Silent Letters - Meditation and Western Calligraphy

The founder of Shambhala, Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, encouraged his students to practice contemplative arts. He was particularly interested in Japanese arts as it is in Japanese culture that the arts truly reflect “awake mind”.  Over the years, he and his students introduced poetry writing, flower arranging, Zen archery, calligraphy, dance, and photography, and we were encouraged to work with art in our everyday lives.

Our formal “sitting meditation” practice, though designed to accommodate whatever arises, can be a way to separate ourselves from our everyday activities, to create a kind of cocoon. Anything we can do to apply our meditation to our daily activities, to the way we arise, pour our tea, dress, write, speak to others, is an essential aspect of waking up. Applying our meditation practice to writing, in our own language, makes sense on so many levels.

You are invited to attend this weekend program of sitting meditation and Western Calligraphy as a contemplative art.  We will be introducing the Humanist Bookhand alphabet. The class will be limited to ten people.

All supplies are included. This class will be limited to ten participants, so if you are interested, register early. Details of the schedule will be provided one week before the program begins.

Teacher Donald Eckler began to practice western calligraphy as a contemplative art while attending Naropa University in 1981. Please contact him directly at [email protected] with any questions.