With an aim and the will one can focus and remain unruffled by the distractions of outside world. Whose who amounted to success had sticked to their goal all their life, while those who changed their mind the moment saw something new were either ineffectual or ignorant.

In the past Zhang Xu specialized in nothing but cursive script, in which he gave vent to his joy, anger, embarrassment, sorrow, resentment, longing, tipsiness, boredom, indignation or whatever welled up in his heart. From his observation he implied in his script the forms of mountains, rivers, precipices, valleys, birds, beasts, insects, fishes, blossoms, fruits, the sun, the moon, chain of stars, wind, rain, water, fire, thunderbolt, sword dance, or anything that is changeable, admirable and wondrous. This is why his calligraphy is divinely changeful and inconceivable. He adhered to his practice throughout his life, which repaid him the everlasting fame.

I doubt whether you have this kind of feelings. Imitating his script without reliving his spirits may not necessarily get his essentials. Zhang's calligraphy grew out of his take on things - knowing where his interests was he strove for it bit by bit, with emotion surging in his heart he was ready to defend it to the finish, and in spite of his losses he stayed indomitable. As a Buddhist monk you muse have seen through the vanity of the world; therefore you must probably be indifferent toward fame and wealth, and find nothing worthy of devotion in this mortal life. These indifference and nothingness should give you an irremediable dispiritedness and take imagery away from your practice. I heard that Buddhists are capable of magic in many ways. If you are capable of it too, the matter will be beyond my knowledge.

Han Yu ranks first among Eight Prose Masters of the Tang and Song period. Politically he was against Buddhism. He wrote this letter to a Buddhist monk, questioning his calligraphic practice after Zhang Xu.