Finding the Center:
A Martial Arts and Fine Arts Presentation
Two Zen masters from Hawaii will visit the Pacific Northwest in October 2008. Events open to the public will feature fine arts and martial arts, and audience members will have chance to experience Zen for themselves. The instructors will present Rinzai Zen as it has developed at the Daihonzan Chozen-ji in Honolulu.
Zen Tour Schedule
Monday October 6, 2008
Vancouver, British Columbia
University British Columbia
UBC Asian Centre Auditorium, 3-5PM and 6-7:30PM
Tuesday October 7, 2008
Bellingham, Washington
Western Washington University, Bellingham
Viking Union 605, 4 – 5:30PM
Wednesday October 8, 2008
Seattle, Washington
Seattle University, Time TBD
Thursday October 9, 2008
Olympia, Washington
Aikido of Olympia, 7:00 – 8:30PM
Saturday October 11, 2008
Mercer Island, Washington
Mercer Island Community Center, 10:30 -12:00PM
Saturday October 11, 2008
Seattle, Washington
Frye Art Museum, Seattle, 2:00 – 4:00PM
For more information, please go www.Zentour2008.web.officelive.com/
or send an email to: revbunkowong@aol.com
Zen Masters from Hawai`i to Make Presentations on Zen, Martial Arts and Fine Arts
Two Zen masters from a Rinzai Zen monastery in Honolulu will make a series of presentations to demonstrate the practice of Zen in archery and music. While in the West, martial arts and fine arts are generally not practiced together, in Japan there is a long history of how these two practices are each just different Ways to train in Zen, which consists of the search to find one’s “True Self.”
Kyoen (Wayne) Honda Roshi and Jitsudo (Don) Tsuha Roshi, both masters from the Daihonzan Chozen-ji International Zen Dojo, will perform together to illustrate just how closely related in fact these seemingly disparate forms are. Honda Roshi will play shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese bamboo flute and will also do okyo, or chanting. At the same time, Tsuha Roshi will do kyudo, or Japanese archery, which uses an eight-foot bow. [Note: “Roshi” is the name used to denote a Zen master.]
The way we train at Chozen-ji is unique,” said Tsuha Roshi, the Master Teacher of Chozen-ji kyudo, or “Way of the Bow.” He explained, “The underlying connection of the martial arts, fine arts and zazen (sitting meditation) is the kiai, or vital energy. It should all have the same feeling and be done with the same kind of awareness and intensity.”
In one part of the presentation, the two masters play and shoot according to the energy of the four seasons. “Each season’s energy is different,” said Honda Roshi, who has issued two CDs of shakuhachi music. “Spring is emerging energy; summer is intense heat; fall is a time of transition; and winter is quiet intensity.”
“Though shakuhachi and kyudo look different as forms, the kiai, the energy, is the same,” added Tsuha Roshi, who recently retired after 32 years as a secondary school music teacher in Hawai`i. They both agree that all of us can sense the energy, but they emphasize that it requires serious training to strip away the layers of habits we’ve put on ourselves over the years.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity to have the two Roshi come here to share their experiences and knowledge,” said Diane Yen-Mei Wong, a locally-based Chozen-ji priest. “Their commitment of time and energy creates a huge responsibility for us to step up and make each encounter full and productive. We’re ready.”
The “Finding the Center” Zen tour includes several stops in Western Washington and also Vancouver, British Columbia. The Seattle Betsuin, a sub-temple of Chozen-ji, is providing local support; the Institute of Zen Studies, a Honolulu-based non-profit group that explores spiritual traditions and develops programs in Zen studies, health, martial arts, fine arts and other areas is tour sponsor.
For information on dates and venues, go to www.Zentour2008web.officelive.com/. For questions, send emails to revbunkowong@aol.com.