Definition: The art of finding beauty in imperfection
Origin: Japanese
Wabi-sabi is a philosophy that derives from Zen Buddhism and has been practiced in Japan since the 14th century. Its wisdom is something we can learn from and start practicing today.
Wabi-sabi emphasizes a connection to nature, not merely the idea of it, and grounds itself in existence, not essence. By focusing on existence, you must find beauty in imperfection because life and existence can never be perfect. With wabi-sabi, a wrinkle or grey hair would not cause any panic because it is a reminder that there’s beauty in aging. We will all age and our “imperfections” will show, but if aging becomes an art and not a shattering part of your identity, you will be more inclined to work at aging well instead of trying to appear as if you do not age at all.
Wabi-Sabi, Spiritlessness, & Ethnocide
Before I delve into why I appreciate wabi-sabi, I need to talk about why I do not like how America frequently perceives this Zen Buddhist practice.
America aspires for quick fixes. We like the idea of doing something once or for 30 days and hope that it fixes all of our problems. The desire for simple solutions attracts us to subtle philosophies. America then will try to consume this philosophy and package it in an overly simplified, spiritless iteration. America strips the philosophy of its geist, which America does well because we live in an ethnocidal society.
Ethnocide consists of destroying the culture or spirit of a people and using their bodies to generate profit. From the transatlantic slave trade to the chattel slavery system of the American South that fueled the nation’s economy, ethnocide has been a foundational pillar of American existence. Our society’s indoctrination with ethnocide means that Americans -- regardless of whether they have malicious intent or not -- will be inclined to extricate the culture and spirit of something foreign or “other” in order for it to appeal and be consumable by Americans. For Americans to want to engage with the spirit of a foreign philosophy, far too often the requirement is to overly simplify the concept and make it spiritless. Americans embrace a de-cultured iteration that is packaged as wabi-sabi, but obviously is not.
America has engaged a similar de-culturing with the Danish concept of hygge, and I mention hygge because Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard spoke about this problem in his 1844 book Begrebet Angest. In 1944, this book was finally translated into English and the current title is The Concept of Anxiety. Here is an important excerpt:
"In spiritlessness there is no anxiety. It is too happy for that, too content, and too spiritless…. Spiritlessness is spirit's stagnation and ideality's caricature. Spiritlessness is accordingly not literally dumb when it comes to repetition by rote, but it is dumb [has lost its sense] in the way in which it is said of salt that has lost its flavor and when one asks then how it can be salted."
In many ways, America aspires to be spiritless in order to avoid anxiety, and live in an eternal happiness fueled by ignorance. When this inevitably fails, America turns to the spirit of the other to solve America’s problems, but tragically American ethnocide still works to strip away this spirit and culture.
In this newsletter, I will not be talking about a spiritless wabi-sabi.
Wabi-Sabi as Existence
Wabi-sabi is a philosophical practice that can encompass every facet of your day. It has an aesthetic, but it also has poetry and written philosophy. The Japanese tea ceremony is guided by wabi-sabi. The point of wabi-sabi is to constantly remind people of the imperfections of life and to encourage them to turn these imperfections into a beautiful artistic expression. The reason wabi-sabi is so important is because all people search for purpose and meaning in the world, and the quest to find beauty and create art can help make life more meaningful.
Far too often when we think of wabi-sabi, we think of the crafts such as bowls, cups, and vases that have intentional “imperfections” added to them; but this is only one small sliver of wabi-sabi. The purpose of the bowl, cup, or vase is to prompt one to think about existence. Not to think about one’s ideal or perfect world, but to think about the real world with all of its imperfections, and to meditate on what you can do to help make it beautiful.
It is a philosophy with a visual aesthetic that physically prompts you to engage with the world and create art and beauty via wabi-sabi. It is not a quick fix. It is not casual. It is subtle, all-encompassing, and full of spirit.
Wabi-Sabi & Language
Wabi-sabi became a Japanese practice in the 14th century, yet prior to wabi-sabi there were wabi and sabi and neither words had positive meanings. Wabi meant the loneliness that comes with being in nature and away from society, and sabi meant “withered” or “lean.” The Japanese wanted nothing to do with neither wabi nor sabi, but the linguistic influence of Japanese Zen Buddhism redefined the words and much of Japanese society.
The zen-influenced wabi now celebrates the simplicity of nature and the importance of human connection to nature. The concept is not too dissimilar from the German word stille. Sabi now means the beauty that comes with age. Therefore, wabi-sabi combined reflects the beauty of passing time and humanity’s connection to nature. This subtle redefining of two words and combining them together creates a new way of seeing and engaging with the world.
At The Sustainable Culture Lab, we obviously understand the importance of language and philosophy, and words like wabi-sabi remind me of how subtle linguistic shifts can influence a society. Additionally, America’s spiritless understanding of wabi-sabi also shows how meaning can be easily stripped away in a society shaped by ethnocide. Paying attention to the true spirit and culture of wabi-sabi helps to slowly combat ethnocide and cultivate the eǔtopian spaces we all need.
This week we would like you to think about wabi-sabi and the importance of sustaining, and not extracting, spirit as you engage with the world and find beauty in its imperfections.
Please share your thoughts with us via email, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter using #TheWord, and support us on Patreon. We will be hosting a Live Q&A session on our Instagram today at 5PM ET so that we can answer your questions about wabi-sabi. See you there.