Hi there!

I was not being so active on my Zaadz profile lately since I was quite busy at work and also was taken by a major personal project which is the production of the first CD that I will be featured in. This CD will be a collective effort of Michael Chikuzen Gould and me.

Michael is a Dai Shihan in Shakuhachi music and is currently my teacher as well. While having discussions about Buddhism and Shakuhachi we came out with the idea that it would be great if we could produce a CD that would show those parallels. So we both decided that we had to get this done by the end of this year and on Tuesday next week we will be in studio recording.

This CD will be a Mixture of Shakuhachi, Shomyo (Buddhist chants) and some sutra readings accompanied with bells and some percussion instruments used in Buddhist rituals. Some pieces will be predominantly based in Chanting with the Shakuhachi and others will be the inverse scenario as well. Overall for Shakuhachi scholars this CD as mentioned earlier serves to show some of the origins of the Shakuhachi music being greatly influenced by the Shomyo type of Chanting.

As for the outreach to the general public this CD has been formulated over a theme that promotes meditation and relaxation. So instead of being oriented exclusively towards Shakuhachi or Buddhist chanting limiting the type of audience the mixing of those two related genres created a great channel to promote interest in various fields being Japanese music, Buddhism, Shakuhachi and so on. So Michael and I both feel that this CD will be able to reach and stimulate a very wide range of individuals.

This album should be available at the end of this year or beginning of 2008 in January but not later. I will keep you all posted when I have more information to share.

On opposites

One way to start to reform your views and thinking is by gradually eliminating opposites and seeing them as one. By this I do not mean to totally disregard their existence in our world of senses and concepts but to simply see them as one.

For example lets start with night and day. There is darkness and brightness but to go from one state to the other in a day this is done gradually. Even when we close the light in a room with no window this seems fast to our eyes but in reality it is gradual as well. The problem is that our eyes and mind just cannot see this directly. The same goes for many changes and physical states in our world. We can also use this way of seeing for life and death as well. It took time for us to be physically born in this world and takes a certain laps of time for our physical body to be extinct and retransformed again. When our body fades it just ceases to exist under this form and is just recycled in emptiness. So our form is to be regarded as just a temporary state.

In our world of mental conceptualization all phenomena’s are this way moving from one sate to the other. Some that we can predict like day and night and some that we cannot predict since they are too great for our comprehension and conceptualization. Therefore by gradually seeing all opposites as one we can start to end our human worries in daily life. Since seeing them as a progression as one in emptiness we can in our own minds let go of them since we can now see that they are empty in form and are not permanent.

By the way what I am writing here is also a form of conceptualization. So please do not cling to it or see this as absolute. The main point of this concept would be that with time we can start to stop holding to pre made concepts and just see the true nature of our existence EMPTINESS.

The Pure Land, The concept of being enlightened, God, Hell etc. Are all human inventions. Reaching a higher state of clearly seeing reality as it is can only come when you accept to enter the path and start seeing those concepts as empty and void of a true existence.

So to enter a path in which you already are into but just cannot see it the secret is not to seek anything in particular just reform your views since this the only practice in which you can find your own truth. This in the end cannot be verbalized to others or given to you by another. Those who believe so are clinging to the romance of the white bearded master giving them enlightenment. There is no such thing. How can you say this master or that teacher is enlightened? The only reason why you can say this is because you have already deep in you the true enlightened nature it is just that we did not start to truly practice in order to manifest it.

In Zen Buddhism what do we really practice, Nothing other than Prajna (Hannya) transcendental wisdom. A form of wisdom the goes beyond words, concepts and all phenomena’s. This is the bridge to the other shore a shore that is already there. A bridge that can only be crossed once we start to stop holding on to concepts as we think they exist. Have I been there? One moment YES and the other NO. When do I go there? When I do Zazen and fall deep into great meditative state? The answer is not really. Its actually when you start to exist and start to have resolved life and death and are not clinging to the concept of I. When you can start to live and feel this way then you are on the road. This state is also not permanent but it is what we should seek if we really want to talk about something to seek.

 

Ha the joy of being asked the question what is Zen!?!?!? Or what is Buddhism etc...

I guess my answer to this is always different but pointing to the same thing NOTHING. There have been times that I will go on trying to explain and others when asked what is Zen my answer was simply NOTHING MUCH TO CARE FOR!

