> I should have said "as suizen," or at least as part of one's Zen
> practice--in the original sense of dhyana, in contrast to playing the
> shakuhachi as a musical instrument. In my experience, very often
> players who play the shakuhachi as suizen are less concerned with
> musicality than players who play it for musical reasons alone, or in
> addition to playing honkyoku. So again, does that make sense? Should
> such considerations as pitch, quality of tone, etc, matter? Why or why
> not?
OK. I'll take a crack at it.
Pitch, tone, timbre, breath, posture, etc- all of these aspects of flute
playing
are the form of our practice and are therefore very important whether we
focus primarily on music or spirit. Whether we call it suizen, zazen or
music,
these practices lead us in the same direction, toward what Kobun Chino
Roshi called "unrestricted being" (I may not have the phrase exaclty, but
that's the essence). The form of the practice is not the point, the
point is just
being. The labels, the philosophy, theology, dharma, music theory,
technique, etc. are phantom images, created intellectually. They merely
point to the point.
Music is an outward expression of beingness. A musical approach therefore
involves the intention to share oneself with others, to express oneself.
(OK, I
know, the self doesn't exist, but its a useful construct at the moment).
In order
to express myself clearly, proper technique is crucial. How could it be
otherwise? Life itself is precious and beautiful and subtle. To be musically
articulate, my technique (ideally) should be equally subtle and precise.
Suizen practice amounts to the same thing, perhaps minus the intention to
share oneself with others. Suizen is opening to and becoming aware of the
phenomena of flute playing. What phenomena? Pitch, timbre, rhythmic
duration and all the rest. That's the form of the practice. How could these
things "not matter"? What is the "substance" of the practice? Being. Same
as in music.
To me there is no essential difference between playing my shakuhachi, my
silver flute and my saxophone. Maybe they each express different aspects of
being. Bach's solo sonata in A minor, Shin Getsu, blues in B flat: just
different beads on the mala.
Mark Miller
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