Sophie Vranian
East Asia Studies: Sumi-e
16 September 2008
The Nature of Ink

The splash of ink on the paper vaguely takes on the form of a stalk of bamboo and the varying gradient black lines seem simple, barely smudges. Yet even to those unfamiliar with the art of Sumi-e, this painting conveys something unseen. These ink paintings are done using precise techniques, far from smudges, that originated among the monks of Zen Buddhist China as an alternative form of meditation, supplemental to the traditional practice of sitting, as well as an exercise in observation and poetry. Sumi-e’s techniques, history, and intentions all add up to make it a form of meditation that has reached beyond its ancient roots, and although it is still largely unknown in Western countries, today Sumi-e is practiced world-wide by those wishing to explore more deeply into the different forms and meaning of meditation.

There is a seeming method and bearing to Sumi-e that naturally makes the painter feel connected to the process whether or not he or she has had previous experience with the art. This connection runs along a deep vein as each step in the process of completing a painting is tuned to the nature of Zen. From the way the painter must sit, Japanese style on the heels with the back straight, to holding the brush, towards the top of the thick bamboo branch and lightly between the fingers, to making strokes on the paper, using the whole upper body, swinging the shoulders in wide, loose arcs, each step in a Sumi-e painting is intended as meditation.

Perhaps this is why the people who try Sumi-e RE overcome with a sense of mindfulness. Looking down at the blank white paper, seeing the brush held in just the right way, sitting in the straight yet relaxed posture that makes awareness of the breath come naturally, one slips easily into a meditative state. The ink on the paper suddenly becomes alive and all encompassing. The swing of the arm becomes rhythmic; the sound of the brush on the paper becomes melodic, fully capturing the attention, allowing for submission into the state of mindfulness necessarily for Sumi-e.

Nature is a word that comes up often when describing Sumi-e, and it is only fitting. Many of the best Sumi-e paintings are of nature: bamboo forests, lotus flowers, mountains, clouds, rivers, a swirling flock of butterflies. Many Sumi-e paintings are also accompanied by poems written in calligraphy and add sound to the image. The natural world is made up of the pure basics of life, creation not controlled by the hands of man, and boiled down to the essentials of existence. So Sumi-e tries to mimic nature by reducing the subject down to the essentials, by capturing its essence.

Sumi-e paintings are best “read between the lines,” rather than taken at first glance. It is not necessarily what the picture itself is, but what the components together say; are the strokes hard or soft? Is the ink dark or light? Are the lines jagged or smooth? Does the negative space represent anything besides blank paper?

In Zen Buddhism, a practitioner sees an object and accepts it for what it is, instead of using labels like “ugly” or “beautiful,” “bad” or “good.” If a Sumi-e painter is painting a twisted tree in a muddy field, its branches dead and grey, the painter will aim to capture its soul or character, rather than just the tree. A nasty looking cat with a gentle nature may be painted with soft strokes; a beautiful yet dishonest woman, with hard, sharp lines. The essence of the subject is most important, rather than the outright appearance.

We tend to go through life looking point-blank at what we meet, hardly giving any thought to the shadows of leaves on the ground, the arrangement of rocks in the sand. Sumi-e takes these often ignored realities and places them in a position where we are faced with not just an ink representation of the physical object, but also the idea of the object. Often what isn’t said, or not noticed, is the most important, and this is what Sumi-e is meant to express.

The Zen monks who created Sumi-e knew meditation helps bring these hidden, unacknowledged forces of life to the forefront by empowering the skills of observation, awareness, and control. Meditation is a practice to still the mind and body and to acknowledge the ever-changing attributes of life by learning to use these three skills. The most widely recognized form of meditation is in a seated posture on the floor or a cushion, with hands folded in the lap or resting on the knees. Meditation can also, however, be practiced by walking or doing yoga, by chanting or praying or simple breathing. The most essential tool in learning mastery over observation, awareness, and control is the mind, but often a string of prayer beads, a candle, or a burning stick of incense can be helpful to keep the mind on track. This is the purpose served by Sumi-e’s tools, the ink, brush, paper, and grindstone. They work with the mind by keeping the mind on task, the task being painting as meditation as a road to enlightenment. Of course, this takes years, even lifetimes, of dedication and practice. In the Zen belief, however, once someone realizes the pure potential for enlightenment, it can come in a flash, a heartbeat, embodied in the often-quick and dashing Sumi-e brushstrokes.

Sumi-e follows all the customary intentions of Buddhist meditation through an alternative medium. The strokes of a Sumi-e brush, called fude, represent the recognition of change. Each stroke is done quickly without hesitation and cannot be modified once the ink, or sumi, touches the paper, just as our actions in life cannot be modified after the fact. The swiftness of the strokes mirror the impermanence of life; as time does not stop to wait, once it touches paper, neither does the brush. Each stroke of a Sumi-e painting is done without over-consideration to capture the free nature and poetry of life.

While many Sumi-e painters today are not monks, nor sometimes even Buddhists, the modern Sumi-e painter cannot help but feel the ancient meditative properties of working with the ink and brush that were recognized and perfected long ago by the hands of dedicated Zen monks.