There is a symbol that is widely used and thought of as the Zen Circle.
This symbol can also be known as an Enso Circle which translates to “ A Circle of Enlightenment” by the Japanese.
These 2 terms of the same meaning are an amazing spiritual symbol. If you follow a spiritual path in your life , you may have come across these in some form.
It could be either a painting , a picture in a book or some of the more popular body tattoos
Tattoos are now becoming a fashion item for the spiritual minded amongst us.
So I’m going to go into depth in this article and open your mind to the discovery of what a Zen / Enso Circle is and how this could be a part of your life.
Here is a great explanation what a Zen Circle is.
Zen Circle Meaning ( enso circle meaning)
An Enso or Zen Circles origins go back to the 6th century with the Japanese Buddhist monks. The meaning as mention earlier, refers to a hand-painted circle, however.
The key to draw or paint one of these circles is that it’s performed in one single stroke and in one single breath during the operation.
The final product as you’ll see in the video above, is NOT a perfect circle sometimes.
The true meaning of generating a circle by Buddhist zen circle masters, is the desire to brush out the circle and emphasis the complexity of a spiritual Buddhist tradition.
The goal and purpose of the performance is to show how free the mind is to let our bodies create and this normally generated using black ink on a white paper background.
The Buddhist monks traditionally endorse that a person can ONLY successfully draw a Zen Circle if he or she is spiritually completed at their particular stage of their life right now.
So its truly and on going mastering process.
Zen Circle History
In the ancient 6thcentury scripts, it’s was recorded that Shin Jin Mei stated that “A circle is a vast space, which does not lack anything, nor does it have too much.”
The drawing of a circle may be open or closed, i.e. complete or incomplete.
As the art is practiced its fair to say that no two zen circles are ever alike.
They all have their own uniqueness.
This knowledge is fantastic to know that what you have drawn is entirely your own work. Its also a comfort to know that the finished article its neither good or bad. It will never be judged.
Its literal a beautiful creation of imperfection.
Zen Masters
Many people today might paint an Enso circle just for fun, creating this symbol with a void or emptiness wasn’t a one-time thing for the Japanese though.
In 1707, a monk by the name of Hakuin was intrigued by the special art when he saw the work of a Zen master.
Hakuin, in turn, created his own designs, which appeared seemingly flawless. While beautiful on page, his work did not resemble his inner self.
Burning his brushes, giving Zen art a break for decades, he finally worked on it again.
The example in history brings to light that painting Zen circles isn’t just about painting an art on a piece of paper.
Specialist tools are also needed to practice the art correctly.
Enso Circle Art
Japanese Calligraphy – Shodo
The tools and mechanics of drawing the Enso are often the same as those used in traditional Japanese calligraphy.
This means using one brush to apply ink to a thin Japanese rice paper.
SHODO is one of the oldest and most profound traditional art forms in Japan, developed and has been appreciated since the 5th century.
The world of calligraphy has its long rich history. It went through many possible calligraphic styles and expressions during its 3000 years of existence.
Shodo Paper
SHODO is not only a highly regarded art form in Japan, it is both a skill and an aesthetic.
The depth of beauty in SHODO is the result of diverse techniques. It’s accompanied with a flow of brush and ink onto the paper ,essentially with an inner silence/stillness and spiritual concentration.
“SHODO” is a Japanese word which is often translated and described as “the way of artistic hand writing or beautiful writing”.
Another meaning of calligraphy is written with 2 Kanji characters.
SHO 書: to write, writing
DO 道 : the path, the way or the TAO
Shodo Brushes & Inks
This spiritual practice of drawing Enso for self-realisation is called ‘hitsuzendo’
This is translated to ‘way of the brush’.
It’s thought to imprint an artist’s essence through the single stroke performed of the art.
You would be of the opinion that drawing a “Simple” circle is a piece of cake ?
It’s actually a very difficult item to draw and takes practice.
The fact that the result does require it to be a very natural movement , the pure difficulty of drawing a perfect circle shape requires many hours of patients and practice.
The items below show a great example of how to perform the Zen Circle.
Remember the traditional practice is to perform this in one single stroke and in one single breath during the operation.
1 – The Start Point
2 – Take A Breath In
3 – Breath Out Slowly
4 – Twist at the top
5 – The Final Stroke
As you can see, this is not an easy task especially as your hand twists on the returning of the circle completion.
The key is that it takes practice and patients….that’s the spirit of Buddhism and the art of a Zen Circle.
Zen Circle Tattoo
The popularity of this body art is in the simplicity and beauty. It’s very popular now days for people from all around the world to get an Enso circle tattoo.
As you can see, some of the tattoos aren’t just the traditional Enso’s alone, but can incorporate other aspects or modifications..
Upper Arm Tattoo
Forearm Tattoo
Shoulder Tattoo
Zen Circles Of Enlightment
The drawing of a Zen Circle embodies a key aspect of Zen Buddhism that is the ‘no-mind’ concept.
The no-mind concept is a state where you are free of thoughts and emotions and are completely present in the here and now.
That concept is central to meditation, letting go of everything in the back of your mind, not letting the mind wander, and being completely present in the moment.
To draw a ‘true’ enso, according to Zen Buddhists’ beliefs, you need to be completely mentally and spiritually complete, and meditation is a central way to achieve this.
Zen Circle – Summary
We hope you have found this information useful in the understanding of what a Zen Circle / Enso Circle actually is and the meaning of them in our lives.
They are truly a wonderful thing to engage into , especially to art work and the meaning of spiritually performing the circle.
I hope this inspires you to do your own.