Types of Meditation in Zen (by jyozen) (draft 1)

Though promoted as types of meditative techniques, in fact all of these are intended to as ways of being in the world; and as a result of being in the world in a certain way.

1. Shikantaza = Just Precisely Sitting. Promoted by Dozen Zenji as the proper way to do zazen.

2. Zazen = Sitting Absorbed. Comes from Zenna (Absorption Meditation); which is said to be the meditation Shakyamuni Butsu found himself, both naturally as a child watching his father work, and when sitting under the 'Bodhi' tree to awaken. Absorption Meditation means to be absorbed into reality as it is, as Reality itself absorbs us... so there is no separation between us. We are living in Reality, and Reality lives in us. This is said to be our natural human state, which results in natural humane behavior. In Zen all other meditations are thought to be the result of living in Zenna. Though they can be used as meditations in and of themselves, they should eventually lead one to be in Zenna, so that they should be, not just a meditative technique, but will be naturally a part of our lives.

3. Meiso- Japanese Meditation. As most cultures, the Japanese too, always had their own meditations as well; these are usually put under the category of meiso. Since it's used for many meditation, the meaning of each character takes no various connotations according to it's use. But generally relates to the natural sitting of the mind. Me relates to the eyes, and often is said to be eyes closed, or eyes resting (often interpreted as 1/2 closed in a natural resting position). 'i' is harder but deals with nature and natural. So is the mind or thoughts, which should rest naturally like the eyes. In this way there is no separation between Nature, our body (eyes), and our mind. Meiso can be used with all of the Zen Meditations as they descended to it through it's Buddhist heritage.

4. Nen-Meiso = Nen is Mindfulness. Mindfulness Meditation means to be aware of all time/space... Of our place in relation to all time/space. It has the meaning of both being right here / right now and also remembering all here's and all now's... thus connection past-present-future as one here now. This is often used as a Meditation in Daily Life during all of our daily activities. Nen-Meiso is the natural result of living in Zenna.

5. Kan-Meiso = Kan is Insight; or to see clearly into reality... Looking deeply into Reality.

6. Kida-Meiso = aka Sanmai; This is to be established; focused; concentrated; determined.

7. Jaku-Meiso = Tranquility.

8. Kakusoku = Immediately Awake. This is an interesting type of awareness, where it settles no where, with no distinction. Naturally, immediately we are awake. This is often thought to be the true teaching of Soto-shu Zen.

9...

RELIGIONS of JAPAN: BUDDHISM and SHINTOISM

Zen Meditation and Archery at the Lahaina Jodo Mission Sept. 2015

Sotoba / Pagoda at the Lahaina Jodo Mission, Maui, Hawaii

Meditation Group Photo

We began with the idea to begin the 1st Shot Kyudo Workshop with an Intro to meditation session the evening before; it quickly morphed into a Intro to Meditation for several evenings during my stay. The last couple were attended by known meditation instructors from other traditions on the Island.

Kinhin - Walking Meditation

Kyudo Instruction under the trees

Breaktime in the shade of the beautiful palms

Unexpectedly caught pulling arrows

The workshop was a great success. We ended up covering all the expenses plus (finally) a decent donation to the temple.

Thank you to all who could attend.

Mokuso - Silent Contemplation

Mokuso is Silent Contemplation. This is a very popular form of meditation in many martial arts circles.

We can even heard it said as we begin to sit quietly before class 'Mokuso!'
I was taught as a kid in Karate that it meant 'Attention!'; but I related this like Attention! in the military; and I suppose in some ways this is true. Even Zen can be a bit militaristic in it's tough disciplined approach.

Mokuso does come from a Buddhist background and is one of the 84,200 forms of meditation taught in Mahayana Buddhist that is prevalent in Japan.

This silent contemplation can bring up our awareness, wake us up, and bring us to attention.
It also allows our worries and cares from outside the dojo to dissolve and bring us into focus on the task at hand; perhaps even bring us to directly experience this present moment.

In martial arts being in the present moment, just like in Zen, is the primary way to live.

Temple Records

Temple records in Japan abound. Everything is recorded. In regards to Buddhism and the Warrior arts there are many writings and correlations.

