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| Komoso |
Once upon a time in Japan there was a class of people known
as komoso (nothingness priests) who
were practitioners of Zen Buddhism of the Fuke sect. The adherents of this sect
were committed to expressing the ineffable aspects of spiritual enlightenment
and therefore, like their colleagues in other sects, did not chant Buddhist sutras.
Rather they played a long bamboo flute known as the shakuhachi, and in particular, a meditative tune cycle called honkyoku which expressed and encouraged
spiritual awakening. The komoso had
special permission from the Shogun to travel about the countryside as part of
their spiritual practice, a privilege not granted readily in those days to
common folk. As they wandered, komoso would often cover their heads
with a wicker basket to signify their detachment from the world’s pleasures and
temptations, and blow their plaintive pipes.
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| Shakuhachi |
Now, we all know that in the contemporary world, many a
sinner has found secure lodging behind the mask of religion. But this is not a modern turn of events. Even
in those days of medieval Japan, warlords and petty kings saw the advantage to
be had of sending out their spies dressed up with a basket on their head and a
flute on their lips. The public and officialdom would both respectfully defer
from approaching the mendicants, who were more often than not, making mental
notes of mischief makers and unsuspecting innocents to report back to the boss.
But the Fuke masters were not ones to let their practice be
corrupted by politicians. So they composed intricate musical passages, which
only true monks with many years practice could perform. Whenever there was a
need to test the bona fides of a basket-wearing komoso he would be asked to perform a shika na tone (test). If he failed he quickly met his fate in the
form of a sword through the body.
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| Riley Lee |
Shakuhachi players
were almost all men and until Riley Lee
came along, almost entirely Japanese. Lee
is an American-Australian, who lives in Sydney. He is a master of the shakuhachi which he learned during an extended
period in Japan and has been a prominent exponent of the flute and its mellow
tones to audiences outside of its homeland.
Tonight we share his album, Mixed
Spice, which gorgeously brings together the land of the rising sun and the
land of the birthplace of Buddha. The
music is airy and contemplative. But also sparkling and clear like a stream in
a rock garden.
Track
Listing:
01 White Horse In Dark Valley
02 Mixed Spice
03 Stairway Of Waterfalls Part 1
04 Stairway Of Waterfalls Part 2
05 Waiting For The Angels
06 Carasol
07 Felucca To Zanzibar
08 Serendipity
