Zero = Abundance is your online resource to re-define “happiness” by exploring the potential of “less is more,” leveraging Japanese Zen aesthetics. We offer a variety of ideas and stories on the minimalist lifestyle, design/architecture, business and social change that will help design your own happiness without relying on “more stuff.”
In order to find the beauty of “less,” we look to Japanese aesthetics such as “wabi-sabi,” which were heavily influenced by Zen philosophy. Zen is a school of the “Great Vehicle” Buddhism, which embraces the notion of “空 (kuu)” as its core tenets. The Chinese character “空” means “empty”, “void” or “sky,” and “kuu” means that everything on Earth is temporary and subject to change. We often use the example of a half-filled glass to change our perspective: instead of lamenting that half of the water is gone, we can always think that there is still half left. But on this website, we would like to remind you that a glass completely empty is the most powerful image because it is full of potential.
Most of our contents are directly from and about Japan covering both traditional and modern/contemporary design, architecture, arts, life style and philosophy.
Author and Founder, InterAction Green
Mihoyo Fuji
Born in Japan into the family of a Buddhist priest, Mihoyo pursued undergraduate studies at Keio University, Tokyo, Japan (BA in French Literature). After moving to the United States, she competed MS in Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She currently lives in Sacramento, CA where she engages in sustainability projects.
While sharing on the site a variety of Japanese design sources that have never been translated into English, she also travels to Japan to cover stories on arts, design, architecture and philosophy. Her recent writing work includes a translation into Japanese of “The Big Pivot (Harvard Business Review Press)” by Andrew S. Winston.
Any questions, requests, comments, suggestions? Please write to us!
If you would like to receive updates, please subscribe to our newsletter using the form found at the right hand side of this page.