Kindness and Softness: The Highest Level of All Arts

 

Kindness and Softness: The Highest Level of All Arts

The way I see it, all arts have three levels of learning. These are: 1. technical learning, 2. technical mastery together with basic training of the mind, and 3. mastery of both the art and the mind.

In the history of East-Asian arts and (zen) artists there are instances of stage 3 that transcends both technique and the self-based mind, and there are lineages that have particularly focused on getting to stage 3 and developed views and ways to get there. This is the realm of zen art or true spiritual art that developed into its own thing in Japan.

It has been made clear by many great masters of martial and fine arts, such as Miyamoto Musashi (17^th century) and Yamaoka Tesshu (19^th century) that after the initial stages of learning all arts boil down to the mind of the practitioner and that mastery of the art cannot be attained through technique alone. You could say that the art of the mind is the foundational art of all arts which is true because when an artist stops practicing or performing one's art, be it taichi, tea ceremony, running or basketball, one is left with one's body and mind. The art of zen, the art of being is definitely the heart and soul of all arts, even if most artists and athletes are unaware of it.

 

Wang Xizhi

But most artists, including practitioners of traditional arts in East-Asian countries do not know this and have the view that mastery has to do with perfecting particular techniques and forms of one's art. That the whole dimension of mind and its effect on one's artistic performance is so poorly known is quite weird for the fact that we all have minds that affect everything in our lives, including the arts. Interestingly, the past two decades secular mindfulness practices have become popular in the field of professional athletic training but with its practices of attentiveness and relaxation, secular mindfulness is still far from what awakening/s (zen) makes possible and lacks the character development that comes with recognition of oneself as a perfectly wakeful being, or buddha.

The lineage I belong to through Terayama Roshi, originated from the calligrapher saint Wang Xizhi who lived in 4^th century China but roshi was a representative of other arts and lineages too, namely rinzai zen-lineage and jikishinkage ryu kenjutsu-lineage of Omori Sogen Roshi. Throughout his life he studied many disciplines of Japan, China and Tibet, and many teachers of various arts came to study with him. Terayama Roshi was a very highly regarded specialist of zen arts in all of Japan. I remember studying calligraphy with Imao Toshio Shihan (8. dan) in a small village in Nagano prefecture who was astounded to learn that I was a student of Terayama Roshi, just to give you an example how famous he was.

Terayama Roshi, despite of him being a high level master and a teacher of masters of their own arts, was a very kind, humble and simple man. I knew him for the last 3 years of his life (when he was 66-69 years old) so I didn't know him when he was younger but I've been told by other students of Omori Roshi that despite of him being somewhat serious and fiery like martial artists usually are when they're less than 40 years of age, he was also very kind and considerate towards others. I have never heard a word of him being rude. He started practicing zen – zen buddhist meditation - when he was a teenager and did so for many decades. Practicing being present tends to mold a person's character but it also refines one's ethics and manners.

I remember once training at Budokan in Tokyo where he demonstrated a particular section of a kenjutsu kata, sword form, to me. I have seen dozens of other aged high ranking martial artists do similar demonstrations to really feel their self-importance in the air. I've seen people's, some of who are very well known teachers, egos getting triggered in similar situations. I never felt that from him which I am sure is because of his training in the art of awakening. He was soft and kind, and also a very realistic person.

Getting triggered is based on insecurity, uncertainty and fear that most often comes from trauma but this whole field, the way how one's mind affects one's level and mastery in the arts, is almost never discussed or if it is, it is superficial and incomplete.

To become a master in any art, one needs to master one's mind or at least have significant degree of clarity in terms of nonduality. One may be physically or artistically talented to be able to run faster, jump higher, punch harder or paint better than others but if the small self is in the mix, from the perspective of zen arts, this is still low quality art.

-Amrita Baba, 11 Jan 23

Buddhanature in Inner Martial Arts

 

Buddhanature in Inner Martial Arts

Oskar: What are these qi gong exercises for? Any spesific yogic purpose I mean? (Comment to this video).

