Howdy, Merle,
"Funny question"; a koan? ;-)
I think bamboo is sometimes used by Son masters in Korea.
Pine grows on the mountaintops in China where our tradition began at
monasteries there; hence, Pine wood was AVAILABLE, and so it became the
traditional material for the shiang-ban, and this spread to Japan -- which is a
very mountainous, "Pine-y", country, also -- to be used in their traditional
kyosaku.
And so it comes down to us.
Anyway, the stick must be FLAT and a couple of inches wide, as you know if you
have sat our traditional training period, "sesshin", or retreat, and have
"received" the kyosaku, as we say (another one of our many practices in the
Zen-practice tradition).
Pine is thus an echo of the Mountain-origin of Ch'an.
Pine is ideal, and I work in pine. I also make sticks of hardwood, including,
as you know, Australian Lacewood, _Cardwellia sublimis_.
I think, in general, that Lacewood is "too fancy", but it is undeniably
beautiful in appearance, which is not necessary in a stick, but Lacewood's
weight and action is superb, when the right amount of flex is built into a
stick.
So there's no reason to ignore Lacewood. It is also more durable than Pine.
And teachers and/or Tantos like it. One Tanto told me he "Can't make a mistake
with it".
Some teachers will "go through" (break) several sticks during a retreat.
As far as I know, my sticks, whether Pine or hardwood(s), are still holding up.
Selection of a proper billet is key, regardless of which timber you choose.
BTW, there's a bamboo nursery in Tucson which cultivates and purveys 400
varieties of bamboo. I grow no bamboo yet, and have just a small house-lot in
town, already "populated" with native and exotic xeriscape trees, and other
desert plantings.
Wishing you a happy day, our Independence Day, here. Best,
--Joe
> Merle Lester <merlewiitpom@...> wrote:
>
> what is wrong with a bamboo stick?..merle
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