Zen & fearlessness

Samurai and Zen (Silvio Daniel)

The Japanese samurai was an awesome swordsman; however,

his mind was his greatest weapon. During the 12th Century, the
samurai embraced Zen Buddhism and subsequently discovered
the magnificent benefits of zen meditation, zazen. Zen gave the
samurai warrior the mental edge that his enemies found
extremely challenging.

Zen Meditation Gave Freedom and

Spontaneity of Mind
Winston L. King, in his book, Zen and the Way of the Sword,
Arming the Samurai Psyche, points out that the Zen teaching of a
free and spontaneous mind was very helpful to warriors in
combat, finding philosophical strength in Zen as they prepared
themselves for death.
"What kind of a mind can penetrate an opponent's mind? It is a
mind that has been trained and cultivated to the point of
detachment with perfect freedom...His mind should reflect his
opponent's mind like water reflecting the moon."
"Zen training conditioned the Samurai's mind to move in perfect
freedom, to be one with the sword, the opponent, and the
movements of combat."
Zen Training Gave the Samurai "Mind of No Mind"

King further specified, "The samurai could eliminate all

thoughts of life, death, victory and defeat."

Focus completely on the present

Give full attention to the changing tide of combat

This ability to eliminate distractions is significant, as pointed out

by the Rev. Zenku Smyers, Dec. 8, 1999 in his article, "With
Deepest Gratitude" in The Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago, "A
single doubt or fear could cause a lack of concentration that could
prove fatal."
It enabled him to kill and be killed without complaint and fear. The
Samurai could strike with out regret and die with out fear.
Zen Buddhism Presented a Paradox to the Samurai
Charles B. Jones reflected in his Review of Zen and the Way of
the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche, "The final question is
how did the samurai square their killing with the Buddhist principle
of non-violence?"
As Jones reflects, "The Way of the Sword explores how
Buddhism which espouses a basic attitude of non violence, and
the samurai class of Japanese warriors trained themselves to
inflict death with out forethought or hesitation, whose goal was
summed up by Miyamoto Musashi, one of Japans greatest
samurai, 'Whenever you cross swords with an enemy you must
not think of cutting and killing him. Be intent soley upon killing the
enemy.
Jones states, "King tells us that this was based on rebirth and
Karma. If one found himself born into a samurai family then that

was a manifestation of his Karma and must be accepted with out

rancor".
The samurai sought to fulfill their duties within their present
reality. Apparently some samurai hoped to get rebirth with out the
necessity of fighting and killing. Some had hopes for rebirth in the
same samurai family so they could continue serving their lord and
his descendants.

The Samurai Embraced Zen Buddhism

to Manifest His Destiny
He gained freedom and spontaneity of the mind with the study of
Zen. This freedom of the mind gave him his expertise with the
sword. He fought his enemies without fear and regret and he lived
and died for his Lord and family. Most importantly, the Samurai
justified the paradox of Zen Buddhism and his violent lifestyle with
the doctrines of Karma and Rebirth.