To the young artist.


1

Zen Buddhism said: ‘We are artists of life.’ The definition emphasizes one of the most
important characters of human beings: ‘creativeness’ and covers all situations,
conditions…of social life in that we are living.  It seems to be redundant if this article have
mentioned to the young ones because in creativeness we don’t have ‘old’ or ‘new’ artist, we
don’t classify anyone or anything. We all are in the way. We all experiment our own life. And
life is the reality that is constantly moving, changing, transforming. There’s no pause, no
stop. Life is the ever running river and the artist should emerge himself fully, completely in
every instant of life.

Keeping awake is the vital importance, our second life. Without it, there’s no existence, no
world around. Without it, let consider you’re dead. To be an artist, first of all, is to be
yourself. Keeping awake, according to Zen, may be the only way bringing you back to
yourself. This article intends to prepare a short list of what you should avoid and need doing,
in order to help you easily following the awakening way. Though much considerate I am, the
writing should be considered as written for me more than for you, the young artist, I hope you
would be.

Youth is the best time to learn. Remember that knowledge and diploma is very different.
Getting a lot of diploma does not mean you have extensive knowledge; it’s merely a memory
product. Reading is the irreplaceable means to improve knowledge. Reading classical books
is also extremely recommended. I wish you could explore the immense treasure of classical
literature and art all over the world: China, India, Greek, Latin, and Arab… Surely they are
the very great original sources you can use but never end. Understanding art, is that the
overcoming all the varieties of their expressions of all age, to reach the sole unique spirit of
all beings?

Once growing in the ’smelting furnace’ of the classical literature and art, or the time your
mature mentality increasing quite enough, you can pass through this modern civilization with
calm and confidence. You can easily distinguish what’s real or false,   swallow or profound,   
superficial or   essential. Don’t   waste   time   for    the unnecessary things (that is too much
in a civilized society) and focus your attention more often to your main matter. Be careful of
all means of communication: TV, radio or even the internet…, they’re harmful more than
useful. Be watchful on all kind of entertainment: movie, theater, music, sport…, don’t loose
yourself to these chief things. It’s better to be alone. It’s better to avoid the crowd: do not join
any club, party…Try not to work in a public or communicate center. Try not to pursuit a
teaching career: repeating the same thing day by day will ruin your sensibility and
creativeness. In short, an ideal life should be the tranquil one not be affected by anyone, any
theory, any political, social movements or propaganda. Keeping an independent mental life is
going quite far on the way to keep your awakening.  (*)

An artist, first of all, is the man understanding himself, being with himself. If not, all his works
is merely borrowing, imitating, copying the others. The process of being himself is the
primary, fundamental activity he should achieve whenever he still dreams of becoming an
artist. We cannot imagine an artist who lost his awakening sight, or cannot identify his
particular style among the others. Appreciating an art work is also the same way, if you don’t
understand yourself how could you reach, communicate to the art work?

To the end, it’s not knowledge you gained, nor the experiences you get, that will help you
back to yourself. Facing the reality, all of you (your body, your mind and heart…)
immediately react, answer. Your knowledge, your experiences are the past. How could the
past efficiently reply to the present changing, passing, transforming in every second?

Facing reality, till the extreme limit, is the unnatural way of expressing an idea of divided,
separated time. We are already here -in fact- from thousands and thousands of life that we
may not realize, and then when we ‘meet’ reality, we think that it comes from the outside of
the ‘me’; never think that it’s the ‘me’, the ‘I’ is really the reality existing here forever!

Facing reality simply means facing to yourself. It’s a rediscovering, returning to yourself, to
your own home, your own boss. Or, in another way, it is the life lighted up by your
consciousness.

An artist, at first, should be the man returning to his own home, achieving the ultimate aim of
human life: the center of all beings.




2

Though having all the makings of an artist; a simple, quiet life is always your ideal goal.
Keeping awake is not an achievement of an instant, it’s an attitude we must strive for mastery
all of our life. We’re always on the way.

You feel that the need of creativeness is no more the urge of composing, writing … in fact,
you’re covered, emerged in the powerful vitality of life.  Living now is another form of
creativeness. It seems that there is something new flowing inside you: how green it is the
green of leaves, as if you’ve just seen it the first time! How wonderful it is the bird's singing,
as if you’ve never heard it before! The world around you has no change but your sensibility,
your emotion had changed. You breathe now the breath of the universe. You experiment
your life time according to the universe’s cycle. You’re living fully each day and satisfied,
content with all you get. All things appear to you in the simplicity and ease: beginning in a
small, modest way, you know that only so can you master greater difficulties. And then even
in every simplest condition you live now an immensely rich spiritual life.

I have set up a high standard hoping for a young artist. I did it because  I  couldn’t  find a  
better choice, especially  in this western world, all my  concerns  had  no  mention.  In  every  
branch of arts, comprehension of yourself is always the first demand.  Any studying of
technique is secondary. No one master a technique could become an artist. No one without
his own, particular sight should be a talent one. Rely only on experiences may lead to wrong
solutions as I proved in the above part. And so which one the young artist should follow if he
denies returning to his own original source?

Keeping awake is beyond the choice, it’s your second life. Man achieve himself only in the
way showing that he’s still alive, catching, holding all every change of the universe.

Young artist, if you’re not a center of beings, what should you be?


p.lan
7/06




(*) One of the biggest mistakes of the youth is wasting time. The main reason is on him. As a young, he
doesn’t find out himself yet and try any ways to express what he thinks of his ‘special, real characters’. The
uniforms, badges, color ties… attract him; make him believing only in his appearance. All clubs, parties…
fulfill his emptiness, making a false illusion of a ‘big ego’. Mixing, identifying in the ‘big ego’ forms a shield,
a cover bringing sensation of safety, satisfaction that most people needed. The need of ‘making friends’ is
another form of lacking of confidence. The influences of all means of communication, of chief
entertainments take the main part to destroy the independent thinking of youth. It is the school, in the most
part, well contributes to the process of making a ‘big ego’, which governments, political parties will abuse
later.




                                                                     ___________