Doing without doing, following without exception rules
Chapter 3 of the Tao Te Ching offers useful, though somewhat inscrutable, hints on the secret to blowing Zen.
wéi wú wéi
Yamaguchi Sensei
I was going to name this post The Real Lesson, but somehow that felt a little off base, so I named it after my shakuhachi flute teacher, Yamaguchi Goro. This photo is of him and Aoki Reibo playing a beautiful suizen piece, Shika No Tohne (The Distant Cry of Deer). To see this performance, see: Yamaguchi Goro Shika No Tohne.… Continue reading…
Music for Those with No Musical Talent?
In mid 70’s, I played daily after yoga in Meiji Park, Tokyo
Yes! This is true for the Buddhist Honkyoku. What you do need, however, is to pay attention. Yet, you don’t even need to do that. Of course, if you don’t really listen to what you are doing, you will not enjoy what you are doing. This makes playing Honkyoku a practical means of training watchfulness in non-stimulating situations. Paying attention when there are no environmental conditions to trigger need, desire, fear, or worry is most useful, I find. The bonus: your improved listening ability (mindful watching) naturally taps into your hidden musical talent, much of which centers around listening!
By the way, playing honkyoku by heart is the most direct way of “playing music without playing music”. This is Taoist wéi wú wéi (为无为) or “doing without doing”. (see chapter 3)