AN EASTERN APPROACH TO MOTOR SKILL ACQUISITION

AND PERFORMANCE

by

MICHAEL J. CANIC

B.P.E., The University of British Columbia, 1981

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION

in

THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

(School of Physical Education and Recreation)

We accept this thesis as conforming

to the required standard

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

October 1983

© Michael J. Canic, 1983 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for

an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that

the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I

further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for

scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his or her representatives. It Is understood that copying or publication of

this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission.

Department of Education (School of Physical Education and Recreation)

The University of British Columbia

1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3

Date October 11, 1983 ABSTRACT

This thesis investigates an Eastern approach to the acquisition and

performance of motor skills. Zen Buddhism, due to the influence that

Indian, Chinese and Japanese thinkers have had upon its development, is

representative of a general Eastern world view. The epistemological and

metaphysical foundations which underlie an Eastern view provide a

context for skill acquisition and performance that is uncommon for most

Western thinkers.

In the Zen context, the only goal of phenomenal existence is to

realize the Unified Ultimate Reality. The "Zen Skill" is an approach to

life that is logically consistent with the philosophical assumptions which underlie Zen. The practice and performance of a motor skill is merely an avenue through which one may acquire or express the Zen

Skill. Thus, an Eastern approach is more than just a method for acquiring skill, it is an expression of a distinct world view.

The role of the learner, in this context, is to acquire the Zen

Skill by practicing the motor skill with a "detached mind". The role of the instructor is a subtle one; it is simply directed towards the learner's realization of the True Reality. The Zen Skill is not

"acquired" through a learning process since an Eastern view precludes the recognition of temporal distinctions. Rather, the Zen Skill is realized.

The distinctions suggested in the structure of this thesis - namely, the skill, the learner, the instructor and the learning process - are - iii -

only one representation of reality, and further, an illusory representation to one who has become "skilled" in the Eastern context. - iv -

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS Iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi

ABBREVIATIONS vii

Chapter

1 INTRODUCTION 1

Origin of the Topic 3 Rationale 4 Limitations 5 Notes • 8

2 THE DEVELOPMENT AND FOUNDATIONS OF ZEN 9

The Development of Zen 9 The traditional account 12 The scholarly account 14 Philosophical Foundations of Zen 17 Summary 24

Notes 26

3 THE NATURE OF THE SKILL 28

"Skill" in the West 28 The Zen Skill 29 Results of Performance 30 Technical and Spiritual Skill 35 The Martial Arts as an Expression of the Zen Skill... 36 Summary 38 Notes 39 4 THE ROLE OF THE INSTRUCTOR 40

What is Taught 40 How it is Taught 41 The Evaluation of Performance 46 The Instructor/Student Relationship 47 Summary 51 Notes 53 - v -

Page

5 THE ROLE OF THE LEARNER 54

The Detached Mind 54 The Process of Centering 58 The Learner's Approach to the Martial Arts 59 Summary 62 Notes 63

6 THE NATURE OF THE LEARNING PROCESS 64

Temporal Considerations 64 Learning as a Process 67 Learning as a Process of "Elimination" 67 Characteristics of the Learning Process 69 Learning as a Process of "Returning" 71 Summary 72 Notes 74

7 CONCLUSIONS 75

Notes 77

REFERENCES 78 - vi -

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to those who have guided me, assisted me and supported me throughout my current academic program.

My thesis committee members, Dr. Morford, Dr. Iida and Dr. Brown have each provided me with guidance, support and the kind of open-minded attitude that is prerequisite for a thesis of this type. To them I offer my sincere thanks and appreciation.

My thesis committee chairman, Dr. Bob Sparks, has endured countless hours of discussions, reading and revising so that this final product may be realized. His continual support has helped me to overcome the doubts that inevitably arise during the preparation of a thesis such as this. My gratitude and debt to him are beyond words.

Finally, I wish to express my appreciation to my family who have offered their unconditional support throughout my academic career. - vii -

ABBREVIATIONS

Ch., Chinese

Jap., Japanese

Skt., Sanskrit - 1 -

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

My use of the designation, "An Eastern Approach", in the title of

this thesis, implies that there is no single approach which may be said

to be representative of Eastern world thought. Hinduism, Buddhism,

Confucianism, Taoism and Shintoism for example, each possess a distinct

view of the world. With this in mind, I have chosen in this thesis to

investigate a Zen Buddhist approach to skill acquisition.

Zen, historically, has been allied with physical activities (e.g.,

the martial arts, swordsmanship, archery) and it does serve to represent

general Eastern views as a whole. The seeds of the Zen school are

found, of course, in Indian Buddhism. After Buddhism was introduced

into China, the "Ch'an school" (which was the Chinese precursor of Zen)

emerged and began to carve an identity for itself. The subsequent

interaction of Ch'an with the Japanese culture ultimately yielded the

Zen Buddhism that we know today. Thus, perhaps more than any other

system of thought, Zen is truly an "Eastern" philosophy having been

influenced by Indian, Chinese and Japanese thinkers.

Any "approach" to motor skill acquisition is dependent upon underlying philosophical assumptions. These assumptions reflect how we structure and represent the world around us. More specifically, they help to provide us with some type of answer to fundamental questions such as, "What is the nature of reality?", "What is the nature of the universe", "What is the nature of being?", "What is the nature of - 2 -

knowledge?", and "How is it that we may acquire knowledge about things?"

Accordingly, the task of this thesis is to investigate these assumptions

in the area of skill acquisition within the context of Zen.

This thesis is directed towards an audience that is concerned with

theories and approaches to performance. A "Zen approach" assumes a

particular paradigm within which motor skill acquisition and performance

takes place. To direct this thesis towards an audience concerned with

skill acquisition and performance in its own right would be to realize

the danger of presenting the content to those who might not adopt a

similar paradigm. In his landmark work, The Structure of Scientific

Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn writes, ". . . the proponents of competing

paradigms practice their trades in different worlds." »

The assumptions which underlie opposing paradigms are simply

unacceptable to one another. Thus, there is no common starting point

from which communication may develop. The famous Taoist text, the

Chuang Tzu, helps to illustrate:

Jo of the North Sea said, "You can't discuss the ocean with a well frog - he's limited by the space he lives in. You can't discuss ice with a summer insect - he's bound to a single season. You can't discuss the Way with a cramped scholar - he's shackled by his doctrines.3

Therefore, I am directing this discourse not to those who are engaged in any of the paradigms for skill acquisition and performance, but rather, to those who have stepped outside of those worlds and are willing to examine different paradigms for what they are. - 3 -

Although the focus here is on "motor skill" acquisition and

performance, it will be shown that the real skill being acquired is the

"Zen Skill" - an approach to life itself. A Zen approach is ultimately

concerned with the realization of a specific view of reality. The

performance of a motor skill is only one avenue by which this higher

understanding may be attained and subsequently expressed.

To provide a familiar and easily understood framework, the topic is

systematically structured according to common divisions in the field of motor skill acquisition. These include: the nature of the skill, the role of the instructor, the role of the learner, and the nature of the learning process. Of course, it will be demonstrated that the distinctions suggested by this structure are only one representation of reality, and further, an illusory representation to one who has become

"skilled" in the Eastern context.

Origin of the Topic

The impetus for the selection of this thesis topic comes from my interest in skill acquisition, my interest in Eastern philosophy and the martial arts, and my discontent with the literature that allegedly explains or infers an Eastern approach to acquiring skill.

From my interest in skill acquisition and the research methods in skill acquisition has developed the belief that our Western world materialist/reductionist approach to investigation, while providing us with objective and quantifiable measures of performance and underlying processes, is limited in that it ignores certain less quantifiable processes that may also affect performance. - 4 -

My study of Eastern philosophy, on the other hand, has helped me to

realize some fundamental problems with the body of literature, most

commonly the Inner Athlete literature, that claims to provide us with an

Eastern approach to skill acquisition. The major fault, as I see it, is

that the suggested approaches conveniently partition out the "method" of

an Eastern approach and apply it to skill acquisition while abandoning

the epistemological and metaphysical foundations upon which that method

is based. In other words, this amounts to inserting an Eastern

methodology into a Western context while disregarding the underlying

assumptions that provided the basis for that methodology. The pragmatic

utilization of an Eastern method is not wrong in itself but by necessity

fails to grasp what is central to the Eastern context.

My intent is to describe and explain an Eastern approach to skill

acquisition. This does not mean just to describe the methodology of an

Eastern approach but, in conjunction with that, to explain the

philosophical foundations upon which that methodology rests. This

thesis will in no way attempt to compare or evaluate an Eastern approach

in a Western context. The task that is outlined here addresses first order questions. It is necessary to investigate these before we proceed to higher order questions dealing with comparisons and evaluations.

Rationale

There are several purposes in pursuing this topic. First, is that we may become aware of and understand an Eastern approach to skill acquisition for its own sake. In the midst of growing sporting interaction between East and West, it can help us to better understand - 5 -

those in the Far East who have been influenced by this system of

thought.

Second, by sheer contrast alone, it may help us to become aware of

and better understand the philosophical assumptions which underlie our

dominant Western paradigms. The assumptions which underlie the Western

view are not the only ones which may be adopted. Although efficacious

in their own context, they are in fact self-limiting. This, of course,

is true for any set of philosophical assumptions.

Third, as a spin-off, the research can provide a base line from

which others will be able to compare and/or evaluate an Eastern

approach.

Finally, the investigation will add clarity to the Inner athlete

literature which has at best hinted at, and at worst misconstrued an

Eastern approach to skill acquisition.

Limitations

There are several limitations inherent in a paper of this type.

Perhaps the most obvious is that the mode of communication I am using

(i.e., writing/typing) is a direct product of rational thought. This is precisely the mode of thought that Zen regards as invalid if one wishes to aspire towards the Ultimate Truth. A famous Zen verse illustrates this point:

A special tradition outside the scriptures; No dependence upon words and letters; Direct pointing at the soul of man; Seeing into one's own nature and the attainment of Buddhahood.4 - 6 -

Thus, I cannot say or write what the Ultimate Reality of Zen is. I

can only report the descriptions of those who have realized this

Ultimate Reality. It is inevitable that the reader of this thesis will

be rationally interpreting a rational expression of a subject which may

only be truly understood through a non-rationalizing awareness of

firsthand experience. In my defence, I would note that Patriarchs,

masters and scholars have recorded written works about Zen for well over

one thousand years. Shotaro Iida, in his book, Reason and Emptiness: A

Study in Logic and Mysticism, deals with this issue quite appropriately:

Nevertheless, the limitations of the conceptualization of the yogic experience do not necessarily indicate the total uselessness of such linguistic logical endeavours. There are only degrees of accuracy of its description and depth of Its penetration. The real touch with the ultimate reality silences the words, on the one hand, and moves the tongue of the mystics, on the other. Here lies the silence of the Buddha and Bodhidharma as well as the vast jungle of Tripitaka and Zen literature.5

The second major limitation of this paper is that I, the author, am

not one who is a master of nor even a devoted disciple of Zen. Any firsthand, experiential knowledge of Zen that I have (which is, of course, essential for true understanding) is derived from a mere dabbling in meditation and Chinese calligraphy, and from several years of martial arts instruction. Thus, in the strictest sense, I am not qualified to speak. However, it is my hope that even this limited experience will help to yield an interpretation of the subject matter that is accurate and meaningful. - 7 -

Finally, we must realize that there is more than one Zen approach to

skill acquisition just as there is more than one Zen approach to

Enlightenment. What I will try to do is to identify the underlying essence of Zen teachings, the common thread, and to use this thread as the basis for my discussion. - 8 -

NOTES

1Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd ed. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1970), p. 150. 2 An approach to skill acquisition and performance may be considered a paradigm since it comprises underlying assumptions, values and methods. It follows then, that the existence of paradigms is not restricted to the realm of the natural sciences alone, even though this is the focus of Kuhn's work. q Burton Watson, trans., The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu (New York: Columbia University Press, 1968), pp. 175-176.

^Cited by: Daisetz T. Suzuki, Essays in Zen Buddhism, First Series (New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1961), p. 176.

Shotaro Iida, Reason and Emptiness: A Study in Logic and Mysticism (Tokyo: The Hokuseido Press, 1980), pp. 275-276. - 9 -

CHAPTER 2

THE DEVELOPMENT AND FOUNDATIONS OF ZEN

Before an Eastern approach to skill acquisition can be outlined, it

is first necessary to make clear the historical development and the

philosophical foundations of that approach. This shall be the task

which I undertake in this chapter. It will be shown that there are two

accounts of the historical development of Zen - a traditional account,

which traces Zen back to the line of Patriarchs originating from the

Buddha himself, and a scholarly account which identifies the seeds of

the Zen school in the works of Buddhist thinkers who lived in the fourth

and fifth centuries A.D. In addition, the philosophical foundations of

Buddhism in general, and the Zen school in particular, will be presented

to complete the necessary background which will provide the context for

the investigation of motor skill acquisition in the subsequent chapters.

