Essence

I'm reading the interpretation of the daodejing by David Breeden, Wally Swist, and Steven Schroeder. These three lines caught my attention today.

Reaching, we find edges.
Without reaching,
We find essence.

Artists--visual artists, literary artists, performing artists--seek essence, crave essence. That's the nature of art; it's a pathway to essence, a window looking out on essence, an encounter with essence. No reaching involved. When artists make art, everything drops away and essence presents itself. 

Bliss.

A Humble Rice Cake

Ryochu Nyoryu 1793 - 1868

While Zen enso have been interpreted as representing the void, the universe, and unity, they can just as easily represent the moon, the rim of a basket or a humble rice cake. Ryochu here writes, "Eat this and have a cup of tea," asking the viewer not to worry about the philosophical implications of the iage, but to merely relax and have a snack.
~  Audrey Yoshiko Seo, Enso: Zen Circles of Enlightenment