The words below are a paraphrase of Carl Long Sensei's closing statement at the end of our KNBK Instructor's seminar in November 2013. They perfectly express my deep feelings about Budo : 

"This is a good group, the technique is good, it will get better, and this is important. 

This being said, what is more important is that during these 3 days we spent together, each one of you gave something and learned something. So several of us became better persons, because of what they learned, because of what they taught, because of the interaction within the group. 

Budo is not just about you, about becoming better at it. Budo is about making the world a better place. If only one person becomes a better person, the world becomes a better place for everyone else. "

It is never too late...

Taking up Exercise in your 60's will still help stave off major ill health and dementia, research suggests. 

A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine followed 3,500 healthy people at or around retirement age.

Those who took up exercise were three times more likely to remain healthy over the next eight years than their sedentary peers.

Full article

People who took up exercise in their 60s were also less likely to struggle with day-to-day activities such as washing and dressing.

After eight years of follow-up, a fifth of the participants were defined as healthy - not suffering from any major chronic mental or physical illness.

In the study, those who had regularly indulged in moderate or vigorous physical activity at least once a week were three to four times more likely to be healthy agers than those who had remained inactive, even after taking into account factors such as smoking. 

 

 

Get off your butts...

Lou Reed died happy, looking at trees as he did Tai Chi.

 

Lou Reed’s widow said he died while looking at the trees in his garden as he performed tai chi.

 

After doctors treating him for liver failure told him that nothing more could be done to save him, his wife took him to their home in East Hampton, New York, where he died on Sunday morning.

In a touching obituary she writes: “To our neighbours: What a beautiful fall! Everything shimmering and golden and all that incredible soft light. Water surrounding us. Lou and I have spent a lot of time here in the past few years, and even though we’re city people this is our spiritual home.

“Last week I promised Lou to get him out of the hospital and come home to Springs. And we made it!

“Lou was a tai chi master and spent his last days here being happy and dazzled by the beauty and power and softness of nature. He died on Sunday morning looking at the trees and doing the famous 21 form of tai chi with just his musician hands moving through the air.”

Lou Reed had been studying martial arts since the 1980's. In 2002, he started studying Chen Style Tai Chi.

Zen at War

A few years ago, 2 distressing books entitled "Zen at War" and "Zen War Stories" were published by Brian Victoria about the attitude of the Zen Establishment right before and during World War II in Japan. During this difficult period, a number of Zen Masters gave their support to the Japanese Imperial Army. This was very unfortunate, but they were very likely unaware of the atrocities committed in Korea, China and other Asian countries by the Japanese forces. (Are we really aware of what is going on in Pakistan or Afghanistan ?)

Apparently and according to various authors, Victoria tried to strengthen his case by distorting the words of a number of prominent Zen teachers. Among those are Kodo Sawaki, teacher of Taisen Desshimaru and Gudo Nishijima - and D.T. Suzuki who first translated in English the Lankavatara Sutra - among others - Excusez-moi du peu ! Quotations from these masters were mistranslated and taken out of contest to make them seem like war-mongers when this was quite the opposite.

I suggest you read this article and decide for yourself. 

I don’t know Japanese so I can’t judge of the validity of the arguments on the translations. However, I have been practising Japanese Martial Arts for a few years and I would like to add some wood to the fire of discussion. So here we go :

Zen does not preach the gospel of mercy, in fact Zen does not preach anything at all. Zen is practice.

The connection between Zen and Martial Arts dates from the beginnings of Zen in Japan – i.e. the 13th century when the Mongols of Kubilai Khan twice tried to invade (in 1274 and 1281). These were difficult times for Japanese society.
 

If you want to understand more about the connection between Zen and Martial Arts, I suggest you read Trevor Legett’s "Zen and the Ways” and “The Warriors Koans”, Taisen Desshimaru (another disciple of Kodo Sawaki Roshi) – “Zen and Martial Arts”, Yamaoka Tesshu’s “The sword of no-sword”, or Omory Sogen’s “Introduction to Zen training”. These are all books by men of great accomplishment in Zen and/or Traditional Japanese Martial or other Arts. 

The same sword and swordsman kills and gives life – no distinction. This is not a deep philosophical thing. If you see someone ready to hurt some innocent person, you slice them, your sword killed one person, and gave life to the other person. It is that simple. If you believe otherwise, you are mistaken. You might not be able to do it, but do not blame Buddhism or Zen for that. It is just that you were not able to do it.

There is no shame if you did nothing because you did not know how to handle a sword. No need to be killed yourself. However, if you are fluent in Martial Arts and are not able to use them when necessary, or if you use them too easily when you should not, you have a problem, and society has a problem. 

This is where Zen can help.

 

Yagyu Munenori was chief martial art instructor to the first and second Tokugawa shogun. (Early 17th century). Only once in his life did he draw his sword when a small group of rebels tried to assassinate the Shogun. Munenori, who was himself a disciple of Takuan Soho - sliced them down.
 

In his book “Heiho Kandesho” translated by Scott Wilson as “the Life-giving sword” Munenori clearly explains the identity of the life giving and the killing sword.

Things are not complicated. To become fluent at anything, you need to practice. It is true of Zen, it is true of Martial Arts. You need to practice Zazen, you need to practice Kendo or Calligraphy. If you don’t practice, you are wasting your time. 

And here I am, writing...