The Art of a Zen Master - I

The Hojo Kata of the Jikishin Kage Ryu - a Koryu (traditional) style of Kenjutsu was created by Matsumoto Bizen no kami Naokatsu in the middle of the Muromachi period (1333-1573). He received the teachings of the Hojo in a dream.

Note that this dream deal is very convenient. When your students know that some sort of God visited you in a dream, they tend to not question you so much. 

This also was the case Muso Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi who founded the Shindo Muso-Ryu of Jo Jutsu.  After an encounter with Miyamoto Musashi he went to spend some times in the mountains of Kyushu in training and meditation. There he had a dream. A God, Kami or Tengu visited him and revealed to him the secret art that would enable him to finally beat Musashi with a single stick !

But back to the HOJO. In this video of the late 70's, the Kata is performed by Omori Sogen Roshi (in white) and his disciple Terayama Tenchu Sensei. Omori Sogen Roshi was a Zen, Kenjutsu and  Calligraphy Master.

If you compare  this version of Hojo kata to others (fancier) available on Youtube, you will be impressed by the intensity displayed in this old version.

In 1929 Omori Roshi underwent Hyappon Keiko, the grueling practice of performing the Hojo a hundred times a day for seven days. in  Hosokawa Dogen's book "Omori Sogen : The Art of a Zen Master"  he recounts his experience : 

Onishi Hidetaka - who was captain of the Kendo Club of Hitotsubashi University  - and I were told by Yamada Sensei, "In our style, after completing the hyappon keiko (one hundred time practice) one is able to receive the final certificate” It was decided that at the end of July, we would be confined to a mountain temple in Yamanashi prefecture. After 20 days of preparation we began the hyappon keiko. 
 

We got up at 4:00 in the morning, went down the mountain, and bathed in a river. Before breakfast we did the Hojo 15 times. After that we rested awhile then practiced 30 more times. After lunch we rested and did the Hojo 55 more times until dusk. We did zazen in the evenings. 

By the third day I could shout more loudly and powerfully during practice, but my voice was so hoarse I could not speak at all. At night my body was so hot that I couldn't sleep. Food would not go down my throat; I had only water and raw eggs. My urine was the color of blood. The arms that held the wooden sword could not be raised. We were resigned to death. I couldn't go before Yamada Sensei and say, "I failed." Onishi and I got out our notes and letters and burned them all as we prepared to die. 

On the fourth day, a strange thing happened. The same arms that had difficulty in even holding the wooden sword went up smoothly over my head. As my arms went down, I felt a strength that was not physical coming out of both arms. It felt as if this downward cut extended to the other end of the world. For seven days, we practiced the Hojo a hundred times daily in this manner. We finally finished at the beginning of September. Later Yamada Sensei praised me saying, 'That is the Muso (No-thought) Style.' 

I was able to cultivate mental strength entirely because of this Hojo.

And we thought we were training hard...

If you mimic someone else, your Zen is dead.

The Rinzai Roku is a collection of the teachings of Master Rinzai (Lin Ji in Chinese), who lived in China in the 9th century. He was the founder of what would be known in Japan as the Rinzai School of Zen.

One day a visitor asked to Yamaoka Tesshu to comment for him about the Rinzai Roku. Master Tesshu told him that an other Zen Master Kosen Roshi was lecturing on this regularly in Kamakura. The visitor told him that he wanted to hear his lecture.

Tesshu agreed and took his guest to the dojo. There he demonstrated Muto Ryu swordsmandhip with one of his disciples in front of the visitor. 

"So, what do you think of my lecture about the Records of Rinzai ?" Asked Tesshu.

The visitor, impressed by the demonstration - did not answer. 

 

Tesshu kept on : "Since I am a samurai and swordsman, I best can explain Master Rinzai's teachings through Kendo (literally "the Way of the Sword). No matter how powerful is your intellect, if you mimic someone else, your Zen is dead..."

I have read 2 versions of this story - This one in "The sword of no sword" by John Stevens. In the other in "An introduction to Zen training" by Omori Sogen, Tesshu invites his guest to a sword bout. No wonder the visitor was left speechless... Yamaoka Tesshu was considered the best swordsman of his era.

