Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

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#51 2006-12-12 07:21:51

Tairaku 太楽
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From: Tasmania
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

I think a honkyoku is Buddhist the same way as a Buddhist statue is Buddhist. Why wouldn't it be? When I play honkyoku I think I am creating a Buddhist sound object. In Buddhism it is considered to earn merit to make images of the Buddha. I see playing honkyoku in the same light. This argument is silly. Christians don't have these kinds of arguments. They accept that a picture of the crucifiction is Christian and that Bach's Mass in Bm is Christian.


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#52 2006-12-12 07:38:28

Harry
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From: Dublin, Ireland.
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

Dear Tairaku,

I'm not sure that anyone is arguing to the contrary of your experience. But, from a buddhist practice point of view, has everyone who has ever played shakuhachi had the same or similar experience that is so meaningful? Playing music on shakuhachi does not qualify it as buddhist practice just because its a shakuhachi, there are other elements.

As I stated, I think the good Master had a particular situation in mind when he made the challenging statement. Maybe the tradition was becoming too technique and performance based as he saw it?

Regards,

Harry.


"As God once said, and I think rightly..." (Margaret Thatcher)

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#53 2006-12-12 07:49:00

Tairaku 太楽
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From: Tasmania
Registered: 2005-10-07
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

Harry wrote:

Dear Tairaku,

I'm not sure that anyone is arguing to the contrary of your experience. But, from a buddhist practice point of view, has everyone who has ever played shakuhachi had the same or similar experience that is so meaningful? Playing music on shakuhachi does not qualify it as buddhist practice just because its a shakuhachi, there are other elements.

As I stated, I think the good Master had a particular situation in mind when he made the challenging statement. Maybe the tradition was becoming too technique and performance based as he saw it?

Regards,

Harry.

Depends upon what you use it for. When I play honkyoku it is Zen. When I play "Smoke on the Water" it is rock played on a Japanese flute. When I play something like Coltrane or Ayler on it, it's jazz with a strong Zen flavor. Like when a clothing designer comes up with something that's influenced by Zen.


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#54 2006-12-12 07:53:10

Tairaku 太楽
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

Another point I'd like to make here is that I disagree strongly with the idea that instruments don't have something metaphysical attached (or not) to them. Any serious musician knows that the instruments are more than pieces of furniture. Whether you want to call it spirituality, mojo, vibes, or whatever, some instruments have it and others have less or don't have it. Instruments also give their opinion of the music and musician by the way they respond to him/her. You can hear it if you have the ears.


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#55 2006-12-12 07:57:55

costademaria
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From: spain, denia
Registered: 2006-12-11
Posts: 110
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

may be you know the story of the beggar that saw a statue of buddha and took his only shirt to cover it from the rain.5 minutes after that passed another buddhist and thought what a shame it was to put such a rag over the statue and took it off.
as i see it the both were rigth,the means different but the intention is what it counts...   and please look that counts only for the person who does it.
in my oppinion everything arises from the different levels of consciousness of the different people.every level has its rigths or wrongs. i would highly recomend the book " the laws of the sun" /or it was the law?/ from a new japanese some kind of guru. in this book to all of you people who practice budhism in any form are  very well explained with terms and simple words the different levels of mundane and celestial love. and what love is in fact.if you find some thoughts are scrap,just filter it but its worth reading and living it. in fact 90% of the conclusions i had it myself during living my way on the earth. i like the explanation of the levels and the steps to go to the next level. and dont forget that this is only in the illusion. when achieved the consciousness of the ultimate reality nothing is ever the same.
AND AT THE END I SAY: WHAT FOR ME IS MEDICINE FOR SOME BODY IS POISON, AND WHAT HELPS SOMEBODY THE SAME KILLS ME.LISTEN TO YOUR HEARTS
PS. if sb likes i can put some words in short pointing the love levels/how i understand and live them,not what i read long ago/. just give me a word

Last edited by costademaria (2006-12-12 08:00:15)


