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Shakuhachi Roots Pilgrimage #2
(Nov. 17-Dec. 3, 2005)
Photo Journal
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Released for a while
Studying the rudiments
Searching for truth
Living the Dream
Participants:
Darren Stone (BC, Canada)
Ramona Taylor (BC, Canada)
Randall Anctil (BC,Canada)
Jane Kilthau (NY, USA)
Alcvin Ramos (BC, Canada)
First of all, the weather all over Japan was excellent and glorious. Our first destination on Nov. 18, after one night in Tokyo was lovely Matsumoto city in Nagano Prefecture where we spent the night at the superb Seifu-so Ryokan (Japanese Inn). Highly recommended to all those visiting Matsumoto. That night we saw a performance of the famous shakuhachi master
Miyata Kohachiro and a great koto group from Matsumoto led by koto master Kuniko Watanabe. The show was mainly featuring the koto and they played all modern pieces. The venue was a posh high tech concert hall called Harmony Hall. I was so tired that I
was dozed off for most of the show but the sound of the heavenly koto comforted me like a warm blanket.
It was great to see Miyata playing so strong and
beautifully.
The next day we took a short train ride from Matsumoto Station to the small village of Sakakita where we were to harvest bamboo with the Zensabo group. It was an incredible day as the temperature was a comfortable 16 degrees with a cool breeze and sunny, cloudless sky. We drove about 20 minutes up into the hills and parked near a river bank. We all checked out tools: saws, picks, and hammers, then in
single file, we all trekked up a hill several meters up
overgrown path into the dense foliage of pine, ginko, sage, and bamboo. The bamboo substabtially increased the higher we got and finally we reached the top where the ground leveled off evenly. This was where we started digging out our treasures. We spent several hours immersed in bamboo samadhi. I offered sake and dried squid to the kami-sama (deities) of bamboo and the mountain. Each of us harvested about 5 pieces. We finished around 5 PM when it started to get dark. Then spent the night partying and playing shakuhachi all night.
The next morning I woke up at 4 AM and sat zazen in the empty banquet hall then one of my friends, Igarashi-san played shakuhachi while I sat and
listened to him till 6 AM. Our group was originally schduled to go to Eiheiji Temple in Fukui Prefecture that morning but I cancelled as we all agreed that we wanted to partake in the complete process of bamboo preparation (oiling and drying bamboo over fires). This is called Abura Nuki. We started this around 9 AM after a nice Japanese breakfast. We finished around 12:30 PM then we all said our goodbyes to everyone and headed to our next destination: Kyoto.
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To feel the awe of the shakuhachi, following its roots reaching deep into Japan and our souls.
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We spent an extra night in Matsumoto to rest and visit the impressive Matsumoto Castle, one of the most well-preserved and beautiful fortresses in Japan.
The next morning we were on the Shinkansen to Kyoto and arrived at our hostel by 3 PM. We had planned to attend a secret ceremony commemorating the famous zen priest, Ikkyu, at Ikkyu-ji in Kyoto, but our timing was off that day. That evening we met with Kurahashi anyway and had a lesson in the honkyoku Daiwagaku and Banji at his house. Although his style of playing is very different that what I and my students are used to, I feel it is very important to taste other styles of playing other than your own. It is also a gesture of
respect for his lineage of shakuhachi. After all, we are all part of the family of shakuhachi players. We met his 13 year old son who debuted recently with his first shakuhachi performance, the piece, Kurokami. He is a very mature and well-mannered young man.
The next day we went to Nara, the ancient capital of Japan to meet the shakuhachi maker, Yamaguchi Shugetsu at his Shingetsu workshop. We had a grand time playing his various flutes. I also played a few pieces with his wife Tomoko, who is a wonderful koto and shamisen player with a superb voice. We agreed that next year when we visit Japan again we would have a concert with her students and mine.
