- Joined
- Sep 23, 2020
So somehow I got reminded of a comment on Echoes I wanted to share for some time now, but somehow never did.
The guide.... The whole concept of the guide who is meeting you face-to-face in a special room to answer your questions and ask you theirs reminds me oh so much of the Japanese Zen student-master relationship and the koan tradition - which is present in many different Zen traditions from various countries, too. Koans are questions, "puzzles" or "tasks" "given" by teachers to their students during such face-to-face meetings which can not be answered or solved based on your "acquired" knowledge, or using logic and your rational mind. They are designed specifically to lead you and guide you to personal growth and enlightenment, with the questions daring you to use your intuitive "non-discriminating" mind and often taking the form of "do not tell me, show me". The most famous one in the West, I guess, is "what is the sound of one hand clapping?"
However, in Soto, the largest of Japanese Zen traditions, there is no formal practise of koans as such. They still hold face-to-face meetings with the teacher, though, where students may ask their questions, and the opposite way, too. Soto masters explain it is your own life that is your ultimate teacher and you cannot escape but seek an answer and a solution to all the koans life puts in front of you anyway, with the Zen teacher just being there to assist your process.
So from some point, when I see Nova talking to the guide, and when he's later leaving the room to "show" to the guide a "sound", or an answer, it always makes me think about this tradition. One of many touches in Yuzuru's ice stories with such a strong Buddhist, or Zen, feel. I mean, it is just a part of Japanese culture, and as Yuzu once said: "This is my culture, this is where I come from."
So, with the show evolving with each leg, and the last segment approaching fast, with Chiba Day 1 to start just tomorrow, and Yuzu teasing us in Hiroshima about the face of the guide, I am just so so curious if we are going to see the guide's face finally, and what it will be, if we do.
On a somewhat lighter note, official accounts have posted some photos of an amazing beauty today, on the eve of Chiba shows.
I really, really hope Yuzu keeps the new designers on his team. The costumes are stunning and just add so much to his expression on the ice!
The guide.... The whole concept of the guide who is meeting you face-to-face in a special room to answer your questions and ask you theirs reminds me oh so much of the Japanese Zen student-master relationship and the koan tradition - which is present in many different Zen traditions from various countries, too. Koans are questions, "puzzles" or "tasks" "given" by teachers to their students during such face-to-face meetings which can not be answered or solved based on your "acquired" knowledge, or using logic and your rational mind. They are designed specifically to lead you and guide you to personal growth and enlightenment, with the questions daring you to use your intuitive "non-discriminating" mind and often taking the form of "do not tell me, show me". The most famous one in the West, I guess, is "what is the sound of one hand clapping?"
However, in Soto, the largest of Japanese Zen traditions, there is no formal practise of koans as such. They still hold face-to-face meetings with the teacher, though, where students may ask their questions, and the opposite way, too. Soto masters explain it is your own life that is your ultimate teacher and you cannot escape but seek an answer and a solution to all the koans life puts in front of you anyway, with the Zen teacher just being there to assist your process.
So from some point, when I see Nova talking to the guide, and when he's later leaving the room to "show" to the guide a "sound", or an answer, it always makes me think about this tradition. One of many touches in Yuzuru's ice stories with such a strong Buddhist, or Zen, feel. I mean, it is just a part of Japanese culture, and as Yuzu once said: "This is my culture, this is where I come from."
So, with the show evolving with each leg, and the last segment approaching fast, with Chiba Day 1 to start just tomorrow, and Yuzu teasing us in Hiroshima about the face of the guide, I am just so so curious if we are going to see the guide's face finally, and what it will be, if we do.
On a somewhat lighter note, official accounts have posted some photos of an amazing beauty today, on the eve of Chiba shows.
I really, really hope Yuzu keeps the new designers on his team. The costumes are stunning and just add so much to his expression on the ice!
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