http://www.drawinggames.net/paintball.html

http://software.informer.com/getfree-doodle-block-drawing/

http://doodlewall.com/

http://swap-bot.com/

http://www.milliande.com/Zendoodle-Sampler-Zentangle-Pattern-Styles-Tutorial.html

http://www.milliande.com/Zendoodle-Sampler-Zentangle-Pattern-Styles-Tutorial.html

http://zentangle.com/




Page | 22

EXAMPLES, more



Page | 23



Page | 24

ZEN-TANGO EXERCISE - Ecological Awareness (Alan Watts)

Using the chalice as the form to tango with, create the space around it, keeping in

mind the following:

The chalice is an invitation to perform the biggest taboo in our society: To know thyself

(enlightenment).

As you glance into the chalice of water or wine, what do you see other than a

reflection of yourself. The water or wine becomes a mirror in which it merely reflects

what comes before it. It is neutral, it is non-judgmental, it is timeless. That is the nature

of mind. And in knowing thyself, i.e. the nature of your mind (not mind itself), you will

experience potentiality. It requires time. You may experience it in a moment or in

years, perhaps lifetimes, to come.

There is this being who once said,

―Though it seems that I know that I know,

What I would like to see is the ‗I‘ that knows ‗me‘

When I know that I know that I know.‖



Page | 25

"In the present state of the world, it is evident that the control we have gained of physical

energies, heat, light, electricity, etc., without having first secured control of our use of ourselves is

a perilous affair. Without the control of our use of ourselves,our use of other things is blind; it may

lead to anything." – Spoken in 1920 by Professor John Dewey, Father of American Education, in

1920.

Has anything changed? Have you changed?



Page | 26

GRATITUDE & CLOSING INTENTION / good in the end

Write down 10 of your favorite words:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Through these exercises, may I feel happiness, wishing everyone happiness and the causes of happiness.

To all the artists who give of their art freely without credit to their names, a heartfelt thank you. Your essence is herein.



Page | 27

APPENDICES



Page | 28

APPENDIX A / Article on Armida Nagy Stickney

A Personal Renaissance by GEORGE WILKENS, The Tampa Tribune Published June 19, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - The artist inside Armida Nagy Stickney emerged as a commercial success only after a lengthy career with the federal government. Her longtime love of art and subsequent degree in art history did not evolve into disciplined dedication until 2001, when she envisioned painting 'as a transition' into retirement. Today, the 62-year-old 'transpersonal visual artist' works in a studio carved from the garage of her Lake Padgett home. Her paintings are exhibited and sold locally and - through her Web site - internationally. Her budding career is a work in progress. 'I don't know if I ever feel a painting is perfect,' she said as

she mixed acrylics for a colorful painting for an upcoming exhibition of large works. Indeed, several seemingly complete paintings in her studio are not - at least in the eye of their creator. It is said that an artist can push a painting until it is ruined, or make it perfect, she said. For four years, she has 'been tinkering with' one of her larger paintings. So how does she know when a painting is completed? 'You have to feel satisfied it works,' she said. Sources of inspiration vary, and her unique paintings sometimes undergo metamorphosis during the creative process. 'Sometimes, these forms just show up,' she said of a pair of green images in an upper corner of 'The Man With the Blue Guitar,' inspired by the Wallace Stevens poem of the same name. 'So, I'll keep it,' she said of the leaf-like shapes. 'I just felt it would be a blue guitar and a man,' initially giving little thought to the background. 'A lot of it grows.' Gazing upon the illuminated Miami skyline from elevated Interstate 95 inspired 'Spirit Mother and Child Looking South.' Stickney's intent was to paint an American Indian woman gazing to the south with

her body turned to the east, where the new day begins. Some find other, often opposite meanings in the painting. Stickney said her watercolors and acrylic paintings contain much symbolism - some not so

obvious - so she explains it upon request. 'I hope you'll understand the symbols; I hope the symbols will ring true,' she said. Among those who have seen the skyline-inspired work, some offered greatly differing interpretations. Transpersonal art has several definitions. Stickney simply says: 'There are two aspects of us, the inner and the outer. What I try to bring into my painting is the inner.' Born in Panama and raised in Balboa, in the Panama Canal Zone, Stickney is a member of the North Tampa Arts League, which selected her as June's artist of the month. Some of her



Page | 29

work is on display this month at the New Tampa Regional Library, 10001 Cross Creek Blvd. When not painting, Stickney helps coordinate arts league events and volunteers with Hernando-Pasco Hospice. During much of her 30-year career, she worked in Washington as a program and management analyst for federal agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms

and Explosives. Her schedule is now somewhat more relaxed. 'Generally, I like to paint three hours, every other day,' she said. 'Sometimes, I'll paint until I drop; then I have to rest for a day or two.'