Yamaguchi treated all of us to lunch at a famous soba restaurant then dropped us off at Todaiji where we finished the day visiting the Daibutsuden and surrounding area.
The next morning we visited Meian-ji. Kurahashi-sensei was so kind to arrange for us to enter the temple again as that day it was actually closed. We played Honshirabe and Tamuke in front of the statue of Kyochiku Zenji and Fuke Zenji in the honden and took lots more photos of the temple. This time, Hirazume-san, the head monk of the temple had a little more time to spend with us answering more questions we had about the history and meanings of the kanji and scrolls on the walls.
The rest of the day was spent visiting Kinkakuji (Golden
Pavillion), Ryoanji, the famous dry rock garden, and
shopping for samue (monks work clothes) at Hakuba on Sannenzaka. We ended the day with a delicious dinner of okonomiyaki (grilled Japanese omlette) at Kana, a little hole in the wall restaurant just off of Sannenzaka.
Our next desination: Mie Prefecture--Tsubaki Jinja
When I walked into your field of vision
Your beauty immediately captured me;
Body, slender and long reaching into space
silken skin, smooth to the touch
with markings like ink paintings glowing with shadows
Some other energy you emitted
Your scent of worlds to be explored
The sheen of your emptiness
Your shape
Drew me to you without thought
You enticed me to hold you
And kiss your mouth...
As you breath my air I breath the Universe
And the Sound
Emerged
Alcvin Takegawa Ramos
Nov. 2005, Japan
One very interesting thing I learned while harvesting bamboo with Okuda in Nagano is that within the madake species we harvest there are male and female bamboo plants. Apparently most of the shakuhachi bamboo that we play on are the female of the species. There may be 1 male bamboo for every 300 female bamboos in a grove. The male bamboo stalks are
characterized by thicker walls and are usually much thinner in diameter than the females which can grow quite large and fat. Also, the male bamboo plants have a deep groove on its side emanting from one or two nodes. Korean Taegum (horizontal bamboo flute)
are made of the male bamboo usually.
On Nov. 24 we set off for Tsubaki Jinja in Mie Prefecture. We arrived at the Jinja at 4:00 PM, checked into the Kaikan (hotel) and rested until misogi which was at 5 PM. After offering a bottle of sake and salt for the Kami-sama, we started with O-harae (ritual purification) by a Shinto priest in front of the Kamidana of Sarudahiko O-kami, then went outside and donned our white fundoshi and hachimaki (for men) and white robes (for women), performed ritual warm up facing the honden of Sarudahiko Okami, then entered the
waterfall for taki misogi (waterfall purification) while
chanting a shinto prayer. When we all finished we got
dressed and sat silently in the prayer hall for a while then thanked the kannushi (priest) who was so kind to give us a complimentary bottle of sake for our dinner. The food served at Tsubaki Kaikan is exceptionally delicious Japanese traditional style fare. After a nice onsen I slept deeply and peacefully in the folds of the clean futon.
The next morning we offered shakuhachi honkyoku within the inner sanctuary of the Honden after offering tamagushi (sacred branch offering of the Yu tree) to connect more with the Kamisama. Then we met the Guji Yamamoto, the 97th generation priest of the Tsubaki Shrine. When I realized it was him who greeted us that morning I was very surprised as it was the first time meeting him. Last year when we visited, he was in BC doing a purification ritual at the Shrine on Saltspring Island. Finally nice to meet the Guji!
At 12:30 the shakuhachi maker, Taro Miura picked us up from the Kaikan in a van and drove us to the neighboring city of Yokkaichi where he was holding a small concert of his friends who play gagaku music as well as a welcome party for us at his charming Japanese-style guest house overlooking the rice fields. Taro-san replicated an ancient 6-holed gagaku shakuhachi from Shosoin (repository of ancient imperial instruments in Nara) and performed it with the
group that evening. It sounded quite soft next to the
powerful hichirikis, but added a pleasant texture when
played solo. After the haunting gagaku performance, Taro-san played a folk medly on his shakuahchi accompanied by a fine vocalist. Then the visiting shakuhachi players from Canada and the US played
each a solo piece on shakuhachi. Sanya, Tamuke, Amazing Grace, Kyorei.....Earlier that evening, Taro-san mentioned that the old Komuso temple, Reiho-ji existed here in Yokkaichi, but has since been destroyed. Now only a barren lot exists where it once was. The most famous piece to come out of that temple was Tamuke.
