Using the Character ‘Heart’ as an Example
Master Xuanzang (玄奘) in the Tang Dynasty translated the Prajnaparamita Hrdaya Sutra 《般若波羅蜜多心經》which contained only 260 words. If you do the manuscript of the Sutra, you would only encounter the character ‘heart’ for the first time when you reach the final paragraph, which mentioned the heart should be free from preoccupations. The word ‘heart’, however, is the key of the entire sutra. From the calligraphic point of view, it is difficult to write the character ‘heart’ aesthetically.
Buddhist Texts from Japan. (Anecdota Oxoniensia, Aryan series), 1881.
On top of mastering every stroke, visual proportions and balance are equally important. The bottom of the character resembles the shape of the human heart — the pericardium. The three dots above are meaningfully located and stabilize the entire character. The stroke in the shape of the pericardium ends on the right. If you place the character on your chest, that will be the location of the apex cordis. It was an era without anatomy and yet the character resembles the structure of a real heart. This is exactly what is so amazing with pictographs. While the character ‘heart’ resembles the appearance and structure of the human heart, it goes way beyond this realm conceptually and in terms of application. Ancient people considered the heart as the brain that controlled the thoughts and generated emotions. The symbol ‘heart’ was used to represent complex sentiments.
心
心
心
心
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心
The heart is an organ for thoughts, and hence ideas, feelings and emotions become ‘matters of the heart’. Tricks and conspiracies are called ‘scheming of the heart’. Generosity and tolerance are referred to as ‘breadth of the heart’. The organ incorporates our thinking, ideas and personality. ‘Heart’ also refers to ‘the center’, representing the core of the entire body and the most important values the human being — to have thoughts, wisdom and cognitive capability, which are called ‘the intelligence of the heart’. Cultivation in various religions are always connected to the ‘cultivation of the heart’. The Six Perfections in Buddhism (charity, morality, patience, perseverance, meditation and wisdom), for example, all come from the heart. The Three Poisons, greed, hatred and ignorance, are generated by the matters of the heart in an ordinary person. The cultivation of the heart, therefore, is a status. In order to write the character ‘heart’ properly, one must stay focused and dedicated on every stroke, combining all the feelings in the heart, and ultimately removing all the worries and obstacles in the heart.