Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
As the cut, we do not wait
Reason and its bastard child argument are states of degradation. They are to be shunned in favor of direct experience and action.
For those of us who follow the blade, the action is self evident: the cut, not just the cut itself, but what the cut brings. The mindset of the cut is our attitude. The expression of the cut is our behavior. As the cut, we do not wait, we become, and our becoming controls ourselves then controls our interactions with others, and finally controls reality itself.
For those whose blood sings with each cut, this is everything; everything that is known, everything that will be known, and everything that was once known but is now forgotten.
For those of us who follow the blade, the action is self evident: the cut, not just the cut itself, but what the cut brings. The mindset of the cut is our attitude. The expression of the cut is our behavior. As the cut, we do not wait, we become, and our becoming controls ourselves then controls our interactions with others, and finally controls reality itself.
For those whose blood sings with each cut, this is everything; everything that is known, everything that will be known, and everything that was once known but is now forgotten.
Sempai/Kõhai in the West
Western martial artists, especially those who have either trained in the Japan tradition or have reached that rarified goal of training in Japan, have some trouble with the terms semapi ( 先輩) and kõhai ( 後輩) and how they are bastardized in the west. In short, they are hollow in their western usage, reduced to mere window dressing. They do not speak to the real martial spirit. And they are right. This is a social expression that is part of a different culture. The bigger question is should this be a tool we should use here in the US?
The sempai/kõhai relationship is a Japanese expression. There is no doubt that it means something totally different to a Japanese person. And there is even different expression of the terms within different Japanese institutions. A Japanese ball player will hold to, and honor the relationship differently than a member of a Japanese martial training hall. By disparaging the term in the western manner, however, much value is lost, especially in the martial area. I hope to rescue it.
The one objection is that the kõhai are regulated to the role of servant, and really abused by the seniors, often cruelly. And, yes, this does happen. Juniors are often forced into drinking games with the sole purpose of making them ill. But what is not known is that it then becomes the responsibility of the seniors to take care of their ill compatriots, up to but not limited to standing by them as they vomit into the nearest receptacle, even if that receptacle is the senior’s own hat. And the senior smiles and takes it. That’s part of what it means to be a senior, just as the menial tasks are what it means to be a junior.
This leads us, naturally, into the next, much more cogent objection. That, to be blunt, Americans don’t get it. They don’t understand this personal nature of the relationship. It is not written on the bones like on a Japanese. You see, sempai/kõ hai means something to every Japanese. Forcing it onto American invites misunderstanding at best or outright abuse.
I agree.
I have no argument against this second view. But I think that the ignorance of the American martial public is not reason to abandon the term. The sempai/kõ hai relationship is a path to the higher ideals of virtue. You will being to see the other as part of the same ideal that you are. Not a binding together in a group, per say, but more of the idea of accessibility. He did the same thing that he is asking me to do, so I will do them too. Look at what it has given him, the expressions that I want. I do as he says and I can be him.
And, yes, the American sempai don’t grasp the responsibilities of this relationship. But why are we, their instructors, prevented from telling them? We aren’t. And we are cheapening the tradition by denying it to them. To see that the seniors feel responsible for their juniors creates a predisposition to responsibility, something you really want to see in a group of people who will embody the power of destruction. People who are, in essence, becoming the vessels of a wrathful God. I want my angels of destruction to have a measure of compassion.
The sempai/kõhai relationship is a Japanese expression. There is no doubt that it means something totally different to a Japanese person. And there is even different expression of the terms within different Japanese institutions. A Japanese ball player will hold to, and honor the relationship differently than a member of a Japanese martial training hall. By disparaging the term in the western manner, however, much value is lost, especially in the martial area. I hope to rescue it.
