JournaloftheU.S.ShintaidoMovement ISSN1930-0360IssueNo.34,2013 A Shintaido Tree Grows The Zen Circle

ExcerptedfromtalksbySeungSahnSunim,publishedin in Brooklyn Dropping Ashes on the Buddha ,and The Compass of Zen . Text suppliedbyChrisIkeda-Nash,whocomments: “This has been ByJenniferS.Wilkov of interest to me in the ways that it relates to Shintaido practice, particularly the areas of 270 and 360 degrees on the circle.” HereinNewYork,ithasbeenachallengetoraisethe ThewordsofSeungSahnSunim: awarenessofShintaidounlesssomeoneisalreadyfamiliar withit.WhenItalkaboutthismartialartandbodymove - Sometimes,IexplainZenpracticebymeansofacircle.The ment,peoplealwaysask:“Whereisyourdojo?”WhenI circlehasfivepoints:0degrees,90degrees, respondthatitisCentralPark,ProspectPark,oroutdoors, 180degrees,270degreesand360degrees.Threehundred they’reskepticalandtendnottocontinuewiththeirinterest sixtydegreesisthesamepointas0degrees. andprettymuchsay:“Fuhgeddaboudit!” Thecirclebeginsintheareafrom0degreesto90degrees. Ihavebeenlookingforwaystoreachnewpractitionersin ThisistheareaofthinkingandattachmentThinkingis NewYorkCity,acityfilledwithskepticsaswellasthose desire,andalldesireissuffering.Thisisalsoattachmentto alwaysonthelookoutfornewmartialartsandbodymove - therealmofnameandform.Becauseofthatwemakeoppo - ments. sites:goodandbad,thisandthat,beautifulandugly,like IknewIhadtofindawaytoconnectthedotsbetween anddislike,mineandyours,Ilikethis:Idon'tlikethat. Shintaidobeingpracticedoutside–inanaturaldojo–and Thisbodyhasmanydesires,angerandignorance.Itryto makingitmeettheassumptionsfolkswouldhaveinacity gethappinessandavoidallsuffering.Soherelifeissuffer - filledwithmartialartsdojos. ing,andsufferingislife.Thatis0degrees. EntertheDestinationBackcountryAdventurescompany, Proceedingalongthecirclepast90degreesistheareaof basedinBrooklyn. Karma“I”.Beforethispoint,thereisattachmenttoname andform.Herethereisattachmenttothinking.Mythinking Continued on p.7 makes“I”.Everybody'sthinkingmakestheir“I”.Before youwereborn,youwerezero.Nowyouareone.Inthe futureyouwilldieandbecomezeroagain.Sozeroequals I N S I D E one,andoneequalszero.Atthispointonthecircle,all thingsarethesame,becausetheyarethesamesubstance. Allthingshavenameandform,buttheirnamesandforms comefromemptinessandwillreturntoemptiness.Formis emptiness,emptinessisform.Thisisstilljustintellectual thinking. An Artifact ...... 3 At180degrees,thereisnothinkingatall.Ithink,thereforeI am.ButifIamnotthinking,what?Thisistheexperienceof Pilgrim ...... 6 trueemptiness,where“I"completelydisappears.Itisthe realmofNothingI.Allsubstancecompletelybecomesone. Tenshin Philosophy ...... 6 Noform,noemptiness. Quebec Workshop ...... 7 Continued on p.4

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SuPPORT ShINTAIDO Shintaido Bojutsu Creative writing assignment fromDavidFranklin

Whatroledoesthebohplayinyourlife?Imagineyourbohasa characterinaplayorfilm.Whatishe/she/itlike,whatisits/his/her Join Shintaido of America, personality?Importantly,youarealsoacharacterinthisdramaof a non-profit organization. course.Describetherelationshipbetweenyouandyourboh. Disclaimer/crowdsourcingresearchproject:Ibelievethatdoing SoA Membership Supports thisassignmentcanimprove/developyourbojutsukeikoinamaz - •curriculumdevelopment ingways.ButIdon'treallyknow.Let'sfindouttogether!Wantto •continuingeducationforinstructors participateinalittlecrowd-sourcedresearchproject? •assistancetonewgroups Dothewritingassignmentabove,andmaintainsomekindofregu - •theNat’lInstructorsCouncil larbojutsuhitori-geiko(individualpractice)regimenatleast3 •developmentofnewpublications timesperweek(evenifit'saaneasyonelikejuststretchingwith thebohinyourlivingroomthat'sfine).Thenkeepnotesaboutyour Members Receive bojutsukeiko,writteninwhateverformyoulike,andwhatever •teachingfromSoA-accreditedInstructors subjectiveimpressionsorobjectiveobservationsyouwanttorecord. •supportfromthenationalorganization Youcouldshootshortvideoswithasmartphone,takephotos,draw picturesordiagrams,writetext,whatever.Shareyourimpressions/ •developmentofShintaidocurriculum photos/video/mediaanddiscussthemonyourFacebookpage,or ifyouhaveaTwitteraccount,tweetthemout. •informationaboutworkshops/retreats Only Members May •applyforscholarshipsatnationalevents •applyforShintaidoexaminations

