Essays From The Master

In the modern world one of the greatest weapons of the inner enemy is the two pronged trap of power and comfort. The more power one has the more comfort one can sustain, the more comfort one can sustain the easier it is to pursue comfort and turn away from the path. One can pursue power to the point of failing to live the life that one is seeking power to be able to manifest and live. Pursuit of comfort or power to extreme is like overreaching with any weapon it knocks one off balance and leaves one open to attack making being off balance a threat to one’s power and comfort. One on the path of Nin Do the Silent Way or any path for that matter must balance his pursuits against what is needed to both walk the path and live a life that is in keeping with the path that one is pursuing. In the present world many powers or systems of control offer comfort if one would simply give up one’s individual path and power and give themselves over to the system or power that is offering comfort. In a similar manner the systems offer power in the form of making one part of the system. In both cases the system is the focus and not the individual and so the individual is neutralized making the individual less than the microcosm of the cosmos than it is.
In my own life how do I avoid this dual trap? I do not make my life as easy as I could, I set things up so that I have to get up and move rather than making things convenient as I could; if I do not get up to get things for myself at the very least I must use my will to see that what I need is gotten for me to give one example. Likewise I make a point to use what I enjoy in my pursuit of my path the music and films that move me on a personal level. By avoiding the sort of ease that is designed to soften the steel of the spirit and allowing myself the healthy “fat” of enjoying the fruits of my life and path I make the act of living my life a part of my path and a means to apply and perfect my arts. Neglecting one’s comforts to the point of self torture is as much a trap as comfort can be because both are ways to feed the ego; indeed any such unhealthy withholding such as of food or sleep is a form of greed in some cases while in other cases such things are vanity. The modern martial artist is often driven by ego, and an unconscious means to excuse failing, to seek out overly harsh training methods or to live as if in or from some idealized past age which is a form of power as a trap. The way to avoid this trap one must be reasonable as to one’s goals of and methods of training while making the time to make the most of life.
It is said that “pain rides tight on pleasure’s back” and the reverse is also true but to focus on these extremes is to take one’s focus from the balanced eternal present. Making a point to harness the chance and joy of the present rather than setting goals or standards that are beyond reason one will find that one draws closer to one’s ideals than would seem possible. One can do more on a full stomach and rest whiling listening to music that moves the soul than one can having gone without food and so on all in an attempt to feed one’s ego. Life may be a war but to constantly fight is to give up what one is fighting for because the only real enemy is within. Finding and sustaining a balance of extremes is a way to maintain one’s edge as well as many hours of drills. Do you seek to be a greater warrior or a greater anything? Be a whole person and use one’s path to make one’s life as whole as one’s self actually is.