The one objection is that the kõhai are regulated to the role of servant, and really abused by the seniors, often cruelly. And, yes, this does happen. Juniors are often forced into drinking games with the sole purpose of making them ill. But what is not known is that it then becomes the responsibility of the seniors to take care of their ill compatriots, up to but not limited to standing by them as they vomit into the nearest receptacle, even if that receptacle is the senior’s own hat. And the senior smiles and takes it. That’s part of what it means to be a senior, just as the menial tasks are what it means to be a junior.
This leads us, naturally, into the next, much more cogent objection. That, to be blunt, Americans don’t get it. They don’t understand this personal nature of the relationship. It is not written on the bones like on a Japanese. You see, sempai/kõ hai means something to every Japanese. Forcing it onto American invites misunderstanding at best or outright abuse.
I agree.
I have no argument against this second view. But I think that the ignorance of the American martial public is not reason to abandon the term. The sempai/kõ hai relationship is a path to the higher ideals of virtue. You will being to see the other as part of the same ideal that you are. Not a binding together in a group, per say, but more of the idea of accessibility. He did the same thing that he is asking me to do, so I will do them too. Look at what it has given him, the expressions that I want. I do as he says and I can be him.
And, yes, the American sempai don’t grasp the responsibilities of this relationship. But why are we, their instructors, prevented from telling them? We aren’t. And we are cheapening the tradition by denying it to them. To see that the seniors feel responsible for their juniors creates a predisposition to responsibility, something you really want to see in a group of people who will embody the power of destruction. People who are, in essence, becoming the vessels of a wrathful God. I want my angels of destruction to have a measure of compassion.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Central Tenet
There are only two kinds of actions, those that lead to a state of divine transcendence and those that do not. Such actions are in accord with Natural Law. The divine state is known by its adherence to these Laws and the expressions of the virtues of those laws.
The only path into this state of divine transcendence is alignment with the universe. The path to that alignment is in the human body. Thus the divine comes from within as well as from without, for it is the motion between the poles of divinity and humanity that causes the transcendent expression. The divine must enter the self as the self enters the divine.
This state, call it what you will, satori, sagehood, imitatio dei, is a real time event that is accessible here and now. There is no need for waiting.
The only path into this state of divine transcendence is alignment with the universe. The path to that alignment is in the human body. Thus the divine comes from within as well as from without, for it is the motion between the poles of divinity and humanity that causes the transcendent expression. The divine must enter the self as the self enters the divine.
This state, call it what you will, satori, sagehood, imitatio dei, is a real time event that is accessible here and now. There is no need for waiting.
Ghosts of Reason, Shadows of Opinion
Those like me are not now, nor have ever been in the business of reason, of comment and discussion. We seek transformation into a higher state. We do not talk. We do not think. We act. We are.
Because of this discipline, I seek to be a part of all around me, and I see no difference between the physical, the mental and the spiritual. So, I should be crowing about the techniques that bring on this exhaled state. Outlining them here for all to use.
I’m not going to.
In a word, I can’t. There are injunctions against lightly discussing narai [theory], injunctions that I am in complete agreement with. But it is not a simple matter of a restriction. I, and those like me, can’t talk about these things until the reader has the experience to understand them. The best mathematician in history can’t teach higher order mathematics to someone who has not had high school algebra.
I am happily part of something that has turned movement into philosophy, action into faith and finds no separation among either state. And it is impossible to tell you about it unless you are doing it.
That has been interpreted as elitist by those looking from the outside, especially those who see everything through the malignant lens of equality, egalitarianism, and the elevation of the mediocre found in the drive to be “just folks.” To those I respond – Yeah, so?
Look around you at this 21st century Rome that demands we render unto it. Where are these problems coming from? If you are not pleased with what you see, what are you doing to fix it? I contend that problems are not continuing because they are insurmountable, but because inaction and fear are so ingrained into society that they seem a part of the fabric of mankind. I hold that man, by naming things, sought to denature those things and deplete them of the terror that they held for him. And that separation as festered, grown with malignant determination. Words, concepts and contention have become a screeching saw, cutting across personal freedom and blessed liberty until mankind is severed from any idea of the Holy. God is not dead. He has been cut away.
