The Kodenkan Judo of Master Okazaki

| "These are the Keys..." | Okugi | Harold McLean | Overview of Kodenkan | Introduction to Shinin no Maki | The Meaning of Judo | The Meaning of Kodenkan | Sincerity | The Breeze in Sumi-E | True Man | Bibliography | AJG Newsletter, Nov 1941 | Marion Anderson's Notebook | Official Kodenkan Mokuroku | Okazaki's 1925 Diploma | Letter from Bud Fuller | Tsaikontan Classic | Citations I | Citations II | Judo, The Gentle Way (Excerpts) | Taoist Tales | Even Hell under the Upraised Sword | Kodenkan Musings | Historical Photos | 3 versions Esoteric Principles

Citations I


Beginning Jiu-Jitsu, Ryoi Shinto Style, By James G. Shortt & Katsuharu Hashimoto, 1979. Paul H. Crompton, Ltd. 638 Fulham Road, London SW6, ISBN 901764-426.

Letter of Introduction, p. 9, September 9, 1975, by H. H. Buddhamaitreya (ven. Zengo Miroku). “The Spiritual meaning of martial art or martial way is to master ‘balance’ of self and universe. This is illustrated in Karate. The essence of Karate is ‘dance in emptiness’. To practice a martial art is to learn the way of the universe through union of self and mother nature; by concentration of one’s energy in one-pointedness and forgetting self in each movement. There, all practice becomes pure energy itself and just flows; that is, self becomes flow, perfect life. The way can be mastered by eradicating one’s ego-consciousness which is the fundamental hindrance, and cause of trouble and suffering in life.

“Buddhajhanam, the culmination of Zen meditation is to learn emptiness in stillness and to practice flow in life. Martial art is to learn emptiness in movement and to practice flow in life.

“The most important thing in life is to master oneself. To master oneself is to empty oneself. To be empty is to see one’s original mind of impurity. One’s true mind is one with the universe and is as such perfect. One who knows his true mind is the master of self and master of universe. Here life becomes smooth and spontaneous, ‘flow’. Truly the perfect way is in emptiness.

“In my native Japan, whether it is martial art, martial way, esoteric art of esoteric way it is called Jutsu or Do. Ju-jutsu, judo, karate-jutsu, karatedo, ka-do (flower arranging), Sa-do (tea ceremony) which respectively mean art and science or way. The art of life, the way of the universe.”


One of the most important books on Oriental Art is found below:

The Way of Chinese Painting, Its Ideas and Techniques

by Mai-Mai Sze, Vintage Books, 1959, ISBN 10: 0394701666; ISBN-13: 978-0394701660

(WCP, p. xv) “To take a close look, however, at this Tao of painting, it is necessary to examine separately the two aspects, which are of course inseparable, ‘accord’ in painter as well as picture being the result of a harmonious, complementary action of inner and outer resources.”

(WCP, p.6) “The second feature is the traditional view that painting is not a profession but an extension of the art of living, for the practice of the Tao of painting is part of the traditional Tao of conduct and thought, of living in harmony with the laws of Tao.”

(WCP, p. 9) “There is evidence that the combination of Shou (ch. Head) and Ch’o (ch. Foot) symbolized the idea of wholeness, that is spiritual growth. One aspect of the character Tao thus represents an Inner way, an integration of character with deep and complex psychological connotations (as to soul, mind, and emotions).”

(WCP, p. 12) “…the concept of Tao has usually been identified as a Taoist concept. But it is a concept – and a term – at the heart of all Chinese thought.”

(WCP, p. 13) “To Confucius (551-479 BC), Mencius (c. 372-289 BC), and the Confucian schools, Tao was primarily an ethical ideal and standard, the Tao of man, and its goal was ‘sageliness within and kingliness without.’ In the Lun Yu (Analects), Tao is ‘the Way of the Ancients,’ ‘the way of Former Kings.’”

(WCP, p. 14) “The main concern of Confucius…was this Tao of man; he would not discuss the Tao of heaven, although he mentioned it with respect and characteristic caution.”

(WCP, p. 15) “Mencius referred to Tao as the ‘king way’ and ‘the way of morality’; to him Tao was the conscience. Man’s nature was ‘what Heaven has given us.’ And ‘he who has completely developed his mind knows his nature; knowing his nature, he knows Heaven.’ ‘If a man knows Heaven, he is not only a citizen of society but also a citizen of the universe.’ He is a Great Man, the truly adult and whole man. The ideal of ‘a Great Man’ is described by Mencius in another part of his work; ‘To dwell in the wide house of the world of man, to stand in the correct position in it, and to follow the Tao of it; having obtained one’s ambition, to practice one’s principles for the good of the people; when that ambition is disappointed, to practice them alone; when riches and honor cannot make one swerve, and power and force cannot make one bend; these are the characteristics of the Great Man.’”

(WCP, p.18) “Thus Tao has been designated also as the Great Void, which contains everything. Such words as Hsu and K’ung, both meaning ‘emptiness’, assumed great importance in Taoist works. Space of any sort was regarded as filled with meaning since it was filled with Tao, in fact was Tao, an idea that inevitably had a profound influence on painting.”

(WCP, p. 19) “The purpose of Taoist meditation, what they call ‘stilling the heart’, is to empty it of all distracting thought and emotion; the ‘emptiness’ opens the way to a state of quiescence and receptivity, the ideal state in which to reflect the Tao.”

