Zen Calligraphy - Mu
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- One of the most popular Ichijikan (One -word barriers) in Zen calligraphy is that of Mu(無), which can be translated as nothing or nothingness. This Mu probably is the best known Koan in the Zen Buddhist tradition, and to penetrate on its true meaning, the endeavor in the practice of Zazen or Zen sitting is essential. By the same means, Zen calligraphy must be understood as a realization of this practice, since the Zen calligrapher manifests in his art not just mere technical ability, but his No Mind ( Mushin). So by the gate of Zazen practice, the calligrapher can enter into the practice of Zensho (Zen calligraphy).
Chinese dictionaries have the primary connotations as "without", "not", "there is no/not/none" "un-", "non-", etc. I agree that the translation as "emptiness" is definitely taking license with the term and being too loose with the translation. The opposition of "u" 有 and "wu" 無 is sometimes translated as "existence" and "non-existence" being derived from "there is" and "there is not", which is okay for a philosophical context, but still, "there is not" should not be translated as "emptiness" which is the character 空 or transliterated by 舜若多 śūnyatā.
Gregory! How lovely to see you. I can't remember my username on ZFI but I was there from the second month.
Trust us to be hanging out down the Mu calligraphy end of RUclips.
I may have been Sparkle
I am Stu
Thank you for posting ...and very sorry to be answering you so late!
Well, I practice calligraphy in the spirit of Zen Buddhism. But I think that it is very necesary to have a good foundation and technique for calligraphy, so the instructional videos you have posted have been very helpful. Thank you!
Gassho
_/\_
Thank you!
I am glad you found some benefit looking at the video. I am still very much a beginner, but I practice all the time so that I can learn and improve a little day by day. I am sure you can see the results of your diligent practice too. Please, also study the works of the ancient masters. That is one of the best ways to learn Far Eastern Calligraphy.
_/I\_
Geeeez!
That is really good.
The flow of the last 無 was extremely beautiful.
Also, Chinese monks follow Vinaya precepts, but in Japan, the monks are ordained following only the Bodhissatva precepts. That is why most of Japanese priests do marry. Koreans monks in their majority also follow the Vinaya rule, but there is a Buddhist Seon order that do not. Also, I believe in Korea they do not establish the difference between Soto and Rinzai, but I think they do have a prevalent Koan practice.
_/I\_
As for your judgment, as I said before, my questions were only for the purpose of learning and understanding Chinese calligraphy. You did not read properly my last post on this. I made a mistake on the stroke order in kaisho script and I am grateful to Mr. Harvey (001Asoer) for his comments, since they come from a knowledgeable person on the subject. I used the other video example just for the sake of better understanding the matter at hand. Now I will let go!
No, the ideal of Mahayana Buddhism is the Bodhisattva, that is, the compassionate being that generates the Bodhicitta mind (Bodaishin in japanese)for the benefit of all sentient beings. The XIV Dalai Lama states, for example, that
The first quality we need to generate in order to enter the Mahayana is the bodhimind (bodhicita), that is, again, the greatest form of love and compassion. Of course, there must be also the practice of renunciation in Mahayana.
001Asoer, in the video R6Cizvv3jVI, the calligrapher does the character 無 in a different stroke order at the end of the video. Is this the wrong Chinese standard or just a idiosyncrasy of the calligrapher? You said that everybody does write this character wrong, but them, who does it right? The ancient models of the great masters found in stone or wooden tablets explain how to do the correct strokes orders for the Chinese characters? Where can one find the cannon for this matter?
I will refer to only two: the Kodanshas Essential Kanji Dictionary and The Kodansha Kanji Learners Dictionary. I have many other books on this subject in English, Spanish and Japanese, and each one of them have the same order for this character. I do not have any book in Chinese on stroke order, so it may be done differently.
My knowledge of English is far from perfect, so forgive me if I understood you incorrectly but in your post I think you are saying that I made an error in the stroke order for 無 in 楷書, since it must be written as in 行書. I must clarify that I wrote correctly the kanji of Mu in 楷書 as far as all my kanji dictionaries indicates.
As for calligraphy itself, in China there is not a special category for calligraphy done by Buddhist monks, while in Japan there is one, since the importance of this kind of artwork in the tea ceremony, for example. In Japan calligraphy by Zen masters or monks is called "bokuseki": "traces of ink".
The Obaku sect that came to Japan in the XVII century followed that system. Japanese Buddhism have more strict boundaries between schools and practices.
Tendai Buddhism is more eclectic since they have esoteric and exoteric practices, but this is not the way for traditional Japanese Zen Buddhism.
@ShanShui, while my calligraphy skills are very poor, I thank you for your comment. Probably you could find the calligraphy of 道 being done in a very masterful gyosho in some video of artvirtue. Take a look and good luck. Gassho _/I\_
Hello. Yes, it is very important to let go, but also is very important the motivation to learn and question things (or to "use"your own mistake) not only for your own benefit but for the benefit of others. This is the proper Mahayana attitude.
Gassho,
_/\_
Please, pardon me for my late response. The subject of your question is vast, and I am only going to be able to give a very brief answer. In Chinese Buddhism you can be a practicer of Chan but also Pure Land.
As for the gyosho script, you may know that the order can be different from the kaisho script and in this case in particular, you can do it following the standard order or not (as I have done it).
Hola amiga, que pronto retomes la practica del pincel, para que nos muestres caligrafías nacidas de tu mente de Buda! Saludos a Tataguiness.
