2016/09/26

풀뿌리운동 사례 - 세상 속으로 나아가려는 야마기시 공동체

풀뿌리운동 사례 - 세상 속으로 나아가려는 야마기시 공동체

세상 속으로 나아가려는 야마기시 공동체
조회 수 5961 추천 수 0 
2010.01.14 19:09:45

풀뿌리자치연구소*.43.252.165http://grasslog.net/home/30606

세상 속으로 나아가려는 야마기시 공동체

이 호(풀뿌리자치연구소 이음 소장)

야마기시즘, 공동체와의 우연한 만남

지난 해 말까지 몇 사람과 공동으로 풀뿌리운동 활동가 교육 관련 보고서를 내기로 했었다. 시간이 지나도 끝날 기미가 보이지 않자, 강화도의 한적한 펜션에 처박혀 합숙을 하기로 결정했다. 이틀 정도 밤샘 작업을 하면 대충 일이 마무리될 수 있다고 보았기 때문이다. 그래서 네비게이션에도 나오지 않는 곳에 위치한 펜션을 찾아가 열심히 보고서를 쓰고 있었다. 그 때 잠깐 펜션의 주인장이 고구마를 들고 우리가 일하는 방을 찾아왔다. 그래서 인사차 이런저런 이야기를 나누다가 매우 흥미로운 사실을 발견하게 되었다.

그 주인장은 한국의 야마기시(山岸) 공동체, 즉 산안(山岸) 공동체에서 18년간 생활하였고, 현재는 야미기시 사상을 보다 잘 실천하기 위해 그 산안 공동체를 나와 새로운 모색을 하고 있다는 것이다. 그리고 일본 야마기시 공동체에서 분리된 일단의 공동체 식구들이 스즈까 라는 도시에서 새로운 공동체를 형성하고 있는 모습을 자신이 새롭게 추구하는 공동체의 모델로 여기고 있다는 것이다.

당시에는 발등에 떨어진 불이 급해 다음을 기약하며 이야기를 그 정도에서 마무리지었지만, 야마기시 공동체와 야미기시즘에 대한 기존의 관심을 좀 더 자세히 접할 수 있는 기회를 놓치고 싶지는 않았다. 다행히 그 자리에 함께 했던 YMCA 연맹의 이필구 팀장이 얼마 후에 이 분을 인터뷰 하기로 약속을 잡아 함께 강화도를 다시 방문하였다.

우리나라 사람들의 공동체에 대한 관심은 매우 지대한 편이다. 이는 급격한 산업화 과정에 따른 사회적 부작용에 대한 자연스러운 반작용이라 할 수 있다. 하지만, 공동체라는 개념은 여러 가지 매우 다양한 의미로 사용되어지고 있다. 때로는 그 내용보다는 단지 공동체라는 이미지로만 활용되는 경우도 많다. 그러다보니 공동체라는 용어는 우리에게 매우 익숙한 단어가 되고 있기는 하지만 정작 공동체가 무엇인지 설명하기는 쉽지 않다.

그러나 이러한 무수한 논의가 200년이 넘는 지금까지도 멈추지 않고 회자되는 데에는 공동체가 가진 그 의미 또는 그 이미지와 더불어 지속적으로 우리 현실에서 구체적인 공동체가 시도되어왔기 때문이기도 하다. 즉, 공동체는 단순한 개념으로만 존재하는 것이 아니라, 실재하는 현실태(現實態)로 존재해 왔다는 것이다. 하지만, 비교적 오랜 기간 동안 성공적으로 자신들의 공동체를 유지해 온 사례들은 종교계의 수도 공동체를 제외하고는 찾기가 그리 쉽지 않다. 특히, 우리 사회로 그 공간적 범주를 한정시키면 더욱 그렇다. 물론, 최근 생태공동체라는 지향으로 다양한 농촌공동체가 만들어지고 있지만, 그 역사는 아직 일천한 편이다.

그런데, 이러한 농업을 기반으로 하는 생태공동체의 모델로 많이 거론되는 우리 사회의 공동체가 있는데, 흔히 야마기시 공동체라고 하는 산안 공동체 바로 그 것이다. ‘산안(山岸)’은 야마기시의 일본 한자를 우리 이두식으로 발음한 것이다. 이는 산안 공동체가 일본에서 수입된 것임을 어렵지 않게 알 수 있게 해준다. 산안 공동체는 실제 일본의 야마기시 공동체가 한국에 수입되어 정착한 것이다.

이 글은 지난 18년간 야마기시 공동체에서 생활했던 유상용씨와의 인터뷰 내용을 중심으로 작성된 것이다. 물4764ee24cde3203c83c931f927eb5fa6.JPG론, 인터뷰의 목적은 야마기시 공동체와 야마기시즘, 그리고 최근의 야마기시 공동체의 새로운 흐름 등에 대한 관심이다. 하지만, 이 글은 야마기시즘에 대한 유씨의 최근 생각과 그로 인한 산안 공동체와의 결별, 일본 스즈까라는 도시에서 행해지는 야마기시 공동체의 실험 등에 대해 간략히 소개하는 글이라 보는 것이 적절하다. 하지만, 이 정도의 정도만으로도 풀뿌리운동에 대한 여러 시사점이 발견된다고 보았기 때문에 인터뷰와 그 내용을 소개하고자 한다.

하지만, 이 글은 인터뷰를 진행한 필자가 이해한 정도와 방향에 의해 작성된 것이다. 즉, 이 글은 인터뷰에 응해주신 유상용씨와의 대화 내용을 바탕으로 쓰여진 것이 사실이지만, 화자(話者) 중심이라기보다는 필자 나름대로 이해한 것을 정리한 것이라는 것이다. 따라서 혹시라도 이 글의 내용이 유상용씨의 입장과는 약간 다를 수 있다 하더라도, 그것은 전적으로 필자의 책임이다.

야마기시즘에 대하여

야마기시즘이란 야마기시 공동체를 처음으로 설립하고 그 사상적 기반을 제공한 야마기시 라는 사람이 생각하는 사상, 인생과 사회의 참된 모습에 대한 생각, 철학 등을 의미한다. 야마기시는 어린 시절 자신이 던진 돌에 맞은 어른이 불 같이 화내는 것을 보고, 사람들은 왜 화를 낼까 하는 의문을 가졌다고 한다. 이 의문이 후에 야마기시즘의 출발이라 할 수 있겠다. 야마기시는 젊은 시절 사회주의에 심취하였으나 분노와 대립보다는 호혜에 바탕을 둔 이상사회를 꿈꾸었다. 일본 공안에 쫓기던 시절, 한 농가의 양계장에 숨어들었다 닭들의 사회에서 이상적인 공동체의 모습을 발견하고 닭들을 통해 이상사회의 실험을 하기 시작했다. 야마기시 공동체가 양계로 유명한 이유는 여기에서 연유된다. 그 후, 전쟁이 끝나자 1954년부터 인간 사회에 대한 실험으로 넘어갔고, 1961년에 여러 실험들이 모여서 야마기시 실현(實顯)이라는 공동체가 만들어졌다.

야마기시즘은 그 사상을 실현하는 실현지로서 공동체를 제안하였고, 그 공동체를 통해 대안적인 참된 삶의 모습을 보여주고, 이를 통해 인류 전체가 참된 사회로 진입하도록 하는 사상이다. 야마기시와 그를 추종하는 사람들은 이러한 사상이 현실적으로 가능하다는 신념을 갖고 있다.

야마기시즘의 가장 핵심적인 사상은 ‘무소유(無所有)’, ‘공용(共用)’, ‘일체(一體)’로 표현할 수 있다. 이는 단지 물질의 문제에만 국한되지 않는다. 마음의 문제가 오히려 더욱 중요하다. 이 핵심적 사상을 조금만 더 풀어 설명해 보자.

무소유는 자연계가 원래 소유라는 개념을 가지고 있지 않다는 것을 강조한다. 소유라는 것은 사람들의 집착에 의해 생겨났다는 것이다. 따라서 사회나 사람의 상태를 자연의 것으로 다시 회복하기 위해서는 무소유라는 본래의 자연 상태로 돌아갈 필요가 있다고 보았다.

공용(共用) 또한 자연의 원래 상태를 의미한다. 즉, 모든 사물은 본래부터 공용이었다는 것이다. 무소유는 ‘누가 가져도 좋다’는 것을 의미하고, 공용은 누가 써도 좋다는 것이다. 따라서 무소유와 공용은 매우 밀접한 연관을 갖는 용어라 할 수 있다.

일체는 삼라만상 우주가 하나로 이어져있고, 본래 하나라는 것을 의미한다.

야마기시즘은 바로 이러한 핵심사상을 인간 사회에도 적용시키자는 것이다. 즉, 인간사회도 인간만의 창작물이 아니라 자연에 의해 생겨난 것이므로, 인간사회도 자연의 진리와 상통하도록 만들어 가자는 것이다.

야마기시의 깨달음은 진리가 하나라는 것이다. 그리고 이 진리는 적절한 방법에 의해 구체적으로 실현될 수 있다는 것이다. 그러한 실현을 위한 가장 핵심적인 방법은 시대에 맞는 방법을 찾아내서 그것을 통해 진리와 이상을 사회적으로 구현하는 것이라 보았다. 그런 점에서 공동체도 하나의 계기에 불과하다. 야마기시즘의 핵심적 방법은 ‘연찬(硏鑽)’에 있다.

‘연찬(硏鑽)’이란 무엇을 고착된 것으로 단정하거나 고정함 없이 사물을 보고 생각하고 실천해 간다는 의미이다. 이는 개인이 사물과 사람, 그리고 사회 및 세상을 바라보는 철학이기도 하지만, 사회적 과제이기도 하다. 즉, 고정과 단정이 판을 치게 되면서 도그마가 강화되고 이로 인해 갈등과 대립이 발생한다. 그리고 이로 인해, 사회적 소통은 점차 사라진다. 소통의 소멸은 고정관념과 폐쇄적 도그마를 더욱 강화시킬 수밖에 없다.

그러한 사회에서 사람과 사물과 사회의 내면 즉 진실한 실체는 사라진다. 진리가 감추어진 사회인 것이다. 이 사회에서는 갈등과 대립이 점점 더 자신의 관성에 의해 심화될 수밖에 없다. 사물을 대립적으로 것으로, 의식하든 그렇지 않든 간에, 배치하게 된다는 것이다. 그러한 속에서 창조적인 행위는 가능하지 않다.

