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Genkaku no Sekai

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

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This is an illusion! it is not me.

In Japanese 幻覚 genkaku is illusion or hallucination. This is the “gen” from genjutsu.
But when you try to understand what illusion really is, or why reality is considered an illusion, you need to get some advice from our elders. Plato has always been one of my favorite philosopher and today I stumbled upon this sentence that made me think a lot about this “illusion/reality” duality. I know now that where there is duality there is lack of unity, and unity is what we are looking for in the Bujinkan. So I tried to unite this dual aspect. 

 

“A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true”.
Plato

Asian philosophies (and many others) have taught us that the world in which we live is not “reality”, that it is “illusion”. And we’ve all accepted it, thinking: “if those clever Asian guys said it so long ago, it must be true”. But is it really true? And here, Plato, who wasn’t really from Asia, helps us understand it better.

The “relative emotional values” (REV) he is referring to are created by ourselves (brain, education, ego) and these REV, in fact, act like shields preventing us from seeing clearly was we have in front of us. It is because we are unable to see correctly with the 心神心眼, shinshin shingan (the eyes and the mind of the gods) that we are stuck in the world of illusion*.

The first problem is that people have accepted this and are happy with it, not trying to see beyond the veil. They know it is wrong but they are too lazy to even try to change it. This is the same in the dôjô, where many come from an illusion of what ninjutsu is and once taught properly stay or leave the dôjô because they do not want to change their initial wrong vision.

The second problem is the concept of “morality”. And the main issue is that the concept of morality bears many definitions** if it refers to onself, the group/family, the city, the country, etc. But whatever morality is, is it still morality when based upon emotions? No.

Our emotions are flawed and make us see things different from what they are. Therefore when morality derives from emotions that are based upon our inability to see reality; what we obtain is a “system of morality” that is not able to provide us with the tools to survive in the real world. The Chinese were the first to understand the difference between theory and praxis. Apparently this system of morality is only theoretical and not at all practical.

So I would rephrase Plato’s sentence and say instead: “A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values defines a theoretical reality, and a practical illusion”.

We do not live in 幻覚の世界, genkaku no sekai (the world of illusion) but in 現実の世界, genjitsu no sekai (the world of reality). The Bujinkan is an art based solely on practical reality.

 * This is the blue pill/red pill of the Matrix movies
**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality


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Susanô was Amateratsu’s (sun goddess) brother

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Susanô was Amateratsu's (sun goddess) brother

This is Susanô who retrieved the original Kusanagi no Tsurugi from the tail of the hydra and gave it to his sister, who gave it later to Ninigi no Mikoto the first “godsend” ruler of Japan. This Tsurugi with the mirror and the jewel are the three regalia proving the divine mandate given to him. They are the symbol of the Imperial rule over Japan.
Ninigi’s great-grandson Jimmu, was to become the first Emperor.


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得心 or 心得 (kokoroe 2)

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

 hscollageI do not speak Japanese but I love to “understand” the meaning of Japanese kanji.
This is one of the many things I learnt from Sensei during all these years.
Today, a friend sent me an interesting comment about “kokoroe” (cf. recent post). Kokoroe, “knowledge” is written 心得 shin/kokoro + u/toku. But when the two kanji of “kokoroe” are reversed: i.e. 得心,  it is “tokushin” and means “understanding”. So knowledge is also about understanding Nature and Life.
This is good but it gets better!
The sound of the first kanji “toku” in tokushin can be written with different kanji and have different meanings in Japanese. For example, we all know that  Karate, 空手 (“empty hand” today) used to be written Karate 唐手, Chinese boxing before Funakoshi Sensei changed it to have it accepted as a Japanese Budô at the end of the 19th century. Obviously a Chinese fighting system couldnt have recognized as a Japanese Budô.
So for “tokushin”, if we keep the sound but change the kanji, we get three interesting meanings.
1) The regular toku: 得, is the kanji we used so far, and it means “benefit or gain”. This is the one in tokushin, but change it (same sound) and you obtain (toku) two other interesting meanings which are:
2) Toku: 匿. This “toku” means shield. Tokushin then can also mean that our mind/heart is shielding us, protecting us from the outside world. Kokoroe, going from Omote to Ura is protecting us from what is bad or wrong. Because through hard training we reach the level where we obtain (toku) the “intuitus” (see “intuitus” in blog), or the awareness and ability to see through; we are protected.
But there is more, and I was totally amazed with what I discovered.
3) This last “toku” written 徳, becomes “benevolence”! In the post on Kokoroe, I quoted Takamatsu sensei writing about “Jihi no Kokoro”, the “benevolent heart”. This new kanji gives a deeper interpretation of the above mentioned text by Takamatsu sensei. In a way, we can see that tokushin (written Toku no Kokoro  得の心) is conceptually similar to Jihi no Kokoro (慈悲の心).
The Bujinkan art is not about war, assasination; it is about peace and this new Sanshin made out of “kokoroe, tokushin, and jihi no kokoro” is there to help us achieving this “benevolent heart” through long study. The only thing to do to get that is to commit oneself to the art. Ranks are nothing if they are not supported by high skills. Training is the key and will lead to true knowledge, the knowledge of the heart!
Takamatsu sensei confirms it when he writes: “Personal enlightenment can only come about through total immersion in the martial tradition as a way of living. By experiencing the confrontation of danger, the transcendence of fear of injury or death, and a working knowledge of individual personal powers and limitations, the practitioner of Ninjutsu can gain the strength and invincibility that permit enjoyment of the flowers moving in the wind, appreciation of the love of others, and contentment with the presence of peace in society.
Peace is our goal, and Ninpô our tool.
Remember that “Budô is not made in Japan, it is made in Human” (Hatsumi sensei). And this is why the Bujinkan path is open to anyone with a pure heart.

