DESCRIPTION :
A zen painting of a meditating skeleton. The inscription reads as follows: 'Sickness is bliss, everything else is misery--look at this guy still trying to figure this out! Painted and inscribed by the King of Hell's assistant'. The inscription is a crazy poem (kyoka) in crazy, winding brushwork. The meaning, apparently, is that once you realize that sickness and ultimately death are integral parts of life and do not try to avoid them by chasing after trifling things (that will eventually prove to be unsatisfactory), you will be in a state of bliss. The mediating skeleton is trying hard to understand this heavy-duty truth even though he does not realize that he is already an example of the fleeting nature of all things. The name used by the artist in the signature emphasizes the urgency of the matter--'Hell is waiting for those who fritter their lives away!' Despite the gravity of the subject, the painting is graced with Zen humor, almost light-hearted in style, and more of gentle warning than a dire prediction. |