Coming from my firm belief that all that could be said was already said by previous masters about the subject and babbling and making comment about it is pretty much useless. Here is the third case of the Chun Chou record written by a Student of Zen the Zen master Huang-Po named P'ei Hsui.

Before I share with you this part let me introduce you to Huang-Po for the one who are nit familiar with him yet.

Taken from Wikipedia link   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huang_po

Huángbò Xīyùn (simplified Chinese: 黄檗希运 traditional: 黄檗希運 Wade-Giles: Huang-po Hsi-yün; Japanese: Ōbaku Kiun) (died 850^[1]) was an influential Chinese master of Chan Buddhism. He was born in Fujian, China in the Tang Dynasty. Huángbò was a disciple of Baizhang Huaihai (720-840) and the teacher of Linji Yixuan (d. 866) (Wade-Giles: Lin-chi I-hsüan; Japanese: Rinzai Gigen).

If you are interested in learning more about Huang Po I suggest the following book.

Blofeld, John, 1958, The Zen Teachings of Huang Po On the Transmission of Mind, Grover Press, New York, ISBN 0-8021-5092-6

Here we go with case #3 of this record. I will not comment on this case since I truly feel nothing more can be said.

3. Mind is like the void in which there is no confusion or evil, as when the sun wheels through it shining upon the four corners of the world. For, when the sun rises and illuminates the whole earth, the void gains not in brilliance; and, when the sun sets, the void does not darken. The phenomena of light and dark alternate with each other, but the nature of the void remains unchanged. So it is with the mind of the Buddha and of sentient beings. If you look upon the Buddha as presenting a pure, Bright or Enlightened appearance, or upon sentient beings as presenting a foul, dark or mortal-seeming appearance, these conceptions resulting from attachment to form will keep you from supreme knowledge, even after the passing of as many aeons as there are sands in the Ganges. There is only the One Mind and not a particle of anything else on which to lay hold, for this mind is the Buddha. If you students of the way do not awake to this Mind substance, you will seek the Buddha outside yourselves, and you will remain attached to forms, pious practices and so on, all of which are harmful and not at all the way to supreme knowledge.

 

I there!

Today I will take some time to share with you stuff that struck me in the Diamond sutra. The part that I will write about is the very end of the sutra. Not because this part is actually that great but there is some stuff I was thinking of in regards to this that I feel fits with the whole idea of this sutra which is non attachment. So here is the last part in question.

When the Buddha finished, the Venerable Subhuti and the others in the assembly were filled with joy by His teaching; and, taking it sincerely to heart, they went their ways.

So what is so great about this last sentence? Well after expounding the Diamond sutra to his audience in which the main concepts are the practice of avoidance of abiding in extremes of mental attachment after hearing all those teachings the whole crowd instead of sucking up to Shakyamuni Buddha and say you are so great your teachings are the best thing since sliced bread they just went their ways meaning that you cannot also attach yourself to your teacher and their teachings you need to take what was given to you and take it your own way.

Anyway this is just my impression on this very important sutra so if you have time please read it for yourself and make it your own as well.

In gassho.

Ok Today I will try to write about a sutra called the Rishu Kyo and how I came to incorporate it in my daily considering I am a Zen priest and that this sutra is a part of the Shingon School which is actually esoteric in comparison with Zen which tends to be more based on realism.

I will not comment on the whole sutra itself but will concentrate on the second part of the sutra. Since for me this part has been the glue between my Zen lineage and the Mikkyo (Esoteric) practices that I learned in Japan. The reason why I say glue is for the following reason that by nature Zen and Mikkyo tend to not interact very well when being studied at the same time since fundamentally the goal is the same but the means are quite different. For me studying the Rishu Kyo has really bonded both and I do not feel any conflicts between both practices anymore. I hope that my short lecture will help readers and please make some comments.

The English translation that I have used for this lecture is by Miyata Taisen. Miyata Sensei has based his English translation on the comment Written by Dr. Shoun Toganoo in Japanese.

Here is a brief description of the sutra.

Sanskrit name: Prajna-paramita-naya Sutra
Japanese name: Hannya Rishu Kyo

Translator from Sanskrit to Chinese: Amogha Vajra (Ch. Pu-Kung 705-774) at the Ta-Hsing-Shan-Si temple in the Capital of the Tang Dynasty named Chang-an

So here is the text for the second part of the sutra.

