C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  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...

  Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part 22 Never Veer from the Way "Samurai contemplating the Way" (design by C.S.) We have come to the "end-of-the-road" of Musashi's The Dokkodo .  This last musing is at once extremely basic and simple, and also - because of its very simplicity - is a profound and never-ending well to be explored to greater and greater depths of both interiority and physicality. The "Way" (that we are to never veer from) is the "Do" in "Budo" or "Karate-Do."  Many times, when used by Musashi, and by other Zen/Budo textualizers, this Way is the same as a "path" or even a "discipline."  It's very straightforward when used in this manner, and it's meant to be.  You must follow  Musashi's path in the way that he intended if you are to become a skilled exponent of his sword-school.  But the Way  can, and often does , mean the Tao .  Now, and let me be clear on this point, the...

 Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part Nineteen Do Not Seek to be Rich in Your Old Age Bodhidharma sits facing the wall (Reigen Eto, 18th century) Bodhidharma is considered the founder of Zen Buddhism, and his "style" of meditation may be something that "helps" us with what we REALLY need for old age. Although Musashi died at the "ripe old age" of 60 or 61 - there is some disagreement as to the date of his birth - he lived to be surprisingly old considering both his occupation and the number of duels that he participated in.  Most samurai - especially  those who lived before the Tokugawa era - would have died at a significantly younger age.  Interestingly, it is only because  Musashi lived to be so old (for a samurai) that he understood the wisdom of this musing.  With age does  come wisdom in many cases, and so you can look at the whole of The Dokkodo  in this same vein.  He knows the wisdom of these "precepts" because he has lived t...

 Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part Eighteen Do Not Fear Death While Following the Way Portrait of Zen Master Dogen (public domain), 1253, founder of the Soto school of Japanese Zen. His teachings on death impacted Zennists such as Musashi, either directly or indirectly. "Love and Death are the great gifts given to us; mostly, they are passed on, unopened." ~Rainer Maria Rilke This precept is the beginning of what can best be categorized as the "home stretch" of his final work. After this precept, there are 4 more. In many ways, each one of them summarizes, or perhaps seals , the preceding ones. I read an opinion one time that this should have been used by Musashi as the final precept. I don't agree. Now, I do think that this precept, or either of the final two precepts, could have been used as the final musing, simply because all three's emphasis on the finality of things. But I also believe that Musashi was - as we should know by this point in o...

 Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part Fifteen Do Not Hold Onto Possessions You No Longer Need By this point in our commentary on The Dokkodo , you know the drill.  There is always something more  to Musashi's work than at first glance.  Even for native readers in Japan, Musashi can seem paradoxical, quizzical in something akin to how a Zen koan might take a period of time to wrap one's thoughts around the nature of what is being read.  But this is even more so for those of us reading an imprecise English translation.  Once you couple this with the fact that Musashi seems so ancient  to our time and day, hopefully you begin to see how one can't just dismiss Musashi as being outdated, or how you must not be so quick to translate Musashi into a meaning that you  want his words to have.  That might make it more comfortable for us, but it's not going to bring about the changes that Musashi prescribes for us as modern martial artists. Let's look...

  Essays and Thoughts on the "Dokkodo" Part Four Do Not, Under Any Circumstance, Depend on a Partial Feeling Sasaki Kojiro (right) engages Miyamoto Musashi on the shores of Ganryū Island (courtesy of Wikimedia). The 3rd maxim of Musashi's final masterwork is one of my favorites.  And, yes, I understand that in Zen you should not "pick and choose".  For instance, the 3rd patriarch of Zen is often quoted as having said, "the great Way is not difficult for those who do not pick and choose... if you wish to see the Way then do not hold opinions for - or against - anything."  That quote aside, this one is still one of my favorites. On with the commentary... We rarely make poor decisions - in life, in the dojo, in the gym - when we are decisive.  Even then, if our decisive actions do  fail, we will not regret what has been done.  For in holding nothing back, we have nothing to regret! In his book No Fear Zen: Discovering Balance in an Unbalanced World , Rosh...