As militant Islam does its level best to discredit the religion, it's important to remember that there are other voices within the faith. One such is the Sufis, a branch of Islamic mystics who live islam [submission], iman [faith] and ishan [awareness of G-d, "to act beautifully"]. Every Saturday, therefore, we spend some time with the Sufis and their 'crazy wisdom'. This week's entry comes from the 12th century Persian poet Attar, via Fadiman & Frager's "Essential Sufism":
bq. "When the paintings are hidden, you will see the Painter."
Now, what do you think he means by that? Use the Comments section to tell us.
UPDATE: T.L. James blogs about some of his insights.
"When the paintings are hidden, you will see the Painter."
"The five colors blind the eye; the five tones deafen the ear."
-Do Dok Gyong (Tao Te Ching)
What is there when you see without reference to color, hear without reference to tone?
"If the many return to the One, to what does the One return?"
-question asked of Joju
"Where is the gas in my ass if there is no ass?"
-BigHominid, Scatological Kong-an
Kevin
Art, being a form of heightened communication, emerges only after the application of paint to canvas (chisel to stone, etc.) gives way to the message...the painter appearing.
Q: What is the sound of one hand clapping?
A: Half a noise.
"When the paintings are hidden, you will see the Painter."
If it's not a simple reference to Iconoclasm, or the use of images to depict figures in religious and spiritual inspiration which is forbidden in Islam then it's an extension of that concept. Given that the word "Painter" is capitalized, I suspect it does refer to Iconoclasm "in the larger sense" that by focusing on the Creation meticulously you see through the illusion, to the nature of the Creator.
So, look at the picture; and then look beyond it to see the Painter and thank Him for His painting.
Or maybe it just means the painter gets pissed off when people take down his exhibit without his permission. I'd be a little miffed, too.
Kevin
When the results of one's effort are omitted, one sees the will behind effort.
This smells very close to the old Hindu story about Brahma (?, I'm not sure on my Hindu pantheon) dreaming the world.
It also reminds me of the Zen story about the man who dreamed so vividly he was a butterfly that upon awakening wondered whether he was a butterfly dreaming he was a man.
Last one from 1 Corinthians 13:11:
Forgot to mention Plato also touches on this, with his parable of the men in the cave staring at shadows.
It's kind of like the way you posed this. When the answers are all hidden you will see the question. I can go two ways on this.
One is that people have trouble dealing with the concept of "nothing". Politically, people tend to get really upset when they get it. Zero was one of the hardest numbers to discover, if that. Mathematically, it's defined as undefined. There is a need to focus on something. So when when confronted with nothing, a person will create something (paint) to focus on. In effect, the viewer becomes the painter.
The other being that any painting is just pigment on canvas and each viewer creates in their own mind an interpretation of it. One big Rorschach blot, if you will. So again, in effect the viewer is the painter.
Ok, it's late.
when one gets past the illusions of this temporal world,("when the paintings are hidden) the reality of the Creator is clear..(you will see the painter")
when one gets past the illusions of this temporal world,("when the paintings are hidden) the reality of the Creator is clear..(you will see the painter")
when one gets past the illusions of this temporal world,("when the paintings are hidden) the reality of the Creator is clear..(you will see the painter")