MEMBERShIP REGISTRATION o Pleaseaddmetoyourmailinglistforinformationabout DEADLINE FOR SuBMISSIONS eventsandworkshops  Thenextissueof Body Dialogue willbeinOctober,2014. o Pleaseremovemefromyourmailinglist  Pleasesubmitarticles,poems,picturestotheeditorat [email protected] .DeadlineforsubmissionsisSeptember15, IwouldliketosupportShintaidoofAmericaasamember: 2014. o Full-timestudentmember$25.00 o Generalmember/AdvancedStudent$40.00 o Assistant/Graduate(Sho Dan)$60.00+ Published by Shintaido of America (SoA), a Honorary Members o Instructors(NiDanandabove)$110.00+ non-profit organization which produces educa - henry Kaiser o Donation$ ______tional materials on the practice and teaching Kesh Narayanan (YourcontributiontoSoAistax-deductible) of Shintaido. David Palmer Mario uribe Name ______Board of Directors Body Dialogue Staff Address ______Permanent Members Stephen Billias, Editor City, State ______haruyoshi F. Ito David Franklin, Contributing Editor Zip code, Country ______Michael Thompson Subscriptions/Membership Phone ______Elected Members Shintaido of America Membership E-mail address ______Nancy Billias PO Box 1979 David Franklin Novato, CA 94948 Rob Gaston Rob Kedoin Body Dialogue is published twice a year by Shintaido of Please send a copy of this form with payment to: Byron Russell, President America.

Shintaido of America Membership Entire contents ©2013, Shintaido of America. All rights PO Box 1979 reserved. Novato, CA 94948-1979 BODY Dialogue 3 An Artifact

GeneralInstructorJimSterlingsentinthisartifactfromsomelong-agogasshuku.Itappearstobetwotranslationsofthesame pieceoftextfromthebible.Pointstoanyonewhoremembersthecontext,anditsmeaninginShintaido. 4 BODY Dialogue

