Welcome to the crash course in blowing Zen.
I’ll be teaching this course differently than I was taught, at least in the beginning. My first teacher wouldn’t teach me Honkyoku until I had learned loads of Sankyoku music. That would have taken years and I wasn’t intending to stay in Japan that long. Besides, I wanted to get right into the blowing Zen. I imagine the reason my first teacher insisted I go through the whole regimen is that he wanted me in the ‘system’, so to speak. Well, I’m not much of a system’s person.
After a year of pleading to get on with Honkyoku, I went to see Goro Yamaguchi to ask if he would teach me Honkyoku. After a short audition, he agreed. Not that I was anything special you see. I just assume he figured I was competent enough in blowing that I wouldn’t waste his time. Anyway, that would be my criteria. I’m also sure that he had a true love of Honkyoku and was happy to teach anyone eager to learn.
I promise you will be learning to blow Zen right from the beginning, or rather whenever you feel ready. The thing is, it won’t feel like you’re blowing Zen for some years probably. I mean, if you’re anything like me it may even take decades. Happily, I imagine few of you will be as dense as I was. I will say however, that aging has played a profound role in this for me. I feel that those ‘lost decades’ of going through the motions were a necessary prerequisite. As they say, no pain (loss, waste, failure) no gain. As is true with yoga, the rewards are mete out over your lifetime. So with all this in mind, let’s begin…
Posture is critical
(Currently under development)