TCC With Shakuhachi

We all know that to study the Way is to forget the Way, but sometimes one is asked to articulate in words this no-thing.

I play the Shakuhachi (an end-blown bamboo flute introduced to Japan from China in the 6th century A.D.) for a T’ai Chi Chih class in Ventura, California. This class is taught by the generous Cathy Burton who has asked me to put my experience in words. I am often thanked after class for playing the flute, but the pleasure is all mine.

Playing during TCC is part of my practicing the Way along with my fellow TCC practitioners. An old Chinese Chan (Zen) poem speaks to this practice:

Sitting at night

on the cold veranda

the ancient melody

coming from your fingertips

hearing its old melancholy

sounds often makes

people weep

but Chan is beyond

sentiment,

do not play again until

The Great Sound

Of Lao-Tzu accompanies you.

– introductory manual to Kinko Honkyoku, by Robert Grous

In our class, the “cold veranda” is a large room adjacent to bustling, noisy Ventura Avenue. The ancient melody is more New Age than “Old Age.” I practice ancient melodies during my private, personal time. The fingertips refer to my fingertips on the flute and our groups’ fingertips as they float through space. The Great Sound comes from the Great Silence of the Way; I watch and listen for this sound and silence while playing for our TCC group.

My accompaniment is also informed by my favorite Shakuhachi master, Yoshinobu Taniguchi. His description of the song Sanya (Three Valleys) in Bosatsu, Chikuzen Shakuhachi influences my playing particularly during the Daughter on the Mountaintop and Daughter in the Valley. Here is what he writes:

Three Valleys (a traditional flute song) depicts the journey of a monk through his trials and challenges of existence filled with highs and lows. The analogy extends to our everyday lives . . . At the end, we are returned to the original feeling of peace, as if one has become accustomed to these ups and downs and has found a way to keep a sense of balance throughout.

Thanks to Dixie Adeniran, the founding teacher of our Avenue TCC group, for allowing me to accompany the class with my flute. Thanks to our current leader, Cathy Burton, for continuing this tradition. And heartfelt thanks to our entire group for allowing me this wonderful opportunity.