Download Exhibition Notes - The Mindful Art of Thich Nhat Hanh

EXHIBITION NOTES
Calligraphic Meditation: The Mindful Art of Thich Nhat Hanh
ZEN MASTER THICH NHAT HANH
Calligraphy Master
ZEN MASTER THICH NHAT HANH
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual leader, loved and revered around the world. He is the
man Martin Luther King, Jr. called “an apostle of peace and non-violence” when nominating him for the
Nobel Peace Prize, and has been described by The New York Times as “second only to the Dalai Lama”
among Buddhist leaders influential in the West. His powerful teachings and bestselling writings on the
practice of mindfulness have reached an audience of millions.
go as a river
It all began more than 50 years ago in Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, monks and nuns were
confronted with the question of whether to adhere to the contemplative life and stay meditating in the
monasteries, or to help those around them suffering under the bombings and turmoil of war. Thich Nhat
Hanh was one of those who chose to do both, and in doing so founded the Engaged Buddhism movement.
Today, he continues to address a wide range of contemporary concerns, including ecology, politics,
consumption, relationships, cultivating peace, community building, and global ethics.
breathe, you are alive
Today, Thich Nhat Hanh is the spiritual head not only of his lineage within Vietnam, but also of an
international Engaged Buddhist community of over 700 monks and nuns, and tens of thousands of lay
practitioners, who apply his teachings on mindfulness, peace-making, community-building, and serving
society in their daily lives. Thich Nhat Hanh and members of his community offer these teachings all over
the world—on campuses, at community centers, at outdoor gatherings—and at his global practice centers,
including his home base in Plum Village, France, which is the largest Buddhist practice center in Europe. In
recent years, Thich Nhat Hanh has been invited to address members of the United States Congress, the
Parliament of India, UNESCO, the UK Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the World
Parliament of Religions. Throughout all of this, he has written more than 100 books and created thousands
of calligraphies.
WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?
Thich Nhat Hanh’s key teaching is that
through the transformative practice of
mindfulness, we can learn to live happily
in the present moment instead of getting
lost in the past or worrying about the
future. Dwelling in the present moment
is the only way to truly develop peace,
both in oneself and in the world, and is a
practice that provides us with the
opportunity to transform our suffering.
He teaches the practices of mindful
walking, mindful eating, deep listening,
and mindful speech, adapting the
teachings of the Buddha to resonate with
contemporary life. He encourages us to
wake up to the beauty of our planet and
our interbeing nature, fostering respect
for each other and the animals, plants, and minerals that share this planet with us.
WHY CALLIGRAPHY?
Thich Nhat Hanh began to write calligraphies in 1966 to offer as gifts to his advanced students at the
School for Youth and Social Service in Vietnam, a grassroots relief organization he founded that trained
10,000 young volunteers in Buddhist principles of non-violence and compassionate action. As he began to
establish practice centers in Europe and North America, his calligraphies served as visual reminders to
everyone in attendance to be mindful. Peace is every step could be found on a monastery staircase, or this
bread in my hands is the body of the cosmos in the dining hall. Over the years, he has continued to develop
his own unique 'calligraphy phrases,’ such as I have arrived, I am home, or breathe, you are alive, where
insight, teaching, and art become one on paper.
no mud no lotus
Using traditional Chinese ink mixed with tea on simple rice paper, Thich Nhat Hanh tenderly expresses
radical 21st Century phrases based on ancient Buddhist teachings, capturing and expressing his lifetime of
meditative insight, peace, and gentle compassion. His calligraphies also express the fusion of East and
West that has marked his extraordinary life, with many of the calligraphies written in a completely new
and unique style in Roman script (in half a dozen European languages), yet with an absolutely Eastern Zen
essence.
CALLIGRAPHIC MEDITATION: THE EXHIBITION
Thich Nhat Hanh’s first calligraphy exhibition appeared at the University of Hong Kong’s museum in
October 2010, where its curator, Eva Yuen, said: “The artistic expression of Thich Nhat Hanh
reveals…the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being, pointing to the path of liberation.”