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Kokoroe And Jihi no Kokoro

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

hsjihiIn Japanese  心得 knowledge is kokoroe. Interestingly it is made up of two kanji 心, “shin” which is kokoro (heart, mind) and 得, “u” that has the meaning of: to get; to acquire; to obtain; to earn; to win; to gain; to secure. 
Therefore, acquiring kokoroe (knowledge) is seen by the Japanese as obtaining things through a better heart, a better mind and not “intellectual knowledge” as we see it in the West. 
 
And this definition reminds me of what Takamatsu sensei in wrote in a text called: “Essence of Ninjutsu”, in which he defines the 慈悲の心, the jihi no kokoro or “benevolent heart” of the ninja. 
 
He writes: “Stronger than love itself, the benevolent heart is capable of encompassing all that constitutes universal justice and all that finds expression in the unfolding of the universal scheme. Born of the insight attained from repeated exposure to the very brink between life and death, the benevolent heart of Ninpo is the key to finding harmony and understanding in the realms of the spiritual and natural material worlds”
 
But then, if knowledge is linked to the heart it is not linked to the learning of waza and kata. This benevolent heart will develop through therepetition of these waza and kata but these forms are only the Omote and not the ura. Over the last thirty years I have trained an lot in order to understand and master the forms of theBujinkan but in the process I noticed that these forms ans techniques were not tthe answer. In fact the more I train in Japan the more I iunderstand that there is nothing more important than the feeling of the situation.
 
So we we come to see a huge paradox. We have to learn the forms in order to discover what lies beyond them. It is similar to trekking where the next hill might unveil a fantastic panorama. But before reaching this hilltop there is no indication of what lies behind. Walking the path of the Bujinkan you will come to understand this type of thing and be able to apply them in your daily lives. 
 
The Benevolent heart of the Bujinkan is not something you can learn, it is given to you once you have polished your “brain knowledge” to turn it into a “heart knowledge”. And when you think about it, the concepts developed by Hatsumi sensei over the years, such as: “feeling, no strength, no waza, be happy, don’t think etc, make a lot of sense.
 
If you want to develop the 慈悲の心, jihi no kokoro, learn the forms, train hard, then destroy the forms and feel the moment; and do not rely too much on your knowledge. 
 
As Sensei repeated many times: “in a real fight, a waza will get you killed!”
 
*benevolent heart: http://www.winjutsu.com/source/hatsumi.html

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Gensô illusion

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Gensô illusion

Wearing the ninja outfit doesn’t give you the abilities. The Omote side is nothing compared to the Ura side of reality. Too many of us forget that 幻想 Gensô Is illusion. This is the same as in Genjutsu, and the essence of Gen jutsu, for me, lies in 虚辞 kyojitsu. And remember that kyojitsu is the backbone of the bujinkan. 虚実皮膜, “the difference between truth and fiction in art being very subtle, Art abides in a realm that is neither truth nor fiction”.


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Zero no Chikara – no power

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Zero no Chikara - no power

The theme for 2013 was mainly ken and mutô dori. Sensei ended the year by speaking a lot about “zero no Chikara” or “no strength” (picture).
But did you know that 力 chikara and 刀 sword are nearly written the same? -the vertical line protruding on top of the”ken”. Therefore strength and sword are linked; and if you are not using any strength then you achieve 無刀取り mutô dori.
By using no power you have unlimited power as 無刀取り mutô dori is having the courage to do what you have to do, whatever the outcome might be.


