Zen Master Ikkyu Sojun and Shamanic Alchemist Jia Senghe and their Parallel Lives
Jia Senghe~ Esoteric Arts and Studies
Longlife Culture in Accordance with the Tao
Zen Master Ikkyu Sojun and Taoist Alchemist Jia Senghe and their parallel lives:
The Incarnation of a beloved Japanese Zen master or simply two lives lived in an almost identical way:
Born in 1394, Ikkyu was placed in a Buddhist Zen temple at age 5 where he began his education. He recited the sutras and read Buddhist scriptures and teachings. He lived until 1481.
Jia was born in 1949 and like Ikkyu was born in the morning. He was placed in a Christian school at age 4 where he began his education. He read the Bible, recited scriptures and learned to sing Christian hymns.
Jia’s parents moved with him to Japan when he was 6 months old his father being stationed in the US Army at Yokohama; they lived there until he was 3 and visited the Shinto shrines in Kyoto and the enormous Buddha at Nara.
Ikkyu’s father was an Emperor, and he often visited the Shinto and Buddhist shrines in Kyoto and Nara when he was very young.
Jia’s father was a high ranking officer in the US Army and was thought of as a ‘prince among men’ by many of the women in his family.
Jia left the church at 13 because of its limited and often contradictory views and lack of depth. Like Ikkyu, Jia often asked difficult questions and after becoming disappointed and dissatisfied with the answers he quit the church. That same year he began a study group of the Bible with two of his friends.
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| Visiting a Shinto shrine in Kyoto at 2 years old. |
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| Jia's dad at home in Yokohama, Japan |
At his mothers request Jia taught Sunday school that summer after his confirmation before leaving the church for good.
When Ikkyū turned thirteen he began Zen study but left the temple at 16 because of the greed and corruption he witnessed.
Jia studied the literature of famous writers to understand how words can be used for creative expression and to gain inspiration along with a deeper understanding of the world. Writers like Herman Hesse, Thomas Merton, Teilhard De Chardin and Khalil Gibran.
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| At 14 Jia received this book and two others on Christian mysticism by the same author from one of his cousins after one of their many discussions about religion and the future of humanity. As an older cousin she was a wonderful mentor and guide for him in the early days when he was searching for answers. He continues to honor her with gratitude and wishes of wellbeing. |
Ikkyu studied Japanese literature with scholars, visited shrines in Kyoto and trained with a Zen master at age 20. This is the same age that Jia began Zen meditation in college in Southern Illinois.
Ikkyu is known for his radical approach to Zen, which included breaking monastic rules, asking difficult questions and being open about sex as a path of Zen.
Jia studied the literature of famous writers as a teenager and began Zen meditation at age 20. He and Ikkyu both wrote poetry about Zen, sex, women and bamboo.
Ikkyu loves women and shakuhachi and learned to make dolls. The same is true for Jia. In his workshop he creates unique dolls reminiscent of the Hina doll tradition in Japan and loves to play and listen to shakuhachi.
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| Jia's lovely mom in her beautiful kimono |
Ikkyu frequented brothels and loved ‘street women’; he loved the woman, Mori for whom he was forever grateful.
When Jia was in his 30’s and severely depressed, a hooker from the East coast visited him and became his lover helping him to regain true sense of self and his emotional balance. To this woman he is forever grateful and often says prayers to honor her.
Ikkyu lived as a beggar for a while and learned meditation before he experienced sexual intercourse.
Jia practiced meditation for 15 years before he tried masturbation for the first time when he was 35.
Ikkyū also came to embrace the view that the body is the real Buddha. Thus, when he practiced Zen, he practiced with the body as well as the mind.
When Jia was in his mid 30’s I realized that sex and meditation were deeply connected and spent the next two decades studying and practicing Tantric sex developing a deeper understanding of this connection which was both humbling and empowering.
This tantric attitude, in the language of alchemy is illustrated by Ikkyu in this poem:
A sex-loving monk, you object! Hot-blooded and passionate, totally aroused. But then lust can exhaust all passion, turning base metals into pure gold.
For Ikkyū, sex was a form of spiritual practice. He regarded sex in light of the nonduality of desire and meditative mind.
