Quote:
Originally Posted by ryuurui
円相 one stroke circle of one's nature / energy (Zen philosophy)
below: 無心 (free from obstructive thoughts)
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A bit belated, but I really like this one.
It reminds me of this time my friend and I were on the train in Kyoto (she was studying sumi-e too). Our teacher had told us about the one-stroke zen circle and we'd had a go at painting them, but that had been months before and we'd mostly forgotten about it. As we were sitting, a man got on the train wearing Kimono. It was morning, and we were used to seeing women in kimono on that line at weekends, and the occasional monk, but a man in kimono was a bit of a rarity, so naturally, we were curious. He was dressed head to toe in black and white. Discreetly trying to peek at his outfit, we discussed who he might be or where he might be going. We weren't alone in this, needless to say on a modern train, he stood out a little! Yet I'd like to stress that he didn't seem flashy or wearing it like a costume. To say this man was showing off would be like accusing a fish of being too good at swimming. Anyway, it was a little warm on the train, and in due course he got out a fan. It was a white folding fan (silk, we thought) with a little red one-stroke circle painted on it.
My friend described him as living calligraphy. It's still the first thing I think of when I see a painted circle.