Nara Nada Yoga
～ Sound Meditations of a Shugendo Mountain Priest ～

We are living in an era of unprecedented and dramatic change to our economic and ecological systems. This change is something that we are only beginning to deeply understand as to how they interconnect with our own personal sense of well-being and even survival.

In Japan, around 500 years ago - during the turbulent years of war of the Sengoku Era - the military commanders of the samurai warrior class developed a passion for zazen meditation, flower arrangement and the tea ceremony. During this time of great conflict and unrest each of these cultural activities began to flourish. As a natural consequence, the warrior class developed mindfulness as a source of strength to overcome the emotions of fear, frustration and anxiety. For them, seated in zazen meditation, enlightenment was simply a means of release from these negative emotions that threatened their ability to survive in a time of war.

Presented here in this CD, are sound meditations that we hope our guests visiting Sasayuri-ann can find useful in their personal meditation practices. We present them for you, so that you may continue to lead a prosperous life at the dawn of a new era of impending global upheaval in the 21st century.

As sentient beings, our bodies, minds and souls are innately sensitive to physical sensations and phenomena as perceived through our five senses. The power of sound, its vibrations and reverberations have a particularly powerful effect to awaken the soul. This is why mankind has since ancient times used the sounds of musical instruments and the human voice in ceremonies, rituals and meditation. Their purpose is to enable the majestic sound spirit, word spirit, incense and fire spirits to awaken the soul. Spirit, we can say, is the vibrations that awaken our various senses.

When we look at the laws of quantum mechanics, we come to understand that the human soul or spirit - even though invisible - has a vibrating frequency; just like all substances or matter. In the world of stress and disharmony that we live in, meditating is a practical means to recover a healthy spirit and energy. By returning to a state of nothingness, emptiness, vibration of the creative source and love - our natural and original state of being - we can experience the higher frequencies of nature and rediscover the simple and naturally abundant feeling of being wondrously alive.

This selection of recordings brings to you the voices and sounds of Japan. Even if you have limited experience with meditation it is easy for you to feel these sounds and vibrations that have, for many centuries, offered listeners the opportunity to experience a state of meditation and harmony with nature. We hope you can use these recordings as an entry point into meditation. They can enable you to relax beyond the chaotic ramblings of the mind and return to that place inside yourself where you can regain a sense of your heart and soul.

These sound recordings have been presented in a way that is easy for anyone and everyone to naturally and effortlessly experience what meditation is all about. Usually, only wise Zen masters, who have practiced meditation for many years, can enter a deep state of meditation within a short period of time.

However, the sounds recorded on track numbers 5, 6 and 7 included on this CD, make it possible for anyone to experience a deep meditative state quite easily.

There are three primary types of sound to aid your meditation practice; Waterfall, Buddhist Bell and Tanpura.

While seated in a stable posture, with your legs half-crossed - if possible, sitting with one foot placed on the opposite thigh - close your eyes and try to focus your attention on the continuous sound. At the beginning of each track, the continuous sound lasts for 40 seconds. This sound will suddenly stop and is then followed by a period of silence lasting for 70 seconds. The continuous sound is heard again for 40 seconds, and then silence again for 70 seconds. This sequence is repeated 5 times, followed by a longer period of silence lasting 7-8 minutes. When you listen to these tracks during meditation, please try to choose a place that is as quiet as possible. To enhance the experience of silence, the continuous sound suddenly stops and this dramatic change from sound to silence triggers your five senses to enter a state of suspended calm more easily.

Track 5: The roar of the Fudo Falls in the valley of the Akame 48 waterfalls.
Track 6: The ring of a Buddhist bell that emits sound waves at a frequency of 528 Hz.
Track 7: The drone of the tanpura, a traditional instrument in Indian classical music.

To enter a state of meditation, mental focus and body-mind awareness are the first steps. Conventional wisdom tells us that to develop this level of concentration is not easy and takes a lot of practice. However, by focusing your attention, with your eyes closed, on the continuous sounds on these tracks, the mind is able to more naturally and easily enter a state of mental clarity, called muga-ichinen in Japanese; a strong concentration of consciousness to one object or sound, in a state of selflessness.

With your eyes closed, the abrupt end to the continuous sound triggers your five senses to a focused state of heightened concentration; it is an experience of void, close to what we can say is the original state of the universe. During this period of silence, your awareness will automatically transition into a deep meditative state. This state of consciousness is called muga-munen or munen-musou, a state of selflessness, without thought. It is an experience of the void or nothingness.

