Post by Administrator on Jun 28, 2023 15:24:00 GMT 10
Senshin and The Five Spirits of Budo
Senshin is one of the Five Spirits of Budo. There are certain things a student of the martial arts must learn if they are to fully understand what is happening in class and what they need to strive for. It is difficult to pass on everything a good martial artist must know during regular class time and so, it is wise for each student to commit additional time outside the dojo to reading recommended books and articles that Hanshi Scott feels would benefit his students. This is one of those articles.
Budo means: "warrior way", or way of the warrior; the warrior must understand each mindset reviewed below if he or she wants to move forward in his or her journey. Read it, absorb it, and then see if you can identify it in others during class
The Fives Spirits of Budo are:
Shoshin: (初心) Beginners’ Mind
Zanshin: (残心) Lingering Mind
Mushin: (無心) No Mind
Fudoshin: (不動心) Immovable Mind
Senshin (先心) Purified spirit; Enlightened Attitude
These very old concepts are largely ignored in modern Martial Arts. The student who takes the time to understand these lessons will mature to become a strong and competent martial artist and human being. The student who does not take the time to know and embrace these lesson will always be lacking in their training and life.
Shoshin
The state of shoshin is that of a beginners mind. It is a state of awareness the remains always fully conscious, aware, and prepared to see things for the first time. The attitude of shoshin is essential to continued learning. My sensei once said, “Don’t expect me to teach you. You must steal the techniques for yourselves.” The student must play an active role in every class, seeing with a shoshin mind, in order to steal each day’s lesson.
This refers to the kind of attitude that you probably had when you first started martial arts. You were excited and eager to learn. You had an attitude of openness, eagerness, and had no preconceptions of how to do your techniques. You just wanted to learn. This is the mind that you should have, even when you get to the point of learning advanced martial arts.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you already know everything that you need to know. Maintain a beginner’s mind, even when you get to the higher levels of your martial art. The person who thinks that he or she already knows everything, is not open to learning anything. Maintain Shoshin when you are training with others and continue to learn from everyone you meet.
Zanshin
The spirit of zanshin is the state of the remaining or lingering spirit. It is often described as a sustained and heightened state of awareness and mental follow-through. However, true zanshin is a state of focus or concentration before, during, and after the execution of a technique, where a link or connection between uke and Tori is preserved. Zanshin is the state of mind that allows us to stay spiritually connected, not only to a single attacker, but to multiple attackers and even an entire context; a space, a time, an event.
Zanshin is a state of mind where you are totally in the Now – the present moment. It is a state where you are completely aware of your environment and your surroundings. You are relaxed, but aware and alert.
Zanshin has also been translated as 8-directional awareness. If you take a piece of paper and draw a straight vertical line and a straight horizontal line, and then draw two more straight lines going through the center point, so that you basically have an 8-pointed star, this would illustrate the 8-directional awareness of Zanshin.
If you could see this in a 3-D drawing, you would see that Zanshin covers every direction. It is a state of being totally aware of your environment – front, back, up, down, and both sides. It is total awareness.
It is a state of total awareness where your mind is always alert and prepared for action. This can only be achieved by practice, serious practice, not playing around. Zanshin is only achieved by taking your training deadly serious.
Mushin
The definition of mushin is “No mind, a mind without ego. A mind like a mirror which reflects and dos not judge.” The original term was “mushin no shin”, meaning, “mind of no mind.” It is a state of mind without fear, anger, or anxiety. Mushin is sometimes described by the phrase, “mizu no kokoro”, which means, “mind like water”. The phrase is a metaphor describing the pond that clearly reflects it’s surroundings when calm, but whose images are obscured once a pebble is dropped into its waters.
Mushin literally means mind-no-mind or empty mind. It is a state where you are acting but not having to think about your actions. Achieving the state of Mushin is at the core of Japanese martial arts and can only be achieved by years of practice.
The moon’s reflection in a lake is only clear when the water is perfectly still. If there are waves or ripples, the moon’s reflection is distorted. You could think of Mushin as being a state of mind where there is no distortion or thoughts, yet you are still acting.
Think of it like this, when you first learn to drive a car, you have to mentally think about everything you do. You consciously think about turning on turn signal, checking both ways, where your hands are, your speed, etc. But once you have mastered driving your car, you do all of those things without having to think about doing them. That is Mushin. You act without having to think about what you are doing because you have mastered that specific action.
The Japanese say that Mushin cannot be understood with the intellect, but rather, it must be experienced. And that is true. When you go into Mushin, your mind is quiet, but your body is acting. To achieve this state, your mind must be free from any conscious thought, including anger, hesitation, doubt, fear, or thinking about how to do what you are doing. You simply act. You allow your spirit to guide your body.