After most of the guests had left, Taro-san took us to see his shakuhachi workshop and Kyudo-jo (place where he practices Japanese archery) in his back yard and demonstrated the Art in the waning light of dusk. From 300 yards, with no light he let an arrow fly from his bow and nearly hit the bulls eye. Quite amazing. Taro-san is the top Kyudo champion of his prefecture and regulary gets invited to Europe for demonstrations. I even got to try letting the arrow fly which felt wonderful. Taro-san is also an accomplished poet (tanka and haiku) and has won various
awards for his writing.
It was very inspiring to see his passion for shakuhachi,
kyudo, and poetry. When I return to Vancouver, I will see if
there are any Kyudo clubs so I can practice!
To be continued............
Next destination: Fukuoka; Hakata Iccho-ken
Fukuoka: Hakata Iccho-ken
While we were in Kyoto with Kurahashi-san, he was commenting on the condition of shakuhachi temples in Japan at the present time. He said that the Renpo-ken Temple in Fukushima is now no longer existent. There
are only a few existing Komuso temples left: Meian-ji in Kyoto, Hakata Iccho-ken in Fukuoka, and Koukoku-ji in Wakyama. There used to be over 250 temples all across Japan but they're all gone now after the Meiji
government outlawed Komuso activity before the turn of the 20th century.
We arrived in the evening of the 26th in Hakata, Fukuoka, and took a taxi to the Kashima Honkan traditional Japanese Inn. It is a very comfortable and charming place. The cold I contracted was really
hitting me hard now so as soon as I got into the room I took some Tylenol, pulled out the futon, and crashed till the next morning. The others went out and explored the always interesting Canal City, a huge super mall in the center of Fukuoka City.
The next morning I was still a little weak from the cold but I had scheduled a meeting with Iso Jozan, the abbot of Hakata Iccho-ken Temple. I was told by the Inn caretaker that the temple I was looking for was close to Sou Fuku-ji, and he gave me a map with directions how to get there. So all of us took a long walk to the temple and found out from the monk that the temple complex we were looking for not Sou
Fuku-ji but Shou Fuku-ji Temple complex (the very first Zen temple in Japan). He also told me that Iccho-ken is also known as Saiko-ji (Western Light Temple). We took a taxi to Shou Fuku-ji to save time as we had no idea where we were. We finally made it to Sou Fuku-ji and realized it was only 3 minutes from our ryokan!
As we entered the small front area of Iccho-ken Temple we were struck by the slight dilapidated condition of the temple grounds. But it was well kept and clean. As I was looking for the entrance of the building, I turned a corner and and was startled by a bald-headed monk in black robes sitting on the veranda overlooking the yard, behind sliding glass doors. I bowed and he bowed back and got up and walked down a hall. I approached the dark wooden sliding doors of the temple entrance and slid the doors open and entered with the greeting,, "Ohayogozaimasu.
