Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Chasing Your Tail....

A few passages about Zen’s role in the martial arts caught my attention while doing some further reading of Nicklaus Suino’s book: Budo Mind and Body.
It speaks of using rigorous training to develop deeper awareness and “a clearer perception of truth, aiming at something greater than ourselves, and consciously putting aside thoughts of personal gain.”
Admittedly, the author adds, these heightened states of mind can be fleeting, and need to be constantly pursued.
“We cannot become complacent, however, since we stagnate as soon as we stop striving, so the life of the Zen aspirant is one of constant struggle… (For) the paradox of Zen is that the moment the warrior starts to reflect on this miraculous unity of thought and action, he divides them in two again…”
Anyway, as I thought about this concept, and what it meant to me, I realized my over-analysis of the matter was in fact taking me right out of any sort of unity of mind.

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