We know of the Sohei, armies of warrior monks who used weapons though they were monks. We know of the Yamabushi, individual and warrior monks in non-affiliated temple groups, who used weapons both to protect themselves and also as methods to train in The Way.

We also know that many warriors upon retirement shaved their head, some simply because this was the safest and acceptable way to retire, and others sincerely to become monks, and perhaps some with the intent to repent in some way for their violent lives. In many cases they continued to use their warrior weapons as tools on The Way, much like the Yamabushi do.

The relationship between Zen and the Warrior Class of Japan is well known. Just like with the retirement situation of Warriors into Buddhism the relationship varied according the predilection of the Warrior's intent. Most received some basic initiation ceremony and a Buddhist name, but not evereyone studied Zen or Buddhism in any way, they simply supported temples or teacher so that they could support the Warrior's clan spiritually; but most used their priests as advisers and teachers; many studied Buddhism intellectually, but most took up Zen because of it's embodiment of the practice not because of it's intellectual and philosophical attributes. A great number of prominent Warriors took up Zen practice including Classical Interviews with the teacher to truly travel the Buddhist Path.

The priest of these Warrior students used every means possible to help them obtain the teaching. This included the creation of whole new methods and revival of others too. This was not the first time the warrior's weapons were used as a means of teaching, but it was possibly the most extensive. Zen is practice in daily life, and these weapons were the daily life of their warrior disciples.

Zen and Arts

Though I know that most martial artists know really nothing of Zen; I also know that most Zen practitioners know really nothing of the martial arts. Or do they?

Actually though it has been rare that the two intertwine directly, they have mixed and merged throughout their entire history.

Zen began with the warrior prince become buddha, then in China was promoted by the warrior prince became founder of Chan, and merged with the warrior class of Japan and their Shinto Rituals as Zen when it arrived there, The Zen influence on Japan is well known and accepted.

For me, my Zen heritage is quite clear on it's support on the intertwinement of Zen and the Martial Arts. Also my Martial Arts teachers, and Geido (Japanese Artistic Arts) teachers both embraced their Zen roots. So for me, at least, there is no question.

I guess this is all I need then. For me and my teachers, for me and my arts, our 'do' is Zen in motion.

Everyone else will have to decide for themselves.

Other noted Sensei of the past who included Zen/Buddhism in their Budo.
Sudamune Ogasawara.
Hojo Toriyori was a great supporter of Zen, and Hojo Tokumune was a strong practitioner of Zen.
Kamiizumi Ise No Kami
Yagyu Munetoshi
Yagyu Munenori
Ibaraki Sensai
Yamaoka Tessu (19th c.)
Yamada Mûmon 山田 無文
Umeji Kenran
Awa Kenzo
Anazawa
Suhara Koun

The 'Dō' 道 arts of Japan and 'Zen' 禅

Zen 禅 is a form of Buddhism that arrived in Japan from India as Dhana via China as Channa. The Japanese version of this is Zenna or Zen.

Dhana is a form of Buddhist meditation, absorption meditation to be precise. It is said by the Zen Masters that this is the meditation Shakyamuni Butsu (The founder of Buddhism) experienced to awaken to the true nature of reality.

As Dhana traveled through China it absorbed much of the Chinese thought, especially the principles and language of Taoism. It is this mixture that became Chinese Channa or Chan.

The same happened in Japan with the Descendants of Dogen Zenji (the founder Soto Zen in Japan), when they mixed and merged the Chan with the existing teachings of Japanese thought. It is this combination that we now know of as Zen.

The 'Dō' 道 of Japan is the Japanese pronunciation of Chinese Tao 道.
The dō existed in Japan along with Confucianism and Buddhism in Japan since the 6th Century AD. But these Taoist aspects played a minor role until Zen came to Japan. The dō arts of Japan reflect this influence of  Zen on the arts.

This is most easily seen as the role Zen played in reviving the sacred portions of arts like Calligraphy, Flower arrangement, Tea Ceremony and the other arts the aristocracy were playing with. The Zen monks interacted very strongly with the Warrior Class of Japan as well; and influenced their understanding of the world greatly.

Especially after peace time during the Tokogawa Shogunate...

