emptyvessel

There is a Zen story (I think) wherein a Master shows a group of students a beautiful, valuable gilded bowl. The master asked the students "What is the most important part of this bowl?" The students looked and one answered, "Surely the gilding is the most important." "No, the lacquer is the most important," answered another. The master said, "It is the emptiness within the bowl that is the most important part." At least that is how I think it goes... ~Kyle

As a player, I am partial to the shakuhachi. Yamamoto Hozan plays Brubeck's Take Five http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1gqlo_ta...oto-hozan_music My teacher's teacher, Yoshio Kurahashi, who I am taking lessons with in February. ~K

Hello goldisheavy. Philosophically I completely agree with your post. In an enlightened society such a system would work. It works already to some extent in the East, though there are still a lot of "gurus" who charge a lot of money for spiritual teachings. But, in the East, monks have been begging and lay people have been supporting them for centuries. It is part of the culture there. I wish it was so here as well. However, here in West, certainly in the States, there is no spiritual cultural history that supports such ideals. We have instead grown into a culture that idolizes money. People who have an "angle" market grandiose claims of enlightenment and transcendence to the masses for crazy sums of money. This has made folks even more skeptical. But even the genuine spiritual teachers still have to support themselves somehow, and the local community is unlikely to pick up the teacher's tab. I don't mind supporting my teachers with reasonable sums. The folks that charge unreasonable sums for instant enlightenment systems using every internet marketing scheme in the book won't get a dime from me. I would certainly like to see our culture moving toward your ideals. And maybe it is, however slowly. ~Kyle

unfertilized muck... turn in some rich compost and sow the seeds of life.

Now that sounds like a good idea! Once I get past the holidays and can fast a little bit I'll go for it. I'll let you know how I fare. ~K

Thank you. My playing might not be as impressive as the idea of my playing though. I'm studying Kinko-ryu, Jin Nyodo lineage. Stan Richardson is my teacher; you might have heard some of his stuff. His teacher, Kurahashi-sensei, comes in from Japan for an intensive every year. I'll be taking lessons with Kurahashi in early February. Thanks for the welcome.

I'm due for another journey, actually. Ayahuasca is one of my favorites.

Thanks for the welcome. ~K

Howdy folks. While I was never a prolific poster or participator, I figure I should reintroduce myself anyway. It has been quite some time since I last logged in. In browsing the latest topics, I remembered why I quit hanging around here. This time, with a new perspective, I hope I can look past all the drivel and name-calling and focus on the useful stuff; there is a lot of it here. My name is Kyle. I am 28 and I'm from small-town NE Texas. I am involved in both Taoist and Zen practice. I'm a hypnotist. I play the shakuhachi, a Japanese bamboo flute, and with it practice suizen, or blowing Zen. I also enjoy the occasional entheogen induced spirit journey. I dabble in the magickal. I pursue stillness of mind and movement of energy. I have a long way to go. I have an open mind tempered with healthy measures of skepticism and pragmatism. I am aware that a belief system can be a tool and have used it as such in the past I am looking forward to participating in this community of like-minded folks. I enjoy discussions and debates, even heated debates, but I refuse to feed trolls or participate in flame wars. Nothing is true; everything is permitted. Hail Eris, praise Bob.

Like your avatar. From The Art of Shen Ku, by Zeek, yes?

Hello everyone. I'm Kyle from small town Texas, twenty six year old dude. I stumbled across this forum and, being mostly Taoist most of the time, decided to join. I have much to learn, and probably little to add, but once I get done lurking through the threads you might see me post...lol. I don't really "practice" anything with any regularity. Tai Chi here and there, some suizen with my homemade shakuhachi, but mostly I just read things like this forum. I am at a point now where I feel the need to commit to some sort of routine practice, but my local resources are very limited. Serendipitous, then, that I found this site when I did. I feel like I have a lot energy available to me, but it isn't grounded or balanced in any way. It's just there, and I can feel it, but I don't know what to do with it. I hope those of you with experience will be patient with a noob's ignorance. Regards, K