Every time I go to Qianmen Avenue, the Chinese bookstore is a must-go place, I like to look at the books that are shelved in the corner, because the ones in the prominent position are those that are best-selling, popular, about the stars, successful learning, how to run various relationships, etc., in short, I don't read. Yesterday afternoon, I stumbled upon a copy of "The Zen Machine of Flower Language Full of Heavens" in the bookstore, a version from ten years ago, which is some of Master Koichi's articles on Buddhism. I don't believe in Buddhism, but the enigmatic Master Koichi captivated me deeply, about his paintings, music, and his extraordinary life journey.
Master Koichi said Buddha
Because he is engaged in calligraphy and painting, he naturally pays attention to the achievements of Master Koichi in calligraphy and painting. As a high monk calligrapher, Master Hongyi is very different from some famous monks and calligraphers in history, such as Huai Su and Zhi Yong, who are also dressed in robes, and they seem to be only artists living in Buddhism and do not have a firm Buddhist belief. Another example is the Bada Shanren in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, who also became a monk when they were frustrated in life, and they were always in and out, and they were not detached. Master Koichi, on the other hand, was self-absorbed, detached from the world, and was a pure and thorough Buddhist believer. Of course, here I do not demean the meaning of being listed as everyone, but different life circumstances, different life choices, and there is no high or low right or wrong.
Statue of Master Koichi
Master Koichi calligraphy
It is said that the words are like their people, and Master Hongyi's calligraphy has changed from the dashing and ethereal in the ordinary time to the plain and simple after renunciation, which is the result of day-to-day cultivation and the sublimation of the master's inner realm. It is the embodiment of deeply tasting the taste of life in the world, and then going back to the kind of life that is withered and silent in the eyes of ordinary people, and it is quiet and elegant, simple and natural.
From the perspective of pure calligraphy art, Master Hongyi should be one of the few calligraphers in modern times, which needs to be slowly realized. At that time, people like Lu Xun and Guo Moruo would also be happy to get a picture of Master Hongyi's words. Sometimes a calligraphy work is bland at first sight, but as you become familiar with the work and understand the author behind it, your experience will become deeper and deeper, and you will feel the emotions contained in the words and the author's thoughts. For a person with complex life experiences and ups and downs in his life, what sorrow and joy does he have, "the intersection of sorrow and joy", for mortals like you and me, can you also feel it?
Once, in order to explore the footprints of the master, I went to the Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, and imagined what kind of emotions and thoughts Master Hongyi, who was dressed in a hundred robes and walking barefoot on the mountain road, had. In this impetuous world today, can we also find a piece of our own spiritual home?
Koichi Master Stupa
Well, no more talking, I'll read the book first.