Kim: Hi Oskar⁠. I come from a tradition that combines dharma practice with martial and fine arts. But I realise it is very difficult for me to answer what would be the purpose of it. Well, there are common reasons, like learning to unify the body and to move with a unified body. This alone is a tremendously rewarding learning process and we can all understand what is the benefit of learning how to use and carry our bodies well aligned. You don't learn this from only doing sitting practices, nor you learn it from Western sports. From the purely physical perspective, Alexander technique is somewhat close to what is done in (specifically) Chinese "inner martial arts" but what is done inwardly in Chinese arts, that knowledge is entirely absent in modern sports and forms of exercise whatever they may be. The result of this can be seen how (fit) people carry their bodies, how people jog and so on. There is no inner structure, no inner composition or understanding how the body could be used in optimal fashion.
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⁠Regarding the internal aspects of what I am doing on the video, I wriote this few days ago: http://openheartopenheart.blogspot.com/2021/07/doing-nothing-just-stand.html
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⁠What you are seeing on the video is atiyoga from one perspective of mind, while simultaneously using dynamic concentration (active mental pushing while doing the pushing movement). Here from the point of view of mind, the basic state and the action of dynamic concentration (in the form of physical and mental pushing) are of same taste, and not two separate things.
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⁠Typically active mental pushing, called yi in Chinese, pronounced ee in English (the yi in yiquan, lit. intent), in inner martial arts is practiced just like mindfulness is cultivated by mindfulness practitioners. Mindfulness is always momentary and then you get distracted. Thosewith excellent concentration abilities can remain mindful for as long as they want but this doesn't mean that the basic state would be there as a sort of bedrock. So, to me, merely cultivating active mental pushing (yi) in yiquan momentarily, just like the practice of mindfulness, is incomplete. This is the reason why I spent years in dharma practice stabilising the basic state. Now when it is stabilised, I feel ready and very motivated to give my inner state an external expression, here through this movement. And as you can see there are no “gaps”.
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⁠To me, all forms of practice have always been about reality and it's expression and this is also of course how Terayama Sensei taught. But even long before that,when I started judo at 7, I wasn't interested about belt colours or competing. It's been a life long haul and now finally, with unshakable confidence, I can focus on inner martial arts and bodywork.
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⁠I don't know what I can accomplish through this but because I took a vow of trying to bring zen arts to Westerners and people of the world, that is what I will do. 

 

- Kim, 4.7.2021 

Westernizing the Arts of Zen

 

Westernizing the Arts of Zen

Hello all!

I think there are many new members here who don't know the history of this page. I started it 10 years ago and have been somewhat active through the whole time posting interesting links and sources on the wall (scroll down to access).

I studied zen calligraphy and zen art with Terayama Tanchu Sensei, buddhist heir and student of Omori Sogen Roshi and Yokoyama Tenkei Sensei, until Sensei passed away in 2007. He was probably the most respected and widely known authority of zen art and zen calligraphy in Japan.

Myself being a Westerner, I have spent many years processing the meaning of zen art in the West because basically all the Western people/practitioners I've ever met cannot relate to the outer form of Japanese and Asian zen art because they are not used to black ink, white paper and other such purely Asian features. For this reason I've spent any years contemplating the meaning and expression of zen art in the West in a form that Westerners could relate to. I have shared my thoughts about this throughout the years, as well as developed my own style of painting in the process. 

 

No East, No West - Mu To Zai, by Terayama Tanchu Sensei

I think there is a treasure chest within everyone of us, modern citizens and artists of the world, that is waiting to be discovered (zen, awakening, enlightenment) that can then be expressed through different artforms. We have art tradition of our own in the West or wherever you might live, but what is missing is the pure and bright mind, soft heart and unified body that was cultivated together with the art form in ancient Asia. Here, there is lot to learn for Westerners.

Because of my training this topic is very dear to my heart so I hope to contribute to bringing Western or non-Asian art forms and teachings of recognised reality together.

OK, I just wanted to say few words of introduction and welcome our new members. Feel free to ask and discuss about these topics here.

Here is a video of my teacher Terayama Sensei doing a form of physical-awareness exercises. I haven't seen anyone move like that, not before or since :) https://youtu.be/lZ6FHg9IIJo

-Kim, 30.5.2021

Zen Art and Zen Calligraphy at FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/257852984267435/

New and Fresh Zen!

New and Fresh Zen!

Today, I am reminded of my past training in zen buddhism and zen art. Due to many past lives as a zen buddhist, I always felt at home with zen, and I miss it. I miss that spirit.

Few years ago I sketched a zen method, basically a new zen tradition, and today I felt like writing a book about it. Well, a booklet since I'm not much of a writer but anyway. Terayama Sensei asked me to continue teaching after him but like he didn't continue the traditional syllabus of rinzai zen, I definitely would not use or write about the practices of traditional zen, because they weren't that effective for me or for Terayama Sensei. Sensei didn't teach koans because he didn't think they were that effective in relation to time and effort that you have to put into it. Later, he actually took up Amitabha practice and I can very well understand why. I always felt it would have been much better if Pure Land Buddhism had first spread to the West instead of zen... but anyway.

It is not diffcult to have recognition of buddhanature (j. kensho, satori) if we know how the mind works and how we can strike through it, to make the original face show up. While quietive methods don't work so well, dynamic concentration, together with bodhicitta, works in excellent manner. Many zen teachers say the same, that it is not difficult to have kensho but it takes a lot of time to integrate them. In a sense that is true but I have a different take on this.

 

Photo of Terayama Sensei and me in 2005, in front of Yamaoka Tesshu's Tiger and Dragon at Tsukuba Dojo, Chiba, Japan.

