Books.com Review

Your spirit in black and white. H.E. Davey's little book on shodo isn't just a guide to Japanese calligraphy: it's a way to develop your powers of concentration. He instructs on the best way to sit, relax, and focus as you practice an art that "represents the greatest level of harmony between thought and action." Learn how to follow the rhythm of your soul and the movement of your chi with Brush Meditation.

Spirituality & Practice Review

Brush Meditation was reviewed at http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=1644. The book is out of print, but it was republished in the anthology The Japanese Way of the Artist, which can be purchased at http://www.amazon.com/.

Book Review
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Brush Meditation: A Japanese Way to Mind & Body Harmony

H. E. Davey

Stone Bridge Press 06/99

Paperback $14.95

ISBN: 1-880656-38-8

As D. T. Suzuki observed, "Art is studied in Japan not only for art's sake, but for spiritual enlightenment." When you practice "shodo," or the way of calligraphy, you also develop your mind in the Zen way. It is a path that enables one to cultivate calm and concentration.

H. E. Davey, the director of the Sennin Foundation for Japanese Cultural Arts in the San Francisco Bay Area, begins with a brief history of calligraphy and painting in Asia. According to the author, "Shodo allows the dynamic movement of the artist's ki (life energy or spirit) to become observable in the form of rich black ink. . . . Many practitioners of this art feel that the visible rhythm of Japanese calligraphy ultimately embodies a 'picture of the mind.' " That is the meaning of the saying "If your mind is correct, the brush will be correct." Davey explores the basic techniques of controlling the brush. This edifying paperback delivers the goods and makes crystal clear the close connection between art, meditation, and self-mastery.