JWH Author's Voice Vol. 17 interview with Hiroshi Matsumoto
Q: The Zen priest Ikkyû Sôjun is so popular with men and women of all ages in Japan that anime have been made about him. What was your motive for writing a novel about him? Ikkyû's widespread popularity in Japan is based mainly on the many legends and witty tales about him from the early Edo period (1603-1735 approx) and has little to do with historical fact. Many religious figures and authors consider it dangerous to write about Ikkyû as an enlightened Zen priest. This is because he was so eccentric that they can't square these two aspects of him?and even if they try to, they are generally mistaken, I think. However, from the perspective of someone who has experienced enlightenment, Ikkyû’s behavior seems perfectly natural. It's just that he was rather brash at times. From an author's point of view Ikkyû's life is rich with subject matter and so easy to make into a novel, and this is one of the reasons I wrote it?that, and my interpretation of Ikkyû's enlightenment experience in Chapter Three, "A Moonless Night." Q: What problems did you have writing it? Also, how long did it take to write? I had a long commute and at that time there was no such thing as a five-day working week, so the only time I had to write was on Sundays. Also, all kinds of chores would get in the way, and I spent a lot of time collecting a huge amount of material on Ikkyû's life, the Muromachi period, Zen, and so forth. I think it took about six or seven years to do the research. As for how long it took to write the novel, I think it took about a year. Q: It appears you have also experienced enlightenment, just like Ikkyû. Could you tell me a little about your own experience? I was practicing Zazen at Engakuji temple in Kamakura when I felt the air around me grow heavy. I was just thinking that it was a strange feeling I’d never experienced before when suddenly the greenery outside the meditation hall window came flowing into me. It took me quite by surprise. Simultaneously the limits of my own self expanded all at once and spread to the ends of the universe. I was a perfect fit with the universe. Until then my small frail self had been in opposition the world around me, but now I felt myself in the firm embrace of the vast universe. A warm feeling of security enveloped me. I was at one with the world. Not everybody has the same experience of enlightenment. I have also felt Ikkyû's experience of hearing the sound of a crow cawing on a moonless night, and feeling myself become that sound and echo through the night sky. I know how at the same time your self expands and spreads to the far reaches of the universe. This is not logic. It is a precise experience. I have also had the experience while meditating of hearing a car horn and feeling myself as the sound of that horn. Likewise, there were some Zen monks in Tang China who experienced themselves as an oak tree in the garden, a bundle of flax, or a giant radish. They all felt the self as including the vast universe within that oak tree or bundle of flax or whatever. My idea of enlightenment is as follows.
A: Zen monks experience themselves at one with the universe, so they believe their life will continue together with the universe.
In the past, Zen monks rejoiced at this. Yet it probably isn’t enough to satisfy people today. This is why I have given the scientific
rationale that although the physical body dies, life continues in inherited DNA, and the change in or severance of one's own consciousness
(memory included) is irrelevant to the continuation of life itself. This is my theory of the continuation of life, illustrated by the
creature called the sea squirt.
Q: The English translation of your book will be published in America this year. There are many people the world
over who are interested in Zen. What do you think is the particular appeal of your book?
B: The experience of nonduality, where you feel the self and object?another person animal, plant, or whatever?as one and the same, can be explained scientifically by the fact that we all evolved from the same single-cell organism and have DNA in common. C: Enlightenment brings with it the experience of becoming one with anxiety, loneliness, fear, and so forth, and thus ridding yourself of these negative emotions. The world-renowned Morita Therapy founded by Dr. Masatake Morita, former professor of Jikei University School of Medicine was also based on the experiences of Zen monks. My book aims to present the experiences of Zen monks in China and Japan over a thousand years ago in a way that people today will be able to understand them, backed up by scientific explanations. It is my hope that with this book many people will be able to find happiness and be liberated from such negative emotions as anxiety, sadness, loneliness, and fear (including the fear of death) without recourse to alcohol or drugs. Since my ideas are based on scientific fact, anyone can benefit from them regardless of their religious beliefs. 
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