The Awakened Eye: A Companion Volume to the Zen of Seeing, Seeing/Drawing as Meditation

by Frederick Franck

Wants to the extraordinary enthusiasm with which his previous book was received, Frederick Franck has written more and in greater depth about the spiritual aesthetic approach he calls seeing and drawing as meditation. In this meditative discipline, the hands learn to mirror what the eye perceives without the intellect interfering. Instead of our habitual looking, we begin to recover the lost art of seeing, for through the act of the drawing we see living things around us, and ourselves, with a new awareness. Each stroke, each dot upon the paper is a precise measure of the quality of that awareness. Hence seen and drawing as meditation does not require any previous art training and can be practiced alone. The author includes in this book a vividly written workshop for those unable to attend one of the live workshop retreats that he is conducted all over the United States. This is also a refresher course for those who have attended and are now on their own. The author's drawings and paintings are part of the permanent collections of more than a dozen museums in America and abroad. He is an uncommonly versatile man.

Genres: Art, Drawing, Spirituality, Meditation

147 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Stephanie Froebel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Awakened Eye was a "lame" (for lack of better words coming to mind" companion novel to the Zen of Seeing.

I rather enjoyed the Zen of Seeing, but this book poorly lived up to it.

The Awakened Eye felt more like unfinished excerpts that were not even threaded together. There were some valuable one-offs, but for most of the time, the narrative was lost or nonexistent.

The book was also printed in the author's actual handwriting, while though adds a personal touch, makes reading a little more difficult and less fluid (contrary to the fluidity that he expresses with his seeing/drawing concepts).

The Ten Commandments on seeing/drawing were a nice touch though at the end of the novel. In particular, I appreciate VIII: "you shall love the ten thousand things will all your heart and a blade of grass as yourself".

[Vrinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh, this was a fabulous book!! Gorgeously handwritten and illustrated, it addressed some profound themes about seeing with an awakened eye, not deluding ourselves, not making art for audiences, and living on the "beloved earth." Quick read - I think I finished it in 3 sittings. Also deals with themes of beauty, aging, and the student/teacher relationship.

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frank goes beyond his "The Zen of Seeing", which describes his method to look at scenes and draw them quickly. Here, he describes how he teaches others, or attempts to teach others, how to do the same thing in a workshop format. He doesn't have a great success rate at this, but it is interesting in how he choses to present the material to the class and how he makes them practice.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zen Seeing Zen Drawing: Meditation in Action is a lovely introduction to the meditation of seeing/drawing which serves as both a drawing primer and a guide to how to view the world. SZSD is not in the Good Reads data base,so I selected the companion volume to review, though I have only read the original.

[George Verras · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Franck's work because it is a documentary of his journey to mindfulness through his art.