Sumimasen...." We were greeted by an elderly woman who gestured for us to enter. We left our shoes in the genkan then walked to the guest room where the monk on the veranda, Iso Jozan and his son, Genmyou-san were waiting. Genmyou-san was also a priest as his head was shaved and he wore monks clothes. After initial greetings I presented them with omiyage (gifts) from Canada, then Iso Jozan made us ma-cha (ceremonial powdered tea) served in beautiful tea bowls from Hagi City in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and delicious sweets from Fukuoka. We all enjoyed the warm atmosphere and energy. Iso Jozan and Genmyou didn't have much time to spend with us that day as they had appointments to attend to that morning so after our tea and sweets we all quickly entered the main hall where the Butsudan was. There were 5 zabuton ready for us in front of the altar facing the east window. If front of the butsudan was a low table and a long cushion to sit on while playing shakuhachi. In this ceremony we were to play one piece of shakuhachi honkyoku in front of the Buddha image as a sign of respect and gratitude. Before playing we did sanpai (three prostrations) in front of the Buddha statue. Iso Jozan began with striking the large gong then chanted the Heart Sutra (Hannya Shingyo) then we all took turns playing honkoyku. Darren started with Tamuke; Ramona and Jane played Honshirabe together; I played Yamagoe; then Genmyo played Hi Fu Mi Cho; and Iso Jozan played Hachigaeshi to end the ceremony. He is about 89 years old and he played very deeply and wonderfully. Quite inspirational. Then we all took several photos of the space. Afterwards we all went back into the guestroom and Iso Jozan and Genmyou bid us farewell as they had to go
to their appointments. I wanted to come back again the next day and they said they had time then and that we were welcome.
The experience of playing with Iso Jozan and Genmyou-san was beautiful. To play Yamagoe (a.k.a. Reiho, Shin Saji) at the place of its origin was also a very special experience for me. Iso Jozan said that Yamagoe was also called Kyuushu Reibo. Iso Jozan complimented our playing and said that all who play shakuahchi are the same.
We spent the rest of the morning speaking with Mrs. Jozan. She related to us some of Iso Jozan's story. He was originally from Hokkaido and came to Kyuushu in his 20's. He was trained as a Buddhist monk in Kyoto
and was a komuso travelling all over Japan learning pieces from different temples. He basically stayed in Fukuoka because it was the warmest place he has been. She met him when he came to Saiko-ji to study shakuhachi and eventually they got married and he became the head monk there. Mrs. Jozan also told us a little bit about herself. She has been playing since she was 13 (she's now 87) and started playing shakuhachi as her father played shakuhachi and was surrounded by many shakuhachi players growing up. Her primary repetoir is Meian Taizan-ha, from Higuchi Taizan, the former head priest of Kyoto Meian-ji. I commented that it is rare to meet a woman shakuhachi player but she
disagreed. She said that there are more women shakuhachi players than we know. She said she was several women shakuhachi students. I asked if she would play a piece for us, but she said she doesn't play much as she has some health problems she's dealing with. But she still teaches by speaking. She did treat us by showing us her flutes some of which were very old....like over 200 years old which are in great condition. A common trend in the old days that we noticed was that the maker would carve many Chinese characters onto the surface of the shakuhachi and
inlay the characters with gold or some other precious metal. The pieces she showed us were very beautiful and well-made. I asked if I could blow the flutes, but she forbade it.
We left Saiko-ji around 12:00 noon and said we would be back tomorrow. She said just call before we come.
Our next destination: Kumamoto to visit Koryu Nishimura, the son of legendary Kyotaku master, Nishimura Kokuu.
Follow the rise of the root
Within the heart of the beautiful shoot
Currents of clouds in our bones
Never too far from the stones
Standing alone on the plane
Casting shadows of time like the rain
For the bell of the mind to control
Evermore, nevermore, to ignore
The blade of the mouth to entrust
A wish so elusive it hurts
To make because empty is True
And Empty's emptiness more so
In gaseous matrix we breathe
Separated by thoughts we achieve
Grounding and vertical rise
Gripping the soil with no eyes
We struggle for such deep release
Which keeps us from finding the peace
of oceans and lakes far beyond
the 5 holes that mesmerize Dawn
and Dusk which sings to me now
As we walk into eternal glow
----Alcvin Takegawa Ramos, Nov. 2005
Kumamoto: Meeting Nishimura Koryu
After looking around Shou Fukuji a little more, we all hopped on an express train from Hakata bound for Kami Kumamoto where we were to meet Koryu Nishimura, the son of the late Kyotaku master, Nishimura Kokuu. Next to Watazumi-doso, Nishimura Kokuu was the other great jinashi shakuhachi player of the 20th century, who passed away in 2002. (Note:
Kyotaku is just another name for jinashi shakuhachi.)
