Ink is a grind

There is something about making ink that helps me meditate. I slowly grind the ink stick against the wet stone for half an hour, waiting for the ink to become thick. Then the ink accumulates at the top of the stone in a well. When it is thick enough, my wife dips her brush into it and with a few disciplined strokes creates her first writing for the new year. Then, the ink is allowed to dry in storage until it is called upon again in the future. How fleeting is the life of ink in the inkwell. I thought that, like the ink, we might be allowed to dry in the storage of nirbana until called upon by duties in this world.


Happy New Year! Akemashite omedeto!

"Kakizome" is the tradition of writing with brush and ink on January 2nd. "Kaki" means write and "zome" means first occasion.