As I have described elsewhere, this blog grows from my experiences with new music, teaching, and Zen meditation. These experiences and more have combined to spur the creation of Just Listening, which in fact derives its name from Shikantaza, or “just sitting”, the type of Zen meditation that I do. As I sat this morning, the Bodhisattva vow to liberate all beings came across my mind, and it gets to the very heart of what I am after with Just Listening. It’s worth exploring a few underlying issues.
Liberate, free: to release one from what holds one back, ties one down, limits one’s activity and expression. We think so often of physical limits, or social limits, limits existing outside ourselves. But what Zen aims for is the freedom from the limits that come from our own minds. In fact, the popular image of Zen is the no-thought Zen, in which “being Zen” is a state of total awareness that allows action to come as needed, without further thought.
To facilitate an experience of beginner’s mind is to liberate the mind. Whether that means allowing the mind to not know anything/something or whether it refers to a state of great expertise held loosely, it speaks of a state of mind allowing one’s existing knowledge and experience to be enough for the moment. As soon as the mind releases its grip on being right (expertise held loosely), or protecting itself from exposing its not knowing, worry and anxiety can evaporate, and lightness spreads. It seems to me that this state of mind is essential for improved mental health in general, and that awakening to its benefits can do tremendous good for relations among individuals and groups. Getting to that state through engagement in a non-threatening pursuit such as listening to and discussing music is the promise of Just Listening.
With Just Listening, where one goes with the opening, the fragile state of beginner’s mind, is up to question. The essence of the awakening is to greater compassion, to less-rapid or less-harsh judgment, so easing of tensions among those we interact with is a predictable outcome. Groups who wish to develop better relations both inside and outside the group might take the opening to non-judgmental being further through similar practices or by way of other practices and techniques. Those seeking equity of treatment for music created by people historically denied access to the concert world or whose musical innovations are judged negatively by other groups might keep a series of Just Listening sessions active over a longer period of time. I look toward working with schools and other organizations where people come together to improve themselves – churches, schools, sanghas, homeless shelters, etc. – as my way of making socially valuable use of the insights engagement with music and meditation have provided.
On my recent trip to California for the premiere of Groundhog Night, I had the opportunity to witness this effect with a population very much in this category, a group of people seeking improvement. At Housing Works CA, I did a Just Listening session outdoors in a courtyard, played my normal modern-classical piece of music, and what transpired was to me something quite predictable – but surprising to others – the engagement from residents who hardly ever spoke up or mingled in social settings was enthusiastic and on-target. Not only were people engaged who normally aren’t, their contributions were as valuable as those made by doctoral students in composition. It’s not just that people historically denied access will come alive when welcomed into cultural events, they bring insights to the table that we as a society need. If we want thinking outside the box, it only makes sense to bring in the voices of those who’ve lived outside the box! Just Listening aims to honor voices from in the box, from outside the box… from all over the place.