Compare this with the story of the Nun Shido who, when asked by the Abbott of the Enkakuji temple to discourse about the same Rinzai Roku, drew her Short sword and told him: "I am a woman of warrior lineage and I should only declare our teaching when really face to face with a drawn sword. What book should I need?"

It is very likely that Master Tesshu was aware of this story as it is part of a collection of Early Warrior Koans - of which he owned a sample.

This is important, and refreshing :

"If you mimic someone else, 

your Zen is dead..."

Daito and the Beggars killer.

According to the tradition, one of the great Rinzai Zen Masters in Japan, Daito Kokushi (1282 - 1337) lived unknown for many years among the beggars of Kyoto.

These were hard  and lawless times. Often, during the night, gangs of heartless and bastards roaming the poor parts of town would try their swords on homeless people, slicing and killing them just for the fun of it. Who would care for the life of an insignificant beggar ?

One evening, one of the bloody jerks was standing by the bridge where the beggars used to spend the night. All of them were terrified, for they knew that after nightfall the murderer would probably appear among them to cut one or several of them down.

Master Daito told the beggars to hide in a nearby field, and proceeded to sit in Zazen. When the samurai appeared on the bridge at dusk he only saw a beggar sitting in meditation posture. He drew his sword and shouted: 'Get ready, I'm going to slice you in two halves !' 

The beggar did not flinch and remained unmoving. An awe came over the samurai; he hesitated and finally left in retreat.

Master Daito later founded the temple of Daitokuji in Kyoto

Muso Kokushi and the Drunk Samurai

Muso Kokushi, (夢窓 疎石, 1275 – 1351), was one famous Rinzai Zen Master in Japan. Once upon a time, he was traveling escorted by a Samurai friend and Kenjutsu expert. They arrived at a river and boarded a boat to cross it.

Master Kokushi was sitting away from the Samurai on the other side of the boat which had filled up with passengers. As the captain was turning away people, a drunken samurai rushed up, demanding to be taken aboard. The captain could not decline. 

In the dangerously overloaded boat the drunk started a quarrel. Master Kokushi tried to reason him by pointing out that any violent movement might sink the boat.

"You meddling priest!" shouted the drunken samurai, and he hit him on the forehead with his iron war-fan. The blood poured down. 

The master quietly sat unmoving and the samurai, satisfied, slumped back in his own place without further disturbance. 

As the boat reached the other shore. The swordsman lightly jumped out, looking at the samurai, waiting for him to come ashore. 

There is something about the stance of an unhappy kenjutsu expert... The bully well knew that he was going to dearly pay for his striking Master Kokushi.

But Muso jumped from the boat and said : 

"No, No ! Now is the time to apply our Buddhism. These Forms are Emptiness; Anger and all the Passions are the Bodhi." 

And he swiftly and quietly led his follower away.

Kyosaku as a boken

This is another translation from French of a text by Taisen Deshimaru from his book "Zen et Vie Quotidienne" which I do not believe is available in English. I found this passage refreshing and absolutely hilarious. I wish I had been here to see him beat the hell out of the godo !
Actually, the Kyosaku - a stick used to hit the student to prevent him from falling asleep, at his request - looks like a lighter and straighter Boken...

I participated to a Sesshin at the Engakuji Temple in Kamakura. When I was in College, the Abbot of Engakuji Temple was also our Morals and Ethics Professor. He also was teaching Rinzai Zen at the School.

I went to that Sesshin. For one week, every morning, I got up a 2:00 a.m. and practiced Zazen until 6:00 a.m. In the evening, we could not go to sleep, we were sitting outside, and there were lots of Kyosaku strikes. My body was red !

It lasted 5 days, I had been patient, very patient… The next morning the Godo (head of the dojo) made a mistake. As he was half asleep he hit me right on top of the head. It made me really mad. I jumped up, grabbed his kyosaku and hit him with it. “I want to leave!”

In Rinzai Zen, one does not face the wall for Zazen, but faces each other. Everyone could see us fight. They stood up and tried to grab me. I was champion of Kendo back then. I hit everybody and said “This is not a real religion, this is pure violence !”

I escaped and ran to the Head of the temple who was asleep in his bedroom.

“I want to leave and quit Zazen”. I told him everything. He burst laughing :

“In the History of Zazen, you for sure are the only one who ever beat the Kyosaku bearer !!"

This is a famous story in Japan. Since then, Rinzai as well as Soto monks are afraid of me…