야마기시즘은 사물과 사람, 그리고 사회, 세상을 기존의 사회적 통념으로 바라보지 않고, 새롭고 창조적인 시각으로 바라보고자 한다. 즉, 어떠한 사물에 대해서도 그 자체로서 대하고자 하며, 그 사물과의 관계에 있어서도 진리를 찾아가는 과정으로서 연찬을 제안하고 실현하고자 한다. 따라서 야마기시즘은 결론이 아니라 사물을 보고 대하며 진리를 찾아가는 과정을 이야기 한다. 연찬은 이를 제안하고 실현하고자 하는 과정이다. 그리고 그 과정에서 사람과 사회를 분리하지 않는다. 이 둘은 상호 깊은 연관을 맺으면서 함께 가기 때문이다.

흩어지는 공동체 - 다시 세상의 한 가운데로

야마기시 공동체는 공동체 밖 사회와의 관계를 중요시한다. 일반인들이 야마기시즘을 접하도록 하기 위해 일반적으로 운영하는 것이 7박8일의 특강과 15일 간의 연찬학교이다. 특강이 야마기시즘에 대해 일회적으로 배우는 것이라면, 연찬학교는 야마기시즘의 핵심인 연찬을 계속해서 습득하는 과정이다. 15일 간의 연찬학교를 통해 여러 사람의 의견을 단정하지 않고 수렴해서 실행한 후 다시 의견을 모아 실행하는 과정을 경험하도록 한다.

한국에 야마기시즘과 야마기시 공동체가 수입된 것은 1960년대 후반이다. 그 계기가 된 것은 새마을운동을 준비하던 박정희 정권 시절, 모범사례를 배우기 위해 다양한 전문가 등이 외국 연수를 다니면서이다. 그러한 선진 연수지 중 하나가 일본 야마기시 공동체였다. 이 연수단 중 기능이 아닌 야마기시즘이라는 철학에 감명을 받은 사람들이 한국에 돌아와서 양계기술 보급과 특강을 하였고, 야마기시 공동체를 만들다 실패하는 등의 연속적인 과정을 거쳤다. 그러던 중 1984년에 세 가구가 산안에서 야마기시 공동체를 시작하여 오늘에 이르렀다. 늦게나마 야마기시 공동체가 우리 사회에 안착할 수 있었던 데에는 양계기술 보급이라는 경험이 크게 작용을 했다.

1990년대에 들어서는 산안 공동체에 위기가 닥쳤는데, 당시 두 가구만 남고 모두 공동체를 떠나가는 등 여러 우역곡절을 겪기도 하였다. 이러한 산안 공동체가 다시 활발히 성장하기 시작한 것은 이 시기에 학생운동을 경험한 80년대 학번, 후에 소위 386세대라 불리우는 이들이 산안 공동체에 대거 유입되면서부터이다. 그러나 다시 10년이 흐른 후 공동체 식구들 중 일부가 다시 공동체를 떠나는 등으로 부침을 겪고 있는 중이다. 이는 산안 공동체가 아직도 여러 부침을 겪는 과정에 있음을 의미한다. 물론, 공동체가 그러한 부침이 없다면 오히려 연찬의 의미인 고착･고정화의 함정에 빠질 수 있을 것이다. 그런 점에서 이러한 부침의 과정을 꼭 부정적으로 바라볼 필요는 없을 듯하다.

산안 공동체가 이러한 부침을 겪는 가장 큰 이유에 대해 유씨는 초창기 산안 공동체를 건설하고, 1990년대의 어려움 속에서도 공동체를 지키던 이들이 초창기의 방식을 고수하면서 새로 유입된 이들과 입장 차이가 점점 더 커졌기 때문이라고 파악하고 있다. 유씨가 최근 산안 공동체를 떠난 이유도 이와 다르지 않다. 이러한 입장 차이를 해소하기 위해 1년 동안 집중적인 연찬을 했지만 그 차이가 해소되지 않았다. 이에 유씨는 스스로 생각하는 바람직한 공동체의 모습을 만들자고 결정을 한 것이다. 그런데, 이러한 결정은 단지 유씨 개인의 결단만이 아니다. 유씨의 생각에 동의하는 비슷한 또래의 몇 가구도 곧 유씨와 행보를 같이 할 예정이라고 한다.

이러한 입장 차이의 핵심은 실현지로서의 공동체에 대한 생각에 있다. 유씨 등의 생각은 연찬이 사회적으로 다른 사람들에게도 유용한 것이 되어야 한다는 것이다. 그러나 산안 공동체의 외부 사회와 교류가 매우 소극적이라는 것이 문제로 제기되었다. 즉, 야마기시즘은 사회적으로 야마기시가 생각한 이상사회를 실현하고자 하는 것이다. 그러면, 진리가 충만한 사회를 만들기 위해 외부 사회와 보다 밀접한 관련을 가질 필요가 있었다.

이는 공동체에 대한 다른 접근을 필연적으로 동반한다. 즉, 야마기시즘을 실현하는 것은 현재 만들어져 있는 공동체를 발전시키는 데 있는 것이 아니라, 공동체 식구들이 우리 사회의 각 부분에 들어가 연찬을 행함으로써 가능하다는 것이다. 지금까지는 실현지(산안 공동체) 하나를 유지하고 발전시키는 것이 중요하다고 생각해 왔다. 그러나 이 실현지가 어느 정도 안정을 찾은 상태에서도 그것이 유효한지에 대해서는 다시 생각해 봐야 한다는 것이다. 실현지에 안주하기보다는 사회 속으로 들어가 연찬을 사회적으로 실현하는 것이 중요하다는 것이다. 이는 시흥시 복음자리 마을에서 유지되던 복음자리 공동체를 ‘흩어지는 공동체’로 만들어야 한다는 박재천의 생각이나, 정토회의 ‘만인결사’와도 비슷한 개념이라 할 수 있다.

새로운 야마기시 공동체 실험 - 일본 스즈까 시 공동체

이러한 새로운 시도와 흐름은 한국의 산안 공동체에서만 생겨난 것이 아니다. 오히려, 한국에서 고정된 실현지를 나와 보다 사회의 깊은 곳으로 들어가 연찬을 통한 이상사회 건설을 추구하려는 움직임은 일본 야마기시 공동체의 최근 흐름으로부터 많은 영향을 받았다. 일본에서는 1990년대 후반 공동체 연찬회에서 도시에서도 이러한 실험이 필요하다는 제안이 대두되었다.

이러한 새로운 제안이 큰 힘을 받게 된 것은 야마기시의 글이 새롭게 공개된 데에 영향을 받았다. 야마기시는 생전에 자신의 생각과 사상을 담은 여러 글을 남겼는데, 이 글은 여러 지인들에게 뿔뿔이 흩어져서 남겨졌다. 따라서 어느 누구도 야마기시의 사상을 전체적으로 파악하고 있는 이들은 없었다. 그런데, 야마기시의 새로운 글이 공개되면서 야마기시의 사상에 대한 새로운 시각이 생겨났다. 즉, 야마기시는 실현지 자체를 만들고 발전시키고자 한 것이 아니라, 세상 속에서 이상적인 사회 건설을 지향하였다는 것이다.

이에 30 가구 전후가 도쿄 혹은 인근의 소도시로 나갔는데, 그 당시 이들의 구호는 ‘마을에서 거리로’라는 것이었다. 당시의 이 실험은 도시에서 살다가 휴일에는 실현지로 다시 돌아오는 형태와 도시에서 새로운 공동체를 모색하는 등으로 다양하게 나타났다. 그러나 이 실험은 그리 성공적이지 못했다고 한다. 도시에서의 새로운 시도가 구체적으로 어떠해야 하는지 등에 대해 그 구체적인 방식을 정하기 못한 채 당위성과 필요에 의해 그리했기 때문이다.

아무튼, 야마기시 사상에 대한 새로운 해석은 실현지 고수파와 새롭게 사회 속으로 더욱 들어가야 한다는 파로 분리되는 계기가 되었다. 물론, 이는 대립적 분리라고만 할 수는 없었다. 단지, 현재 시점에서 중요한 개인적 삶의 방식과 사회적 실현방식에 대한 입장 차이였다. 이에 2005년 경에 50가구 정도가 다시 실현지를 떠나 스즈까 시라는 도시로 나가 새로운 공동체 실험을 전개하기 시작하였다.

이들은 도시에서 새로운 실험을 하면서, 그동안 자신들이 연찬의 중요한 점을 놓치고 있었다는 것을 깨달았다고 한다. 그 깨달음은 ‘연찬’ 그 자체를 바라보는 시각에 있었다. 연찬은 사물을 고정 또는 단정하지 않는다는 것인데, 야마기시 공동체에서는 연찬 그 자체가 이미 고정･단정된 구조로 고착되어 있었다는 것이다. 그래서 아예 ‘연찬’이라는 명칭을 사용하지 말자는 제안도 있었다. 어차피 연찬이 형식이라면, 굳이 연찬이라는 독특한 명칭을 고수할 필요도 없다고 보았기 때문이다.

이런 생각은 연찬학교가 가르쳐주는 깨달음에 대한 새로운 관점이 생겨나면서 시작되었다. 기존 연찬학교가 가르쳐 주는 깨달음은 ‘내가 보고 있는 사물을 단정하지 말라’는 것이다. 즉, 내 생각이 사실이라는 착각에서 벗어나자는 것이다. 하지만, 새로운 깨달음은 바깥의 사물이 그 자체가 사실이라는 것도 전제할 수 없다는 것이다. 이는 불교의 색즉시공(色卽是空)과 매우 유사한 깨달음이다. 색과 공이 구분되지 않으므로, 색을 색이라 하는 것도 진실은 아니라는 것이다. 따라서 ‘실현지가 있다’ 라는 것을 인정하면 그것이 너무 소중한 것이 되어버리는 고정･단정이 될 수 있다는 것이다. 이러한 고정･단정이 실현지가 없어지는 것에 대한 두려움과 집착을 만든다는 것이다.

이후 스즈까 시 공동체는 기존 실현지와는 다른 새로운 방식으로 전개되기 시작했다. 그 새로운 방식이란 기존의 공동체조차도 계속 있어야 할 필요를 느끼지 않게 된다는 것이다. 그래서 공동체의 구조를 만들려고 하지 않게 되었다. 구성원들 중 누구라도 어떤 모임에 나가고 싶지 않으면, 나가지 않는다. 그리고 모임을 만들거나 참여하고 싶으면 그리 한다. 따라서 한 번 공동체를 만들면 그것을 발전시켜야 한다는 강박감에서 벗어나야 한다고 생각하게 되었다. 이러한 깨달음을 바탕으로 스즈까 시에서는 2005년경부터 매우 다양한 실험들이 전개되기 시작하였다.

다양한 실험들의 핵심은 마찬가지로 연찬에 있었다. 연찬을 어떻게 일상 속에서 이루어낼 수 있는가 하는 것이 가장 핵심적인 화두였다. 연찬의 방식도 인생을 알기 위한 연찬회, 자신을 알기 위한 연찬회, 사회를 알기 위한 연찬회 등 다양한 형태로 이루어졌다.

