Programs: Related Training
Martial Arts :
Realizing the Truth of "No Enemy"
In Japan beginning in the Kamakura period, the practice of Zen by members of the samurai class led to a distinct tradition of "warrior Zen". In response to their unique needs, both native Japanese and immigrant Chinese Zen masters devised spontanous, and at times extraordinary, means to guide these warrior trainees.
Such encounters led to an interesting realization: certain bujutsu (martial arts), if practiced properly, could serve as psycho-physical disciplines with the power to cut through physical, mental and energetic obscurations or obstructions to realization. As described within the Jikishinkage Ryu, an ancient school of swordsmanship, such training serves to "remove all bad habits and addictions acquired since birth and to restore the original pure and bright permanent body." Historical figures like Yamaoka Tesshu are pointed to as examples of those who mastered this kind of Zen.
For the Zen practitioner today, we can still say that many qualities needed in spiritual practice are indeed similar to those needed by warriors. The same fearlessness, energy and focus are needed in Zen as they are in the midst of a conflict. But there is a crucial difference, and this is where Zen goes beyond: in Buddhism the true enemy is not another person, but the ignorance and delusion that lie within our own selves. The greatest battlefield is within our own hearts. Victory is not the gaining of strength and skill to vanquish, but the fulfillment of one's vows to benefit all beings.
Fine Arts:
Refining the Human Spirit
Zen (and particularly Rinzai Zen) has long been associated with traditional fine arts. Great historical flowerings of Japanese art were centered in the Kyoto Rinzai monasteries, and the contributions of Zen monks to the development of literature, music, calligraphy, painting, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, landscape gardening and so on were immeasurable.
Fine arts are still greatly respected in Zen today. The great value of art from the Zen perspective lies in its potential to express enlightened wisdom in a concrete manner which may then be shared with, and benefit, others.
In the Zen understanding of artistic endeavor, time, space and energy (kokyu, maai, kiai) must be harmonized with and expressed through the medium, whether it be the movement of a brush over paper, the placement of a flower in a vase, or the breathing of a note through a bamboo flute. But beyond this ability - beyond the realm of technical mastery - lies the possibility for art to reflect and express the realization of wisdom. When true artistic skill, attained through endless repetition and training, meets the creative upwelling of enlightened insight, then art can be produced that may be called truly great. It is art that appeals not only to our aesthetic senses: it transcends cultural divides, and expresses the very flavor of the Way.
The practice lineage inherited by Korinji emphasizes fine arts, both traditional and modern, as vehicles for refinement when practiced in conjunction with Zen. Opportunities to practice Zen calligraphy, ikebana (flower arrangement) and chanoyu (tea ceremony) are currently offered through Daiyuzenji temple in Chicago, and Zen calligraphy is one of the activities practiced during sesshin.
Plans for Korinji itself include similar support of arts practice, and specialized retreats for artists and writers.
When practiced with this rationale, the deepest meaning of the martial arts from a Buddhist standpoint may thus be revealed: this is the realization of muteki, the state of "no enemy". When the dualistic separation of "self" and "other" is transcended through the forging of deep mind-body training, it is seen that no one is an enemy. The finest and sharpest sword is not forged of steel and is not for harming others, but is the sword of wisdom we all have within us. Viewing martial arts in this light, we can understand how they may be truly beneficial "Ways" of self-realization, and even tools to establish peace.
Although much has been written in popular, inaccurate books concerning connections between Zen and martial arts, there are very few individuals today who actually undertake the extremely severe combined practice of both paths. Our Zen lineage, however, contains individuals like Omori Roshi who did so (see our History page), and so we promote such training for persons to whom it is suited.
Dogen Hosokawa Roshi demonstrating Zen calligraphy
Sword training on the shore of Lake Michigan
Training Body, Breath and Energy
Enlightenment in Zen is not solely within the mind: genuine realization must simultaneously manifest within our bodies. In the path of training, our bodies themselves are tools that may be harnessed to more quickly and deeply attain the goals of Buddhist practice.
The Rinzai school therefore has many physical and breath-related training methods to be used in conjunction with meditation. These include practices training the student to breathe most correctly and deeply, to maintain health and strength during rigorous practice, and to actualize deeper states of meditative attainment. Many involve the accumulation and concentration of energy in the tanden, an energy center below the navel, and its movement or circulation from there.
Some methods are taught openly and may be found in the writings of great masters, such as Hakuin Ekaku Zenji's naikan and nanso no ho methods. Others continue to be transmitted privately from teacher to student.
Taken as a whole, the practice of all of these methods is part of Zen's overall discipline to actualize and manifest enlightenment within this very body, in this life.
If you are interested in martial arts as a path of self-development, you may also find the Shinjinkai website informative.
