Werner

hello antaiji,

before...
after…
now…
 
after having had a first sesshin in eiheiji in 1978 -
and some other thankful approaches that way later
here & there
 -
one day in march 2006,
while working for a movie on the island of iriomote in the deep south of japan,
i typed:
"zen monastery shikantaza kodo sawaki man & woman equal"
into google search on my old laptop…

a couple of proposed & refused links
later,
i reached the website of antaiji.

i phoned up, and was accepted to come -
some days later in the rather cold spring-weather that year,
i walked a remote mountain road on japan's west-coast,
sweating on my way with a rather too heavy backpack.
half-way up, a car came driving down the mountain -
muho, the berlin-born 6th abbot (docho-san) of antaiji
together with tomomi-san by his side,
and their two little children,
megumi-san & hikaru-san on the back seats,
stopped:
- car-window rolling down -
"so, you are on your way to antaiji?"
"yes, sure"
"just keep on walking then…"

that was my initiation to antaiji.

now,
in autumn 2011,
after ayako & me & our daughters lina & sayo 
have moved from europe to the island of awajishima
on the east-cost of japan in november of 2009,
beginning to build up a kind of artistic place  in a former elementary-school,
called "nomadomura",
we decided to make another movie together -
working-title: "opening the hand of thought"
not "about",
but "in"
antaiji,
during the coming two years,
being part of the sangha
- practicing - and filming equally.
THIS is not quite as easy as writing down these sentences,
but challenging.

now,
i like to express my thankfulness to the sangha of antaiji
for accepting and supporting us
(in a surprisingly open way)
despite the rather strange presence
of our movie-recording-equipment & us
within the practice.

to be honest,
so far we are not having any financial support from television or cinema-foundations, but one thing is for sure:
we won't sign any agreement that would determine our work together with the sangha of antaiji
in order to please
any mainstream-or-profit-orientated-interests:

rather poor
& insisting to stay independent,
after all,
we are so rich
& happy
& thankful
to be able to be
here now
with all of you
time after time

short version 2011

repression
continues
worldwide
slaughtering
continues
local
liberation
continues
too
just like
excessive internet use
& manipulation
continues
moment by moment
opening the hand of thought
continues
not only
during
meditation
life goes
on
hungry, curious & foolish
thankful
to be
continued