Author: dorakuan

It is for the third time now that I visit Japan after the big earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. My first trip following the disaster was in May last year, to see colleagues and friends, who fortunately all survived. I started this blog with my travel report “A Journey to the North”.

After coming back to Kyoto and Tokyo last November, now I am back again, repeating more or less my journey from May 2011.

Kyoto appears unchanged, happily preparing for “hanami”, the great cherry blossom party starting in a week or so. Occasional signs say that the still suffering Tohoku region is not forgotten … but somehow it seems as far as the moon in happy Kyoto, where people enjoy the evening “light up” in the streets of Higashiyama. It is almost impossible for me not to be taken away by the cheerful atmosphere of the happy crowd, coming to Kyoto and walking my favourite routes always feels like “coming home”.

After doing some business in Kobe, I will travel to Tokyo and Sendai, and then back to Kyoto to stay a week at a Zen Dojo. A year after the tragedy, I still have very mixed positive and negative impressions and thoughts, concerning the strength of the Japanese to stand up and recover, their inability to search and find ways against a tremendous waste of energy, our inability to find ways to help, when the “donation money” reflex is of no use. What can we do?

A year ago nature hit Japan with the great earthquake and tsunami. Memorial services are held all over the world today. Let us share a moment of silence, being with those whose life was prematurely taken away, and those who lost their loved ones.

In a few days I will fly to Japan and also visit the Tohoku region, for the third time since March 11, 2011. While preparing for my trip, two things are on my mind:

The incredible strength I witnessed with the Japanese people, not giving up in the face of such a terrible disaster. It is for sure beyond comparison, the way individuals stand up again and move on to rebuild their lives.

The incredible misconception about what has happened. A memorial service is carried out for something past. The ruins of the atomic power plant in Fukushima are still terribly active, in a much unknown and possibly non-secure condition, euphemistically declared as “cold shut-down”.

Human beings are born and die, this is so by nature. Averting the development of new life for many many generations to come in a large region is a new technical invention of the past century,  accounted for by irresponsible bureaucrats who are interested in nothing but a short term return of investment.

What is the answer of Zen in the face of such irresponsibility? I am relieved to learn there even exists an official one, the “Japan Buddhist Federation declaration – Appeal for a Life Style without Dependence on Nuclear Power“, issued on December 1st, 2011. In addition to this, the Myoshinji sect of the Rinzai Zen has made a remarkable public declaration stating, “We must break away at once from dependence on nuclear power for the future of our children”; and “In Buddhism, there is taught the practice of ‘sufficiency’ (chisoku), and we must make an effort to create a sustainable symbiotic society.” Yes!

I love to forget about all that academic discussions concerning Zen and Buddhism, masters, lineages and traditions. When I was younger, I tried with a certain effort to ignore them, but recently they just seem to fade away by themselves, like the mist in the morning sun … the mercy of ageing?

If you just start with your Zen-practise: don’t let you, by any means, intimidate by what you might happen to read in books or on web-pages! Zen is simple, it is emerging from our every day life, and it supports us in living our life! Don’t let you trap by evil sects and abusive want-to-be masters, eventually discouraging your motivation and poisoning your practise! It’s all up to you!

Said that, there is no need to re-invent the wheel during our short life-span, with having those great ancestors in Zen: individuals with inspiring ideas and unique ways of living their life. And it is indeed worth studying them! As far as I am concerned, I meet my Zen-ancestors by copying their calligraphies … a very intimate way of communication with those who passed away before us.

Their message is encouraging and simple: we actually do have a chance to live our life, day by day. Not bad, or?

This blog is not meant to become a kind of yellow press, and I am not much interested in denouncing certain Zen-teachers or methods of practise, just because they do things different from me.

Said that, the meanwhile well documented abuse of (mainly female) Zen students by their teachers has to be made public, in order to protect future potential victims. And the question may be asked, what kind of Zen, what kind of Zen-community or Sangha and which kind of leaders backed up those cases going on over decades. What is their understanding of responsibility?