Fudoshin
An unshakable mind and an immovable spirit is the state of fudoshin. It is courage and stability displayed both mentally and physically. Rather than indicating rigid, inflexibility, fudoshin describes a condition that is not easily upset by internal thoughts or external forces. It is capable of receiving a strong attack while retaining composure and balance. It receives and yields lightly, grounds to the earth, and reflects aggression back to the source.
Fudoshin represents a mind that is totally at peace, in every situation. It is a mind that filled with courage and determination. There is no fear in the immovable mind; it is in a state of complete composure and peace.
When you have achieved the immovable mind, you will feel that you can achieve anything, that you are invincible. Your mind cannot be disturbed, no matter what. In this state, you are able to face fear, danger, and even death with a calm spirit.
When you develop your mind to the point of having Fudoshin, or an immovable mind, you will be free from anger, fear, and doubt. You will approach every situation with a calm mind that can’t be moved.
Senshin
Senshin is a spirit that transcends the first four states of mind. It is a spirit that protects and harmonizes the universe. Senshin is a spirit of compassion that embraces and serves all humanity and whose function is to reconcile discord in the world. It holds all life to be sacred.
Fully embracing Senshin is essentially equivalent to becoming enlightened and may well exceed the scope of daily training. However, the first 4 spirits are probably attainable to any serious student through awareness and hard training. Embracing these states of mind can reward the student in countless ways.
The enlightened mind is the highest level of the 5 Spirits of Budo. At this level, you will hold all life as sacred. You will be able to perceive how everything fits together to make the whole. You will understand how each part of the Universe is connected and how something that effects one part of the Universe will ultimately affect us all.
Once you reach this level you will see the world in a totally different way. Your thoughts and intentions will be pure and sincere. You will wish harm to none. Your mind and spirit will become one.
Reaching Senshin is truly rare. It is not something that you can force, but something which will come after a lifetime of practice in controlling your thoughts and purifying your spirit.
Shoshin can free a student from a frustrating plateau of learning, giving him the sight to see what he would not see before. Zanshin can raise one’s total awareness enhancing randori and free-style training. Mushin can release the student’s anxiety under pressure enabling better performance during testing. Fudoshin, can provide the confidence to stand one’s ground in the face of overwhelming physical attacks. The serious student should find ways of incorporating these budo spirits in his daily training.
Senshin is one of the Five Spirits of Budo. There are certain things a student of the martial arts must learn if they are to fully understand what is happening in class and what they need to strive for. It is difficult to pass on everything a good martial artist must know during regular class time and so, it is wise for each student to commit additional time outside the dojo to reading recommended books and articles that Hanshi Scott feels would benefit his students. This is one of those articles.
Budo means: "warrior way", or way of the warrior; the warrior must understand each mindset reviewed below if he or she wants to move forward in his or her journey. Read it, absorb it, and then see if you can identify it in others during class
The Fives Spirits of Budo are:
Shoshin: (初心) Beginners’ Mind
Zanshin: (残心) Lingering Mind
Mushin: (無心) No Mind
Fudoshin: (不動心) Immovable Mind
Senshin (先心) Purified spirit; Enlightened Attitude
These very old concepts are largely ignored in modern Martial Arts. The student who takes the time to understand these lessons will mature to become a strong and competent martial artist and human being. The student who does not take the time to know and embrace these lesson will always be lacking in their training and life.
Shoshin
The state of shoshin is that of a beginners mind. It is a state of awareness the remains always fully conscious, aware, and prepared to see things for the first time. The attitude of shoshin is essential to continued learning. My sensei once said, “Don’t expect me to teach you. You must steal the techniques for yourselves.” The student must play an active role in every class, seeing with a shoshin mind, in order to steal each day’s lesson.
This refers to the kind of attitude that you probably had when you first started martial arts. You were excited and eager to learn. You had an attitude of openness, eagerness, and had no preconceptions of how to do your techniques. You just wanted to learn. This is the mind that you should have, even when you get to the point of learning advanced martial arts.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you already know everything that you need to know. Maintain a beginner’s mind, even when you get to the higher levels of your martial art. The person who thinks that he or she already knows everything, is not open to learning anything. Maintain Shoshin when you are training with others and continue to learn from everyone you meet.
Zanshin
The spirit of zanshin is the state of the remaining or lingering spirit. It is often described as a sustained and heightened state of awareness and mental follow-through. However, true zanshin is a state of focus or concentration before, during, and after the execution of a technique, where a link or connection between uke and Tori is preserved. Zanshin is the state of mind that allows us to stay spiritually connected, not only to a single attacker, but to multiple attackers and even an entire context; a space, a time, an event.
