On the Unity of Zen and the Sword

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Ken Zen Ichi Nyo—the sword and Zen are one. This does not mean that Zen is violent or that the sword is holy. It means that in the way of the sword, as in zazen, there is no room for the thinking mind. When you face an opponent with a sword, if you think for even an instant, you are cut down. You must act from the place before thought arises—the place of mushin, no-mind. This is the same place you reach in deep zazen. The sword cuts away the ego just as the koan does. Both demand that you die to yourself completely and act from the source.

license: fair_use

Attribution

• Attributed To
  Omori Sogen

Lineage: Rinzai

By Omori Sogen

• One Breath at a Timeproverb
• On Zazen as the Foundation of All Practicesaying

From An Introduction to Zen Training

• One Breath at a Time
• On Zazen as the Foundation of All Practice

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  An Introduction to Zen Training, on Ken Zen Ichi Nyo

  An Introduction to Zen Training: On the Unity of Zen and the Sword