C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  Mushin and Other Unique Aspects of Budo Zen Some Thoughts on Zen-Influenced Budo and the Differences Between Budo Zen and “Common” Zen Along with a Few Other Musings      I write quite a bit about Budo Zen and Zen Budo.  Budo Zen is Zen that is influenced by the principles of Budo and other principles found within martial ways in and outside of Japan (most commonly Korea and China).  Zen Budo is martial training that is influenced by the principles of Zen, as opposed to its more common influences.  It’s a popular thought in modern martial arts that the Japanese Budo is one thoroughly influenced by the ways of Zen, but that’s just not historically accurate.  Most martial ways, including those from Japan, have been influenced—assuming they are even influenced at all by philosophy—by Taoism and Confucianism, specifically Neo Confucianism, than they have been by Zen.  Within the Japanese martial arts, Shinto also had an overriding in...

Zen Budo and the Path of Striving for Achievement      “Decay is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence.” ~the final words of the Buddha       “The image of Buddhism has gone through quite a lot of change over the years. Nowadays people don't tend to associate Buddhism with striving so much as with peace and withdrawal, with being rather than doing. Whatever would old Shakyamuni think of that?       “Buddha pointed out that things are impermanent and you might take it from that that he was suggesting that it is futile wasting effort on things that are not going to last. However, the original moral was probably just the opposite. Buddha put a new spin on the idea of karma, remember. Karma had been taken to mean that you are what you are because of what you did in your last life so there is nothing you can do about it. This logic underpinned the caste system and it still does. This was a ...