We got to Kami Kumamoto around 2:30 PM and Koryu was at the station to meet us. We walked to Koryu's home where he was born and grew up in which was 15 minutes from the station. As we walked we talked. Koryu was the the only son of Nishimura Kokuu and Tae Nishimura, his mother, who is still alive. Koryu worked in a company for most of his adult
life and retired recently. All his time now is spent playing and teaching Kyotaku which was taught to him by his father from age 13. He also harvests his own bamboo to make flutes in the abundant madake
forests of the Kumamoto region.
We arrived at the Nishimura residence which was a turn of the century old Japanese-style country house surrounded by other homes. We entered the genkan, removed our shoes, then entered the house. Koryu ushered us into the small living room where there was a slender, bearded man sitting at a low table. He was Kokou-san, a previous student of Nishimura Kokuu. He was very warm and friendly. Tae-san Koryu's mother
also came in and greeted us with tea and sweets. Kokou-san is very interesting. He's been playing Kyotaku for the last 15 years and is also a Buddhist monk and Komuso. He was recently given an old,
abandoned zen temple in Kumamoto which he is in the process of reviving it into a Komuso temple.
We sat for the next couple of hours talking about Nishimura Kokuu, his life and great accomplishments as a sculptor, painter, martial artist, and Kyotaku player and maker. All around his living room were several
of his exquisite wood carvings. I was struck by his great technique and his refined aesthetic. And of course we got to see and play some of his flutes. Some of his flutes, all the nodes were filed out. Some had a
few nodes left. All of them had red urushii coated on the inside. To all his flutes he gave each a special name which he carved the kanji on the surface of the front on the upper part of the neck. Some of them he also did exquisite carving inlay on the surface of the entire
bamboo. One particular flute had a dragon twisting all the way around it.
Before we left, Koryu and Kokou played a piece together on 2.9 Kyotaku composed by Kokuu himself. Very calm and relaxing. They invited us back
next year to harvest bamboo and tour the excellent onsens (hot springs) of the Kumamoto area. We will also check out "Reigando" the cave where the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi spent his last years and wrote the famous book, Go Rin no Sho (Book of the 5 Rings) which is in their area, and of course visit Kokou's Komuso temple.
Koryu and Kokou walked us back the the station and saw us off until we were on our train back to Hakata.
Next: Zazen at Iccho-ken/Saiko-ji, and next destination.......Kokushou
Temple in Aichi, Nagoya
Zazen and Nembutsu
We were originally scheduled to go to Nagoya on November 28, but I was still quite weak from the cold. So I had to spend one more day in Fukuoka to rest. I called Yano Shiku, the monk of Kokushou Temple in
Aichi, Nagoya and initially cancelled our visit all together. I felt really bad doing this as I had planned this several months previous and then cancelled last minute. I slept in a bit that morning then our
group met in the lobby at 11:30 AM as we had a schedule to visit Iccho-ken again to do zazen with Iso Jozan.
At the temple, after tea and sweets, we all entered once again the zendo. This time we all sat all around the perimeter of the space facing outwards (not towards the wall as in the Soto tradition.) The
session began with 5 minutes or so of silent sitting. Then suddenly, without warning Iso Jozan gave one solid and piercing hit each on his hand bell and hiyoushigi (wood clappers); then yelled some kind of
sacred syllable. Then we sat again for several minutes in silence. Then without warning, Iso Jozan picked up his kyosaku (hitting stick) and walked around the space. Then he proceeded to correct each of our
postures then give each of us 8 solid whacks on the flats of our backs (4 on each side near our shoulder) as we bent forward. It wasn't painful but quite powerful and energizing. Then we sat for another several minutes in silence. The session ended with a solid ring of the gong.