"how dear sir did you cross the flood?" "by not halting,friend,and by not straining i crossed the flood."
"but how is it,dear sir,that by not halting and by not straining you crossed the flood?"
"when i came to a standstill,friend,then i sank,but when i struggled,then i got swept away.it is in this way by not halting and by not straining i crossed the flood"

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#56 2006-12-12 08:08:42

Jordan
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From: Vancouver
Registered: 2006-12-08
Posts: 24
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

Tairaku wrote:

Harry wrote:

Dear Tairaku,

I'm not sure that anyone is arguing to the contrary of your experience. But, from a buddhist practice point of view, has everyone who has ever played shakuhachi had the same or similar experience that is so meaningful? Playing music on shakuhachi does not qualify it as buddhist practice just because its a shakuhachi, there are other elements.

As I stated, I think the good Master had a particular situation in mind when he made the challenging statement. Maybe the tradition was becoming too technique and performance based as he saw it?

Regards,

Harry.

Depends upon what you use it for. When I play honkyoku it is Zen. When I play "Smoke on the Water" it is rock played on a Japanese flute. When I play something like Coltrane or Ayler on it, it's jazz with a strong Zen flavor. Like when a clothing designer comes up with something that's influenced by Zen.

So, your playing Jass with a strong Four Noble Truth flavor?  A clothing designer has clothing influenced by the Noble Eightfold Path?
The Dharma talks at Vulture Peek or Deer Park? The Heart Sutra Harry mentioned?  The three treasures?   These are What makes up "Zen".  It is not a trendy line of clothing, a garden, an mp3 player or a feeling you get when you see sompthing cool and Japanesish and say "dude thats so Zen"   

If you were a Christian would you be playing the Luthren flute?  working on  a presbiterian garden?  Maby have Mormon mp3 player?


Be Well and Happy!
Gassho!

Jordan

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#57 2006-12-12 08:16:09

Harry
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From: Dublin, Ireland.
Registered: 2006-04-24
Posts: 221
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

Tairaku wrote:

Depends upon what you use it for. When I play honkyoku it is Zen. When I play "Smoke on the Water" it is rock played on a Japanese flute. When I play something like Coltrane or Ayler on it, it's jazz with a strong Zen flavor. Like when a clothing designer comes up with something that's influenced by Zen.

Are you thinking this is 'Zen', this is 'Jazz', this is 'rock' while you're doing it?

If you're just doing it without thinking what it is then what is it?

In this context does the statement 'shakuhachi is not zen' have another meaning? Zen, by its own revelation of the nature of existence, is not 'Zen'. When we sit quietly, or when we play with awareness does reality whisper 'Zen' to us? (I personally would find the universe quite annoying if that were the case!)

Re: Instruments and their 'mojo'; I think its accoustics, which are a mystery and a magic in and of themselves. There are certainly accoustic effects that escape accoustic scientists. I like that.

Regards,

Harry.


"As God once said, and I think rightly..." (Margaret Thatcher)

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#58 2006-12-12 08:23:29

Tairaku 太楽
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From: Tasmania
Registered: 2005-10-07
Posts: 3226
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

Jordan wrote:

Tairaku wrote:

Harry wrote:

Dear Tairaku,

I'm not sure that anyone is arguing to the contrary of your experience. But, from a buddhist practice point of view, has everyone who has ever played shakuhachi had the same or similar experience that is so meaningful? Playing music on shakuhachi does not qualify it as buddhist practice just because its a shakuhachi, there are other elements.

As I stated, I think the good Master had a particular situation in mind when he made the challenging statement. Maybe the tradition was becoming too technique and performance based as he saw it?

Regards,

Harry.

Depends upon what you use it for. When I play honkyoku it is Zen. When I play "Smoke on the Water" it is rock played on a Japanese flute. When I play something like Coltrane or Ayler on it, it's jazz with a strong Zen flavor. Like when a clothing designer comes up with something that's influenced by Zen.

