Performing

One way of looking at shakuhachi is as a personal spiritual discipline. Getting up in front of people and demonstrating what you have learned, or sharing some beautiful music, may seem at odds with this meditative approach. But I believe that performing, too, is a discipline that can teach us some great spiritual lessons.

In performing we are confronted, often fiercely, by our ego. On each occasion we share our music we can get a little better at letting go of thinking about our own issues and concentrating instead on giving to the audience the fullest expression of the moment.

Performing is also an extreme form of concentration and mindfulness meditation. If you are playing music that is difficult for you, the mind keeps wandering to thoughts of self-judgment. If you are playing a piece that you know very well, the mind threatens to wander off to all kinds of unrelated thoughts. In either case, performing is a process of coming back again and again to attentive listening, noticing every moment of every breath. The audience actually hears this constant returning to attentiveness, and appreciates the gift.

This can be as deep a spiritual practice as playing Kyorei on your flute in a beautiful natural setting.