For opinion, reason, and their bastard children of argument and discussion are tools. Only. And are not to be elevated to anything higher. They can produce things that are useful, at times even laudable. But tools none the less. They should not be elevated past their station. There are those who call this hypocritical. To them I say they are hiding behind simplicity. I will enjoy the benefits of modern sanitation without having a sewage treatment plant in my living room.
As more and more come to learn of this way that I am a part of, I hope that they, as well as the greater mass of humanity see the benefit of the Way, this spiritual gift of this holy discipline. To see that debate, deliberation, disputation and ultimately even language itself is based in fear, fear of God and the mysteries of God, in front of which Man should stand in reverential quiet until the day that they comprehend God’s own holy idiom, silence.
For this is not a concept yet to be, nor an ancient notion lost to us. This exists today, here and now. We find it played on the strings of our being, harmonizing us with the clash of battle. It changes us, transforms us until there is no battle, no separation. We create victory without a stand by simply being. And that makes us Free.
Because of this discipline, I seek to be a part of all around me, and I see no difference between the physical, the mental and the spiritual. So, I should be crowing about the techniques that bring on this exhaled state. Outlining them here for all to use.
I’m not going to.
In a word, I can’t. There are injunctions against lightly discussing narai [theory], injunctions that I am in complete agreement with. But it is not a simple matter of a restriction. I, and those like me, can’t talk about these things until the reader has the experience to understand them. The best mathematician in history can’t teach higher order mathematics to someone who has not had high school algebra.
I am happily part of something that has turned movement into philosophy, action into faith and finds no separation among either state. And it is impossible to tell you about it unless you are doing it.
That has been interpreted as elitist by those looking from the outside, especially those who see everything through the malignant lens of equality, egalitarianism, and the elevation of the mediocre found in the drive to be “just folks.” To those I respond – Yeah, so?
Look around you at this 21st century Rome that demands we render unto it. Where are these problems coming from? If you are not pleased with what you see, what are you doing to fix it? I contend that problems are not continuing because they are insurmountable, but because inaction and fear are so ingrained into society that they seem a part of the fabric of mankind. I hold that man, by naming things, sought to denature those things and deplete them of the terror that they held for him. And that separation as festered, grown with malignant determination. Words, concepts and contention have become a screeching saw, cutting across personal freedom and blessed liberty until mankind is severed from any idea of the Holy. God is not dead. He has been cut away.
For opinion, reason, and their bastard children of argument and discussion are tools. Only. And are not to be elevated to anything higher. They can produce things that are useful, at times even laudable. But tools none the less. They should not be elevated past their station. There are those who call this hypocritical. To them I say they are hiding behind simplicity. I will enjoy the benefits of modern sanitation without having a sewage treatment plant in my living room.
As more and more come to learn of this way that I am a part of, I hope that they, as well as the greater mass of humanity see the benefit of the Way, this spiritual gift of this holy discipline. To see that debate, deliberation, disputation and ultimately even language itself is based in fear, fear of God and the mysteries of God, in front of which Man should stand in reverential quiet until the day that they comprehend God’s own holy idiom, silence.
For this is not a concept yet to be, nor an ancient notion lost to us. This exists today, here and now. We find it played on the strings of our being, harmonizing us with the clash of battle. It changes us, transforms us until there is no battle, no separation. We create victory without a stand by simply being. And that makes us Free.
The Path
Faith without spiritual discipline is an unfulfilled promise. The failure is not in the spirit, but in mankind. No matter what you seek in spirituality; power, forgiveness, whatever - it will be lost to you if you are not physically ready to receive the gifts of the spirit.
