I am more interested in "The Spiritual Side" of the shakuhachi. What this
means to me is simply finding that quiet place within me. As this seems to
be connected to the breath, shakuhachi playing leads me to that place via
the concentration and control of the breath. This for me also ties in with
another recent thread ie shakuhachi vs hochiku, allthough I think "vs" is
not the term we should use. Playing hochiku demands a delicate breath which
for me leads me to that quiet place more directly, as you have to back off
from playing too hard. A good analogy is the difference between excercise
and Tai chi. Tai chi requires the same gentle awareness that hochiku playing
requires. When that awareness is achieved, whatever is there inside you is
revealed.
In listening I find the Hochiku and Meian pieces have a more simple and
profound effect on me then impressive technical pieces from other schools.
For me less ornaments and long simple phrases are the heart of honkyku the
rest is music, which I also love in its own way. So I personally approach
the issue as shakuhachi for music hochiku for awareness.
This is all from my point of view of course.
All the best
Lorne
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nelson Zink" <zink@newmex.com>
To: <shakuhachi@communication.ucsd.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 7:19 PM
Subject: The Spiritual Side
> To all,
>
> While the shakuhachi means many things to different people there seems to
be
> two general categories of interest: musical and spiritual. Although it
> appears that these two are linked in that it's hard to have one without
the
> other, I'm curious about the spiritual side.
>
> The musical side has songs, notation, recordings, public performance, etc.
> and seems somewhat codified and available. Spiritual is one of those big
> fluffy words that lacks any concrete definition. So when the shakuhachi is
> characterized as a 'spiritual tool' what are we talking about?
>
> Are we talking about a feedback device which isolates and amplifies the
> effects of the autonomic nervous system? Are we talking about a tool to
> reveal and explore presumptive thinking? What are we talking about?
>
> What characteristic of ordinary human experience needs fiddling with? And
> how is a shak an aid in doing so? Somewhere in the shakuhachi-spiritual
> connection is an unstated belief/theory, what is it?
>
> Nelson
>
>
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