Spiritual Martial Arts - Zen in the Japanese Arts (draft)

Before Zen in Japan, there was Chan in China; and before Chan in China there was Dhana in India. All of these are forms of Buddhism. Buddhism was formed by followers of Shakyamuni. Shakyamuni is the Sage of the Shakya Clan.

Before Shakyamuni was a sage, he was the prince of the Shakya Clan; but left his wife and family to become a yogi, and to find the release from suffering for all human beings. Once he awoke to the Way of Liberation from suffering; he became Shakyamuni.

As the prince, he was the best archer and one of the best warriors in the land. In yoga too there were methods of using yoga as spiritual training and martial arts; though this was not mainstream yoga it did exist.

Dhyana came to China as a separate Buddhist sect by the teachings of Bodai Daruma.  Bodaidaruma also taught some form of this martial yoga to the monks he was training; both as a means of self-defense, a way to be healthy, a way to stay awake, and a training method of the Way. These monks may have already been exposed to their own training methods as well, though the written history of the time was written and re-written, and does not always agree with the many versions of oral history passed down as well. Most scholars, of course, favor the written records as they find them and distrust and discount the oral history; logically this makes sense, but as monks we take at face value the oral history we are given, and simply allow for poetic license to convey an underlying truth, even if the written 'fact's may not bear it out as actual history.

But we do know that both in India, in China, and in Japan there were martial practices that were simultaneously used by monks as training methods on the Way,

The biggest overlap and confusion comes to play in Japan; where some warriors, though few in the scheme of things also followed to some degree portions of Buddhist practice. Also there were warrior monks in some sects; so it can be easy to mix and merge the idea that all Japanese Warriors practiced Zen for instance; but this simply is not true. Most probably borrowed some Buddhist practices and ideas in their lives; all Japanese did that to some degree. The jukyo from the mainland consisted of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Japanese Culture consists of this jukyo combined with their own way of thought. Japanese Zen too, consists of all 4 of these; as it came to Japan and the followers of Dogen Zenji (founder of Soto Zen) encouraged this blending.

But what I am speaking of here is not the warriors who may have touched on Buddhist or Zen in their lives. I'm talking about the few individuals that brought this combination, or re-discovered it in their own lives, of martial arts and spiritual life. It was there for a few in Yoga, even before Shakyamuni; and it was there in China, even before Bodaidaruma; and it was in Japan before buddhism came.

This practice has always existed, and is being re-discovered again today by many martial artists; either through a lineage that has always had it; or in one that was recently re-discovered by a master of their own art in the last few hundred years. Or perhaps by an individual today that now realizes that not only can it be done, but that it always has been done....

Zen in Japanese Traditional Archery

For most people, maybe especially in Japan, kyudo is not associated directly with Zen. There are only a few schools of actual Zen Archery. But, as we have discussed, whether an individual practices in one of these schools, or in one that does more of a sport, or dan ranking emphasis, or one of those that has a focus on simply the Japanese Tradition itself... it's all kyudo. The only exception I make to this, if they like, the schools that have retained just the jitsu portion of the practice, and have an interest only in technique itself... these may wish not to use the term kyudo, and also retain the kyujitsu term to describe their practice; and that's fine.

There were no actual Zen Archery schools per se, until Umeji Kenran Roshi and followers of Awa Kenzo Sensei, Like Suhara Roshi and his predecessor's created them. But what they borrowed from to do this, was not schools of Zen Archery, but of Zen Schools that had archers. Primarily these two schools were not born out of Zen, but out of these archers own personal spiritual revelation. They were not the first to do this, but this practice too was not common in Zen, we are still talking about a miniscule portion of the yumi community, and few Zen Archers. Technically speaking only those of us under one of these strains of the practice are doing Zen Archery.

 99.9% of the kyudo practitioners are simply doing modern Japanese archery, and this is called kyudo, just like we do. So we are all doing kyudo. The term Kyudo came from yumi no michi, in fact the same kanji are used for both, so only our oral history tells us which one was actually used.

The term yumi no michi was used when the yumi was used in sacred rituals, and exists in the earliest writings of the Japanese people, and the practice of using the yumi as a ritual implement goes back to the origination of its asymmetrical design.

