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Huike Presenting His Severed Arm To Bodhidharma Analysis

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Dating back to the mid-tenth century, Zen Buddhism, or the belief of enlightenment through oneself, has been a major topic for both Chinese and Japanese figure paintings. In fact, Dai Jin (1388-1462), a Chinese artist during the Ming Dynasty, created a horizontal piece that focuses on telling a famous Zen story and lesson. His piece was then recreated under the name Huike Presenting His Severed Arm to Bodhidharma by Shesshu (1420-1506), a Japanese artist of the Muromachi period, in 1496. Both of these pieces allude to the Zen story of Huike and Bodhidharma. In this story, Huike, a young man, was determined to become a student under the famous Bodhidharma, or the first Chinese monk of Zen Buddhism. However, despite Huike's consistent begging, …show more content…

For instance, Shesshu creates his piece on a hanging, or vertical, scroll in order to zoom in and focus on the figures of Huike and Bodhidharma. Both of these figures are off centered—Huike is shifted to the left, becoming visually closer to the viewer, while Bodhidharma is shifted slightly to the right, becoming visually further to the viewer. In both China and Japan, they read and view objects from right to left. By placing Huike on the left and Bodhidharma on the right, Shesshu is suggesting that the teacher comes before the student, like how the chicken comes before the egg. The teacher is extremely important in life and greatly needed. Without the teacher, students would not exist. They would merely be people who are hopelessly lost on their journey toward success. Additionally, Huike's body is cut off from the painting, only showing his torso and up. However, Bodhidharma's entire body is shown; it is not hidden behind the cave walls, nor cut off at any point. Shesshu purposely positions the males' bodies in those spots in order to convey the idea that Huike is an incomplete spirit when compared to Bodhidharma. Huike is the merely student, wishing to learn the ways of Zen Buddhism. He is still lost and wandering in the world, not truly knowing where he belongs. On the other hand, Bodhidharma is the master of Zen Buddhism; he is calm, collected, and knows his

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