The Making of Mushin

The Making of Mushin (無心)

by StephenM

First, there was the Stone Age, in which man made implements with stone to accomplish certain tasks:  cutting, piercing, and striking. Then came the Bronze Age when metalworking was possible and copper was alloyed with tin to make more specialized tools. This was when there developed more market and trade. Language evolved from pictograms and ideograms to an early form of writing. When man was able to smelt iron, the Iron Age was born. Iron was the material of choice for cutting tools and weapons. This also led to a rapid progression from an agrarian society to industrialisation. The industrial revolution brought with it significant social changes and economic growth.

The pace of life has increased, as has the speed at which new developments occur. We now live in a silicon age where almost every aspect of our lives is governed by the use of computer chips, microprocessors. The rate at which we are bombarded with information has become staggering. Sensory overload is now the norm. We arrive at the dojo having driven a car through traffic with all kinds of unnatural stimuli: radio, traffic lights, brake lights, turn signals, illuminated store signs, advertising, and on and on and on. We may have been talking on the phone - another instance of electronic distraction - before, during, or after driving to the dojo. Our minds are constantly active, constantly busy living life at a frenetic pace.

Then we arrive at the dojo, where we must put aside our everyday lives, calm our minds, and focus on our practice. How can we block out the harried pace we closed the door on when we entered the dojo? How can we put our troubles aside and deliver our best performance for our partners? We do seiza (正座)^[1]. Actually, sensei’s call to seiza is just asking us to assume the proper sitting position, when possible. Then, the senior student will recite some words which precede, yet are part of, the class. Here are those words and their meaning.

Shin kokyu (深呼吸) – deep breathing: breathe in through the nose and exhale slowly through the mouth, feeling the warm air pass through your lips as the air escapes, feel the cleansing nature of a deep breath and the release of tension that accompanies it. Continue this breathing pattern to the end.

Mokuso (黙想) – meditation:  this is somewhat a personal choice of what you choose to reflect upon, something calming, soothing, peaceful. For example, imagine the dew drop on a leaf sliding down to the tip and falling into a small puddle below. The drop represents the worries of the mind, the trials of the day, the troubles of your life outside the dojo. The drop strikes the surface of the puddle and sends concentric ripples out to the edge of the puddle where they are reflected back towards the centre, attenuated, just as your troubles seem less significant once you truly reflect on them. The ripples collide with each other in a complex pattern in the centre and reflect back towards the edges of the puddle even more attenuated. The reflections of the ripples repeat once or twice until the surface is once again undisturbed, a mirror for the reflection of one’s more peaceful thoughts. The more you reflect on them the lesser your troubles, like the attenuated ripples in the puddle. The water is once again calm, as is your mind.

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