This morning I played the piece Eko (回向) on the Shakuhachi in my Dojo. Following the tradition, performing Eko is like chanting a sutra for the benefit of souls who have passed away. This morning’s Eko was dedicated to the up to 160.000 human beings killed in Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945.
Living in a region and era of relative peace, I do not want to forget that Germany is currently number three in the list of arms exporting countries. August 6th and August 9th are special memorial days, not just for Japan. Though, there are good reasons to perform Eko every day …
“Is that sufficient” one is allowed to ask “just playing the Shakuhachi?”. I wonder, what can we do acting for piece, without causing further destruction?
Dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is described in many history books as a well justified action to establish piece, end the pacific war and by this save many lives. Others say it was just a demonstration of power towards the Soviet Union at the onset of the cold war.
I prefer performing Eko, every day …
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