PART 2 Way of Supreme Joy

At that time, the glorious one, the Lord Vairocana turned the Dharma here in making clear the principle that all Dharma’s/things are pure in their own being and mutually, harmoniously interrelated and interactive with each other.

“Enraptured and embraced in the heart of Buddha,
Received the grace of the compassion,
Enclosed in affection (interaction) of the great, profound love.
One who knows the purity of such true state of the self-nature (mutual interaction) is a Bodhisattva.

An arrow of the craving and eager affection shot,
Quickly reaches and touches the beloved one.
Tied with the threads of immaculate love,
Live in joy and win the mastery in will.
One who knows the purity of such state of rapture is a Bodhisattva.
Seeing the Buddha as He is,
Delighting in touch with the beloved one,
Enlarging the scope of love,
Gained in heraldic dignity (dignitary pride),
One who knows the purity of such state of enjoyment is a Bodhisattva.
Endowed with the Buddha’s wisdom,
Fulfilling the happiness of mind,
Illuminating the light of compassion,
Rejoice at the physical pleasure.
One who knows the purity of such state of fulfillment is a Bodhisattva.
The color to be seen is Buddha,
The sound to be heard is His voice,
The odor to be smelt is the fragrance of his Dharma,
The taste to be touched is His teaching.
One who knows the purity of such state of the sensory perception is a Bodhisattva.

And why? Because all Dharmas/beings/things are pure in their own being. It is because of the fact that it is the nature of all Dharmas to be mutually interrelated and interwoven with each other, that here is the purity of the perfection of wisdom. Wherever one awakes to his own original nature of the purity, there is a true way to enlightenment.

If Vajrapani has once heard this method/way of the perfection of wisdom which consummates the purity of all Dharmas in their own being, all the clouds of his accumulated and misdirected harmful actions, obstacles to reaching the Dojo/Place of enlightenment – which have been produced by wrong knowledge, defilements, being incapable of hearing the Dharma, and his past karma – Will be removed. And he will never fall again into the painful realm of rebirth. Whoever bears this method in mind, recites it, studies it, and performs it daily, even if he has committed serious crimes and sins, he will attain to the state of Samadhi (perpetual peace/harmony) in this very life by apprehending the sameness of all Dharmas, receive unlimited joy and happiness, and generate within his body the meritorious power of the everlasting, imperishable state of mind.

Thereupon, the lord Vajarapani Bodhisattva who has demonstrated spontaneously the true state (Abhi-Samaya) of enlightenment of all the Tathagatas, the best of all the noble assemblies/retinue, the conqueror of the triple realm, has achieved and is achieving the work/mission of all the Tathagatas benefiting all sentient beings.

In order to show again the importance of the way of great enjoyment – the principle of the perfection of wisdom – he demonstrated it smiling softly, forming the mudra of immovable confidence – that his forming the vajra fist in his left hand to place it to his left waist, raising the esoteric tool (five pronged vajra) with his right hand which signifies the original nature of enlightenment, and putting it to his chest.

Then he made the posture in confidence and uttered the heart mantra ‘’Hum’’ which reveals the significance of producing the vow of imperishable great enjoyment and providing its benefits to all living beings.

END OF PART 2

OK!!! So here we are after reading the second part of the Rishu Kyo. I am sure that there must be many mixed feelings after reading this part. The first being hey this stuff is great! It tells us to enjoy ourselves! The second being Wait a minute we are supposed to cut all those afflictions according to most Buddhist scriptures I have read. So finally what the heck is this Rishu Kyo about?

Well basically in Buddhism we are also told that it is also about using skillful means in order to liberate people from their afflictions. So in the case of the Rishu Kyo Vairocana Buddha when preaching is using the motivating power of passion in order to liberate and motivate sentient beings to practice the Dharma. So that being said we can say that after reading this part that most of our human actions that are usually to be negated in other sutras are to be cultivated in this one and perfected. I see no problem with this except the fact that to some readers taking this only at the first level this could be pushing them in the realm of excess of lust etc…

So to me what this chapter is representing is that all actions in everyday life are part of the dharma and can be used with the proper introspection to train ourselves and make full usage of our time in this realm in order to prefect our understanding and inclusion of all matter. Basically to see everything as one being entity.

