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Personalize your custom “Seeking” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “Seeking” title below...
3. Seeking Mind
7. Seek
8. Kemo no Shin
9. Life in Balance / Balancing Life
10. Shikantaza
11. Benevolent Heart
12. Resolute Mind
15. Self-Love / Love Yourself / Love Oneself
16. The Middle Way
求道 means seeking for truth, or to seek (practice for, strive for) enlightenment.
求道 is used mostly in a Buddhist context, so some non-Buddhists may not recognize it.
智を磨く is an old obscure Japanese phrase that means to refine, cultivate, or improve one's wisdom.
This is the mantra of one who is a seeker of wisdom. They will always want to polish, shine, refine, improve, and expand their knowledge and understanding.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
尋智者 is a Chinese title that means “Seeker of Wisdom.”
It's a little ambiguous, as you can also read this as “Seeking a Wise Person.”
Whether you are the person seeking wisdom or in the process of seeking a wise person (you will probably gain wisdom from the wise) this short phrase should suit your needs.
目的 is a word that means purpose, aim, goal, target, objective, or intention.
If you need a reminder about seeking purpose in life, your job, or following your goal, hanging this on your wall might help.
尋求 means to seek or to look for something. Occasionally used in a Buddhist context for seeking something (enlightenment, knowledge, truth, meaning, etc.).
尋求 is rarely used in Japanese and almost exclusively in a Buddhist context (most Japanese will not recognize it as a Japanese word).
The art of balancing your life
This 平衡人生 title suggests that you are actively trying to keep your life in balance.
Think of this as the action verb of seeking or having a balanced life.
The first two characters mean balance, equilibrium, or keeping things equal.
The last two characters mean “life.” Literally “human life.”
只管打坐 is the Japanese Buddhist term shikantaza which represents zazen meditation in which one focuses on sitting without actively seeking enlightenment.
Sometimes this is translated as “meditation of just sitting” or “meditation practice where one stays intensely focused without focusing on any particular object.”
Sometimes written, 祗管打坐 with the same pronunciation and perceived meaning.
慈悲の心 means benevolent heart, compassionate heart, or merciful heart in Japanese.
This is a Japanese-only phrase and should be ordered from our Japanese master calligrapher. This is because the third character is unique Hiragana.
Chances are you are into Inuyasha and are seeking the title of chapter 471 which is often translated as “Merciful Heart.”
決定心 means the mind of certainty, resolute mind, imperturbable mind, firm determination, firm resolution, or stable commitment.
In the context of Buddhism, this is the deep resolution needed to attain enlightenment.
If you go to a deeper meaning, this is a condition of settling into the thought that occurs in the process of perception subsequent to the “seeking mind” or “尋求心.”
(When you see a wise person, try to be like them)
When you meet a wise person, you should learn from them and be inspired to become as wise as they are.
見賢思齊 is a pretty long proverb in English, but in Chinese, it's only four characters.
However, in Chinese, the deeper meaning often surpasses the dictionary definition of each character.
In this case, you should seek wise people to learn from throughout your life...
Always try to learn enough to become equal to them. It also suggests that learning and seeking wisdom is a non-ending cycle.
See Also: Knowledge
Here is 1st Corinthians 13:4-8 (just the first sentence of verse 8) in Japanese.
In the familiar NIV, this would read:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails...
The Japanese text is from the 新改訳聖書 (Shinkaiyaku) or New Japanese Bible. Popular among most Protestant denominations in modern Japan.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
自愛 means self-love, self-regard, regard for oneself, cherishing one's good name, taking care of oneself, or love myself.
In the Buddhist context, this is the cause of all pursuit or seeking, which in turn causes all suffering. All Buddhas discharge themselves from self-love and all pursuits of personal gratification. Such elimination of self-love is a step towards nirvāṇa.
This title can be taken as positive or negative, depending on how you read it. Some will see it as arrogant, and others will read it as a token of self-respect. Because of this ambiguity, I do not recommend this title for a wall scroll.
In the most basic translation, 中道 means road through the middle or middle road.
The expanded meaning can be moderation or the golden mean.
But if you are looking for this title, you are probably seeking the Buddhist definition, which is more complex.
中道 is the middle way or middle path of Buddhism. This has various interpretations. In general, it denotes the mean between two extremes and has special reference to the mean between realism and nihilism, or eternal substantial existence and annihilation.
The Buddha teaches that one should not take things to extremes. Don't be extremely evil and engage in debauchery and murder. But do not spend every waking out trying to be a perfect saint. Instead, take the middle path, try to help others, show loving kindness wherever you can, and try not to do harm. If you inadvertently harm another being, make amends if you can, and move on. Realize you are not perfect, but in time, a path of moderation lead toward proper living and enlightenment.
