Hello Nelson et al,
Happy New Year! 1 February brings us into the Year of the Goat!!
> Could you expound on this. I for one would really like to hear your
> thinking. This is a distinction you've clearly made, now I'm asking
> you to
> make it clear. You know something about all of this, I don't. What
> are the
> differences between playing suizen and music? What's required for each?
> What's the point of each? Suppose two people came to you, one to learn
> suizen and the other music. How would your advice and instruction
> differ?
> Such clarity would help both camps.
>
You told me that sometimes you liked tossing something out to the
shakuhachi list when it got a bit slow, in order to stir things up.
Thank you for your words of defense and encouragement. They were
unnecessary, as I certainly don't need defending, and, as everyone on
this list must know by now, I don't need any encouragement to express
my opinions. But I like to read nice things about myself as much as
anyone does, so thank you.
Sometimes when I read through what others write, I think to myself, how
fortunate I am to be a part of this wonderful community!
Other times, when I read what I've written and some of the other
postings, I think, what a bunch of right royal wankers we are!
Right now, I'm less inclined, nor do I have the time to express too
much more of my own personal opinions. I think I might have said too
much already.
But, after those encouraging words from you.....
--------------------------
> What are the differences between playing suizen and music?
The differences between playing suizen and music might be the
differences between the absolute and the relative. They are like chalk
and cheese on the one hand, and inseparable, or maybe the same thing,
on the other. I don't know anything about the absolute, so I can't
really talk about it with any authority. When I say things like "the
music aspect frequently suffers", I am speaking in relative terms.
I don't find it is very beneficial or productive to talk much about the
absolute. Especially as I don't really know anything about it.
> What's required for each?
I think the main requirement for both suizen and music is awareness.
That's really what I want for myself and from other fellow shakuhachi
players. For example, if there is a distinction between suizen and
music, then I want to be aware of it. The distinction may not matter,
the two might coexist, but I still try to be aware of the distinction,
and how it might affect 'everything'.
> What's the point of each?
There isn't any point in either activity, suizen or music making, as
far as I can see, at least in absolute terms, or rather, what I imagine
to be absolute terms.
Relatively speaking, the point of both activities depends on oneself.
Both might illuminate the inner and the outer, the 10,000, spiritual
understanding, etc. Both have the potential to give enjoyment to
oneself and others. Both have even the potential to provide a modest
income, though playing music might be the more obvious choice for this.
The list goes on....
> Suppose two people came to you, one to learn suizen and the other
> music. How would your advice and instruction differ?
Whether a student came to me to learn suizen or to learn music, my
advice and instruction would not differ. I wouldn't change my teaching
methods. I can't teach anything about the absolute. I can teach things
like pieces, technique, pitch control, breath control, and so on, and
maybe I can tell a few anecdotal stories. All of these things are very
much about the relative, though.
I would advise both people that the more they practiced, the more their
flutes would sing for them. I would advise them that they could never
practice enough, whether for suizen or music.
I sometimes do describe my personal perception of suizen a little bit.
But I can only speak in relative terms, and so I never get very far
with the description.
End of Q/A.
----------------------
Finally, I'd like toss another something out to the list for everyone's
consumption:
What I do know as surely as a kangaroo knows which way to jump in a
bushfire is that with honkyoku (new subject here!), there is most
definitely a right. And a wrong. Lots and lots of rights and wrongs,
really.
If one wants to play honkyoku the way they are meant to be played, the
way they have been played long before we came on the scene, then there
is no quick, feel good, I'll-just-blow-my-flute-as-meditation sort of
way to play them. The ability to play them cannot be gained through
contemplation only. Also, learning them has very little to do with
individualism.
Not everyone has to play honkyoku, of course.
Though suizen has always been, at least until now, associated with the
act of playing honkyoku....
Best regards, Riley
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