The ancient texts tell us to first prepare the body, to become strong and skilled in the ways of the flesh. You are then to take those tools and use them to cultivate heartfelt human relationships. This means all relationships - of action, of mind, of the body, and of the spirit. And finally you will arrive at the realization and understanding of the fundamental principles of the Universe. You will become as the storm; formless, holding nothing and drawn to nothing. You will move through life as a force of nature, making no distinctions between correct and incorrect or like and dislike. In the words of my teacher, all of this is "to foster fighting skills not just for their own sake, but as a means to a more sublime end: the completion, the fulfillment of one's human potential." (1)
Now, there are pitfalls that arise from one’s own undisciplined mind. Each distinction, each trap, comes from the line between pain and pleasure or gain and loss. For wherever there is form there is opposition. There is the other. When there is no form in one’s heart, there is nothing able to oppose you. The opponent fails before the conflict ever begins.
“No form” does not speak to the tragic negation of the self that is mandated by the major religions of the world. It is the natural spirit that is without form; it stores nothing. This is very different than the retreat from the world so widely advocated. This is a real world event, with incalculable benefits. Transcendence cannot be realized without a fit vessel for the holy to inhabit. This is the key to the kingdom, and the kingdom of God is spread upon the earth and men do not see it.
So, with such a discipline as this, the world becomes your own world. The line between the humanity and divinity blurs till you can move instantaneously between the poles of God and man. Divine compassion is your compassion. Your forgiveness is divine forgiveness. Your righteousness is a holy righteousness. Your anger is the wrath of God. For He is as you are, and you are as He is.
This is, in a phrase, the art that looks upon the profound and clarifies life and death
The ancient texts tell us to first prepare the body, to become strong and skilled in the ways of the flesh. You are then to take those tools and use them to cultivate heartfelt human relationships. This means all relationships - of action, of mind, of the body, and of the spirit. And finally you will arrive at the realization and understanding of the fundamental principles of the Universe. You will become as the storm; formless, holding nothing and drawn to nothing. You will move through life as a force of nature, making no distinctions between correct and incorrect or like and dislike. In the words of my teacher, all of this is "to foster fighting skills not just for their own sake, but as a means to a more sublime end: the completion, the fulfillment of one's human potential." (1)
Now, there are pitfalls that arise from one’s own undisciplined mind. Each distinction, each trap, comes from the line between pain and pleasure or gain and loss. For wherever there is form there is opposition. There is the other. When there is no form in one’s heart, there is nothing able to oppose you. The opponent fails before the conflict ever begins.
“No form” does not speak to the tragic negation of the self that is mandated by the major religions of the world. It is the natural spirit that is without form; it stores nothing. This is very different than the retreat from the world so widely advocated. This is a real world event, with incalculable benefits. Transcendence cannot be realized without a fit vessel for the holy to inhabit. This is the key to the kingdom, and the kingdom of God is spread upon the earth and men do not see it.
So, with such a discipline as this, the world becomes your own world. The line between the humanity and divinity blurs till you can move instantaneously between the poles of God and man. Divine compassion is your compassion. Your forgiveness is divine forgiveness. Your righteousness is a holy righteousness. Your anger is the wrath of God. For He is as you are, and you are as He is.
This is, in a phrase, the art that looks upon the profound and clarifies life and death
Martial Virtue - martial arts as personal and societal tools
Although this blog will touch on many kinds and aspects of martial disciplines, I feel that, in the sake of full disclosure, I need to relate your author’s credentials. I am a veteran of a classical Japanese martial school, a ryûha, which is defined as a Japanese school of military disciplines. (1) Please note the plural. These are a way of thinking, a system of belief as well as a set of actions. In fact the lines between thought, belief and action are very blurry. And we strive for that loss of distinction. There is no distinction - sword work is empty hand. Empty hand is firearms. All is all.
Higher class martial arts around the world see this, too. They feel this and do this. And that is what I will speak about here. There is a universality to martial virtue that I will document, elevate and praise.
(1) Friday, K. (1997). Legacies of the Sword. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. p.2
Higher class martial arts around the world see this, too. They feel this and do this. And that is what I will speak about here. There is a universality to martial virtue that I will document, elevate and praise.
(1) Friday, K. (1997). Legacies of the Sword. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. p.2
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