This in-stock artwork might be what you are looking for, and ships right away...
Gallery Price: $72.00
Your Price: $39.88
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Buddha Seeking | 勤求 | gongu | qín qiú / qin2 qiu2 / qin qiu / qinqiu | ch`in ch`iu / chinchiu / chin chiu |
Seeking Truth | 求道 | gu dou / gudou / gu do | qiú dào / qiu2 dao4 / qiu dao / qiudao | ch`iu tao / chiutao / chiu tao |
Seeking Mind | 尋求心 寻求心 | jingu shin / jingushin | xún qiú xīn xun2 qiu2 xin1 xun qiu xin xunqiuxin | hsün ch`iu hsin hsünchiuhsin hsün chiu hsin |
Seeking Wisdom | 智を磨く | chiomigaku | ||
Seeker of Wisdom | 尋智者 寻智者 | xún zhì zhě xun2 zhi4 zhe3 xun zhi zhe xunzhizhe | hsün chih che hsünchihche |
|
Purpose Aim Goal | 目的 | mokuteki | mù dì / mu4 di4 / mu di / mudi | mu ti / muti |
Seek | 尋求 寻求 | jingu | xún qiú / xun2 qiu2 / xun qiu / xunqiu | hsün ch`iu / hsünchiu / hsün chiu |
Kemo no Shin | 悕望の心 | kemou no shin kemounoshin kemo no shin | ||
Life in Balance Balancing Life | 平衡人生 | hei kou jin sei heikoujinsei hei ko jin sei | píng héng rén shēng ping2 heng2 ren2 sheng1 ping heng ren sheng pinghengrensheng | p`ing heng jen sheng pinghengjensheng ping heng jen sheng |
Shikantaza | 只管打坐 | shi kan ta za shikantaza | zhǐ guǎn dǎ zuò zhi3 guan3 da3 zuo4 zhi guan da zuo zhiguandazuo | chih kuan ta tso chihkuantatso |
Benevolent Heart | 慈悲の心 | ji hi no kokoro jihinokokoro | ||
Resolute Mind | 決定心 决定心 | ketsujou shin ketsujoushin ketsujo shin | jué dìng xīn jue2 ding4 xin1 jue ding xin juedingxin | chüeh ting hsin chüehtinghsin |
Learn from Wisdom | 見賢思齊 见贤思齐 | jiàn xián sī qí jian4 xian2 si1 qi2 jian xian si qi jianxiansiqi | chien hsien ssu ch`i chienhsienssuchi chien hsien ssu chi |
|
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 | 愛は寛容であり愛は親切ですまた人をねたみません愛は自慢せず高慢になりません礼儀に反することをせず自分の利益を求めず怒らず人のした悪を思わず不正を喜ばずに真理を喜びますすべてをがまんしすべてを信じすべてを期待しすべてを耐え忍びます愛は決して絶えることがありません | ai wa kan youdeari ai wa shinsetsudesu mata hito o netamimasen ai wa jiman sezu kouman ni narimasen reigi ni hansuru koto o sezu jibun no rieki o motomezu okorazu hito no shita aku o omowazu fusei o yorokobazu ni shinri o yorokobimasu subete o gaman shi s ai wa kan yodeari ai wa shinsetsudesu mata hito o netamimasen ai wa jiman sezu koman ni narimasen reigi ni hansuru koto o sezu jibun no rieki o motomezu okorazu hito no shita aku o omowazu fusei o yorokobazu ni shinri o yorokobimasu subete o gaman shi s | ||
Self-Love Love Yourself Love Oneself | 自愛 自爱 | ji ai / jiai | zì ài / zi4 ai4 / zi ai / ziai | tzu ai / tzuai |
The Middle Way | 中道 | chuu dou / chuudou / chu do | zhōng dào zhong1 dao4 zhong dao zhongdao | chung tao chungtao |
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. |
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All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
Some people may refer to this entry as Seeking Kanji, Seeking Characters, Seeking in Mandarin Chinese, Seeking Characters, Seeking in Chinese Writing, Seeking in Japanese Writing, Seeking in Asian Writing, Seeking Ideograms, Chinese Seeking symbols, Seeking Hieroglyphics, Seeking Glyphs, Seeking in Chinese Letters, Seeking Hanzi, Seeking in Japanese Kanji, Seeking Pictograms, Seeking in the Chinese Written-Language, or Seeking in the Japanese Written-Language.