The Saber of Life

As I returned from a very interesting Aunkai training course with Miyakawa Kahuisa, Hanshi student to Minoru Akuzawa, an old text came back to my mind, written by Yagyu munenori 柳生宗矩  « Heihō kadensho 兵法家伝書 » which talks about an element that is invisible and quite concrete at the same time.

One passage talks about the Great potential (Daiki 大機 ) and the great function (Daiyu 大用 ) which means the very substance of things and their function.

To explain the meaning he gives to those terms, the author uses these examples :

• The lantern is substance. The light is its function.
• The bow is substance. Stretch, let go, hit the target are its functions.

• The saber is substance. Cutting and piercing are its functions.

• The prune tree is substance. Its flowers, its fruits and its color are its functions.

Thus, through these images and the explanations that accompany them, he wants to make a statement that the potential of the being is substance and its external manifestations as well as the different actions are nothing but functions.

The deep meaning of all this can be detailled by the image of the prune tree that possesses a substance, the flowers bloom from this substance, the colors appear and their perfume spreads.

To say that the potential can be found inside while the function expresses itself outside.

What Yagyu munenori  柳生宗矩  nominates as the Great potential (Daiki 大機 ) is the complete liberty of the being that allows to perform any action (including function) in combat. This is what he calls the Great function (Daiyu 大用 ), and this is what allows the trespassing of the common teaching’s limits.

A Zen sentence says :

Daiki daiyu hayaki kotokaze no gotoshi (大機大用疾如風)

« The function follows the potential as fast as the wind »

•  The Ki of Daiki 大機 makes a reference to the inner work of the mind
• While the Yu of Daiyu 大用 refers to the actions which testify of this inner work 
• Dai 大 refers to Great (in the divine meaning of things)

By this, Yagyu munemoru says that if the potential is not always maintained inside, the Great function as little chance to manifest itself.

The potential seen by Yagyu munenori  柳生宗矩  is the ch’i ;

It is called potential because of the place it stays. In its conception, the mind is inside while the ch’i is at the entrance. The potential is a pivot, similar of what a door hinge would be.

By this Yagyu munemori wants to make us understand that if the mind is master of the body it is also the person that stays inside of it.

In the part of the text that the Saber instrument of death, there is an element that talks about MUNEN 無念 non-thought.

It is said there that « To only think of winning is a sickness. To only think of using the martial art is a sickness. To only think of showing the result of your training is a sickness ».

The « sickness » in the text is a form of attachment which solidifies things and let’s not forget that, in buddhism, all forms of solidifaction are banished.

In order to reach the level of non thought, there exists levels to allow the sickness to be chased away.

These 2 levels are :

shoju (初重) the preliminary level

goju   (後重) the deep level

The preliminary level consists of chasing away the thought by another thought and it is that chain of thoughts that ends up chasing away all kind of solid thought from the mind.

This first step’s goal is to help apply the second level, the deep level, which will consist of chasing all thought without thinking you want to do it, because the mere thought of chasing an idea by another is a sickness.

The objective is then to abbandon ourselves to the thought and follow our path despite it.

Then, the thought goes through us like a flow of air without having any impact on our being.

The MUNEN 無念 non thought was an important element for the Aïkido practice that Nobuyoshi Tamura 田村信喜 taught and often repeated.

This text and what we find in it explains things very well about our nature, its comprehension and the way to trespass what blocks us.