Wabi Sabi Book Quotes

Much has been said of the aesthetic values of chanoyu- the love of the subdued and austere- most commonly characterized by the term, wabi. Wabi originally suggested an atmosphere of desolation, both in the sense of solitariness and in the sense of the poverty of things. In the long history of various Japanese arts, the sense of wabi gradually came to take on a positive meaning to be recognized for its profound religious sense. ...the related term, sabi,... It was mid-winter, and the water's surface was covered with the withered leaves of the of the lotuses. Suddenly I realized that the flowers had not simply dried up, but that they embodied, in their decomposition, the fullness of life that would emerge again in their natural beauty.

[Donald] Keene observed [in a book entitled The Pleasures of Japanese Literature, 1988] that the Japanese sense of beauty has long sharply differed from its Western counterpart: it has been dominated by a love of irregularity rather than symmetry, the impermanent rather than the eternal and the simple rather than the ornate. The reason owes nothing to climate or genetics, added Keene, but is the result of the actions of writers, painters and theorists, who had actively shaped the sense of beauty of their nation. Contrary to the Romantic belief that we each settle naturally on a fitting idea of beauty, it seems that our visual and emotional faculties in fact need constant external guidance to help them decide what they should take note of and appreciate. 'Culture' is the word we have assigned to the force that assists us in identifying which of our many sensations we should focus on and apportion value to.

Life is pure imperfection, as the philosophy of wabi-sabi teaches us, and the passage of time shows us that everything is fleeting, but if you have a clear sense of your ikigai, each moment will hold so many possibilities that it will seem almost like an eternity.

Finding contentment and happiness in your surroundings is a massive contributor to your overall happiness. One who smiles rather than rages is always the stronger. Japanese proverb Kaachu fuugetsu most commonly translates as learning about yourself through experiencing the beauty of nature. The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists. Japanese proverb

iwanu ga hana,

If a man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty.

Có thể nói rằng, một điều hết sức quan trọng là đừng quay lưng với bất cứ ai, vì bạn không bao giờ biết được những gì họ đang phải trốn tránh thế giới bên ngoài.

Of course, unlike plants, we can’t just absorb it from our surroundings. Yet sometimes, the energy around us does affect the energy within us. How many times have you gone to a party exhausted after a tough week of work, insisting you’ll stay for just one drink, only to perk up once you hear the beat of the music? Or have you ever noticed that it’s easier to get out of bed on sunny days than on gray ones? I began to wonder why some environments have this stimulating effect, and how we might be able to bring more joyful energy into our lives.

Another element of his design philosophy is one he adopted from the ancient Japanese theory wabi-sabi, which is an “acceptance of the world as an intransient entity,” or in layman’s terms, it’s finding beauty in all that is imperfect, incomplete, and impermanent within nature. From wabi comes wa: the goal of total unity or harmony which is the ideal realization of the maxim “less is more,” humble by choice, not materialistic and peaceful. All our lives—as was Carolyn’s—should aim to be wabi-sabi, an acceptance of our imperfections which ultimately leads to perfection. Mr. Yamamoto compares the thought to reading a book—if you are a good interpreter, you can read between the spaces and lines, understanding more than the words themselves.

The main thing that resonated with me was that while all our companies might evolve to offer different services over time, the overall vision that took us there, and that we were trying to attain, wouldn’t change. That really stuck with me. And the same applies to your ikigai as well: Just because you know what drives you doesn’t mean you should stay in your comfort zone and focus on that solely. It’s something you can come back to, and you need to be challenged and push the boundaries. But having a goal and a key driver is important. Think of ikigai as the fuel to your motor – you need to make the engine run.

Leonard Koren, author of a book on wabi-sabi, gives this advice: Pare down to the essence, but don’t remove the poetry. Keep things clean and unencumbered but don’t sterilize.

This book is an invitation to relax into the beauty of your life in any given moment, and to strip away all that is unnecessary, to discover what lies within.