The Development of Zen

The Japanese term "Zen" is an adaptation of the Chinese "ch'an" which is phonetically derived from the Sanskrit "dhyana" which means meditation. To understand the development of the basic philosophies of

Zen we must first investigate the development of Ch'an Buddhism in

China. It is with the origin and development of Ch'an that the central philosophies readily identified with Zen came into existence. Ch'an

Buddhism, simply put, developed out of the synthesis of Chinese Taoism and Indian Buddhism. - 10 -

Taoism is a philosophical system based primarily on the teachings of

Lao Tzu, who is believed to have lived in the sixth century B.C. and,

Chuang Tzu, who lived in the fourth century B.C. Tao is a term which

may be translated as the "Way",*' but more accurately may be described as

the natural flow and order of the universe. The ideal of Taoism, the

Taoist sage, is one who acts in harmony with nature and is at one with

the Unified Ultimate Reality. He is selfless and without ego;

therefore, the great Tao is able to act spontaneously through him. The

life of the Taoist sage is a simple life. He realizes that the Ultimate

Truth, which lies in the Tao itself, is a truth beyond words.

Buddhism is an Indian religious/philosophical system based on the

teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (b. 563 B.C.?) who, after attaining

Enlightenment at the age of 35, became known as the Buddha or

"Enlightened One". Following his death, the teachings of the Buddha

became increasingly popular and gradually spread throughout many parts

of Asia. The earliest recorded evidence of the introduction of Buddhism

into China is from 2 B.C. when a foreign envoy gave instructions on

Buddhist scriptures to a Chinese official.

The initial acceptance and gradual growth of Buddhism in China was

facilitated by the ease with which Buddhism was able to blend in with

some of the indigenous systems of belief. Specifically, Buddhism became

intertwined with the Yellow Emperor - Lao Tzu cult at least through to

the end of the second century A.D. The Yellow Emperor - Lao Tzu cult was representative of Taoist religion (Ch.: Tao-chiao). This movement

developed out of an exotic and perverted interpretation of the - 11 -

originally conceived Taoist philosophy (Ch.: Tao-chia; literally, the

Taoist school) in the first century B.C. The fact that Taoist

philosophy and Taoist religion are fundamentally different from each

other is explained by Fung Yu-lan:

Their teachings are not only different; they are even contradictory. Taoism as a philosophy teaches the doctrine of following nature, while Taoism as a religion teaches the doctrine of working against nature. For instance, according to Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, life followed by death is the course of nature, and man should follow this natural course calmly. But the main teaching of the Taoist religion is the principle and technique of how to avoid death, which is expressly working against nature. The Taoist religion has the spirit of science, which is the conquering of nature.5

One example of the interaction of Buddhism with Taoist religion is

evidenced in the evolution of the concept of meditation. Although the

Buddhist tradition of meditation was absorbed in practice in China, its

meaning was adapted to the interests of Taoist religion. Originally

understood in India as concentration, meditation became a practice of

conserving vital energy, breathing, preserving nature and nourishing

life in general.6 In later times, meditation would come to mean nothing more than the direct enlightenment of the mind.^ This was the meaning

of meditation adopted by the Ch'an school.

The specific nature of the origin of the Ch'an school is a complex

issue. Philip Yampolsky, in the introduction to his translation of The

Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch states:

Owing to the fragmentary condition of the literary remains of the period, to serious doubts about the - 12 -

authenticity of much of what is left, and to the absence of supporting historical evidence, it is virtually impossible to determine the actual process whereby Ch'an developed.8

Following, the two most popular accounts of the development of Ch'an

Buddhism will be outlined.

The traditional account.

The traditional account of the development of Ch'an is related to

the "transmission of mind". The transmission of mind is said to have

been the process by which the "Buddha-mind" or Enlightened mind was

passed from Patriarch to chosen disciple. In later times a sacred robe

and alms bowl were also passed on, symbolic of the spiritual

transmission.

The Enlightened mind originated from the Buddha (the first

Patriarch) and subsequently was passed down from Patriarch to Patriarch

through to the 28th and final Indian Patriarch, Bodhidharma

(4607-534?). Bodhidharma is said to have traveled to China in the early

sixth century A.D. and thus became known as the first Patriarch of

Chinese Buddhism. The Ch'anists would later identify him as the first

Patriarch of the Ch'an school. The distinctiveness of the Ch'an school, however, emerged with the fifth Chinese Patriarch, Hung-jen (601-674).

Hung-jen taught the Diamond Sutra which emphasized "the Mind" while the

Chinese Patriarchs prior to Hung-jen taught the Lankavatara Sutra which focussed on the true nature of elements of existence or the Ultimate

Reality. This emphasis on the Mind has been a prime characteristic of the Ch'an school ever since. - 13 -

A split in the school developed out of the contrary positions adopted by Hung-jen's two main disciples, Hui-neng (638-713) and

Shen-hsiu (605?-706). Hui-neng advocated sudden enlightenment of the mind whereas Shen-hsiu advocated gradual enlightenment. Their differences were further evidenced in verses that they composed emphasizing the essence of Ch'an. On the basis of these verses (which

Hung-jen requested of all his disciples) the rightful successor to the

Patriarchy would clearly reveal himself. Shen-hsiu wrote:

The body is like unto the Bodhi-tree And the mind to a mirror bright; Carefully we cleanse them hour by hour Lest dust should fall upon them.

Hui-neng wrote:

Originally there was no Bodhi-tree, Nor was there any mirror; Since originally there was nothing, Whereon can the dust fall?*'0

Shen-hsiu's verse was commendable in that it emphasized the

Buddha-Nature or Universal Mind, but it still displayed an attachment to the phenomenal world. Hui-neng's verse emphasized Wu (Ch. for,

"non-being") and showed that he was free from this attachment. This difference is more clearly illustrated in the words of a later master,

Ma-tsu (707-783), who in response to the question, "What is the

Buddha?", on one occasion answered, "The mind is the Buddha"11 and on another occasion answered, "Not mind, not Buddha".12

In order not to offend Shen-hsiu, who was the senior monk, and those that would support him as the rightful successor, Hung-jen - 14 -

secretly confirmed the Patriarchy upon Hui-neng whom he instructed to

set out in the middle of the night and travel to the south.

Subsequently, Hui-neng's school grew in the south of China while

Shen-hsiu's school developed in the north. However, by the middle of

the eighth century the Southern School had swept across China and become

the dominant school of Ch'an in China which it remains to this day.

This, in essence, is the traditional account of the origin of the

Ch'an school of Buddhism. Although this version is the one most

commonly recited when reference is made to the Ch'an school, its

authenticity has been called into question by scholars. Again, Philip

Yampolsky writes:

Once Ch'an began to be organized into an independent sect, it required a history and a tradition which would provide it with the respectability already possessed by the longer-established Buddhist schools. In the manufacture of this history, accuracy was not a consideration: a tradition traceable to the Indian Patriarchs was the objective.

The scholarly account.

The scholarly account of the origin of the Ch'an school focusses on

the philosophical development in China from the time of the introduction of Buddhism until the arrival of Bodhidharma. Fung Yu-lan, in A Short

History of Chinese Philosophy writes:

. . . the theoretical background for Ch'anism had already been created in China by such men as Seng-chao and Tao-sheng. Given this background, the rise of Ch'anism would seem to have been almost inevitable, without looking to the almost legendary Bodhidharma as its founder.14 - 15 -

Kumarajiva (344-413), an Indian who was brought to the Chinese

capital of Ch'ang-an in 401, was one of the great figures in the

historical development of Buddhism in China. In a period of 10 years he

translated 72 Buddhist works into Chinese.15 Fung Yu-lan explains how

through endeavors such as this Buddhism became synthesized with Taoism

to yield a Chinese Buddhism:

Yet the fact remains that the great Buddhist writers of the fifth century, even including the Indian teacher, Kumarajiva, continued to use Taoist terminology, such as Yu (Being, existent), Wu (Non-being, non-existent), yu-wei (action) and wu-wei (non-action), to express Buddhist ideas. . . . Hence, judging from the nature of the works of these writers, this practice, as we shall see later, did not indicate any misunderstanding or distortion of Buddhism, but rather a synthesis of Indian Buddhism with Taoism, leading to the foundation of a Chinese form of Buddhism.16

Kumarajiva also introduced the important Madhyamika or Middle

Doctrine school of Nlgarjuna (ca. 100-200; the 14th Indian Patriarch) to

China where it became known as the Three-Treatise school. The main tenet of this school was the Ultimate Emptiness (Skt.: sunyata; Ch.: k'ung) of Reality. That is to say, the phenomenal world is in reality

Empty because the contents of the phenomenal world are not only changing but are ultimately impermanent. This conceptualization was a vital precursor of Ch' an Buddhism.

Kumarajiva held the highest title of "National Teacher" in China and regularly delivered daily lectures to over 1000 monks.17 Some of his pupils went on to play a major role in the development of Chinese - 16 -

Buddhism in general and Ch'an Buddhism in particular. The most

important of these pupils were Seng-chao and Tao-sheng.

Seng-chao (384-414) studied the Taoist sages, Lao Tzu and Chuang

Tzu, before becoming a disciple of Kumarajiva. He wrote several essays

on Buddhism which clearly incorporated Taoist ideas and as a result

contributed to the foundations of the Ch'an school. The most important

of these was his essay, "On Prajna (Skt. for, "Sage-Wisdom") Not Being

Knowledge." In this work he argued that since true understanding

transcends the subject/object distinction, and since conventional

knowledge must have an object about which it is about (i.e., to know

"x"), then one who has achieved true understanding has acquired

knowledge that is not conventional knowledge. Because this knowledge

transcends the subject/object distinction, it can not be communicated

through words. This idea clearly parallels that expressed in the first

line of the Taoist classic, the Lao Tzu, "The Tao that can be told is

18

not the eternal Tao." Further, this anticipated the movement of the

Ch'an school away from the traditional emphasis on scriptural study.

Tao-sheng (d. 434) also developed ideas which helped to set the

theoretical foundations of Ch'an Buddhism. One of his most influential

ideas was his theory that the attainment of Enlightenment is a sudden

experience as opposed to a gradual process. The latter was the popular

view at the time. It may be recalled that this divergence in doctrine would be repeated in the seventh century with Hung-jen's disciples,

Shen-hsiu and Hui-neng. Of course, it was the principle of sudden

Enlightenment that became an enduring tenet of the Ch'an school. - 17 -

Tao-sheng's other important contribution was on the subject, "a good

deed entails no retribution." This essay advanced the idea that an

individual's consciously wanting to or trying to do a good deed

[presumably to acquire good karma (Skt. for, "action, doing", i.e.,

actions and/or thoughts which must necessarily produce some type of

result or retribution in the future)] represents a desire or a clinging

to worldly things. In Buddhist philosophy, it is this "clinging" which

binds one to the continuing wheel of life and death. As will be

discussed later, the attainment of Nirvana (Skt. for, "extinction",

i.e., the state of existence which accompanies the acquisition of

prajna) implies the escape from this wheel. This state is regarded as

the pinnacle of Buddhist practice. Therefore, Tao-sheng concluded that

the true sage acts without deliberate action (Ch.: wu-wei) and without

deliberate thought (Ch.: wu-hsin). This was a direct application of

Taoist ideas and again, was later to become a basic tenet of the Ch'an

school.

The aforementioned historical events provide the core of the

scholarly account of the origin of Ch'an Buddhism in China. This

account, while less dramatic than the traditional account, is generally

believed to be more accurate in tracing the historical development of

Ch'an.

Philosophical Foundations of Zen

The purpose of this section is to outline the "content" of Zen.

Specifically, the underlying assumptions concerning knowledge and reality will be discussed. It is these underlying assumptions which - 18 -

will later be evidenced in an approach to motor skill acquisition.

The core of Buddhist teachings is found in the Four Noble Truths which were expounded by the Buddha. They are as follows: (1) All life

is suffering, (2) Desire is the cause of suffering, (3) The cessation of

suffering comes with the attainment of Nirvana, and (4) The Way to

Nirvana is through the "Middle Path".

Underlying the Four Noble Truths is a specific view of Reality.

This view is explained by Derk Bodde:

There has been no single act of divine creation that has produced the stream of existence. It simply is, and always has been, what it is. ... Thus the wheel (of life and death)19 is permanent and unchanging in the sense that it goes on eternally. It is impermanent and changing, however, in the sense that everything in it is in a state of flux. This means that phenomenal "existence", as commonly perceived by the senses, is illusory; it is not real inasmuch as, though it exists, its existence is not permanent or absolute. Nothing belonging to it has an enduring entity or "nature" of its own; everything is dependent upon a combination of fluctuating conditions and factors for its seeming "existence" at any given moment. This is the Buddhist theory of causation. 0

That all life is suffering arises out of the mismatch between

Ultimate Reality and desired Reality. Thus, desires are the root of all misery. Desires and their manifestations in action are called karma.

