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Each calligraphy is mounted on a brocade holder (4 x 19 in) and comes with a translation, explanatory sheet, and teaching commentary.

Teaching Commentary: At the entrance to my house there is a scroll written with five Chinese characters. The scroll was written by Ryokan, a Zen monk who lived about three hundred years ago. His calligraphy is beautiful; the meaning is also beautiful. The characters read, "nichi nichi kore ko jitsu." They mean, "Every day is a good day."

Every day is a good day, not a good day as compared to a bad day, but all days are good days; there are no "bad" days. To a city person planning a picnic, rain spoils the day. To a farmer watching his plants, rain is welcome. To the city person the day becomes a "bad" day because his expectations were disappointed. But the day itself is not a bad day. The day is good but the way a person meets the day makes it a bad day or a good day. All days are good days, regardless. We are the ones who make comparisons according to our expectations. We are the ones who turn some days into "bad" days.

It is true that things often do not go right. Home life can particularly be a problem. Between husband and wife there is often more than disagreement. Through lack of communication real coldness can develop. We are human; we have different feelings. Misunderstandings arise; we make mistakes. We have problems; life means problems. But it is up to us whether we become depressed or not or whether we get angry or not. This is the scroll's teaching.

It is a Japanese custom to decorate the walls with scrolls rather than pictures. Written on the scrolls are typical Buddhist phrases. It is wonderful to have such scrolls to remind us of the teachings. It's a good day but how foolish I am. Why do I complain? Even complaining will not make things better, only worse. To understand that every day is a good day is Buddhism. This is the content of enlightenment. Enlightenment is not something apart from an ordinary day. Enlightenment is to live each day as a good day.

The Ven. Gyomay M. Kubose (1905-2000) was a pioneer in the Americanization of Buddhism. He himself is valued as a “Buddhist Treasure” and his life as a work of art. In Buddhism, a teacher’s writing is considered an embodiment of the teacher himself. To have the teacher’s writing on the wall is considered to be in his presence.

The calligraphies offered are exact color reproductions of the Ven. Gyomay M. Kubose’s original art. Each calligraphy is mounted in a beautiful brocade-covered holder (4 x 19 inches) for wall display. Each calligraphy is accompanied by an explanatory sheet that designates how the Chinese characters are read in Japanese and their meaning.

Each calligraphy is not only a beautiful work of art but contains a meaningful teaching. This teaching, from the Ven. Gyomay M. Kubose’s book, The Center Within, also accompanies each calligraphy.

The two calligraphies being offered were favorites of the Ven. Gyomay M. Kubose. His accompanying teachings reflect his down-to-earth expression of the Dharma. The “Gyomay” signature on each calligraphy is the Ven. Kubose’s Dharma Name and is translated as “Bright Dawn.”