However, as is the nature of the mind, this state of calm does not usually last for long, perhaps 2-3 seconds. After these few seconds your awareness returns to the mental state of tanen-tasou - consciousness with thoughts - the regular preoccupations and delusions of the mind. Through repeated experience, the mind more easily transitions to ichinen-musou - the strong concentration of consciousness to one object or sound - and begins to remember this state of deep mental unification that is experienced in the silence.

Nada is a Sanskrit word meaning `continuous sound'. Nada Yoga means yoga using sound, whereby you initially achieve a spiritual concentration by listening to the continuous pure sound, and your concentration then changes into a state of meditation. In other words, Nada Yoga is `meditation yoga through sound', which is different to the various forms of music therapy.

In the past, many Indian saints and sages such as the mystic poet Kabir (1407-1518) practiced Nada Yoga, by concentrating and meditating on sacred sounds. Tenpu Nakamura (1876-1968), regarded as a yoga saint in Japan, created methods to cultivate consciousness and concentration from his own meditation experience, and spread them within Japan. Since ancient times, mankind has been using sound vibration to enter the mysterious state of trance and to meditate on their inner world.

What is Nara Nada Yoga? In ancient times, the Nara region was the eastern end of the Silk Road passing through the entire Eurasian continent, as well as the founding place of the nation of Japan. Various cultures, civilizations, religions, and philosophies flowed from west to east in the same direction as the flow of the jet stream. The movement of people also came to this terminal station of the Silk Road. Nara was a cultural crucible and one of the reasons why Shugendo, a mountain yogic tradition originates from Nara. This form of faith has elements of Shinto, Esoteric Buddhism, Taoism and Onmyodo (The Way of Yin and Yang).

Nara Nada Yoga is a sound meditation including the primitive otodama (sound spirits) using the horagai (triton conch shell) and taiko drum performances from Shugendo, combined with the kotodama (sacred words) and expressions of mantra, transmitted from ancient India. Nara, as the birthplace of ancient Japanese civilization, has evolved and developed into the modern age, which naturally makes it an appropriate place to create this series of sound meditations to then transmit them to the rest of the world. This is the vision of Shotetsu Matsubayashi, the owner of Sasayuri-ann, who has practiced these techniques for many years and who continues to chant on a daily basis.

In meditation, first close your eyes, focus your consciousness on the simple continuous sound, you will then naturally enter a state of meditation at the moment of the sudden silence. Various delusions and emotions often cloud our mind. The process to remove this mental cloud is what we refer to as meditation. But like the hard disk of a computer, the human brain is repeatedly outputting thoughts, emotions and other responses to stimuli from the nervous system about 30,000 times a day. Therefore, it is not easy to remove the delusions, thoughts and emotions from our minds to allow ourselves to experience a clear mind and heart.

By selecting your preference from tracks 5, 6, or 7, you can sit and meditate for 5 or 10 minutes every day, and eventually you will come to effortlessly experience the state of Zazen meditation, unswayed by delusions and emotions. This simple practice of Zazen meditation does not interfere with, but actually enhances your daily routines.

A constant state of meditation and mindfulness cannot usually be maintained in daily life. Only when practicing zazen meditation regularly can you maintain a clear mind. By listening to this CD with your eyes closed, you naturally come to experience the state of empty mind, called munen-musou, a state of selflessness, without thought. Once you come to easily experience this mental state, then you can try listening to the CD with your eyes half-open. This form of zazen is practiced by adjusting your line of sight about one meter ahead.

While you listen to the continuous sounds on the CD, you will come to recognize and become comfortable with this mental state of spiritual union, called muga-ichinen. You will also begin to experience the meditative states of muga-musou, munen-musou, regardless of the visual stimulation that enters your brain. When you develop your ability to meditate with these approaches, you will be able to maintain a state of mindfulness, without being influenced and swayed by the rollercoaster of emotions in everyday life.

Even if you are sometimes overwhelmed with your emotions, by developing your mind to be unmoved by feelings and external stimulus, you will be able to more naturally return to the original state of calmness. Being aware of these mental and emotional conditions, enables you to quickly shift your consciousness more effortlessly. We hope this meditation CD can provide an access point, the guidance and way towards a more abundant and fulfilled way of living, helping you to restore your original heart and soul, your feelings of peace with harmony and co-existence in nature.

Our wish at Sasayuri-ann is to provide our guests with the opportunity to realize this traditional Japanese experience of mindfulness, so that we can all find a good balance between our souls and material wealth and well-being. This is necessary if we are to recover a healthy global environment.

Rather than living life focused on the surface appearances of things, true abundance comes through experiencing our relationship with the deeper levels of reality. This can happen through an effortlessly practice of meditation.