 

These rituals were often performed by Shaman with a yumi, but could have just as likely been done by a warrior at the direction of Shamen. This was not Zen Archery, Zen, and even Buddhism had not arrived in Japan yet.

When buddhism arrived, the practice continued much like this. Though Prince Tashi and his court used the principles they were learning from the mainland to codify the practices, including the first kyujitsu school Tashi-ryu. These principles, coming from the mainland were all based on jyukyo. Jyukyo is basically the combination of Confucianist, Buddhist, and Taoist thought. But as always in Japan, these began to meld often with the existing Shamistic ideas, and what we now call Shinto was beginning to form, and yumi no michi was part of this.

This is exactly the portion of Zen that the warrior class in Japan embraced, whether they retired into 'monkhood' or not.

From the time of Prince Taishi tthe process of jyukyo incorporating itself into Japanese Culture began.

Kukai, or Koboh Daishi, the founder of Japanese Shingon Buddhism, was another catalyst for this process. Coming from Tendai Buddhism, as all the founders of Japanese Buddhist sects began there. But Tendai Buddhism is little changed from its mainland roots, Koboh Daishi allowed much more integration with indigenous ideas, and Buddhism became much more 'Japanese'.

 

A main catalyst for warriors and Jukyo to mix was with the Ogasawara Family who used jukyo, and what they term as in/yo theory for their Ogasawara-ryu. Jyukyo, though it includes all three Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, is often translated as Confucianism. And indeed, the etiquette of Ogasawara-ryu is steeped in Confucianism, and is the core of their teaching. Their yumi no michi based on what we now call Shinto, the in/yo theory is the Japanese version of Tao, and the the Taoist thought was minor in jyukyo. But major in Chan and Zen Buddhism. It is from here that they brought in for their tea ceremony, flower arrangement, calligraphy, and the other geido arts.

From the beginning, jukyo and indigenous ideas began to mix into everything the Japanese did. This was true for all classes of society to one degree or another. But the mixture was not the same for every class. Nobility, warriors, peasants, merchants... for each the mixture was different.

As it is in Japan, the Ogasawara-ryu emphasized the mixture in all the practices, no matter what implement a person had in their hand, these principles that had now become 'Japanese' principles were the way to conduct oneself. This is what was then, and what is now Japanese Culture. This same thing, at the same time happened in Zen. And Zen became infused with exactly the same mixture, but of course from a primarily Buddhist emphasis. This mixture is the fine distinction between Chan in China, and Zen in Japan.

The traditional Japanese Culture we have today is very much like the Japanese Culture that the Ogasawara Family gave us. Zen simply evolved at the same time along similar ideas, and this is why they are sometimes used synonymously. It is simply that they both embody what has become Japanese Culture. So although all Zen Practitioners embody Japanese Culture, not all those who embody Japanese Culture are doing Zen.

Perhaps only those of us doing Zen, may really be doing Zen Archery. But all of us doing kyudo, definitely embody Japanese Culture.

Yumi Futokoro - Bow and the inbetween space

As many of you know, I have a stack of kyudo journals; from my first day to the present. I often peruse these journals for reminders of our path, of some teaching that may have slipped my mind for a bit.


These journals are filled not only with my experiences, but filled with words of wisdom from the many teachers I have encountered along the way.

Although I tailor every class to the needs of those that are present, I usually carry in my mind some theme I have gleaned from the journals.

This week I would like to share one with you, and ask that as you change your clothes for practice and as you train, perhaps you too could carry this weeks phrase with you.

Yumi Futokoro is a word we use in kyudo. Yumi is of course the bow. Futokoro means in between space. Futokoro is most often talked about in our school of tea, and is used in conjunction with the kimono. It refers to the space between the kimono and the body; this space dictates how we wear the kimono. Yumi Futokoro then, is the space between the bow and our body.

Please be aware of inbetween spaces…

Thank you,

Kyudo (弓道)

Kyudo (弓道) This kanji for do was used by the early buddhist priests in Japan to denote a way, not just any way... but a way to enlightenment.

This 'do' is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese Tao, and thus denotes a way to balance, blend, and merge the shadows and sunshines of life into one... or not exactly one... but not two either... Well that's Zen...

