Paintings Express World of Zen Buddhism

Paintings Express World of Zen Buddhism


By Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporter


A Dharma painting by the Rev. Bumju

Asking an artist why she or he pursues art may well be an artless act, but one cannot resist the temptation to put it to the Rev. Bumju of Chogye Order. The Buddhist monk and artist has been practicing Zen Buddhism for almost four decades since entering a monastery in 1966.

``For me, painting is not to express myself or to show others,’’ the 63-year-old told The Korea Times last week, ahead of his two exhibitions. They are simultaneously taking place at Chogyesa Temple and Pomryunsa Temple in northern Seoul. ``It’s a way to cultivate my mind.’’

Living in a small monastery in Mt. Songni in North Kyongsang Province with two other monks, the Rev. Bumju has employed painting as a method for training and reaching the world of Zen for more than 30 years.

Before devoting himself to the world of Buddhism, he graduated from the prestigious College of Fine Arts at Hongik University. He decided to pursue Buddhism after agonizing over the questions ``What am I?’’ and ``How can I live well in this world without even knowing who I am?’’

He is now known as a master of Dharma (Bodhidharma) painting, which features the grave-looking yet comical and childlike figure known as the founder of Zen. The Rev. Bumju is also famous for public Dharma-painting performances. He staged one at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in front of first ladies from around the world in Pusan last year, working on a five-by-six-meter paper

`` When I paint the Dharma, I become absorbed in the process completely so that I lose myself,’’ he said. ``As I lose myself, the force of nature fills in the place. The painting, which is the result of such a process, can affect viewers who see it.’’

He said that he performs not to show off his skill but to share the force with viewers.

``When I enter the ego-absent state during a performance, the experience purifies me, and the feeling reaches out to those around me,’’ the Rev. Bumju said, adding that in that sense, the performance also helps spread Zen Buddhism. While spending a decade in Los Angeles, U.S., during the 1980s, he realized that such a direct, instant method could be more effective than teaching theory.

It is widely believed by Koreans that hanging a Dharma painting on the wall can bring luck. However Bumju warned that the opposite could result.



The Rev. Bumju talks about the meaning of “sonmuk,” a painting genre aimed at practicing Zen Buddhism, in an interview with The Korea Times at Pomryunsa Temple, Seoul, Thursday. /Korea Times Photo By Shin Hyun-chul

``The belief itself is not superstitious. Everyone has an innate Buddhahood, which can reveal itself when the mind becomes clean and bright,’’ he said. ``Dharma paintings done with such a mindset can deliver their force to viewers, helping them clean and purify their minds. And of course with clean and pure minds, your life becomes clearer and brighter, there’s no doubt,” he said.

``But a Dharma painting is not a mere painting. It is transferring one’s force of mind through painting,’’ he stressed. ``So it’s ascetics who have been practicing for years that should paint Dharma. Otherwise, the painting will bring no luck, even misfortune.’’

For similar reasons, the Rev. Bumju has been unable to find disciples to teach the art of his life. ``I’m looking for a person who puts emphasis on the mind rather than painting skills, but those who come to learn painting are not ready. I can’t find one who combines the two aspects.’’

The exhibition at Chogyesa Temple, which runs through Oct. 31, mainly shows his Dharma paintings of recent years. At Pomryunsa Temple on the road to Samchong-dong, his paintings related to tea culture, which is also associated with practicing Zen Buddhism and called ``sondahwa’’ are displayed.

Smiling monks or landscapes, simple yet elegant, are brushed with ink, or sometimes even with gold or tea powder, on various materials such as porcelain, cloth, and wooden tables and windows. In November, the exhibition is expected to travel down to Pusan. The profits from sales will go to building a Zen center at Chogyesa Temple and to spread Zen tea culture.

``I am the universe in nature,’’ the Rev. Bumju replied when asked if he found the answer for the question that drove him to a monastery in his youth. ``The more people go back to their original state of clean, pure mind, the closer we’ll get to world peace. To achieve world peace, each individual should become at peace first.’’


saltwall@koreatimes.co.kr
10-16-2006 18:46