The Lost Art of Copying

The act of copying texts by hand — or by typing — may seem like a relic of the past, but it has so much to offer us today.

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In today’s fast-paced world, where copy-and-paste happens in the blink of an eye, the act of manually copying texts feels like something out of the past. Who has time for that? But what if this old-fashioned practice holds something we’ve been missing? Across cultures and centuries, people have copied texts by hand — not just to preserve knowledge, but as a way to connect with it on a deeper level.

Think about the Buddhist practice of shakyō, where monks copy the Heart Sutra as a form of meditation. Or the medieval monks in Europe who spent their lives transcribing the Bible by hand, treating each word as a sacred act. Even today, some aspiring writers retype their favorite novels to understand the rhythm and feel of great writing. What ties all these practices together is a sense of purpose, mindfulness, and connection — qualities that can feel scarce in the digital age.

As a student, I turned to this practice myself. I copied the Bible, not just in one language but in both English and Japanese. For me, it felt like a form of Christian shakyō. I also copied essays by Carl…