Sha Za Ki Ssa (“Have Seat Drink Tea”)
Zuisho Nushi To Naru (“Wherever, Become Your Own Master”)
Dai Dō Mu Mon (“Great Path No Gate”)
Shiru Ki Sore Kami (“No Timing Is God”)
CHAPTER 7
Hon Rai Mu Ichi Butsu (“Originally [There Was] Not One Thing”)
Haku Un Onozu Kara Kyo Rai Suru (“White Cloud Oneself Come and Go”)
Doku Za Dai Yū Hō (“Alone Seated on the Great Summit”)
Nichi Nichi Kore Kō Jitsu (“Every Day Is a Good Day”)
Hō Ken Ari Shu Ri (“Treasure Sword in My Hand”)
Sei Fū Shū Chiku O Ugokasu (“Fresh Breeze Affects Serene Bamboo”)
Gei Dō Kore Butsu Dō (“The Way of Art Is the Way of the Buddha”)
Kumo Sari Seizan Arawareru (“Cloud Passes Blue Mountain Appears”)
Bu Ji Kore Ki Nin (“Without Stratagem Is Noble Person”)
Jiki Shin Kore Dōjō (“Willing Heart Is the Dojo”)
Mizu Itaru Kiyoshi Nashi Sakana (“Water Reaches Purity No Fish”)
CHAPTER 8
Ha Kkaku No Ma Ban Kū Ri O Hashiru (“Octagonal Grinding Disk Cuts Through the Universe”)
Uchi Ni Mukai Soto Ni Mukai Au Mono O Subete Korosu (“Face In Face Out Meet Person Kill All”)
CHAPTER 9
Appendix: The Original Sources of Zengo
Foreword
Bokuseki are writings by Zen priests which also serve as an introduction to Zen philosophy. In my opinion, Professor Sato’s concept to use these “statements” as a guide for shodo makes this one of the finest introductions to the art. Considering the sho (writing) of bokuseki brings to light the spiritual side of sho along with the source from which such writings come.
Each of the zengo, or statements from Zen philosophy, are written here in three calligraphic styles—kaisho (formal), gyosho (semi-formal) and sosho (informal)—and provides you with an opportunity to study and compare the works of Zen priests, professional sho artists, and other people whose interest led them to study the art of sho. The wide range of examples shows how individual personality is revealed through the practitioners’ writing, and this makes this book an exemplary teaching tool.
There is great freedom and spirituality in the brushwork of the bokuseki written by the many well-known Zen priests in these pages. When written with a brush and sumi ink, ideograms impart vast depth in artistry. This is the beauty and charm that is being introduced through this book. Most importantly, while one is practicing the copying of ideograms, there is also the opportunity to ponder over the meaning of the Zen statement.
While there are many “how to” manuals on the shelves of bookstores that are designed to teach Chinese ideograms, commonly referred to as characters, the type of guidance offered in those books is aimed at mastering the most common ideograms in written Chinese, not at developing artistic style. Traditionally Chinese poetry has been used as a “copy book” source by shodo practitioners, serving as a model to follow for improving one’s style. The person who instead uses Shodo as their guide or “copy book” will benefit by eventually developing a great understanding of the depth in philosophical understanding and the range in beauty and artistry of ichigyo mono.
Professor Shozo Sato has spent the greater part of his adult life in the United States, where he has dedicated his time to teaching and disseminating, both here and abroad, the traditional cultural arts of Japan. His unwavering resolve has helped the students in his classes and the public at large to develop an understanding of Japanese arts and culture. At every opportunity, he has lectured at and conducted workshops for civic and educational organizations and institutions. Depending on the interests and age levels of his audience, his chosen topics range from the theatrical arts and ikebana (the art of arranging flowers) to chado (the tea ceremony) and sumi-e (Japanese ink painting). His work invariably helps people see how these arts explain the foundations of Japanese culture: how the Japanese think, how they develop concepts and ideas, and how they create and express themselves.
Among Professor Sato’s numerous publications, two recent books, Ikebana: The Art of Arranging Flowers and Sumi-e: The Art of Japanese Ink Painting, have been especially well received by teachers and learners. Over the years as he lectured and taught his courses on these arts and others, he became more deeply aware of how profoundly the traditional arts were rooted in Zen Buddhist philosophy, and that it was through Zen philosophy that the Japanese arts flourished and matured.
Zen philosophy and Zen aesthetics hold a unique position in the history of world culture. Today, across the United States, Zen Buddhism has been widely adopted. Thus this book comes at an opportune time. The person who begins the study of shodo through this book may well discover a freedom or release from certain attachments, especially to material things, and perhaps develop an interest in the dynamic processes of the mind as found in Zen Buddhism. Our world is filled with a material culture and many of our so-called “pressing needs” in daily life are based on that need. It is my sincere wish that readers will find the passage of release from materialistic social boundaries. Finally, I hope that this unique book will serve as a guide in many ways.
Gengo Akiba Roshi
Former Superintendent General, Soto Sect of Zen
North America International Missionary
Preface
Communication through writing began in ancient times with pictographs and petroglyphs, and has continued down through the ages in many forms. Ideographs developed in ancient China are still being used for communication today, through the use of brushes, pens or the latest electronic devices, in countries that use the Chinese language such as The People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and others.
However, these same ideograms, when written with a brush under certain circumstances, are also used as artistic and philosophic expressions. This book is about how artistry and philosophy are transmitted through shodo (sho=writing; do=way), or the Japanese study of calligraphy.
Handwriting, whether used for ideogram-based languages, Roman-character based languages like English, or for any others, is uniquely individual, just as human oral expressions are. This unique expression of a human personality, which goes beyond “right” or “wrong,” is seen in the variety of examples in this book. They range from fundamentally classic to abstract, from gentle to energetic.
Ichigyo mono (ichi=one; gyo=line; mono=category) in this book refers to the one-line statements from Zen philosophy that are used in the practice of shodo. These one-line statements have mostly been taken from treatises written by Zen monks and are considered to be the