Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

To Shakuhachist around,

Greetings: I'm Jigme Dechen Ng Jyun Yyan, originally from Malaysia, and currently residing as a student in Australia, Tasmania.
And Studying under Brian Tairaku Ritchie.

I got into shakuhachi by playing wadaiko music, or the Taiko(japanese drums). Through listening to several pieces that involved
shakuhachi, mainly those of Riley lee's in Taikoz that really drew me to shakuhachi.

Actually, that be a lie. I really didn't pay too much attention when i first heard the shakuhachi, all i really wanted was to hit the drums
REALLY REALLY HARD with my teenage angst. My journey started out long before as a buddhist growing up. I was blessed to have varied
buddhist upbringing,My dad a tibetan buddhist enthusiast, and my mom into chinese branches of buddhism, and I was sent to sunday school, which was under the theravadan tradition.

Anyway, one of the most influential books that i read growing up was the tibetan book of living and dying. and in that there was a metaphor
which really struck me, about clouds, and how clouds were like nirvanas(obstacles of the mind) and when we past those clouds, it is clear blue
sky. Our habit patterns of the mind, all of its emotions, passions, desires, dreams are merely clouds. And so clouds facinated me dearly, as a
motive for music and art.

And being in the Taiko tradition, I always wanted to write a piece about it. After many years of having this motif in my head without success, of course I came across the Shakuhachi. And pieces like Kyorei, and other honkyoky pieces really resonated with me.

So, good to have come full circle and discovered the shakuhachi, it is a wonderful instrument and inspires my buddhist practices!