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.
