Wednesday, August 23, 2006
ZEN NOIR began more than ten years ago, when I was meditating in a Buddhist temple at 5 a.m. Keenly aware of all the half-asleep people sitting in the room, I was suddenly struck with an odd thought: "what would happen if one of us just keeled over, dead?"
From that moment, the ideas slowly evolved: Western vs. Eastern views of death; Love vs. the inevitable fact that Everything Changes; and finally, Logic vs. Reality.
It was this last thought that brought me to the idea of Film Noir. In Film Noir, the detective often sets out to solve one mystery, but ends up finding another, deeper mystery, and having to confront dark, sometimes frightening truths.
In Zen Buddhism, this type of mystery is often expressed as a koan. A koan is a teaching riddle the master poses to the student that cannot be solved with logic. The koan most Westerners are familiar with is: “what is the sound of one hand clapping?” On the surface, the question is absurd, because no amount of reason or logic will lead you to an answer. But there is an answer: the answer is who you become as you explore the question, what you discover about yourself, the universe, and all of existence. Opens September 15.
* A collection of Zen Koans
link
From that moment, the ideas slowly evolved: Western vs. Eastern views of death; Love vs. the inevitable fact that Everything Changes; and finally, Logic vs. Reality.
It was this last thought that brought me to the idea of Film Noir. In Film Noir, the detective often sets out to solve one mystery, but ends up finding another, deeper mystery, and having to confront dark, sometimes frightening truths.
In Zen Buddhism, this type of mystery is often expressed as a koan. A koan is a teaching riddle the master poses to the student that cannot be solved with logic. The koan most Westerners are familiar with is: “what is the sound of one hand clapping?” On the surface, the question is absurd, because no amount of reason or logic will lead you to an answer. But there is an answer: the answer is who you become as you explore the question, what you discover about yourself, the universe, and all of existence. Opens September 15.* A collection of Zen Koans
link
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