There is no buddhist practice other than recognising oneself as a fully enlightened buddha. In other words, kensho is the one and only practice. In other words, all the time spent in non-recognition is nothing else than samsara. 

 

Practitioners need to do practices that enable them to have this recognition at *every session* of practice. Practitioners need to do practices that enable them to have short momentary glimpses, and small and big breakthroughs (kensho) on *daily* basis, not just every now and then, or years apart. The training need not take decades but can be done in years through dynamic practices. This is the correct and the only way to understand samadhi for there is no other samadhi except wisdom (skt. prajna) and compassion (karuna) of the buddha.

This is a point that is hammered hard by the ancestors. One after the other they make it diamond clear that the practice of zen is the practice of recognising ourselves as buddhas. I know from my experience as a teacher and treasure revealer of tantra and atiyoga that this is possible from beginners to advanced bodhisattva-practitioners.

There are very different types of methods with very different types of practicing experiences than the ones we are familiar with. Like the masters of the old times, I am just making my voice being heard for those who have ears to hear. Maybe I should write that book.

I send my love and appreciation to Terayama Sensei. You encouraged me to ask questions that others didn't dare to ask. For that I am ever greatful.

Kim

Visceral Study of Spiritual Martial Arts

 

Visceral Study of Spiritual Martial Arts

I'd like to share something about hitsuzendo - the way of the zen brush - body movement and Yamaoka Tesshu Sensei's calligraphy. If you take this as a practice, it might change the course of your bodily (martial or healing) practice. My zen calligraphy and zen master Terayama Tanchu Sensei's main practice close to the end of his life was kusho (空書, lit. empty writing) - writing in the air with one's hands and body. He would hang up a calligraphy or painting on his wall, study the movement of the brush and then trace it in the air with his hands and body movement. The idea is not to study Chinese language but to study the bodily movement of the past masters to better understand how they moved which in turn reveals something really interesting of their state of mind, or realisation. The basic idea of kusho is very simple. You could for example write your own name or some piece of text in plain block letters or cursive handwriting to try it out. The idea is to use one's whole body while applying different kinds of intensity of intent (c. yi/j. i, 意) into the writing. What I mean by different kinds of intensity is that we could use our hand to write very lightly in the air, like writing with a finger on the surface of water (without making the water splash) or we could imagine tracing our finger one inch inside mud. With mud we would have to use more intention or concentration to get the thing written. Our writing could also be a combination of both light and heavy, combined with slow and fast. From here to enter the realm of "zen" we would have to be able to recognise the most basic state of mind or basic awareness, commonly called buddhanature (佛性) in mahayana buddhist schools.

In the case of a professional zenman this buddhanature should be present at all times and one's writing, whether in the air or on paper, becomes a play of intent, where intent isn't based on mindfulness (念) but on effortless basic awareness. Because of this fundamental difference in the degree of realisation (見性), the meaning and result of intent is not the same but becomes non-intent (無意) because mindfulness does not appear and disappear. This very point separates "zen calligraphy" or zen art from ordinary art. Anyway, the point of kusho is to write in the air or to trace the movements of masters' works with one's body. I am sharing here one of Yamaoka Tesshu Sensei's calligraphies. The large characters on the left read Namu Amida Butsu, which venerates Amitabha Buddha. The small characters on the right are a part from some sutra or poem. I don't know what it says but it's not important either for our purposes.

Tesshu is one of the most respected spiritual martial artists of all times in Japan. He died in 1888 so he is quite recent and this is why there are many of his works available. Tesshu was a martial artist of the highest kind who held several lineages of kenjutsu and kendo and started his own Muto/No-Sword school. To understand Tesshu's uniqueness, we need to know the order of the strokes in calligraphis characters. Generally, calligraphes are written in vertical lines from right to left. The strokes in characters are written from up to down, left to right, from outside to inside. The piece below is wrotten in cursive or "grass" script and doesn't look except distantly to what people associate with kanji, Chinese characters. Anyway, with these few instructions you can understand that you begin from the top right corner and how each character is formed. It would really be important to get the order right to get the point that I'm trying to make. When you do know the right order, then trace through the whole piece. Do it several times. Get the angles right. That is very important... because it shows exactly how Tesshu, the legendary spiritual martial artist, moved...

Now, I have analysed thousands of calligraphies but among all of them Tesshu is unique. No one out there moved like he did. People move like block letters but not Tesshu... It must have puzzled the heck out of his students and opponents who came to challenge him! If you study how he moved, you will see that because of his exceptional free flowing shapes, you can't predict his movements and that is the treasure to be found from Tesshu's works. Copying him opens up a whole different realm of bodymind movement that I have not seen elsewhere in my 35 years of study of the field.

-Kim Orgyen Pema Rinpoche Katami 

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