For some time I have been thinking about the
relationship of Musashi’s book “The Book of Five Rings” interpreted for general
karate (Not style specific). So I used Bing to find a version at http://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Book-of-Five-Rings-by-Musashi-Miyamoto.pdf
I know there are many other translations ( and I believe I still have some
somewhere ) but this is a good a starting place as anywhere. I have but added a
few thoughts at this time.
The Book of Five Rings
Miyamoto, Musashi
Chapter 5
THE BOOK OF THE VOID
The Ni To Ichi Way of Strategy
is recorded in this the Book of the Void.
What is called the
spirit of the void is where there
is nothing. It
is not included in man's knowledge. Of course the void is nothingness. By knowing things that
exist, you can know that which does not exist. That is the void.
People in this world look
at
things
mistakenly, and
think
that
what they do not understand must be the void. This is not the true
void.
It is bewilderment.
In the Way of Strategy, also,
those
who
study as warriors think that whatever they cannot understand in their craft
is the void. This is not the true void.
To attain the Way of Strategy
as a warrior you
must
study fully other martial arts
and
not
deviate even
a little from the Way of the
warrior. With your spirit
settled, accumulate practice day by day, and hour by hour.
Polish
the twofold spirit heart and
mind,
and
sharpen the twofold
gaze perception and sight. When your
spirit
is not in the
least
clouded, when the clouds of bewilderment clear away, there is the true void.
Until you
realize
the
true
Way,
whether in Buddhism or in common sense, you may think that
things are
correct and in order. However,
if we look at things
objectively,
from
the
viewpoint of laws of the
world, we
see various doctrines departing from the true Way. Know well this spirit, and with forthrightness as the foundation and the true spirit as the Way. Enact
strategy broadly, correctly and openly.
Then you will
come to think of things
in a wide
sense
and,
taking
the void
as the Way, you will see the Way as void.
In the void
is virtue, and no evil. Wisdom has existence, principle has existence,
the Way has existence, spirit is nothingness.
There is some similarity to Karate here in any case. One translation
I have seen is Kara meaning Empty and the vast emptiness of Space. So Space
Hand as a different translation for karate. It was in an article by Patrick
McCarthy where I saw this. I realize this is not what most people think of as
the standard meaning, but I sort of liked Karate as being defined as the
Infinate (Empty) Hand.
In any case we end this look at Musashi’s writings with the Void.
1 comment:
I have taken the time to actually read everything I have written about on my blog.
Those words have given me much to think about. Not that I have accepted everything I have read.
Books often are built on earlier written works, which in time have been proven false, making the derivative works questionable.
But even understanding what is false, and learning how that drives other practices yields things too.
Pushing oneself continually is one way to keep growing.
Post a Comment