Maintain a Joyful Mind

CHINA

Several Buddhist scriptures proclaim the concept of finding happiness from within. The Abhiniskramana Sutra in particular quotes, “When listening to the Buddha teaching the Dharma, one accepts with joy and maintains a joyful mind.” This quote thus illustrates that joyfulness can be obtained when one cultivates their minds with and truly concedes the words of the Dharma.
Among the four characters in this seal, two are carved in multiple strokes, and the other two are more sparse. Arranged in the ancient Zhou style layout, these corresponding characters appear in diagonal pairs to bring balance to the overall piece. Natural turns in the carving depict ingenuity in the spatial arrangement which, like the variation in number of character strokes, is obvious yet congruent.
Also known as Zhongqian or Heran, Li Jian was the nephew of the renowned calligrapher Li Ruiqing, from whom he learned his calligraphic style. He was adept in Zhou style, seal script, and the epigraphy of ancient writings. Using the knife as if a brush, he produced brushstrokes that were not confined to any particular style.