Venerable Master Hsing Yun devoted his life to Humanistic Buddhism, championing an approach to the Dharma grounded in the reality of the 21st century and its challenges. In particular, he advocated spreading the Dharma through culture and actively promoted Buddhist Art. Since his initial calligraphy exhibition, To Enlighten Sentient Beings, at the National Visual Arts Gallery of Malaysia in 2005, his works have received extensive press coverage and won international acclaim. However, due to his failing eyesight, he introduced, in 2009, the concept of “One-Stroke Calligraphy”– a style distinguished by original content and unique penmanship. In the same year, he debuted an international exhibition tour, and as of today, his works have been viewed by over 7 million visitors across the globe. The following thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One introduces the motivation and objective of the entire thesis. After reviewing the literature on Venerable Master’s work, it discusses current shortcomings, proposes an alternative to analyze them, and presents the expected results of this analysis. Chapter Two surveys the historical relationship between calligraphy and Buddhist preaching in China. It presents a selection of monks having taught the Dharma via calligraphy, as well as the technical aspects behind this type of preaching. Chapter Three explores the difference between “One-Stroke Calligraphy” and works of past Chinese monastics, taking into account Venerable Master’s philosophy and the study of thirty volumes of material drawn from The Complete Works of Venerable Master Hsing Yun. Chapter Four examines the influence of “One-Stroke Calligraphy” on the propagation of the Dharma through two examples: data collected around the world during the One-Stroke Calligraphy Exhibition Tour and the relationship between “One-Stroke Calligraphy” and Venerable Master Hsing Yun Public Education Trust Fund. Chapter Five summarizes the results of each section and relates them to the motivation and objective of this thesis.