We all went back to the guest room and talked more. I asked them if we could see some of their sheet music which he took from his room and showed us. All the music was written in an old Japanese-style folding
book which was penned by his teacher. I asked Iso Jozan to give us a lesson, but he said there was not enough time this time. Next year perhaps! He invited us to play shakuhachi more in the zendo, but we
ended up just talking and asking him more questions. Soon we had to leave and bade him farewell till next year. As we walked away from the temple down the long, narrow walkway, Iso Jozan waved goodbye to us
until we turned the corner and were out of sight.
I spent the rest of the evening resting. Feeling terrible about canceling our meeting with Yano Shiku, I called him back that night and apologized to him again about canceling, but told him that I wanted to make the effort to see him, if but only for a few hours. He gave us
our meeting point at Nagoya Station then we all went to the train station to get tickets for our shinkansen which was leaving the next morning at 6:00 AM.
We woke up at 4:30 the next morning and were at the station by 5:30 and were safely on our train by 6:00 AM. We got the Nagoya Station by 10 AM and met Yano Shiku who was dressed in a blue samue and white zori. We had to put some of our baggage in a locker in the station as his car wasn't big enough for all of it. He drove all of us 40 minutes to his temple in the countryside. As we drove he told us a little of his life
as a shakuhachi player and monk of Jodo Shu sect of Buddhism. He originally was on track to become a high school teacher as his father was a high school principal. But he fell in love with shakuhachi when one of his high school friends introduced him to it. In university he
met a priest of the Jodo Shu that influenced him deeply to study Nembutsu (chanting Namo Amida Butsu). He also studied shakuhachi with Katsuya Yokoyama for 2 years and passed the NHK audition as he also aspired to become a professional shakuhachi player. Eventually he chose the path of Jodo Shu and was put in charge of an old temple which he has been rebuilding for the last 30 years. He still plays shakuhachi as a musician and often travels to Europe to perform contemporary pieces with other musicians. He also talked about the differences between Jodo Shu and Jodo Shin Shu and why he chose his particular path.
We were pleasantly surprised by his beautiful temple and home which he certainly did a wonderful job in building up. The Jodo Shu alter is drastically different from the dark, austere alters of the Zen temples.
His alter is amazingly bright and luxurious, full of gold and reds and blues, greens with many golden statues of buddhas and bodhisattvas on lotuses. Like a vision of a Buddhist paradise. Yano Shiku stepped up onto the raised area of the alter and took his place on the main
cushion facing the front of the alter between the large mokugyou (percussive wooden fish) and gong as the rest of us sat below on the tatami floor in a line behind him on zabuton. We all had small mokugyou with striking implements next to us. We were going to perform a nembutsu meditation with him. We took our mokugyou sticks. He instructed us to chant "Namo Amida Butsu" as we kept a steady beat by hitting the mokugyou. Yano Shiku started, then we just followed. We chanted with him for about 15 minutes. Then he played Tamuke while facing us. As he played, a sudden and turbulent gush of wind blew upon and through the temple. The wind continued throughout the piece and was quite dramatic and beautiful.
Afterwards, we all gathered in the dining room where Yano Shiku's wife prepared a sumptuous lunch of various dishes of tofu, vegetables, soups, fish, and meats. One of Yano Shiku's students, Livio, from Germany also joined us. He is a young filmmaker who wants to learn shakuhachi. Since we were pressed for time we had to leave right after lunch. I promised Yano Shiku that we spend more time with him next year
at Kokushou temple. Yano and his other disciple, Matsuda-san drove us to the nearest train station where we took the local line back to Nagoya Station where we retrieved our bags from the lockers then jumped on the 2:14 Shinkansen back to Tokyo.
To be continued.......
