About The Prints & the Maker
The great Zen master Eihei Dogen is purported to have said that the bodhisattva way is “To Give No Fear”. Often, we hear “do no harm”, but taken to a far more subtle level, “To Give No Fear” is to deeply consider how our actions, words and even thoughts may affect all beings.
As I consider the significance of Ancheta’s work, I am drawn to the philosophies on Art of two well-known masters.
Chögyam Trungpa Rimpoche, the Tibetan master, believed that “dharma art” does not mean art only depicting Buddhist symbols or ideas such as “The Wheel of Life” or the life story of Gautama Buddha.
Rather, dharma art refers to the art that springs from a certain state of mind on the part of the artist that could be called the "meditative state". It is an attitude of directness and noself-consciousness in one’s creative work.
C.G. Jung considered the creative process as consisting of the activation of an archetypal image, a form of our own highest potential, and the elaboration and shaping of this image into a finished work. These images, often drawn from Buddhist iconography, are a central theme in Ancheta's prints. By giving the image shape, Ancheta translates it into the language of the present and thus makes it possible for us to find our way back to the deepest springs of life. The social significance of Ancheta’s art is the fact that it is constantly at work educating the spirit of the age, conjuring up forms and images in which the age is most lacking. As creator, Ancheta’s yearning reaches back to the primordial image in the unconscious that is best fitted to compensate for the inadequacy and one-sidedness of the present. By raising this image from deepest unconsciousness, it is brought into relation with conscious values, transforming it until it can be accepted by the minds of his contemporaries according to their power.
Such has been the manifestation of The Awakened Path of Roshi Jitsudo Ancheta, whom, as Zen Master and dharma heir of Koun Taizan Dai Osho (Maezumi Roshi), has for decades embodied the dharma as his life’s work.
When one looks at the images manifested by Ancheta we are at once aware of the striking lack of formality, pointing to an absence of an ego-centered world view. The simplicity and directness, at times, child-like nature of his images, makes clear his humble messages, gleaned from years of meditation, study and dharma teaching experience. They are presented to us without air of preaching or haughty demand. They are simply, elegantly “there”, as an offering, a "gassho" (bow), to be taken as one might on whatever level one chooses to interpret them. They are at once unpretentious yet elegant and deeply touching.
Affectionately known to me simply as "Roshi" (Old Buddha, in Zen language), I am Ancheta’s final Zen student, his Dharma Heir, his "Gisha"(personal attendant) and friend for many years.
On one occasion I was fortunate to be Ancheta’s assistant at a weekend-long exhibition of his work in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
In the traditional Zen fashion, as his “Gisha”, it was my duty to be engaged with the patrons and answer their questions and to explain the art works they were particularly drawn to.
Most remarkably, I was awed by the deep resonance the images held for so many of the patrons with whom I engaged. It seems each one had been drawn outward toward the image from a “sacred” place from within themselves. I listened to many very personal narratives that were openly related in our kind conversations, spurred by their interactions with the images. Some patrons shared experiences emanating from long-held stories that had been buried deep within their psyches.
Unlike so many “purchases” that are made from a grasping “need to possess” those who chose to acquire an image, so it seemed to me, exhibited a sense that they were engaged in creating a reminder for themselves and to be “carrying the message” into their lives. I was emotionally moved by the intimate nature of our interactions and keenly aware of the sanctity of our exchanges.
Clearly, with Ancheta’s images one experiences the subtle meaning of “Give No Fear”.
Deep Peace in the Dharma to All Beings.
R. Issan Mugai Elkin
Corrales, New Mexico
November 18, 2019