Buddhism was developed from Yogic Hindi Practices in India... When Buddhism traveled to China, at one point it merged with Taoist Principles; Chinese Chan was born as one of their offspring. When Chan arrived in Japan, and again mixed and merged with what was there; it became Zen. Now it has arrived in the West and will emerge anew once more...

Taoism and thus the Do of Japanese arts was developed in Japan as Zen. Zen is thus Do and Do is Zen.

Did you know that the kanji we use in Buddhism for the Buddha is a man standing with a bow and two arrows?

There have always been shamanistic uses for the bow in Japan; One of Japans' earliest written records in Japan, The Kojiki, refers to these rituals with these same kanji, but was usually said as Yumi no Michi 'The Way of the Bow;' they used the bow primarily as a way of purification.

Most who owned a bow were warriors and did kyujitsu not kyudo. Though I'm sure some did both; similar to those like the Ogasawara Family who developed ceremonies and rituals for the bow. Plus there were some schools of Zen that used the bow as a Do, as well. But the bulk of those with bows were warriors doing kyujitsu.

To my knowledge the first to publicly publish and promote his whole school as KyuDo rather than KyuJitsu was Master Morikawa Kozan of Yamato-ryu in the 17th Century. By doing so he began the process that continues today, of moving the use of the bow as A Way; no longer just for killing or technical sport, but for 'something' else. The something else may depend on who's holding the bow. Zen? Well the 'Do' really denotes Zen, since that is how the Taoist principles most heavily flowed into Japan; the terms are almost used interchangeably in some Zen schools. But I think today the term Do has often come to mean simply something other than jitsu, or to separate the modern form from the older koryu.

In the Artistic Ways of Geido like Calligraphy, Tea Ceremony and Flower Arrangement they most often readily accept and promote their Zen roots; but the warrior class was just as likely to embrace Confucian Values as well as Zen and mixed and matched them to their liking; so the Do in BuDo like KyuDo can be Zen, or Confucian, or secular, or Sport; it most likely just depends on who runs any particular school and where they find their own roots. Some teachers who know Zen may use it, but others may use Golf, or whatever they or their students know to get the principles of Do across. Whether or not we call it Zen, now it's Do. So, we call it that... KyuDo, 'The Way of the Bow'.

The 4 Distinguishing Marks of Zen:

The 4 Distinguishing Marks of Zen:
1. A separate transmission apart from the scriptural teachings [Kyo(u)ge-Butsuden].
2. Not setting up words and letters [Furyu(u)-Monji].
3. A direct pointing to the human mind [Jikishi-Ninshin].
4. Seeing one's self-nature and realizing Buddhahood [Kensho(u)-Jobutsu].

Though kyudo is not necessarily Zen, Zen influenced most of the Japanese Arts. The Zen monks of the 12th to 18th centuries were sponsored by Warrior families and so their ideas began to infiltrate the warrior arts. The monks themselves were often artist of calligraphy or tea and so they created their own type of art that has come to exemplify what many think of as being Japanese Art.

dame vs. o'jozu

Dame means wrong or incorrect. Jozu means well done or correct.
My zen name jozen comes from this jozu, with zen (as meditation) added.

Some teachers prefer the 'dame' method of teaching (This does not mean we are a dummy). Telling us what we do wrong, so we can drop it, and discover a different way. This stems from the Truth that, the Truth cannot actually be stated so, all we can do is say what it is not.

Other teachers prefer the 'jozu' method where we are encouraged to follow the path we've chosen and continue on. This comes from the Truth that everyone must be included and that no one should give up.

But most of us know that it's a combination of the approaches that works best. To choose the right method for this person at this moment is the key.

This is one method of zen. To choose every moment of everyday just the right step. To choose without choosing we say... because we are aligned with the upright path the choice is not ours to make the path chooses for us. But we do choose to step on the path or not.

Esoteric Teachings

The esoteric teachings, by their nature, are rarely written about publicly. They are always handed down orally, from one to the next. The reasons for this a so numerable that if I listed them all I would bore you. But this secretiveness has always seemed counter productive to me; since we can't truly 'finish' until everyone is finished, how can everyone 'finish' if we only 'stamp' one at a time. We need to broadcast the teaching to everyone, right? So that's what I'm trying to do, even though it can't be done.

