Budo Musings

[Gyakuto]

After delivering a few lectures on Budo during lockdown, I’ve decided to render them into a blog, the first of which I published here-

Budo Musings

lucidbudo.blogspot.com

I am a (retired) neuroscientist, a practitioner of Rinzai Zen, Iaido and Karate (a long time ago). In my blog, I’m attempting to make clear the obscure areas of Budo, prick a few silly myths and maybe irritate the reader into questioning some of their about their Budo-beliefs!

 

[_Simon_]

G'day, just read your mushin/zanshin article, really enjoyed it! And wow what a catalogue of experience and knowledge you can draw from, very keen to read more from your blog, the intertwining of Zen and martial arts is of great interest to me. Thanks for sharing, looking forward to more of your thoughts

 

[Gyakuto]

Thank you Simon, your comments are much appreciate.

Zen and the Budo appears to be curious relationship and I think, in part, it’s due to non-experts in one or both disciplines making fallacious observations and links. Even Bruce Lee appears to have mangled the characterisation of mushin (see ‘Zen in the Martial Arts’ by Joe Hyams, a tome devoid of Zen from what I can see!). I can just visualise Lee kicking my face, repeatedly whilst shouting, “Is THIS mushin, you fat sack of faeces?” It’s all part of the fun!

 

[Gyakuto]

Just to let you know I've published a few more articles on my blog that my martial arts friends may find interesting. Please have a look!
lucidbudo.blogspot.com

 

[hoshin1600]

Are you aware of the jill bolte story. I think she pretty much sums up the neural science of enlightenment.

 

[Gyakuto]

Are you aware of the jill bolte story. I think she pretty much sums up the neural science of enlightenment.

Thank you for pointing her out! I hadn't heard of her but I have read about her now. It'd be very interesting to know if her claustrum was damaged in her stroke. When I try and suggest kensho, in it's varying degrees, is a property of neural cytoarchitecture, that is matter, Zennists nad Buddhists don't like it. There's still a suggestion of Cartesian dualism within their displeasure, with a hint of a 'ghost in the machine' thinking!

 

[Gyakuto]

New article : Imagery in Iaido

 

[hoshin1600]

Thank you for pointing her out! I hadn't heard of her but I have read about her now. It'd be very interesting to know if her claustrum was damaged in her stroke. When I try and suggest kensho, in it's varying degrees, is a property of neural cytoarchitecture, that is matter, Zennists nad Buddhists don't like it. There's still a suggestion of Cartesian dualism within their displeasure, with a hint of a 'ghost in the machine' thinking!

Well , most religions have an ideology. Can't blame the Zennists and Buddist for wanting to keep their beliefs Devine.

 

[Gyakuto]

Well , most religions have an ideology. Can't blame the Zennists and Buddist for wanting to keep their beliefs Devine.

Yes I suppose...although they make no claims about a ‘higher power’. I ordered the book of Jill Bolte-Taylor’s stroke experience. Thanks once again for directing me toward her.

 

[hoshin1600]

Yes I suppose...although they make no claims about a ‘higher power’. I ordered the book of Jill Bolte-Taylor’s stroke experience. Thanks once again for directing me toward her.

Maybe not a higher god like being but a higher level of personal being.
And a side note, I am a zennist and Buddist. Zen training within the Daihonzen Chozen-ji line. My wife is from Thailand so I have that Buddhism as well. My first exposure to Zen was about 1984 So I am fairly familiar with the practice and religion. Like yourself I have an interest in neurology and biology but not on any kind of academic scale as yourself. I am very interested in your perspective.

 

[BrendanF]

Thank you Simon, your comments are much appreciate.

Zen and the Budo appears to be curious relationship and I think, in part, it’s due to non-experts in one or both disciplines making fallacious observations and links. Even Bruce Lee appears to have mangled the characterisation of mushin (see ‘Zen in the Martial Arts’ by Joe Hyams, a tome devoid of Zen from what I can see!). I can just visualise Lee kicking my face, repeatedly whilst shouting, “Is THIS mushin, you fat sack of faeces?” It’s all part of the fun!

I always thought it strange that folks assume a close connection between zen and budo. Historically the esoteric Buddhist lines such as mikkyo had a far closer connection to martial arts in Japan. Seems to me like a media driven notion - film and tv inspired.

 

[isshinryuronin]

I always thought it strange that folks assume a close connection between zen and budo. Historically the esoteric Buddhist lines such as mikkyo had a far closer connection to martial arts in Japan. Seems to me like a media driven notion - film and tv inspired.

I haven't studied that far back in regards to zen and budo, but I know that the late Nagamine Shoshin (founder of Matsubayashi Shorinryu and student of Kyan, Motobu and Arakake!) got interested in zen by the early 1960's. He embraced the spirituality ("Void of its spiritual foundation, karate is reduced to common brutality.") as well as the severe, disciplined, austerity of its practice.

He was the last living personal student of the aforementioned great masters, I believe, and as such, he had great influence and respect, in and out of the dojo. His strong enthusiasm for zen was spread throughout his circle and could have been the main connection between zen and karate.

I will agree with you that its overall importance to karate and TMA in general is a little overstated (some dojo simply paying lip service to it) and that media found the connection seductive. It tugs at me, as well.

I know little of mikkyo, other than its being a more Indian based, mystical, sect, possibly adopted by some ninja clans. Don't think it had any major impact on mainline budo as TMA had a more pragmatic base.

 

[BrendanF]

Yeah I guess that's my own personal bias showing - I don't tend to think of Karate and Okinawan arts as Japanese. I was really referring to Japanese MA prior to the Meiji restoration in 1868. Many koryu had shingon/mikkyo etc influences, while far fewer had any connection to zen. Which makes sense when explained - zen is an almost indulgent path to 'enlightenment' or some form of peace in the face of violence/death, requiring long periods of seated meditation and reflection. Esoteric buddhism by definition provides an immediacy - recite these lines, create this mudra and you're good to go, so to speak. More easily approachable for the professional warrior class.

 

[Deleted member 39746]

Budo confuses the hell out of me honestly, its changed meaning across its time. If its anything like the european codes of honour, there is no defintiive list and it can chaneg greatly across the time peroids.

Minorly confused myself for the meanings of japanese words. If we use budo to be short or bushdio, i dont see how neurology has anything to do with a largely social code system. As far as I understand budo to be about the social code as opposed to training methods themselves.

As far as training goes, i would imagine it could vary greatly in what was taught and how precisely it was taught. Keeping in mind only a finate amount of ways to safely train XYZ. And worth noting, not everything was done with fighting in mind or maxamising how well you fought, you could have some tradtion lay overs, or cultrual lay overs or training could be equal parts about fighting and disipline etc.

 

[Gyakuto]

Maybe not a higher god like being but a higher level of personal being.
And a side note, I am a zennist and Buddist. Zen training within the Daihonzen Chozen-ji line. My wife is from Thailand so I have that Buddhism as well. My first exposure to Zen was about 1984 So I am fairly familiar with the practice and religion. Like yourself I have an interest in neurology and biology but not on any kind of academic scale as yourself. I am very interested in your perspective.

Omori Sogen’s line? It’s one that has always appealled to me probably because Omori Roshi was a swordsman and a calligrapher (I have a lovely book of his shodo)! I have been engaged with Zen since the 80s too, but in theory only, which is virtually useless and my other half is Burmese so a Theravada practitioner which is quite different to Mahayana and Zen. Many parallels, eh?

Neuroscience seldom performs research in the areas we are interested in, hoshin1600, I suspect because nobody will fund it. Grants go to things like researching neurodegenerative diseases which I completely understand. This any insights I may have come from the disparate threads I see in my fairly wide reading which I try to drawn together into a coherent hypothesis. In my previous professional life I would’ve attempted to support these hypotheses with empirical data, but the only vaguely scientific equipment I have now is a microwave, a kettle, a lawn mower and as strimmer!

 

[Gyakuto]

I always thought it strange that folks assume a close connection between zen and budo. Historically the esoteric Buddhist lines such as mikkyo had a far closer connection to martial arts in Japan. Seems to me like a media driven notion - film and tv inspired.

Yes, Dave Lowry talk about this in his book, ‘Traditions’. It seems old menkyo kaiden certification seldom, if ever refer to Zen but they do mention Shingon/Mikkyo. I’ve stayed in a couple of Shingon monasteries on Koyasan and I have to say the practices are fascinating!

 

[Gyakuto]

Yeah I guess that's my own personal bias showing - I don't tend to think of Karate and Okinawan arts as Japanese. I was really referring to Japanese MA prior to the Meiji restoration in 1868. Many koryu had shingon/mikkyo etc influences, while far fewer had any connection to zen. Which makes sense when explained - zen is an almost indulgent path to 'enlightenment' or some form of peace in the face of violence/death, requiring long periods of seated meditation and reflection. Esoteric buddhism by definition provides an immediacy - recite these lines, create this mudra and you're good to go, so to speak. More easily approachable for the professional warrior class.

Dave? Mr Lowry? Is that you?

 

[Gyakuto]

i dont see how neurology has anything to do with a largely social code system. As far as I understand budo to be about the social code as opposed to training methods themselves.

Where do you think those social codes come from, Rat ? What constructs them? Could it be the brain? Neuroscience is the study of the brain and central nervous system (neurology is the clinical study of pathologies of the nervous system) and hence it has a LOT to do with and human behaviour including ‘social code systems’- just ask a social psychologist!

 

[Deleted member 39746]

Where do you think those social codes come from, Rat ? What constructs them? Could it be the brain? Neuroscience is the study of the brain and central nervous system (neurology is the clinical study of pathologies of the nervous system) and hence it has a LOT to do with and human behaviour including ‘social code systems’- just ask a social psychologist!

The Bushi. This is more of a area for psychology/sociology as they specilsie in human behaviour(eiter individual or group focused) Neurologists may learn this, but how humans act doesnt seem like it would be their main area, more a side specilism. Like psycholgists will learn how the brain functions suffciently to carry out research on human behaviour. There is also a historical matter in here for the tradtions and culture of Japan and the diffrent clans to lead to these things being done as well as material culture.

it has little to do with anything, just came to being odd that neuro science would be worth mentioning for this.

 

[Gyakuto]

Psychology is like observing a car driving around and trying to elucidate how it works and make predictions about how it will move in the future... ’Ah hah! when that yellow flashing light comes on, moments later, the car turns in the same direction. I conclude the yellow flashing light causes the car to turn!’

A neuroscientist (neurology is the clinical study of neuropathology) looks under the bonnet and takes apart the fuel management system to see how it works and what it does, or study the wheel tracking to see what it does, ‘the rack and pinion system pulls on the wheels altering their angle and that’s about as far as we can currently go with our present understanding and modes of investigation’.

There has to be a meeting of the two, the macro- and microscopic to really see what’s going on.