The Way of the Warrior
June 2, 2022
Many things in martial arts
are in accordance with Buddhist law
and correspond to Sen.
Among them, especially,
are the aversion to attachment
and the aversion to lingering over things.
This is the most important point.
Not to linger is considered essential.
The courtesan Eguchi
responded to a poem
by the Buddhist monk Saigyo
with her own poem:
To one who has rejected the world
and who asks for a room in the inn,
I say only: do not let your mind dwell
on this temporary lodging
In martial arts,
are these last lines of the verse
not to be most treasured?
No matter what kind of
secret transmission one receives
or what special moves one uses,
if the mind dwells on the move,
one will suffer defeat in martial arts.
It is essential to practice
not letting the mind
dwell on any one place,
on the moves of one’s opponent,
on one’s own skills,
or on cutting and thrusting.
~ Yagu Munenori
