Piling Snow in a Silver Bowl

A silver bowl filled with snow, a heron hidden in the moon.—Dongshan 

A rebirth of the arts occurred in Japan during the Muromachi period in the 14th century. Poetry and painting flourished and a form of theater called Noh developed. This form used carved masks and combined mime, dance, poetry, and song. 

Derived from the Japanese word for "skill or talent, Noh is a form of classical musical drama. Developed by Kan'ami and son, Zeami, Noh tells stories of human passion and struggle from an otherworldly perspective with masks and gestures.

Actors train for a lifetime to communicate universal emotion to the audience.



Zeami wrote the book of dramatic theory called the Kadensho. He shares the secrets of achieving the highest accomplishment as a non actor. With nature images as a metaphor, he refers to various levels of artistic achievement in the performing arts as hana or flowers.

Zeami indicates one of the highest levels of accomplishment occurs when an actor captures a moment of beauty:

. . .  piling up snow in a silver bowl . . . the hues that derive from a pure, clean white light, an appearance that gives rise to a real sense of gentleness. Can it not be said that such 

represents the Flower of Tranquility.

Find your moments of beauty.