So, your playing Jass with a strong Four Noble Truth flavor?  A clothing designer has clothing influenced by the Noble Eightfold Path?
The Dharma talks at Vulture Peek or Deer Park? The Heart Sutra Harry mentioned?  The three treasures?   These are What makes up "Zen".  It is not a trendy line of clothing, a garden, an mp3 player or a feeling you get when you see sompthing cool and Japanesish and say "dude thats so Zen"   

If you were a Christian would you be playing the Luthren flute?  working on  a presbiterian garden?  Maby have Mormon mp3 player?

You're a fundamentalist. Fundamentalism by nature doesn't follow the middle path.

Yes I do put Buddhism into my jazz, and it's not being trendy. If you haven't heard it you shouldn't comment.


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#59 2006-12-12 08:30:36

Harry
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From: Dublin, Ireland.
Registered: 2006-04-24
Posts: 221
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

Is fundamentalism fundamentally wrong?

:-)

Harry.


"As God once said, and I think rightly..." (Margaret Thatcher)

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#60 2006-12-12 08:40:49

amokrun
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From: Finland
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 413

Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

I think this thread has broken some kind of record on length and I'm still not entirely sure if everyone is arguing about the same thing. Funny thing is, I rather agree with everyone since I feel that you are looking at the whole thing from different directions. Everyone has a background and it almost certainly affects the way one looks at everything.

One problem with Zen is that at least here in west it seems to attract all kinds of word games. I'm not sure if this is caused by the seemingly chaotic nature of koans, but it seems like everyone wants to explain what Zen is using word games and trick questions that quickly make the whole conversation go nowhere. It rather reminds me of the old jokes we used to make as kids where someone asked you a question, something fairly simple like "what is a boy doing on the road?" and another person answered something completely irrelevant like "fifty-two". The only joke, really, was that some people actually started to think what is going on. It often took people a while to catch on.

ps. Tairaku, thanks for the tip on Smoke on the Water. I know you didn't mean it as such, but I have never really thought how easy it is to play on a shakuhachi. I had to dig up the notation and try it out. Now I feel almost silly for never having noticed. Any other pieces that map so well on shakuhachi that you can think of?

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#61 2006-12-12 08:49:48

costademaria
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From: spain, denia
Registered: 2006-12-11
Posts: 110
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

all that happens because that the truth can not be said with words. the words can only gravitate around the real truth and  with this gravitation describing it

did i say something?  :-)


"how dear sir did you cross the flood?" "by not halting,friend,and by not straining i crossed the flood."
"but how is it,dear sir,that by not halting and by not straining you crossed the flood?"
"when i came to a standstill,friend,then i sank,but when i struggled,then i got swept away.it is in this way by not halting and by not straining i crossed the flood"

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#62 2006-12-12 08:58:51

Jordan
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From: Vancouver
Registered: 2006-12-08
Posts: 24
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

Tairaku, I am very sorry if I have offended you.

I have been a fan of your music for a long time.


Be Well and Happy!
Gassho!

Jordan

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#63 2006-12-12 10:51:40

edosan
Edomologist
From: Salt Lake City
Registered: 2005-10-09
Posts: 2185

Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?



This thread is a granfalloon.

"If you wish to see a granfalloon, remove the skin from an inflated balloon."

                                       ~ Kurt Vonnegut (Cat's Cradle)


Zen is not easy.
It takes effort to attain nothingness.
And then what do you have?
Bupkes.

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#64 2006-12-12 11:02:51

Tairaku 太楽
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From: Tasmania
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

amokrun wrote:

ps. Tairaku, thanks for the tip on Smoke on the Water. I know you didn't mean it as such, but I have never really thought how easy it is to play on a shakuhachi. I had to dig up the notation and try it out. Now I feel almost silly for never having noticed. Any other pieces that map so well on shakuhachi that you can think of?

I was blowing the shakuhachi on a breakwater on Lake Michigan when some burnouts came by and one of them said, "Hey man, can you play "Smoke on the Water?". I hadn't done it but knowing the notes, I immediately jammed it. The burnouts were thrilled. That's the Midwest for you.


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#65 2006-12-12 11:04:36

Harry
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From: Dublin, Ireland.
Registered: 2006-04-24
Posts: 221
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

This thread is a granfalloon.

