Shambhala Teachings and the Connection to Kyudo

Some time ago, I had a discussion with the gentleman who brought Kyudo to our archery club about a conversation he had had with the instructor we fly in from Halifax and I was told that there is a very good possibility that our little Kyudo group may be finally designated as a dojo by Kanjuro Shibata Sensei XX provided that one or two of us start on the path of becoming approved as instructors by Shibata Sensei.  One of the requirements to accomplish this would be for those individuals to start making closer ties to Shambhala International and the teachings of Shambhala Buddhism.  While it is somewhat presumpuous of me to even consider becoming an "instructor," I saw this as an opportunity to learn more about Sensei's beliefs, beliefs that are fundamental to his own teachings and the practice of Kyudo as a form of moving meditation.

So, last weekend I spent Friday evening and all of Saturday attending a workshop called Shambhala Training Level 1: The Art of Being Human at our local Shambhala Centre.  The topic of the discourse Friday evening was a topic that I obsessed over that weekend and that was "basic goodness."  The central theme of this fundamental Shambhala teaching was that, despite whatever evil an individual may have committed or is capable of committing, that that individual also has within him or her basic goodness.  I obsessed over this idea when faced with my own past and the internal demons that I must conquer given the physical, mental, and sexual abuse I suffered at the hands of my mother and step-father and the things I have witnessed in war zones.  One of the people present to assist the teacher had used the example of the lion to express this concept.  A lion's instinct is to kill for the survival of itself and its offspring and there have been documented cases of lions who have killed merely for sport; however, to view a lion with its cubs illustrates an inherent goodness.  The "art of being human" requires that we recognize that everyone we deal with in life has basic goodness and should be treated as such.

The Saturday session consisted of teachings respecting human relationships interwoven with meditation practice.  We learned that the purpose of meditation is not to clear the mind but to focus on the "now" and as such the term "meditation practice" was interchanged with the expression "nowness practice."  We learned that it is OK or acceptable to have thoughts during meditation and that meditation is a way for us to identify and sort out the dark corners of the mind - not to change them, but to acknowledge that they exist and to let them go.  This concept now has me obsessing over the concept of mushin.

Mushin is often translated as "no mind" and is often used in connection with the practice of ways - Kendo, Karate-do, and of course, Kyudo.  So, if it is acceptable to be contemplative or engage in random thought during Kyudo as a form of meditative practice, how do we achieve mushin?  Good question that one day I hope to answer.

Soon, I will be marking the first anniversary of the begining of my Kyudo practice and no doubt, based on what I have learned laste weekend, I have a lifetime of learning to do. 

Archery Expressed in Haiku

Haiku is a major form of Japanese verse that often evokes allusion and comparisons, often to things in nature.  With the natural beauty of both Kyudo and western-based archery, I thought that I should seek out such an expression of what archery means to me.   In my search, I found one such expression made by fellow archer and blogger Zach Robinson.  Zach's expression resonnated with me as I think of Sensei's words.  He likened the yumi to a "great teacher" and in this I believe that when engaged in archery practice, we learn to focus inward.  In our struggle for perfection, we cannot help but discover the flaws within ourselves.

"The weight of bow, string

balance and beauty within

an instrument, tool"

- Zack Robinson

While I am not certain if Zack practices Kyudo but he definately is an archer as such has gained an understanding of archery as an intrument to help us achieve balance and inner beauty.  Of course, I could be completely wrong and totally out of touch with the true meaning of his Haiku.  However, given the medium of his expression, I certainly thought he was drawing this link between archery and self development and self improvement.

As I get older, I am find myself engaged in more self reflection and most certainly my Kyudo practice affords me that opportunity to look inward.

Preparation for 2012 Alberta Target Archers Association Outdoor Provincial Championships

Today marks about a month since I last held the yumi and ya.  I had the opportunity and privilege to practice with new students on the last afternoon of the Kyudo Beginner's Intensive that was held at our archery club on June 2nd and 3rd.  Of course our teacher from Kozan Iba (the Kyudo dojo in Halifax), John Mills, was there to teach the students and set them on their journey.  He was also their to provide gentle reminders on the seven coordinations or hassetsu for those of us who already practice kyudo and why we practice the "way." 

