Hakuin Ekaku’s self-portrait functions less as a conventional likeness and more as a visual Dharma teaching. Depicting himself with exaggerated, sometimes grotesque features and a beggar-like or lowly appearance, he deliberately overturns expectations of what a revered Zen master “should” look like. This image operates as a kind of visual koan, inviting the viewer to question habitual judgments about beauty, status, and sanctity. In doing so, it embodies the Zen insight that awakening is not confined to idealized forms, but is fully present in the ordinary and humble.

At the same time, the self-portrait expresses a radical rejection of ego and self-glorification. Rather than presenting a dignified, polished image, Hakuin exposes himself in a raw, unflattering manner that undermines pride and self-importance. This artistic choice enacts the Buddhist teaching of ego dissolution: the more the “master” appears lowly, the more clearly the teaching points beyond personal reputation. The portrait thus becomes a mirror in which viewers are prompted to examine their own attachment to image and identity.

Hakuin’s use of his own image also illustrates the integration of art and Dharma as a means of direct transmission. The bold, unconventional style, together with the striking subject matter, is meant to shock, amuse, or unsettle, thereby loosening rigid conceptual habits. In this way, the painting serves as a visual sermon, a non-verbal teaching that can reach those outside formal monastic settings. It stands as an iconic representation of a vigorous, accessible Zen, in which enlightenment is not the preserve of an elite but is available to all who genuinely inquire.

Finally, the self-portrait reflects an authentic, unvarnished mode of spiritual expression. By refusing artificial dignity and embracing a rough, even eccentric presentation, Hakuin allows personality to become transparent to the Dharma rather than an obstacle to it. The viewer is invited to see that Buddha-nature is not something added to a purified, ideal self, but is already present in the very figure that appears flawed, aged, or ridiculous. In this sense, the portrait quietly proclaims that the path to awakening runs straight through the ordinary human form, just as it is.