Instead of repeating what is already widely published and discussed, below a few links for further reading considering the case of Eido Shimano, just to mention this one:

• “Sex Scandal Has U.S. Buddhists Looking Within” (New York Times, August 20, 2010)
• The Aitken-Shimano Letters
• The Shimano Archive
• “Compelling Reasons Why Eido Tai Shimano, the Abbot of The Zen Studies Society Should Step Down as its Spiritual Leader”

Some worth reading comments on the situation:

• A letter from Joan Halifax
• Discussion on the “Zen Forum International”
• “Some Fundamental Problems With Zen Practice” by Christopher Hamacher

And eventually Eido Shimano’s letter of resignation can be found here.

Case closed? By no means! Just guess who will lead in August 2012 what is proudly announced as “the first international Rinzai Zen Sesshin ever held in Turkey” ?

It is our responsibility to prevent such obviously insane people from causing further harm, and it is our responsibility to continue teaching and practising a Zen, which supports our life and is free of abuse.

One promising step in this direction might well be to consider if it is not worth completely giving up the game of calling people “Roshi“, running behind (those who have) a “Dharma Transmission” and being blinded by names and titles … and instead focus on a teacher’s integrity, and last but not least, quality of teaching.

Zen is based on personal experience and the encounter and transmission from heart to heart 以心伝心 (i shin den shin) between true humans without a rank 無位真人 (mu i no shin nin). This is the “lineage” I follow, not any officially acknowledged yet insane “heir of Buddha”, who destroys his students.

Martial artists often share a particular affection for the Katana, or Japanese sword. In contrast, pacifists usually express aversion against any kind of weapons. The idea that Zen has certain links to the exercise with the Katana can therefore be surprising.

Let aside historical roots of medieval Samurai performing Zen-training, more contemporary masters of Zen and sword-fighting, and a terrible misunderstanding of Buddhism by some distinguished Zen masters, leading to hilarious justifications why it is o.k. to kill …  what can the exercise with the Japanese sword provide for a western non-crazy Zen practitioner? Is it just an overcome, old-fashioned militaristic right-wing Japanese thing we better should avoid?

After the second world war, Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, developed a new concept of practising with the wooden sword or bokken. From my Aikido teacher, Kobayashi Hirokazu, I learned this style, called otonashi no ken (音無しの剣), the silent or calm sword. There is no aggressive posture in otonashi no ken, no attack, and especially no idea of cutting down an opponent.

This bokken exercise is all about oneness with the situation, breath and timing, decisiveness and bold action in the face of a violent attack. No thought of killing or showing off with a weapon, and therefore not at all aggressive in its appearance … nevertheless, very efficient.

Although its origin is not related to Zen, I consider otonashi no ken a perfect Zen exercise. In my teaching, I want to promote this new and peaceful link between Zen and sword, giving a new and non-violent aspect to the old proverb that “Sword and Zen are One”: 剣禅一如 (ken zen ichi nyo).

The other day, a reader of my blog expressed his surprise about the fact that, as he put it, I “can not imagine a Zen-life without doing Zazen”. Well, true, for myself I can not. All the Zen-Art I teach (like Hitsuzendo and Aikiken) or practise (like Shakuhachi) is based on Zazen.

It is not a big deal, sitting still in silence for some time, regularly, but in my experience,  it can make a big change for your life!

So, what about practising a Zen-Art without Zazen, or just reading Zen literature and deal with it as a kind of philosophy? For me this sounds a bit like cooking without eating, or just reading cookery books. Of course it is possible to do that, and of course it is not “forbidden” … but without Zazen, I am sure, it is much more difficult to experience the essence of Zen with your body and mind.

Said that, please feel free to call whatever of your activities “Zen”, and let’s leave the universally valid definition of “correct Zen” to the Zen-Taliban.

The other day, I was made aware of an unlucky mail exchange between two Zen teachers, posted in this blog. Usually I am not much interested in gossip and communication gone wrong, but this discussion rises the interesting question what qualifies someone to be a Zen teacher.

