John Cage’s 4′33″ as a Zen Experience: Interpreting Experimental Music Through Mahāyāna Concepts

This paper explores the relationship between John Cage’s seminal work 4′33″ and the philosophies of Zen and Mahāyāna Buddhism, while reflecting on the limitations of Western philosophical frameworks in cross-cultural musical analysis. Existing scholarship has primarily focused on musical structure, performance practice, audience perception, and interpretations through Western theories such as those of Ludwig Wittgenstein and postmodernism, with limited attention to the influence of Eastern philosophy on Cage’s creative thought. Drawing on Mahāyāna concepts including emptiness, dependent origination, and the Two Truths, this study argues that the work’s use of silence encourages contemplation of the impermanence and relational nature of all phenomena. The paper further critiques the tendency to impose Western theoretical models upon Eastern thought, advocating instead for an experience-centred approach to cross-cultural analysis. It contends that 4′33″ is not merely an experimental musical work, but also a practical manifestation of Zen philosophy at the auditory and perceptual levels.