Happy New Year!
Well not quite, but soon - February 1 brings in the Year of the Goat!
During the holidays, I've enjoyed going through past discussions on=20
this list. I felt compelled to reply to one thread. It's partly to do=20
with spirituality, which, according to the introduction to recently=20
posted questionaire, is of particular interest to shakuhachi players=20
outside of Japan.
In some of the discussions about shakuhachi/hochiku/hoki, etc., there=20
seems to be some confusion between music making and spiritual=20
practice/blowing Zen (suizen).
Nothing new here, as this confusion has been in Japan and elsewhere=20
long before we shakuhachi list people came on the scene.
Here is, in my opinion, one example of this confusion.
There seems to be the idea that the meditative/spiritual endeavour of a=20=
person playing one type of instrument, eg, a shakuhachi, is somehow=20
more or less valuable than that of one playing another type of=20
instrument, eg, a hochiku or hocchiku.
A belief that the nature of one's instrument defines one's spiritual=20
experience is, to me, as absurb as believing that doing meditation in,=20=
for example, a temple (built specifically for the purpose) is by=20
definition, and always will be, 'better' than doing meditation, for=20
example, at home (built for other purposes). Sometimes this may be=20
true, but not because of the buildings themselves.
Some instruments might be more condusive to meditation, just as some=20
buildings are more condusive to meditation. But no material 'thing'=20
exists that is more or less inately spiritual than any other 'thing'.
I would take it one step further: to think that a hochiku is=20
particularly more spiritual than a regular shakuhachi, or an electric=20
guitar, or any other musical instrument, is risking mistaking the plate=20=
for the food.
I appreciate the pleasure of making and playing simple bamboo flutes,=20
hochiku or otherwise. I also respect and acknowledge the challenges=20
these instruments present to their players. I know that often a=20
challenging instrument can make for a great performance, eg, the=20
recording recently mentioned on the list, of Choshi played on a quickly=20=
and roughly made flute.
However....
If "the main difference between a shakuhachi and a hochiku is the=20
philosophy behind the two instruments," and, if one plays a shakuhachi=20=
with the same PHILOSOPHICAL attitude as when one plays a hochiku, then=20=
where is the difference? There may have been a difference in attitude=20
during the making of the instrument, but we are talking here about=20
playing the bamboo, not making the flute.
For example, imagine (it's not hard!) someone who practices 'blowing=20
Zen' for years on what s/he thinks is a really good hochiku, made in=20
the spirit of the hochiku. But actually the flute is really just a=20
badly made shakuhachi. Or imagine that the person knows that the flute=20=
wasn't made as a hochiku, but, doesn't care how the flute was made;=20
s/he just wants to do 'blowing Zen'.
So, for argument's sake, this shakuhachi wasn=92t made in the =91spirit=92=
of=20
a hochiku, but rather by someone who had never even heard of the=20
hochiku tradition, and who just wasn=92t very skilled at making=20
shakuhachi. The flute can't play dai kan; the sound disappears with all=20=
but a small volume of air; it is so out of tune that it can't easily=20
play pitches based on natural laws of physics (such as octaves); it=20
can't be played together with other folks, etc. It requires a gentle,=20
controlled breath to make it work. This could be a description of a=20
hochiku, but it isn't. It's just a difficult shakuhachi. In any case,=20=
the player thinks that this shakuhachi, even though it isn't a hochiku,=20=
does very nicely when 'blowing Zen'.
What is the difference between the person using this instrument and=20
another person who practices 'blowing Zen' on an 'authentic' hochiku=20
made by a maker who is very much into the 'hochiku' tradition?
In my opinion, sometimes discussions of differences between hochiku and=20=
shakuhachi might be unconscious attempts at placing a high value on one=20=
thing at the expense of other things. Generally speaking, value=20
judgments are counterproductive in meditative practice.
Also, think a moment about the idea that it is very important to hear=20
hochiku live. We are told this is so because much of the tone colour is=20=
lost on CDs. This may be true, but how does this differ from regular=20
shakuhachi, or any other musical instrument?
[By the way, someone on this list last year asked/lamented how he could=20=
ever sound like a performer whose CD he recently listened to. Do not=20
despair. =46rom my limited experience, it is amazing what magic can =
occur=20
in recording studios. Just try playing in a large concrete stairwell to=20=
get an idea of this. A good recording engineer can improve anybody's=20
sound even more than a good stairwell can!]
If the point of playing hochiku is to do blowing Zen, then the question=20=
is: Why would someone want to listen to 'blowing Zen' anyway, live or=20
recorded? That would be like watching someone meditating. I suppose=20
that doing so can be a calming, meditative experience, and if it helps=20=
one meditate, then that's great.
One could argue that listening to a teacher play his/her hochiku helps=20=
one become better at playing one's own hochiku. But then one is now=20
talking about music making, not about spiritual practice. In general,=20
you don't get very good at meditating by watching someone else play a=20
flute.
It can be meditative watching people meditate, but likewise, it can be=20=
meditative listening to music. Observing spiritual practice isn't very=20=
rewarding as a spectator activity. Listening to music however, is.
Here is my main point:
With spiritual practice, it DOES NOT matter what sort of bamboo flute=20
you blow into, and really it might be just as well if you threw all of=20=
your pieces of bamboo away as just more distraction, and got on with=20
meditating.
Music making can be spiritual practice, and spritual practice can=20
include the making of music. They are, nevertheless, two distinct=20
activities. They work under different rules. Confusing the two can=20
result both in bad music and ineffective spiritual practice.
Best regards, Riley
Dr. Riley Lee
PO Box 939
Manly 1655 NSW Australia
Tel: +61 (0)2 9976 6904
Fax: +61 (0)2 9976 6905
mobile: +61 (0)414 626 453
www.rileylee.net
____________________________________________________
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jan 06 2004 - 14:09:32 PST