The characters chosen to represent the three ways in which the Seattle Zen Dojo uses to train – Zazen, Fine Arts and Martial Arts – should not be read as direct translations. Rather, they are expressions of something deeper. In many ways, they are all different ways to describe the same thing – Sunyata, or True Reality. The limitation is that Sunyata cannot be adequately described in words; it must be experienced. Yet let us try.
MEANING OF OPENING PAGE CALLIGRAPHY
Zazen - “Enso”: Expresses the state of mind when you realize the True Reality that you and the Universe are One; that in Emptiness all things exist because nothing is discriminated.
Martial Arts – “Ichi”: While the character itself can be translated simply as “one,” here, it represents Absolute – as in Absolute Now, Absolute Here; with one arrow, absolute life and death.
Fine Arts – “Myo”: Represents the wonder and mystery that transcends analytical or intellectual understanding, a sense of the creativity and freedom released in the Eternal Now, Eternal Here.