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Sui Zen - Blowing Meditation on the Shakuhachi - 02

Sui Zen - Blowing Meditation on the Shakuhachi - 02

Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
KiSuiAn
2004

Track Title Kanji Length Artist
1  Play Button Sashi (Itchoken) 06'09 Shakuhachi: Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
The next two honkyoku are both versions of a piece called Sashi. This first one is the Itcho-Ken version, played on a 1.9 flute. It is the one commonly referred to by the name Sashi. Jin Nyodo received this piece from Saito Inokuma, as well as from several others. Our Sashi pieces are believed to represent survivals of or descendants from the seed prototype from which all of the sanya, and perhaps, also Ajikan, were developed.

The character in the title of this piece is not Japanese, it's Sanskrit, "Sa." and is representative of the death of Buddha; it might be thought of as the Buddhist equivalent to a Christian cross, and is associated with religious austerities. It also represents the "seed" of Kanzeon (or Kannon) Bosatsu, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, who is called Kwan Yin by the Chinese. There is a legend that the music for this piece was found in the bottom of a statue of Buddha. There is also a tradition that at the dawn of enlightenment, Sashi will be used for the redemption of all living beings, according to the divine and universal revelations of Kannon Bosatsu.

Sashi has a special feeling that is quite representative of Kyushu pieces and the Ichoken line. Many of the notes are kusabi buki (wedge) shaped, tapering to a ma (silence). The piece begins in the high resister, with the notes tsu-re.

There is a special symbolism attached to the basic notes in the shakuhachi's pentatonic scale; ro, tsu, re, chi, and ri. Re and ro represent the mother and father, or female and male energy; yin and yang. Ri is considered the child. These three notes are the strongest in the shakuhachi scale. Ro, the female, is the foundation; the male re is a very strong sound, but tends to resolve into a ro releasing its tension by coming home. Ri, the child, resolves mostly to ro, the mother, but sometimes to re, the father. On a 1.8 flute, ro is "D," re is "G" and ri is "C" in the Western scale.

When Sashi, like many other Zen pieces, starts with tsu-re, a very strong way of playing re, the male note, is employed. Since this note is to be played in the high register here, rather than in the more usual low register, the player encounters a rather risky situation. The note might easily crack. Therefore, it's common practice to preface the piece with a Take No Shirabe, clearing the bamboo with a brief introduction in the low register. Once the bamboo is cleared or "warmed up," the tsu-re will come out in the clear, confident manner that is desired. Any one of several Take No Shirabe might be used in this kind of situation. Three common ones are tsu-meri to ro, re to ro, or ro-meri to ro, all in the low register.
2  Play Button Ifu Sashi 11'00 Shakuhachi: Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
This second variant of Sashi came to the Meian ItchoKen Temple after its discovery in Hakata, on the island of Kyushu. Ifu Sashi is played here using a 1.9 flute. It is a more complex version of the basic Sashi form, expressing the emotions of love, affection and piety which are felt when contemplating Buddha's death. It is played as a kind of offering or prayer for peace, calling for all to follow along in the path of Buddha.

A special technique in this piece is called karite-yuri. It's about the closest to a really weak sound in shakuhachi playing. The shakuhachi may be played softly; but should never be played weakly. Karite-yuri is a fragile, thin sort of up and down movement. Yet, even this fragile sound can fill an auditorium. In shakuhachi notation, the sign yowaku may be literally translated as "weakly," but it should be thought of as soft, not weak. The continuum of sound may be considered as strong-soft, positive-negative, aggressive-receptive, but never weak.

Another special technique found near the beginning of this version of Sashi is tsu-tsu-oto, a loud sound that resembles a panting type of technique called komibuki. This sound comes from the throat, rather than from the hara.
3  Play Button Kokû (Taizan Ha) 虚空 10'04 Shakuhachi: Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
Koku means "Empty Space," or "Empty Sky," and evokes the feeling of Fuke-Zenji's bell ringing in the empty sky. ("Ko," "empty", and "Ku" "space, or sky".) This piece is also known as Koku-ji; "Ji" is an old Chinese word for a wind instrument, but now generally just means instrument, so the piece is usually just called Koku.

Like Mukaiji, this piece was supposedly heard in a dream by the 12th century priest Kyochiku. The image in this dream is like that of Mukaiji; of floating in a boat, with the mist blocking the moon, and the sound of the flute coming from the empty sky.