The last part: Zazen at Daihonzan Sojiji in Yokohama
Zazen at Daihonzan Sojiji
We got back to Tokyo and our hostel around 5 PM. We were scheduled to check into Sojiji the next day around noon and get oriented with the Sesshin. Sojiji, located in Yokoyama in the Tsurumi district, is one of the two great head temples of the Soto Zen sect of Zen Buddhism (the other one being Eiheiji in Fukui Prefecture.) We were to participate in a special sesshin (intensive meditation) called Rohastsu Sesshin which
is an 8-day intensive meditation commemorating the Buddha's enlightenment which took place on the eighth of December as he gazed upon a morning star.
Zen dojos all over Japan and the world partake in the Rohatsu Sesshin (Dec. 1-8) seeking to experience the deep samadhi that the Buddha experienced. I'm embarrassed to say however that due to my schedule I wasn't able to complete the entire Rohatsu sesshin (I only did three days). But I am grateful to the monks of Sojiji that they let me experience a part of it.
On our first day at Sojiji, we checked in, paid our fee, and then the monks showed us around the monastery. There were about 20 lay people, mostly middle-aged and eldery Japanese men. There was one French woman, Valerie, and us three from Canada who composed of the foreigners practitioners. Next, the monks took us into a large tatami room and
instructed us on O-ryouki, formal eating protocol for sesshin. This was quite a challenging thing to do as there are so many movements to remember and execute properly. It proved even harder to do in the zendo as we had to perform these movements while in lotus position after zazen. But the structure and the fact that these movements have been performed for thousands of years by countless buddhists was very
interesting to me. Also, before entering the bath we had to perform sanpai (three prostrations) before the guardian statue of the bath while chanting a prayer.
Basically the daily schedule was:
AM
2:50 wake up
3:15 Zazen
3:50 Service
4:25 Zazen
5:30 Breakfast
6:00 Samu (work meditation)
8:30 Dharma Talk
9:50 Zazen (two times)
11:30 lunch
PM
1:30 Dharma Talk
2:50 Tea Time
3:10 Zazen
3:30 Zazen
4:30 Dinner
4:50 Bath (only on 12/2,4,6)
7:00 Zazen (two times)
9:00 Sleep
Without going into details, the experience was deeply insightful. As I sat in (half) lotus, on the hard tatami mat, I was in such excruciating pain for all those hours.....I felt like being burned in the fires like
the bamboo being oiled after harvesting. All the strict rules and rituals one has to surrender to was like having my mind bent until things flowed smoothly like the process of "tameru" or straightening the bamboo. I really began to understand "reibo" yearning for the
ringing of the bell that would signal the end of the zazen period. On the third day, I began to learn how to ride the pain by breathing easier and visualizing my teachers and the Buddha's calm face. It was
at this time that I had to exit the monastery. I apologized to the monks for my early retirement and they just told me to remember that all the sutras and rules were not the most important things. The most
important things were the basic things like breathing, sitting, eating, dressing, working, and sleeping. They gave us a farewell gift and invited us back any time.
After two weeks of constant movement and sensory stimulation throughout Japan, this intense experience of focussed concentration in one place was quite powerful and moving. This was perhaps the deepest and most
profound part of the trip. I hope to do this again, and next time complete the entire Rohatsu Sesshin. (My experience with 10-day Vipassana retreat was very similar.)
I spent the next week exploring Tokyo and rehearsing for my show with Kakushin Nishihara, biwa master, on Dec. 11 which was great as usual. I also visited my old biwa teacher, Yukio Tanaka, and one of the last
biwa makers in Japan, Ishida-san in the Toranomon district. Thank goodness he passed the art on to his son who now has his own workshop in Saitama.
I got back to Vancouver on Dec. 12. Released for a while, studying the rudiments, searching for truth, living the Dream.
That's the end of our Shakuhachi Roots Pilgrimage 2005.
May everyone have a wonderful holiday season full of joy and happiness!
Alcvin Takegawa Ramos
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