Seven-Character Couplet

CHINA

This scroll written by Master Taixu was a gift for the lay practitioner, Tang Touchang. Each line of the couplet begins with the characters “fa” (Dharma) and “hua” (manifest), where “Fahua” was Tang’s Dharma name. The text also carries the hope that Tang will be able to convert compassion for all sentient beings into practical action.
Light strokes were used in running script, suggesting that it was executed without deliberation. The flying white technique was used, and where strokes become faded as ink runs dry, they appear weightless and almost float off the paper. The energetic and rounded brush movements, as well as the similarity in line thickness, result in a consistent and well-spaced layout that is balanced in both pace and rhythm.
Taixu, whose original family name was Lu and Dharma name was Weixin, was an active and important proponent of the reformation of Chinese Buddhism. He is known to have advocated the renewal of the practice.