Support
Looper's Delight
|
Support |
|
|
|
BTW, Rick The form I practice is the same "school" as Shunryu Suzuki ( Soto Zen) so I've been fortunate to study this book w/ my teacher/abbott at Dharma Rain Zen Center. The book is wonderful on a surface level and along w/ Alan Watts 'The Way of Zen' is what brought me to a Buddhist practice 30 some years ago; it is, with further study, a hugely deeper book than it's surface simplicity, though -referencing many, many sutras throughout the dharma talks -which is what makes up the book. I also love the story about the back photo: Most teachers had formal photos taken for books, etc. His was taken while moving rocks & brush at Tassajara. J.D. > Date: Mon, 11 May 2009 03:21:09 -0700 > From: looppool@cruzio.com > To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com > Subject: Great Books That Have Changed Our Musical Lives > > A friend of mine asked me, recently, what books have truly and deeply > influenced my music > in my life and, amongst other titles, I sang him the praises of > Shinryu Suzuki's book called, > "Zen Mind , Beginners' Mind". > > Though not as famous a D T Suzuki who was the great popularizer of > Japanese Zen Buddhism in the > west, I prefer Shunryu Suzuki, the head of the San Francisco Zen > Center who > wrote perhaps the best single book on practicing a musical instrument, > "Zen Mind, Beginners' Mind". > > He never actually wrote a book and certainly not on praciticing a > musical instrument.....he was too zen for that...lol, > but his students recorded his answers to a public question and answer > seminar where everyone asked him how > he was able to master meditating successfully considering that it is so > difficult to still the human mind when > trying to do such an extremely simple, non-intellectual and repetitive > practice. > > If you take that book and substitute the word 'Zazen' (the Buddhistic > practice of > meditating only on your breath and how we breathe, in and out) and put > musical "practice", it's an incredibly > wise book about how to still the mind so that one can play something > over and over > and over until one's technique improves significantly. > > I'd try to paraphrase his philosophy and his understanding of how to > get around the projecting and over identifying/attached nature of the > human mind, particularly > viz a vis the practice of repetitive musical playing but I just > wouldn't come close to > how profound that book is. > > I actually ritualistically purchase a copy of it and give it as a > present to all of my advanced students > when they first develop the desire to really woodshed their instrument > deeply and are having troubles > stilling their minds doing so. > > It was my bible when I finally was able to master double stroke bouncing > exercises on trapset many years ago > At that time, I had a practice pad on a stand with two identical > drumsticks in every single room of the house > (including the kitchen and the bathroom) so that if I ever looked down, > I could just pick the sticks up and continue > practicing. > > I can't more highly recommend it. It has changed my life and the life > of dozens of my really good students over the > last three decades. > Insert movie times and more without leaving HotmailŪ. See how. |