Zen Buddhists love eccentric monks
3 November 2009
Eccentrics in Zen art reveal a new side to Zen Buddhism
Dutch researcher Paramita Paul has reached some surprising new insights with her study of themes in Chinese art. She studied how the ‘Zen eccentrics’ – a number of unusual monks who lived between the 7th and 10th centuries AD – were depicted in Chinese art and discovered that everyone viewed and represented the monks differently. This shows just how diverse Zen Buddhism could be.
The ‘eccentrics’ were legendary monks who wandered the country in rags and whose behaviour was characteristically different from everyone else’s. They were extremely popular among Chan Buddhists (better known in the Netherlands by their Japanese designation of ‘Zen Buddhists’), in particular. They also became a popular topic in Chinese art during the Song and Yuan dynasties (960 – 1368 AD). Paul investigated the images of the eccentrics and concluded that the Zen art revealed a diversity among Zen Buddhists that had never been suspected until now.
Not an art of emptiness
Zen art has long been regarded as a discipline concerned primarily with empty spaces. It was also often produced by a handful of abbots and monks. But art which explored the theme of the eccentrics appears to have a completely different character and was produced by artists with a wide range of backgrounds.
Paramita Paul’s research shows the strong ties between art and Zen Buddhism in early-modern China. For instance, she discovered texts alongside the portraits of the eccentrics, containing suggestions of ideas and questions asked of the viewer. This made art an element of religion, which is also apparent from the monastic manuals studied by Paul. These show that the portraits and other representations of the eccentrics had a major part to play in monastic life.
Paramita Paul’s research was supported by a Mosaic grant from NWO. Mosaic is a grant that enables young and talented graduates from ethnic backgrounds to undertake four years of doctoral research.
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For further information please contact:
- Paramita Paul (Leiden University)
- t: +31 71 527 2216, P.Paul@hum.leidenuniv.nl
- The doctoral thesis was defended on 3 November 2009.
- Supervisor: Prof. M. van Crevel
