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Bu-Bi-Shi-Do, Following The Spirit And Wisdom Of The Warrior

Official Bubishido Seal

Newsflash

"Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity."

Socrates

Abhidhamma

To know one thing well is to know all things, because the smallest moment of experience contains within it all the chains of dependent relations. This moment, right now, is a microcosm of all moments. That is why meditating on a Buddha statue or a candle flame or whatever is not about "relaxing" or relieving stress, but about finding a microcosmic entrance into the microcosm. Anything will do as a point of entry....

Venerable Nyanaponika Thera explains, in his Abhidhamma Studies, that "a single act of penetrative understanding starting from a limited object may acquire such intensity, width, and depth as to either lead to, or effectively prepare for, liberating insight." This is an important point about real Buddhism, and it is frequently misunderstood. Meditation is not an experiential encounter with a transcendental reality that is outside this world (though many Hindu and Christian mystics disagree). Buddhist trancendence is a direct grasp of the overwhelming sublime now. And the only way to truly have this realization is to forfeit your ego-centered view of things so that a truly de-centered view of things can manifest.

Shihan Henderson's Comment:

As Budoka we strive for the same understanding except our microcosmic entrance into the microcosm is our Budo studies or, in many cases, Kata practice. Next time you practice keep the above in mind and see if the entrance opens up a bit more for you.

Source: Stephen T. Asma, The Gods Drink Whiskey, Stumbling Toward Enlightenment In The Land Of The Tattered Buddha.

Ying Yang

Ying & Yang Interpretation By Bruce Lee

Ying Yang Symbol

"For your information the symbol in the zeal of the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute is the symbol of ying and yang in which the ying and yang (black: passive, white:active) are two interlocking of one whole, each containing within its confines the qualities of its complimentaries (not opposite!). Instead of mutually exclusive, they are mutually dependent and are a function each of the other. When I say the heat makes me perspire, the heat and the perspiring are just "one" process as they are co-existent and the one could not exist but for the other. Just as an object needs a subject, the person in attack is not taking an independent position but is acting as an assistant. After all, you need your opponent to complete the other half of the whole.

Thus gentleness/firmness is one inseperable force of one unceasing interplay of movement. If a person riding a bicycle wishes to go somewhere he cannot jump on both pedals at the same time or not pumping on them at all. In order to move forward he has to pump on one pedal and release the other. So the movement of going forward requires this "oneness" of pumping and releasing. Pumping is the result of releasing, and vise versa, each being the cause of the other.

This "oneness" is just a basic idea in the symbol then there is moderation without going to either extremes, the wonder of the ordinary_ _ _ _ _ _

In general, however, the idea is that ---------- if Gung Fu is extraordinary, it is because of the fact that it is nothing at all special -------- it is simply the direct expression of one's feeling with the minimum of lines and energy. The closer to the true Way!, the less wastage of expression there is.

Please pardon my incoherence and poor penmanship, Bruce Lee.

Source: The Tao of Gung Fu, Bruce Lee, Charels Tuttle, 1997, p.190

37 Practices-Practice #4

This life is transient and impermanent. All the goods we've accumulated and relationships we've enjoyed will change or come to an end. The mind is like a temporary guest in our bodily house; it will someday pass beyond. Learn to think of the larger picture beyond this one life-time.The Sons and Daughters of the Buddhas all follow this practice.

Meditating Buddha

Lama Das' Commentary:

The Buddha said that an awareness of death can be our greatest teacher. Tibet's great yogi, Milarepa, sang:

"Fearing death, I went to the mountains.

Over and over again I meditated on death's unpredictable coming,

And took the stronghold of the deathless unchanging nature.

Now I am completely beyond all fear of dying."

Asia is not alone in expounding this precious universal wisdom. Here in the West, the Native American Crowfoot sang in 1890:

"What is life?

It is the flash of a firefly in the night.

It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.

It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses iteslf

In the sunset."

Self-Examination:

Am I living with consciousness of my mortality, as if each day, hour, or minute could be my last?

Marathon Monks

In the spirit of the Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei in Japan and through the example of Shihan Henderson, The International Budo Institute has set its requirement for 6th Dan as the completion of the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

The Marathon Monks are known for walking/running a marathon each day for 100 days each year for 7 years totaling 43,000 kilometers around the mountain top of Mount Hiei, after which they become full monks. This is their Zen training.

With these inspirational monks as our example and guide each candidate for 6th dan, without exception, must complete the 1,000 kilometer hike/walk across the 1,100 year old, ancient pilgrimage road of Spain through the cold mountain rains and dessert heat. The walk includes approximately 30 to 50 kilometers a day for approximately 32 days with full back pack. The Camino passport which includes daily stamps attesting to the various legs in the journey serves as proof of completion. This is the Zen training for The International Budo Institute.

37 Practices-Introduction

As illustrated in the book, Awakening the Buddhist Heart, by Lama Surya Das, many mind-training practices have become an important part of Buddhist training. As we can appreciate, this is also true for Budo practice. In the case of Buddhism, as Lama Das points out, an extensive training that he followed was the Thirty Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva.

Awakening The Buddhist Heart

These thirty seven practices are the work of Thomge Zangpo, a Tibetan who lived in the late thirteenth century. He lived in a cave meditating day and night on loving kindness. Legend has it that all of the wild animals living nearby so benefited from his prayers and practice that they were able to live together in peace; even the wolf and the lamb would lovingly play together. In reading these practices we see how important they are in life. These thirty seven practices represent values and indicate the virtues that Bodhisattvas, the sons and daughters of the Buddha, all cherish.

What is important for the Budo player is to see the similarities and common thoughts that apply to our own practices. We can find the common threads and the universal truths and apply them to our studies of Budo, be it: Karatedo, Aikido, Judo, Kendo, etc. This should help each one of us to be better Budo students as well as better people, able to see more holistically the cosmic connections. I will transcribe these thirty seven practices as written by Lama Surya Das along with his daily life interpretations. Building on that, I will provide my own interpretation as I see the particular practice and lesson apply to our Budo. I invite each and everyone of you to read along with me and to perhaps create your own interpretations and comments.

Shihan Henderson

Zen Kata

Witten by: Shihan Henderson

Finding Your Inner Master - Kigatsuku

For many students the practice of Kata, or forms, is very frustrating and elusive. Though they may practice and master the techniques and series of movements, deeper spiritual mastery is often out of reach. This may be due to a number of reasons. This paper is meant to identify some of those underlying reasons and to help avoid a crisis in training by bridging the gap of understanding for the martial arts student by comparing some of the similar aspects of both Kata training and traditional training of the Zen meditation student.

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