Passage from an Inscription on Trust in the Mind (Xinxinming)
With an appreciation for the visual power of “flying white”—the streaks caused by allowing the brush’s bristles to separate as the ink runs dry against the paper—Jiun Onkō intentionally left uninked areas within his strokes, accentuating the appearance of rapid, abbreviated brushwork. He was ordained as a Shingon Buddhist monk but practiced various religious traditions, including Shinto and Zen, a sect focused on meditation. As a calligrapher, Jiun was renowned for his Sanskrit pieces and his inscriptions of Zen sayings, like this one. The passage distills fundamental Buddhist wisdom into a succinct observation:
一心不生 萬法無咎
If the “one-mind”
is not roused,
Then ten thousand things
give no offense.
一心不生 萬法無咎
If the “one-mind”
is not roused,
Then ten thousand things
give no offense.
Artwork Details
- 慈雲飲光筆 「信心銘」偈
- Title: Passage from an Inscription on Trust in the Mind (Xinxinming)
- Artist: Jiun Onkō (Japanese, 1718–1804)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: late 18th century
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Hanging scroll: ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 43 7/8 × 19 1/8 in. (111.4 × 48.6 cm)
Overall with mounting: 77 1/2 × 23 1/2 in. (196.9 × 59.7 cm)
Overall with knobs: 77 1/2 × 25 15/16 in. (196.9 × 65.9 cm) - Classification: Calligraphy
- Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2023
- Object Number: 2023.583.19
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Jiun Onkō
ca.1780–90
Jiun Onkō
late 18th century
Jiun Onkō
late 18th century
Kano Tan'yū
mid-17th century
Japan
late 17th century
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