The way of Zen: representing Zen through cinematic audiovisual language

Abstract

This study explores how the audiovisual language of cinema can embody the abstract aesthetics of Zen through a series of experimental creative practices and the production of a documentary film, combined with analyses of previous Zen-themed films and related literature. Adopting a practice-as-research methodology, the study comprises multiple audiovisual experiments inspired by Zen aesthetics, exploring how image, time, and sound may articulate core Zen concepts such as emptiness, no-mind, mindfulness, impermanence, and the unity of heaven and humanity. The production and exhibition of a 65-minute documentary entitled The Way of Zen built on these findings and was followed by a critical and reflective analysis of the underlying creative process. Deliberately departing from conventional narrative modes, the film interweaves two narrative pathways: the path of embodied Zen, reflected in Junayde’s Kung Fu practice, and the path of experiential Zen, represented by Hanling’s walking meditation, to construct a contemplative cinematic space that invites viewers into a sensory rather than conceptual experience of Zen.

Drawing on the author’s aesthetic analysis, together with screening feedback collected from screenings at film festivals, academic conferences, meditation centres, and art galleries, the study concludes that The Way of Zen and the audiovisual models it constructs are, to a certain extent, effective in conveying the connotations and ideas of Zen. The film enables viewers to gradually enter a state of no-mind, evoking a sense of emptiness. This indicates that, through its treatment of rhythm, sound, and spatial composition, the film successfully guides audiences toward an experiential rather than rational apprehension of Zen.

The originality of this research lies in its proposal of an open-circle Ensō Narrative Structure and seven composite audiovisual models: the Blank-Leaving Model, the Composite Low-Shutter and Defocus Model, the Zen-Inspired Long-Take Model, the Zen Slow-Time Model, the Singing-Bowl De-narration Model, the Natural-Sound Immersion Model, and the Mindfulness Aerial-Shot Model. These models interact across visual, temporal, and sonic dimensions to create an integrated meditative viewing experience. By combining aesthetic experimentation, embodied practice, and reflective analysis, this study demonstrates how cinema can serve as both a medium and a method for experiencing and practising Zen, transcending cultural and linguistic boundaries to become a contemporary form of contemplative expression.

Date of Award	Jul 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast
Supervisor	Frank Delaney (Supervisor) & Derek Johnston (Supervisor)