Sadly I feel my explanation oversimplifies this sutra but I hope this will make readers curious about this lesser known sutra which is actually part of the daily practice of Shingon priests and also incorporates most of the Mikkyo concepts.

Thank you for reading.

Hi all!

I will start my blog with soem old article I wrote for Ejmas.com in 2005. Hopefully this will help you to get to know my style of writing.

Have a nice day!

The following travelogue is a brief description of part of my travels to Japan in March 2005. In this travel I was able to meet my iaido teacher who had retired in the mountains of Shimane prefecture. It had been 5 years since I last met him in Japan and for many reasons I had not had any contact with him for that long period of time and was not able to find where he had moved to in Shimane when he left Osaka. With the help of a fellow budoka in North America I was able to find where he now lived. So I decided to visit him on my next trip.

I arrived in Japan on the first of March at the Kansai airport in Osaka and for the first couple of days I stayed in Kyoto to visit some of my relations at various temples and also my shakuhachi teacher. From there I went to Seki in Gifu prefecture to meet my friend Taro who is a swordsmith, and to pick up the shakujo (monk's staff) he had made for my trip. I stayed in Seki for 2 days and prepared for my trip both physically and mentally at a small Tendai temple before leaving for Shimane.

I left Seki at 5:00am and Taro took me to the nearest Shinkansen station wich was Gifu-Hashima. From there I took the Shinkansen all the way down to the Shin-Yamaguchi station. From there I took a local train all the way to the prefecture of Shimane. While on this local train I started to realize more clearly why my teacher had decided to go back to his native place after so long away. Even if this place is south of the main island in Japan I was surprised at the size of the mountains and even more by the fact that it was full of snow and getting colder with each station we passed. From what I could see and feel this place was truly remote and the nature still intact, indeed this place was the kind of place a budo teacher would choose to retire with the kami and bossatsu (gods and buddhas) deep in the mountains.

I finally arrived in the little town of Tsuwano and went to my ryokan (Japanese style inn). Walking about 3km from the train station I truly felt the cold getting into my bones since I was only dressed up in my monk's travelling garb with only a fundoshi (loincloth) as underwear. Morever my jikatabi (sandals) were starting to get wet from all the snow around me in the streets. As soon as I arrived at the ryokan I asked about the easiest way to get to my teacher's place, and was told I was not mentally sane if I wanted to get there by foot with all the snow that had fallen. Nonetheless the next morning I picked up my shakujo, bowed to them and left for Kakinoki-mura deep in the mountains.

I left the ryokan at 11:00 am and got to the mountain road that led to my teacher's house from Tsuwano. From there I walked deep into the mountains for more than 4 hours before reaching his place. The road to his house was indeed full of snow and also deserted, I saw no cars the whole time and later found out that only one truck in the area can make it up the road. The views, however, were beautiful and helped me forget about the cold a little. My shakujo was getting heavier each step I made, and I started to rely on reciting various texts to keep me going. Eventually I saw a small house with a front gate that had my teacher's family crest and like most Japanese houses, the family name written on a wood plate and for this occasion including the name of his dojo.

I straightened my sleeves and shook the snow off my straw hat and proceeded to knock on the door. Sensei's wife came and opened the door but since I was dressed as a monk did not recognize me. When sensei arrived to greet me at the front door his face looked as if he had seen a ghost. Now remembering the scene I fully understand since it was snowing with grey skies and out of nowhere a monk comes to knock at your door, but turns out to be one of your old students who most of all is a foreigner. Nonetheless I was invited inside and we chatted for a couple of hours about his present life and also why I became a monk. We also remembered how different I was 5 years ago and it reminded us that we never know how life is going to turn out, since who would have planned we would meet again under such conditions. By that time it started to get dark and my teacher offered to have me stay at one of their neighbours a couple of km away but I decided to walk back to Tsuwano for some stupid reason, even after I was invited to stay. So I read a few basic sutras for them and I stepped through the front door agreeing to keep in touch, bowed to them, shook my shakujo, and left.