The karma of each being in successive past existences determine what he/she is to be in existences to come. These rebirths constitute the wheel of life and death.

The only escape from this wheel of suffering and the continued operation of karma is through the attainment of Nirvana. Nirvana is the - 19 -

state of oneness with the Ultimate Reality. Being at one with the

Ultimate Reality the desire for change is extinguished. Being at one

with the Ultimate Reality is to live totally in the here and now - the

present. Having reached Nirvana signifies the ultimate attainment of

Buddhahood or Enlightenment.

Nirvana may be attained by following the "Middle Path". The Middle

Path avoids the two extremes of existence: one, the search for happiness

through the pleasures of the senses, and two, the search for happiness

through self-denial or asceticism. Although the exact nature of this

Middle Path varies among schools within the Buddhist tradition, it is

always characterized by this avoidance of extremes.

Zen, like all schools of Buddhism, is concerned with the attainment

of Buddhahood or Enlightenment. Zen differs from the other sects of

Buddhism in the path that is emphasized to reach Enlightenment. Zen

advocates almost exclusively the practice of meditation. Though the

Platform Sutra and Diamond Sutra are recognized as the texts associated with the Zen school, it still remains that the practice of meditation is

the cornerstone of Zen.

How is it that the extensive practice of meditation can lead to a

sudden Enlightenment? Does not this practice itself imply a gradual process of Enlightenment? No. A useful analogy is that a disciple, starting at one end of a long room, must walk across to the other end of the room, to open a door. This door is the doorway to prajna.

Meditation is the practice which helps the disciple to cross the room.

This is a gradual process. Yet only when the disciple is truly - 20 -

prepared, that is, once the entire room has been crossed, is he/she

ready to be Enlightened. The opening of the door, the Enlightenment

itself, is a sudden experience - a flash.

The Zen master does have tools at his/her disposal which can help

the disciple struggle towards Enlightenment and to push the disciple

over the edge when he/she is ripe for the experience. The koan or

illogical word puzzle of the Rinzai sect of Zen is an object of

meditation which can help to bring the disciple "across the room" in

preparation for Enlightenment. A koan cannot be solved with the

rational intellect. Examples of koans are, "What is the sound of one

hand clapping?", "Does a dog have Buddha-nature?", and "When you seek

it, you cannot find it." The purpose of the koan is to reveal the

inadequacy of rational thought and conventional logic. Resulting from

this is the breakdown of the distinctions suggested by this mode of

thought and reasoning. Once broken down, the solution of the koan may

be realized.

When the disciple is ready for Enlightenment, the Zen master may act

as a catalyst in order to help him/her reach the sudden understanding of

the Ultimate Reality. Two techniques which help the student in this way

are shouting, and beating with a stick. If the master is sensitive to

the moment when the student is just on the verge of Enlightenment, he/she may let out a great yell or hit the student with a stick. It is

said that the physical shock of the yell or the strike acts as a trigger by which the distinguishing rational mind is overcome. This allows the flash of intuitive awareness that brings Enlightenment. The Reality that is realized may be described as follows: - 21 -

The one reality consists of bare point-instants, they have as yet no definite position in time, neither a definite position in space, nor have they any sensible qualities, it is ultimate or pure reality.

The knowledge that comes with this Enlightenment is the prajna of

Seng-chao. It does not have an object about which it is about. It is

an awareness, it is a realization, it is intuitive. It is not a product

of intentful or deliberate thought because this would only serve to

create distinctions rather than to break them down. It is not a product

of rational thought because rational thought itself is grounded in

distinctions. In the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch it is

written:

If the mind does not abide in things the Tao circulates freely; if^he mind abides in things, it becomes entangled.

If you stop thinking of the myriad things, and cast aside all thoughts, as soon as one instant of thought is cut off, you will be reborn in another realm. Students, take care! Don't rest in objective things and the subjective mind. . . . Because man in his delusion has thoughts in relation to his environment, heterodox ideas stemming from these thoughts arise, and passions and false views are produced from them. Therefore this teaching has established no-thought as a doctrine.23

It is clear that the distinguishing, conceptualizing mind is what

Zen stands opposed to. Words are a direct product of this mind; therefore, true knowledge cannot be conveyed in words. True knowledge must come from firsthand experience. More than this, it must come from the direct awareness of firsthand experience which may be perceived only through wu-hsin or no-mind. - 22 -

While the Buddha himself did not feel that it was useful to become

entwined in metaphysical speculation, Zen, along with other schools

that developed out of the Mahayana tradition, embraced and contemplated

metaphysical questions. Zen metaphysics may be regarded as a synthesis

of Taoist teachings and Buddhist speculations.

Zen accepts the concept of an absolute, indescribable and

25

indefinable Reality. This reality is known by different names - the

names reflective of the traditions that contributed to Zen and their

respective emphases. It has been called Tao by the Taoists, Emptiness

by the Madhyamika school of Buddhism and Universal Mind or Oneness by

the Yogacara school of Buddhism.

To truly know this complete Unified Reality we must break down the

distinctions that characterize our normal, everyday, conscious minds.

Essential to this is the breakdown of the subject(I)/object(not-I)

distinction. Toshihiko Izutsu explains:

In order to see in a single flower a manifestation of the metaphysical unity of all things, not only of all the so-called objects but including even the observing subject, the empirical ego must have undergone a total transformation, a complete nullification of itself - death to its own 'self, and rebirth on a totally different dimension of consciousness. For as long as there remains a self-subsistent 'subject' which observes the 'object' from outside, the realization of such a metaphysical unity is utterly inconceivable.26

Thus it may be said that our egos interfere with our awareness of the true nature of Reality. The Zen master is without ego. He/she is - 23 -

without self because self ^s_ the universe and the universe simply is.

It does not harbor intentful thought or manifest itself in intentful

action. It is.

Here Zen distinguishes itself from other sects of Buddhism by going

one step further. The end of the road for the Zen master is not the

realization of Enlightenment. With this realization he/she must

re-enter the everyday world. Fung Yu-lan explains:

Thus the Ch'an sage lives just as everyone else lives, and does what everyone else does. In passing from delusion to Enlightenment, he has left his mortal humanity behind and has entered sagehood. But after that he still has to leave sagehood behind and to enter once more into mortal humanity. This is described by the Ch'an Masters as "rising yet another step over the top of the hundred-foot bamboo." The top of the bamboo symbolizes the climax of the achievement of Enlightenment. "Rising yet another step" means that after Enlightenment has come, the sage still has other things to do. What he has to do, however, is no more than the ordinary things of daily life.27

This now brings us closer to Japanese Zen and the concept of "a Zen

approach". Returning to the everyday world, the Zen master will engage

in everyday activities and he/she will approach these activities with

the spirit of Zen. Thus it may be said that Zen is an approach to life

itself and the activities that are a part of life. The activities are

performed in a way that reflects the approach. Their execution is an

expression of the greater understanding that underlies this approach to

life. By looking at the outlets through which this understanding may be expressed, we finally come to appreciate the significance of Japanese

Zen. - 24 -

Zen had been introduced to Japan by Ch'an missionaries during the

the time of the Chinese Sung dynasty (960-1279). However, it did not

become established as a school until two native Japanese, Eisai

(1141-1215) and Dogen (1200-1253) separately brought the teachings back with them from China. Through the efforts of these founders the doctrine became cultivated in Japanese soil.

Japanese culture, due to its affinity with the arts and its sense of the aesthetic, allowed many avenues through which the Zen master could express him/herself. From the time of the establishment of Zen in Japan throughout the succeeding centuries and up until today these avenues have been explored. The subtlety of floral arrangement, the ritual of tea-ceremony, the flow of calligraphy, the simplicity and clarity of poetry and the effortless grace of the martial arts can each be an expression of this approach to life. As will be seen in the following chapters, this same understanding can be expressed in an approach to motor skill acquisition and performance.

Summary

This chapter has reviewed the development and the philosophical foundations of Zen. It was shown that the initial acceptance of Indian

Buddhism into the Chinese culture was largely due to the fact that it was easily intertwined with existing systems of thought, specifically, the Yellow Emperor - Lao Tzu cult. Thus began the development of a

Chinese Buddhism. - 25 -

The origin of the Ch'an school of Buddhism is not well documented.

The traditional account, which traces the transmission of mind through

the successive Indian and Chinese Patriarchs of Buddhism, appears to have arisen more out of a need to justify the existence of the Ch'an

school than from the actual historical occurrence of the events which assert the unbroken lineage from the Buddha to Hui-neng. The scholarly account, on the other hand, has identified the theoretical foundations of Ch'an in the works of Seng-chao and Tao-sheng, as well as in

Kumarajiva's translation of Nagarjuna's Madhyamika Doctrine and various other works.

Next, the philosophical foundations of Zen were outlined. The concepts of karma and Nirvana were explained in the context of the Four

Noble Truths of Buddhism and meditation was introduced as the central element of Zen practice. The Enlightenment process was discussed as well as the nature of the prajna or Sage-Wisdom that accompanies

Enlightenment and the reality that it uncovers. Once Enlightenment is reached, the Zen master must reenter the everyday world, and here the spirit of Zen may be manifested in an approach to all activities of life. - 26 -

NOTES

1Wing-Tsit Chan, trans, and comp., A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1973), p. 136n.l. 2 Although literally translated as "the Way" and regarded as such by all schools of Eastern philosophy, the more detailed implicit meaning of the term, "Tao", varies depending on the school of philosophy which employs it. For example, Confucians regard the Way as, "the path of man's moral life" (Dagobert D. Runes, ed., Dictionary of Philosophy (New Jersey: Littlefield, Adams & Co., 1980), s.v. "Tao"). I have given a description consistent with the Taoist view because it was the Taoist concept of Tao which was integrated into Ch'an Buddhism. 3 Wing-Tsit Chan, op. cit., p. 336n.l.

^Wing-Tsit Chan et al. comp., The Great Asian Religions (London: The Macmillan Co., 1969), p. 179. 5 Fung Yu-lan, A Short History of Chinese Philosophy, ed. Derk Bodde (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1966), p. 3.

6Wing-Tsit Chan et al., op.cit., p. 212.

7Wing-Tsit Chan, op.cit., p. 425.

8Philip B. Yampolsky trans., The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (New York: Columbia University Press, 1967), p. 4.

Fung Yu-lan, op.cit., p. 256.

10Ibid., p. 256.

^R.H. Blyth, Zen and Zen Classics, vol. 4 (Tokyo: Hokuseido Press, 1966), p. 215.

12Ibid., p. 228.

13

Yampolsky, op.cit., p. 4.

14Fung Yu-lan, op.cit., p. 256.

15Wing-Tsit Chan, op.cit., p. 343. 16

17Wing-Tsit Chan, op.cit., p. 343. Fung Yu-lan, op.cit., p. 242. - 27 -

i0Gia-fu Feng and Jane English trans., Tao Te Ching (New York: Random House, 1972), chap. 1.

19 Insert mine.

Fung Yu-lan, A History of Chinese Philosphy, trans. Derk Bodde, 2 vols. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1953), 2:237.

21F. Th. Stcherbatsky, Buddhist Logic, 2 vols. (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1962), 1:70.

22

Yampolsky, op.cit., p. 136.

23Ibid., pp. 138, 139. 21+David J. Kalupahana, Buddhist Philosophy: A Historical Analysis (Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii, 1976), pp. xiii, xiv.

25Ibid., p. 172.

26Toshihiko Izutsu, Toward a Philosophy of Zen Buddhism (Boulder, Colo.: Prajna Press, 1982), p. 10.

27Fung Yu-lan, A Short History of Chinese Philosophy, p. 264. - 28 -

CHAPTER 3

THE NATURE OF THE SKILL

In order to investigate an Eastern approach to motor skill

acquisition and performance it is first necessary to determine what is

meant by the term, "skill". In this chapter I shall discuss the meanings of "skill" commonly adopted in the Western world, the nature of

the Zen Skill, the results of skill performance, spiritual and technical

skill, and finally, the martial arts as an expression of the Zen Skill.

"Skill" in the West

The term "skill" has been used several ways in Western motor performance literature. It has been used to designate a continuum, ranging from high to low, along which one occupies a place with respect to one's ability to perform. For example, one might ask, "What level of skill has he/she attained?" It has been used to specifically designate a high level of ability or capacity to perform well. This meaning would be implicit in the question, "Is he/she a skilled performer?" Finally, the term has been used to refer to the specific processes or activities that comprise the performance itself as in, "What skill is it that he/she is performing?" It is this last use of the term "skill" which will be the focus of this chapter.