ZenCircle Continued from p.1 Ifyoustayat180,youbecomeattachedtoemptiness,ifyou stayat270,youbecomeattachedtofreedom.Itiswonderful SomepeoplewouldsaythisistheAbsolute.Butifyousay tobefree.Butwhenyoubecomeattachedtofreedom,you “Absolute”that'snolongertheAbsolute.Thatisbecause willalwayshaveaproblem,andyouwillmakeaproblemfor thispointisbeforethinking,andbeforethinking,thereare others.Youmustpassthispoint. nowordsandnospeech.Openingyourmouthisalreadya At360degrees,allthingsarejustastheyare;thetruthisjust bigmistake!Thenhowdoyouexpressthispoint?...Only likethis."Likethis"meansthatthereisnoattachmenttoany - actionexpressesthispoint,becausethispointisuniversal thing.Thispointisexactlythesameasthezeropoint:we substance.Itcannotbeshownwithspeechorwords.Soat arrivewherewebegan,wherewehavealwaysbeen.Thedif - thispointtherearenomountains,norivers,noGod,no ferenceisthat0degreesisattachmentthinkingwhile360 Buddha,nothingatall.Thereisonly...[Hitsthetablewith degreesisno-attachmentthinking.Thereisnosubjectandno hisstick].. object.Insideandoutsidecompletelybecomeone.Whenyou ...Hittingatthispointisawayofdemonstratingcomplete seethesky,youbecomethesky.Youareinfiniteintimeand NothingI,thatpointofcompleteemptinessthatcannotbe space.Wesometimescallthismomentlife.Inmomentthere explainedwithspeechorwords.Thatis180degrees. isalwayscorrectsituation,correctrelationship,andcorrect function. Ifyoukeepthispointforsometime-onlyNothingI,acom - pletestillnessmind-anddonotbecomeattachedtoit,then Forexample,ifyoudriveacarwithattachmentthinking,your yougetuniversalenergy.Youreachtherealmofmagicand mindwillbesomewhereelseandyouwillgothroughthered miracles.Thisis270degrees,orFreedomI.Herethereis light.Nonattachmentthinkingmeansthatyourmindisclear completefreedom,withnohindranceinspaceandtime. allthetime.Whenyoudrive,youaren'tthinking:youarejust Thisisalsocalledlivethinking. driving.Sothetruthisjustlikethis.Redlightmeansstop; greenlightmeansgo.Itisintuitiveaction.Intuitiveaction SomekindsofTaoistandyogapracticescultivatethispoint, meansactingwithoutanydesireorattachment. showingyouhowtostronglyconnectwithuniversalenergy andgetsomespecialpowers.Actually,theenergythat Mymindisaclearmirror,reflectingeverythingjustasitis. enablespeopletodosuchmiraclesandspecialactionsisnot Zenisreaching360degrees.Whenyoureach360,alldegrees specialatall.Itisnaturalenergy.Wecanseeitfunctioning onthecircledisappear.Thecircleisonlyateachingdevice,it indifferentformsinmanyeverydaysituations,butwe'reso doesnotreallyexist.Weuseittosimplifythinkingandtotest usedtoseeingitthatwedon'tcallitspecial.Youhaveall astudent'sunderstanding. heardstoriesofyogisandmartialartsmasterswhocanfly throughtheair,ormoveorbendhardobjects.Thisisjust theresultofsomepeoplebeingabletostronglycontroland manipulatethisbasicenergythatisallthings.

photo by Stephen Billias BODY Dialogue 5 BODY Dialogue 6

Pilgrim Tenshin Philosophy byDavidWhyte byToshimitsuIshii

Sometimes,youneedtheoceanlight, (The follow is an excerpt from an email exchange among International Shintaido College Technical Committee (ISC-TC) andcolorsyou'veneverseenbefore members about the meaning of Tenshin. These are Ishii’s thoughts paintedthroughaneveningsky. that he sharded with ISC-TC. Reprinted by permission of the author.)

SometimesyouneedyourGod tobeasimpleinvitation, Ibelievethat Tenshin isnotanewword,buthasbeenusedin Shintaidoforalongtime. notatellingwordofwisdom. Tenshinis 天真 . 天 meanssky,cosmic,universe,heaven,etc. Sometimesyouneedonlythefirstshyness 真 meansreality,truth,etc. thatcomesfrombeingshownthings BypracticingShintaidowebecomeawareofwhatistheori - farbeyondyourunderstanding, ginofthetruthofthecosmosandwhatistherealselfand thatbotharethesame. sothatyoucanflyandbecomefree Theoriginofthetruthofthecosmosiscalledtenshin,daru - ma,tao,mu,ku,brahman,sophia,hagiopneuma,etc.,inthe bybeingstillandbybeingstillhere. differentculturesandlanguagesoftheworld. Suchenergystartedgatheringasgas,dust,etc.,then,stars wereborn,galaxieswereborn,theearthwasformed,nature, plants,animals,human,...thereforeeverythingisthesame. WeshallknowtheabovethroughKeikobyopeningourbody andmind,makingourbodyandmindnatural,removing impurity,etc.Then,weshouldgivethanksforourlifefrom theabove,brushupourselves,dothingsnaturally. Then,wecanusethisenergy,power,andpotentialwhichwe have.Wecanusethestrongenergyforotherpeopleandin society.Wecanharmonizeandintegrateeachother,with everything,evenifweareindifficultyandbeyondlifeandin akillingsituation. WearelearningtheabovethroughEiko,Tenshingoso, Wakame,Karate,Bojutsu,Kenjutsu,etc. EikoistheprimaryKeikotoleadustheabovephilosophy! Tenshingosoalsostronglyleadsustothesameplace. photo by David Sirgany TenshingosomeansfiveexpressionsofTenshin. Aokisenseihastaughtustheaboveforalongtime.Hehas givenhiswholelifetothisteaching. 7 BODY Dialogue

