Even if you can effortlessly create one masterpiece after another, this has slight significance if your body breaks down. When a shodo student experiences stress-related illnesses such as elevated blood pressure or persistent headaches, it is clear that he or she has failed to obtain all the different advantages that come from pursuing the art as a spiritual path. Ultimately, the idea of art in shodo is comprehensive enough to encompass the study of relaxation and calmness in action as a way of experiencing the art of living. If you do not discover how to stay cool during moments of pressure, it is doubtful that any of the methods you study will be fully realized. If you freeze mentally in a difficult predicament, you seize up bodily as well, and will be incapable of executing any competent action or brush stroke.
Stressful moments arise as a matter of course in shodo and ink painting.
The paper used for shodo can bleed easily if you pause too long. The Sennin Foundation. All rights reserved.