The term "motor skill" as opposed to, for example, a "cognitive skill" (such as the memorization of a list of words) indicates the necessary involvement of the "motor system", or in other words, that - 29 -

part of the nervous system responsible for the control of the muscles.

A "motor skill" may be further defined to include the specifications

that it be a directed, non-random activity and that it require the

voluntary control of the neuromuscular system to ensure its completion.

The Zen Skill

The term "skill" possesses quite a different meaning in the context

of Zen. To determine this meaning we must return to the underlying philosophies of Zen. It will be recalled that the primary concern of

the Zen disciple is spiritual cultivation so that he/she might attain

Enlightenment. As a disciple, all living activities are directed towards this spiritual cultivation. Thus it may be concluded that skill performance is activity directed towards spiritual cultivation. Eugen

Herrigel, who spent six years studying archery under a Zen master in

Japan, outlines this purpose as follows:

One of the most significant features we notice in the practice of archery, and in fact of all the arts as they are studied in Japan and probably also in other Far Eastern countries, is that they are not intended for utilitarian purposes only or for purely aesthetic enjoyments, but are meant to train the mind; indeed, to bring it into contact with the ultimate reality.1

This testimony is supported by Joe Hyams, who in his book, Zen in the Martial Arts, writes: - 30 -

Only after several years of training did I come to realize that the deepest purpose of the martial arts is to serve as a vehicle for personal spiritual development.2

The disciple who has attained Enlightenment must return to live in

the everyday world. For this person, performance of a motor skill

becomes an outward expression of the Enlightened state, the higher

understanding.

It can thus be seen that the skill goes far beyond the mere

perfecting of a specific response to a given set of environmental

conditions. Not only is the performance of a skill meant to train the

mind and act as a vehicle to greater understanding but, in addition, it

serves as an outward reflection of the individual's progress towards

this understanding. The practice of a motor skill, of course, is only

one medium through which the student may progress towards this

realization.

Clearly, the Skill that is being performed in Zen - the underlying

Skill, the real Skill - is the Skill of spiritual cultivation and

expression, the Skill of life. There is no other skill. The vehicle

for practice of this Skill, whether it be archery, swordsmanship, floral

arrangement or tea ceremony, is unimportant as long as the proper path

(i.e., the Middle Path) is followed to the proper destination (i.e.,

Nirvana).

Results of Performance

The performance of a motor skill inevitably leads to results of some sort. Typically, there is concern or desire on the part of the - 31 -

performer for results of a certain type. However, by performing a motor

skill in the true spirit of the Zen Skill, concerns or desires are

avoided. In fact, proper spiritual cultivation leads to the ultimate

dissolution of desires and distinctions. The focus here is on the

process, the approach to the skill, how it is done as opposed to the

product, result or what is done. Conscious desires only serve to

obstruct the path to Enlightenment.

Involvement of the ego manifested in any way is contradictory to a

Zen approach to motor skill acquisition and performance. The skill is

not practiced with the intent that one may become better at it. It

certainly is not practiced with the idea that good performance of the

skill may lead to the receipt of awards, praise from significant others

or a better self-image. In the previous chapter it was suggested that

ego-involvement interferes with the individual's awareness of the true

nature of Reality. To extend this view to a performance setting, it can

be said that ego-involvement also affects the cognitive and response

processes of the individual.

The application of Zen philosophy to various motor skills (e.g.,

tennis, golf and skiing) has been witnessed in popular literature in

recent years. Unfortunately, the recurring theme among these books is,

"a new approach to better performance". In other words, the emphasis is mistakenly placed on improving performance. Spiritual cultivation, the

Middle Path, Enlightenment, the dissolution of distinctions - these are all ignored by the supposed "Zen Approach to . . ." books. This appears to be a misapplication rather than an application of Zen.

A good example of this is evidenced in the book, The Centered Skier, by Denise McCluggage. Presented as "Zen in the art of skiing," the book - 32 -

expounds the methods of the "Sugarbrush Workshops in Centered Skiing"

and its new approach to teaching skiing. The author and co-founder of

the Workshops judges their results as follows: "It was a success. I

skied better, workshop skiers skied better, the workshop instructors

skied better. You can ski better."

It may be argued that the techniques and methods espoused in this

book (which are not important for discussion here) are consistent with

techniques and methods used by Zen masters in meditation, controlled

breathing, and in the performance of a variety of arts. However, this

separates techniques and methods from the metaphysical foundations from

which they arose. At best, then, it may be argued that in part this

approach reflects a Zen approach to skiing. But Zen does not recognize

parts or distinctions of any sort. Any approach that is not a Zen

approach is a not-Zen approach! Any approach to skill performance that

emphasizes how one may learn to perform the skill better is not a Zen

approach.

The real skill is the Skill that is performed within. The outward

performance of a motor skill is incidental. Although undoubtedly one's

motor performance will improve as one continues practice with a Zen

approach, this improvement is not what determines the authenticity of

the approach. In other words, with a Zen approach invariably comes an

improvement in outward performance, but an improvement in outward

performance does not mean that one has adopted a Zen approach.

With the breakdown of distinctions comes the breakdown of the conceptualization that "I", the subject/performer, am performing an - 33 -

external, objective skill. The realization of this breakdown results in

the dissolution of all of the distinctions that are typically made in a

performance setting. This was demonstrated in Eugen Herrigel's

experience after years of arduous archery training:

"I'm afraid I don't understand anything more at all," I answered, "even the simplest things have got in a muddle. Is it 'I' who draw the bow, or is it the bow that draws me into the state of highest tension? Do 'I' hit the goal, or does the goal hit me? Is 'It' spiritual when seen by the eyes of the body, and corporeal when seen by the eyes of the spirit - or both or neither? Bow, arrow, goal and ego, all melt into one another, so that I can no longer separate them. And even the need to separate has gone. For as soon as I take the bow and shoot, everything becomes so clear and straightforward and so ridiculously simple...." "Now at last," the Master broke In, "the bowstring has cut right through you."1*

Understanding the dissolution of distinctions will help to explain a supposed inconsistency that exists within a Zen approach. If skill is not to be performed with any goal in mind, then why should one obey the constraints of the skill in the first place? That is, can it not be argued that shooting an arrow ait a target, facing the target, drawing the bow, and even picking up the bow itself all must result from intentful action? If the Zen archer is not concerned with improving his/her performance of the motor skill then why is there a target? Why does he/she face towards and shoot at the target? Why do anything at all?

At first it may seem that the objection is a sound one and that a logical extension of the philosophies of Zen would be to not undertake - 34 -

any type of action no matter how simple. However, as is often the case

in Zen, the solution to the paradox is found within the paradox itself.

The objection is that by carrying the Zen attitude of desirelessness to

the extreme, the individual would not be able to act at all. Yet this

is precisely the point. The individual does not act at all. There is

no individual. To one who has overcome distinctions and is at harmony with the Tao, there is no individual action. The Tao acts through him/her. The universal stream, unimpeded, unrestricted and unaltered flows smoothly through him/her. The nature of this state of existence is more clearly illustrated in the recorded conversations of the 9th century Zen master Huang-Po:

"It was asked whether mowing grass, felling trees, digging into the earth, and plowing new soil, have the quality of sin or not. The Teacher replied: 'It cannot definitely be said that they are sinful or not sinful. Whether there is sin or not depends on the man. If he be greedy for all things, both "existent" and "non-existent"; if his mind be set on selecting and rejecting; and if he be unable to pass beyond the three phrases5 then it may be positively stated that this man has sin. But if he go beyond the three phrases, if his mind be like a void emptiness, and if he not even think about this void emptiness, then it may be positively stated that this man is without sin.'" "According to the transmitted teachings of the Ch'an school, the mind should be like a void emptiness. It should not be detained by a single thing, nor even have qualities of the void emptiness. Then to what can sin have attachment?" "To eat all day yet not swallow a grain of rice, to walk all day yet not tread an inch of ground, to have no distinction during that time between object and subject, and to be inseparable from things the livelong day, yet not deluded by them: this is to be the man who is at ease in himself."6 - 35 -

Technical and Spiritual Skill

It should be clear by now that there is more to the Zen Skill than

just the technical aspects of a motor skill. For example, drawing a bow

and releasing an arrow with a Zen approach is not just the process of

smoothly connecting and coordinating a set of selected, ordered and

graded movement acts. It is not just the process of reaching an optimal

level of tension in the draw and then releasing the arrow at the proper angle of displacement from the ground at a specified distance from the

target. And it is not just the execution of dynamic muscle contractions

to draw the bow, static muscle contractons to steady it and further dynamic contractions to release the arrow. In fact, it is much more than what is suggested by all of these perspectives combined. These are each accurate in their own context but they all miss the essence of the

Skill. D.T. Suzuki explains further:

In Japan, perhaps as in other countries too, mere technical knowledge of an art is not enough to make a man really its master; he ought to have delved deeply into the inner spirit of it. This spirit is grasped only when his mind is in complete harmony with the principle of life itself, that is, when he attains to a certain state of mind known as mushin (wu-hsin in Chinese), "no-mind." In Buddhist phraseology, it means going beyond the dualism of all forms of life and death, good and evil, being and non-being. This is where all arts merge into Zen.7

With specific reference to the art of swordsmanship Suzuki writes: - 36 -

The point is: When the sword is in the hands of a technician-swordsman skilled in its use, it is no more than an instrument with no mind of its own. What it does 8 is done mechanically, and there is no myoyu discernible in it. But when the sword is held by the swordsman whose spiritual attainment is such that he holds it as though not holding it, it is identified with the man himself, it acquires a soul, it moves with all the subtleties which have been imbedded in him as a swordsman. The man emptied of all thoughts, all emotions originating from fear, all sense of insecurity, all desire to win, is not conscious of using the sword; both man and sword turn into instruments in the hands, as it were, of the unconscious, and it is this unconscious that achieves wonders of creativity. It is here that swordplay becomes an art.

Technical skill without spiritual skill is not Zen Skill. It is a

Zen approach to motor skill performance that is the Zen Skill.

The Martial Arts as an Expression of the Zen Skill

When one thinks of Eastern culture and physical activity, undoubtedly the first thing to come to mind is the martial arts. The martial arts are a fine example of complex and coordinated motor skills. Historically, they were one obvious avenue for the expression of Zen, and in fact Zen is recognized to have had a considerable influence upon their development. In Secrets of the Samurai, Ratti and

Westbrook write:

It is generally claimed, in fact, that Zen was the foundation of the martial arts in feudal Japan, that it provided the doctrine of bujutsu (Jap. for, "the art of war.")10 with a theory and a philosophy to explain and justify the practice of the martial arts, and that it provided the bujin (Jap. for, "the individual practitioner of bujutsu.") with appropriate disciplines for developing a strong character and personality. - 37 -

A very definite Zen flavor is found in the ideal spirit of the

martial arts. This spirit is reflected in some of the names of the martial arts: Kendo (the Way of the sword), Judo (the Way of

suppleness), and Aikido (the Way of harmony and vital energy). The

suffix "-do" is the Japanese equivalent of the Chinese Tao or the Way.

As their names imply, these arts are meant to be performed in a way that

is harmonious with the Tao.

The Zen tenet of allowing the universal stream to flow through oneself is expressed in the principles of Judo and Aikido where the opponent's forces are used against him/her. Symbolically, the initial stance of two opponents reflects the original harmony of their dyadic relationship. The initiation of an attack or the exposure of a weakness disrupts the balance. Harmony is then restored by the neutralization of the attack or by penetrating the weakness. In Judo, the principle is to pull when pushed and to push when pulled. The Judo master converts the opponent's force into linear energy which is then used against him/her. In Aikido, the principle is to turn when pushed and to enter when pulled.'1''4 The Aikido master converts the opponent's force into circular energy which is used against him/her. Consider the analogy of one who wishes to overcome a revolving door by pushing at it. The door merely turns in response to the aggression. In the end, the door maintains its original position while the aggressor, his/her efforts in obvious futility, stands fatigued. To enter when pulled is to act as this same revolving door. Thus, the aggressor is not overcome by a greater force, but rather, his/her own energies are harnessed and redirected in a way which leads to his/her own demise. - 38 -

The true master of a martial art in the spirit of Zen reacts

spontaneously to the situation that is at hand. He/she does not try to

defeat the opponent, does not predetermine a plan of attack and does not

react as a result of conscious deliberation. The Tao acts through the

master to restore harmony and correct for the imbalance initiated by the

opponent. Simply put, the universe is present everywhere and although

it is unchanging as a whole, its constituents are in constant flux.

