Enso: the Zen circle of plenitude and enlightenment

Enso is more than just the shape of a circle. It reflects the inner state of someone who has achieved spiritual plenitude and who manages to imbue it in that symbol.

The Enso or Zen circle symbolizes the fullness of the simple. It represents the infinite contained in the perfection of harmony. Few spiritual symbols are so magnetic for the viewer and at the same time so powerful for the person who paints them. Well, only those who have a mind free of burdens and illuminated by internal balance are capable of drawing that perfect circle.

Buddhist teachers often say that Enso cannot be explained. Actually There is only one way to understand it with all its nuances, in all its essence: by experiencing it.. Because that symbol is not a simple circle and in fact it is not an art form either.

We know that it is increasingly common to choose this shape, this minimalist expression of the Zen school, as a tattoo. However, its implication goes much further… Enso is a state of mind. It is that point of perfect harmony where body and mind are freed to be able to express their internal perfection through a gesture, a movement.

The one who holds that hand to express a personal state where everything is complete, where everything and nothing exists in this present moment and can be contained in the shape of a circle that remains open. Although there are some artists who draw it closed.

For those who leave an opening in the Enso, it can symbolize different ideas. Like, for example, that the Enso is not a separate figure, but is part of something larger; or that imperfection is an essential and inherent aspect of existence (as also occurs in the idea of broken symmetry).

In addition, Enso is also a sacred symbolwhile Zen masters often use it as a signature in their religious works.

Creating a Japanese Enso requires practice and mental calm. Because an Enso is painted in a continuous brushstroke, in a single stroke and with only one opportunity to complete it. There is no going back to correct it.

Enso, the art of the circle and inner balance

Circles have always had a magical, symbolic and spiritual significance. Carl Jung himself spent much of his life fascinated by this form and especially by the concept of mandalas.

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So much so that in his free time, or when he needed to distance himself from his problems, he used to draw circles. According to him, they symbolized the formation and transformation of one’s own mind. Because, according to the famous Swiss psychiatrist, through these forms we find calm, but also the impulse to go further…

For the Zen Buddhist, however, the Enso (circle) evokes that perfect moment when the mind is free to leave the body so that the spirit rises. Therefore, only a mentally and spiritually complete person will be able to draw a true Enso.

It is, so to speak, the reflection of his enlightenment expressed through a drawing, of the firm and sure pulse of an artist capable of evoking his inner perfection. If we now ask ourselves about the origin of this symbol we must go back in time to the 28th century BC. C in China, at which time this idea, this concept was later imported to Japan by Buddhist monks.

In it Shinjinmei, an oriental poem that captures the essence of Zen Buddhism, Enso is described as a vast space where nothing is missing or left over.. It is also explained that the practice of drawing these circles arose when a monk asked his teacher to explain in words what enlightenment was. The teacher told him that something like this cannot be described in words or letters. Then he took a paintbrush and rice paper and drew a circle.

The Enso and the universe that rotates

The shape of the circle is rooted in almost any culture. However, this symbol goes far beyond its outline, since in countless traditions it evokes rather the perfect representation of the world itself, of movement and also of that epicenter where everything converges and concentrates. It symbolizes the ouroboros that bites its tail in its infinite cycle.

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It is the full moon attracting the tides in its contact with nature, it is the empty tea cup where one can read the future and even the Dharma wheel containing the wisdom of Buddhism. The Enso is, in essence, the universe itself in motion.

“Enso does not depend on language, so you must put your intellect aside and communicate more deeply. It’s simple, because more than a circle it is a very demanding experience because there is no explanation. You have to live with that. An Enso is done decisively, once and without correction. But it is not a creative act. Drawing a Zen circle is a creative experience without using creativity.”

Artists who have been inspired by Enso

Many artists and creatives around the world have found in Enso an opportunity to create freely and a way to practice meditation and mindfulness. Some of them are:

Kazuaki Tanahashi (1933): is an accomplished Japanese calligrapher and Zen master, who found art a pillar of his Buddhist practice. In his works, he returns to Enso countless times to talk about art as a form of meditation and practice of detachment. Likewise, he always performs the Enso without closing to show imperfection as something inherent to existence.Kazuo Shiraga (1924-2008): He was a Japanese artist who took up the Zen circle in a more ambiguous way than Tanahashi. To make his paintings, he used to hang from a rope, turning his body into a large pendulum brush with which he made enormous calligraphic paintings, the Enso being one of them. His purpose was to create actions that signify the here and now, and to make art a reflection of the creative moment.Yoko Ono (1933): It addressed many aspects of Japanese culture, such as Zen and Taoist philosophy. In his work Painting To See the Sky, Yoko invites you to make two holes in a canvas, hang them where you can see the sky and move it around to see if it changes. With this work she returns to the idea of emptiness as a whole and the exercise of mindfulness by inviting you to observe the sky through the holes.

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How to draw an Enso

To draw an Enso you have to start from an idea: fukinsei, the denial of perfection. It is simply about capturing the present moment through full attention. We must free the mind from thoughts, cleanse it of all worries to experience that authentic contact with ourselves where we can trace the circle in a single movement.

Let’s move away from the pretension that we get “a perfect circle.” Because perfection is not what we seek, we do not have to think about our ability, effort or the result. You have to flow, let yourself go.

Zen art is an external expression of the internal state. Therefore, to draw or paint an authentic Enso, continuous work is required to find calm and balance. Only when we are truly prepared will we shape that imperfect circle that will perfectly represent the present moment.