Wabi may be
translated as 'loneliness', 'poverty', 'subdued taste', or 'simplicity'. All of
these terms offer some guide to the meaning of the concept without actually
defining it absolutely. All of these tentative definitions must be understood
in the spiritual or metaphysical sense.
The 'loneliness' that is referred to, is a sense of detachment from the
everyday world, both in the manner of a physical separation, as well as a
separation that is brought about by a conscious act of intention. It is not a
detachment of unsociability, rather a conscious withdrawing from the hustle and
bustle, in order to seek out a space wherein the mind and spirit may achieve a
sense of peace, through a lessening of distraction. Tea is after all a social
occasion that will be shared with others. Likewise the appreciation of the
garden is not by definition a solitary activity, but one that may be shared and
enriched by the presence of others of a like mind. There is a long tradition of
the 'hermit-poet' in Japanese culture, though these were not by any means
people who were driven to such a state by a feeling of malice toward their
fellow men, rather people who sought out quiet places in order to sharpen their
perception and thereby be capable of seeing and understanding deeper the human
condition. Thus the garden may be seen to be a place that offers refuge, and
the material composition of the garden a path toward that quiet space, which
ultimately lies within. The poet
Ryōkan
Taigu (1758–1831) expresses it this way;
"Truly, I love this
life of seclusion.
Carrying my staff, I
walk toward a friend's cottage.
The trees in his
garden, soaked by the evening rain,
reflect the cool,
clear autumnal sky.
The owners dog comes
to greet me:
Chrysanthemums bloom
along the fence.
These people have the
same spirit as the ancients;
An earthen wall marks
their separation from the world.
In the house volumes
of poetry are piled on the floor.
Abandoning
worldliness, I often come to this tranquil place-
The spirit here is
the spirit of Zen."
Likewise
the 'poverty' that is spoken of is not the poverty of destitution, rather is is
a deliberate turning away from the world of ostentation and glamour. It is a
recognition that the generation and accumulation of wealth in this world is a
temporary experience that has no depth in the metaphysical sense. To the
Buddhist or Taoist, reality lies in the recognition of the non-absolute (
'emptiness' ) as the only constant. When everything is in a state of constant
change then the path toward enlightenment lies in detachment from acquisition and
accumulation of material objects, as these ultimately have no true
reality. This has a bearing on the
form of the garden, whereby the intention is to present the garden free of
ostentation ( ego ) and glamour, the 'hands of the garden-creator' are hidden.
Nature itself remains the prime source of inspiration of motif and the ultimate
model for garden builders, the garden-creator is simply the facilitator,
working as a medium through which the garden form will emerge.
Likewise
the interpretation of wabi as 'subdued taste' or 'simplicity' may be understood
in the light of what has been set out above. The materials chosen for the
garden are of the simplest kind, earth, stone, plants and water, presented in a
manner that resolves to express something of the spirit of the landscape,
rather than being a detailed reconstruction of landscape scenery. We can see here an influence of Zen
Buddhism, in particular the concept of presenting those elements that are deemed
absolutely essential and avoiding all extraneous material. By this process of
reduction there is an allowance made for the imagination of the garden viewer
to have maximum scope for involvement in recreating within his own heart the
landscape scene that is being presented. The potential for distraction from
this course is thereby minimised, through the discipline of 'subdued taste'
that a greater freedom of expression may be acquired.
It is in
these ways that the concept of wabi may be understood to have a strong bearing
on the creation and appreciation of the garden as a whole. Though wabi is
associated in particular with the world of Tea, its resonance goes far beyond
that particular aspect of the Japanese garden tradition. There is a poem
by that is much beloved by the Tea
masters for its capacity to capture the essence of wabi.
All around,
no flowers in bloom are seen,
Nor blazing
maple leaves I see,
Only a
solitary fisherman's hut
On the sea
beach, in the twilight of this autumn eve.
Lord Teika 1162-1241
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