야마기시 공동체는 크게 네 가지 차원으로 구분할 수 있다. 야마기시 회, 실현지, 시험장, 연찬학교가 그것이다. 야마기시 회는 야마기시즘을 실천하기 위한 사람들의 모임이라 할 수 있다. 실현지는 이상사회를 건설하기 위한 실현의 현장이라 할 수 있다. 그리고 지금까지 그 실현지는 가시적으로 드러나는 야마기시 공동체를 가리키는 것으로 여겨왔다. 시험장은 연구와 실험을 통해 이상적 인간의 생활양식 및 사회적 실현방법 등을 연구하는 곳이다. 연찬학교는 앞서 설명한 바와 같이, 연찬의 의미를 지속적으로 교육･훈련 받는 현장이다. 이 네 가지는 하나의 순환구조를 이룬다.

그런데, 실현지와 시험장에 대한 새로운 인식이 스즈까 시로 이주한 이들과 같은 새로운 야마기시즘 해석에 있어 또 하나의 중요한 인식의 차이를 만들었다. 즉, 기존의 실현지 자체가 하나의 시험장이라고 할 수 있다는 것이다. 원래 야마기시 생존 당시에는 사람들을 교육해서 이들이 사회 속으로 들어가 연찬 공동체를 만들려는 생각에 시험장을 만들었으나, 사후 시험장 자체가 실현지가 되어버렸다는 것이다.

스즈까로 이주한 사람들은 연찬으로 네트워킹 하는 사람들(KNI-Kensan Network International)이라는 이름을 스스로에게 붙였다. 이들에게 실현지와 같은 역할을 하는 것은 연찬 커뮤니티이다. 그밖에 연찬과학연구소가 있고, 연찬 라이프 센터가 연찬학교의 역할을 한다.

연찬 커뮤티니 중 일단의 그룹(17명 정도)은 무소유를 중심으로 매우 긴밀한 생활공동체로서의 관계를 맺고 있다. 하지만 이들은 수입을 모두 공유하는 것이 아니라 원하는 만큼만 공유한다. 그리고 이 결합은 가구 단위가 아닌 개인 단위이다. 따라서 부부라 하더라도 남편만 이 무소유 공동체에 가입할 수 있으며, 수입 공유는 부부가 합의하여 남편의 몫만 할 수도 있다. 이러한 식으로 다양한 결합 정도와 형태로 다양한 공동체가 형성되어 있다. 전체적으로 스즈까 시의 연찬 커뮤니티는 100가구 정도로 구성되어 있으며, 결합의 정도는 각자가 원하는 형태로 이루어져 있다.

연찬 라이프 센터는 연찬학교와 같이 연차 커뮤니티 구성원들의 연찬을 지속적으로 교육･훈련하는 기능을 하는데, 도시에서 새롭게 그 형태가 바뀌었다. 커뮤니티 구성원들은 기존의 직장을 그대로 다니면서, 집에서 숙식을 하지 않고 일정 기간 동안 숙식을 센터에서 하면서 연찬 수련을 받는다. 이를 통해 자신들의 정체성을 확인하고 있다.

여기까지 설명을 들으면서, 수유리에 자리 잡은 ‘아름다운 마을 공동체’가 떠올랐다. 이들도 스즈까 시의 연찬 커뮤니티와 비슷한 형태의 공동체 방식을 취하고 있기 때문이다. 아름다운 마을 공동체도 스즈까 시의 연찬 커뮤니티 처럼 공동체 모임이 있고, 그 구성원 중 일부는 수입을 공유하는 긴밀한 공동체를 이루고 있다. 그리고 공동체 구성원들은 각자 자기가 원하는 모임을 만들고 이를 공동체 식구들과 공유하고 있다. 더 나아가 이들은 그 모임을 자기 공동체 구성원들로만 구성하는 것이 아니라, 지역주민들에게도 개방하고 있다. 그런 점에서 아름다운 마을공동체는 스즈까 시의 연찬 커뮤니티보다 개방성이라는 측면에서는 더욱 발전해 있는 형태가 아닌가 한다.

현재 스즈까 시의 연찬 커뮤니티는 수익사업으로 도시락 사업을 비롯한 다양한 사업체도 운영하고 있다. 이는 커뮤티니 구성원들의 생계 및 공동으로 생산활동에 종사하는 데에 있어 중요한 기능을 하고 있다. 이 중 도시락 사업은 안정적으로 확장되고 있으며(3호점까지 냄), 이 성공을 통해 근교농업으로까지 그 영역을 넓히고 있다. 즉, 직접 재배한 것을 도시락 재료로 사용하는 방식이다.

문제와 해답은 사람과 사회 모두에게 있다

일본의 초기 야마기시 공동체는 1970년대까지 농민들 중심이었다. 그 후 전공투 세대인 학생운동 출신들이 대거 들어왔고, 이들이 야마기시 공동체를 성장시키는 주역이 되었다. 그 후에는 야마기시 공동체의 연찬으로부터 감명을 받은 이들이 대안적 교육에 관심을 갖고 야마기시 공동체에 많이 들어왔다. 모든 공동체가 그러하듯, 이런 과정을 통해 야마기시 공동체 내에서도 여러 문제들이 발생하였고, 그 원인은 인간에 대한 이해 부족에 기인한 것으로 여겨진다.

야마기시는 마음의 문제와 사회의 문제를 동시에 고려하였다. 특정 사회 또는 집단의 시스템이 잘 마련되어 있으면, 일정 기간 동안에는 사람들 개인의 문제가 특별히 불거지지 않을 수 있다. 사람들이 그 시스템에 적응하는 시간이 필요하기 때문이다. 그러나 어느 정도의 시간이 흐르고 나면 이 시스템 자체가 하나의 구조로 고착화되고, 사람들도 그에 따라 고착화되거나 그와 정반대로 그 시스템에 대한 저항이 발생하기도 한다. 따라서 시스템과 사람들 각 개인의 에고는 동시에 영향을 미치며 발전해야 하는 것이다.

이는 지도력과 관련해서도 마찬가지이다. 일반적으로 지도력은 소수가 다수를 이끌어 나가는 힘을 의미한다. 하지만, 야마기즘에서는 이를 피하기 위한 방법에 대한 고민을 오랫동안 해왔다. 즉, 지도자가 권력화 되지 않고 다른 이들의 결정을 도와주는 역할을 하는 방법, 그러한 지혜로운 길을 터줄 수 있는 능력에 대한 탐구가 있어왔다. 이는 결국 시스템만으로 이루어지는 것이 아니다. 결국, 그에 참여하는 사람의 마음이 함께 성숙하고 발전해야 가능하다.

따라서 사회의 시스템을 이상적으로 만들어가는 것과 더불어 인간들의 내적 연찬을 통해 이상적 질서, 관계를 만들어 가는 것이 함께 이루어져야 한다. 그리고 야마기시즘은 연찬을 통해 개인적 관계와 사회적 관계를 성숙시킬 수 있다고 생각한다. 그리고 실현지 또는 조직은 없어질 수 있지만, 그보다는 사람이 성숙하게 남아있도록 하는 것이 보다 중요하다. 이들이 또 다른 실현지(조직)을 만들 수 있기 때문이다. 따라서 사람들이 공동의 정체성을 확인하는 상태에서 자신이 하고 싶은 일을 할 수 있도록 배려하는 것이 중요하다.

우리 꽃자리 펜션

현재 유씨는 강화도에서 ‘우리 꽃자리 펜션’을 운영하고 있다. 물론, 유씨 가족의 생계를 위한 방편이기도 하지만, 더 나아가 이 공간이 우리 사회의 새로운 모습을 추구하는 이들에게 사랑방과 같은 구실을 하면 좋겠다는 생각을 가지고 있다. 그래서 1월 중순에 그러한 취지에 동의하는 이들이 우리 꽂자리 펜션에 모여 4박5일 간의 연찬회를 갖는다.

마지막으로, 우리 꽃자리 펜션에 대한 홍보를 하면서 이 글을 맺고자 한다. 펜션 그 자체도 충분히 추천할 만하기 때문이다. 우리 꽃자리 펜션은 강화도에서도 깊숙한 산 속에 위치해 있어, 매우 조용하고 한적한 시간을 보내고 싶은 이들에게 제격이다. 물론, 바닷가도 조금만 나가면 만날 수 있다. 그 곳에 가면 친절한 미소로 사람들을 맞는 주인장을 만날 수 있다. 방문자가 원한다면, 함께 산책을 하거나 고구마 등을 먹으며 공동체 또는 야마기시즘 또는 새로운 이상적 사회의 모습에 대해 깊은 대화를 나눌 수 있을83dc8d45a0be825d33d82c938449d10e.JPG 것이다.

그리고 조금만 시간을 보내면 주인장의 아름다운 아내를 만나볼 수도 있을 것이다. 산안 공동체에서 만났다고 한다. 조용하지만 깊은 미소가 인상적이다. 그리고 운이 좋다면 그 마당을 이리저리 뛰어다니는 아주 귀여운 강아지도 만날 수 있을 것이다. 그리고 운이 더 좋다면, 건강하게 뛰어노는 주인장의 귀여운 두 아들도 만날 수 있을 것이다.

우리 꽃자리 펜션: www.cochari.com, 010-3362-3920

이 게시물을...

태그 강화도 공동체 도시공동체 야마기시 연찬 펜션

첨부 첨부 (2)

엮인글 : http://grasslog.net/home/index.php?document_srl=30606&act=trackback&key=c97

목록

댓글 '3'

똘스

2010.01.18 14:27:52

*.77.245.198



의도하지 않은 첫 만남이 이렇게 훌륭한 내용을 남기게 했군요^^ 야마기시가 생각보다 꽤 오랜 역사를 가졌네요. 양계장과의 인연도 재밌고, 무관해 보이는 우리나라 새마을운동과도 인연이 있네요^^ 스즈까...풀뿌리활동가들이 여유를 갖고 이곳을 찾아가봐도 좋을 듯 싶습니다. 일본에선 우익이 판을 쳐도, 이런 풀뿌리들의 저력은 우리보다 더 넓고 깊게 뿌리박혀 있다는 것을 새삼 느낄 수 있는 좋은 기회일 듯...
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

행복회야마기시회 | 야마기시즘 Yamagishism

행복회야마기시회 | 야마기시즘 Yamagishism
Posted by at

研鑽科学 山岸巳代蔵 思想 研究　ヤマギシズムが正しく理解され、凡ての人の心に届くことを希って

研鑽科学 山岸巳代蔵 思想 研究　ヤマギシズムが正しく理解され、凡ての人の心に届くことを希って
Posted by at

Whatever Happened to Yamagishi? Idealism, Nature and the Environment in Japan's Cooperative Agrarian Community | The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus

Whatever Happened to Yamagishi? Idealism, Nature and the Environment in Japan's Cooperative Agrarian Community | The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus





Whatever Happened to Yamagishi? Idealism, Nature and the Environment in Japan's Cooperative Agrarian Community

John Spiri



February 1, 2008

Volume 6 | Issue 2 | Number 0

Whatever Happened to Yamagishi?

