The Role of Zen in Martial Arts

It's said that the roots of many of the Martial Arts isunmoving for hours while in deep meditative practice.
in India, with Buddhist monks. While many sourcesThe Martial arts they practiced were a great means
give conflicting data, it's known that in Japan, the onlyof physical exercise while still being based heavily on
places that were large enough to allow for indoortheir philosophical beliefs of peace through
training during inclement weather, were the huge"understanding conflict."Zen, the most popular form
Buddhist temples. In fact, much of what is done inof Buddhist thought known today, is directly related
Martial Arts schools with a Japanese backgroundto the cross-cultural interchange between Martial Arts
comes from, and can be traced back to thisand the many philosophical systems that came
connection.For example, white uniforms were thetogether as these teachings travelled from India,
attire of Japanese Buddhist monks and lay-peopleacross the Himalayas, through China and into Japan.
alike. The kyu and dan "class" and "level" gradeIronically, many Westerners have no idea that Zen is
rankings were originally developed for and used asa form of Buddhist study and practice, nor is it
markers for how much a monk had learned andusually seen as much more than "seated meditation"
progressed through his training. And, much of theto most martial artists - both teachers and
etiquette within dojos "training halls") is identical tostudents.Japanese Zen Master Taisen Deshimaru
those used in these same temples to show respectoften wrote about Zen and the principles of Bushido,
to all that has gone before me and to all that I aspireor "the way of the warrior," which grew, in part, out
to become. In fact, the Japanese kanji charactersof Buddhist thought.The principles of:Gi: Having the
used to write the word 'dojo' actually refer to "aright decision, right attitude, the truthYu: Bravery
place where enlightenment takes place."Now, beforetinged with heroismJin: Universal love; compassionRei:
you run out and scream about quitting for fear ofRight action; courtesyMakoto: Utter sincerity;
being converted to Buddhism, Hinduism, or sometruthfulnessMeiyo: Honor; high ethical characterChugo:
other 'foreign', sacrilegious cult - don't panic. Buddhism,Devotion; loyaltywere the common ground between
while often practiced like many conventional Westernthe monk and the warrior. In fact, there is no
religions, is not really a religion at all - at least not thedifference between the two.Deshimaru emphasized
way most people define or practice a so-calledthat the learning and practice of these principles is a
'religion'.As developed by the founder Siddharthalifelong process, and needs to take place "...in the
Gautoma, refered to as the Buddha ("one who isbody, through the unconscious." The ancient tradition
awake"), and fine-tuned over the past two and a halfof the Martial Arts is an internal process, a gradual
- plus centuries, Buddhism is a philosophy of personalconnection with one's own deep-seated intuition.
development whereby the practitioner works toDeshimaru explains: "In the spirit of Zen . . .everyday
understand his or her true nature and the immutablelife becomes a contest. There must be an awareness
laws of the universe that govern the world andat every moment: getting up in the morning, working,
everything in it. It is not at all a belief system as areeating, going to bed. That is the place for the
many religions today, but instead relies on themastery of self."Jeffrey M. Miller is the founder and
student coming to an intimate understanding ofmaster instructor of Warrior Concepts International.
reality and truth through direct, personalA senior teacher in the Japanese warrior art of
experience.One of the monks credited withNinjutsu, he specializes in teaching the ancient ways
developing martial Arts in the Buddhist temples of theof self-protection and personal development lessons
time was known as Bodhidharma, the founder ofin a way that is easily understood and put to use by
Zen. This new training was readily adopted by themodern Western students and corporate clients.
monks for many reasons. And while the monks mayThrough their martial arts training, his students and
have been interested in defending themselves fromclients learn proven, time-tested lessons designed to
unfriendly outsiders, it is also likely that they alsohelp them create the life they've always dreamed of
wished to prepare themselves for the demands ofliving, and the skills necessary for protecting that life
their daily lives - lives which required that they satfrom anything that might threaten it.