Zen and Creativity
By
Zen Circle by Emir Simsek @ Dreamstime.com
Guest Post by Derek Ayre
“As a Zen practitioner, it took me a few years to really understand that Zen does not give answers, it only poses questions, Questions that come up again and again and the mind starts seeking more and more answers. Suddenly the mind can go still into a state of no-thought and from this point creativity is born. There is no formula to reach such realization in Zen. One just sits in zazen (Zen meditation) focused on the here-and-now, just waiting.
It is important to realize that what follows is my interpretation of how my experiences of Zen enhance creativity, and as we are all unique, these experiences may not be the same as the experiences of other Zen practitioners.
Zazen Meditation takes You to the Very Source of Creativity
How on earth does one not know something? I found this crazy question to be so appropriate when applied to my piano playing. All through my life since I first laid my hands on a piano, the answer has been staring me in the face. I would practice a piece of music over and over again looking for an answer to my questions… “Why can’t I play this? Why, when I can read all the music, that I still cannot play it without making mistakes?” Then suddenly one day, I would sit at the piano and my fingers would run over the keyboards practically note-perfect and I would not know how I was doing it.
I think the moment that you do something creatively, and with passion, you cannot explain to another person how you do it, you can only communicate your creation; any art, I would say is an act of communication. In such a state of communication, I feel blissful and automatically play my music with passion and expression. But where has this creative ability come from?
It soon became very apparent that my daily focus on…
…mindfulness in zazen was making a difference to my creativity. In the early Zen years, without me realizing it, zazen was taking me to the very source of creativity.
Before I got into Zen practice, it always seemed to be such hard work playing my piano with any sort of originality, which was what I aspired to do. In zazen, my focus is on my breathing; inhaling and exhaling mindfully excluding all other thoughts. To empty the mind in this way is the main objective of zazen and it is impossible for most people to do for long periods of time, but the intent to do so must be there, and it is this intent that makes a tremendous difference to my ability to create.
With my early zazen practice, a paradox seemed to occur when I attempted to still my mind in this way; it seemed to be forced to create new ways of grabbing my attention away from the imagined threat of what is termed in Zen, no-mind, and some of those distracting thoughts and feelings were very profound. To try and explain no-mind using the analytical abilities of the consciousness is very difficult and can appear to be contradictive and confusing. Such is the nature of Zen, and this is where the difficulty lies in writing such an article as this. It can end up sounding crazy or at best seem to be chasing a paradox, but a communication can take place.
If I consider the subconscious mind, I see a vast storehouse of knowledge that would make the most powerful computer in the world appear crude and primitive. The subconscious already knows that I am a creator in life – as we all are. Even without me being aware of it, I will want to create in whatever field I feel attracted to. I can recognize quality in all the arts, but cannot explain what it is that I perceive. Consciously or subconsciously I want to create quality. Quality communicates and quality is found in art. But quality itself is mysterious and inexplicable.
Zazen Meditation Enhances Creativity by Expanding Awareness
The practice of zazen definitely enhances my creativity by expanding my awareness into and beyond the capabilities of the rational mind. By practising Zen discipline and transcending my mind, it will begin to act more like my servant than my master. There could be many reasons for it doing this, but I believe that the transcendence aspired to in zazen, allows the mind’s capabilities to expand and such transcendence is negating the mind’s belief system that it is so wrapped up in. Beliefs can cause us problems when it comes to creativity because they are limited to what has been analyzed in the past.
Beliefs are not experiences but concepts of experiences – experiences with bits left out, if you like. For instance a simple thought attached to a belief that I cannot do something, will act immediately and thwart my ability to do that thing! On the other hand, a positive thought can also act in the same way but I will tend not to be too conscious of such positive thoughts as they often pass unnoticed because they are limited; they are non-confronting.
Before I practiced Zen, I noticed how I would always produce my best work when I was in a state of stress and conflict. In a state of conflict my mind would be split between two or more different concepts that were at war with each other. In searching for relief from this conflict my frustration would often provide (create) resolutions that I hadn’t thought of before. For instance, to try and relieve my tension, I would sit at the piano and play. I would after a while, discover a new way of playing a piece of music that would release all my pent-up tension. But this was not mindful creation, I was hardly aware that I was doing it. But with the daily practice of mindfulness in Zen, I began to act more as a witness to such stresses, and became detached from them. As such a witness, I could observe the process of how I channeled my stress into creativity. Yes, I believe, stress is part of life, but when it is used in a constructive way with full awareness, it is discharged artistically a lot easier than desperately seeking relief from the pent-up energies, that with many people can eventually lead to illness and disease.
Zen is Art and Art is Zen
As my Zen practice evolved through the years, I came to the conclusion that ultimately the mind and its tricks were being transcended to that space of no-mind that is beyond reason and understanding; existing in a realm of no thought. It is nothing: a state of not knowing. A space-less space where the universe is constantly being re-born perhaps?
I would say that most artistic people are in touch with their own sort of Zen, that space of no-mind whether or not they are aware of it. For me, the experience of becoming one with a piece of music I’m playing epitomises that lost-in-my-art experience where I and the music have disappeared into each other – becoming as one.
This appears in zazen as nothing-ness, as I focus on my breathing. I am my breath and my breath is me. Here I believe, lies the similarity between Zen and art. In fact, Zen would say that there is no dichotomy: that separation is an illusion. Zen is art and art is Zen. All is one.”
For the last 30 years, Derek Ayre has been a hypnotherapist and Zen practitioner. To read more of his view of Zen, visit Pieces of Zen
© 2010 Derek Ayre
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