Perfecting technique

In the 17th century, the Zen monk Takuan became a spiritual advisor to Munemori Yagyu, a famous swordsman employed as the Shogun's sword instructor. Later in life, Yagyu wrote a treatise on swordsmanship which talked of the progression of sword technique from the Satsujin-ken ("the Sword that Takes Life") to the Katsujin-ken ("the Sword that Gives Life") to Muto no to (The Sword of No Sword). Satsujin-ken simply means becoming skillful in killing one's opponent; Katsujin-ken involves forestalling one's enemy to defeat him without bloodshed; Muto-ken is the pinnacle of Swordsmanship for Yagyu, it means not only not killing one's opponent, but dealing with one's opponent with the compassion of Buddhism.

Miyamoto Musashi was a younger contemporary of Yagyu's and by any account, an incredible swordsman and artist. Musashi is known as "Kensei" or "Sword Saint" in Japan and is famous for his many successful duels (it is said that he fought over 60 duels and never lost). Both Miyamoto and Yagyu perfected sword technique, but came to somewhat different conclusions about what true swordsmanship was. To Yagyu, Katsujin-ken (The Sword that Gives Life) was a higher mark of fine swordsmanship than Satsujin-ken (The Sword that Takes Life); to Miyamoto, the pinnacle of swordsmanship was to kill one's opponent -- Satsujin-ken, pure and simple. The poor swordsman that I am, I will not presume to opine on who was right. However, I would like to take this chance to paraphrase a popular story about a 'meeting' of the two. Remember, this story may well be apocryphal -- even if it is though, it's a good one!

Musashi was a ronin -- a masterless samurai -- who roamed Japan looking to perfect his sword technique and make a name for himself. As a young man, Musashi heard of the great Yagyu -- the teacher of the Shogun -- and sought out the old man for a duel. Musashi approached Yagyu's home (Yagyu had retired by this point and spent most of his time arranging flowers and enjoying other gentlemanly pursuits) and watched as the old master cut and arranged flowers. As Musashi watched, his desire to fight the old man completely disappeared and his confidence that he could beat Yagyu withered. The concentration, the intensity, the casualness by which Yagyu arranged his flowers completely took the wind out of young Musashi's sails. Musashi left without ever approaching Yagyu in what I think might be considered a victory for the older master.

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