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Stephen Fabian: Excerpt from Clearing Away Clouds
While Musashi may have been extraordinary, the arts he
practiced were not. From long before Musashi's time right
up until today countless Japanese and other Asians, and
increasingly those neither Japanese nor Asian, have been
practicing these same arts, using them not only as a means
of creative expression or self-defense, but as paths of
personal development. It is the process of this personal
development that in fact enables mastery of form and
technique, which in turn allows further mastery of self.
If deftly manipulating the tea-server's whisk, the
calligrapher's brush, or the warrior's sword can all
lead to and exemplify mastery, then, with due regard
to the considerable differences in tool and techniques,
there must be some essential characteristics shared by
these arts. By looking beyond or beneath specific styles,
we should be able to discern some shared, underlying
principles, the essence of what has come to be translated
as the "Way." This is a concept that hearkens from the
ancient Chinese philosophy of Taoism and its early and
most famous expression in Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching.
The term tao (in Chinese pronounced as the
"Dow" of Dow-Jones) and do (in Japanese
pronounced like "dough") are written with the
Chinese ideogram for "road." Appending this
term to refer to specific arts, such as sado, the
"way of tea," or budo, "martial way," indicates
that they are as well paths for the development of the self
toward a state of pure, unfeigned, and naturally harmonious
existence. They are means to attain mastery, a Way.
True mastery either of ourselves or any artistic pursuit
comparable to the level attained by Musashi may not be
within the grasp of us all. But how can we know until
we try, and wouldn't we all be better for the effort?
Knowing the principles on which the ways of mastery are
based could help us see the Way more clearly. From my own
experience of over twenty years following the martial path,
and with the help of teachers, those senior to me, senpai,
and students whom I have known personally or whose work I
have read, comes this presentation of principles of the
Way, a logical progression that can guide one along the
road to martial and self-mastery. I consider them, as the
subtitle of this book suggests, Nine Lessons for Life
from the Martial Arts. Briefly, they are:
- Embrace your way
- Accept responsibility for your actions
- Control the breath
- Focus
- Develop self-discipline
- Train hard, seeking aesthetic refinement
- Be patient and flow
- Persevere
- Cultivate the mind of no-mind
I am convinced that all seekers of mastery eventually
discover these same principles, learn these same lessons.
The order in which I list and describe them is as much an
organizational device as it is a record of personal
experience. Once you have embraced your Way, all of these
lessons will be active and interactive throughout your
quest for mastery; how and when you become aware of
their relevance to your progress may differ in order and
intensity. It is also quite feasible to achieve mastery
with no conscious awareness of these principles at all,
just as we can breathe fresh air without knowing its
chemical properties or understanding the mechanics of
breathing.
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