INFORMATION: Visit www.armidaart.weebly.com www.armidaeditions.com

Reprinted 7/16/10

http://www.armidaart.weebly.com/

http://www.armidaeditions.com/



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APPENDIX B / MANDALA TEMPLATE



Page | 31

APPENDIX C / 15 ZEN TENETS OR PRINCIPLES

i. The realities of life are most truly seen in everyday things and actions.

ii. Everything exists according to its own nature. Our individual perceptions of worth,

correctness, beauty, size, morality, and value exists inside our heads, not outside them.

iii. Everything exists in relation to other things.

iv. The self and the rest of the universe are not separate entities but one functioning whole.

v. Humans arise from nature and get along most effectively by collaborating with nature

rather than trying to master it.

vi. There is no ego in the sense of an endlessly enduring, unchanging private soul or

personality that temporarily inhabits the body.

vii. True insight does not issue from specialized knowledge, from membership in coteries,

from doctrines, or dogmas. It comes from the preconscious intuitions of one’s whole

being, from one’s own code.

viii. In emptiness, forms are born. When one becomes empty of the assumptions,

inferences, and judgments one has acquired over the years, one becomes close to his or

her original nature and is capable of conceiving original ideas and responding freshly.

ix. Being a spectator while one is also a participant spoils one’s performance.

x. Security and changlessness are fabricated by the ego-dominated mind and do not exist

in nature. To accept insecurity and commit oneself to the unknown creates a relaxing

faith in the universe.

xi. One can live only in the present moment. To think otherwise is to not live in the present

moment.

xii. Living process, and word about it, are not the same and should not be treated as equal in

worth.

xiii. When we perceive the incongruity between theories about life and we feel intuitively to

be true on the nonverbal, non-judging plane, there is nothing to do but laugh.

xiv. Zen art has this characteristic quality—that it can fuse delight in a work of visual art,

knowledge of life, and personal expression and intuitions into one creative event.

xv. Each of us develops into a unique individual who enters into unique transactions with

the world as it exists for him or her.

Source: Zen Art for Meditation by Steward W. Holmes and Chimoyo Horioka



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APPENDIX D / The FLOWER SERMON

The meaning of ―Zen,‖ as jargon,

To figure out something by meditation or by a sudden flash ofenlightenment. There is

tendancy to apply the term to applied to problems of life. For

example, "How'd you figure out the buffer allocation problem?" "Oh, I zenned it."

There is truth to this jargon, and its concept is aptly demonstrated in ―The Flower

Sermon‖ given by Gautama Buddha.

It is said that the Buddha gathered his disciples one day for a dharma teaching. When

they gathered together, the Buddha was completely silent. Some speculated the

Buddha was either tired or ill.

He then silently held up and twirled a flower.



Page | 33

Several of his disciples tried to interpret what this meant, but none of them were correct

except for one. Buddha's disciple Mahakasyapa silently gazed at the flower and broke

into a broad smile. Acknowledging Mahākāśyapa's insight, the Buddha said,

I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvana, the true form of the formless, the subtle dharma gate that does not rest on words

or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa.

Mahakasyapa experienced pure awareness – the pristine nature of mind. Thus,

through Mahakasyapa‘s disciples, Zen (Chan in Chinese) spread to China (520 C.E. by

Bodhidharma and to Japan (1191 C.E.) and elsewhere by others. Wisdom was passed,

not through words, but through the careful practice of mindfulness….the direct

observation of mind and reality…just as things really are.

To understand Bodhidharma’s saying is to understand Zen:

Buddhas don't save Buddhas. If you use your mind to look for a Buddha, you

won't see the Buddha. As long as you look for a Buddha somewhere else, you'll

never see that your own mind is the Buddha. Don't use a Buddha to worship a

Buddha. And don't use the mind to invoke a Buddha. Buddhas don't recite

sutras. Buddhas don't keep precepts. And Buddhas don't break precepts. Buddhas

don't keep or break anything. Buddhas don't do good or evil. To find a Buddha,

you have to see your nature.

As used in the workshop, ―zen‖ is as follows: A way of being here and how.



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APPENDIX E / “The Groom’s Arrival” by Paul Klee

The Groom’s Arrival

Paul Klee, Swiss-German artist, known for his draftsmanship and colors, was involved in

various movements—Expressionism, Surrealism, Bauhaus, and Cubism.

Paul Klee‘s ―The Groom‘s Arrival‖ is a doodle with a continuous line drawing of crossover

lines for the body. Hat, eyes, mouth, arms, feet were added. The drawing was filled

with different colors offset by a solid background.

Viaduct



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APPENDIX F / Yin (Female/Black) Yang (Male/White)

A TAO / ZEN Symbol

In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin yang is used to describe how polar or seemingly

contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world and how

they give rise to each other in turn. The concept lies at the heart of many branches of

classical Chinese science and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of

traditional Chinese medicine. It has many applications, and as a symbol or ideogram, it often

refers to many natural dualities—e.g., dark and light, female and male, low and high,

cold and hot, manifesting yin and yang (respectively).

Yin yang are complementary opposites within a greater whole. Everything has both yin

and yang aspects, although yin or yang elements may manifest more strongly in

different objects or at different times. Yin yang constantly interacts, never existing in

absolute stasis. They share the same boundaries, and each boundary represents the

inner and outer world of each.

―Getting to know you is gettng to know me, interdependently‖



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NOTES & DOODLES

Meditative Drawing in Pen & Ink

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