"If you wish to see a granfalloon, remove the skin from an inflated balloon."

                                       ~ Kurt Vonnegut (Cat's Cradle)


Don't consign it to the bonfire of the vanities on all our accounts. I, at least, found it useful.

If we type mindfully, and/ or read mindfully, is it not the same sort of 'trivial enlightenment' that one might promte through blowing down a stick of bamboo on ones own?

If we can look at confusion and see enlightenment maybe we will have achieved something?

I do like the quote though.

Regards,

Harry.

Last edited by Harry (2006-12-12 11:06:05)


"As God once said, and I think rightly..." (Margaret Thatcher)

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#66 2006-12-12 11:25:09

Kerry
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From: Nashville, TN
Registered: 2005-10-10
Posts: 183

Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

You must see your true nature---Bodhidharma
I just threw the book away!

Empty the bowl, then, break the bowl.---any various number of zen priests, if such things ever existed.

Just sit. Just blow.....jb

Harry, lay off the chicken McNuggets! They're very bad for you. Kerry

That's all I got to say about that---Forrest. Forrest Gump


The temple bell stops, but the sound keeps coming out of the flowers. -Basho

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#67 2006-12-12 11:56:34

Harry
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From: Dublin, Ireland.
Registered: 2006-04-24
Posts: 221
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

Must I?... "Ye must be born again"?

When you see your true nature how would 'stuff' unsettle you?

Stuff remains after enlightenment. Stuff is good and is a support of enlightenment if we're not attached to it, or our concepts of it.

If Zen rejects the world in all its beauty it is not the way of Buddha who seen all the world 'as it was' with compassion.

Regards,

Harry.


"As God once said, and I think rightly..." (Margaret Thatcher)

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#68 2006-12-12 14:41:06

nSkky
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From: Crowheart, Wyoming
Registered: 2006-09-13
Posts: 22

Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

Tairaku wrote:

When I play honkyoku it is Zen.

Maybe, maybe not.  Playing with the intention of imminent enlightenment probably meets the standard. Otherwise it’s Zen-like, making a reference toward or suggestive of Zen.  As such, you’re enjoying and evoking an association rather than participating in a process.

You seem to equate Buddhist and Zen and although they are related, Zen is a special case of Buddhism with the active, unrelenting pursuit of enlightenment at it’s core. If your honkyoku displays these hallmarks then you’re justified in making the claim (irrespective of the kind of flute you use). If not, not. 

The right flute and the right music do not a Zennist make, they’re just the trappings. It’s the purpose, intention and result which are authentic.


Nick


Dreams construct the world. --Heyoka

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#69 2006-12-12 16:05:54

Tairaku 太楽
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

nSkky wrote:

Tairaku wrote:

When I play honkyoku it is Zen.

Maybe, maybe not.  Playing with the intention of imminent enlightenment probably meets the standard. Otherwise it’s Zen-like, making a reference toward or suggestive of Zen.  As such, you’re enjoying and evoking an association rather than participating in a process.

You seem to equate Buddhist and Zen and although they are related, Zen is a special case of Buddhism with the active, unrelenting pursuit of enlightenment at it’s core. If your honkyoku displays these hallmarks then you’re justified in making the claim (irrespective of the kind of flute you use). If not, not. 

The right flute and the right music do not a Zennist make, they’re just the trappings. It’s the purpose, intention and result which are authentic.


Nick

Since when is Buddhist practice irrelevant if enlightenment is not "imminent"? Luckily music speaks for itself and I'm the only one who knows the interior process when I'm playing, so you are out of line to speculate. At the same time I have no control over the effect the music has on listeners, if I'm performing, or if they are listening to a recording. Maybe they get enlightened even if I am blowing the flute and thinking about Star Trek or the Green Bay Packers. I approach honkyoku as a Buddhist practice. I believe progress in Buddhism is usually made incrementally, and actually I don't care whether or not I ever achieve "enlightenment". Even if I achieve enlightenment "imminently" through shakuhachi it won't happen without first putting in a lot of imperfect practice and slogging through training and studying. It's pretty impressive how many people want to put down other people's Buddhist practice as though they somehow know better. My wife is from Sri Lanka and has been living and breathing Buddhism for over 40 years. She calls Westerners who convert to Buddhism and learn a little bit about it and start pontificating and defining Buddhism "Born Again Buddhists". Because they approach it from a Western viewpoint, which involves fundamentalism. That seems to be a theme around here lately.


