Streszczenie
This article aims to show that yūgen, wabi and sabi deserve to be called aesthetic values
of Zen art only when their definition complies with the logic of absolute contradictory
self-identity (the logic of paradox). Some definitions of yūgen, wabi and sabi are not
paradoxical and therefore they cannot be linked to Zen. I will try to prove that one must
be aware of the ambiguity of the aforementioned types of beauty – their meanings cannot
be narrowed to fit only within the realm of Zen tradition. The different types of beauty
that Japanese artists strove to express in their works have specific names. It’s impossible
to find equivalents for many of them in Western aesthetic categories. The starting point
of our inquiry will be aesthetic categories in Japanese poetry, because they have always
exerted great influence on art in Japan. Aesthetic values in Zen art are also connected
with reflection on the structure of reality – specifically, reality as experienced in the act
of Enlightenment (satori).