Back on the road it started to snow again and it got colder each minute as the sun went down. At that time I knew I had to walk fast and get out of those mountains to reach Tsuwano as soon as possible or I would freeze to death. While walking in the dark I only had the sound of my bell, my chanting and the ghosts in the woods to keep me company. It is at that moment that I started to truly understand the hardships that the monks had to go through in the old days, walking from village to village to bring the teachings of Buddhism. Although I was soaking wet and could not feel my feet anymore, I found my true inner strength and kept going, knowing that this little suffering was nothing compared to what many others went through.

When I got out of the mountains I stopped at the first house I could find to ask for shelter since by that time the wind was very strong and I could feel some of my clothes freezing on my body. The old lady at that house was more than happy to welcome this strange monk at such a time. She got me undressed at once all the way down to my fundoshi and took me to the bathroom for a hot bath. When I got out she and her husband invited me in their main room to talk a bit but first I  asked to call the ryokan I was supposed to stay at in order to let them know I was OK and not to worry about me. The ryokan called the police to tell them that the strange foreigner was not lost in the mountains after all. When that was done I explained my story to both of my hosts and then was invited to sleep.

The next morning when all my clothes were dry I offered my services as a monk and read the sutras in front of the family butsudan. After I was done my hosts offered to give me money to put me back on the road and help me in my studies. I didn't accept the money but said I would be happy to receive some food instead. My hosts started to laugh saying it was unusual for a monk in Japan to refuse money these days. I then left to pick up my other items at the ryokan before proceeding to back to Kyoto where some other unexepected events happened that I will leave for another travelogue.

PART2

After my visit to my sensei I bade farewell to my hosts and left for the central part of the village of Tsuwano to catch the train that would take me back to the Shin-Yamaguchi station where I could reach the Shin Kansen back to Kyoto.

A couple of days before I came to Tsuwano they had received quite a bit of snow and still on that morning you could see a lot of it in the streets and on the roofs of most houses. About 300 meters from the street where I had to turn to go to the local train station I saw a sign that indicated the path to a Soto temple. I checked the time and saw that I had a couple of hours to spare so I decided to visit. The temple was located about 2 KM behind the village in a quiet, secluded area. All that could be seen was a couple of houses that I suspect where the houses of the people who worked around the temple.

I reached a steep stone set of stairs that were quite slippery, since they were full of ice, that were leading to the Sanmon (Main gate) of the temple. Before entering the main part of the temple grounds I saw a small shrine and after approaching it saw that a statue of Kobo Daishi (Kukai) was enshrined there. Although this temple was Soto we can see that it had some link with the Shingon Mikkyo (esoteric) school even if the Soto School is considered as a Kengyo (exoteric) school. This can be seen as well in the Rinzai school in various temples but compared to Soto, the Rinzai school links itself to the Tendai school when it comes to Mikkyo.

So I decided before entering to pay my respect to Kobo Daishi by reciting the Komyo shingon. When I entered the temple cloister I heard a bit of noise so I approached and saw an old lady preparing some Omamori (Charms). I greeted her and asked if the head monk was there. She told me to wait a bit. About 5 minutes later the head monk appeared in front of the main hall.

I give him the customary sanrai (3 full bows). Although he was looking in my direction it seemed as if I was not there. I tired to start a conversation explaining from where I came, where I was going... still same thing!!!! I was just not there!!! What the !@#$!!! I said to myself at that time. The only reply I got from him was a hand gesture indicating I should follow him. So I took off my footwear and got up the stairs and into the temple. Once I was inside we proceeded around the temple's multiple gardens.

Each time he would open the shoji to show me the garden, he would stare at something within that made him smile in awe. I tried my best to see what was so wonderful but could not see anything, at least I could not see what he was seeing. So this went on until we saw all the gardens. After the visit was finished he decided to speak to me. He explained that what was so wonderful was only in his heart and could only be seen by him. As a monk, I had already received the jewel (Teachings of the Buddha) and all I had to do was polish it from its raw substance and make it beautiful, but at that time only, would I be able to fully understand its meaning and not before. Enlightment is a personal thing that can not be transmitted. Only the methods to reach it can be transmitted and as a young monk I should never forget this fact. He then bowed to me and left without any other greeting. I still did my 3 bows to him even if he was not present and left for the station.

This leads me to think that the same happens in Budo. You can be taught techniques but the true essence and application of a technique will only be understood by you, so it is useless to try to speak and explain what YOU understand when you teach budo. Just correct the students, make them understand what they did wrong and let time do its work.