直心是道場無虚假故 jikishin kore dōjō, koke naki ga yue ni The straightforward mind is the place of practice, because it is free of falsehood

直心是道場無虚假故 (jikishin kore dōjō, koke naki ga yue ni): the straightforward mind is the place of practice, because it is free of falsehood.

直心 (jikishin) is a mind that is straight and without pretense. 道場 (dōjō) is the place of the Way: in the sutra the seat of awakening, later the practice hall, later the martial hall. The line says the place is a quality of mind and no building at all. Wherever this mind is, there is the dōjō.

Master Takase brushes the full line of nine characters, the sentence and its reason, in block, semi-cursive and cursive script and in her own font design.

The line is the layman Vimalakīrti's answer, in the sutra that bears his name, when he is asked where he has come from. It reached the Zen halls through the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch. In 1909 Shaku Sōen, abbot of Engakuji, who first introduced Zen to Europe and America, called 直心是道場 a very fine phrase and said he wrote it on plaques and hanging scrolls and gave them away.

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 直心是道場無虚假故.

Your scroll is brushed when you order it and completed within 1 to 3 business days. It ships by USPS Priority Mail from Master Takase's studio in Washington State, boxed and ready to hang, with a printed page giving the art's English, romaji and Japanese.

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Every order is covered by our 30-day money-back guarantee. If your scroll arrives damaged, or we made an error, we replace it or refund you in full, including shipping. Refund policy

Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase brushes your scroll by hand when you order it. Each scroll bears her red seal, 英利, and her signature.

The scrolls are 12 1/4" W × 43" H (31 × 109 cm) with real silk borders and Japanese paper that are layered so the scroll hangs straight and will not warp over time. The scrolls themselves are made by Sankō (株式会社三幸) in Gifu prefecture, which has been making high quality scrolls since 1947, and we have worked with Sankō for over two decades.

Eri Takase was born and raised in Osaka, Japan, and holds the rank of Shihan, the highest rank in Japanese calligraphy, from the Bokuteki-kai and the Bunka-shodo. About Master Takase