[Another rewrite from an old post on my old blog]
A long time ago, when I first showed up at Dai Bosatsu Zendo, one of the resident “masters” announced, during morning meeting, that we would be doing something new.
I sort of snapped to attention. In a monastery, there seems to be a great fear of doing anything “new”, no matter the circumstance. So it is a big deal, even to hear the word.
This was Denko Osho. He was sharing the DBZ throne with Eido Shimano, at the time. Behind the scenes, they were in wrestling over it, actually. I didn’t know this though, at the time.
Denko announced that his Karate teacher would be coming to Dai Bosatsu, to give the residents lessons. He talked about the man for some time. The man’s name was “Frank”.
Apparently, the guy was some sort of champion. Denko mentioned the school, or style, of Karate that he had practiced, over in Japan. He went on to say that only a small percentage of those who enter the school stay to the end. It is that grueling – broken bones and things. Denko described this form of full-contact Karate as the world’s most deadly combat art. Denko had practiced with this “master” for a few years.
I was happy at the prospects of some exercise. You don’t get much movement in a Zen monastery. I would volunteer to clean the floors, which at DBZ was done the old Japanese way – by running and pushing a little rag along the floor. I would do this because nobody else wanted to do it and because it is about the only exercise you can get in a monastery.
So this Karate class was a very welcome development, for me.
The words “full contact” had caught my attention. I looked around the room a little. Denko was still talking about the deadliness of Frank’s Karate.
Finally, he paused to let the weight of his speech sink in.
I was thinking about mouth guards when I asked “will there be live sparring?”
There was a pause.
Denko’s eyes widened, and he responded in anger. He boomed “YOU WILL LOSE!!!!”
The anger surprised me. The whole room looked down at the floor. I had only been at DBZ for a couple of months, at the time. I had no idea what the man was upset about. I was just thinking about the health of my teeth, and how I might protect them.
For much of my life, I was a sport fighter. I hadn’t done much striking, except for a few weeks of muay thai here and there in Thailand. But I was a good competition wrestler in school, and had also competed nationally in Judo. I had success at these sports, but if there is one thing you know about sport, it is this: You don’t get to a good competitive level overnight. You have to take your lumps, so to speak. And, for a fighter, that means you spend a lot of time getting beaten by people who are better than you are. If you include all the practices I’d been to, on all the mats, I’ve lost thousands of fights. That is just part of the game. In sport, it is a good thing to fight someone better than you. You learn that way. If you like sport, then there really is no “losing”, because of this. It is a good thing to get the chance to spar with someone better. It is a gift.
But this wasn’t sport, I guess.
This was “Zen”.
Like I had mentioned, I was confused by Denko’s anger, so I kind of quietly shrugged my shoulders and said “isn’t that how you learn?”
The room went quiet again. Denko just sat there, glaring at me.
There are a lot of these moments in monasteries, when “masters” glare at you. They are a little uncomfortable. Denko was just sitting there, angry, as if I had said something horrible.
There was still more silence, and there was still Denko’s furious glare. Everyone else was still looking at the floor, so I felt I had to say something.
So I said, a little awkwardly, “I was just asking, because I don’t know. Are we learning to f…?”
Denko interrupted. He had become a few degrees angrier. I had really upset him. He yelled “THIS IS A MONASTERY!!! WE ARE NOT BARBARIANS!!!”
OK. Welcome to “Zen”. A “master” goes on about the supreme fighting deadliness of his martial art, then becomes enraged if you make the mistake of not being terrified.
… and THEN calls you a “BARBARIAN!!!”, just for wondering if anyone actually ever learns to fight, in this supremely deadly fighting class.
Denko was actually making a big mistake – a big Zen mistake, actually, talking about winning and losing, as if that had anything to do with fighting.
But what was the guy up to? What was with Denko's Karate?
What was the purpose of it? To build runaway confidence (arrogance), based on nothing?
To intimidate others?
Really...What is the point of such a class?
Chihuahuas sometimes behave this way, when another dog shows up. They stand as tall as they can, and bark a big bark.
Sometimes it works.
When it doesn’t work, they turn, and they run away, very quickly.
It is a big show, this Karate, this Chihuahua Zen.
So here is a question: What is the purpose of the big show, in Zen? And there is a big show, in all traditions. There is all that talk of lineage, for example, there are bells and gongs, there is the strict hierarchy, supposedly reflecting a like "level of insight".
But, if someone had “real insight”, wouldn’t this person wish to remove the impediments to his students’ progress? Why create such reverence, or fear?
Why demand it?
Wouldn’t a true sage wish to encourage his or her students to present them with the most difficult questions? And, wouldn’t this person be OK with answering in public?
