Ewa Hadydon

Painting Fugen Bosatsu Buddhism and Buddhist art are interrelated. Buddhist art, which from ancient times was a visual form of Buddhist teaching, is symbolized by the Buddha, an entity free of restrictions. The Mandala of 13 Buddhas actualy shows 13 aspects of the One Buddha, which is Emptiness. These Buddhas are: Fudo Myoo, Shaka Nyorai, Monju Bosatsu, Fugen Bosatsu, Jizo Bosatsu, Miroku Bosatsu, Yakushi Nyorai, Kanzeon Bosatsu, Seishi Bosatsu, Amida Nyorai, Ashuku Nyorai, Dainichi Nyorai i Kokuzo Bosatsu. Each particular Buddha has his own dharani, a short mystical verse, often regarded as the quintessence of a sutra. These were written in Siddham script (bonji), a form of ancient Sanskrit used for sacred writing, which was transmitted to Japan from India via China in the 8th century by esoteric traditions of Tendai and Shingon Buddhism. In Japan the study and practice of Siddham reached its zenith and influenced many other traditions.

Ewa Hadydon

Ewa Hadydon (Buddhist name Myoshin) was born in 1951 in Wroclaw. From 1969 to 1974 she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw. Her works have been displayed at various exhibitions in Poland and abroad. In 1981 she started to practice zazen. In 1986 she came to Japan for the first time. Then she married Nyogen Nowak, a soto zen priest. During her stay in Japan she became interested in Buddhist art, especially through the faces of ancient Buddhist statues in Kyoto and Nara. At the same time she encountered the world of siddham (jap. bonji), a North Indian script used for writing Sanskrit. Many of the Buddhist texts which were taken to China along the Silk Road were written using a version of the siddham script. Eventually it came to Japan where it became a kind of sacred text used for writing mantras and dharani. Later it evolved into a very refined form of calligraphy. In 1992 Ewa met late Tokuyama Kijun, one of the greatest siddham artists and calligraphers. She received from him lots of advices and important texts. Inspired by his figure she started to use more often bonji in her own calligraphy to write mantras and dharani. She received a scholarship from the International Association of Buddhist Culture to study Buddhist images in Kyoto and Nara in 1992 - 93. In 2006 after finishing the studies Ewa received a formal siddham transmission (jap. denju) in tendai, a Japanese Buddhist sect, from master Goto Ninden, the abbot of Shosoin temple in Yamadera, one of the main siddham teachers in tendai. Since 1989 she has been living with her husband in Sendai. In 1989 she met Harada Tangen Roshi under whom she practiced zazen until April 2012 when Roshi stoped teaching due to his old age and health problems. A member of ZPAP (The Association of Polish Artists and Designers).

Majon exhibitions: