Tawkwondo No Mind

[Master Dan]

Last week while working with one of my senior belts on self defense I was teaching the concept of thinking ahead sizing up what an attacker may atempt or do based on some simple concepts. However the we digressed to a much more complex theory related to forseeing possible outcomes and what the terminology for that concept was using the example the movie Last Samuri.
I frequently make home work assignments for my students so I told him to study and define the word. I thought his short paper was well done and gives full credit to the sources. Many people who work in non Taekwondo styles are aware of this but I thought he and his son did a great job and some of you would enjoy this. Your reply's I am sure would excite them the boy Michael is 10 and of Eskimo Heritage.

A short paper on the, "no mind", Samurai concept.
Bushi no kotoba ni nigon wa nai—A Bushi has no second word… this phrase simply means that the samurai speaks truth and stands by and is responsible for his words, no matter the consequences. The power and the truth of the samurai’s word exemplified his Code of Bushido and sense of respect and righteousness—his obligation and duty.
Hana wa sakura ni, hito wa bushi—Among flower the cherry, among men, the samurai… Just as the cherry blossoms are one moment in bloom and next scattered to the winds, the samurai’s life was the same. Death was a familiar twin of one’s life, ever lurking in the shadows but not as fear, as acceptance that both, life and death, are a part of one’s continued existence. And for the samurai, it was never a question of life or death, but a question of honor.

Fudo Myoo and Kanzeon Bosatsu—the warrior King of Light, Fudo Myo-o, as well as the other Go Dai Myo-o, held a special significance for the bushi. But surprisingly, so did Kanzeon Bosatsu, known as the Bosatsu (Bodhisattva) of Mercy. Kanzeon or Kannon was connected with the sword smiths of Japan in the various legends of the forging of extraordinary swords. Proper temperature and timing are crucial in the forging of exceptional blades; legendary sources would tell of Kannon appearing at this vital time and working the bellows for the smithy. Thus resulting in a divinely forged sword. And the sword is the ‘soul of the samurai.’ In addition, Kannon, the Bosatsu of great compassion, assumes all kinds of

transmutations such as Senju Kannon, of the one thousand hands and one thousand eyes, who guided the samurai in knowing that even with a thousand hands or a thousand eyes, if even just one hand or eye attaches* the rest are useless and defeat is at hand.

This goes hand-in-hand with the concept of Fudoshin—Immovable Mind… Life and Death Mastery; the highest level of martial and spiritual skill is only attainable through a mind that is present with total sensory input (without mind chatter - No Mind) but detached—a mind/heart that is ever flowing but does not attach and thus remains immovable.
* he might actually mean detaches maybe?
from the site: http://www.divinehumanity.com/custom/ls.html
cached as posted on Oct 29, 2010 18:37:06 GMT

Fudoshin:

from the site: http://www.e-artjapan.com/zen/kanji_index_f/

the information here is provided by the above mentioned websites' postings, but the title, composition, comment, and the bold text of this document are mine.

Timothy Stettinger with assistance from Michael Tocktoo

this document was produced as a Taekwondo project.
11/01/2010

 

[Disco]

"Death was a familiar twin of one’s life, ever lurking in the shadows but not as fear, as acceptance that both, life and death, are a part of one’s continued existence. And for the samurai, it was never a question of life or death, but a question of honor."

That same mindset is the order of the day for modern day warriors/defenders. Armed forces training, police officers, fire fighters, all focus on the job at hand without regard to personal safety. When others run from the trouble, these folks run to it. Now somewhere within the modern day exercise of what folks call martial arts, the majority of people training are not, or have not opted to include this aspect into their training. Be it either the instructor is/does not offer this mental stimulus or the student(s) don't want to face the reality, if they get involved in something, that this mindset is paramount to success and survival.

Thanks for offering up this subject for folks to review and possibly learn from. :asian:

 

[Master Dan]

"Death was a familiar twin of one’s life, ever lurking in the shadows but not as fear, as acceptance that both, life and death, are a part of one’s continued existence. And for the samurai, it was never a question of life or death, but a question of honor."

That same mindset is the order of the day for modern day warriors/defenders. Armed forces training, police officers, fire fighters, all focus on the job at hand without regard to personal safety. When others run from the trouble, these folks run to it. Now somewhere within the modern day exercise of what folks call martial arts, the majority of people training are not, or have not opted to include this aspect into their training. Be it either the instructor is/does not offer this mental stimulus or the student(s) don't want to face the reality, if they get involved in something, that this mindset is paramount to success and survival.