Force on the one hand is redirected and neutralized on the other. The martial arts master, in the Zen spirit, is representative of this

restoring or harmonizing force. In this, lies his/her strength.

Summary

It should be clear that "the Skill" in the Zen sense is something much different from "the skill" in the Western sense. The Zen Skill is to be found in one's approach to all activites of life - including one's approach to motor skill acquisition and performance. The performance of a motor skill is simply an expression of the Zen Skill. An old Samurai maxim explains: "A man who has attained mastery of an art reveals it in his every action."15

The results of motor skill performance are incidental to a Zen approach. When one approaches a motor skill from a selfless, distinctionless perspective, there is no danger of compromising the essence of a Zen approach. The separation of method from essence is only an illusion, for once separated there is no longer a Zen approach.

The ideal spirit of the martial arts is a symbolic expression of the

Zen Skill. The principle of universal harmony and unity, for example, is manifested in the techniques of Aikido and Judo. NOTES

Eugen Herrigel, Zen in the Art of Archery (New York: Random House, Inc., 1971), p.v.

2 Joe Hyams, Zen in the Martial Arts (Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher, Inc., 1979), p. 10.

JDenise McCluggage, The Centered Skier (New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1978), p. 1.

Herrigel, op. cit, pp. 69, 70.

5The three phrases are: being, non-being, and neither being nor non-being.

Cited by: Fung Yu-lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, trans. Derk Bodde, 2 vols. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1953), 2:404.

-i Daisetz T. Suzuki, Zen and Japanese Culture, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973), p. 94.

P "Myoyu" is a Japanese term defined by Suzuki as ". . .a certain artistic quality perceivable not only in works of art but in anything in Nature or life." (p. 142n). g

Suzuki, op. cit., p. 146.

10Insert mine. ^Insert mine, i o Oscar Ratti & Adele Westbrook, Secrets of the Samurai (Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., 1980), p. 451.

13Ibid., p. 438.

^Ibid., p. 438.

15Cited by: Hyams, op. cit., p. 15. - 40 -

CHAPTER 4

THE ROLE OF THE INSTRUCTOR

The instructor who teaches a Zen approach to skill acquisition must be one who truly knows and thus lives a Zen approach. Therefore, by necessity, the instructor must be a master of Zen. The instructor plays a crucial role in assisting the student along the path towards mastery of the Zen Skill. In the Japanese martial arts the instructor is referred to as "sense!" which is translated as "master" but literally means, "one who is born before". This does not necessarily imply that the instructor is chronologically older than the student, but rather, that the instructor is further advanced in spiritual development and the attainment of wisdom.1 This chapter will investigate what it is that the instructor teaches, how it is taught, how the student's performance is evaluated, and the nature of the instructor/student relationship.

What is Taught

The underlying philosophical foundations of Zen which are expressed in the instructor's approach to life are also expressed in the content of his/her instruction. Unlike Western approaches where the instructor actively assists the learner by structuring the environment, setting goals and objectives, directing attention to relevant cues and providing feedback, the task of the Zen master is simply to help the student follow the Tao, and to realize his/her own true nature as that of the universal stream. The instructor may help the student acquire the Zen - 41 -

Skill through the instruction of a motor skill. In such case, the focus of motor skill instruction is not the motor skill itself but the approach to it. Once the student has mastered a Zen approach to motor skill acquisition, the teacher is no longer required. The Taoist classic, the Chuang Tzu tell us, "If a man follows the mind given him and makes it his teacher, then who can be without a teacher?"

A necessary, but by no means focal, function of the instructor is to make sure that the learner understands the constraints of the motor skill (i.e., what the general intent of the skill is, what to do with oneself and what to do with equipment that may be a part of the skill) and to introduce techniques that may be used to perform the skill. The instructor is careful not to impose too many constraints upon the skill and he/she is also careful not to overemphasize the general intent of the skill. By placing too many constraints upon the skill, the instructor would only cause the student to get wound up in a web of conceptualizations which would serve to inhibit the free-flowing, spontaneous mind that Zen advocates. By overemphasizing the general intent of the skill, the student may be led to place too much importance upon the end result as opposed to the process involved. This is precisely what is to be avoided.

How it is Taught

The role of the instructor with respect to how he/she teaches a motor skill (and thus the Zen Skill) is a subtle one. The instructor teaches primarily through the use of demonstrations. This allows - 42 -

the student to visually interpret the Zen Skill. A demonstration may

have much more effect than a dialogue between teacher and student. By

excessive verbalization the instructor would only serve to modify the

student's deluded concept of reality by providing more distinctions to

which it might cling. The instructor cannot help the student to master

a motor skill by explaining it any more than he/she can make the student

aware of the Ultimate Truth by telling him/her.

However, the limited use of words may serve a purpose if it is

understood by the student that the words are intended only as a vehicle,

a vehicle which can ultimately be dispensed with when the student

achieves true understanding. A passage from the Chuang Tzu serves to

illustrate:

The fish trap exists because of the fish; once you've gotten the fish, you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit; once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning; once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him?

It is Important that the instructor convey an attitude that, as much as possible, denies distinctions. For example, an environment must not be created where the student perceives that an object/teacher is going to demonstrate a skill to a subject/self. Rather, the instructor must convey an attitude that he/she is a mere instrument through which the great Tao is acting. Credit must not be taken or possessiveness displayed towards his/her actions. The student must realize that - 43 -

through destruction of the ego, he/she can also become an instrument

through which the Tao is manifested.

When the master observed that Eugen Herrigel could not detach himself from trying to hit the target, he took him to the practice hall

one evening and in darkness shot two arrows at the target, the first hitting full in the bullseye and the second splitting the shaft of the first! The experience was a turning point for Herrigel. The master explained his performance as follows:

"But the second arrow which hit the first - what do you make of that? I at any rate know that it is not 'I' who must be given credit for this shot. 'It' shot and 'It' made the hit. Let us bow to the goal as before the Buddha!" The Master had evidently hit me, too, with both arrows: as though transformed over night, I no longer succumbed to the temptation of worrying about my arrows and what happened to them. The Master strengthened me in this attitude still further by never looking at the target, but simply keeping his eye oh the archer, as though that gave him the most suitable indication of how the shot had fallen out.4

The teaching may also be transmitted in the general behaviors of the instructor outside of the learning environment. This is referred to in the West as "incidental" as opposed to "intentional" learning. What this means is that the student can subconsciously learn through the mere exposure to the behaviors of other people. In this case the behavior he/she is exposed to Is the expression of Zen which is manifested in every facet of the instructor's daily existence.

Errors in performance play an important role in helping the student to redirect him/herself back onto the proper course. The firsthand - 44 -

experience of such mistakes is a far more convincing reality than merely

to be told what notsto do by an instructor. Zen emphasizes firsthand

experience and it is this emphasis which dictates that the instructor's

role be a subtle one.

Thus, to a great extent, the student must struggle on his/her own to

master a skill just as he/she must struggle to reach Enlightenment. The

struggle itself is a long and tedious process and it must at times seem

that progress is not being made. Yet why would the instructor allow

what appears to be futile effort persist? Again, Herrigel provides

insight:

In talking it over with Mr. Komachiya, I once asked him why the Master had looked on so long at my futile efforts to draw the bow "spiritually," why he had not insisted on the correct breathing right from the start. "A great Master," he replied, "must also be a great teacher. With us the two things go hand in hand. Had he begun the lessons with breathing exercises, he would never have been able to convince you that you owe them anything decisive. You had to suffer shipwreck through your own efforts before you were ready to seize the lifebelt he threw you."5

Thus, when a Zen instructor does intervene, that intervention tends

to be very meaningful and serves to guide the student back to the true

path.

A parallel may be drawn to what has been referred to in the West as a problem-solving versus a guided learning approach.6 With a guided

learning approach, the instructor plays an important role in structuring

the learning experience. The instructor defines objectives, identifies - 45 -

pertinent cues to the student, and provides feedback which is integrated

to refine the performance. This approach is an effective and efficient

means of teaching a motor skill; it may be thought of as the shortest

distance between two points. This approach has been found to be

effective in the instruction of "closed" skills, or in other words,

those skills where the environment remains relatively stable and the

subject determines when to initiate the response (e.g., bowling,

archery).

Conversely, a problem-solving approach involves a limited amount of

guidance from the instructor. Rather than being "pulled" along the path

of learning by the instructor, the student is pointed in the general

direction, given a gentle push, goes off to explore on his/her own, and

is redirected if he/she strays too far off course. This trial and error

or discovery approach to skill acquisition involves much less

structuring of the environment and the learning process on the part of

the instructor. The instructor plays more of a subtle, reactive role as opposed to an active role. As a result, the student reaches the same end point but it takes him/her considerably longer. However, when it is done, the student has sewn a broader path, achieved a greater understanding of the effects of responses under various performance conditions, and is better able to adapt to new but related situations.

This approach is more suited to the acquisition of "open" skills (e.g., water-skiing, fencing) since varied experiences will help the performer to respond effectively to a changing environment.

A Zen approach to skill acquisition displays the features of a problem-solving as opposed to a guided learning method. The student is - 46 -

given the freedom to explore and discover for his/her own self. In this

way, the instructor's role remains a subtle one.

The Evaluation of Performance

How is it that a Zen instructor may judge the performance of a

student? How does the instructor know if the student is performing the skill in a manner reflective of a Zen approach? Obviously, quantitative measures of performance are useless since various levels may be achieved by those who have or have not trained with a Zen approach. Qualitative measures or judgements, as such, are inadequate because the behaviors of one who is skilled in a Zen approach may be effectively mimicked by one who is not trained in a Zen approach. How, then, does the instructor know when the performance he is watching is a true expression of a Zen approach?

The instructor may come to evaluate performance in the same way that he/she acquires prajna or Sage-Wisdom - through intuition. As one who is in harmony with the Ultimate Reality, the instructor possesses a sensitivity to the disruption of that harmony. This sensitivity, like the prajna he/she has acquired, is beyond reason - it is purely intuitive and it is a result of the training he/she has gone through.

Herrigel, in The Method of Zen, addresses the same issue:

Whence does the Master obtain this authority, which he neither seeks nor demands, but which grows upon him despite himself? How is it possible for him to gaze into his pupil's very soul, when he stands struck dumb in his presence, or muttering helplessly? How does he know and - 47 -

see whether the pupil has attained satori (Jap. for, "Enlightenment").7 It is as difficult to explain this as the process of satori itself. . . . the Master demands to "see" with his own eyes the pupil's attainment of satori. And he, the Master of satori, does in fact see with unerring glance. His own experiences as a pupil enable him to do this, then his years of experience as a teacher and finally as a Master. But what does the Master see? Perhaps I can get around this question by an analogy: it is like a painter who, by glancing at the work of his students, is able to tell which of them are born artists and which are not. He just "sees" this, but how he sees it can never by explained or taught to a non-painter. Similarly, the Zen Master sees when satori is genuine and not merely imagined.8

Herrigel's analogy is perhaps a weak one in that it attempts to reduce the instructor's validation of knowledge concerning artistic ability to the qualities of an artistic product. Perhaps a better analogy would be that the instructor gains insight by observing how the artist paints as opposed to what he/she has painted. Nonetheless, the inference is that the insight is a spontaneous one, an intuition that does not require the time or judgement of rational thought processes.

It is in this way that the instructor may evaluate the performance of the student.

The Instructor/Student Relationship

The roles which are evidenced in the instructor/student relationship have been clearly defined in the Zen tradition. The instructor assumes a great responsibility as not only the teacher of an individual but also as a transmitter of the Tao. Because of this responsibility and by virtue of his training and knowledge, the instructor has for many hundreds of years occupied a position of high repute in Japanese - 48 -

society. This sense of responsibility is exampled, again, in Herrigel's

Zen in the Art of Archery. The master responded to Herrigel's

persistent questioning about what it is that releases the arrow if it is

not what is perceived to be the subjective entity,

"'It' shoots," he replied. "I have heard you say that several times before, so let me put it another way: How can I wait self-obliviously for the shot if 'I' am no longer there?" "'It' waits at the highest tension." "And who or what is this 'It'?" "Once you have understood that, you will have no further need of me. And if I tried to give a clue at the cost of your own experience, I would be the worst of teachers and would deserve to be sacked] So let's stop talking about it and go on practicing."

The instructor allows the student the freedom to make errors and discoveries for him/herself. Thus, the student does not become overly

dependent upon the master for technical instruction or spiritual guidance. This prepares the student for the time when instructor and

student must go their separate ways.

Although the student must search for the truth on his/her own, the master is constantly monitoring his/her progress, providing guidance when necessary, always concerned that the ultimate transmission of mind is pure and true. The student, for his/her part, must be respectful and exhibit nothing but total faith in the master's ability. He/she must be loyal to the instructor and unquestioningly obedient. He/she must be humble, for this is the first step towards selflessness. He/she must be patient for it is only with patience in the most extreme sense that one may subvert one's desires and thus realize the fulfillment of the - 49 -

journey to Enlightenment.