The owner of Sasayuri-ann - an expert in the ancient tradition of Shugendo yamabushi, as taught at Kinpusen-ji Temple in Yoshino, Nara Prefecture - has produced this CD hoping that Nara, as the birthplace of ancient Japan, can again prosper as the place, the new Nara, from which to transmit Japan's ancient and rich spiritual culture to the world.

Gassho, in prayer
Shotetsu Matsubayashi
Owner of Sasayuri-ann

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01 Taiko Drum: Shichi, Go, San

Historically, the Taiko drum (Wadaiko, or Japanese drum) is used within Shinto rituals to commune with the gods. The Taiko announces the beginning and end of the ritual and is present in both Shinto and Buddhism. Taiko are included as otodama (sound spirits) to invoke a deity during festivals. Shichi, Go, San - literally, `Seven, Five, Three' - is a traditional Japanese technique called otoshi, which creates a sublime atmosphere. Since ancient times, almost all minorities have used the Taiko as a means for channeling, so wadaiko can be regarded as the origins of channeling in Japan.

02 Horagai Opening

The horagai, made from a Triton conch shell, is inseparable from Shugendo. Its origins of use within rituals date from ancient India and Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism. In modern era India, the shankha conch shell trumpet is used in Brahmanic and Hindu homa rituals. Horagai reproduce the sacred primordial sounds of a-un, or om and aum, generated by the cosmic vibration that resulted in the creation of the universe and earth, which are also expressed in the chants and mantra of Tantric Buddhism.

Horagai are important in the creation of otodama, or sound spirits. By reproducing the sound of the sacred mantras, the Shugendo practitioner instantaneously creates a meditative state of Nada Yoga, momentarily generating ichion-jobutsu - the attainment of enlightenment through a single note - and sougon-sekai, the majestic world. Along with the wadaiko, the horagai has been used for channeling by many minorities in Japan, creating sound spirits to connect with the deities since ancient times.

03 Heart Sutra

The Heart Sutra, or Hannya Shingyo in Japanese, meaning `The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom', is the most important sutra chanted in Mahayana Buddhism, preaching the important truths of the universe. Importantly, the sound vibration of the sutra itself, provides purification and spiritual cleansing to the listener.

Translation:

The Bodhisattva of Compassion, when he meditated deeply, saw the emptiness of all five skandhas and sundered the bonds that caused him suffering. Here then, form is no other than emptiness, emptiness no other than form. Form is only emptiness, emptiness only form. Feeling, thought, and choice, consciousness itself, are the same as this. All things are by nature void. They are not born or destroyed. Nor are they stained or pure. Nor do they wax or wane. So, in emptiness, no form. No feeling, thought, or choice. Nor is there consciousness. No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; No colour, sound, smell, taste, touch, or what the mind takes hold of, nor even act of sensing. No ignorance or end of it. Nor all that comes of ignorance; No withering, no death, no end of them. Nor is there pain, or cause of pain, or cease in pain, or noble path to lead from pain; Not even wisdom to attain! Attainment too is emptiness. So know that the Bodhisattva holding to nothing whatever, but dwelling in Prajna wisdom, is freed of delusive hindrance, rid of the fear bred by it, and reaches clearest Nirvana. All Buddhas of past and present, Buddhas of future time, using this Prajna wisdom, come to full and perfect vision. Hear then the great dharani, the radiant peerless mantra, the Prajnaparamita whose words allay all pain; hear and believe its truth!
Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha.
Gone, gone, gone beyond. Gone altogether beyond. Oh, what an awakening. All hail!
This completes the `The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom'.

04 Tuning Forks

When listening to two tuning folks resonating at different pitches - 263.8Hz and 256Hz - your brain waves try to synch at 7.8Hz, within the difference between the two pitches. 7.8Hz is one of the frequencies of the Earth's electromagnetic field spectrum called the Schumann Resonances (SR), and also the frequency of alpha- and theta- waves within the brain. This frequency regulates human brain activity, enabling you to easily enter a state of meditation. When striking a pair of cymbal-like bells called tingsha, Tibetan Buddhist practitioners synch their meditating brain waves with the difference of pitch between the two bells. For this purpose, these ritual cymbals are struck together at the opening and ending of periods of meditation.

05 Waterfall Meditation: Nada Yoga Meditation

06 Buddhist Bell Meditation: Nada Yoga Meditation

07 Tanpura Meditation: Nada Yoga Meditation

08 Shugendo Mantra

This mantra of purification has been chanted within Shugendo ceremonies for over 1300 years.

`The sky I belong to is pure. The land I belong to is pure. Both my outer and inner self is pure.
My six senses are pure. My mind is pure. Thus, my body is clean, without impurity.
Because my body is pure, it can connect with the sacred gods.
Every deed and behavior should be conducted, as it follows holy providence.
Be clear and pure and your wishes and dreams will come true.
You will receive limitless fortune. The heavenly bliss of spiritual treasure.
Now I am content to have enough, as my mind is clean and pure.'