Of course The Teaching was being passed down well before the written word, so face to face was the way it had to be done; and if that's the teaching, then the teaching should continue like that, shouldn't it?

This Teaching can only be passed by an adept who has been recognized within the adept's lineage. An adept is the only one who has the 'whole' picture on what The Teaching is, and how to pass it down.

That's the problem with the adepts that are not recognized by a previous adept, it's not that you can't understand The Truth without a teacher, it's that we can fool ourselves into thinking the picture is complete with a small leap in understanding well before we actually embody The Truth; this mis-understanding has us teaching incorrectly or at least incompletely. Of course this can happen within a lineage too, where adepts have been stamped prematurely. But our odds are better that a recognized person of a recognized lineage has the whole thing.

Also a realization of The Truth is wonderful for the individual, but it does not come with a tradition for transmission to complete the process from one adept to the next. It is this last piece that makes me say 'The Teaching' has been passed, not just The Truth.

The esoteric teachings are never to be written down, let alone broadcast like this. But most of us write down what we are taught in our personal journals. Even these journals are to be kept private; we're not even supposed to share them amongst the other 'disciples'. This is because esoteric teachings are individualized; what one person needs to hear, my be the opposite of what another needs to hear.

For this reason I never used to share my journals. But the face to face process is so slow... maybe I'm not patient enough? But once I understood I wanted to share; once I was recognized, I felt the need to share. But I'm walking on ground that is rarely tread. It has been done, but the track record of success is not good.

In the teaching passed to me, there are both exoteric and esoteric teachings; the two together create The Teaching. The exoteric are those that we can see and talk about. The esoteric are those we don't see and only try to talk about.

Esoteric teachings don't fit in words; it's one of the reasons they are esoteric. Some of the teachings are powerful and can be abused or misused by the untrained. People often think they know before they know and things get twisted, turned, and bent.

We can't talk about The Teaching, because the esoteric portion once put into words no longer really makes sense, it begins to go in circles trying to include everything; everything includes even opposites, so it makes no logical sense to call two opposites true; but in terms of The Teaching, everything must be included; the most important part of 'everything' may even be 'nothing.'

Only the exoteric portion is taught, the esoteric is 'stolen' from an adept by being in their presence. Being in an adept's presence, simply, one day we understand and this understanding is recognized. The exoteric teaching says this takes 20 years, the esoteric teaching says it takes one heartbeat, both are true.

Lecture Q&A with Kosaka Sensei

My teacher often gives lectures on Japanese Culture and Art. In addition to being a Priest, he is an artist, teaches kyudo, runs the gallery at the local Japanese Cultural Center, has a wife and kids, etc. So after one lecture, he asked if there were any questions. A woman said, "Yes, I have a question. With all these different aspects of your life, how do you balance them all". He had quite a pause after that question, he even looked puzzled. I'd never seen him look puzzled, he usually shoots back quickly and concisely to questions. Then you could see his face light up, and I realized that it was not the answer to the question that eluded him but the question itself; he said, "Ah, I see, you've separated them".

Borrowed from Dan & Jackie DeProspero

With permission from DeProspero Sensei I have posted a portion of his website and book about Zen and Kyudo that I thought was so well said, I couldn't improve on it.

"Much has been written about the philosophical connections of kyudo. Perhaps most known is the book Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. In his book Mr. Herrigel sets forth his experiences with kyudo in the 1930's. It was a beautifully written account that has been translated into many languages, giving people worldwide their first glimpse of the art. Unfortunately, the book was very one-sided in its description of kyudo as a Zen art and is responsible for a lot of the current misconception surrounding the practice of kyudo as a religious activity.
While kyudo is not a religion it has been influenced by two schools of Eastern philosophy: The previously mentioned Zen, a form of Buddhism imported from China, and Shintoism, the indigenous faith of Japan. Of the two, the influence of Shintoism is much older. Ritualistic use of the bow and arrows have been a part of Shintoism for over two thousand years. Much of the kyudo ceremony, the attire worn by the archers, and the ritual respect shown for the equipment and shooting place are derived from ancient Shinto practice.
The influence of Zen, on the other hand, is more recent, dating back to the Kamakura Period (1185-1333) when the warrior archers adopted Zen as their preferred method of moral training. Zen's influence on kyudo became even greater in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when Japan, as a whole, experienced a period of civil peace. During that time the practice of kyudo took on a definite philosophical leaning. This is the period when sayings like "one shot, one life" and "shooting should be like flowing water" were associated with the teaching of kyudo. Because of its long and varied past, modern Japanese archery will exhibit a wide variety of influences. Today, at any given kyudojo (practice hall), one can find people practicing ancient kyujutsu, ceremonial court games, rituals with religious connections, and contests of skill. The key to understanding kyudo is to keep an open mind and realize that any style of kyudo you see or practice is but a small part of a greater whole, and that each style has its own history and philosophical underpinnings which make them all equally interesting and important."



