Connecting People Through Shodō Calligraphy
As the weather became more autumnal and windy, we brushed the first two characters of Senri Dōfū 千里同風 , which says – Thousands of miles, yet the same wind blows ✨ This is a Zen phrase with meanings including to do with people feeling connected to each other and understanding that they have shared experiences regardless of the distance they are apart.
For our last day at the Tibetan centre Kagyu Samye Dzong (before moving to Woodside Library) since we began our shodō class there back in 2017, we had a busy and lively group of participants. KSD has been such a delightful venue for the classes with a peaceful and community feel. The online Zen Brush group was also having an energetic vibe with some new folks joining.
At both groups we brushed the kaisho standard script and the sōsho cursive ‘grass’ styles, and at the longer online group we also brushed the gyōsho semi cursive script to explore the relationships between the styles.
Blair shared an autumnal haiku poem by the esteemed Edo period poet Bashō:
None is travelling
Here along this way but I,
This autumn evening.
Thanks to everyone for taking part, and to those for sharing some pictures here of their calligraphy practice. Huge thanks also to KSD for supporting our meditative and calligraphic groups over the years!