Zensei

About This Blog

Japanese empty hand fighting arts migrated to the west after World War II, as service men returned from their tours of duty. Many of these men trained at Japanese Karate dojos and became physically proficient. But time, language, and cultural barriers meant that very few had the opportunity to learn the Zen philosophy that underpins the martial arts, thereby missing the essence of the art.

This blog seeks to address this by introducing Asian / Zen thought to western martial artists. Our hope is that this will help westerners improve their understanding and practice of Japanese Empty Hand martial arts.

Why?

I am a why person. Once I know how, I need to know why so I can get to the essence of the matter. I have been asking why since I first tied on a white belt back in 1970.

Many things in the martial arts are self-explanatory. Some things require time. Other things require an explanation from a good Sensei. And some things seem completely baffling. Over the years, I learned that all questions have answers. You just have to figure out where to look.

Sooner or later, you will get to a why question your Sensei can’t answer. Rather than admitting they don’t know, they may say something like “Good question, just keep training and the answer will come to you.”. Or they may offer an explanation that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Or they may give no answer at all. Regardless, you are now on your own..

To find the answer you must look in the right place. Sometimes, the answers to martial arts questions do not lie within the martial arts.

Why? Because the martial arts in China, Okinawa and Japan were not practised in isolation. They were practised in the context of local cultural and religious norms. It is generally accepted that modern Japanese empty hand martial arts originated with the Shaolin Temple (see our Tools of the Trade blog post), so eventually you will have to look there.

But that just raises more questions… such as:

• Why would Zen Buddhist monks who practice a religion of altruism and love, train to fight?
• What were their outward physical goals and motivations?
• What were their inner goals and motivations?
• What is it about the fusion of Buddhism and the fighting arts that made them so effective?

Shaolin monks had a reputation as some of the most skilled martial artists who ever lived. This made me wonder – could similar results be attained today by introducing Buddhist Zen thought back into modern Japanese empty hand martial arts.

I was introduced to Zen by one of my Karate teachers in the 1970’s. He would read Zen stories (books like The Ronin) and Zen koans like “What is the sound of one hand clapping?“. We would sit and discuss what we read and try to figure it out – and mostly fail because none of us had the Zen background to understand what we were reading… and there is no comparable thought in Western culture or religion.

This lead me to a lifetime of inquiry and study into Buddhism, Zen and Japanese empty hand martial arts. This inquiry has yielded many answers. This blog is about my sharing some of those answers.

About Me

Personal Details

• I have been studying the martial arts since 1970, and have 35+ years of study
• I hold Shodan ranks in two styles despite studying one style for 16+ years
• I have studied Japanese Goju, Okinawan Goju, Shotokan and Koryu Uchinadi
• I have been an avid reader of Zen and Buddhist literature my whole life
• In 2005, I finally found a fully qualified Buddhist teacher and began formal studies

My Qualifications

• I have no special qualifications in either the martial arts or Buddhist studies
• I do not have endorsements from any senior Buddhist or martial arts teachers
• I am not a recognized teacher in either Karate or Buddhism
• I have earned no special recognition for my efforts
• I am a Buddhist lay practitioner
• I am a student (not an instructor) at my local dojo

And I like it that way.

Why? Because learning should never be about the teacher, it should always be about the teaching. If you find something profound, if it resonates with you or if it motivates you, dig into it. A teacher is just there to point the way. Teachers come and go. But a lesson, once fully comprehended, internalized and put into practice, will stay with you forever.

I am not important. Likewise whatever qualifications I might possess are also unimportant. If I can point the way, illuminate an idea, or dispel a doubt, then I have fulfilled my purpose.

In the Kalama Sutta, Buddha says:

Kalama Sutta

Do not believe in anything (simply)
because you have heard it.
Do not believe in traditions because they
have been handed down for many generations.
Do not believe in anything because it is
spoken and rumoured by many.
Do not believe anything (simply) because
it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority
of your teachers and elders.
But after observation and analysis,
when you find anything that agrees with reason
and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all.
Then accept it and live up to it.

Buddha
(Anguttara Nikaya Vol 1, 188-193 P.T.S. Ed.)

To download Volume 1 of the Anguttara Nikaya source text, please visit
https://static.sirimangalo.org/pdf/bpsanguttara1.pdf

The Kalama Sutta starts on page 32.

Gratitude

I am grateful for all of my kind teachers who inspired me by showing me what was possible, the way to progress, and by setting a positive example for me to emulate.

I am also grateful for all of my especially kind teachers who taught me by negative example. In this way, they taught me the unskilfulness of negative actions and resultant pain of their consequences, without my having to make those mistakes or experience that pain myself. By teaching what not to do by example, they effectively taught me what to abandon. This is how you begin your search for what should be adopted, cultvated and practised.

To those teachers who taught me by negative example, for your great kindness in taking on suffering now so that I might use it open my eyes and learn, I am especially grateful.

When the environment and its inhabitants overflow with unwholesomeness,
Transform adverse circumstances into the path to enlightenment.

From The Seven Points of Training the Mind
by Geshe Chekawa

Peace.