A Chan Conversation

A sonic conversation with an ancient Chan Buddhist monk. In the reclusive monastery life, the boundary between the object and the subject becomes blurry with a fully attentive mind. Is it his perception that alters our reality, or is it our dreaming that influences his mind? This is a trial that explores spatialized sound perception with Ambisonics in a real-time performance.

Live performance with gametrak and MIDI controller on CCRMA Open House 2025.

Exploring Chan Buddhism

I was auditing Chinese Buddhism in Winter 2025. Hearing about the history along the rise and fall of Buddhism in China, I feel fascinated by this tradition that did not speak to me before. Around Tang Dynasty (6th century CE), the Chan Buddhism arose and took the dominance in China, which later was introduced to Japan and became Zen Buddhism. Originated from India, Chan Buddhism stands out as a “sinicized” school with surprisingly original ideas and practices, emphasizing discovering the buddha nature that everyone possesses within. In its teaching, we don’t need to seek outside, but instead should seek inside and fully observe our mind—the mind is the buddha. Chan Buddhism hates text, as its practitioners believe that the ultimate truth does not lie in any form of languages. Instead, they developed very interesting techniques that may be regarded as vulgar and baffling to reach enlightenment.

Sound in Space

How are all these related to Sound in Space then? The fact that Chan Buddhism does not rely on language inspires me to re-imagine a monastery life that isn’t obscured by textual concepts or their corresponding contemplation. What dominates the reclusive life might be, instead, the sonic world. And what could be a better medium to depict that than spatial audio? I also like the analogy that through listening to the piece, listeners immerse themselves in the experience of the protagonist, just like how Chan Buddhism encourages empathy towards others’ hearts that share the same buddha nature with us.

I gathered recording samples related to monastery life or simply natural sounds, and recreated this soundscape in 3rd-order Ambisonics. The listeners are invited to pay attention to all environmental sounds and experience the journey (well, a small one from the creek to the dharma hall) themselves. Deliberately, I did not make up a “meaningful” story for the theme, as the purpose may not exist for many things. This piece is intended to be an imaginary reconstruction of what an ancient monk might experience, faithful to sensations and reflections.

Live Performance

From the fixed media to the live performance, I wanted to explore the possibility of real-time spatial audio performance. The live performance is done with a MIDI controller and a gametrak, which allows me to control the sound in space with my body movements. The gametrak is a device that tracks the position of my hands in 3D space, enabling me to manipulate the sound field dynamically. The mapping is realized via OSC (open sound control) messages sent by a chuck program to Reaper, where the parameters of effects and spatialization are controlled.