2/27/2024 0 Comments Define zen writingZen is the Japanese development of the school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China as Chan Buddhism. The Asia Society sums up Zen Buddhism in this paragraph: It is also more focused on meditation some even say Zen is meditation Zazen is the name for this practice. ![]() ![]() Zen is a branch of Buddhism that places more emphasis on experience than the texts and theoretical concepts of traditional Buddhism. If you want to read a concise overview of Buddhism, the Asia Society has a good one here. I hesitate to use the word sensai, as Professor Olds was from Minnesota and not East Asia, but he was truly one of my most cherished teachers. I have taken this cue in my work as a teacher over the past couple decades, attempting to create the same kind of respect and trust among my students that he afforded us. The environment allowed for intellectual risk there were more kōans than answers. Professor Olds developed trust in his classroom it was a safe place of discovery where knowledge is active and individuals are valued along with the subjects. We often didn’t know the direction we were going in, but this was part of the magic. How did the aesthetic speak to us? What is our own relationship with the universe, with nature? Who are our ‘masters’, our teachers of wisdom? But we were also asked to simply look and discover ourselves. He told us many stories and enlightened us to elements of the works we never would have seen on our own. Together we looked at beautiful paintings. Professor Olds was especially interested in other cultures and the connection between philosophies or religions and art, as he was in Italian Renaissance Art. The class - Art of Zen - focused on Japanese art but also attempted to define Zen philosophy or religion. However, in addition to his family, he left a great legacy of work through Zen digital archives, articles and books, and - mainly - his many students and the way we now see the world a bit differently thanks to him. ![]() Probably because of this connection as well, I stayed in touch with Professor Olds from time to time after graduation and was deeply saddened when I heard of his passing. He asked us to call him “Cliff” when he later helped time us at track practice sessions and competitions, which was just one way he became in involved in the community. Professor Olds was a kind and warm man, small in nature but large in spirit. I had taken a remarkable course in Italian Renaissance Art with Professor Olds and signed up mainly because he was teaching it but also because I had some interest in Japan due to my father’s work trips there while I was in grade school. One of the best classes I took at university was an art history course called Art of Zen with Professor Clifton “Cliff “Olds, who died in 2021 (linked obituary via Bowdoin College).
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