My good resolutions for 2016 were these 12 zen-rules I found somewhere on the web (my apologies to the author, I don’t know anymore where I read them).

Zen – 12 essential rules

1. Do one thing at a time
2. Do it slowly and deliberately
3. Do it completely
4. Do less
5. Put space between things
6. Develop rituals
7. Designate time for certain things
8. Devote time to sitting
9. Smile and serve others
10. Make cleaning and cooking become meditation
11. Think about what is necessary
12. Live simply

I had the feeling that they could help me to improve things in my life. One year later, reading them again, I can see what I already managed to improve and where I still need to work on.

I can apply some of them pretty well to the shakuhachi: Nr.1-2-3-5-6-8 are easily related to the way I use the shakuhachi to meditate (read here how).
Nr 5, “put space between things“, makes me think of the Japanese “ma“. In daily life, it also means for me “take a break regularly”.

But I still have a long way to go, so my good resolutions for 2017 remain these 12 rules, with emphasis on Nr.4 “do less” and Nr.11 “think about what is necessary“, with the help of Nr.5 again (“put space between things“) and Nr.7 “designate time for certain things“. Actually, they are all about making choices… apparently, that’s what I need for this new year.

For Nr.10, I think I manage pretty well with cooking as a meditation moment, but I still have to work hard on the cleaning!

To be continued…