One of the things that will always stick with me when I attended my first Intensive was how our teacher referred to the yumi as the "great teacher."  This was definately reinforced during this time with John when I had to be corrected several times for errors in the hassetsu.  I found myself feeling very self-conscious when I dropped the yumi on release of the ya.  Not just once, but twice.  In an effort of having a relaxed grip or "tiger's mouth" I failed to form the proper hand position and in the process dropped the bow when the arrow catapulted forwarded toward the makiwara (short distance target).  I thought I was doing well but it turns out that I wasn't.

Normally, our little Kyudo group gets together on the last Friday of every month for practice and fellowship.  However, due to a commitment I made to my wife to renovate and redecorate our daughter's room and preparations for this year's outdoor provincial championships had kept me away from practice in June.  I could definately notice the void as Kyudo for me is my "reset button" - it helps me stay centred.  Its a little stoic I know but I rely on Kyudo to clear my mind of my troubles and to "recharge the batteries."  I can't wait to actually get my own yumi and ya so I don't have to rely so much on the club's equipment to practice.  This will allow me to practice at home if I so choose and practice more often.

Whith the weekend quickly approaching, I am eagerly looking forward to competing at the 2012 ATAA Provincial Outdoor Archery Championships.  I wanted to compete in the target rounds but due to the scale of my bow sight, I can't sight my bow out to 90 meters and at this point, I couldn't get a new sight in fast enough to sight in and be ready for the weekend.  So, instead I will be competing in the field rounds on Sunday.  I only have one distance to sight my bow in before Friday and that would be 60 meters, the maximum target distance for field rounds under Archery Canada rules. 

The Outdoor Provincials will be a new experience for me in that I have never competed at an outdoor tournament before, so very seldom have I ever shot beyond the indoor distance of 18 meters.  However, sighting my bow in for these distances on the outdoor target range has me asking myself why I haven't before.  Since this will be my first outdoor tournament, I am not expecting to medal and a top 10 finish would be fantastic and the best I could hope for.  It depends on which archers show up I guess and if they're on their game or not.

May the archery gods smile down on me on Sunday and help me shoot to the best of my abilities.

Toxophilus "Lover of the Bow"

Recently I started reading a book first published in England in 1545, a book written by Roger Ascham.  Roger Ascham was a lecturer and tutor to then, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I) during the reign of King Henry VIII.  A rather famous book, Toxophilus is the first book on Archery written in the English language. 

One of the chapters in the book titled "To All Gentlemen and Yeomen of England" contains a statement made by Ascham that makes me wonder if he didn't recognize that the practice of shooting the longbow as dictated by English law had the same virtues and benefits as the practice of Kyudo as we know it today.  In this chapter he states:

“…which thing I have laboured only in this book, showing how fit shooting is for all kinds of men; how honest a past time for the mind; how wholesome an exercise for the body…”

Anyone who has the opportunity to have an audience with a Kyudo master such as Kanjuro Shibata Sensei XX will know that the purpose of Kyudo is not sport but the development of the mind and the body.  I suppose if we do a side-by-side comparison, there are a lot of similarities in the practice of Kyudo and Western Archery.

In kyudo, there is a prescribed set of movements or coordinations that lead up to the release of the ya.  Each coordination precise and deliberate in their nature and requiring the kyudoka to intensely focus.  This sharpens the mind and the physical act conditioning the body.

Western archery is not much different in that there are a prescribed set of steps leading up to the shot.  Each one necessary to ensure that the arrow hits its intended mark.  Each step requiring mental focus to execute properly.  This I have come to believe brings us to a state many high performance athletes refer to as the "zone."  In zen practice, this is refered to as mushin.

All being told though, the purpose of western archery is to hit the target as close to the center of the target as possible in order to score the highest number of points possible.  In kyudo, it does not matter if you hit the target or not.  It is that state of "no mind" that we hope to achieve.

Last Kyudo Practice and Fun Shoot Before Club Move

Over the past year I have been heavily involved in the search for a new facility for our archery club and in December 2011, I finalized the lease agreement for our club's new home.  After 2 months of rennovations and planning, we finally made the big move over this past weekend.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw all the stuff that we crammed into what will be the new range.  We certainly accumulated a lot of garbage and now useless stuff over the past 12 years and we definately need to cull a lot of in order to get the new facility set-up.