by Dan and Jackie DeProspero, co-authors with their teacher, Hideharu Onuma Hanshi, of the books Kyudo: The Essence and Practice of Japanese Archery and Illuminated Spirit: Conversations with a Kyudo Master

http://www.kyudo.com.html—Revised April 15, 2007
Copyright © 1998 Dan and Jackie DeProspero

Zen & Kyudo

Kyu-do... is translated as the way of the bow. Today we often speak of kyudo as zen archery. But the bow and arrow have been in Japan for thousands of years, and it has always had a spiritual element; perhaps this was only the shooting of the arrow, or the plucking of the string to scare away evil spirits...or to perform a ceremony; but the element was there. However, this could not be Zen; Zen did not come to Japan until much later.

If anything, Kyudo must be more related to Shinto, the current derivation of the shamanistic practices of ancient Japan. Indeed, A Guji (Shinto Priest) once told me, 'Kyudo is Shinto, and Shinto is Kyudo.' This practice however, was not known as Kyudo, but was called yumi no michi; but it was still translated as the way of the bow.

Buddhism was established as the official religion of Japan by Empress Suiko and her regent, Prince Shotoku Taishi (592-628ce). Prince Shotoko wrote Japanese treatise on Buddhism and was a great proponent of the religion...He established temples and promoted it's art and propagated the ideals of Buddhism.

Prince Shotoku also established the first official systematized form of using the bow 'Taishi-ryu'; But this was still no relation to zen archery. Bodai Daruma the Indian monk who formed Ch'an (the precursor of Zen in China) had arrived in China not much sooner than this; So Zen still had not reached Japan. And Taishi-ryu had little to no relationship with the Buddhist practices of the day; alhough many ceremonies for the bow were also systematized at this time with the formation of what we now call reisha or ceremonial shooting. Some Buddhist ideas infiltrated these ceremonies, but they also relied heavily on the shamanistic rituals already in existence.

The relationship between Buddhism and the indigenous religions of Japan can be confusing; they have been both held as the antithesis of eachother and they have been melded together as one. Sometimes during the same time period, by different authorities, one idea or the other may have been said to be correct. Sometimes they were melded with one faction holding sway over the other; Or the notion of no difference between them at all existed as well. Buddhism and the indigenous religion have throughout Japan's history been both held in antithesis of eachother and been melded together depending mostly on the reigning school of thought at the time. But other than some ceremonies performed by the warrior class, or some ceremonies by priests with the bow, there was no real relationship between Buddhist philosophy and shooting the bow and arrow. And Zen, still had not even arrived yet.

The practice of zen had come with earlier forms of Buddhism, but was not an independent school of Buddhism until Eisai (1141-1215) brought Zen back to Japan from China. Having Zen as an independent school of Buddhism was not welcomed by the other Buddhist sects already established in the Kansai area; so Eisai established himself in the Edo area where the Shogun held residence. The Shogun and Samurai class did embrace much of the zen teachings and so a tenuious relationship was established; but still no direct marriage of the zen and warrior arts actually existed.

Then in the Edo Period (1600-1868) this tenuous relationship was strengthened by a few warriors who became zen priests, or underwent zen training, and by other warriors who simply embraced zen like ideas during this time; but Kyu-jutsu as a whole certainly did not change to anything like a zen practice. This relationship was practiced only by a few, and these few would have been considered strange, at best.