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A Fantastic Day (part 3)

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

hsajc2013dkmsThis post was originally posted directly on my Facebook page on December 2nd in Japan.
It follows http://kumafr.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/a-fantastic-day-part-1/
and
Right after the class some of us “Jurassic Ninja ” were invited by Sensei. Noguchi, Pedro, Jack, Sheila, Moti, Gillian, Doug, Christian and a few others.
Having lunch with sensei is always fun and the mix of beer, Sake and whisky made it even more memorable.

Sensei spoke a lot of the future of the bujinkan. The year 2014 is a new beginning, the beginning of a new 42-year cycle. This is why sensei announced that he will be with us until he reaches 120 years of age.

I am sure that Sensei will explain in the next months what he has in mind, so I let him explain it when the time comes. It will mainly concern the new honbu, a new office dealing with the bujinkan paperwork, the time for the jugodan to take responsibility for our organization.

But the main subject he unveiled is the necessity to befriend our fellow buyu from all over the world.

The bujinkan  has been spreading in many countries over the past 42 years and there are no border. Bujinkan is a human art and humans are the same all over the world. Nationalism is not part of the bujinkan, we are all members of the same world.

As Sensei said last year: “Bujinkan Budô is made in human”, please don’t forget it.
At the end of the lunch we were all very “happy” including our host.

On the way back to Kashiwa we stopped at Starbucks for a few coffees and cakes with Pedro, Sheila, Gillian, Christian and many others. And here again there was a lot of happiness.

Thank you sensei for this fantastic day and for the depth of your teachings making us more adult and human.

Happy Birthday!

Read the previous parts of this entry: http://kumafr.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/a-fantastic-day-part-1/
http://kumafr.wordpress.com/2014/01/04/a-fantastic-day-part-2/

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Nagare Is Important to Nagare

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

sven141The year 2014 began a few days ago and after wishing everyone a happy new year it is time to get back to the dôjô.
As Sensei didn’t give us yet, the theme for the year of the horse of wood, I have decided to begin the year by digging a little more into the concept of  流れ, nagare (stream, current, flow).
Everything we do on the mats is related to this concept.
When I announced that I would focus on 流れ, I was surprised to receive immediately a message from my dear friend Sven saying: “This is interesting Arnaud, my intent exact. Nagare (flow) is my “new beginning” for the day seminar the 4th January”.
Even though I’ve been training in the Bujinkan for 30 years, I can’t help being amazed when this type of coincidence happens. This is not the first time and surely not the last.
To begin the year with 流れ, nagare was somehow quite logical for me. It was like an obvious choice. Hatsumi sensei has been teaching footwork for many years emphasizing the importance of distance and “no strength”. When you look at how those different concepts mingle together, the word 流れ nagare comes to mind immediately. Because if you position yourself correctly by using the adequate footwork then there is no need for strength and the movements flow naturally from the situation. The Bujinkan is 流れ, nagare.
Nagare is THE answer. But when you look at  a class you notice that Bujinkan students are often stuck in a 1, 2, 3 way of moving. It seems more like a bad “kata” than a real flow of action. At beginner’s level, to study the 1,2,3 steps is necessary in order to learn the sequence and to absorb it correctly within the body. But with the development of expertise if you don’t go there you end up mimicking movements that have nothing to do with actual reaction in a real fight.
We, teachers, have a strong responsibility here. We have to teach the forms but also to teach in a formless manner. Now, this second phase of the learning process can only be achieved when the forms are known. Forms cannot be avoided. Formlessness comes from well known forms.
The nagare is transmitted through, what the Japanese call Kûden. A Kûden is not a secret, it is only the expanation allowing the practitioner to get rid of the form so that he/she can enter the world of natural movement. In a way, Kûden can be seen as the didascaly*, the notes of the author of a play adds to the text to help the actors undersand the situation, the feelings and the ambiance when acting on stage. The play doesn’t need it, but the actors will play better with the help of the didascaly included in between the dailogues.
So 流れ nagare will be my study apporach in the first seminars of  2014. And as we are going to have a new Honbu Dôjô in Japan in April, we can see that the year 2014 will be a new start for the Bujinkan getting finally recognized for what it is, a sytem created to render us responsible and mature. And the maturing process is also nagare 名枯れ (reputation growing up, maturing).
Enjoy the year of the horse of wood, and don’t get confused with the wooden horse which either has been used by kids to play, or by the Greeks to get rid of the Trojan!
Tomorrow go and train nagare with Sveneric Bogsater in Deventer (holland) if you are in the area.
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didascaly

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