童心

DŌSHIN

Childlike 𝘒𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰¹

𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺: 𝘎𝘦𝘬𝘬𝘦𝘪 (月影)
𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺: 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘒𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘬𝘰 𝘎𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘪
 

The character 童 can be read 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘦 or 𝘥𝘰̄ and means “child.” 心 is read 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰 or 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯 and means “mind, heart and spirit.” The two characters together mean “childlike 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰.”

What is child-like 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰? It means 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰 like a child’s, innocent and carefree. In Buddhist belief, we are all born in this world with a Buddha-nature, a pure 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰 just like a perfect, soft, round ball. Yet, the minute we come into this world, this soft, round ball starts absorbing things and gets soiled. The more days go by, the more our 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰 develops and the more it gets stained. It is almost impossible to keep it clean and pure. However, just as we need to clean the surface of our desk, it is important to clean our 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰 from time to time so that we can see what is there. By cleaning it, we can not only see ourselves better, but also see what is going on around us better.

Zen Buddhists practice 𝘻𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘯, which is seated meditation and other physical disciplines to remove all defilements from their inner core so that they can keep their 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰 like that of the Buddha. What can we laymen do to remove all impurities from ourselves and go back to a pure and innocent childlike 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰? Here are some of my thoughts to share with you:

1. Go out and scream as much as you like.
2. Go out and run as much as you can.
3. Go to a playground and play just as kids do.
4. Cry out and laugh loudly just like children do.
5. Do what you like and get immersed in it.
6. Challenge a new thing: trying a new recipe, visiting a new place, eating new food, or meeting new friends.
7. Play with kids that you know or even just watch them for a while.

As we get older, our 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰 become restricted and stifled by outside influences. Thus, our 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰 does not function as freely and openly as that of children. It becomes stiff, not as adventurous and curious as the 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰 of children. Therefore, it is good to go back to a child-like 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰 from time to time, freeing ourselves from restrictions and enjoying ourselves just as children do over small things. Thus, our 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰 can be revitalized and rejuvenated, and we can keep ourselves fresh and young. As Socrates² said, “Years wrinkle our skin, but losing enthusiasm wrinkles our soul.”

I would also like to introduce one of the poems by William Wordsworth³ who loved the beauties of the natural world and yearned to carry child-like enthusiasm and wonder throughout his life.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙗𝙤𝙬
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

Notes:
𝘒𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰¹: 𝘬𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘰 is a Japanese word which encompasses multiple meanings such as mind, heart
and spirit.

Socrates²: Socrates ( c. 470 – 399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as one of
the founders of Western philosophy, and as being the first moral philosopher of the Western ethical tradition of thought.

William Wordsworth³: William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature.

 

Please join us Sunday, April 25 at 4pm as we present our next Japan House Shares featuring musical ensemble, Kuroshio, led by local resident Jason Finkelman.
 

Serving as Director of the Robert E. Brown Center for World Music, an engagement program of the School of Music at the University of Illinois, as well as Artistic Director of Global Arts Performance Initiatives at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Jason has spent over thirty years exploring improvised music, cross-cultural projects, and composing for dance. Playing a variety of sound-producing items and instruments, Jason is most well-known performing on a unique single-string musical bow called berimbau. 

In 2019, Jason formed the collective improvisational ensemble Kuroshio with Joy Yang (F.T.C.L.), a Doctoral of Musical Arts student in Piano Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois. Joy’s classical piano training, along with an interest in jazz music, led her to the theremin, an unusual electronic musical instrument that you don’t touch to make sounds.

Together with LinnStrument master controller, Shu-Cheng Allen Wu, Fulbright Scholar and DMA Music Theory and Composition, University of Illinois, the trio set out to interpret projected chemical reactions created by visual artist Michael Koerner.  In 2020, they released their debut, self-titled album, KUROSHIO, on Asian Improv Records featuring, in part, collective meditations on the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Learn all about this exciting and unexpected musical collective as they share the story of how they met, what the group means to them, and what they hope the future holds for their continued exploration of music and sound. And finally, be treated to an impromptu performance by Jason and Joy. It’s an opportunity you won’t want to miss!

Watch the YouTube Premiere video with the Japan House Staff at 4pm where you can LIVE CHAT! Make sure you log in a few minutes early to see the countdown. If you would like to watch the Japan House Shares videos at your leisure, they are available online indefinitely.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PLAYLIST