This month take a few minutes break to doodle any shapes, lines or patterns you fancy. It is so relaxing to just take any pen and start with a line or shape, then bring other shapes and lines around it, curves or zig zags or… Read More »Creative Time – Abstract doodly fun
At our cozy and friendly zoom Shakyo group, we copied the short Boundless Life Ten Line Bodhisattva of Compassion Sutra (Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo) 延命十句観音経 for wellbeing and meditative practice. It is a short Sutra so we had some extra time to have a chat… Read More »Shakyo practice of the Boundless Life Bodhisattva of Compassion Sutra
After the summer break we met at our online group and enjoyed brushing the characters kiryoku 気力 , which means – vitality or energy, or willpower. The first kanji Ki 気 (in the pic attached) is the same character as qi/chi in Chinese such as… Read More »Vitality of Shodo calligraphy at Zen Brush
At Destress doodling this month we had a theme of being in the open spaces of the mountains and hills, enjoying the mysterious light and space to breathe. It was a relaxing group with people having the time to settle, feel grounded and calm. We… Read More »Destress doodling mountains for space and wellbeing
The theme for August was 五輪 Gorin – literally Five Rings – meaning that is, the Olympics! And since we were counting, we practiced most of the useful kanji numbers from zero to many million. So helpful for reading numbers in kanji whether from a… Read More »Olympic theme of 5 rings and numbers at Kanji Club
Have you made it to the open space of the seaside or lochs this summer? Or can you imagine being on the water, looking out to big horizons or looking down and seeing colourful mysterious sea creatures swimming below? For our Creative Time fun artwork… Read More »Creative Time – Above and below the waves
At our Shakyo Sutra Copying group we had a very peaceful and relaxing time for practice. It was a really nice atmosphere. We followed the inspiring Four Vast Bodhisattva Vows – 四弘誓願文 Shiguseiganmon. This is a short (just five lines including the title) but deep and… Read More »Rhythm and spaciousness in Shakyo of the Four Vast Vows
On the long sunny night of midsummer’s day we had our monthly shodo calligraphy group! We worked on the famous characters ei wa kyuu nen 永和九年 , which literally means – eternal, harmony, nine, year – from the beginning of the old classic by famous… Read More »Midsummer Shodo brushing the Orchid Pavillion Preface
At our Destress drawing and doodling group we had a theme of being along the coast, looking down at shells and pebbles ? It was a joy just having the time discovering and doodling the varied shapes and textures of things from the shore and… Read More »Exploring shells and pebbles at Destress drawing
We had great fun at Kanji Club in June with our theme of signage, looking at lots of really interesting and quirky signs, reading and pronouncing the vocab and sentences. We wrote some common ones such as 注意 chuui be careful! And Blair showed folk… Read More »Japanese signs at Kanji Club, 注意!