Thanks for offering up this subject for folks to review and possibly learn from. :asian:

Thank you I am sure they will enjoy your response and your right in the modern day examples and according to top mental health professionals the value in sparing if done correctly at each person's level is to simulate life and death with out actual death so that it will mentally prepare us to survive it builds character and endurance. That does not mean everbody has to spar all the time but at least once a week for training and once a year in a competition just for mental conditioning and experience nothing to do with win or loose before being allowed to advance in rank.

 

[StudentCarl]

When others run from the trouble, these folks run to it.

I like this topic, as it speaks to the core of what it means to be a warrior. Many arts are focused on developing character (do) rather than effective skills (jutsu). To make the martial way your life is a choice that alters the focus of training. For those interested, I recommend reading "Living the Martial Way" by Forrest Morgan.

With that said, the choice to run to trouble is separate from accepting one's own death with equanimity and requires many additional skill sets (beyond what is taught in the dojang). The wise warrior does not run headlong to his death in his desire to contribute, ignoring intelligent evaluation of the situation. There is a difference between decisiveness and rashness. "No mind" has never meant thoughtless.

A warrior will contribute in the most helpful way with his/her skills.
You should balance acceptance of your death with making your life meaningful.

 

[Disco]

"With that said, the choice to run to trouble is separate from accepting one's own death with equanimity and requires many additional skill sets (beyond what is taught in the dojang). The wise warrior does not run headlong to his death in his desire to contribute, ignoring intelligent evaluation of the situation. There is a difference between decisiveness and rashness. "No mind" has never meant thoughtless."

The example given was not to imply that rashness was the rule, but rather the courage to use the training and be accountable for that training. Within the confines of said training, intelligent evaluations are part of the training curriculum. But even with that said, there are times when one has opted to overlook the intelligent evaluations and was forced to respond to a threat in order to save lives. Many of these type of individuals were awarded their countries,state or cities highest honor for their "above and beyond". Some sadly posthumously, but the term thoughtlessly is not an honest assessment of their actions.

 

[StudentCarl]

I'm just trying to bridge from security professionals to martial arts on the topic of 'no mind'. My comments were not meant to disagree with yours.

Within the confines of said training, intelligent evaluations are part of the training curriculum.

Earlier you (Disco) wrote:
"Now somewhere within the modern day exercise of what folks call martial arts, the majority of people training are not, or have not opted to include this aspect into their training."

We civilians live in a world where our own death is not so obviously traveling beside us on a daily basis, at least not like it is for law enforcement officers or soldiers in a war zone. While some seek realism in training, many more seek exercise, enrichment, and character building. I agree that sparring is as close as some people come to facing death, and agree it has training value.

My point was that even in the state of no-mind, a warrior will act as he has trained. I hope that anyone who recognizes that they have the character to run toward trouble will seek additional training so that their actions match the situation and are as good as their character. To be a warrior requires both the willingness to let go of your life and also accepting the responsibility to train for success. In the time of no-mind one is self-less but connected with your surroundings. Time slows and conscious thought stops, but action happens with your intent.

Carl

 

[Master Dan]

But even with that said, there are times when one has opted to overlook the intelligent evaluations and was forced to respond to a threat in order to save lives. Many of these type of individuals were awarded their countries,state or cities highest honor for their "above and beyond". Some sadly posthumously, but the term thoughtlessly is not an honest assessment of their actions.[/quote]

Again using these fine examples to help us teach and apply to modern times. Students need to learn to add up the total cost of thier actions regardless of justification what is the total cost, legally, financially, morally in taking any action at all or the type of action that will result in the needed result but expose the defender to the least risk. It is great for the student if thier instructor is well rounded enough to teach the mental as well as varied enough techniques that can be used that do not leave bruising, bleeding or permanent injury you get charged with or pay for. How big is the issue can you just walk away cheaper or is it no choice save yourself? I like what Dr. Chang teaches that it is morally wrong to use more force than what is needed.

Two years ago our small community was jsut finishing a $40 million dollar gold mine was being finished the last two years. Alot of the young men to work on building it were from out of town. We had alot of fights in the evenings. I was supprised at the general choice actions was knives and bitting. I sat next to one young fellow looking at him and he shakes his head yeah I got a good swing at him and I said but Dood look at your self your missing half your right ear? you could see the jagged teeth marks. I told him your gonna need plastic surgery to fix that? I asked what was the argument over? He could not remember.

(Oh! youth is wasted on the young? Age and Treachery will overcome Youth and ability) Master Dan not original but I emphathise with both.