The ancient teachers often used symbols and analogies, as well as fiction, to convey meaning. Attempts to interpret the language of these symbolic accounts has obscured the true meaning behind many of these insightful teachings. For example, in Tsunetomo Yamamoto’s Hagakure, it sates ” A true retainer is his lords greatest follower, entrusting all matters, good and bad, to him in selfless deference to his Authority”1. Just what is an aspiring warrior supposed to make of this? That he is to follow his master, who may be an egotistical fool, in good times and bad? No. What this means is that a warrior is to follow “the way”, as this is his true “lord”.
The Martial Arts Master may or may not follow the way, but he should physically symbolise it as best he can in his actions. This is his or her job: To be a living example of what they preach and practice, and to the extent that a Master does this they can be considered successful. Obviously the vast majority of people who aspire to be masters do not actually attain this ideal, or if they do it is often for a short time. But none of this matters. By all means respect and trust your masters, seeing what is best in them, however to be “the lords greatest follower” and to “show deference to his authority” really means to serve the highest ideal. In other words, to serve the “Lord” or “The Way” simply means to aim for perfection in the form of the Warrior.
Yamamoto also says in Hagakure:
“Rehearse your death every morning and night. Only when you constantly live as though already a corpse will you be able to find Freedom in the Martial Way, and fulfill your duties without fault throughout your life”.
If we take this literally we must assume that the way of the warrior is suicide and that physical existence is unimportant. Whilst there have been many samurai and monks who have thought this way, this is not The Way, it doesn’t inspire a high ideal or bring “Heaven to Earth”. Once again, we a dealing with symbols and so what this means is that the warrior should fight the weakness inside of themselves by instead relating to their high ideal, which is to say their “Lord” and not their own imperfections. In other words, you should aim to fight evil tendencies and weakness, as these are the true enemies. This is what is meant by the Way, or bringing “Heaven to Earth”. Abiding by the way cannot mean severing ties with the physical, because the physical body is the expressional of the spiritual ideal. In fact, we would be unable to work on the physical form if we did this.
The mind must follow the way, that is to not dwell on peripheral matters, and keep active in the pursuit of the high ideal, never lingering in “swamps” or “marshes”.
In his Book the Unfettered Mind, Takuan Soho says:
“If ten men, each with a swords, come at you with swords slashing, if you parry each swords without stopping in the mind at each action, and go from one to the next, you will not be lacking in a proper action for every one of the ten.2”
The number ten appears frequently in Martial arts, and Elsewhere. That is why you find 10th Dan Black Belts, that is, the ten stages of initiation, such as found in the Ten Pranas in Yoga. But it also means “the one who bears light and penetrates obscurity”3. The number ten is also symbolic of the sword and shield, that is, the one looks like a sword, and the zero looks like a shield. Another way or saying this, is that the one, the individual, should embrace the truth, which is the zero. The zero should surround him like the circle around a axis of rotation.
The sword is of course symbolic of penetration into truth, and the shield reflects this truth. A further symbol of ten is the ten points of a compass. In this way, a fighter must be able to be aware of enemies from all around his centre, and train to act accordingly without delay. In yet another symbolic form, the number ten also means the unity of the body, the individual “one” and the mind, the “zero”. Here the zero symbolises eternal truths which must be perceived, as they exist before anything else, which form the basis of the individuals world, the circle that surrounds him. Instead he often gets caught up in peripheral matters and loses his centre.
As you may see, it is impossible to sum up the teachings of signs and symbols through techniques or form. Because they are principles governing them. It is equally futile to analyse and define these universal principles because they have such vast application. They apply equally to Buddhism, carpentry, Martial arts, or any other discipline and subject. This is noted by Musashi and many others, which is why he states “When you have mastered the practice of the science of martial arts, there will be nothing you do not see.”
In many of the ancient texts, the Masters state that the techniques are difficult or impossible to express in written form. Perhaps you can see why from the above examples. Any form, technique, or skill is simply a way of expressing the truth. In this way a given form which expresses truth holds true across all forms4. As such, there are conflicting physical forms which seem unrelated only on the surface. Such and such a form might be better against this or that form, but is weaker against still a different form. But there are no conflicting truths, and when this is understood there is unity.
There are peripheral aspects which vary in form, but the “centre” around which a form rotates provides the equilibrium. This is why a Martial artist must always remain centred5. This has obvious parallels with the one and the zero: The one viewed from above is the dot within the centre of a circle, which is the zero. In other words, the centre of gravity around which the body rotates. This is why Gravity plays such an important role in power and equilibrium development of the individual. Similarly, in the solar system the planets orbit the sun. The sun does not move from the centre, it controls the planets. This explains the idea of sun worship, as a concept for understanding truth. On the Military level, the general keeps his distance from the troops6, which is saying the same thing as the sun keeps its distance from the planets. This is in order to rule over them.
References
1 Tsunetomo Yamamoto Hagakure
2 Takuan Soho “The Unfettered Mind”
3 Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov Cosmic Balance, the Secret of polarity
4 Miyamoto Musashi The Book of five Rings
5 See My Alignment and Tension Exercises https://harmanater.com/2020/03/22/alignment-and-tension-exercises/
6 Sun Tzu The Art of War
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