Zen master illustrates art of calligraphy at U. Museum

With each curve and brush stroke testifying to his skill, Japanese Zen master Keido Fukushima illustrated the ancient art of Chinese calligraphy yesterday in the University Museum's Chinese Rotunda. In his second visit to the University, Fukushima, the head abbot of the Tofukji Monastery in Japan, explained the history of his trade while painting the traditional Chinese characters. The East Asian Studies Program sponsored Fukushima's visit, which also included lectures on Zen and basic meditation. Many audience members said they were amazed by Fukushima's skill at drawing the complex letters. After beginning each demonstration with a brief Zen meditation, Fukushima said his calligraphy was neither art nor literature, but a religious experience. "For a Zen master who has had the Zen experience and has achieved enlightenment, every action is an expression of Zen," Fukushima said. "A Zen master pointing a finger is an expression of Zen." While able to perceive the outward beauty of his own brush-strokes, the long-time monk noted that a mind untrained in the practice of Zen would not be capable of truly appreciating the Zen thought that permeates his work. "When I was 14, I saw the paintings of a great Zen artist named Sesshu and thought that I could do better," Fukushima recalled. "But it was only after returning to see them again as a Zen master that I understood the Zen in them and the impossibility of copying it." The achievement of such Zen enlightenment, or satori, involves rigorous daily routines, including waking up at 3 a.m., hours of meditation at sunrise and sunset and strenuous physical labor. University Museum employee and Tibetan Buddhist Carol Fanelli said "the meditation calms me and lets me distance myself from the desires and drives of the ego." She added that Buddhism tries to help its adherents "avoid suffering and become more mindful of your own actions and less trapped by the ego." Fukushima said that amid the confines of his monastery, he often spends up to 10 hours each day working on his calligraphy, surrounded only by Japanese national treasures. The Zen master said he often meditates for up to an hour to empty his mind of all thoughts before beginning the calligraphy.