Idealism, Nature and the Environment in Japan’s Cooperative Agrarian Community



John Spiri



Meet Yamagishi





Living quarters at the main Yamagishi Toyosato in Mie prefecture



The main task of Ikuhara Hideyuki’s full-time job is feeding the pigs at Yamagishi. However, he gets no salary for his efforts. In fact, he quit his job developing hi-tech industry developing hi-vision televisions

and gave up all his possessions for this lifestyle—and he couldn’t be happier.





Hideyuki Ikuhara quit his hi-tech job to be an unpaid pig farmer at Yamagishi



Welcome to Yamagishi, Japan’s most famous commune, in Toyosato, Mie Prefecture. The Yamagishi quest for happiness takes place in rural communities called jikkenchi—roughly meaning “a place to realize (Yamagishi) principles”—where people live with a decidedly anti-capitalist twist: no money and minimal possessions.





Seto Chinami, Yamagishi food preparer, believes Yamagishism leads to true happiness



“When I was a high school student, a teacher talked about alternative societies, based on true communism,” explained Seto Chinami, who prepares food at Yamagishi. “Years later I remembered his talk when I met a Yamagishi vendor. Impressed that people were putting their ideals into action, I gave Yamagishi a try.” Despite the fact that it eventually led to separation from her husband, she stayed on, and still believes that the Yamagishi way leads to true happiness.

Yamagishi History



In 1956 the founder Yamagishi Miyozo and original members pooled all their personal assets with the hope of realizing a spiritually superior society where members could attain happiness and change society. From the start their vision was an amalgam of organic agriculture, socialism, egalitarianism, and spirituality without religion. Inspiration came to Yamagishi the founder in the unlikeliest of places.

“Yamagishi had been a rebellious youth and under surveillance by the wartime Imperial secret police, “Ernest Callenbach writes. “On the run, he took refuge in a chicken house, where he passed the time observing what made chickens happy.” [1]



Members believe agricultural work and a simple lifestyle supported by other community members will satisfy all their needs, including financial needs. Indeed, if members are sick, Yamagishi pays the medical bills; if members wish to purchase something, and others agree, they purchase it. Yamagishi will even pay university tuitions—if the members agree.



Egalitarianism, as opposed to authoritarianism, is a major tenet of the Yamagishi movement. There are no bosses. Rather, each jikkenchi elects a number of new committee members. Disputes are settled by consensus. Ikuhara told of a recent problem with others on the pig farming team.



“One man had written a two week holiday on the calendar over New Year’s. The next day a coworker expressed his dissatisfaction. Shouldn’t he have consulted with us before claiming such a lengthy holiday? We agreed, so tomorrow we’ll go to speak with him about this matter.”



As one might imagine about a group living so counter to the dominant culture’s materialistic ways, their practices and philosophy have invited criticism over the years, and worse.



The Turbulent 1990s



Joining Yamagishi takes an enormous leap of faith. Still today, when members join they “invest” in the community, effectually forfeiting their personal assets. Yamagishi is, after all, a possession-less society. According to Katayama Hiroko, a Yamagishi spokeswoman, the amount they “invest” is determined through consultation, taking the new member’s life circumstances into consideration. Some may keep half their assets. Others may simply understate their assets; Yamagishi conducts no search of financial records. Under these circumstances a woman who later quit and sued Yamagishi “invested” a whopping 250,000,000 yen.



The litigant claimed she was brainwashed during Yamagishi’s training sessions. Yamagishi offers an eight day course open to the public called Tokkoh. During the session, which has no teacher, participants “share their ideology, worldview, and wisdom in order to investigate the best way to live,” according to Yamagishi promotional material. For those who complete that course and are seriously considering joining, there is a two week Kensan seminar which is more experiential than discussion-based.



Yamagishi actually rejected the litigant—twice—and finally accepted her onto a jikkenchi after her assurances that she believed in Yamagishi principles; she had originally cited struggles with her daughter as a reason for wanting to join.



In court, her claim that she was brainwashed was rejected, but she still won a settlement. Despite having signed a contract that released her claims to her assets, the court ordered Yamagishi to return approximately 50% of her original investment. She also claimed her disillusionment stemmed from the “extravagant” lifestyles of the Yamagishi leaders, which the court rejected as well, according to Katayama.



Katayama also rejects the notion that Yamagishi leaders live luxurious lifestyles and points out that they routinely return a portion of the “investment” to those who want to leave the jikkenchi, and even pay off the debts of new members who are broke. Thus, they don’t view the court’s ruling as a defeat.

For much of the 1990s Yamagishi had to deal with similar lawsuits brought about by a total of 31 disillusioned ex-members who, after quitting, demanded their money back. All litigants received some return of their original “investment,” with the average being 50%. The court cases dragged on for years hurting recruitment and its country-wide image.



The Yamagishi image has probably always been suspect in the eyes of the average Japanese. In the mid to late 1990s the mass media, and television specials in particular, highlighted perceived flaws in their child-raising methods. Kids would work in fields to gain experience with agriculture then head to a local public school—often without breakfast due to Yamagishi’s policy of eating only lunch and dinner. The fact that some kids got hungry before their 1pm school lunch, and others fell asleep, brought sharp criticism from mainstream society.



“Yamagishi is always looking for the best way to do things,” Sakai Kazuki an educator at Yamagishi explained, “and we frequently amend our practices. In that case there were some legitimate flaws in our approach, which we’ve corrected. Kids now only occasionally work in the fields, and we make sure they eat breakfast if they need to.” Sakai added that it’s ironic that now local schools bring local kids to Yamagishi to experience farm life while Yamagishi children have no set farming chores.



At least some of the criticism seems to spill into sensationalism, or vindictiveness. In a February 1, 2001 Japan Times article the headline blares, “Commune ordered to return ‘brainwashed’ woman’s cash” [2] –yet Katayama emphasizes that the court rejected the claim she was brainwashed in any way. Katayama also denies that the court upheld her “realization” that she “was simply a source of money and free labor,” as the article states. The article also fails to point out that Yamagishi rejected the woman twice, which sheds considerable doubt on the implication that they just wanted to get her money.



Raising Children





Yamagishi youth give a spirited taiko drumming performance



Even though Yamagishi has abolished farm chores for children, they still highly value experiential learning. A basic policy is “not to teach or bring up, but to learn or grow by students themselves.” Living on farmland and among farm animals gives children the foundation they need, it is believed.



Like their views of money and possessions, some ideas related to raising children are unorthodox by Japanese, and indeed, most other standards. When kids turn ten years old they generally move out of their parents’ apartment on the jikkenchi and into a dormitory with other Yamagishi kids. Parents maintain intimate ties, but from then on children are more a part of the community than an individual family. Boarding schools in Britain might work in a similar way, but children are still thought to primarily belong to the family rather than the school community. At Yamagishi, rather than direct parental authority, “all the adults are responsible for seeing to the welfare and safety of the children.” [3] Rather than idyllic, the results are, like the results of mainstream society, mixed.



“My three kids, who are now all grown, are all choosing to live in Tokyo rather than the jikkenchi,” Ikuhara confided. When asked whether he thought they had regrets or misgivings about their Yamagishi upbringing, he figured they did. “But they laugh about it. I think their feeling has less to do with being at Yamagishi and more to do with being children. Isn’t it common for kids to have misgivings as well as positive memories? I know I do about my childhood.”



Indeed, John Small writing for Kansai Time Out magazine observed, “At the Kumamoto Jikkenchi, one of the smaller communities with about 60 members, the children played with a lively curiosity showing an impressive degree of knowledge of the natural world.” [4] At the Mie jikkenchi the youth were respectful and active in various clubs including taiko, Japanese drumming.



Working at Yamagishi



Living with much fainter forces of parental authority is not the only way Yamagishi members live a more communal than authoritarian lifestyle. At the workplace there is no hierarchy to speak of. Rather, decisions are made after discussion via the “Yamagishi process”: proposal to dialog to discussion to agreement to reexamination. It took Ikuhara a while to make the adjustment from his job in the hi-tech industry to Yamagishi.



“The only negative point I’ve experienced since coming here,” he explained, “was overwork when I first arrived.” There was no boss or set working hours, he went on to explain, so he had to learn to work in harmony with his needs and the community’s. Since then he’s learned to rest when tired—a revolutionary idea for Japan’s overworked.



Seto, who is presently in charge of food preparation, emphasized consultation. “It’s my job to consult with cooks and others before deciding the menu.” While group consensus may be the preferred decision making method for all Japanese, at Yamagishi, it rules.



Yamagishi hires a number of outsiders to do agricultural work. At Toyosato alone, the main jikkenchi in Mie prefecture, some 140 outside laborers are employed. Of those, 22 are foreigners. The jobs, which pay 1,000 yen per hour for both Japanese and foreign laborers, have attracted a Brazilian-Japanese labor force, which generally perceives it as preferable to factory work (which has bosses who can be demanding if not petty). Produce, which is mostly organic, is distributed throughout Japan. Eggs are the main Yamagishi product. Some of it is quite upscale, like the cherry tomatoes which fetch a handsome price in Japan’s trendy supermarket sections.





Pounding rice into mochi at Yamagishi



Yamagishi and the Environment





Yamagishi feed for farm animals with discarded food like strawberry “Pocky” snacks shown here



Yamagishi is often compared to the Israeli kibbutz, or the “back to earth” communal movements of the 1960s. Each Yamagishi jikkenchi is an ecologically sound alternative to a materialistic society: Yamagishi produce is mostly organic; waste water is combined with pig urine to treat seedlings; recycling is maximized while consumerism minimized.



“We take the straw leftover from the rice harvest and feed the cows,” Naruse Yukishige, a rice farmer at Yamagishi said. “Then the manure becomes fertilizer for the rice fields. And we’re always looking for ways to refine the process.”



Callenbach, the author of ecological science fiction novels Ecotopia and Ecotopia Emerging, highly praised Yamagishi’s environmentalism after visiting the Mie jikkenchi and writing about them for Communities magazine. “Yamagishism thus may be only a small, bright, improbable lighthouse, shining out from a rocky coast on which our industrial society is about to go aground,” he wrote. “Still, it demonstrates that an equalitarian, secular, democratic social order is possible, and sustainable ecologically, and it thus deserves to be studied very carefully.” [5] His only criticism stemmed from Yamagishi’s reliance on fossil fuels, especially for driving. “I was shocked,” he wrote, “to see a parking area with about 50 vehicles, and people use them quite a lot.” [6]



Despite living a virtual zero-waste ecological ideal, environmentalism is not a tenet and members seem to steer clear of any ‘save the earth’ sort of discussion. Rather, the application of scientific principles in the quest for happiness is the core ideal, and living in harmony with the environment happens to satisfy that ideal.



