Calligraphy plays an integral role in the development of Buddhism, including the transcription of scriptures or the distribution of Buddhist words and phrases in writing,with calligraphy naturally becoming a way to pass down Buddhist ethos. Buddhist scriptures were first translated into Chinese in Han dynasty, and its philosophies have since been profoundly integrated into the culture of Chinese writing. Buddhism has been able to spread all throughout China with the use of Chinese calligraphy to write and pass down Buddhist beliefs. Within the scope of Buddhism, the philosophy of Zen Buddhism was particularly influential to the literati, especially with its practice and ritual based on the notion that creed is unbounded by religion, with emphasis placed on the understanding of spiritual moral principles, attributing to the principle of “transmission outside the scriptures to not be based on written words.” Focusing on true personal inner enlightenment, therefore, although unbounded by scriptures, the message of inner enlightenment can still be conveyed through writing. There are not many discourses on the writings by Chinese Zen Buddhist practitioners; however, there are many works by Zen Buddhist practitioners in Japan, with their personal states of enlightenment expressed. Transformed into lines and strokes, although this type of writing strays away from conventional technical framework, it is still able to profoundly convey the spiritual significance with being at ease focused on in Zen teachings. Literati calligraphy and painting are also closely connected to Zen teachings.Through friendships formed between literati and Zen masters, the spiritual philosophies taught in Zen Buddhism began to influence the cultural community of the literati. In addition to the philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism, Zen philosophies also became a source of knowledge. Wang Wei, a renowned Tang dynasty man of arts and letters of his time, was one of the first to study the teachings of Zen, and at literati gatherings in the Song dynasty, discussions on Zen philosophies became essential.Many literati were then influenced by Zen teachings, leading to the use of calligraphy to express Zen philosophies, resulting in unique and interesting expressions in thehistory of calligraphy, as seen with works by Su Shi, Huang Ting-Jian, and others. Amongst calligraphic works by literati influenced by Zen teachings are alsocalligraphies by Zen masters, including Japanese Zen Monk Nichiren Calligraphy,with the influence of the teachings made apparent. This paper will explore creativeintegrations of Zen philosophies and ethos in calligraphic works.
