Martial Arts
Because Korinji's lineage stresses the embodied and intensely energetic nature of genuine Zen practice, various kinds of physical culture have historically been valued as complementary disciplines.
Traditional martial arts (bujutsu) are especially useful for this, since they train the body-mind in a manner that meshes well with Zen training. Some of Korinji's lineage ancestors, such as Omori Sogen Roshi, were practitioners of arts like swordsmanship.
Korinji has a proprietary bujutsu curriculum which is only taught to students here. Monastery residents receive formal training in this curriculum twice a week under the guidance of our abbot, Meido Roshi, as a practice supporting the cultivation of body and breath, to bring out intense energy, to cut habitual self-absorption, and to manifest bodily fearlessness.
Periodic intensive martial art training events are also hosted at Korinji.