C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

The following was written spontaneously, that is, without planning or "thinking" about what I was going to write about, I sat down at my computer, and had a few musings at the back of my mind. The following is the result. Ramblings on Budo: More Budo "Minds" Not long ago, I wrote an essay on the different “minds” of budo, such as mushin , often called “no mind”, and shoshin , often referred to as “beginner’s mind.”  (I wrote a couple of essays on shoshin.)  But here, in this minor essay, I have in mind (pun intended) some other “minds” that, although they aren’t discussed outright in budo, they are encountered during practice.  And sometimes they are discussed outright in other Ways (such as the Way of Zen).   These include monkey mind, wild mind, centered mind, and big mind, to name just a smattering few. Monkey mind is a mind you’re, unfortunately, all-too-familiar with if you have ever tried to focus, even for just a brief period of time, on one solitary thing

The Everything is Budo Practice of the Edo-Era Samurai Suzuki Shosan Suzuki Shosan has long been one of my favorite “Zen” samurai, and I have, for some time, wanted to write a profile on him.  I think more budoka need to know about him.  He simply isn’t as famous or well-known as other writers (of Budo Zen literature) from the early Edo period, such as Musashi, Yagyu Munenori, the zen priest Takuan Soho (author of the Unfettered Mind ), or Yamamoto Tsunetomo.  However, instead of writing a more “straightforward” profile of the legendary Tokugawa samurai, I have decided to write (either two or) three essays dealing with some of his viewpoints and “techniques” of Budo Zen that I think are important for modern budoka.  In doing so, I will also touch upon parts of his life that I think you will find interesting. In an earlier essay, as part of my series translating and commenting upon Musashi’s Dokkodo , I briefly discussed Shosan regarding his views on “do not fear death while following

  Cultivating Equanimity in Budo and Zen The crane, symbol of balance, of equanimity, of the Tao. Equanimity is one of the most important things we can learn from both budo and Zen.  Unfortunately, when we think of equanimity—if we even think of it at all—for too many budoka the first word that comes to mind is boring .  When I was a teenager, for instance, and had a love for budo that bordered on the obsessive, I didn’t want to hear about equanimity .  But—as the saying goes—I really do wish I knew then what I know now.  With 40 years of training under my belt, I know now that cultivating equanimity would have helped all aspects of my budo training (and my life outside of it). There is no reason for equanimity to be considered “dull” in any way.  Equanimity, in Zen, is considered one of the four divine abodes , along with love, compassion, and joy.  This means that the word should engender the same emotions and feelings as the other three.  The Buddha, as recorded in the early Pali

 Shoshin means "beginner's mind."   Mushin means "empty mind" or "no mind."  When I was a teenager, and trained in a very  traditional Isshin-Ryu  dojo, my sensei always referred to it as "no mind."  The "mu" in "mushin" is a negation .  It's most well-known use in Zen is in the koan "Joshu's dog," which is sometimes referred to simply as the "mu" koan.  (If you're unaware, a koan is a Japanese Zen term that can be a story, a statement, a dialogue between two zennists, or, often, a question.  Its purpose—no matter the form—is to induce "great doubt" or "don't know mind" in the practitioner, so it's primarily a practice , though it's sometimes used to test a student's "progress" on the path of awakening.) "Joshu's Dog" (design by C.S.) The koan "Joshu's Dog" goes something like this: Someone asked Joshu,"Does a dog