Ensō: A Meditation on an Interconnected World

As part of their work in the REL/EALC-3970 course on "Art and Meditation in Buddhism", students created a collective art project titled Ensō: A Meditation on an Interconnected World. Drawing from personal photographs taken in different places, they composed a visual collage in which mountains, skies, lands, plants, and architectures come together to form a Yuanxiang/Ensō (圓相/円相), the circular symbol of enlightenment in Chan/Zen Buddhism. By joining of these diverse images, they want to illustrate the Buddhist insight that enlightenment arises through the deep recognition of our world’s profound interconnectedness.