C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  The Budo Secrets of Internal Energy from the Master Samurai Kaibara Ekiken Part Three Nourish Your Mind and Your Ki If you missed them: Part Two Part One Your fundamental health is, in its origin, the ki that gives birth to all the Ten Thousand Things in Heaven and Earth.  If you do not have this ki, you will not be born.  After you are born, you are aided by such external elements as food and drink, clothing, and shelter.  Thus, your fundamental health is provided for and your life stays on a steady course.* At the outset of this 3rd part in my series on the teachings of the “master of ki” Kaibara Ekiken, I wanted to begin with this quote—with its reference to the “Ten Thousand Things in Heaven and Earth”—so that you will understand the “place” of ki in Asian thought, which will better help us to understand not just this particular essay but all essays in budo with regard to ki development and cultivation.  Ki is not something that you cultivate in addi...

  The Budo Secrets of Internal Energy from the Master Samurai Kaibara Ekiken This quote from Lao Tzu is one that Ekiken himself quotes in the Yojokun . Part Two Controlling Inner Desires In all things, if you are unendingly diligent, you will undoubtedly see an effect.  For example, if you plant seeds in the spring and nurture seeds in the summer, surely there will be a large harvest in the fall. Similarly, if you make an understanding of how to care for your health and continue to do so for some time, you will definitely see effects: your body will become stronger, you will become free of disease, you will not only maintain your natural lifespan but lengthen it, and you will enjoy your life.  You should not doubt this principle. ~Kaibara Ekiken* I begin this second part of the series with this quote from Ekiken, which occurs toward the beginning of his “ki power masterwork” the Yojokun .  I wanted to begin with this quote for the simple reason that it gives you a go...

The Budo Secrets of Internal Energy from the Master Samurai Kaibara Ekiken Contemporaneous portrait of Kaibara Ekiken Part One The Way of Nourishing Life For quite some time now, I have wanted to write a series on one of my favorite budo writers of all time, Kaibara Ekiken (sometimes referred to as Ekken).  Ekiken was an interesting figure, to put it mildly (as you will find out if you continue to read). I had originally intended, however, to finish a series I started some time ago on The Hagakure , which I had set aside to write my (now finished) series on Musashi’s The Dokkodo .  However, as I was doing some research for several budo “pieces” that I have also been working on, it dawned on me that I was referring to Ekiken’s works increasingly, and returning to him more and more in my research.  And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Ekiken might be the perfect writer of budo (at least among writers of antiquity) for our modern world.  I think yo...