PureInsight | June 7, 2004
[PureInsight.org] I am a teacher of Chinese calligraphy. I have always felt an inner fear coming from the bottom of my heart. That nameless fear seemed to control my brush pen whenever I practiced cursive-style calligraphy to improve my skill. I often stayed up practicing calligraphy and then looked up to the starry sky, asking myself, "Why can't I eliminate my nameless fear? Why am I unable to solve this problem?"
Teacher said:
Cursive-style calligraphy is written in a state in which a person is indulging his negative side and his notions are dominating. I think it's good to write neatly and clearly. Since characters are passed down to humans from Gods, doing that is being respectful to Gods. I can only tell you the Fa-truths. You might say, 'I just like the cursive style, and what I've practiced is the cursive style.' At present, I'm not concerned with what ordinary people are doing, but Dafa disciples must be upright.
(From "Teaching the Fa at the Discussion on Creating Fine Art")
However, I felt I had to imitate Xu Wei's (1521-1593 A.D., a renowned Ming Dynasty calligrapher) wild cursive-style to drive my calligraphic rhythm and cadence. I have talked to many fellow practitioners regarding this matter, but I still couldn't make up my mind to stop practicing the cursive-style Chinese calligraphy altogether. I knew I had an attachment to this style of calligraphy, but my existing notion [of aesthetics] kept controlling my calligraphy practice. It was only after I read a fellow practitioner's article regarding the immense power that Falun Dafa bestows on Dafa practitioners that I realized that I must sever the tie with cursive-style Chinese calligraphy.
Then, when I picked up the brush pen the next time, I firmly decided to rid myself of ordinary people's notions and conduct myself as a cultivator. In a split second, a feeling of powerful righteousness glowed within me. Then, I was able to drive the fear away and started to write with solemn, peaceful and calm brush movements. I felt the compassion of Dafa, and found my own, true and appropriate calligraphic rhythm and cadence. Now, I feel that I am truly controlling each brush stroke with my true self and my true heart. I have finally become the master of the brush, and not its slave. I am deeply touched.
In the past, I was a cultivator only in the areas of the Fa that I chose to follow. I didn't realize that the evil beings from other dimensions had been trying to exploit every loophole I had. These evil beings knew my degenerate notion of aesthetics and amplified it. Unless we are careful to check whether or not each and every thought conforms to the Fa, we might not be able to govern ourselves with our main consciousness. I feel this experience of defeating the interference is a real test of whether I have a steadfast faith in Teacher's words in "Teaching the Fa at the Discussion on Creating Fine Art".
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2004/5/25/27318.html