Museum director, Yeung Chun-tong, offers this view: “Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings enlighten us as to
how we can find happiness in our lives. He is, in fact, an artist who cleanses our hearts and souls.”
Thich Nhat Hanh’s calligraphic art represents accessible, down-to-earth, practical Zen – simple yet
powerful, stark yet full of spirit, and with a message that is not only deeply profound, but applicable to
everyday life. Yet it is more than art—it is a meditative practice. He is fully present for every moment, from
drinking his tea, to sitting down and taking a brush, to dipping his brush into a cup of tea to mix the ink. He
has said that he cannot write poetry if he does not garden the lettuces; the same is true with his
calligraphy. Each calligraphy is made of mindful walking, sitting, breathing, smiling – and love.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s calligraphies have now become collectors' items, and sell in the hundreds every year,
with all proceeds going to support his practice centers and his Love and Understanding/Hungry Children
program for children in Vietnam and other developing countries. He has always said that where his
calligraphies are, he is there also, and these elegant, compact phrases serve as a reminder for his students
around the world to arrive in the here and now, and touch the wonders of life.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
“If we just act with awareness and
integrity, our art will flower, and we
don't have to talk about it at all. When
we know how to be in peace, we find
that art is a wonderful way to share
our peacefulness. Artistic expression
will take place in one way or another,
but the being is essential. So we must
go back to ourselves, and when we
have joy and peace in ourselves, our
creations of art will be quite natural,
and they will serve the world in a
positive way.
Thich Nhat Hanh making calligraphies in his Sitting Still hut in Plum Village, France
“In my calligraphy, there is ink, tea, breathing, mindfulness, and concentration. Writing calligraphy
is a practice of meditation. I write the words or sentences that can remind people about the
practice. For instance, breathe and enjoy the kingdom of god in the here and the now or breathe
and enjoy this wonderful moment. I think the word ‘wonderful’ means full of wonders. If you are
truly there in the moment, you can recognize so many wonders in that moment. The kingdom of
God, the Buddha land is there. So breathe in, bring your mind back to your body, and you can
touch many wonders in this moment.”
CALLIGRAPHY TRIVIA
“Calligraphic Meditation” has shown in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada, France, Germany, and Thailand
 It is estimated that Thich Nhat Hanh has
written more than ten thousand calligraphies
to date.
 He uses Chinese and Japanese ink on rice
paper sourced in Hong Kong and Vietnam.
 He uses a variety of brushes, some from
Japan, others from French art shops, and still
others from regular household paint shops in
South West France.
 There is tea in every calligraphy! Thich Nhat
Hanh uses his cup of tea to dip his brushes
before mixing the ink on the block.
 In drawing the famous Zen Circles, Thich
Nhat Hanh breathes in for a half-circle and
out for a half-circle. Following the breath is
an essential part to creating any calligraphy.
 Traditionally the Zen circle represents
“Eternity,” or “Emptiness.” Perhaps Thich
Nhat Hanh's circles represent “Interbeing,”
an English word he invented to express one of
his core teachings.
 The Vietnamese language has used the Roman script since the 17th Century, and
Vietnamese temples have their own tradition of calligraphic art in the Roman Script. Thich
Nhat Hanh has taken his homeland's calligraphic tradition to a whole new level, breaking
free from the influence of Chinese style on Roman Calligraphic Script to develop an entirely
new hand, both simple and free, and incorporating Modern European elements (such as the
gentle running 'r' from the French).
 His most popular calligraphies are: breathe, you are alive; this is it; be beautiful, be yourself;
peace in oneself, peace in the world, and I have arrived, I am home - the last being his
signature statement (and practice), which he also describes as “The best, and shortest
dharma talk I ever give.”
 Thich Nhat Hanh stamps every calligraphy with his seal, which reads “Trừng Quang Nhất
Hạnh” in Chinese: 澄光一行 . Trừng Quang is the Lineage Name given to him by his Teacher,
and Nhất Hạnh is his Dharma Title, meaning “One Action.”