「Look at the Picture and Talk about the Painting」Kong Junze: Leaving Blank Space is a Brush-Stroke Meditation

The blank space is not merely blankness; it is the space that allows “me” to emerge within the emptiness. Kong Junze’s paintings are a form of brush-stroke meditation, revealing one’s true nature between the “empty” and “full” states.

“A Tree, A Monk” features extreme blank spaces in the painting. The slender dead branches serve as a metaphor for the entanglements of worldly affairs. The ink color is so light that it almost blends into nothingness, embodying the Zen state of “no self-identity”.

The blank space represents a state of non-self. “All Phenomena Are Not Immutable” uses the juxtaposition of reality and illusion in the landscape, with the approaching boat representing “I” and the distant mountains representing illusion. It embodies the Buddhist principle that “all forms are ultimately illusory.”

In the face of the ever-changing external circumstances, the dry and monotonous brushstrokes of “Don’t Be Swayed by Circumstances” are like a strong wind passing through a valley, like rugged rocks, and beneath the seemingly chaotic abstract texture lies the stability of “external circumstances changing while the inner self remains unchanged”.

During meditation, “Fitzpleasure” is like a sand hourglass containing mountain stones. The blank space represents the emptiness of meditation, while the hidden peaks symbolize the inherent clarity of one’s true nature. This Buddha nature is transformed into a flowing stream in “Spring from the Heart”, penetrating the rocks, and aligns with the metaphor that “one’s true nature is like a spring, neither increasing nor decreasing”.

He regards nature as the state of meditation, allowing “I” to enter the blank spaces, brushstrokes and imagery. He does not cling to the concrete, nor is he trapped by the superficial. Amid the hustle and bustle of modern life, these paintings are like a peaceful land, reminding us that the true self is not pursued by external things, but found in the clarity of self-reflection.

The tea for today is all gone. Next time, I’ll brew a fresh pot and enjoy art with you again.