Finding Buddhism in Shodo (Japanese Calligraphy)
One of my hobbies is learning Shodo (Japanese Calligraphy). I took Shodo classes from kindergarten through high school as an after-Japanese School activity. During my grade school and high school years, Shodo classes were a fun thing to do, to hang out with friends and to fulfill my mom’s hopes of having a daughter with good penmanship.
I recently started taking Shodo classes again and have learned so much more about the Art of Shodo and its connection to Buddhism. Shodo is literally translated as the “way of writing” or the “writing path”. It has a very similar ranking system as martial arts where you can progress from 10 kyu to 1 kyu. Then you move on to shodan, 1 dan, then all the way to 6 dan. From brush to paper, one is expressing kiai (joining spirit) as you write or brush a character just as when you do a karate move. It is said that all the artists emotions are imprinted on the paper, which can be felt and viewed 10, 100, or even 1,000 years from when it was written.
During my weekly classes, I find myself intensely concentrating to make my work just right. Constantly, I am thinking: What is the correct stroke order of the kanji? Where should I start on the paper? How much ink should I put on my brush? How do I do this set of kana so that it strokes blur properly? This concentration is similar to mindful meditation. I can block out all other thoughts and concentrate on the present moment. Therefore, shodo is a great tool to help relieve the pressures of a busy life. I’m currently working on my shodan ranking which is equivalent to the lowest level black belt in martial arts.
I recently discovered Shakyo, the art of hand-copying a sutra. In ancient times in China and Japan, sutras were copied to spread the Buddha Dharma. Chanting a sutra has meditative qualities in that you need to concentrate on the lines so that you chant the correct words and sounds. Similarly, hand-copying a sutra requires concentration. I recently copied the Juseige, one of the shorter Shin Buddhist sutras. I had to concentrate because one mistake would mean I would have to start over. You cannot just erase and rewrite your brush strokes. The next sutra I’d like to copy is the Shoshinge, which is much longer. The Shoshinge has 120 lines with 7 kanji characters per line!
The ministers at OCBC, particularly Rev. Marvin Harada (current Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America), would often include an explanation of a Japanese kanji in their weekly Sunday Dharma message. Rev. Harada would sometimes even bring up Dharma School students to a whiteboard to write a kanji. On several occasions I would go home and write the kanji with my calligraphy brush. Recently, Bishop Harada wrote about the phrase Nyo-Ze-Ga-Mon in the October 2022 issue of the Wheel of Dharma, BCAs monthly newsletter. Nyo-Ze-Ga-Mon is found at the beginning of one of our sutras and is translated to “Thus have I heard”. Bishop Harada eloquently describes that this phrase is important in our Shin Buddhist tradition because our central tradition is to hear or listen. He concludes, “may we listen to the Dharma with such sincerity, such conviction, such urgency, and when we do, we come to receive the Dharma and be able to say for ourselves, Nyo-Ze-Ga-Mon. Thus have I heard.” After reading this article, I searched for the kanjis for this phrase and wrote it with my brush. I’m hoping to write it many times again.
