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MU
SHIN, MU
GAMAE
MUSHIN Empty
Mind, Not thinking, Without
Conscience, Without emotion
Mindless, Endless, No-mind-ness
MUGAMAE
Without posture, Without stance
No posture, No attitude-ness
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A
philosophical concept that lies in the heart of Tomiki's
Budo, "Mushin Mugamae." "Mushin" is a
state in which the mind lets go from itself, no longer
seeing things as "this and that, good and bad, right
and wrong, gain and loss, life and death-all which must be
seen as a oneness." "Mushin" is a mind
undisturbed by effects of any kind from which proceeds a
"flowing mind and body" and making possible the
performance of skilful technique without "conscious
efforts made to generate and sustain it."
Mushin is the Zen concept of “no mindedness,” a
state in which there is no preconceived thought that
interrupts the flow of physical action.
Mu means “nothing, empty, or no.”
Shin means “mind or heart” in both the physical
and in the spiritual sense. Thus in terms of Zen, there is
no separation between thought and emotion.
To feel it is to think it; to think it is to feel it.
The
corollary of "Mushin" is "Mugamae", the
body adopting the posture or stance appropriate to any
situation without the conscious direction of the mind.
With
no preconceived thought or emotion, action will be one with
thought and emotion. Thus
to think it and to feel it is to do it.
A circle is always balanced.
There is no distinguishing top or bottom, left or
right. It has
no point or goal but to be a circle.
The planet Saturn represents the eternal rotation of
the solar system. Should
the planet cease to rotate, it will be destroyed, and
harmony will cease in the universe.
The planets affect the tides, the never-ending flow
of water. Should
the oceans cease to flow, stagnation will occur.
Stagnation in the physical world and in our personal
lives will bring about defeat in martial arts and in life.
The planet Saturn is bound by its rings, which
represent constraint and control.
The planet Saturn in harmony with the universe and
its own self-contained cosmos, therefore, represents the
mindless circle. Training
in martial arts is meaningless unless it leads to the
continual perfection of the practitioner, despite the
outside forces of negativity and darkness that constantly
work in opposition to spirituality and the light of hope.
Thus the way of Mushin Mugamae is “the way of the
mindless (endlessness) circle.”
There is not always a specific goal in a martial arts
technique or in life. In
most martial arts systems, the techniques have an “end in
mind.” Too
often the goal is to hurt or maim an opponent.
These techniques can also be easily countered,
leaving the practitioner with no options.
The circle stops.
But a technique designed to be a means of achieving
harmony with an opponent’s flow has many options.
Since the technique has not been predetermined, it
will be difficult to defend against.
Because the end is not in the martial artist’s
mind, it does not exist until created in response to the
flow of combat. Also
in reaction to an opponent’s attack, a strike can become a
block; a block can become a strike, with or without power.
A strike can even turn into a pat on a potential
opponent’s back should the moment of conflict be
eliminated prior to a physical confrontation.
The correct technique will occur when the martial
artist is in the flow of the mindless circle.
A momentary defeat is only a chance to create another
artistic endeavour based upon achieving the harmony
contained in the mindless circle.
Even in defeat if a martial artist is in the flow of
the endless circle, the defeat can become a means to
spiritual and physical regeneration.
The defeat becomes a victory, and the circle is
completed.
Even
in life’s every day endeavours, many individuals always
look for ends or achievements and often lose sight of the
means necessary to attain those goals.
A missed opportunity in life is merely a chance for
those individuals to aspire to another—perhaps more
exciting—achievement that would never have been realized
had their original goals been attained.
Thus no antagonist and no political or social force
can prevail in an attempt to thwart their attainment.
But the problem is that many times those same
individuals have looked only forward to that far off goal,
and they failed to create the short-term means that would
help them achieve that end.
Unless they develop the skills necessary to achieve
that goal, the goal will never come.
If the perfection of a particular martial arts
technique is a goal, it is first necessary to develop the
timing, balance, speed, and power needed for proper
execution.
A
Zen proverb states something to this effect:
“Those who wish to attain certain goals must first
become certain men or women; once they have attained that
state-- become those certain men or women-- the attainment
of that certain goal will no longer concern them.”
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