Zanshin is a state of mind where you are totally in the Now – the present moment. It is a state where you are completely aware of your environment and your surroundings. You are relaxed, but aware and alert.
Zanshin has also been translated as 8-directional awareness. If you take a piece of paper and draw a straight vertical line and a straight horizontal line, and then draw two more straight lines going through the center point, so that you basically have an 8-pointed star, this would illustrate the 8-directional awareness of Zanshin.
If you could see this in a 3-D drawing, you would see that Zanshin covers every direction. It is a state of being totally aware of your environment – front, back, up, down, and both sides. It is total awareness.
It is a state of total awareness where your mind is always alert and prepared for action. This can only be achieved by practice, serious practice, not playing around. Zanshin is only achieved by taking your training deadly serious.
Mushin
The definition of mushin is “No mind, a mind without ego. A mind like a mirror which reflects and dos not judge.” The original term was “mushin no shin”, meaning, “mind of no mind.” It is a state of mind without fear, anger, or anxiety. Mushin is sometimes described by the phrase, “mizu no kokoro”, which means, “mind like water”. The phrase is a metaphor describing the pond that clearly reflects it’s surroundings when calm, but whose images are obscured once a pebble is dropped into its waters.
Mushin literally means mind-no-mind or empty mind. It is a state where you are acting but not having to think about your actions. Achieving the state of Mushin is at the core of Japanese martial arts and can only be achieved by years of practice.
The moon’s reflection in a lake is only clear when the water is perfectly still. If there are waves or ripples, the moon’s reflection is distorted. You could think of Mushin as being a state of mind where there is no distortion or thoughts, yet you are still acting.
Think of it like this, when you first learn to drive a car, you have to mentally think about everything you do. You consciously think about turning on turn signal, checking both ways, where your hands are, your speed, etc. But once you have mastered driving your car, you do all of those things without having to think about doing them. That is Mushin. You act without having to think about what you are doing because you have mastered that specific action.
The Japanese say that Mushin cannot be understood with the intellect, but rather, it must be experienced. And that is true. When you go into Mushin, your mind is quiet, but your body is acting. To achieve this state, your mind must be free from any conscious thought, including anger, hesitation, doubt, fear, or thinking about how to do what you are doing. You simply act. You allow your spirit to guide your body.
Fudoshin
An unshakable mind and an immovable spirit is the state of fudoshin. It is courage and stability displayed both mentally and physically. Rather than indicating rigid, inflexibility, fudoshin describes a condition that is not easily upset by internal thoughts or external forces. It is capable of receiving a strong attack while retaining composure and balance. It receives and yields lightly, grounds to the earth, and reflects aggression back to the source.
Fudoshin represents a mind that is totally at peace, in every situation. It is a mind that filled with courage and determination. There is no fear in the immovable mind; it is in a state of complete composure and peace.
When you have achieved the immovable mind, you will feel that you can achieve anything, that you are invincible. Your mind cannot be disturbed, no matter what. In this state, you are able to face fear, danger, and even death with a calm spirit.
When you develop your mind to the point of having Fudoshin, or an immovable mind, you will be free from anger, fear, and doubt. You will approach every situation with a calm mind that can’t be moved.
Senshin
Senshin is a spirit that transcends the first four states of mind. It is a spirit that protects and harmonizes the universe. Senshin is a spirit of compassion that embraces and serves all humanity and whose function is to reconcile discord in the world. It holds all life to be sacred.
Fully embracing Senshin is essentially equivalent to becoming enlightened and may well exceed the scope of daily training. However, the first 4 spirits are probably attainable to any serious student through awareness and hard training. Embracing these states of mind can reward the student in countless ways.
The enlightened mind is the highest level of the 5 Spirits of Budo. At this level, you will hold all life as sacred. You will be able to perceive how everything fits together to make the whole. You will understand how each part of the Universe is connected and how something that effects one part of the Universe will ultimately affect us all.
Once you reach this level you will see the world in a totally different way. Your thoughts and intentions will be pure and sincere. You will wish harm to none. Your mind and spirit will become one.
Reaching Senshin is truly rare. It is not something that you can force, but something which will come after a lifetime of practice in controlling your thoughts and purifying your spirit.
Shoshin can free a student from a frustrating plateau of learning, giving him the sight to see what he would not see before. Zanshin can raise one’s total awareness enhancing randori and free-style training. Mushin can release the student’s anxiety under pressure enabling better performance during testing. Fudoshin, can provide the confidence to stand one’s ground in the face of overwhelming physical attacks. The serious student should find ways of incorporating these budo spirits in his daily training.