It is the instructor who helps the student discover his/her own true

nature, but it is the student who must supply the desire and

motivation. The instructor can not force the student to practice or to

learn a motor skill. Similarly, one can not be forced to discover one's

own true nature. The truth is within and the motive to realize it must

also be found within. Joe Hyams interprets the grounds for the

instructor/student relationship as follows:

The martial arts sensei is very much like the Zen master; he has not sought out the student, nor does he prevent him from leaving. If the student wants guidance in climbing the steep path to expertise, the instructor is willing to act as guide - on the condition that the student be prepared to take care of himself along the way. The instructor's function is to delegate to the student exactly those tasks which he is capable of mastering, and then to leave him as much as possible to himself and his inner abilities. The student may follow in the footsteps of his guide or choose an alternate path - the choice is his.10

The student must be respectful towards the master, not in the sense

of ceremony, but sincerely respectful for the nature of the instructor/student bond is a prime determinant of the outcome of the student's journey. Because the path to mastery is long and tedious it is often nothing more than faith in the instructor which keeps the student motivated and working towards his/her goal. Whether it is the road to Enlightenment through skill acquisition or through other means, the responsible attitude of the instructor and the reverence of the - 50 -

student are essential ingredients to the Zen formula of instruction.

The pinnacle of instruction, in the Zen sense, is when the student

has progressed to the point where he/she has gained true understanding

and thus, is no longer in need of the instructor. Now the instructor,

in typical selfless fashion, may urge the student to go beyond even

him/herself, to "climb on the shoulders of his teacher."11 Herrigel's

experience of departing from his master is described:

When I asked the Master how we could get on without him on our return to Europe, he said: "Your question is already answered by the fact that I made you take a test. You have now reached a stage where teacher and pupil are no longer two persons, but one. You can separate from me any time you wish. Even if broad seas lie between us, I shall always be with you when you practice what you have learned. ..." In farewell, and yet not in farewell, the Master handed me his best bow. "When you shoot with this bow you will feel the spirit of the Master near you. Give it not into the hands of the curious! And when you have passed beyond it, do not lay it up in remembrance! Destroy it, so that nothing remains but a heap of ashes."12

Any discussion of the instructor/student relationship must make mention of the importance of the "transmission of mind." It is recalled that tradition tells us that the personal teachings of the Buddha were transmitted to his chosen disciple who in turn transmitted them to his chosen disciple and so on through to the sixth Chinese Patriarch,

Hui-neng.

The transmission of mind does not refer to the passage of secret information from teacher to student. Consistent with the idea that - 51 -

the real truth must be found within, the transmission of mind simply

refers to the pure awareness and insight that the student finally

obtains. The expression signifies that the mind-set of the student has

become identical with the mind-set of the instructor.

Historically, the Patriarch, upon realization that it was time to

pass on the tradition to an Enlightened student, would compose a verse

and present it to the student along with a sacred robe. With these in

his possession the student would have proof that he had been sanctioned

by the master to carry on the teachings.

In present times, the transmission of the mind may be symbolized by

the passage of some object from instructor to student but this is not

necessary. For when the student realizes his/her true nature, the

master and he/she are no longer two distinct beings but part of the same

Unified Reality. Thus the student has not only acquired a motor skill,

he/she has also become Enlightened. When this point is reached, the

role of the instructor will have been fulfilled.

Summary

This chapter has outlined the role of the instructor in a Zen

approach to skill acquisition. It was argued that the instructor's role

is a subtle one. The motor skill is merely a vehicle through which the

instructor teaches the Zen Skill. For the most part, he/she instructs by example rather than through words. The student is made to struggle on his/her own, making errors and discoveries while progressing along the path to skill, and Skill, acquisition. The instuctor's - 52 -

interventions, while limited in number, are always meaningful. A

parallel was drawn to a problem-solving as opposed to a guided learning

approach.

Once Enlightenment is attained, the instructor is able to validate

the authenticity of the student's achievement through intuitive means.

The instructor assumes a role of great responsibility when he/she takes

on a student. The student, on the other hand, must have respect and undying faith in the instructor. Once the student has come to realize his/her own true nature and thus the true nature of reality, the instructor is no longer required. The transmission of mind will have been realized.

In conclusion, the role of the instructor in a Zen approach to skill acquisition may best be explained by adapting the words of the Taoist sage, Lao Tzu: "Ruling a country is like cooking a small fish."14 In the present context it may be stated, "Instructing a student is like cooking a small fish." That is to say, too much handling will spoil it. NOTES

•"•Joe Hyams, Zen in the Martial Arts (Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher, Inc., 1979), p. 13.

Burton Watson, trans., The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu (New York Columbia University Press, 1968), p. 38.

3Ibid., p. 302.

**Eugen Herrigel, Zen in the Art of Archery (New York: Random House, Inc., 1971), p. 67.

5Ibid., p. 26.

6Robert N. Singer, The Learning of Motor Skills (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1982), p. 126. 7 Insert mine.

8Eugen Herrigel, The Method of Zen (New York: Random House, Inc., 1974), pp. 56, 57, 58. q

Herrigel, Zen in the Art of Archery, pp. 58, 59.

10Hyams, op. cit., p. 13. ^Herrigel, Zen in the Art of Archery, p. 51.

12Ibid., pp. 73, 74.

Daisetz T. Suzuki, Zen and Japanese Culture (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1973), p. 135.

11+Cited by: Wing-tsit Chan, trans, and comp., A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1973), p. 168. - 54 -

CHAPTER 5

THE ROLE OF THE LEARNER

In a Zen approach to skill acquisition the learner is not only the focus but the essence of the skill acquisition setting. How is this so? The skill that is learned - the Zen Skill - is not something external to the learner; rather, it is to be found within the learner.

The instructor does not so much teach a motor skill as help the learner to realize for him/herself the true nature of Reality. This is the

Reality that lies within. Clearly, the role of the learner is paramount in a Zen approach to skill acquisition.

Given the importance of the learner in the skill acquisition setting, one might guess that the role of the learner is also a very complex one. This is not the case, however. Essentially, the learner has only to overcome the conceptualizing mind and to extinguish desires in order to realize the Zen Skill. Though not complex, this often proves to be a very difficult task.

This chapter is concerned with what it is that the learner actually does during skill acquisition and performance. The importance of the detached mind, the process of "centering", and the learner's approach to the martial arts will be discussed.

The Detached Mind

A Zen approach to skill performance may be thought of as "meditation in movement". The meditative mind is a clear and detached mind, and it - 55 -

is this mind which the learner attempts to realize. This is the Zen

Skill. To the trained eye of the instructor, skill performance provides

a visible testimony to the degree of Zen Skill mastery.

To place the mind anywhere in particular is to remove it from the

natural flow of the universal stream and thus to lose awareness of the

ever present here and now. To consciously place the mind anywhere is to

create a conceptual distinction which perpetuates the notion of a

distinct self. When the mind is attached to anything it loses touch with the Ultimate Reality.

The Zen master Takuan (1573-1645) wrote in depth about Zen and the art of swordsmanship in general, and about the placement of the mind in particular, in a famous letter to Yagyu Tajima no kami Munenori:

The second question is: Where is the mind to be kept after all? I answer: "The thing is not to try to localize the mind anywhere but to let it fill up the whole body, let it flow throughout the totality of your being. When this happens you use the hands when they are needed, you use the legs or the eyes when they are needed, and no time or no extra energy will be wasted. (The localization of the mind means its freezing. When it ceases to flow freely as it is needed, it is no more the mind in its suchness.)

• • « The mind is not to be treated like a cat tied to a string. The mind must be left to itself, utterly free to move about according to its own nature. Not to localize or partialize it is the end of spiritual training. When it is nowhere it is everywhere. When it occupies one tenth, it is absent in the other nine tenths. Let the swordsman discipline himself to have the mind go on its own way, instead of trying deliberately to confine it somewhere." - 56 -

Realizing a detached mind allows the performer to act spontaneously

(Ch.: tzu-jan). In this lies the Zen Skill as expressed through motor

performance. For the learner, however, acting spontaneously is not a

natural thing to do. Therefore, he/she must try to act spontaneously.

This would appear to be a paradox. Since the ultimate state of mind

differs from one's normal state of mind, one must try (i.e., use

conscious motive) to act without conscious motive before one can by

nature act without conscious motive. In fact, however, this state of

affairs is only paradoxical to the rational mind. Fung Yu-lan explains:

After the completion of cultivation, however, one's thoughts continue to be detached from phenomenal things, and one still remains "amid the phenomenal yet devoid of the phenomenal." The difference is that whereas during the earlier period this state of mind was achieved only through conscious effort, during the period after cultivation has been stopped, it comes of itself without the need for any effort. Yet this does not mean that this effortlessness comes merely because the man who has been engaged in cultivation eventually develops a certain habit. What it does mean is that at the moment of completion he experiences instantaneous enlightenment and is thereby identified with non-being. That is why he then need exert no effort but is naturally as he is.

To act spontaneously is to act without conscious motive and without conscious effort. However, it is clear that one must, at first, possess a motive to act without motive and hence make a conscious effort to act without conscious effort. Herein lies a paradox in the context of rational thought but not in the context of Zen. To act with motive or effort for any other purpose than to ultimately extinguish their own - 57 -

existence, is to act against the Tao. In Zen in the Art of Archery,

Eugen Herrigel's master explains:

"The right"art," cried the Master, "is purposeless, aimless! The more obstinately you try to learn how to shoot the arrow for the sake of hitting the goal, the less you will succeed in the one and the further the other will recede. What stands in your way is that you have a much too willful will. You think that what you do not do yourself does not happen."3

The performance of a motor skill carries a hidden danger for the learner of the Zen Skill. Because the learner visually witnesses his/her performance, there exists the lure of attributing the results of performance to the subjective self. There also exists the lure of consciously attaching the mind to those results as well as to the constant flow of objective stimuli which bombard the learner. The

Master cautioned Herrigel about this very danger when, for the first time, he released a shot properly:

Then, one day, after a shot, the Master made a deep bow and broke off the lesson. "Just then 'It' shot!" he cried, as I stared at him bewildered. And when I at last understood what he meant I couldn't suppress a sudden whoop of delight. "What I have said," the Master told me severely, "was not praise, only a statement that ought not to touch you. Nor was my bow meant for you, for you are entirely innocent of this shot. You remained this time absolutely self-oblivious and without purpose in the highest tension, so that the shot fell from you like a ripe fruit. Now go on practicing as if nothing had happened."4

4 - 58 -

Once the illustory nature of distinctions is realized, the

performance of a motor skill can only be attributed to the natural

stream of reality - nothing more and nothing less.

The Process of Centering

Centering is the process by which one attains harmony with the self,

with others or with the universe. To be centered is to have realized

the essence of the personal sphere, the social sphere, or the universal

sphere. It is to become aware of the underlying unity within that

sphere and it is to act in harmony with that sphere. These different

spheres do not denote different Realities, but rather different levels

of the same Reality. This concept is further explained by Westbrook and

Ratti:

Both the cosmic and the human dimensions of the concept, however, are closely identified, man being an integral part of creation. The true and all-encompassing Centre, according to Eastern philosophy, is the same for both the general and the particular, for the universe and for man. This is underscored in many Japanese tales of the wise man who lives in harmony with himself and with nature. Separation of man from that identity with the universe, alienation of man from man, and finally, a man's feeling of a split within himself are considered to be the result of paying too much attention to the surface differences, to the details of life. This completely ignores the underlying identity of all, the basic "oneness" of its essence.6

The "center" of an individual is commonly said to exist at a point about two inches below the navel. This is the point through which one's - 59 -

vital energy (Ch.: ch/i) is said to flow. This is also the point

through which the vital energy of the universe flows. When one is

centered with the self and the universe, ch'i is allowed to flow

smoothly and unrestricted. This is what is meant by the statements,

"The Zen master is at one with the Tao", and, "The Zen master is an

instrument of the Tao - the Tao acts through him/her."

How is it that the learner may become "centered" with the various

levels of Reality? Zen would suggest that the practice of meditation

ultimately brings one into contact with the unified essence of the

universe. With respect to motor skill performance, by practicing with a

detached mind, a meditative mind, one may realize the essence or unity

that underlies a skill setting. In the case of archery, for example,

one comes to realize the unified and indistinguishable nature of archer,

bow, arrow, and target. This is the essence of that learning

environment. At this point, performance of the motor skill will reflect mastery of the Zen Skill in that setting. The drawing of the bow and

the shooting of the arrow, are now simply parts of a tune - a tune

played in harmony with the universe.

