{"product_id":"9788090818552","title":"Zen bez mistra – Meeuwse Frenk (2023)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis Czech-language graphic novel combines Frenk Meeuwsen’s memories of growing up in the Netherlands, scenes from everyday life in Japan, the history of Buddhism, meditation practices and reflections on drawing as an artistic genre. Meeuwsen, a Dutch painter and cartoonist interested in Far Eastern teachings and martial arts, lived in Kyoto in the mid-1990s, where he created many of the Japanese sketches later used in this work. The comic asks whether and how a European can enter the world of Zen, exploring the author’s desire to overcome his own need for violence and examining the appeal of ritual and renunciation. A long sequence focuses on the ritual of traditional Japanese archery. Meeuwsen concludes that most European seekers of enlightenment in Japan, himself included, remain trapped in their own egotism and approach Japanese teachings subjectively. He does not idealise Zen Buddhism, pointing instead to its darker periods, including the support some Japanese monks gave to kamikaze pilots during the Second World War and the allegiance of Zen masters to the dictatorship of the time. The story is told through simple black-and-white realistic drawings that employ varied comic techniques, shifting panel sizes and narrative perspectives, depicting surreal dream worlds and tormenting characters with enormous blocks of lettering. Short chapters move back and forth through time, forming an unconventional narrative reminiscent in structure of Zen texts and the seemingly nonsensical koans of Zen masters.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Michał Słomka","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54025183002971,"sku":"9788090818552","price":49.9,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1787\/2513\/files\/0571204.jpg?v=1789062633","url":"https:\/\/czechmovie.com\/products\/9788090818552","provider":"czechmovie","version":"1.0","type":"link"}