Science and Spirituality



Yamagishi Miyozo always advised members to make religion “purely a personal matter.” A Yamagishi brochure states, "It is possible to change ways of thought without reliance upon God or Buddha. It is possible to do so scientifically, utilizing the capabilities of the human mind alone."



A manifestation of that philosophy is the aforementioned “Yamagishi process,” which relies on observation and consensus. A rigorous questioning of what is right and true permeates the jikkenchi. This scientific approach to every aspect of life attracted Nagase Kunio some 33 years ago. “Here we strive to figure what’s real, and what’s the best way of doing things,” he said, adding that personal happiness will lead to societal happiness.



Given Yamagishi’s dedication to scientific principles, it’s ironic that another common criticism Japanese lay on Yamagishi is that the communities are too religious. There are in fact no religious teachings or practices, either from the founder or from established religions. Their idealism, however, does have a spiritual flavor. The aim to realize a happiness that can spread throughout humanity certainly implies a moral foundation. And alcohol and tobacco, while allowed, seem relegated to relative obscurity.



“Religion/Spirituality is and isn’t related,” longtime member Miyachi Masayuki said. “We want to change society. We want everyone to realize happiness.” This is, of course, the ultimate aim of Buddhism and other religions, but the means is a possessionless community of individuals practicing sustainable agriculture rather than ritual or prescribed spiritual practices.



Yamagishi Globally



Several jikkenchi exist overseas in Korea, Thailand, Switzerland, Australia and the United States. In particular, Katayama spoke of the success of the Korea-based Yamagishi which includes a number of Korean members. In contrast, members of the Yamagishi in Thailand and the U.S. are all Japan-born, and the jikkenchi are extremely small. “Many Thai like to work and live on the jikkenchi, but they are not actually members,” Katayama said.



By commune standards, Yamagishi’s 50 years of existence is an admirable achievement, probably second longest in Japan after “Atarashiki-mura” (New Village) in Miyazaki prefecture, which opened in 1918.



While Toyosato in Mie prefecture is by far the largest jikkenchi, with over 400 members, some 32 other jikkenchi exist all over Japan with approximately 800 other members. In addition, Yamagishi sponsors a “Children’s Paradise Village” three times a year. It’s promoted as giving kids the chance to “get together as one-body” and draw out their natural abilities. Over 300 children from outside, along with over 100 Yamagishi children, participated last year to experience nature and develop relationships by communal living.



However, several jikkenchi have closed in recent years and the number of total members decreased during the lawsuit years. Is that indicative of the beginning of the end for Yamagishi? “Certainly not,” Nagase declared. “New members will start coming again. I’m sure of it.”



For more details about the eight day Tokkoh course , Children’s Paradise Village, or Yamagishi in general, contact Ms. Hiroko Katayama in English or Japanese at katayama_h@mula-net.com.



Notes



[1] Ernest Callenbach (2006). “Ecotopia in Japan?” Communities, #132, Fall 2006, p. 44.

[2] Japan Times (2001).

[3] Kansai Time Out (1999).

[4] ibid

[5] Ernest Callenbach (2006). “Ecotopia in Japan?” Communities, #132, Fall 2006, p. 45.

[6] ibid





John Spiri is an Associate Professor and writer at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.



This is a revised and expanded version of an article that originally appeared in The Japan Times.  Posted at Japan Focus on February 15, 2008.
Posted by at
Labels:

Whatever Happened to Yamagishi? Idealism, Nature and the Environment in Japan's Cooperative Agrarian Community | The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus

Whatever Happened to Yamagishi? Idealism, Nature and the Environment in Japan's Cooperative Agrarian Community | The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus



Whatever Happened to Yamagishi? Idealism, Nature and the Environment in Japan's Cooperative Agrarian Community

February 1, 2008
Volume 6 | Issue 2 | Number 0
Whatever Happened to Yamagishi?
Idealism, Nature and the Environment in Japan’s Cooperative Agrarian Community

John Spiri

Meet Yamagishi

Living quarters at the main Yamagishi Toyosato in Mie prefecture

The main task of Ikuhara Hideyuki’s full-time job is feeding the pigs at Yamagishi. However, he gets no salary for his efforts. In fact, he quit his job developing hi-tech industry developing hi-vision televisions
and gave up all his possessions for this lifestyle—and he couldn’t be happier.

Hideyuki Ikuhara quit his hi-tech job to be an unpaid pig farmer at Yamagishi

Welcome to Yamagishi, Japan’s most famous commune, in Toyosato, Mie Prefecture. The Yamagishi quest for happiness takes place in rural communities called jikkenchi—roughly meaning “a place to realize (Yamagishi) principles”—where people live with a decidedly anti-capitalist twist: no money and minimal possessions.

Seto Chinami, Yamagishi food preparer, believes Yamagishism leads to true happiness

“When I was a high school student, a teacher talked about alternative societies, based on true communism,” explained Seto Chinami, who prepares food at Yamagishi. “Years later I remembered his talk when I met a Yamagishi vendor. Impressed that people were putting their ideals into action, I gave Yamagishi a try.” Despite the fact that it eventually led to separation from her husband, she stayed on, and still believes that the Yamagishi way leads to true happiness.
Yamagishi History

In 1956 the founder Yamagishi Miyozo and original members pooled all their personal assets with the hope of realizing a spiritually superior society where members could attain happiness and change society. From the start their vision was an amalgam of organic agriculture, socialism, egalitarianism, and spirituality without religion. Inspiration came to Yamagishi the founder in the unlikeliest of places.
“Yamagishi had been a rebellious youth and under surveillance by the wartime Imperial secret police, “Ernest Callenbach writes. “On the run, he took refuge in a chicken house, where he passed the time observing what made chickens happy.” [1]

Members believe agricultural work and a simple lifestyle supported by other community members will satisfy all their needs, including financial needs. Indeed, if members are sick, Yamagishi pays the medical bills; if members wish to purchase something, and others agree, they purchase it. Yamagishi will even pay university tuitions—if the members agree.

Egalitarianism, as opposed to authoritarianism, is a major tenet of the Yamagishi movement. There are no bosses. Rather, each jikkenchi elects a number of new committee members. Disputes are settled by consensus. Ikuhara told of a recent problem with others on the pig farming team.

“One man had written a two week holiday on the calendar over New Year’s. The next day a coworker expressed his dissatisfaction. Shouldn’t he have consulted with us before claiming such a lengthy holiday? We agreed, so tomorrow we’ll go to speak with him about this matter.”

As one might imagine about a group living so counter to the dominant culture’s materialistic ways, their practices and philosophy have invited criticism over the years, and worse.

The Turbulent 1990s
Joining Yamagishi takes an enormous leap of faith. Still today, when members join they “invest” in the community, effectually forfeiting their personal assets. Yamagishi is, after all, a possession-less society. According to Katayama Hiroko, a Yamagishi spokeswoman, the amount they “invest” is determined through consultation, taking the new member’s life circumstances into consideration. Some may keep half their assets. Others may simply understate their assets; Yamagishi conducts no search of financial records. Under these circumstances a woman who later quit and sued Yamagishi “invested” a whopping 250,000,000 yen.

The litigant claimed she was brainwashed during Yamagishi’s training sessions. Yamagishi offers an eight day course open to the public called Tokkoh. During the session, which has no teacher, participants “share their ideology, worldview, and wisdom in order to investigate the best way to live,” according to Yamagishi promotional material. For those who complete that course and are seriously considering joining, there is a two week Kensan seminar which is more experiential than discussion-based.

Yamagishi actually rejected the litigant—twice—and finally accepted her onto a jikkenchi after her assurances that she believed in Yamagishi principles; she had originally cited struggles with her daughter as a reason for wanting to join.

In court, her claim that she was brainwashed was rejected, but she still won a settlement. Despite having signed a contract that released her claims to her assets, the court ordered Yamagishi to return approximately 50% of her original investment. She also claimed her disillusionment stemmed from the “extravagant” lifestyles of the Yamagishi leaders, which the court rejected as well, according to Katayama.

Katayama also rejects the notion that Yamagishi leaders live luxurious lifestyles and points out that they routinely return a portion of the “investment” to those who want to leave the jikkenchi, and even pay off the debts of new members who are broke. Thus, they don’t view the court’s ruling as a defeat.
For much of the 1990s Yamagishi had to deal with similar lawsuits brought about by a total of 31 disillusioned ex-members who, after quitting, demanded their money back. All litigants received some return of their original “investment,” with the average being 50%. The court cases dragged on for years hurting recruitment and its country-wide image.

The Yamagishi image has probably always been suspect in the eyes of the average Japanese. In the mid to late 1990s the mass media, and television specials in particular, highlighted perceived flaws in their child-raising methods. Kids would work in fields to gain experience with agriculture then head to a local public school—often without breakfast due to Yamagishi’s policy of eating only lunch and dinner. The fact that some kids got hungry before their 1pm school lunch, and others fell asleep, brought sharp criticism from mainstream society.

“Yamagishi is always looking for the best way to do things,” Sakai Kazuki an educator at Yamagishi explained, “and we frequently amend our practices. In that case there were some legitimate flaws in our approach, which we’ve corrected. Kids now only occasionally work in the fields, and we make sure they eat breakfast if they need to.” Sakai added that it’s ironic that now local schools bring local kids to Yamagishi to experience farm life while Yamagishi children have no set farming chores.

At least some of the criticism seems to spill into sensationalism, or vindictiveness. In a February 1, 2001 Japan Times article the headline blares, “Commune ordered to return ‘brainwashed’ woman’s cash” [2] –yet Katayama emphasizes that the court rejected the claim she was brainwashed in any way. Katayama also denies that the court upheld her “realization” that she “was simply a source of money and free labor,” as the article states. The article also fails to point out that Yamagishi rejected the woman twice, which sheds considerable doubt on the implication that they just wanted to get her money.

Raising Children
Yamagishi youth give a spirited taiko drumming performance

Even though Yamagishi has abolished farm chores for children, they still highly value experiential learning. A basic policy is “not to teach or bring up, but to learn or grow by students themselves.” Living on farmland and among farm animals gives children the foundation they need, it is believed.

Like their views of money and possessions, some ideas related to raising children are unorthodox by Japanese, and indeed, most other standards. When kids turn ten years old they generally move out of their parents’ apartment on the jikkenchi and into a dormitory with other Yamagishi kids. Parents maintain intimate ties, but from then on children are more a part of the community than an individual family. Boarding schools in Britain might work in a similar way, but children are still thought to primarily belong to the family rather than the school community. At Yamagishi, rather than direct parental authority, “all the adults are responsible for seeing to the welfare and safety of the children.” [3] Rather than idyllic, the results are, like the results of mainstream society, mixed.