Really -- why the big show, in Zen?
This brings to mind the Gracie family, of Brazil, and how they changed the fight game forever.
Back in the 70's, Karate was big. You heard all the stories about how this master could kill a man with his little finger. There were schools everywhere. Kids would become black belts at 12 or 13. They were on television, breaking boards or stacks of bricks.
A lot of people believed this. Schoolyard conversation was full of Karate stories, back then.
I suppose the Gracie family, of Brazil, was tired of seeing this, over the decades, so they started challenging these martial artists. They started the UFC, entering themselves as contestants, while inviting boxers, wrestlers, Judo guys, and other champion martial artists.
Royce Gracie won the first few events. The sport grapplers generally did well, back then.
The Karate and Aikido guys never won a single match. Decades later, it is still the case. No pure Karate or Aikido guy has won even a single match. There have been many thousands of events, around the world.
Back in the 90's, the Karate teachers were forced to change their tune. The neighborhood shops closed. You don't hear the fantastic stories anymore.
Amazing how so many school kids could have believe something so completely, based on, really, nothing but decades of hype.
There is a reality to sport. There is a basic truth to it. The truth is something that has attracted me to sport, all my life. There is no way to weasel out. You do your best, and you know the truth, by the outcome of the match. A big show means nothing -- absolutely nothing.
It would be nice to see the same thing happen in Zen. It would be nice, for example, if there existed a period, during each sesshin, where people were to challenge the speaker with difficult questions or new koans. People could sit in a circle, and students could challenge each other.
Why not up the stakes? Why not record it and put it online?
DBZ didn't allow questions of any sort.
Joshu Sasaki also did not allow spontaneous questions.
When this rule is in place, it is not like you can break it. The other students don't let you, for some reason. They start screaming if you speak up.
But I always thought that it isn't a very sporting thing to bill yourself as a man of insight, and make a big production of it, and then lord over your "students" as if they are far beneath you, without ever putting yourself in a position where you might be challenged, or tested.
Is there any purpose, at all, to the big show?
In truth, there is not.
When Buddha (metaphorically) threw down his crown, he didn't become a monk, or a buddhist, or anything, really. He un-became. It was the big show that he was throwing down. It was here that he bacme Lin Chi's "true man, without rank".
This is something he threw off, before he even began to sit.
A long time ago, when I first showed up at Dai Bosatsu Zendo, one of the resident “masters” announced, during morning meeting, that we would be doing something new.
I sort of snapped to attention. In a monastery, there seems to be a great fear of doing anything “new”, no matter the circumstance. So it is a big deal, even to hear the word.
This was Denko Osho. He was sharing the DBZ throne with Eido Shimano, at the time. Behind the scenes, they were in wrestling over it, actually. I didn’t know this though, at the time.
Denko announced that his Karate teacher would be coming to Dai Bosatsu, to give the residents lessons. He talked about the man for some time. The man’s name was “Frank”.
Apparently, the guy was some sort of champion. Denko mentioned the school, or style, of Karate that he had practiced, over in Japan. He went on to say that only a small percentage of those who enter the school stay to the end. It is that grueling – broken bones and things. Denko described this form of full-contact Karate as the world’s most deadly combat art. Denko had practiced with this “master” for a few years.
I was happy at the prospects of some exercise. You don’t get much movement in a Zen monastery. I would volunteer to clean the floors, which at DBZ was done the old Japanese way – by running and pushing a little rag along the floor. I would do this because nobody else wanted to do it and because it is about the only exercise you can get in a monastery.
So this Karate class was a very welcome development, for me.
The words “full contact” had caught my attention. I looked around the room a little. Denko was still talking about the deadliness of Frank’s Karate.
Finally, he paused to let the weight of his speech sink in.
I was thinking about mouth guards when I asked “will there be live sparring?”
There was a pause.
Denko’s eyes widened, and he responded in anger. He boomed “YOU WILL LOSE!!!!”
The anger surprised me. The whole room looked down at the floor. I had only been at DBZ for a couple of months, at the time. I had no idea what the man was upset about. I was just thinking about the health of my teeth, and how I might protect them.
For much of my life, I was a sport fighter. I hadn’t done much striking, except for a few weeks of muay thai here and there in Thailand. But I was a good competition wrestler in school, and had also competed nationally in Judo. I had success at these sports, but if there is one thing you know about sport, it is this: You don’t get to a good competitive level overnight. You have to take your lumps, so to speak. And, for a fighter, that means you spend a lot of time getting beaten by people who are better than you are. If you include all the practices I’d been to, on all the mats, I’ve lost thousands of fights. That is just part of the game. In sport, it is a good thing to fight someone better than you. You learn that way. If you like sport, then there really is no “losing”, because of this. It is a good thing to get the chance to spar with someone better. It is a gift.