It was in this time period that Master Morikawa Kozan, founder of the modern Yamato-Ryu, first wrote the term "kyu-do" (the way of the bow) instead of "Kyu-jutsu" (bow technique) to describe his art. The term may have been used earlier, but this is the first known written record of it.

So I suppose there may have been a few zen archers, but the majority of archers were warriors, just as they always had been.

With the advent of the Meiji Restoration, in 1868, many martial arts schools began to use the term 'do'. Beginning with Jigoro Kano who formed Judo from Ju-jutsu. The current 'dan' or black belt ranking system began about this time beginning with schools of Shogi (a Japanese Game, somewhat like chess). Even the indigenous religion was named Shinto (this to is a conjugation of 'do') to mean The Way of Those Above, or The Way of Those Who Came Before.

These 'Do' schools either had or began to blend and combine, to different degrees, ideas from Buddhism, Zen, Confucian, and Shinto into their practices.

This use of the term 'Do' distinguished those schools who would emphasis some combination of these philosophies with their technical teachings from those Ko-ryu (Old Schools) that would teach the warrior methods passed down through their lineage.

There were some groups of monks that from ancient times had warrior methods, and there were ancient schools of warrior monks that melded Buddhism and warrior ways; some of these schools may have been in zen temples. So there were some Zen Warriors, and some Zen Archers for centuries. These have been handed down as Buddhist training methods from generation of monks to generation of monks. But again the bulk of the 'do' schools were not these. The bulk were schools that wanted to change the emphasis of their school from killing to something else. These may have included zen like ideas, or simply orient themselves to more sportsman like characteristics. In fact most modern Budo (warrior way) emphasize these Confucian Character Building aspects in their practice rather than Zen or Buddhist ideas.

But the term 'Do' is the Japanese pronunciation of Chinese 'Tao' (The Way), so the originators of the term 'Do' may have expected to bring some Taoist ideas into their practice? Also the term Zen is the Japanese Pronunciation of the Chinese "Ch'an" (Chinese for Dhyana, or Mediation in English). In Zen at least when we use 'Do' we translate it as 'The Way, To Enlightenment'. When Bodai Daruma brought Buddhism to China, it began to synthesize with existing Taoist ideas and Ch'an was created. When Ch'an came to Japan it again melded with the indigenous ideas and became Zen...so in a way Zen is 'Do' and 'Do' is Zen. So maybe everyone who practices a 'Do' is practicing Zen? Well I've seen many who are obviously not practicing Zen, and some who would be offended should you say so. So maybe just as it always has been, there are only a select few who practice Zen and the arts, and the others are just practicing the modern version of that art. However, they all call it 'Do' so in the end, it must really all be the same.

As my teacher always told me when I asked about this subject "Don't worry about it... don't complicate things... Kyudo is Kyudo... Just keep practicing... Just keep shooting".

But still, it's an interesting topic, don't you think?

The Flower Story

There is a story we call nengemisho(u) (pick up flower, subtle smile). This story is about the transmission of Buddhism from Sakyamuni Butsu to Kasho(u). Sakyamuni silently held a up a lotus blossom for his disciples. As the others waited for the sermon of Sakyamuni to begin, Kasho smiled. Sakyamuni then recognized him in front of all others as having truly received the tradition, and he was henceforth known as Makakasho.

This transmission was wordless not resting on words or sacred texts, but a transmission outside the scriptures.

Thus was born Fu-Ryu Monji, the tradition of Zen to 'not stand on words and letters (sacred writtings).

This transmission is a direct experience of the individual. A spontaneous realization born of spiritual insight.

Makakasho had stepped through the gateless gate.

Getting Dressed

Once I was doing the clean up and set up Kosaka Sensei would come in time to change. I wanted to watch how to dress properly, But as I watched him put on the hakama (traditional billowing/pleated pants) I saw that he put his left foot in first (and realized that he had done the same with his tabi (split toed socks), as well as his dogi (shirt). But as I looked up again to see what was next he was putting the last tie on the hakama; I had missed the whole process.

This continued for the next few weeks until I could get dressed, at least similar to the way he did. Always left foot first... tabi first... then dogi... then obi (belt)... then hakama.

After that Kosaka Sensei always came already dressed.