DISCLAIMER: COMPLEX CONTENT

I have not been in the dōjō for three months, and I have the feeling that Sensei’s movements gained in subtlety. How can it be possible? I am amazed. After class last Friday, I spoke with Liz, a Canadian resident about it and she agreed with me.

I will not detail here what he does because every one of his moves is the expression of high-level Mutō Dori. It is beyond explanations.

Sensei controls his Uke from the very start, and all along the movement. When asked to share what he felt, Duncan said: “Sensei controls me at the very moment he calls me to attack him.” There are no more Waza, only natural adaptive movements.

But his teachings are also getting much more profound. And I want to share some of his lessons from Sunday here. I will give you a few keys to understand, but I will not try to explain them. You can share what you got from it, later in the comments.

Sensei introduced the class by speaking about 悟, Satori. (1) He said the Kanji contains three parts: Kokoro (2), five (3), mouth (4). This new sanshin links the Gojō (5) to the Gogyō. Understanding that, he said, is the goal of the Dai Shihan.

Before I expose the Gojō, I want to explain what a Dai Shihan is in today’s Bujinkan. I heard many people being critical about this evolution of Sensei’s vision. First, once again, Sensei does what he wants and if you are unhappy, then shut up or go away. Second, during the last class Sensei said that with the Mutō Dori of 2018, the real Budō was beginning. He noted that the Dai Shihan are entering the Shōden level of Mutō Dori. That means that we are only beginning to scratch the surface of a new dimension of Budō. Dai Shihan sounds much better than Ōkudo (old beginner), don’t you think?

The Gojō are the five virtues of Confucianism. (6)

In “Advanced stick fighting” (48), Hatsumi Sensei lists the Gojō as:

滅の不施, Fumetsu no Fuse, endless giving 真道の持戒, Mamichi no Jikai, awareness, right path of self-justice 自然の忍にく, Shizen no Ninniku, perseverance, forbearance 光明の悟り, Komyō no Satori, the light of enlightenment 自然の超越, Shizen no Choetsu, natural transcendence (7)

Confucianism defines them also as (same order):

JIN: Benevolence, charity GI, JINGI, O: Justice, rectitude, righteousness, morality REI: Courtesy, politeness, tact TOMO, CHI, SATOSHI: Wisdom, knowledge NOBU, SHIN, SATORI: Sincerity, trust, fidelity (8)

Sensei has been using the verb Tsunagaru (to be connected to), a lot these days. (9)

So, the mission of the Dai Shihan this year is to “connect” the Gojō and the Gogyō, through Satori (Kokoro, Go, Kuchi).

I hope the next classes will shed some light on how to achieve that. Because right now, I am lost. I wish I were a Satori (10), a monster that can read minds.

Anyway, next Sunday is the first Buyukai meeting at Hana. I guess Sensei will give us the direction to follow during this year. (11)

Ganbatte! (12)

___________________________

1. 悟, satori: comprehension; understanding; enlightenment; spiritual awakening

2. 心, Kokoro: heart, mind, spirit

3. 五, go: 5

4. 口, Kuchi, mouth, gate, opening

5. 五常, gojō: the five cardinal Confucian virtues (justice, politeness, wisdom, fidelity, and benevolence)

6. More on Confucianism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism

7. The Five Constants are:

Rén (仁, benevolence, humaneness);

Yì (義/义, righteousness or justice);

Lǐ (禮/礼, proper rite);

Zhì (智, knowledge);

Xìn (信, integrity).

8. In a recent post, Duncan lists the Gojō as being:

滅の不施, Fumetsu no Fuse, Everlasting giving

真道の持戒, Mamichi no Jikai, Vow of the true way

自然の忍にく, Shizen no Ninniku, Natural resolve

自然の超越, Shizen no Choetsu, Transcendence of nature

光明の悟り, Komyō no Satori, Illumination of the awakening

9. 繋がる, Tsunagaru, to be tied together; to be connected to; to be linked; to be related to

10. 覚, satori: folklore monster that can read minds

11. Since January 2018, the Buyukai replaces the Shidōshikai. The new organization is now accessible to any practitioner. The first Buyukai meeting will take place at Hana. That is the usual restaurant in front of the old Honbu. Lunch begins at 2 pm after Sensei’s class.

12. A Personal message to Phil. So? What do you think?

Arnaud COUSERGUE

Source : https://kumablog.org/2018/03/05/satori-gojo-gogyo/