On the thread regarding the Zen-ness of ones shakuhachi practice.
One observation:
In my 18 years of studying, stumbling, putting down, picking up, learning,
un-learning, feeling elated, feeling reduced, soaring and tumbling while
becoming intimately involved with the nuances of the shakuhachi here in
central Kyushu, I have never considered whether what I was doing had any
more connection to the practice of Zen than it had connection to say snake
charming. In fact, of the hundred or more people that I encounter on a
regular basis, from both kinko and tozan schools (which by all means are the
schools inhabited by the vast majority of players here) I have never had a
conversation with anybody who suggested that their interest in learning and
playing shakuhachi was Zen related. Now that may have to do with the fact
that anyone I have known to be practicing Zen, just doesn't talk about it or
it may suggest that kinko and tozan methodologies and practice don't aptly
lend themselves to Zen expression by default. Aside from these
possibilities, the longevity of history regarding the instrument here has
tagged it with a publicly identifiable name, which happens to represent
something along the lines of...'Shakuhachi!! That's very difficult to
play.' After the expected guffaws subside, I have never had anybody ask
whether I had an interest in Zen. The shakuhachi has largely been
relegated to the past and holds little place in modern society by the
average person as anything more than something old men do as far as my
experiences has shown.
In that, I have come to the conclusion that it may not be an unnatural
course of events to become interested in Zen first, and afterward find the
shakuhachi as a suitable mode of that particular expression. Conversely,
though, I think that it might be less likely to become seriously interested
in the shakuhachi enough to seek out a teacher and take lessons as one might
approach the serious study of the piano or the pi for example, and for that
reason, aside from accidentally finding a teacher who has a Zen bent on
playing the instrument, become interested in Zen as it may have related to
the use of the shakuhachi in Japanese society long ago or even as a result
of an epiphany. To me, that would represent the proverbial
needle-in-a-haystack kind of odds.
It would seem that so much depends on how one came to the instrument, just
as it depends on how one comes to anything. One mode and manner does not
negate or lessen the other. Perspective definitely dictates ones idea of
how things like pitch, temper, tuning, styling and space, to name but a few,
hold relevance in the blowing of air through a tube. Follow your own paths
as you see fit. The most interesting aspect to me, however, is how we may
and do come together through this all which, of course, is the beauty of
this list and its participants both from an active and passive vein.
cheers
jeff cairns
ps, I would like to make a request to list users. I read the postings from
this list in a digest form. It would seem that many people who submit
postings to the list don't remove the previous posting before submission.
This causes a great deal of unnecessary repetition. To make reading easier,
would posters please consider submitting only their and other relevant
comments. thanks
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