Gassho
_/\_
of my dissertation, I continue to seek to understand Zen to a higher level and as such have tried as much as possible to continue practising Japanese Calligraphy as well as Kendo (the way of the sword). This video and its description of Mu pleases me very much, although I would be remiss if I didn't offer a word of Caution, it is an immense over simplification and indeed a slight mis-translation/mis-understanding to translate Mu as nothing or nothingness.
Espectacular, lástima que solo hayas montado 2 videos.
@Sanpitsu , I´m interested too in that same question (the difference between Chinese Zen and Japanese Zen, Korean Zen caligraphy. And, if you are able to answer me, what is the difference between "Chan buddhism" and Zen? Because Japanese Zen originates from Chan buddhism...
Thank you.
@euch27, I hope you found my private response to your questions helpful. It was to lenghty to write it here.
I already gave this ones. But if you are interested, you can pm me. Thank you for your interest.
_/I\_
Jon felicidades con mucho cariño...!!!.
El Arte es la belleza del Alma, continua para seguir tu ejemplo....
Rhayza
Sorry, not at the end. He starts writing the character at 1:50
You are welcome.
Thank you for watching the video!
_/I\_
Nice 'mu'! The practice of Mu definitely is a MUST =D
Thank you for your kind words.
Gassho,
_/\_
Thank you, you are very kind.
Gassho
_/\_
Muchas gracias por tu entusiasmo!
Gassho_/\_
Why are they chanting in english?
@gyuriteso Thank you.
Gassho _/I\_
You really got talent!
@BushiBato Thank you.
謝謝
To learn calligraphy, may that be Chinese, Japanese or calligraphy based on the Zen tradition, like Hitsuzendo, is necessary to learn from a teacher. But anyway, on RUclips there are many great videos that are calligraphy tutorials. You can go to artvirtue for Chinese calligraphy or to ryuurui for Chinese/Japanese calligraphy, just to mention two of them. But there are many more.
Thank you for your comment.
_/I\_
無 is one of my favorite characters and philosophy. Thanks for sharing this. I also have a long way to go as for knowledge and skills and 無我 serves as a good guidance to learn. Best wishes :)
Well done indeed.
Gracias Sensei por sus palabras. Sin sus enseñanzas, esto no sería posible. Espero honrar de algún modo a la escuela Budas de Agua que usted fundo con mi practica de caligrafía, por más que aun me falte muchísimo por pulir el pincel.
Gassho
_/I\_
Zen Buddhism is already part of the spiritual landscape of the West, so many Zen groups or Sanghas are chanting the Sutras in there own languages already. I think this is a very natural process, not bad, not good in itself. But you can still find other groups that follow more or less the Japanese way, like the ones associated to Taisen Deshimaru Roshi, for example.
Thank you for your question.
_/I\_
Thank you very much Mr. Hough. I still have a long way to go as to the knowledge ang skills in calligraphy, so I feel very honored that you have posted a comment here. Your web page and youtube videos, that I visit almost every day, have been a great source of learning and inspiration. Again thank you!
Gassho
_/\_
Muchas gracias. El camino es eterno pero cada día tenemos la oportunidad de practicar y actualizar nuestra naturaleza original a través del zazen o la caligrafía.
Gassho
_/\_
Yes!
_/I\_
For "classical" you mean "kaisho" 『楷書』or "standard" script. In Chinese calligraphy there are four more basic ones (there are subdivisions among them):
Tensho『 篆書』or seal script.
Reisho『隸書』or clerical script.
Gyōsho 『行書』or running script (also known as semi-cursive script)
Sōsho 『草書』or cursive script (also referred as "grass" script).
It is said that, in Zen calligraphy, even kaisho it's a kind of sōsho.
Thank you very much for your comment!
_/I\_
Thank you for sharing your path. As Dogen Zenji said, the way to directly enter the path of the Dharma is through the practice of zazen, so I would recommend this practice for the direct understanding of Zen (Zen is knowing yourself... forgetting yourself, said Dogen). As for Mu, the translation of the kanji in any dictionary is just that: "nothing", but I agree that in Zen you cannot stop just on a translation. But we have to start somewhere.
Rhayza, yo continuaré y sé que tu también...paso a paso, poquito a poquito realizaremos la Vía cada vez que hagamos un trazo con plena atención!
Gassho
_/\_
Thank you
javieradrianchomer, thank you for your comment. I still have a lot to learn and improve. Practice and more practice. Muchas gracias por tu comentario.
Gassho _/\_
Sensei, mis respetos. No hay palabras suficientes para expresar el honor y el agradecimiento que siento por haber recibido durante todos estos años sus enseñanzas.
Gassho
_/\_
Henry, Un abrazo y te deseo lo mejor para ti y tu familia en paz, salud y sabiduría.
Gassho (reverencia budista)
_/\_
ありがたや。_/I\_
This is great. its almost 12 months since I first approached the practise of Japanese Calligraphy as part of research on my Philosophy Bachelors Dissertation entitled 'The Concept of Nothingness: The Kyoto School and Continental Existentialism" both Module studying of Zen and the Kyoto School of Philosophers and my immediate and unwavering interest led me to seek to understand Zen at first on an academic basis in connection with european philosophy. From this and in spite of the finishing ...
@szevone thank you. This is one of the kanji that I like the most to practice.
Gassho,
_/I\_
Muchas gracias Creativadada por tu incondicional apoyo. Muy agradecido!
Gassho
_/\_
exellent job!! i'm practising japanese calligraphy almost everyday. after seeing this, i was inspired and i guess i had to work harder to make the better..
nice))
espectacular !
This is so beautiful. if anyone can direct me to some other place on the web where i can learn zensho, i would be very grateful.
_/l\_
Me encanto Jon, esta buenisimo !!!
cool, not zen