A VOICE FROM THE HEART 一葉心聲: A SPECIAL CONCERT CELEBRATING MASTER YINYUAN LONGQI 隱元隆琦 (1592-1673)
February 4 (Sat), 2023, 6 PM (Arizona)
The University of Arizona Center for Buddhist Studies
Premiere and Viewing Links:
Center for Buddhist Studies Youtube Channel, Zoom
Date/Time:
February 4 (Sat), 2023, 6 PM (Arizona)
February 4 (Sat), 2023, 5 PM (California)
February 4 (Sat), 2023, 8 PM (New York)
February 5 (Sun), 2023, 9 AM (Beijing)
February 5 (Sun), 2023, 10 AM (Tokyo)
This special concert highlights Yinyuan’s poetic talent and deep spirituality. It is jointly produced by The Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of Arizona, the Chinese Wanfu Temple, Ven. Kanho Yakushiji, MUGEN Creations, and Manpukuji in Uji, Japan.
Musician Spotlight:
Kanho Yakushiji serves as deputy director of Kaizenji temple in Imabari, a city in Japan’s Ehime Prefecture. Japan has a strong tradition of danka, or the father-to-son succession of a temple, but Yakushiji initially rebelled against this expectation and instead became a musician. He eventually trained in the Rinzai tradition at Kenninji temple in Kyoto, Japan, and is now the sixteenth generation of his family to care for Kaizenji.
Though he initially thought about music and Buddhism as separate entities, Yakushiji now views music as an expression of Zen practice. His two identities—a Zen monk and an artist—are no longer separate. He released his fifth album, The Prayer, in September of 2019, and just before the pandemic began, he started a music video project whereby he chants in historic Japanese temples to introduce listeners around the world to Zen and chanting.
(source: httpsce:://tricycle.org/article/kanho-yakushiji/, by Koshin Paley Ellison)
About Concert:
Three hundred fifty years ago, the Chinese Zen Master Yinyuan Longqi 隱元隆琦 (1592-1673, Ingen Ryūki in Japanese) passed away at Manpukuji 萬福寺, in Japan. He migrated from China in 1654 after being the abbot of the Chinese Wanfu Temple in Fuqing 福清. In 1661, he founded the Japanese Ōbaku 黃檗 school. In North America, the Center for Buddhist Studies, College of Humanities at the University of Arizona has organized a series of commemorative events to present and explore his extraordinary life and achievements.
Program:
1. A Leaf from the West 一葉西來 (in Chinese)
Lyric: Yinyuan Longqi; Music: Yakushiji Kanho; English Translation: Bill Porter (Red Pine), James Baskind, Jiang Wu
2. The Heart Sutra 般若心経 いろは歌 (in Japanese)
3. Disaster Preventing Dharani 消災呪 (in Japanese)
4. Gatha Praising the Buddha 世尊偈 (in Chinese)
5. Gazing at Mount Fuji from the Nakayama Ridge 中山嶺望富士山 (in Chinese)
Lyric: Yinyuan Longqi; Music: Yakushiji Kanho; English Translation: Bill Porter, James Baskind, Jiang Wu
6. The Heart Sutra 般若心経 (Ōbaku Chanting Style 黄檗宗 ver. in Ming-dynasty Chinese)
7. Hand 手 (in Japanese)
Lyric and music: Yakushiji Kanho
8. The Great Compassion Dharani 大悲呪 (in Japanese)
Acknowledgment:
- Singer: Kanho Yakushiji
- Planning: Jiang Wu and Tao Chen
- Sponsors: Center for Buddhist Studies, The University of Arizona
Wanfu Temple, Fuqing, China - Translations: Bill Porter (Red Pine), James Baskind, Jiang Wu,
- Production: MUGEN Creations Inc.
- Special Thanks: Manpukuji, Uji, Japan.