But this wasn’t sport, I guess.
This was “Zen”.
Like I had mentioned, I was confused by Denko’s anger, so I kind of quietly shrugged my shoulders and said “isn’t that how you learn?”
The room went quiet again. Denko just sat there, glaring at me.
There are a lot of these moments in monasteries, when “masters” glare at you. They are a little uncomfortable. Denko was just sitting there, angry, as if I had said something horrible.
There was still more silence, and there was still Denko’s furious glare. Everyone else was still looking at the floor, so I felt I had to say something.
So I said, a little awkwardly, “I was just asking, because I don’t know. Are we learning to f…?”
Denko interrupted. He had become a few degrees angrier. I had really upset him. He yelled “THIS IS A MONASTERY!!! WE ARE NOT BARBARIANS!!!”
OK. Welcome to “Zen”. A “master” goes on about the supreme fighting deadliness of his martial art, then becomes enraged if you make the mistake of not being terrified.
… and THEN calls you a “BARBARIAN!!!”, just for wondering if anyone actually ever learns to fight, in this supremely deadly fighting class.
Denko was actually making a big mistake – a big Zen mistake, actually, talking about winning and losing, as if that had anything to do with fighting.
But what was the guy up to? What was with Denko's Karate?
What was the purpose of it? To build runaway confidence (arrogance), based on nothing?
To intimidate others?
Really...What is the point of such a class?
Chihuahuas sometimes behave this way, when another dog shows up. They stand as tall as they can, and bark a big bark.
Sometimes it works.
When it doesn’t work, they turn, and they run away, very quickly.
It is a big show, this Karate, this Chihuahua Zen.
So here is a question: What is the purpose of the big show, in Zen? And there is a big show, in all traditions. There is all that talk of lineage, for example, there are bells and gongs, there is the strict hierarchy, supposedly reflecting a like "level of insight".
But, if someone had “real insight”, wouldn’t this person wish to remove the impediments to his students’ progress? Why create such reverence, or fear?
Why demand it?
Wouldn’t a true sage wish to encourage his or her students to present them with the most difficult questions? And, wouldn’t this person be OK with answering in public?
Really -- why the big show, in Zen?
This brings to mind the Gracie family, of Brazil, and how they changed the fight game forever.
Back in the 70's, Karate was big. You heard all the stories about how this master could kill a man with his little finger. There were schools everywhere. Kids would become black belts at 12 or 13. They were on television, breaking boards or stacks of bricks.
A lot of people believed this. Schoolyard conversation was full of Karate stories, back then.
I suppose the Gracie family, of Brazil, was tired of seeing this, over the decades, so they started challenging these martial artists. They started the UFC, entering themselves as contestants, while inviting boxers, wrestlers, Judo guys, and other champion martial artists.
Royce Gracie won the first few events. The sport grapplers generally did well, back then.
The Karate and Aikido guys never won a single match. Decades later, it is still the case. No pure Karate or Aikido guy has won even a single match. There have been many thousands of events, around the world.
Back in the 90's, the Karate teachers were forced to change their tune. The neighborhood shops closed. You don't hear the fantastic stories anymore.
Amazing how so many school kids could have believe something so completely, based on, really, nothing but decades of hype.
There is a reality to sport. There is a basic truth to it. The truth is something that has attracted me to sport, all my life. There is no way to weasel out. You do your best, and you know the truth, by the outcome of the match. A big show means nothing -- absolutely nothing.
It would be nice to see the same thing happen in Zen. It would be nice, for example, if there existed a period, during each sesshin, where people were to challenge the speaker with difficult questions or new koans. People could sit in a circle, and students could challenge each other.
Why not up the stakes? Why not record it and put it online?
DBZ didn't allow questions of any sort.
Joshu Sasaki also did not allow spontaneous questions.
When this rule is in place, it is not like you can break it. The other students don't let you, for some reason. They start screaming if you speak up.
But I always thought that it isn't a very sporting thing to bill yourself as a man of insight, and make a big production of it, and then lord over your "students" as if they are far beneath you, without ever putting yourself in a position where you might be challenged, or tested.
Is there any purpose, at all, to the big show?
In truth, there is not.
When Buddha (metaphorically) threw down his crown, he didn't become a monk, or a buddhist, or anything, really. He un-became. It was the big show that he was throwing down. It was here that he bacme Lin Chi's "true man, without rank".
This is something he threw off, before he even began to sit.
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