Art

Benefits of anatta include enhanced insight, leading to increased fascination with art that is transcendent. Examples from music include Beethoven's string quartets opus 130, 131, 132, as well as his Ninth Symphony.

Beethoven's opus 130, 131, and 132: I get the chills just contemplating posting about this transcendental music. I use that word because these quartets are beyond beauty.

When the solo violin sounds in opus 131, "crystalline" comes to mind, as Venus might appear on a clear night. Eight minutes into the 4th movement, I see a cascade of colored crystals: not due to the momentary sound, but due to the conditioning imparted by attentively listening all that precedes.

4-1/2 minutes into the second movement of opus 132, I see luminous angels dancing on the head of a pin. In the third movement, I stare into the face of God. And I am atheist!

40+ years ago, I listened to a program on FM radio entitled "Beethoven: His Spiritual Development" featuring excerpts from a book of the same title by J.W.N. Sullivan and, of course, the music. I remember it so clearly because it expanded my reality. I have that book now. And I have the Tokyo String Quartet's rendition.

One may consider such music to be second only to silence, the most transcendent of all.