Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

That's very interesting.

Last week I tried to play while walking. I was thinking that maybe I could combine walking meditation with shakuhachi. Well, suffice it to say that I can barely play a decent note while sitting still, much less while moving.

But it did make me wonder about the Komuso. Did they play while wandering, or did they wander then play? Was walking, while meditating or playing, a formal part of their practice?

Is there a walking counterpart to zazen and suizen?

I can do both. I have 7 months of practice under my belt though(really not that much). I didn't think of trying that. Thanks for the thought.Walking suizen

Supposedly the song "Sogei no Kyoku" is intended for walking meditation.

TNH is one of my lineage teachers.  My Zen teacher was one of his students and is ordained in his Order of Interbeing.  All of his books are really good.  Each one provides a "complete" teaching, instead of relying on some previously learned body of knowledge.  In other books he gives instruction on prostrations and other meditative practices.  I particularly enjoy his latest comentary on the teachings of Linji/Lin Chi/Rinzai; it's called Nothing to Do, Nowhere to Go or it might be Nowhere to Go, Nothing to Do.  I recommend it highly.

I have not read that one yet.  The interesting thing about TNH and shakuhachi is the close relationship between Rinzai/Linji Buddhism and the instrument.  TNH is considered to be the 42nd Patriarch of the Linji School of Dhyana, at least by his followers.  Of course, people outside of his tradition may consider others to be the present Patriarch.  I am not trying to make an assertion that is meant to belittle anyone else's spiritual friend or tradition.  However, it often seems that many people think TNH has his own brand of Buddhism, but his monastic training and his teachings are well established in traditional Mahayana principles as well as Zen, although his is the Vietnamese tradition.  Japanese schools are likely to claim Japanese Patriarchs and Chinese schools are likely to claim Chinese patriarchs; however, the Zen tradition in Vietnam (Thien, which is just Vietnamese for Zen/Chan/Dhyana) is a very old tradition, preceding Zen in Japan even by some accounts.  Even within Vietnam Thay's title of Patriarch is disputed by some because he left the country.

All in all, he is a highly realised teacher, regardless of what title you choose to recognize.  I think that is why his books are so accessible to so many.  I feel pretty lucky to have had the opportunity to study with someone who has learned from him face to face.  However, my teacher often warns against putting him too high on a pedastel and turning all the work he has accomplished into little more than a cult of personality.  That is why I think it is important to view his teachings within the tradition in which he has practiced.  He didn't make this stuff up on his own, and he certainly isn't some New Agey wannabe.  Of course, you won't find many Buddhist teachers who have the guts to say:

1. The First Mindfulness Training: Openness
Aware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist teachings are guiding means to help us learn to look deeply and to develop our understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill, or die for.

Many Buddhists have said that this amounts to disparaging the Dharma, but it really gets at the heart of Linji's "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him."

Glenn Swann wrote:

often do myself. really nice feeling as the rhythm of the steps, breath and notes all fall together. of course ideal out on a trail in the wood.....

walking meditation in the zen tradition is called kinhin. usually just a short time in between rounds of zazen.

on a larger scale, the whole act of henro, or pilgrimage, is sort of walking meditation.

some of the most wonderful expressions of walking zen, in the sense of travel rather than kinhin, are the haiku of taneda santoka- alot are translated here
http://thegreenleaf.co.uk/HP/Santoka/00haiku.htm

Thank you for that link. I especially like this one

sitting by myself
the mosquitoes
wont leave me alone

That's pretty much how I spent my day today. But I did try 'walking suizen' again, this time just blowing ro. I work in a wooded area where I can practice at lunchtime. I think I'll try walking now and then to add variety to my practice sessions.

The book states to inhale for three steps then exhale for three steps. It also states to try and go barefoot so you can be more in touch with the earth. I guess it is more about mindfullness. Using conscious breathing with stepping. It is fascinating.

Last edited by purehappiness (2009-08-19 06:01:47)

I'm a follower of TNH (Dharma name "profound spring of the heart"). A wonderful teaching/gata/song of his is: "The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path I walk in peace. With each step a gentle wind blows, with each step a flower blooms." I often think of this and sing this song before shaku playing.

sasabuki wrote:

I'm a follower of TNH (Dharma name "profound spring of the heart"). A wonderful teaching/gata/song of his is: "The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path I walk in peace. With each step a gentle wind blows, with each step a flower blooms." I often think of this and sing this song before shaku playing.

Hello, Profound Spring of the Heart.  I was named Source of True Seeing.  Good to meet you here.

In his biography of the Buddha, I forget the name, something about clouds and a path, Thay seems to emphasize Siddhartha's fondness for the flute and the joy that it brings his friends to listen,

That's the one.  I am terrible at remembering titles of books.

If anyone is interested, Thay sometimes writes letters to his Sangha, as well as the general public.  You can read them here.

http://www.plumvillage.org/letters-from-thay.html