Wabi-sabi

Wabi-sabi (in

According to summarizes by saying It (wabi-sabi) nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.

Examining the meanings of the component words wabi and sabi , we find sentiments of solitude and desolation. In a Zen view of the universe, these may be viewed as positive characteristics, representing liberation from a material world and transcendence to a simpler life. Zen philosophy itself, however, warns that genuine understanding cannot be achieved through words or language, so accepting wabi-sabi on nonverbal terms may be the most appropriate approach.

=Wabi-sabi in Japanese arts=

Many Japanese arts over the past thousand years have been influenced by Zen philosophy, particularly acceptance and contemplation of the imperfection, constant flux, and impermanence of all things. Such arts can exemplify a wabi-sabi aesthetic. Here is an incomplete list:

Japanese gardens, Zen gardens, and bonsai (tray gardens)

ikebana (flower arrangement)

Japanese tea ceremony

Japanese poetry, particularly haiku

Japanese pottery

honkyoku (traditional shakuhachi music of wandering Zen monks)

=Western use=

During the 1990s the concept was borrowed by computer software developers and employed in Agile programming and Wiki wiki to describe acceptance of the state of ongoing imperfection that is the product of these methods.

=See also=

iki (aesthetic ideal) (one of Japanese aesthetic ideals)

mono no aware

=References=

= External links =

*[http://www.hermitary.com/house/aesthetics.html Wabi and Sabi: The Aesthetics of Solitude] *[http://www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/artcurr/asian/wabisabi.html Japanese Aesthetics, Wabi-Sabi, and the Tea Ceremony]