The Learner's Approach to the Martial Arts

The martial arts represent a specific group of motor skills which are characterized by the interaction of the learner with one or more active opponents. The performance setting for a martial art is thus much more involved than for a task involving only the learner. As - 60 -

opposed to archery, for example, a martial art is not a self-paced task;

that is, the environment is constantly changing in an unpredictable

way. There may be a number of opponents attacking the learner from

different directions in a variety of ways. Understandably, it becomes

very difficult for the learner to acquire, or once acquired, to maintain

a detached mind in the midst of all this action. This is why the

martial arts prove to be such a difficult avenue for mastery of the Zen

Skill.

Despite the obvious difficulty of acquiring the Zen Skill in such an

environment, the approach of the learner is no different from his/her

approach in other settings. The learner must try to extinguish the

conceptualizing mind so that the essence of the performance situation,

at each instant, may reveal itself to him/her. The mind must flow with

what is happening in the present; in this way, it rides with the

universal stream of existence. Action is thus spontaneous and not a

product of conscious desires.

The involvement of an active opponent does not imply that the

performance setting is a competitive one. In fact, in a Zen approach to

the martial arts there is no such thing as a competitive setting. It will be recalled that Zen upholds the concept of a Unified Ultimate

Reality. Given this belief, there is ultimately no one or nothing to compete with. For one to accept the idea of competition would be to accept the distinction between subject(I) and object(not-I). This is precisely what the learner in a Zen approach is attempting to overcome.

Martial arts performance is to be approached in a way that is consistent with the metaphysical assumption of a Unified Ultimate - 61 -

Reality. Thus, the learner does not try to "defeat" the opponent in a

personal sense. He/she is simply to flow with the actions of the

opponent, acting in a way that will restore the balance and harmony of

the dyad. In a Zen approach to the martial arts there is no winner or

loser, no victory or defeat. In the words of the late Bruce Lee:

You and your opponent are one. There is a coexisting relationship between you. You coexist with your opponent and become his complement, absorbing his attack and using his force to overcome him.7

Not only does the concept of competition contradict the metaphysical assumptions which underlie Zen, but the implicit products of competition

are meaningless in the context of Zen.

In martial arts such as Aikido and Judo are manifested some of the principles of Zen. Force is not to be overpowered by greater force, but rather force is redirected so that it may be neutralized. Perhaps, this is the key to the aesthetic quality of Aikido and Judo performance.

Aikido and Judo are not characterized by the meeting of forces, followed by great struggle and finally resolution. Rather, they involve movements that are very smooth and continuous. The performance is very fluid - almost dance-like. Support for this yielding and fluid approach to existence is found in the Lao Tzu:

A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff. Green plants are tender and filled with sap. At their death they are withered and dry. - 62 -

Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death. The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life. Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle. A tree that is unbending is easily broken. The hard and strong will fall. The soft and weak will overcome.8

Summary

In a Zen approach to motor skill acquisition, the learner's role is simply to act with a detached mind. A detached mind is a clear, aware, and meditative mind. Once devoid of desires and conceptual distinctions, the Tao is allowed to act through the learner. However, the learner must first act with conscious motive and effort in order to ultimately extinguish conscious motive and effort.

Centering is the process by which one attains harmony with the self, with others or with the universe. Being centered at the highest level, one realizes the essence of the Unified Ultimate Reality. To realize this is to be at one with the Tao. To realize this in a motor performance setting is to realize the underlying unity of that setting.

The martial arts provide a challenging avenue for mastery of the Zen

Skill. In theory, the learner's task should be no more difficult than for any simple motor skill, but in practice there are a variety of distractions which make it difficult for the learner to realize a detached mind in a martial arts setting.

In martial arts such as Aikido and Judo, some of the principles of

Zen are manifested. One may witness the fluid and yielding action of one who has mastered a martial art in the Zen context. NOTES

iCited by: Daisetz T. Suzuki, Zen and Japanese Culture (Princeton: Princeton University Prss, 1973), pp. 106-108.

Fung Yu-lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, trans. Derk Bodde, 2 vols. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1953), 2:405.

3Eugen Herrigel, Zen in the Art of Archery (New York: Random House, Inc., 1971), p. 34.

**Ibid., p. 59. 5 Adele Westbrook & Oscar Ratti, Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere (Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., 1981), pp. 69, 70.

6Ibid., p. 70.

7Cited by: Joe Hyams, Zen in the Martial Arts (Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher, Inc., 1979), p. 59.

8Gia-fu Feng & Jane English, trans., Tao Te Ching (New York: Random House, 1972), chap. 76. - 64 -

CHAPTER 6

THE NATURE OF THE LEARNING PROCESS

With an understanding of the nature of the skill and the roles of

those involved in the skill acquisition setting, namely, the instructor

and the learner, it is now possible to investigate what it is that

characterizes the learning process.

Temporal Considerations

What is the importance of "time" in the learning of a motor skill

through a Zen approach? It will be recalled that Zen recognizes the

metaphysical unity of space and time. To make spatial or temporal

distinctions is to cling to the phenomenal world, and thus, to inhibit

the spontaneous flow of the mind with the Tao (i.e., natural stream of

existence). Therefore, for a student to ask, "how long will it take to

learn?", or, "how far have I progressed up to now?", is to pose a meaningless question to the Zen master. Eugen Herrigel discovered this one day when he approached his archery master:

I pointed out to the Master that I was already in my fourth year and that my stay in Japan was limited. "The way to the goal is not to be measured! Of what importance are weeks, months, years?" "But what if I have to break off half way?" I asked. "Once you have grown truly egoless you can break off at any time. Keep on practicing that."

The very act of asking questions that are concerned with time or progress indicates a lack of true understanding on the part of the - 65 -

student. It may take many years to reach Enlightenment or it may take a

very short time if one has a mind that is near to the true nature of

Reality. A motor skill, however, because it does contain a technical

component, cannot be mastered in a very short time. It does require

some amount of physical practice. Mastery, however, does not depend on

the amount of practice, but on the nature of the practice. This is

colorfully illustrated in the following anecdote:

A young boy traveled across Japan to the school of a famous martial artist. When he arrived at the dojo he was given an audience by the sensei. "What do you wish from me?" the master asked. "I wish to be your student and become the finest karateka in the land," the boy replied. "How long must I study?" "Ten years at least," the master answered. "Ten years is a long time," said the boy. "What if I studied twice as hard as all your other students?" "Twenty years," replied the master. "Twenty years! What if I practice day and night with all my effort?" "Thirty years," was the master's reply. "How is is that each time I say I will work harder, you tell me that it will take longer?" the boy asked. "The answer is clear. When one eye is fixed upon your destination, there is only one eye left with which to find the Way."2

To even acknowledge a learning "process" is to distinguish between past, present and future. For the Zen master, this distinction does not exist. This is shown in the following parable:

One day while he was studying under Nangaku, Baso was sitting, practicing zazen....3 Nangaku saw him sitting like a great mountain or like a frog. Nangaku asked, - 66 -

"What are you doing?" "I am practicing zazen," Baso replied. "Why are you practicing zazen?" "I want to attain enlightenment; I want to be a Buddha," the disciple said.... Nangaku picked up a tile and started to polish it. Baso, his disciple, asked, "What are you doing?" "I want to make this tile into a jewel," Nangaku said. "How is is possible to make a tile a jewel?" Baso asked. "How is it possible to become a Buddha by practicing zazen?" Nangaku replied.4

Enlightenment is not something detached from the individual in time and it is not something that is distinct from the individual in that he/she does not "possess" it. The seed of Enlightenment is within the student here and now. The student has only to realize his/her own

Buddha-nature. He/she cannot try to attain it or to develop it. Thus,

Fung Yu-lan has identified one of the five basic tenets of Zen as,

5 "spiritual cultivation cannot be cultivated." he writes:

Since the conscious practice of spiritual cultivation is a form of deliberate activity, the actions it entails, being bound to the wheel of life and death, operate as causes resulting in inescapable retribution.... Thus to avoid creating new karma involves the non-practicing of spiritual cultivation. This non-practice, however, is itself a kind of cultivation, which means that it is "cultivation through non-cultivation." On the other hand, to avoid creating new karma does not mean to do nothing at all, but only to have no deliberate mind in whatever one does.

It follows that the learning process can hardly be regarded as a process at all in the Zen view. In the context of a Unified Ultimate

Reality, temporal distinctions cannot be made. There can be no conscious concept of "cultivating" skill or "acquiring" skill. There can only be the detached mind - and in this, lies the Zen skill. - 67 -

Learning as a Process

It was discussed in the previous section that Zen denies the

existence of a learning "process". However, to those outside of the Zen

perspective, there does indeed appear to be a learning process. That

process is the subject of the remainder of this chapter.

Learning as a Process of "Elimination".

A Zen approach to skill acquisition is directed towards the

realization of the Ultimate Reality. This realization occurs with the

breakdown of conceptual distinctions and the extinction of desires.

Thus, contrary to the conceptual construct that for learning to occur

something must be acquired, a Zen approach implies just the opposite.

That is to say, the path towards Zen Skill is not characterized by what is acquired but rather, what is dropped. Therefore, learning the Zen

Skill may be thought of as a process of elimination. The Taoist classic, the Lao Tzu, tells us:

Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles.

In the pursuit of learning, everyday something is acquired. In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.

For one gains by losing and loses by gaining.

Zen is simplicity. Distinctions, acquisitions and possessions only serve to clutter up the mind and perpetuate a deluded notion of

Reality. The Zen mind is a clear mind, an aware mind. In the - 68 -

phenomenal sense it is a here and now mind. In the spiritual sense, it

is an everywhere, always mind. It has no attachments and therefore may

"see" things for what they really are - without distinguishing, without

conceptualizing, without judging.

In Chapter 3 it was discovered that in a Zen approach to motor skill

acquisition, the skill being performed is not the motor skill but the

Zen Skill. Thus, "skill" is not skill as we commonly understand the

term. Now, it is also evident that "skill acquisition" is not skill

acquisition as we commonly understand it. The Zen Skill is not

something acquired but rather, something realized. The realization

results from the elimination of desires and conceptual distinctions. If

these are not eliminated, one can never become "skilled" in the Zen

sense. A famous Zen anecdote serves to illustrate:

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!" "Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"8

What ultimately results from the learning process if nothing is

acquired? In the true spirit of Zen, a master might reply, "nothing".

To recall that the Ultimate Emptiness of Reality (Skt.: sunyata, Ch.: k'ung) is a prime tenet of Buddhist metaphysics, is to realize that it - 69 -

is exactly "nothing" which results from the learning process. And in

this, lies everything.

Characteristics of the Learning Process.

To one who has yet to be Enlightened, receiving motor skill

instruction through a Zen approach is a bewildering experience. The

learner perceives that he/she is a distinct subject who performs the

skill, yet is told that, ultimately, it is not he/she who is responsible

for those actions. The learner assumes that the motor skill is directed

towards a goal, yet is told that the results of the performance are

incidental. The entire context for skill acquisition, which is set by

the instructor, is grounded in the non-rational knowledge which the

learner cannot yet come to grips with.

As the learning process continues, the conceptualizing mind becomes more and more confused due to its inability to rationally resolve this context. Eventually, the confusion becomes so great that the conceptualizing mind tires, unable to comprehend the context for skill acquisition and no longer motivated to do so. This state of hopelessness is described by Herrigel:

Weeks went by without my advancing a step. At the same time I discovered that this did not disturb me in the least. Had I grown tired of the whole business? Whether I learned the art or not, whether I experienced what the Master meant by "It" or not, whether I found the way to Zen or not - all of this suddenly seemed to have become so remote, so indifferent, that it no longer troubled me. Several times I made up my mind to confide in the Master, but when I stood before him I lost courage; I was - 70 -

convinced that I would never hear anything but the monotonous answer: "Don't ask, practice!" So I stopped asking, and would have liked to stop practicing, too, had not the Master held me inexorably in his grip. I lived from one day to the next, did my professional work as best I might, and in the end ceased to bemoan the fact that all my efforts of the last few years had become meaningless.