Om bodhi-cittam utpadayami
Om, I aspire to evolve the awakened mind
Om samayas tvam
Om, I am united in the vow

09 Buddhist Mantra

In Sanskrit, sat means `truth' and sang `to gather or associate'. Satsang can be interpreted as `a group of people who seek the highest truth', or `a community with a strong connection to the gods'. This mantra was chanted by the sannyasin (disciples) who gathered around Buddha 2500 years ago.

Buddham Saranam Gacchami
I will be under the protection of Buddha, the one who achieved enlightenment.

Sangham Saranam Gacchami
I will be under the protection of the commune of Buddha, the one who achieved enlightenment.

Dhamman Saranam Gacchami
I will be under the protection of the ultimate truth of Buddha, the one who achieved enlightenment.

Gate gate para-gate para-sam-gate bodhi svaha
Gone, gone, gone beyond. Gone altogether beyond. Oh, what an awakening. All hail!

10 Hindu Mantra

The Gayatri Mantra, a highly revered mantra of Hinduism, contains the essential wisdom of the Vedas - 3000 year-old religious texts - and was originally only permitted to be chanted by practitioners of yoga. It was widely dispersed internationally by followers of the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba (1926-2011). Repeatedly chanting the Gayatri Mantra is believed to enable you to awaken your inner-self deity.

Om bhūr bhuvah svah Let us adore the supremacy of that divine sun, who illuminates all,
Tat savitur varenyam Who recreates all, from whom all proceed, to whom all must return,
Bhargo devasya dhīmahi Whom we invoke to direct our understandings aright
Dhiyo yo nah pracodayāt In our progress toward his holy seat
Om, shanti, shanti, shanti Om, peace, peace, peace

11 Shinto Mantra

Hi-fu-mi literally means `one, two, three'. This mantra is carved into Kagami Ishi rock at Heitate Shrine in Kumamoto Prefecture, and thought to date from over 15,000 years ago. Its ancient meaning is beyond human recognition. It was also included in the Hitsuki Shinji (Sun-Moon Revelation), composed using methods of automatic writing by Shinto scholar and painter Tenmei Okamoto (1897-1963). This holy mantra has an esoteric, spiritual power succeeded from ancient times.

`One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, a hundred, a thousand, tens of thousands.
Plant the flower bulbs, knot the threads, grow an abundance of strong hemp.
May the rampant evils go far away. Dig with holiness, increasing in sweat.
Shaking, floating, shaking.'

`Counting one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, a hundred, a thousand, tens of thousands.
Scatter the seeds, plant the bulbs, and you will receive auspicious blessings.
Hemp, strong in vitality and grown in abundance, will banish evil spirits.
You cultivate the land, provided from the heavens, with your sweat, with all your might.'

12 Shakuhachi: Sokkan

The shakuhachi is a Japanese bamboo flute that produces harmonic overtones. For practitioners of the Fuke-shu school of Zen Buddhism, playing this instrument during meditation is equivalent to chanting sutras. Hozen (walking Zen) of Shugendo and Zazen (seated Zen) of Zen Buddhism, Suizen (blowing Zen) are standard meditation methods in Japan. This track is titled Sokkan, meaning `watching the breath'. Originally, aji - the letter A - was a monosyllabic Sanskrit character representing the Mahavairocana Sutra. It is thought that `everything starts with the letter A and ends with the letter A', meaning `the whole universe is ultimately a void'.
Ajikan, observing the letter `A', is a visualization-mindfulness practice, where focus is applied on a specific Sanskrit letter during meditation. Among these methods are Asokkan, Gachirinkan and Ajikan, which are all related to Zazen. Sokkan is a masterpiece of the traditional repertoire, using the breathing method of Asokkan. It is performed by the shakuhachi master Toshimitsu Ishikawa, whose live performances can be heard at Sasayuri-ann.

13 Bells & Bowls

Improvisation with standing bells, hand bells and bowls.

14 Salt of the Sound: Breathe New Life

Music by Salt of the Sound, mixed with recordings of the flowing river at Akame 48 waterfalls, as featured in the soundtrack of `Spiritual Mindfulness Adventure', a video by Sasayuri-ann.

15 Horagai Ending

Everything has a beginning and ending, as does each prayer, ritual and meditation.
It is thought that `everything starts with the letter A, and ends with the letter A'.
Likewise, every Shugendo practice begins and ends with the sacred sound of `a-un'.

16 Taiko Drum: Shichi, Go, San

The sound of the Taiko drum announces the ending of the communion with `something great'.