Koku has a flavor of infinite mist and echoes. It is said that playing this piece helps one explore the boundaries of "mu" or nothingness, transcending reifications, the artificial cognitive boxes into which we place objects, situations and emotions. Jin Nyodo wrote that if it is played in a very penetrating manner, "All delusion will fade away and a quiet spirit - a fusion with the great void or the Koku (the bell ringing in the empty sky) will arise."

Since Koku is such an old piece, many versions exist. This version is considered to be best version of Koku, and one that embodies the truest survival of the "original Koku" (the Gen Koku); it has a mystical feeling, a kind of spiritual transparency and a sense of infinite space. The other two versions of Koku, also come from the same Fudaiji lineage, so they are all related, with the exception of the one Koku in Kinko style, called Koku-Reibo. This is a much newer piece, since Kinko Kurasawa lived between 1710 and 1771. It, like all Kinko-style pieces, has a different feeling by being showier and less meditative.

Koku is played here on a very long flute, a 2.4, and lasts a little over 10 minutes. There are extremely long ma or silences in the first three phrases of this piece. Upon first hearing Jin Nyodo's recorded version of this, you would think he had gone away. You didn't know when the next sound would start. This is intentional, and related to the empty sky concept.

The special story behind Koku, "Bell Ringing in an Empty Sky," has already been related. Fuke-Zenji's prediction of his own death and subsequent disappearance from his coffin, and the sound of his bell coming from the sky made the sound of his bell especially meaningful. The attempt to recall this sound is the basis of Koku. In the Meianji Temple in Kyoto, Koku is played with two shakuhachi and a gong.

Ronnie relates his experiences playing Koku at the grand opening of Dai Bosatsu Zendo, situated above Beecher Lake in the Catskill Mountains, the largest Zen Buddhist temple in the world outside of Japan. They had just received 110 tatami mats that day, and the shakuhachi performance was part of the celebration.

Koku starts with three tsu-re's, like the sounds of a bell ringing. There are rather long pauses between each, and each repetition is slightly fainter and not as long. These tsu-re's are symbolic of the overtones that FukeZenji's bell would have made. When you ring a bell, you hear the waves of its overtone vibrations long after the initial sound.

After playing the first tsu-re, the sound of a bell like Daibosatsu's temple bell reverberated back from the empty sky across this large lake because of a natural echo from the surrounding mountains across the water. It was quite evocative of the original story of the sound of a bell coming from the empty sky. There was just enough time between these notes, as we are taught to play them, to allow echoes of the sounds to become an integral part of the experience.
4  Play Button Mukaiji (Taizan Ha) 霧海箎 09'48 Shakuhachi: Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
According to legend, Mukaiki, the second of the three oldest pieces, was received in a dream by Kichiku. His dream was of music accompanying the vision of a mist blanketing the water, some say, as seen from a small boat, others say from the vantage point of a hill over the bay. The name means "Flute in a Misty Sky," "Flute through the Mist," or "White Fog." "Mu" means fog, "Kai" means sea or ocean; "Chi" is a generic term for flute, which includes both the horizontally-blown cho type, and the transverse teki type.

Mukaiji was so beloved by the komuso that when their music was banned in the Edo period, they resisted this ban for a while, claiming a special exemption for this piece, though the Meiji era ban was eventually enforced.

Some note that there is a ceremonial mood and dignified feeling to this piece. Jin Nyodo said that Mukaiji is one of the few honkyoku that could be used for weddings. Most honkyoku are more proper for funerals, because Buddhism in Japan is usually associated with death. Shinto is the religion more relevant to life: birth, marriage and seasonal celebrations.

This is a piece that should be played simply, using kusabi-buki, wedge-shaped notes. The meri notes are flattened in the old style, by head position, not by fingering. There is very little change in the speed, or tempo in Mukaiji, and most of it is played in the high register. This gives it a rather remote feeling. After all, it is about a misty sea, which implies that you cannot see clearly, or it is all illusory. To see through a mist is to see reality. Some people experience this piece conceptually, others more concretely, hearing the rhythmic sound of the waves, and the cries of sea birds in the mist. It is played here on a 2.4 length shakuhachi.
5  Play Button Kyorei (Taizan Ha) 虚鈴 10'22 Shakuhachi: Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
This piece, played on a 2.4, is the one with the most ancient origin. The various versions of Kyorei, after some 16 generations of evolution, came to replace the original Kyotaku (False / Empty Bell). Perhaps, in violation of the standard of exact transmission, some people were inspired to deliberately add to it. Or perhaps, since it was not notated, but simply passed on over a very long time, changes evolved unintentionally and naturally.