The physical move to the new facility was preceeded by a couple of memorable moments of shooting for me.  On the evening before the move, I was heavily engaged in a Kyudo practice session that saw some signficant improvement in my shooting.  Outside of a couple of missed steps that I consciously caught and corrected myself on during one set of coordinations, I shot well.  In previous practices, I either had the ya (arrow) fall off the tsuru (bow string) while drawing the  yumi (bow) or had the ya "bounce" off the tsuru and fly a few feet from the shooting line and land on the floor.  This time; however, I managed to get all of my shots down range to the marikawa (blank bale).  The other nice improvement was a slight rotation of the yumi in my hand which tells me that my grip has also improved. 

The next day, I got the opportunity to shoot with my students during the club's end of term fun shoot.  Incidentally, it was also the final shoot at our old facility and therefore a momentous occasion.  Since it was a fun shoot, I dusted off my traditional recurve and traditional arrows.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was able to draw this bow since it the draw weight is heavier than my compounds and the yumi I shoot regularly and considering it has been a year or so since I shot this bow.  My shot placements weren't too bad all things considered but I would like to take some time to practice with this bow this summer to get back up to speed with it.  There is a lot of romanticism involved with shooting these bows and it certainly takes me back to a much less complicated time in my life when my archery tackle consisted of bows and arrows made from branches hacked off willow trees and hay bale twine.

At the end of the shoot, we had a draw for the first shot that will take place at our new facility in mid-May.  Part of me was hoping that my name was drawn because of all the work that I did in this facility; however, I really wanted the winner of the draw to be one of the kids in our Junior Program.  It was an absolute pleasure to see the look of utter surprise and joy on the face of one of our young stars, a young female archer who has won every tournament she has entered.  She represents the future of our sport and it truly fitting that the ceremonial first shot representing the future of our club be taken by this gifted archer.

I am not disappointed for not getting the opportunity for the first shot as I will be participating in a Kyudo demonstration that will take place shortly afterward.  So either way, I will be taking one of the first shots in our new home.

Connecting Kyudo to Western Archery

A couple of weeks ago I competed in an indoor archery tournament in which scores from across the country would be compiled and compared and from this, the top three scores in each division would be awarded either a Gold, Silver, or Bronze medal.  So what does this have to do with Kyudo? Nothing really as Kyudo is not about hiting the target, its about personal growth and the development of inner strength.

Eugen Herrigel in his book Zen in the Art of Archery spoke of the concept of  mushin or "no mind."  The 7 coordinations of Kyudo are prescribed with each movement having a purpose, so much so that the concentration required to perform these movements transforms what is seemingly the simple process of shooting an arrow into a form of moving meditation.  Its this concept of mushin that I want to explore as I believe that it is this that is the common bond between the Kyudoka and the high performance archer.

A mind that is unconsious of itself is a mind that is not disrupted by affects of any kind.  It can also be said that mushin or munen ("no thought") is a state in which the mind keeps nothing in it.  I find this very similar to what high performance archers call "being in the zone."  It is a state of being in which one's focus is solely on the task at hand. 

Applying the concept of mushin to western archery really isn't that much of a step.  Like Kyudo, executing a good archery shot requires the archer to follow a prescribed sequence of steps we have come to call "form." By focusing on executing each step in the shot sequence, we can quickly find ourselves in the zone and this can lead to success.  The problem exists when we allow distractions such as other archers affect our focus.

This bring us back to the regional championships two weeks ago.  I was competing in an equipment division referred to as "Bowhunter Unlimited."  What this means is that, competitors in this division are restricted to using equipment that would commonly be used by a bowhunter in the field.  This requires that sights have multiple pins and no lenses and that stabilizers are restricted be being no longer than 12 inches.  During these tournaments, they place athletes in groups on the shooting line according to equipment class and as such I found myself shooting with an archer in my divsion who was using a sight that had a scope with a magnifying lens.  In other words, this archer was cheating.  To add insult to injury, I was calling the scores and the archer in question was agressively challenging each and ever arrow I scored.  Needless to say, I was angry.

My anger with this situation had caused me to lose my focus and despite turning in high scores in training leading up to this tournament, my results this time out were mediocre at best.  If I had only practiced the lessons I learned in Kyudo, I would have had better success.  As Sensei says, the yumi is the great teacher.