The Logic of Absolutely Contradictory Self-identity and Aesthetic Values in Zen Art

This article aims to show that yūgen, wabi and sabi deserve to be called aesthetic values \nof Zen art only when their definition complies with the logic of absolute contradictory \nself-identity (the logic of paradox). Some definitions of yūgen, wabi and sabi are not \nparadoxical and therefore they cannot be linked to Zen. I will try to prove that one must \nbe aware of the ambiguity of the aforementioned types of beauty – their meanings cannot \nbe narrowed to fit only within the realm of Zen tradition. The different types of beauty \nthat Japanese artists strove to express in their works have specific names. It’s impossible \nto find equivalents for many of them in Western aesthetic categories. The starting point \nof our inquiry will be aesthetic categories in Japanese poetry, because they have always \nexerted great influence on art in Japan. Aesthetic values in Zen art are also connected \nwith reflection on the structure of reality – specifically, reality as experienced in the act \nof Enlightenment (satori).