“My three kids, who are now all grown, are all choosing to live in Tokyo rather than the jikkenchi,” Ikuhara confided. When asked whether he thought they had regrets or misgivings about their Yamagishi upbringing, he figured they did. “But they laugh about it. I think their feeling has less to do with being at Yamagishi and more to do with being children. Isn’t it common for kids to have misgivings as well as positive memories? I know I do about my childhood.”

Indeed, John Small writing for Kansai Time Out magazine observed, “At the Kumamoto Jikkenchi, one of the smaller communities with about 60 members, the children played with a lively curiosity showing an impressive degree of knowledge of the natural world.” [4] At the Mie jikkenchi the youth were respectful and active in various clubs including taiko, Japanese drumming.

Working at Yamagishi
Living with much fainter forces of parental authority is not the only way Yamagishi members live a more communal than authoritarian lifestyle. At the workplace there is no hierarchy to speak of. Rather, decisions are made after discussion via the “Yamagishi process”: proposal to dialog to discussion to agreement to reexamination. It took Ikuhara a while to make the adjustment from his job in the hi-tech industry to Yamagishi.

“The only negative point I’ve experienced since coming here,” he explained, “was overwork when I first arrived.” There was no boss or set working hours, he went on to explain, so he had to learn to work in harmony with his needs and the community’s. Since then he’s learned to rest when tired—a revolutionary idea for Japan’s overworked.

Seto, who is presently in charge of food preparation, emphasized consultation. “It’s my job to consult with cooks and others before deciding the menu.” While group consensus may be the preferred decision making method for all Japanese, at Yamagishi, it rules.

Yamagishi hires a number of outsiders to do agricultural work. At Toyosato alone, the main jikkenchi in Mie prefecture, some 140 outside laborers are employed. Of those, 22 are foreigners. The jobs, which pay 1,000 yen per hour for both Japanese and foreign laborers, have attracted a Brazilian-Japanese labor force, which generally perceives it as preferable to factory work (which has bosses who can be demanding if not petty). Produce, which is mostly organic, is distributed throughout Japan. Eggs are the main Yamagishi product. Some of it is quite upscale, like the cherry tomatoes which fetch a handsome price in Japan’s trendy supermarket sections.


Pounding rice into mochi at Yamagishi

Yamagishi and the Environment
Yamagishi feed for farm animals with discarded food like strawberry “Pocky” snacks shown here

Yamagishi is often compared to the Israeli kibbutz, or the “back to earth” communal movements of the 1960s. Each Yamagishi jikkenchi is an ecologically sound alternative to a materialistic society: Yamagishi produce is mostly organic; waste water is combined with pig urine to treat seedlings; recycling is maximized while consumerism minimized.

“We take the straw leftover from the rice harvest and feed the cows,” Naruse Yukishige, a rice farmer at Yamagishi said. “Then the manure becomes fertilizer for the rice fields. And we’re always looking for ways to refine the process.”

Callenbach, the author of ecological science fiction novels Ecotopia and Ecotopia Emerging, highly praised Yamagishi’s environmentalism after visiting the Mie jikkenchi and writing about them for Communities magazine. “Yamagishism thus may be only a small, bright, improbable lighthouse, shining out from a rocky coast on which our industrial society is about to go aground,” he wrote. “Still, it demonstrates that an equalitarian, secular, democratic social order is possible, and sustainable ecologically, and it thus deserves to be studied very carefully.” [5] His only criticism stemmed from Yamagishi’s reliance on fossil fuels, especially for driving. “I was shocked,” he wrote, “to see a parking area with about 50 vehicles, and people use them quite a lot.” [6]

Despite living a virtual zero-waste ecological ideal, environmentalism is not a tenet and members seem to steer clear of any ‘save the earth’ sort of discussion. Rather, the application of scientific principles in the quest for happiness is the core ideal, and living in harmony with the environment happens to satisfy that ideal.

Science and Spirituality
Yamagishi Miyozo always advised members to make religion “purely a personal matter.” A Yamagishi brochure states, "It is possible to change ways of thought without reliance upon God or Buddha. It is possible to do so scientifically, utilizing the capabilities of the human mind alone."

A manifestation of that philosophy is the aforementioned “Yamagishi process,” which relies on observation and consensus. A rigorous questioning of what is right and true permeates the jikkenchi. This scientific approach to every aspect of life attracted Nagase Kunio some 33 years ago. “Here we strive to figure what’s real, and what’s the best way of doing things,” he said, adding that personal happiness will lead to societal happiness.

Given Yamagishi’s dedication to scientific principles, it’s ironic that another common criticism Japanese lay on Yamagishi is that the communities are too religious. There are in fact no religious teachings or practices, either from the founder or from established religions. Their idealism, however, does have a spiritual flavor. The aim to realize a happiness that can spread throughout humanity certainly implies a moral foundation. And alcohol and tobacco, while allowed, seem relegated to relative obscurity.

“Religion/Spirituality is and isn’t related,” longtime member Miyachi Masayuki said. “We want to change society. We want everyone to realize happiness.” This is, of course, the ultimate aim of Buddhism and other religions, but the means is a possessionless community of individuals practicing sustainable agriculture rather than ritual or prescribed spiritual practices.

Yamagishi Globally
Several jikkenchi exist overseas in Korea, Thailand, Switzerland, Australia and the United States. In particular, Katayama spoke of the success of the Korea-based Yamagishi which includes a number of Korean members. In contrast, members of the Yamagishi in Thailand and the U.S. are all Japan-born, and the jikkenchi are extremely small. “Many Thai like to work and live on the jikkenchi, but they are not actually members,” Katayama said.

By commune standards, Yamagishi’s 50 years of existence is an admirable achievement, probably second longest in Japan after “Atarashiki-mura” (New Village) in Miyazaki prefecture, which opened in 1918.

While Toyosato in Mie prefecture is by far the largest jikkenchi, with over 400 members, some 32 other jikkenchi exist all over Japan with approximately 800 other members. In addition, Yamagishi sponsors a “Children’s Paradise Village” three times a year. It’s promoted as giving kids the chance to “get together as one-body” and draw out their natural abilities. Over 300 children from outside, along with over 100 Yamagishi children, participated last year to experience nature and develop relationships by communal living.

However, several jikkenchi have closed in recent years and the number of total members decreased during the lawsuit years. Is that indicative of the beginning of the end for Yamagishi? “Certainly not,” Nagase declared. “New members will start coming again. I’m sure of it.”

For more details about the eight day Tokkoh course , Children’s Paradise Village, or Yamagishi in general, contact Ms. Hiroko Katayama in English or Japanese at katayama_h@mula-net.com.

Notes

[1] Ernest Callenbach (2006). “Ecotopia in Japan?” Communities, #132, Fall 2006, p. 44.
[2] Japan Times (2001).
[3] Kansai Time Out (1999).
[4] ibid
[5] Ernest Callenbach (2006). “Ecotopia in Japan?” Communities, #132, Fall 2006, p. 45.
[6] ibid


John Spiri is an Associate Professor and writer at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.

This is a revised and expanded version of an article that originally appeared in The Japan Times.  Posted at Japan Focus on February 15, 2008.
Posted by at
Labels:

2016/09/25

Esalen Institute - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Esalen Institute - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Esalen Institute

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Esalen Institute
Esalen Institute.jpg
Esalen main campus
Founder(s)Michael Murphy
Dick Price
Established1962
FocusHumanistic alternative education
LocationSlates Hot Springs, Big Sur, California, United States
Coordinates36.12701°N 121.64159°WCoordinates: 36.12701°N 121.64159°W
Address55000 Highway One, Big Sur, CA 93920[1]
Websitehttp://www.esalen.org/
Esalen is located in California
Esalen
Esalen
Location in California
Meditation Room at Esalen
Esalen Art Barn, 2005
The Esalen Institute, commonly just called Esalen, is an American retreat centerand intentional community inBig Sur, California (specifically the community of Slates Hot Springs), which focuses uponhumanistic alternative education.[2] Esalen is a nonprofit organization devoted to activities such as personal growth, meditation, massage,Gestalt Practice, yoga,psychology, ecology,spirituality, and organic food.[3]The institute offers more than 500 public workshops a year in addition to conferences, research initiatives, residential work-study programs, and internships.[4]
Esalen was founded by Michael Murphy and Dick Price in 1962. Their goal was to explore work in the humanities and sciences in order to fully realize whatAldous Huxley had called the "human potentialities".[5]Through the years, Esalen became the center of practices and beliefs that make up theNew Age movement, fromEastern religions/philosophy, to alternative medicine and mind-body interventions, to Gestalt Practice.[6]
Esalen is located near the John Little State Natural Reserve and Lime Creek, about 45 miles (72 km) south of Monterey and nine miles (14 km) north of Lucia. The institute is situated on 120 acres[7] of Big Sur coast.[8]

Early history[edit]

Main article: Slates Hot Springs
The grounds of the Esalen Institute were first home to a Native American tribe known as the Esselen, from whom the institute gets its name.[9] Carbon dating tests of artifacts found on Esalen's property have indicated a human presence as early as 2600 BCE.[10]
The location was homesteaded by Thomas Slate on September 9, 1882, when he filed a land patent under the Homestead Act of 1862.[11] The settlement began known as Slates Hot Springs. It was the first tourist-oriented business in Big Sur, frequented by people seeking relief from physical ailments. In 1910, the land was purchased by Henry Murphy,[12] a Salinas, California, physician. The official business name was "Big Sur Hot Springs" although it was more generally referred to as "Slate's Hot Springs".[13]
View of the building on the bluff housing the hot springs

Founding of Esalen Institute[edit]

Stanford grads meet[edit]

Richard Price in 1968
Michael Murphy, whose family owned the hot springs, and Dick Price both attended Stanford University in the late 1940s and early 1950s. They were in the same class, but they did not become friends until later.[14]They met in San Francisco at the suggestion of Frederic Spiegelberg, a Stanford professor of comparative religion and Indic studies, with whom both had studied.[15] After graduating from Stanford, Price attended Harvard University to continue studying psychology. Then Price joined the Air Force and lived in San Francisco, where he met Alan Watts and experienced a transformative psychotic break. Price was admitted to a mental hospital for a time, before returning to San Francisco.[16] Murphy, meanwhile, traveled to Sri Aurobindo's ashram in India,[17] and then he also returned to San Francisco.

