I have always been fascinated by the mystics and sages who sought peace in the forests, caves, and mountains. They felt in their hearts a need, an urgency for some time alone. Some may seek solitude to be closer to god, some may seek solitude for meditation and others may seek solitude as a lifestyle. Sometimes these reasons may mend together, and it may be a stillness that we all could benefit from at times. Our lives in the modern world are incredibly busy, and we may not always have time to even make lunch, sweep the floor, or even bake our favorite homemade desserts that we enjoy! We push our needs aside at times, always watching the clock, to stay on top of life, and all the while something within us says ” I need a break” or “I need a retreat”.

When I was about 13 years old my grandmother gave me a book called A Garden of Chinese Serenity, Reflections of a Zen Buddhist. The book has many short Zen, Tao and Buddhist poems written by the 17th century Chinese author Hong Zicheng in 1590. One of the poems that really intrigued me was about flowers and bamboo. Here is the poem written by Hong Zicheng.

Flowers display their beauty to the bright spring. But when they are pounded by a downpour of rain and a gust of wind, they are hastened back to dust. Bamboos persist in the integrity of their elegance. Even though they are beaten by frost one morning and snow another, they remain true to their green jade hue.

~ Hong zicheng

It was poems like this, Zen poems and Tao poems that would eventually inspire my musical expressions on the Guzheng. As an urban kid, never having left the USA, the only real bamboo I saw was the bamboo at Wal-mart, my mind could only imagine how great a forest of timber bamboo would be. How beautiful it would be to see with my own eyes the beauty of their green jade hue, and to hear the wind blowing through the bamboos leaves. I feel that in order to truly play the Guzheng one must truly learn from nature first. When I studied with my teacher ( Laoshi) Master Li Jiaxiang, he told me to go outside and listen to nature. It was difficult to hear the stillness of nature in a suburb with cars and horns honking. However, I did find a gazebo on the lake where I would practice and listen to the little bit of nature that was there.

Some years later a new Vietnamese Buddhist monastery was built in my neighborhood, a Vietnamese Buddhist friend of mine knew that I was a practicing Buddhist and he suggested I go check it out. It was perfect timing actually, because there was a big event there, the Jade Buddha was traveling to all the temples across the world and it was a lucky day to visit a Buddhist monastery and see the jade Buddha for the first time. I was welcomed there, and eventually became friends with the monks, nuns and the community. Over the years I learned a lot about Vietnamese Buddhism. I learned how to chant some of the sutras and mantras, Vietnamese Buddhist customs and cultural traditions and how to prepare yummy traditional An Chay or Vietnamese vegetarian foods. These beautiful moments shared with a community that still practices the Buddhist way of life truly brought me a sense of happiness. We can all learn so much by taking time to learn with people from other cultures.

Jarrelle