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#70 2006-12-12 16:28:06

dstone
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From: Vancouver, Canada
Registered: 2006-01-11
Posts: 552
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

Harry, if you meet the Buddha in the road, cut him into little McNugget-sized morsels, deep fry them, and eat them.  Unfortunately, attempting to use the standard McDonalds variety as a spiritual tool is likely to violate a few folds of the Noble Eightfold Path.

I think eating McNuggets and playing honkyoku and whirling and walking and sitting and meditating on the sutras all need to be be done with care though.  They're all just temporary tools, at best.  A great teacher lived for a moment 2,500 years ago and brought us, for a few more moments, some great practices and guidelines.  The specifics were his innovations.  But paths to eliminate dukkha existed long before "dukkha" or the Buddha. 

And Buddhism will have an end.  This is for certain, since it had a beginning.  Ditto for Zen.  That doesn't mean our Xfold Path or Y Precepts of today are inferior, but it suggests to me that they are somewhat arbitrary.  To be practiced diligently for sure, because they clearly work, but they are not sacred or above questioning, altering, and improvement.  Paths to eliminate dukkha (or whatever the next generation or millenium crudely defines and labels it) will still exist, long after Buddhism and Zen and Eightfold Paths are forgotten.

On the Zen vs. flute music debate...   How much can Zen practice flex before some practitioners want to stop calling it Zen?  Who cares.  If your practice is true and disciplined, then flex it in the name of compassion and reducing suffering and, if calling it Zen keeps you in contact with others to influence and serve, then so be it.  In this vein, playing honkyoku or jazz or Deep Purple or Lutheran Speed-Metal on shakuhachi with the Eightfold Path in mind works for you and those around you, then Right Effort is to do so.  Assuming you have reached that state of practice mindfully, without self, then play on, Zen master!  Debate of "Zen or not" (as I am doing right now) is wasted effort.  Back to the cushion.

-Darren.

P.S. - If you deep fry the Buddha McNuggets in walnut oil, you won't have to worry about wiping your fingers before playing your flute.


When it is rainy, I am in the rain. When it is windy, I am in the wind.  - Mitsuo Aida

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#71 2006-12-12 17:11:09

PSTL
Member
From: Jacksonville, FL USA
Registered: 2006-08-02
Posts: 67

Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

I appreciate the topic and views. You all seem to be intelligent, passionate, well read, and somewhat opinionated. Good stuff!

I hope everyone will take time to just meditate on all these threads and lighten up a little. We get to keep coming back until we get it all figured out anyway.

Here's a thought:

"When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything. The best way is to understand yourself, and then you will understand everything." Shunru Suzuki

The moment is in the breath, so blow RO.

Peace.

P.S. - I just want to know, should I oil my flute, or not?

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#72 2006-12-12 17:30:57

Jordan
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From: Vancouver
Registered: 2006-12-08
Posts: 24
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Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

dstone wrote:

I think eating McNuggets and playing honkyoku and whirling and walking and sitting and meditating on the sutras all need to be be done with care though.  They're all just temporary tools, at best.  A great teacher lived for a moment 2,500 years ago and brought us, for a few more moments, some great practices and guidelines.  The specifics were his innovations.  But paths to eliminate dukkha existed long before "dukkha" or the Buddha. 

And Buddhism will have an end.  This is for certain, since it had a beginning.  Ditto for Zen.  That doesn't mean our Xfold Path or Y Precepts of today are inferior, but it suggests to me that they are somewhat arbitrary.  To be practiced diligently for sure, because they clearly work, but they are not sacred or above questioning, altering, and improvement.  Paths to eliminate dukkha (or whatever the next generation or millenium crudely defines and labels it) will still exist, long after Buddhism and Zen and Eightfold Paths are forgotten.