Jia began to realize that the body was the true temple where worship takes place in the company of your mate. And also that internal alchemy as a solo practice called nei-dan involves converting base emotions and urges described as ‘metals’ into spiritual consciousness or ‘gold’. When the work is completed to a high degree the adept develops a golden hue or glow that emanates from this subtle body.
Ikkyu insisted that sexual alchemy was to be preferred over sitting meditation, koans and the recitation of sutras.
Ikkyu had no regard for certificates and awards which he scoffed at. He threw his Zen certificates into the fire. Feeling the same way, Jia left his certificates of attainment in the healing arts to mold in the corner of his basement.
Ikkyu liked to wander and write poetry collecting edible plants and roots from the forests and hillsides.
When Jia lived in southern California he would roam the canyons and hills, write poetry and gather edible plants and flowers. They both lived among the tall pines and redwoods and meditated in bamboo groves.
Jia lived in Japan for 3 years where he had both a male and female nanny. His mother learned Ikebana (flower arrangement) and had her own house servant who was also her teacher. At 95 his mom still remembered that the flower arrangements were created with both male and female elements or aspects (Yin and Yang) in a balanced way.
Jia taught himself Zen meditation from a book on Buddhist meditation from the SIU library at age 20 and early on could feel the presence of the Buddha spirit. This is the same age Ikkyu began his Zen instruction.
Ikkyu and Jia both wrote poetry about Zen, free-spirited women and bamboo. They both love to hear and play shakuhachi as part of meditation practIce.
How much longer will I have to play before my heart is quiet again. Ikkyu
Before Jia knew about Zen master Ikkyu he made these poems,
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Jia never lived as a beggar but needed to get food out of dumpster bins behind grocery stores for a time. Once he brought home a dozen heads of wilted lettuce and 8 over-ripe cantaloupes for dinner to go with some leftover fried chicken.
He learned meditation before he knew what sex really was really about and practiced meditation for 15 years before trying masturbation. He was 35 at the time.
Both he and Ikkyu would wander in the canyons and hills collecting edible plants, playing flute and writing poetry.
Jia lived for a while in a redwood forest in northern California where he meditated in front of the fireplace in his cabin. This helped him to free his spirit and clear his subconscious of buried attachments that were holding him back from deeper spiritual awakening.
Ikkyu’s teachings emphasized the importance of individual freedom and creativity. Another point at which he and Jia’s beliefs about life converge. They both shunned all dogmas and prescribed rules and believed that true spiritual attainment, or enlightenment, cannot be attained through adherence to fixed rigid traditions but only through the direct experience of the divine in spiritual practice.
Both Ikkyu and Jia understood the value of what can be called ‘silent knowledge’ or knowledge that is beyond words or what the mind can comprehend. Other points of convergence between Jia and Ikkyu: Intuition and instinct have prominent places in life and spiritual practice. Individual experience is primary. Dogmatic teachings and ritual repetitions are secondary and unimportant.
Ikkyu said, “One night with a lusty bar girl is more valuable in the practice of Zen than a thousand monks chanting for a thousand days.”
Humor, light hearted play and spontaneity all come before predetermined, hand-me-down belief systems. They both emphasize simplicity and being direct in their approach to life and spiritual practice. Jia is seen as a ‘minimalist’ by those who know him.
Jia wrote this poem to honor Ikkyu:
Another poem about Ikkyu
Of course there are areas of their lives where there are some major differences. Ikkyu experimented with male to male sex which he later dropped, finding little to no value in it. Jia never had this inclination and has always preferred the opposite sex.
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| A painting of Ikkyu with his beloved Mori |
Jia has written several books on Taoism, Medicine Buddha, Internal Alchemy, Tantra (the spiritual nature of conscious sex) along with a couple books of poetry. One devoted entirely to the pleasures of playing shakuhachi, called, Sounds of Water, ‘Poems from the Bamboo Grove’, the other being ‘Zen Style Love Poems’.
Jia received the name Gang Senghe (Snowlion) from Lama Tsultrim Alione in 2012. The Snowlion in the Tibetan spiritual tradition represents untamed fearlessness and unconditional cheerfulness. Please visit theTara Mandala Tibetan Temple: Lama Tsultrim
The following is a list of the books by and about Ikkyu Sojun:
| Having Once Paused: Poems of Zen Master Ikkyu (1394-1481) Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyū Lust for Enlightenment by John Stevens |
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