C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  A “Nothing to Do, Nowhere to Go” Practice for Contemporary Budoka      In my last “Budo Zen” article on hard work, I mentioned at the end how a lot of practitioners don’t like—or, at the very least, don’t know what to make of—the goalless practice in Zen of “nothing to do and nowhere to go.”  If there is nothing to do and nowhere to go then what is the point? This is a common enough refrain, and it’s what I would like to explore a little further here.      Goals are needed in life.  That’s the first thing that needs to be understood.  You are not going to achieve much (in many aspects of your life) if you don’t have a clear goal, and a means to get there.  Often, when it comes to lifting, I discuss on this blog how too many lifters—bodybuilders, strength athletes, and, yes, martial artists, too—will often allow the means to justify the ends .  This is the wrong approach.  If you allow the “means” (...

Budo Zen, Just as with the Martial Arts, is Hard Work but It's Worth It! In my last essay on Budo Zen, I discussed how Zen, real Zen, is hard work. I would like to explore this idea a little more in this present essay, especially as to how this applies to, and is good for, the budoka or other martial artist. Martial practitioner or not, most who take an interest in Zen don’t stick with it. Not once they realize the hard work that is involved. This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Not really. That’s just human nature. But what does surprise me is when actual Zennists, or perhaps practitioners of any form of Buddhism, believe that more and more people in our modern world will become keenly interested in the dharma. Some believe that Zen will somehow grow into one of the west’s most popular religions. I’m not buying it. Never will. If it does become that popular then trust me, it won’t be real Zen of any type. Apparently, I’m not the only one that feels this way. I...

  Living in the Now? On Zen, Mindfulness, Budo, and the Depths of TRUE Practice      Zen has become part of our lexicon in the modern English language.  I don’t believe this is a “good” thing.  If you ask the average American about Zen, they’re not going to be knowledgeable on the subject.  They tend to equate Zen with calm or “being peaceful” or something such as that.  Zen is often used the most as an adjective or an adverb.  “Sensei is the most Zen dude,” a young martial practitioner may say of his teacher.  Or a surfer might say that his “ride was very Zen.”      That is not Zen.      If someone is a little more knowledgeable on the subject of Zen, they may equate it with mindfulness or “living in the present moment?”  But is that correct?  And for the martial artist, or the Zen practitioner reading this, should that even be the goal?     ...

 Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part Seventeen Do Not Collect Weapons, Nor Practice with Them, Beyond What is Useful Samurai wields two swords - a katana and a wakizashi - the hallmark of Musashi's "two heavens as one" style.   Here is another precept where there are often subtle differences in how it is translated.  But these subtle differences in translation can lead to subtly different outcomes.  So let's see if we can figure out the meaning of Musashi's words, then we'll see if we can apply it to our day-to-day lives. Roshi Richard Collins's translation is similar to the one I used: "Do not seek especially either to collect or practice arms beyond what is useful."  William Scott Wilson - who typically has the most "accurate" translations - has this one as: "While it's different with military equipment, do not be fond of material things."  Lastly, David K. Groff translates this as: "Do not concern yourself with...

Essays and Thoughts on  The Dokkodo Part Twelve In All Things, Have No Preferences Picture of the 3rd Patriarch of Zen, Seng T'san, whose famous work, Hsin Hsin Ming ("Inscription of Faith in Mind," S hinjinmei  in Japanese), is strikingly similar to some of the musings of the Dokkodo .  Musashi was clearly influenced by Seng T'san's work, wittingly or not. ( Picture is in the Public Domain ) Here, at the midpoint of the work, Musashi seems to return to a musing that is very close to his first one, to accept everything as it is .  In order to accept life and reality as it truly is, you must also "have no preferences."  I believe Musashi did this in order for the reader (which would have been Terao Maganojo at first, but Musashi knew it would be passed on to students under Maganojo, and to future generations), to stay focused on the overall  meaning of the text, and of following the Way  in general. Although the samurais at Musashi's time - and throug...

Read on and discover the REAL connection between Zen and the martial arts! Taisen Deshimaru - the great Soto Zen monk of the 20th century - clearly taught that there was a correlation between martial arts and Zen.      There has long been a debate over how much, if any, influence Zen has had on the martial arts.  There has also been interest over the years as to whether or not mutual exchanges occurred between the various martial arts and the various Buddhist philosophies of silent/seated meditation - i.e.: Zen.  Zen is the Japanese translation of the Chinese "Chan", itself a translation of the Indian/Sanskrit word "Dhyana", which simply means "seated meditation" in English.  I write "philosophies" (plural) of Buddhist meditation because there are many "Zens".  Not only is Zen known as Chan in China, but it's also practiced as "Seon" in Korea, and "Thien" in Vietnam.  (Probably the most popular Zen monk in the wo...