ShintaidoTreeinBrooklyn Continued from p.1 Quebec Shintaido

WhenIspokewiththemaboutShintaidoin2012,theywere intrigued.Thecompanywasabouttointroduceanewoffer - Workshop ingofholisticadventures.Theybeganwithday-longyoga byCaroleBrouillette adventuresin2013andthenaddedpilates.Inlate2013,we connectedagaintodiscussaddingShintaidoasanewoffer - OntheweekendofApril5and6,2014,QuebecShintaido ingintheirholisticadventurescatalog. DoshokaiheldaworkshopwithinvitedinstructorMaster ThisyearweareintroducingShintaidointotheirsummer H.F.Ito. offerings: http://destinationbackcountryadventures.com/col - ItwasapleasuretoreceiveteachingfromItosensei.There lections/shintaido isalwaystoomuchtimebetweenhisvisitstoQuebec!Also, It’sreallyagreatsynergy!Theybringthestudentstothe wehadthepleasureofinternationalattendeestothiswork - mountainvenuewherewecanuseourvoicesatgreatvol - shop:RichardandSabrinafromNantes,France umeoutsidethecityandenjoythebeautyofthemountain SomeofusaroundQuebecarepreparingforourShintaido sceneryasItakethemthroughthebasicsofkenkotaiso, Graduateexam.Itosenseiorganizedhisteachingaround EikoDaiandsomebasicsofTenshingoso. thiscurriculum,withconsiderationforalllevelsofatten - Thedaycurriculumisasimpleone:kenkotaisofollowedby dees.Everybodyhadachancetoprogress;theteachingwas akeikofilledwithahsandohs,alittleshoko,andthenEiko gradualandadaptedtotheclass. Dai.Thenlunch!Asecondkeikointheafternoonincludes kenkotaisoandthenthebasicsofTenshingoso.Thiskeikois followedbyanoptionalswimandberrypickingbefore headingbacktothechaosandnoiseofNewYorkCity. TheDestinationBackcountryAdventurescompanypushes theholisticadventuresouttotheircommunity.Thisbuilds leadsandopportunitiesforShintaidotoseedapracticing communityandintroducekeikosinCentralParkand ProspectPark(inBrooklyn)wherethesenaturaldojosmake moresense. Aswecontinuetogrowandexpandthepracticeof Shintaidotonewpractitioners,it’sagoodideaforusto overcometheresistancepeoplehavetoShintaido.InNew YorkCity–acityofskeptics,overcomingtheoutdoordojo issuewasmygreatestchallenge.Ihavefoundameanstothe endandapathwaytocultivateanewcommunityhere. Wedidmusubidachistepping,freehandcuttinginvarious directions,kirioroshikumite,bokutohcuttingalsoinvari - Ifyou’dliketojoinusinNewYorkforanadventure,please ousdirections,andkumitewithbokutoh. usethislink: http://destinationbackcountryadventures.com/collections/shi Itosensei’swayofteachinghelpedusbecomeverycon - ntaido . sciousofthespacearoundus.Heinvitedustostayaware ofthepositionofthecuttingedgeofthebokutoh;earth - Anevenmoreexcitingadventurewillbetheflashmobwe’re wards,forward,skyward,backwards…awarenessofthe planninginGrandCentralStationlaterthissummerwith past,thepresent,thefuture. theShintaidoNortheastgroup.Ifyou’regoingtobeinthe NewYorkCityareainAugust,pleaseletmeknowsowe Also,webecameconsciousofgravity,usingnoeffortwith cankeepyoupostedonthedate. thearmswhencutting,eitherfreehandorwithbokutoh, onlygravityactingnaturallyandallowingustodeeplyfeel connectionwithourpartner. InNovember2014,ontheweekendofthe8thand9th,we willhaveaFallgasshukuofQuebecShintaïdoDoshokai. Staytunedformoreinformationaboutthisnextgreatevent inQuebec. Hopetoseeyouthereandsharekumite!!

Image from Wiki commons photo by Jim Sterling

photo by Stephen Billias

“Shintaido” means “new body way.” It is an art form, a health exercise and meditation through movement developed in Japan in the 1960s. Shintaido grows out of the roots of ancient martial arts and meditation traditions, but the aim is to help modern people rediscover the orig - inal wisdom known by the body and realized through movement.