On the Zen vs. flute music debate...   How much can Zen practice flex before some practitioners want to stop calling it Zen?  Who cares.  If your practice is true and disciplined, then flex it in the name of compassion and reducing suffering and, if calling it Zen keeps you in contact with others to influence and serve, then so be it.  In this vein, playing honkyoku or jazz or Deep Purple or Lutheran Speed-Metal on shakuhachi with the Eightfold Path in mind works for you and those around you, then Right Effort is to do so.  Assuming you have reached that state of practice mindfully, without self, then play on, Zen master!  Debate of "Zen or not" (as I am doing right now) is wasted effort.  Back to the cushion.

-Darren.

Darren,

Thanks.

That was quite well put.


Be Well and Happy!
Gassho!

Jordan

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#73 2006-12-12 19:04:15

Ambi
Member
From: Leeds UK
Registered: 2006-06-22
Posts: 108

Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

For Eris's sake.

No Thing is Zen

Busy,Busy,Busy.


"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."

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#74 2006-12-13 15:29:07

de_Genova
Member
From: Rome
Registered: 2006-12-11
Posts: 29

Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

You guys have got me to thinking a bit about this meditation thing. Having studied philosophy and theology for a time, I was never too comfortable relating ‘meditation’ to a religious or philosophical experience. Equally, I was never too comfortable relating it to music either – not until lately, that is. Playing of the Oriental sounds and modes have put me in touch with a sense of meditation in a way that I was not able to realize before. The naturalness of the Japanese music especially, has brought me to the brink of finally getting a grasp of what it (meditation) really means. Lately, when I am practicing or playing I take one single note and stay with it - sometimes for an hour or two. I find myself ‘communicating’ with the note in somewhat of a spiritual way. I allow it to lead me to where it wants to go. I savor it in such a way as to realize the immensity of it. This experience, I think, can only come about through some means of communication on a higher plane, i.e., a spiritual level. For me this is akin to meditation.
      This takes me to ‘another place.’ So to speak, and allows me to transcend the materiality of the instrument and of my surroundings and of the ‘tone’ itself. I lose myself in the spirit of the tone.\ It is then that I think I am coming close to the spirit of meditation. Each tone calls for it own particular form. Each sound calls to me in its own peculiar way. When I am holding onto the note, I am fully conscious of it, yet I am lost in it. Then I am meditating. When I am deeply immersed in that space there is no real awareness of the note nor of the sound that it makes: only silence. The notes and the sounds then take on a life of their own, like a river flowing. Things such as harmony, melody, rhythm and time all seem to take care of themselves – not so much ‘automatically’ as unconsciously. To me this is the space of meditation; a state of unconsciousness, but fully alive, fully aware – lost. This is not Zen, and Zen is not this.


Don't take any wooden nickles!

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#75 2006-12-14 08:28:17

PSTL
Member
From: Jacksonville, FL USA
Registered: 2006-08-02
Posts: 67

Re: Shakuhachi "not Zen"?

de_Genova,

It's a wonderful place to be! Meditation changed my life! Seriously! Through the years, I have experienced visions, states of bliss, synchronistic events, physical benefits, spiritual enrichment, intuition, and so much more. Music, chanting, crystal bowls, etc.. causes our bodies to resonate/vibrate at a higher level. Combine that with meditation and it is a very wonderful experience. When we focus on the breath it takes us to present moment awareness and helps one reach into that meditative state. You might try, as a practice, to focus on your inhale and exhale in every moment, or as much as possible. At first it's an effort, but soon you will be doing it more often than not. You will be amazed at the effect on your life and everyone around you. I could go on forever on this subject. There's is much material that you can reference on meditation and the benefits. You might want to Google around. I started with breathing meditations.
One more thing! I have found the shakuhachi to be a tremendous tool for achieving present moment awareness, and not just because it's a musical instrument. The breath that one must use to play the shakuhachi is focused and requires total attention. It is a wonderful meditative tool. I find that having a formal meditation, after practicing on the shakuhachi, is an amazing gift.

Just breathe.

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