In addition to my earlier comments (“The Hidden Master”, “Teaching Zen” and “Licensed Pilots, and other Things”) on a similar topic, I will try to list some criteria I consider important. Hopefully, they will help you to find a good teacher, who…

• … practised regularly Zazen for many years, and still does practise.
• … has intensively worked with a good teacher for a long time.
• … has gained teaching experience as student, helper and assistant teacher on many sesshin or seminars with a lot of different students.
• … has received an o.k. (in a formal or informal way) from his teacher, that he or she is qualified to teach. 
• … has developed a certain amount of compassion for his or her students.
• … feels confident and happy to teach.

What I consider not sufficient, even not at all important to judge a Zen teacher’s qualification, is his or her…

• … nationality. 
• … success in the “Japanese Zen-Monk Look-Alike Competition”.
• … monastic status or position within an organisation.
• … teaching license, issued by some authority.
• … title (such as “Master”, “Roshi”, “Sensei”, ….).
• … business concept, driving the students into a ranking- and career system. 
• … number of students.
• … number of Zen-books published.

Don’t let you fool by shiny titles or a master-like appearance, judge yourself if the person in question is a real, authentic Zen teacher, worth your dedication, time and money!

When I take a walk across the fields outside my Dojo, at minus ten degrees these days, I can see the past and the future: big clouds of steam from the coal fired power plant on the left, and the wind wheels turning slowly on the right. Currently, I read, in Japan 50 out of 54 atomic power plants are shut down …

Today is Setsubun (節分), the beginning of spring according to the lunar calendar. Many Japanese visit their local shrines for spring celebration called Risshun (立春), and throw roasted soya beans, Fukumame (福豆) towards someone dressed as Oni or deamon to drive away the evil spirits.

The deputy head priest of our Dojo’s partner temple Shunkoin in Kyoto suggested angry Japanese citizens to throw beans at Tepco, the operator of the collapsed Fukushima nuclear plant. But then he wonders if beans are not too good for them … while I read that more and more leaks occur in the temporary cooling system (the experts at Tepco maybe did not consider water freezes below zero degrees), releasing tons of contaminated water, I can do nothing but agree.

This is the cycle of cause and effect, or Karma: our intentions and actions each moment have an impact on the future. Concerning atomic energy, hundreds of generations to come will suffer from the bad Karma we produced.

Lesson 1 – Getting Started

In a previous post I promised to give some regular guide and inspiration for studying Zen-Calligraphy. Of course, the best option is working with a qualified teacher, but these are hard to find … so I hope my posts will help you to enjoy practising Zen with brush and ink, or Hitsuzendo (筆禅道).

Maybe you already have some basic experience with Shodo, the Japanese art of calligraphy. Maybe not … in that case I suggest you browse the web to look up some basics I won’t explain. A good introduction page is for example here, a book I can recommend is “Zen Brushwork” by Tanchu Terayama.

Next, set up a daily (or weekly) schedule, some 30 to 60 minutes for regular practise. I consider it important to exercise regularly. Say, each morning (or each other day or each Sunday), some time before breakfast … morning is better than evening!

• Set up your place (ideally, the evening before … or keep it always ready).
• Start with Zazen, your preferred time, 5 minutes, or 10, or 20. Don’t skip the Zazen!
• Do a few minutes breathing exercise, Qigong, Tai-Chi …
• Practice calligraphy for about 10-15 minutes by copying the sample a few times (details following in a next post).
• Close with Zazen.

The purpose of Hitsuzendo or Zen-Calligraphy is not producing a nice piece of art. It is a Zen-exercise, so you can, like I do it, use newspaper to write upon, and throw the result after your practise is finished.

… to be continued.

The air smelled a bit like spring the last days, but this morning the garden Buddha at my Dojo was suddenly covered by snow. It is cold, and will become much colder the next days.

The plum blossom at Shunkoin, our partner temple in Kyoto, will start soon. Here winter pays a late visit. I am glad to live at a place where one can enjoy the four seasons, like in Japan. It is this same rhythm of nature, which sometimes makes us feel so surprisingly similar, in spite of all obvious differences in culture and language.

Maybe due to spring, summer, autumn and winter all the things and ideas I brought from Japan over the years blend so naturally into my 250 years old mill, now serving as a Zen-Dojo?