Lease property[edit]

After they met, Murphy and Price found much in common. In 1961, they traveled down to the Murphy family's Big Sur property at Slates Hot Springs.[18] They wanted to create a venue where non-traditional workshops and lecturers could present their ideas free of the dogma associated with traditional education. The two began drawing up plans for a forum that would be open to ways of thinking beyond the constraints of mainstream academia, while avoiding the dogma so often seen in groups organized around a single idea promoted by a charismatic leader. They envisioned offering a wide range of philosophies, religious disciplines and psychological techniques.[19]
Henry Murphy's widow and Michael's grandmother Vinnie MacDonald Murphy had previously refused to lease the property, even turning down an earlier request from Michael. But after hearing her grandson's and Dick Price's proposal, she agreed to lease the property to them in 1962[20][21][22] and granted free use of the property. The two men used capital that Price obtained from his father, who was a vice-president atSears.[23] They incorporated their business as a non-profit named Esalen Institute in 1963.[24][25]

Develop counterculture workshops[edit]

Murphy and Price were assisted by Spiegelberg, Watts, Huxley and his wife Laura, as well as by Gerald Heard and Gregory Bateson. They modeled the concept of Esalen partially upon Trabuco College, founded by Heard as a quasi-monastic experiment in the mountains east ofIrvine, California, and later donated to the Vedanta Society.[26]
Alan Watts gave the first lecture at Esalen in January 1962.[27] Gia-fu Feng joined Price and Murphy,[28] along with Bob Breckenridge, Bob Nash, Alice and Jim Sellers, as the first Esalen staff members.[22] In the middle of that same year Abraham Maslow, the prominent humanistic psychologist, just happened to drive into the grounds and soon became an important figure at the institute.[29] In the fall of 1962, they published a catalog advertising workshops with such titles as "Individual and Cultural Definitions of Rationality", "The Expanding Vision" and "Drug-Induced Mysticism".[27]

Fritz Perls residency[edit]

In 1964, Fritz Perls began a long-term residency at Esalen and became a lasting influence. Perls offered many Gestalt therapy seminars at the institute, until he left in July 1969.[30] When Perls left Esalen he considered it to be "in crisis again". He saw young people without any training leading encounter groups. And he feared that charlatans would take the lead.[31] However, Grogan claims that Perls’ practice at Esalen had been ethically “questionable”,[32] and according to Kripal's account he is supposed to have insulted Abraham Maslow.[33] Jim Simkin[34]and Perls led Gestalt training courses at Esalen. Simkin started a Gestalt training center[35] on contiguous property that was later incorporated into Esalen’s main campus.[36]

Gestalt therapy developed[edit]

Dick Price became one of Perls' closest students. Price developed his own form of practice called Gestalt Practice,[37] which he continued teaching at Esalen until his death in a hiking accident in 1985.[16]Michael Murphy became an author, writing non-fiction books about Esalen related topics, as well as several novels.[38]

Leads counterculture movement[edit]

Esalen gained popularity quickly and started to regularly publish catalogs full of programs. The facility was large enough to run multiple programs simultaneously, so Esalen started creating numerous resident teacher positions.[39] Murphy recruited Will Schutz, the well-known encounter group leader, to take up permanent residence at Esalen.[40]All this combined to firmly position Esalen in the nexus of thecounterculture of the 1960s.
Esalen was incorporated as a non-profit institution in 1963.[41]Increased attention came to the institute in 1966 when Esalen started to receive coverage in the news media. George Leonard published an article in Look magazine about the California scene, that mentioned Esalen and included a picture of Murphy.[42] Time magazine published an article about Esalen in September 1967.[43] The New York Times Magazine published an article by Leo E. Litwak in late December.[44]Then an article about Esalen appeared in Life magazine.[45] These articles brought Esalen into the awareness of other media outlets, not just in the U.S. but also overseas. Esalen responded by holding large-scale conferences in Midwestern and East Coast cities,[46] as well as in Europe. Esalen opened a satellite center in San Francisco that offered extensive programming until it closed in the mid-1970s for financial reasons.[47]

Program changes[edit]

Esalen has always been forced to change as it responded to internal and external factors.[48][49][50][51][52][53][54] Dick Price provided leadership at the institute, and his death in late 1985 brought about many changes in personnel and programming.[55] Steven Donovan became president of the institute,[56] and Brian Lyke served as general manager.[55] Nancy Lunney[57] became the director of programming,[58] and David Price (son of Dick Price) served as general manager of Esalen beginning in the mid-1990s.[59] The baths were destroyed in 1998 by severe weather and were rebuilt at great expense, but this caused severe institutional stress.[60] Afterward, Andy Nusbaum developed an economic plan to stabilize Esalen's finances.[61]Ultimately, under the direction of Gordon Wheeler,[62] management was dramatically restructured.[63] However, this resulted in the voluntary withdrawal of Christine Stewart Price (wife of Dick Price) from the institute, in order to preserve Dick Price's legacy at a new teaching facility.[64][65]

Leaders and programs[edit]

Aldous Huxley
In the early days, many of the seminars[66] challenged the status quo — such as "The Value of Psychotic Experience". There were even Esalen programs that questioned the movement of which Esalen itself was a part — for instance, "Spiritual and Therapeutic Tyranny: The Willingness To Submit". And there was a series of encounter groups focused on racial prejudice.[67]
Early leaders included:
Rather than merely lecturing, many leaders began to experiment with what Huxley called the non-verbal humanities: the education of the body, the senses, and the emotions. The intention of this work was to suggest a new ethic—to develop awareness of one's present flow of experience, to express this fully and accurately, and to listen to feedback. These "experiential" workshops were particularly well attended and did much to shape Esalen's future course.[68]

Past teachers[edit]

William Schutz at Esalen, circa 1987

Scholars in residence[edit]

Esalen has sponsored long-term resident scholars, including:

Arts events[edit]

In 1964, Joan Baez led a workshop entitled "The New Folk Music"[76]which included a free performance. This was the first of seven "Big Sur Folk Festivals" featuring many of the era's music legends. The 1969 concert included musicians who had just come from the Woodstock Festival. This event was featured in a documentary movie, Celebration at Big Sur, which was released in 1971.
Performers at Esalen have included:
John Cage and Robert Rauschenberg performed together at Esalen.Robert Bly, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure,Kenneth Rexroth (who led one of the first workshops), Gary Snyder and others held poetry readings and workshops.
In 1994, President and CEO Sharon Thom[77] created an artist-in-residence program to provide artists with a two-week retreat in which to focus upon works in progress. These artists interacted with the staff, offered informal gatherings, and staged performances on the newly created dance platform. Located next to the Art Barn, the dance platform was used by Esalen teachers for dance and martial arts. The platform was later covered by a dome and renamed the Leonard Pavilion after deceased Esalen past president and board member,George Leonard.
In 1995 and 1996, Esalen hosted two arts festivals which gathered together artists, poets, musicians, photographers and performers, including artist Margot McLean, psychotherapist James Hillman, guitarist Michael Hedges and Joan Baez. All staff members were allowed to attend every class and performance that did not interfere with their schedules. Arts festivals have since become a popular yearly event at Esalen.[78]

Initiatives and projects[edit]

Esalen Institute has sponsored many research initiatives, educational projects, and invitational conferences. The Big Sur facility has been used for these events, as well as other locations, including international sites.

Schizophrenia Research Project[edit]

Encouraged by Dick Price, the Schizophrenia Research Project was conducted over a three-year period at Agnews State Hospital in San Jose, California, involving 80 young males diagnosed withschizophrenia.[79] Funded in part by Esalen Institute, this program was co-sponsored by the California Department of Mental Hygiene (reorganized: CMHSA) and the National Institute of Mental Health. It explored the thesis that the health of certain patients would permanently improve if their psychotic process was not interrupted by administration of antipsychotic pharmaceutical drugs.[80] Julian Silverman was chief of research for the project. He also served as Esalen's general manager in the 1970s.[81] The Agnews double blindstudy was the largest first-episode psychosis research project ever conducted in the United States. It demonstrated that the young men given a placebo had a 75 percent lower re-hospitalization rate and much better outcomes than the men who received anti-psychotic medication. These results were used as justification for medication-free programs in the San Francisco Bay Area.[82] Michael Cornwall, who worked in one of the Agnews-inspired projects, has revived theAlternative Views and Approaches to Psychosis Initiative at Esalen by convening an invitational conference of leaders in the field of psychosis treatment, under the auspices of the Esalen Center for Theory and Research.[83]

Publishing[edit]

Starting in 1969, in association with Viking Press, the institute published a series of 17 books about Esalen-related topics, including the first edition of Michael Murphy's novel, Golf in the Kingdom(1971).[84] Some of these books remain in print.
In the mid-1980s, Esalen entered into a joint publishing arrangement with Lindisfarne Press to publish a small library of Russian philosophical and theological books.[85]

Soviet-American Exchange Program[edit]

Boris Yeltsin
In 1980, Esalen began the Soviet-American Exchange Program (later renamed: Track Two, an institute for citizen diplomacy).[86]This initiative came at a time when Cold War tensions were at their peak. The program was credited with substantial success in fostering peaceful private exchanges between citizens of the "super powers".[87] In the 1980s, Michael Murphy and his wife Dulce were instrumental in organizing the program with Soviet citizen Joseph Goldin, in order to provide a vehicle for citizen-to-citizen relations between Russians and Americans. In 1982, Esalen and Goldin pioneered the first U.S.–Soviet Space Bridge, allowing Soviet and American citizens to speak directly with one another via satellite communication. In 1988, Esalen broughtAbel Aganbegyan, one of Mikhail Gorbachev's chief economic advisors, to the United States. In 1989, Esalen brought Boris Yeltsin on his first trip to the United States, although Yeltsin did not visit the Esalen facility in Big Sur. Esalen arranged meetings for Yeltsin with then PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush as well as many other leaders in business and government. Two former presidents of the exchange program includedJim Garrison and Jim Hickman. After Gorbachev stepped down, and effectively dissolved the Soviet Union, Garrison helped establish The State of the World Forum, with Gorbachev as its convening chairman. These successes led to other Esalen citizen diplomacy programs, including exchanges with China, an initiative to further understanding among Jews, Christians and Muslims, as well as further work on Russian-American relations.[88]

Center for Theory and Research[edit]

In 1998, Esalen launched the Center for Theory and Research (CTR) to initiate new areas of practice and action which foster social change and realization of the human potential.[89] The CTR is the research and development arm of Esalen Institute.[90]

Esalen Massage and Bodywork Association[edit]

Bodywork has always been a significant part of the Esalen experience. In the late 1990s, the "EMBA" was organized as a semi-autonomous Esalen association for the regulation of Esalen massagepractitioners.[91]

Cultural influence and legacy[edit]