It is at this point that the mind is "ripe" for Enlightenment. The

preparatory work now completed, the Enlightenment experience is sudden and forceful. It is an awareness. It is a great realization. It is an intuitive leap. The learning process, which had been slow and gradual to this point, now evidences a quantum leap. The learner can finally be described as a "skilled" performer. The performance of the skill may not reveal a quantitative change or improvement, but the change in the

"expression" of the skill, "how" the skill is performed, will be unmistakable to the trained eye. D.T. Suzuki writes:

When things are performed in a state of "no-mind" (mushin)1 or "no-thought" (munen), which means the absence of all modes of self- or ego-consciouness, the actor is perfectly free from inhibitions and feels nothing thwarting his line of behavior. If he is shooting, he just takes out his bow, puts an arrow to it, stretches the string, fixes his eyes on the target, and when he judges the adjustment to be right he lets the arrow go. He has no feeling of doing anything specifically good or bad, important or trivial; it is as if he hears a sound, turns around, and finds a bird in the court. This is one's "everyday mind" (heijo-shin). The swordsman is thus advised to retain this state of mentality even when he is engaged in a deadly combat. He forgets the seriousness of his situation. He has no thought of life and death. His is an "immovable mind" (fudo-shin). The fudo-shin is like the moon reflected in the stream. The waters are in motion all the time, but the moon retains its serenity. The mind moves in response to the ten thousand situations but remains ever the same. The art culminates here. All the scheming of the intellect has been quieted, and no artifice finds rooms for its demonstration. - 71 -

This, of course, does not mark the end-point in learning. With

further practice the learner's new-found approach to the skill

performance becomes more permanent, less subject to disruption and may

even extend to other facets of everyday life. Thus, the learner will

not only have mastered the Zen Skill as expressed in motor skill

performance, but ultimately, this mastery may be expressed in all of

his/her activities.

Learning as a Process of "Returning".

The analogy of a spontaneous, instinctive, beginner's mind is often

drawn to the state of "no-mind" which characterizes Enlightenment. The

totally uninitiated beginner performs with this mind because he/she has

no ideas or preconceptions which the mind may become attached to.

Misconceptions do eventually develop but with mastery comes their

ultimate dissolution. In this way, the learning process is analogous to

traveling a complete circle as opposed to a straight line. One ultimately returns to where one had started, but arrives there with a

greater awareness. Again, Suzuki explains:

To state it in terms of swordsmanship, the geniune beginner knows nothing about the way of holding and managing the sword, and much less of his concern for himself. When the opponent tries to strike him, he instinctively parries it. This is all he can do. But as soon as the training starts, he is taught how to handle the sword, where to keep the mind, and many other technical tricks - which makes his mind "stop" at various junctures. For this reason whenever he tries to strike the opponent he feels unusually hampered; (he has lost altogether the original sense of innocence and freedom). - 72 -

But as days and years go by, as his training acquires fuller maturity, his bodily attitude and his way of managing the sword advance toward "no-mind-ness," which resembles the state of mind he had at the very beginning of training when he knew nothing, when he was altogether ignorant of the art. The beginning and the end thus turn into nextdoor neighbors. First we start counting one, two, 12 three, and when finally ten is counted we return to one.

It is in this way that learning a motor skill through a Zen approach

may be viewed as a process of "returning".

Summary

This chapter has outlined the nature of the learning process in a

Zen approach to skill acquisition. The temporal aspects of the learning

process were considered, and were concluded to be meaningless in terms

of Zen metaphysics. In the Zen sense, there is no learning process.

In the phenomenal sense, learning was presented as a process of elimination, as opposed to acquisition, since the ultimate state of existence results from the dissolution of desires and conceptual distinctions. Learning was said to be characterized by the attempts of the rational mind to comprehend the Zen context for skill acquisition.

Eventually exhausted by the futility of these efforts, the mind is left

"ripe" for Enlightenment. Learning was also presented as a process of returning, since the "mind" which characterizes the uninitiated beginner is once again evidenced in the "mind" of the Enlightened Master.

The following anecdote serves as a fitting conclusion for this chapter: - 73 -

One day it was announced by Master Joshu that the young monk Kyogen had reached an enlightened state. Much impressed by this news, several of his peers went to speak with him. "We have heard that you are enlightened. Is this true?" his fellow students inquired. "It is," Kyogen answered. "Tell us," said a friend, "how do you feel?" "As miserable as ever," replied the enlightened Kyogen.13 - 74 -

NOTES

*Eugen Herrigel, Zen in the Art of Archery (New York: Random House, Inc., 1971), p. 58.

Cited by: Joe Hyams, Zen in the Martial Arts (Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher, Inc., 1979), p. 95.

The Japanese term, "zazen", means "sitting meditation.

^Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1970), pp. 80, 81.

5Fung Yu-lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, trans. Derk Bodde, 2 vols. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1953), 2:390.

6Ibid., pp. 393, 394.

7Gia-fu Feng & Jane English, trans., Tao te Ching (New York: Random House Inc., 1972), chaps, 20, 48, 42.

8Paul Reps, comp., Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Co., Inc., n.d.), p. 5.

Eugen Herrigel, op. cit., p. 59.

10A11 of the terms in brackets are Japanese terms.

^Daisetz T. Suzuki, Zen and Japanese Culture (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973), pp. 147, 148.

12Ibid., pp. 99, 100. 1 3 Joe Hyams, op. cit., p. 142. - 75 -

CHAPTER 7

CONCLUSIONS

My intent in this thesis was to describe and explain an Eastern

approach to motor skill acquisition and performance. The underlying

philosophical assumptions of an Eastern approach were investigated and

then applied to a skill acquisition setting. The discussion was

structured according to common divisions in the field of motor

learning. These included: the nature of the skill, the role of the instructor, the role of the learner and the nature of the learning process.

It was discovered that Zen adopts the metaphysical construct of a

Unified Ultimate Reality. In the Zen context, the goal of phenomenal existence is simply to realize this Reality. This realization occurs when one has attained a "detached mind". A detached mind is what is left once conscious desires and conceptual distinctions have been extinguished. Thus, the realization of True Reality is a firsthand, mystical experience.

The "Zen Skill", is an approach to life that is logically consistent with the metaphysical assumptions of Zen. The motor skill is merely an avenue by which one may acquire or express the Zen Skill; it possesses no importance on its own.

The instructor must be a master of Zen in order to teach a Zen approach. His/her involvement is directed towards the learner's realization of the True Reality. The role of the learner in a Zen - 76 -

approach to motor skill acquisition is to practice the motor skill with

a detached and thus an aware mind. In this way, he/she may come to

acquire the Zen Skill even though the concept of "acquisition" is

meaningless in this context. Consistent with the underlying assumption

of a Unified temporal as well as spatial Reality, Zen does not recognize

a learning process as such. There is no before and after. There only

is.

Clearly, as Fung Yu-lan has aptly stated, "there is nothing much in

the Buddhist teaching.1 Once the Zen Skill is acquired it may be

expressed in any or all activities of life. The Chuang Tzu provides an

interesting anecdote:

Cook Ting was cutting up an ox for Lord Wen-hui. At every touch of his hand, every heave of his shoulder, every move of his feet, every thrust of his knee - zip! zoop! He slithered the knife along with a zing, and all was in perfect rhythm, as though he were performing the dance of the Mulberry Grove or keeping time to the Ching-shou music. "Ah, this is marvelous!" said Lord Wen-hui. "Imagine skill reaching such heights!" Cook Ting laid down his knife and replied, "What I care about is the Way, which goes beyond skill. When I first began cutting up oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years I no longer saw the whole ox. And now - now I go at it by spirit and don't look with my eyes. Perception and understanding have come to a stop and spirit moves where it wants."2

With this realization comes the dissolution of a distinct learner, instructor, and skill. There remains only the Universal stream of existence - the natural flow of the Tao. NOTES

Fung Yu-lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, trans. Derk Bodde, 2 vols. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1953), 2:390. 2 Burton Watson, trans., The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu (New York: Columbia University Press, 1968), pp. 50,51. REFERENCES

Blyth, R.H. Zen and Zen Classics. Vol. 4. Tokyo: Hokuseido Press, 1966.

Chan Wing-Tsit, trans, and comp. A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1973.

Chan Wing-Tsit; al Farugl, Isma'Il RagI; Kitagawa, Joseph M.; and Raju, P.T., comps. The Great Asian Religions. London: The Macmillan Company, 1969.

Conze, Edward, trans. Buddhist Wisdom Books. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1958.

di Villadorata, Massimo N., Aikido. Cambridge, Ontario: Habitex Books, 1974.

Dumoulin, Heinrich. A History of Zen Buddhism. Translated by Paul Peachey. New York: Random House, 1963.

Feng Gia-fu and English, Jane, trans. Tao Te Ching. New York: Random House, 1972.

. Chuang Tsu: Inner Chapters. New York: Random House, 1974.

Fung Yu-lan. The Spirit of Chinese Philosophy. Translated by E.R. Hughes. London: Kegan Paul, Trubner and Co., Ltd., 1947.

. A History of Chinese Philosophy. Translated by Derk Bodde. 2 vols. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1952-1953.

. A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. Edited by Derk Bodde. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1966.

Gallwey, W. Timothy. The Inner Game of Tennis. New York: Bantam Books, Inc., 1979.

Gemmell, William, trans. The Diamond Sutra. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co., Ltd., 1913.

Hall, Edward T. The Hidden Dimension. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1966.

Herrigel, Eugen. Zen in the Art of Archery. Introduction by D.T. Suzuki. Translated by R.F.C. Hull. New York: Random House, Inc., 1971.

Herrigel, Eugen. The Method of Zen. Edited by Hermann Tausend. Translated by R.F.C. Hull. New York: Random House, Inc., 1974. Hyams, Joe. Zen in the Martial Arts. Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher,Inc., 1979.

Iida, Shotaro. Reason and Emptiness: A Study in Logic and Mysticism. Tokyo: The Hokuseido Press, 1980.

Izutsu, Toshihiko. Toward a Philosophy of Zen Buddhism. Boulder, Colo.: Prajna Press, 1982.

Kalupahana, David J. Buddhist Philosophy: A Historical Analysis. Forward by G.P. Malalasekera. Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii, 1976.

Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 2nd ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1970.

Leonard, George. The Ultimate Athlete. New York: The Viking Press, Inc., 1977.

McCluggage, Denise. The Centered Skier. New York: Warner Books, Inc. 1978.

Magill, Richard A. Motor Learning: Concepts and Applications. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers, 1980.

Marteniuk, Ronald G. Information Processing in Motor Skills. New York Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976.

Martindale, Colin. Cognition and Consciousness. Homewood, Illinois: The Dorsey Press, 1981.

Murphy, Michael. Golf in the Kingdom. New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1980.

Musashi, Miyamoto. The Book of Five Rings. Translation and Commentary by Nihon Services Corporation. New York: Bantam Books, Inc., 1982.

Nideffer, Robert M. The Inner Athlete. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1976.

Pirsig, Robert M. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. New York Bantam Books, Inc., 1976.

Poppe, Nicholas, trans. The Diamond Sutra. Wiesbaden, West Germany: Otto Harrassowitz, 1971.

Price, A.F., trans. The Jewel of Transcendental Wisdom. Forward by Dr. W.Y. Evans Wentz. London: The Buddhist Society, 1947.

Rahula, Walpola Sri. What the Buddha Taught. 2nd ed. Forward by Paul DemieVille. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1974. - 80 -

Ratti, Oscar, and Westbrook, Adele. Secrets of the Samurai: A Survey of the Martial Arts of Feudal Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., 1980.

Reps, Paul, comp. Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., n.d.

Runes, Dagobert D., ed. Dictionary of Philosophy. Totowa, New Jersey: Littlefield, Adams and Co., 1980.

Schmidt, Richard A. Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioral Emphasis. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics Publishers, 1982.

Singer, Robert N. Motor Learning and Human Performance: An Application to Motor Skills and Movement Behaviors. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1980.

. The Learning of Motor Skills. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1982.

Spaeth-Arnold, Ree K. Developing Sport Skills: A Dynamic Interplay of Task, Learner, and Teacher, n.p.: Motor Skills: Theory into Practice, 1981.

Stallings, Loretta M. Motor Learning: From Theory to Practice. St. Louis, Missouri: The CV. Mosby Company, 1982.

Stcherbatsky, F. Th. Buddhist Logic. 2 vols. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1962.

Sun Tzu. The Art of War. Translated and with an Introduction by Samuel B. Griffith. Foreward by B.H. Liddell Hart. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.

Suzuki, Daisetz T. Essays in Zen Buddhism. First Series. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1961.

. Zen and Japanese Culture. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1973.

Suzuki, Shunryu. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1970.

Takakusu, Junjiro. The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy. 3rd ed. Edited by Wing-Tsit Chan and Charles A. Moore. Honolulu: Office Appliance Co., Ltd., 1956.

Von DUrckheim, Karlfried Graf. Hara: The Vital Centre of Man. Translated by Sylvia - Monica von Kospoth in collaboration with Estelle R. Healey. London: George Allen and Unwin (Publishers) Ltd., 1977. - 81 -

Watson, Burton, trans. The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu. New York: Columbia University Press, 1968.

Watts, Alan W. The Way of Zen. New York: Random House, 1957.

Welford, A.T. Skilled Performance: Perceptual and Motor Skills. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1976.

Westbrook, Adele, and Ratti, Oscar. Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere: An Illustrated Introduction. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., 1981.

Yampolsky, Philip B., trans. The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.