I have been thinking about this for some time. It sounds kind of backwards to think about being in a state of "No Mind" but I have been stuck on it. Some of it comes from the fact that my son will be taking the Godan test this winter along with another friend. Some of it comes from things Soke has said over and over in Japan. Some comes from Steve Olsen's recent seminar in which he discussed the Gokui no Uta. Not 2 day's later Doug Wilson's Henka mentioned that Soke's next book was Budo no Gokui. Lastly, I turned on the TV and Scoobie Do had just beaten the Evil Samurai Spirit because he was able to have no mind because he has no mind!

I was wondering it anyone has any training drills, practices, or methods that you use to practice or start to work on this feeling of "Mu Shin". No Mind, No heart, No thinking, No Emotion.....what ever you call it.

Any Ideas?


Marty

So far I could only achieve this state when i was completely worked out and under great stress where i was utterly tired to even think about what i am about to do. And even then it only lasted for a few heartbeats when i realized that i was not thinking and that was the end of it

Meditation is the only actual "exercise" to build No Mind that seems to have trackable progress. But, when dealing with real life situations, experience is the best teacher. Lack of experience equates to fear and fear is the cancer of the mind that blocks self control. That's why, in my opinion, taijutsu is a kind of "moving meditation" only in the sense that correct training is to combine the Sanshin of body, mind and spirit.

So, I guess my answer to training for "No Mind" is to train correctly and train often with the right people. Get out and experience life so that you continue to develop wisdom and maturity. Then, spend time in reflection and meditation to absorb and allow the experiences to reveal their lessons and become a part of you. And, most of all, learn to smile - I mean really smile. Learn to be at peace with all things, all people, all experiences, past and present. That takes the highest form of maturity.

All of that will give you the Fudoshin to have Mushin, in my opinion...

The Fudoshin to have Mushin. . .I like that!

Extreme jet lag and low blood sugar helped me achieve No Mind for the Go-Dan test....so pick a really ugly Japan flight for him Marty!

I agree with Darren, meditation is key. That said, I don't do a lot of formal sitting and meditating. I use the bowing in/out ceremony to clear my mind. Eventually I have found that I could sometimes experience this feeling while physically training as well. Its what I "thought about" when I took the godan test - shikin haramitsu daikomyo...

Chris

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Right now I think he is working more on the Scooby Do method!

I agree with Darren. Repetitive training on the Kihon is a kind of moving meditation that most of us use to relax the monkey in our mind. It requires time and dedication!

Marty

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This brings up a good point, although slightly off topic. People put way too much on meditating "rituals". Meditation can be anywhere, involving just about any activity or non-activity. For me, I meditate constantly. Sometimes it's at traffic lights, sometimes it's in the quiet moments before or after class, the drive home, first moments of the morning or as I lay my head down for the night. Some of my best meditations have been after work when I relax outside on the patio, reflecting on my day and even just sitting in "zero", enjoying the peace that comes with not having to do, think or say anything. I'd even go for that quiet time out on a lake in the early morning, with a fresh cast of my fishing line out into the still glassy surface, listing to the gentle lapping of water against the side of my boat, admiring the small circle of widening ripples from where my sinking lure dove beneath the surface. All that exists is me and nature at that moment and I treasure the feeling. In that moment, I find I experience true peace. It doesn't need a ritual, per se, or any esoteric mantra.

That feeling is what I think we strive for with mushin. You're not "dead", but rather very much "alive" in a peaceful nothingness of being. You are disconnected but not ignorant or clueless. You are attached but not clinging.

Now be that way when that sword comes crashing down into the core of your being and you'll touch on what I believe to be the sensitivity needed to pass the sakki test. Or just be very, very lucky...

I wonder if my test had more to do with the latter!

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There is a great training drill/practice/method called "sanshin no kata".

That will work just fine....provided you are doing it correctly.


- Mark Spada

Nice topic.

I think mushin is one of those things that can be defined in many different ways to fit a philosophy in Japanese art (martial or other). The simple way is zazen and then there are ideas of ritualistically doing an activity until it can be done unconsciously. I think in Hatsumi-sensei’s mind these are ways of experiencing the feeling but he dislikes seated meditation and dislikes ritual and I think is interested in the idea within the moment – spontaneously.

In western art it’s known as improvisation and I think a decent explanation is given here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvisation#Explanation

I believe “training” for mushin is just our normal training. Most people will not truly attain it.

With too little focus on technique taijutsu is sloppy and ineffective; with too much focus on technique it is lifeless, predictable and unresponsive.
With too little focus on kata taijutsu has no grounding; with too much it becomes trapped in form.
Etc

My opinion anyway …..