Esalen has been cited in the press as having played a key role in the cultural transformations of the 1960s.[92] Esalen has also been the subject of some criticism and controversy.[93] After reporting the professed mission statement of the institute, The Economistsummarized the critics as follows: “For many others in America and around the world, Esalen stands more vaguely for that metaphorical point where ‘East meets West’ and is transformed into something uniquely and mystically American or New Agey. And for a great many others yet, Esalen is simply that notorious bagno-bordello where people had sex and got high throughout the 1960s and 1970s before coming home talking psychobabble and dangling crystals.”[6] Other criticism may be found in publications cited in the footnotes.[94][95][96]
The Human Potential Movement was criticized for espousing an ethic that the inner-self should be freely expressed in order to reach a person's true potential. Some people saw this ethic as an aspect of Esalen's culture. The historian Christopher Lasch claimed that humanistic techniques encourage narcissistic, spiritual materialistic or self-obsessive thoughts and behaviors.[97] In 1990 a graffiti artist spray painted "Jive shit for rich white folk" on the entrance to Esalen,[98]highlighting class and race issues. Some thought that this was a regression of progress away from true spiritual growth.[98]

Community[edit]

Because of Esalen's isolated location, its operational staff members have been residential from the beginning and collectively they have shaped the character of the institute.[98] The community has been steeped in a form of Gestalt that pervades all aspects of daily life, including meeting structures, workplace practices, and individual language styles.[99] In 1966, the institute began year-long residential educational programs which were subsequently replaced by month-long work-study programs and year-long work-oriented extended student programs.[100] There is a preschool on site called the Gazebo, serving the children of staff, some program participants, and affiliated local residents.[101]

Current status[edit]

Entrance to Esalen Institute
Esalen is organized as a Californian501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. The institute continues to offer workshops to its visitors throughout the year, most of them dedicated to the integration of humanistic psychology, physical wellness, and spiritual awareness. The institute has focused in more recent times on issues of permaculture and ecological sustainability.[102] Other workshops cover a wide range of subjects including arts, health,Gestalt, integral thought, martial arts, massage, dance, mythology,philosophical inquiry, somatics, spiritual and religious studies,ecopsychology, wilderness experience, yoga, tai chi, mindfulness practice, and meditation.

In popular culture[edit]

Movie lobby card
Esalen has been the subject of loose interpretations in art, entertainment, and media.
In the comedy-drama Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), sophisticated Los Angeles residents Bob and Carol Sanders (played by Robert Culp andNatalie Wood) spend a weekend of emotional honesty at an Esalen-style retreat,[103] after which they return to their life determined to embrace free love and complete openness.
In "What About Bob?" (1991) Bill Murray's character mentions that he hasn't felt this good since Esalen upon his arrival at his psychiatrist's vacation home.
Esalen features prominently in Edward St Aubyn's comic novel On the Edge (1998).
A BBC television series, The Century of the Self (2002), was critical of the Human Potentials Movement and included video segments recorded at Esalen.[104]
The Mad Men finale, "Person to Person" (which aired on May 17, 2015), featured Don and Stephanie staying at an Esalen-like coastline retreat in the year 1970.[105]
The Panticapaeum Institute from True Detective Season 2 was largely based on the Esalen Institute.[106]
The Chryskylodon Institute, from Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice andPaul Thomas Anderson's film adaptation, is modeled after Esalen.[107]

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. Jump up^ "Contact Us".
  2. Jump up^ Goldman 2012, pp. 2–
  3. Jump up^ Kripal 2007
  4. Jump up^ "Esalen Institute - Big Sur, California".
  5. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 64
  6. ^ Jump up to:a b "Where 'California' bubbled up". The Economist. 19 December 2007.
  7. Jump up^ Goldman 2012, p. 2
  8. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 27
  9. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 30
  10. Jump up^ Documentation provided by Steven Harper of radiocarbon dating, performed by members of the Sonoma State University Cultural Resources Faculty, that produced the following results: 4,630 +/- 100 years BP (before present). Harper notes confirmation by similar tests from Big Creek (4-5 miles south of Esalen Institute), which produced: 6,400 years BP, as cited in The Prehistory of Big Creek by Terry Jones (2000).
  11. Jump up^ "Thomas B Slate, Patent #CACAAA-092028". The Land Patents. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  12. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 32
  13. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 95
  14. Jump up^ Goldman 2012, p. 56
  15. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 47 et seq
  16. ^ Jump up to:a b The Only Way Out Is In: The Life Of Richard Price by Barclay James Erickson, in Kripal & Shuck 2005
  17. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 60
  18. Jump up^ "Dick Price: An Interview". Esalen. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  19. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 48
  20. Jump up^ "John Andrew Murphy", United States Census, 1940; Salinas, California; roll T627_267, page 19A,, enumeration district 27-5, Family History film 715. Retrieved on August 10, 2016.
  21. Jump up^ "Michigan Births and Christenings, 1775–1995". Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch. 2009–2010.
  22. ^ Jump up to:a b Kripal 2007, p. 98
  23. Jump up^ Kripal & Shuck 2005, p. 148
  24. Jump up^ Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 960. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
  25. Jump up^ Goldman 2012, p. 19
  26. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 91
  27. ^ Jump up to:a b Anderson 2004, p. 65
  28. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 63
  29. Jump up^ Kripal & Shuck 2005, p. 2
  30. Jump up^ Perls 1992
  31. Jump up^ Perls 1992, p. 249
  32. Jump up^ Grogan 2008, p. 196
  33. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 157
  34. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 175
  35. Jump up^ Fadul 2014, p. 204 [1]
  36. Jump up^ Leyde, Tom (March 20, 2015). "Esalen Institute to get a face lift".Santa Cruz Sentinel : Architecture, March 20, 2015. Retrieved October 2,2015.
  37. Jump up^ Callahan 2014
  38. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, pp. 274, 291–2
  39. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 151
  40. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 156
  41. Jump up^ Goldman 2012, p. 19
  42. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 207
  43. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 160
  44. Jump up^ Litwak, Leo E. (December 31, 1967). "A Trip to Esalen Institute -- Joy Is the Prize". The New York Times Magazine. pp. 119 et seq. (The full article requires paid subscription to access it.)
  45. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 172
  46. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 219
  47. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 181 et seq
  48. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 147 et seq
  49. Jump up^ Goldman 2012, p. 44
  50. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 463
  51. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 270
  52. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 546
  53. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 212
  54. Jump up^ Goldman 2012, pp. 85–86
  55. ^ Jump up to:a b Kripal 2007, p. 389
  56. Jump up^ Goldman 2012, p. 65
  57. Jump up^ Nancy's name changed to Nancy Lunney Wheeler upon marriage to Gordon Wheeler who later became Esalen CEO; see Goldman 2012, p. 67
  58. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 376
  59. Jump up^ See the extensive biography of David Price,, "Esalen's Child", inGoldman 2012, pp. 107 et seq
  60. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 436
  61. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 437
  62. Jump up^ Wheeler became CEO and is now president. See generally, Goldman 2012, pp. 99 et seq
  63. Jump up^ Goldman 2012, p. 44
  64. Jump up^ Explanation of "power shift" found in: Goldman 2012, p. 65
  65. Jump up^ Tribal Ground announcement on Tribal Ground website.
  66. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, pp. 101 et seq
  67. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, pp. 182 et seq
  68. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, pp. 104
  69. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, pp. 159, 178, 179, 207, 220, 234, 253, 320
  70. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 490
  71. Jump up^ Wildflower, Leni. The Hidden History Of Coaching, Open University Press (2013) p. 17
  72. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 547 [listing numerous citations]
  73. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 159
  74. Jump up^ Heider, John The Tao of Leadershp Green Dragon Publishing (2005)
  75. Jump up^ "John Heider".
  76. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 102
  77. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 434
  78. Jump up^ "EsalenArtsFestival2011".
  79. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, pp. 217–219
  80. Jump up^ Rappaport, M. "Are There Schizophrenics for Whom Drugs May be Unnecessary or Contraindicated?" International Pharmacopsychiatry 13 (1978) p. 100 et seq.
  81. Jump up^ "Julian Silverman".
  82. Jump up^ Cornwall 2002, p. 4
  83. Jump up^ Alternative Views and Approaches to Psychosis, November 2012. An Esalen Center For Theory and Research Initiative at Esalen Institute.
  84. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 527
  85. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 320
  86. Jump up^ "Track II (Citizen) Diplomacy" at The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project.
  87. Jump up^ Track Two, An Institute For Citizen Diplomacy.
  88. Jump up^ Esalen CTR: Accomplishments in Citizen Diplomacy.
  89. Jump up^ Esalen Center for Theory and Research.
  90. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 439
  91. Jump up^ Goldman 2012, p. 67
  92. Jump up^ "40 years later, Woodstock's spiritual vibes still resonate", Houston Chronicle. August 6, 2009.
  93. Jump up^ "Esalen's Identity Crisis", Los Angeles Times Magazine. September 5, 2004.
  94. Jump up^ "Like countless spiritual pilgrims, Esalen Institute faces its own midlife crisis".
  95. Jump up^ Norimitsu Onishi (August 19, 2012). "Celebrating the Past, and Debating the Future". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  96. Jump up^ Kera Abraham and Mark Anderson. "One Half-Century at Esalen Institute". Monterey County Weekly. October 4, 2012.
  97. Jump up^ Lasch 1978, p. 13
  98. ^ Jump up to:a b c Kripal 2007, p. 401
  99. Jump up^ Kripal 2007, p. 172
  100. Jump up^ "Work Study".
  101. Jump up^ "Gazebo School Park Early Childhood Program".
  102. Jump up^ "The Esalen Farm & Garden: Cultivating Soil, Plants and People".
  103. Jump up^ Anderson 2004, p. 140
  104. Jump up^ YouTube segments.
  105. Jump up^ Dean, Will (17 May 2015). "Mad Men recap: season seven, episode 14 – Person to Person (warning: spoilers)". The Guardian. Retrieved18 May 2015.
  106. Jump up^ Caitlin Gallagher. "Is The Panticapaeum Institute From 'True Detective' A Real Place? Ani's Father's Retreat Resembles An Actual Facility".Bustle. Retrieved October 3, 2015. ...there is one real place that Vulture pointed out might have inspired both Mad Men and True Detective — and that's the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.
  107. Jump up^ "The Southern California Landscape of Inherent Vice - Los Angeles Magazine". 12 December 2014.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Goldman, Marion S. (2012). The American Soul Rush: Esalen and the Rise of Spiritual Privilege. New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-3287-8.
  • Kripal, Jeffrey; Shuck, Glenn W., eds. (2005). On The Edge Of The Future: Esalen And The Evolution Of American Culture. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-21759-8.
  • Lasch, C. (1978). The Culture of Narcissism. New York: W.W. Norton.

Further reading[edit]

  • Lattin, Don (2004). Following Our Bliss : How the Spiritual Ideals of the Sixties Shape Our Lives Today. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-009394-3.
  • Norman, Jeff (2004). Big Sur. Images of America Series. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-2913-3.
  • Miller, Stuart (1971). Hot Springs: The True Adventures of the First New York Jewish Literary Intellectual in the Human-Potential Movement. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 0-226-45369-3.

External links[edit]

Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)