This is considered the oldest and most "suizen" (breathing meditation) of all honkyoku. It is played using no head movement. All of Kyorei is usually played in the low octave, but the closing section can be played in the higher octave, if the player so desires, according to circumstances.

Like Daiwagaku, it has a pure feeling that transcends time. Although this piece is very ancient, and sounds as old as it is, it could also be very modem. It has an extremely unusual structure, with five short melodic patterns, and can be divided into two sections.

Even though it has a simple melodic structure, it really is not a simple piece. It does not have a simple feeling. It is very beautiful, with well-composed tension, and is many people's favorite piece. It embodies the foundation, the fundamental quality of all honkyoku because it is the origin for, or the closest thing we have to the origin for, all the other honkyoku. It best transmits the old original form It has been suggested that Kyorei is related to BanshikiCho, the prelude to the Kinko School's version of Shin Kyorei.

Paradoxically, Kyorei is normally among the first and last pieces that a student would master. It is technically simple, but it's difficult to playa simple sound perfectly. Our philosophical goal, to play the perfect sound to cause world peace, is, after all, the hardest thing you could do.

Playing something like this is like being spiritually naked. There's nothing to hide behind. Pieces with more flamboyant, dramatic movements are ultimately easier to play; fast passages are often easier to play than the slow passages. Similarly, in classical trio music performed on shakuhachi, koto and sangen, the first one or two pieces that are studied in a level are also the final pieces that are studied before you are licensed to teach. Kyorei is like that. It's a special kind of piece that is, in some ways, the last piece. It's the easiest and hardest at the same time.
6  Play Button Sogei no Kyoku 01'18 Shakuhachi: Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
This piece is another part of the komuso's non-verbal tradition. Its name means "Goodbye/Hello Song," and it was played by walking groups of komuso, rather than by individuals, in place of verbal greetings or farewells. The same piece could be used for both purposes, like the Hawaiian word, "Aloha."
7  Play Button Choshi (Myoan Shinpo Ryu) 調子 04'46 Shakuhachi: Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
This is a Kyoto Meianji version of Choshi, played on a 1.8 length shakuhachi. There are several pieces called Choshi, which means "Unity of Heaven and Earth." In fact, there are so many pieces of this name, that choshi has become a generic name for a simple introductory piece to be played before other pieces. Within that temple, it was the first piece to be learned, called Bon Shirabe and Honte-joshi, to indicate that it was the "hon" (true, original) shirabe (introductory piece).

It is in two parts. The first part is very similar to Fudai-Ji Choshi; the second parts of both pieces differ. Jin Nyodo learned both forms of choshi from shakuhachi player Katsuura Shozan. We don't know which piece is closest to the original, as they appear to have evolved in parallel form over the same length of time. Some people believe the original choshi was only the shared first section, which is in a typical shirabe format, and that the second parts (the ones that differ) were later additions. The first part can stand by itself as a complete choshi.

All choshi pieces can either stand on their own, or serve as a shirabe, or warm-up introduction to another piece. These warm-ups help ensure that the flute, player, and audience become ready for what is to follow. Kyo Choshi also provides insight into the player's present state. Ideally, it should convey an alert and vigorous condition. In fact, the word "choshi" also means "state or condition," as in "choshi ikagadesuka?" "How's your health?" or "How are you now?"

Kyo Choshi is considered appropriate for formal occasions and as a memorial piece. Today, it is the piece that is performed in unison (renkan) by large numbers of players at the annual shakuhachi performances at the Meianji temple in Kyoto. This piece is also sometimes played as a shirabe (warm-up) to Koku.
8  Play Button Yobi Dake - Uke Dake 呼竹受竹(吹禅) 01'32 Shakuhachi: Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
As we noted earlier, komuso were not supposed to speak unnecessarily. If they encountered each other outside of the temple, collecting alms, they employed ritualized, nonverbal greetings, one of which was playing this piece. One would first play Yori Dake (calling bamboo), and the second would respond with Uki Dake (receiving bamboo). Then they would play the last part together. But if the first priest played the Yori Dake melody three times, and the other priest could not respond with Uki Dake, he was exposed as an imposter, a bogus priest, called a maisu. He would then be treated accordingly.

Punishments for dressing as a komuso and not being able to play this piece were at some times rather severe, to say the least. In other, more decadent times, such as the Edo period, samurai would often dress as komuso when visiting places to which their dignity should not have permitted them to go.

Since details of the style in which Yori Dake-Uki Dake was played varied from school to school, it was possible to distinguish where a priest came from, based on his style of playing.

As a performance piece, Yori Dake is generally played three times, while Uki Dake is played only once. A 2.4 length flute is used in this recording.