(WCP, p.23) “Having much in common with Taoism, the teachings of Zen masters were easy to accept and assimilate. Both were ‘wordless doctrines’ in their emphasis on enlightenment through intuition and the spirit. Zen was as strongly opposed to dependence on classic Buddhist scriptures as the Taoists were to the literary bent of the Confucianists.”

(WCP, p. 24) “Though there was intermittent dispute between the two groups, many of their concepts actually were similar and reinforced each other, often merging so that they were indistinguishable.”

(WCP, p. 25) “It is important to note the distinction between this Taoist religion (Tao Chiao) and Taoist philosophy (Tao Chia). And it is also of importance that, despite its mystical elements, Taoist thought is eminently practical.”

(WCP, p. 29) “Certain passages in the I Ching are of importance in explaining the significance of the five…the sum of the odd numbers (1+3+5+7+9=25) plus the sum of the even (2+4+6+8+10=30) total fifty-five, which is the number of Heaven and Earth together. Thus the Five of Heaven and the Five of Earth are reached in two different ways. The results are fittingly confirmed by the fact that sum of the two Fives (and the sum of the two fives of fifty-five) is ten, the number regarded as complete and therefore perfect because it contains all the single and primary numbers and also is the sum of the four root numbers; 1+2+3+4.”

(WCP, p. 33) “To the Neo-Confucianists, li (principle) was only slightly less important than Tao. In reading their dialectics about li, one gains the impression that li was in fact another term for Tao, and that all their phrases describing the li … were virtually exercises of he mind in search of Tao.”

(WCP, p. 34) “The Taoist and Buddhist practice of meditation following exercises in controlling and regulating the breath – the human ch’i drawing on the Ch’i of the universe – was one of the means they believed helpful in emptying the heart of distractions, selfishness, and ignorance in order to be able to reflect clearly the Tao.”

(WCP, p. 40) “…for in painting a scene, when one succeeds in conveying the ch’i of each form, the result is an expression of the Ch’i that pervades the universe, and to do this, the painter has to transcend the limitations of the eye and delve into the secrets of nature.”

(WCP, p. 42) “The Yin and the Yang are discussed in the early Taoist texts, the Lieh Tsu and Huai Nan Tzu, where they are made a basic element of Taoist thought, so that they appear to be Taoist concepts…”

(WCP, p. 42) “On the whole, however, the Confucianists did not give the theory (Yin Yang) much attention until the Neo-Confucianists, having recovered the idea from Taoism, discussed it in their commentaries of the I Ching.”

(WCP, p. 43) “Yang and Yin stand for the upper and lower worlds, the spiritual and the material, the intangible and the tangible.”

(WCP, p. 47-48) “Above all, a sense of movement representing the vitality of Tao can be made to permeate a painting when the painter himself possesses ch’i, the creative force of Heaven in the individual. Being of the spirit, ch’i is elusive and difficult to describe, as also Tao. Hence it was the subject of constant discussion among Chinese painters.”

(WCP, p. 49) “The attitude that painting was a magic art never entirely disappeared; traces may be seen for instance, in the later classification of the masters, when the categories of excellence were termed shen (ch. the divine), miao (ch. the profound or mysterious), and neng (ch. the accomplished).”

(WCP, p. 55) “…ch’i and powerful brushstrokes naturally went together, representing the balance between the painter’s inner resources and their outer demonstration, the fusion of the subjective and the objective.”

(WCP, p. 55) “The magnificent rendering of space in Chinese paintings, particularly landscapes, where often mountains and other features were deliberately placed and drawn so as to emphasize the space, was a direct result of Taoist ideas about the Great Void.”

(WCP, p. 55) “Ching Hao’s Six Essentials contained the principle of landscape paintings in six characters: first, ch’i followed by yun (Ch. rhythm), ssu (ch. thought), ching (ch. seasonal aspect), pi (ch. brush), and mo (ch. ink).”

(WCP, p. 56) “Ching Hao’s list is of special interest for a shift of emphasis and the expression of each principle by a single term. Particularly important was the modification of the first principle from Ch’i (Ki, jap. ed.), the Spirit of Heaven, to ch’i (Shin, jap. ed.), the spirit in man, a recognition of the personal element not found in Hsieh Ho’s First Canon.”

(WCP, p. 56) “…the T’u Hua Chien Wen Chih, by Kuo Jo-hsu, published at the end of the XI century, was one of the most influential both then and later. In quoting the First Canon, Kuo used yun (rhythm). Subsequently, either yun (rhythm) or yun (to revolve) was used in citing the First Canon.”

(WCP, p. 57) “…yun (ch. to revolve) connotes, from more of a Taoist standpoint, the movement of Tao manifest in Ch’i; yun (ch. rhythm, harmony), though in a sense also Taoist, represents a Confucian ideal closely related to the Confucian li (ch. rituals) and ho (ch. harmony), the term that was used of sound and form, including rhythm, connotes a constructive and creative sense of the harmony of the whole; but in application, owing to its emphasis on order and correctness, it had the power to stifle the most desired quality, tzu jan (ch. spontaneity).”

(WCP, p. 58) “the aim of painting remained the harmony of Heaven and Earth expressed through the harmony of the parts and the whole of the picture. As Kuo Jo-hsu said: ‘In a picture, the spiritual harmony originates in the exercise of the mind (ch. hsin); its full exposition comes from the use of the brush.’”

(WCP, p. 59) “In the First Canon, sheng tung (ch. life-movement) is a direct result of the Ch’i yun (ch. circulation of the Ch’i), whether in its characteristic revolving movement or as an all-encompassing order and harmony. The key phrase, therefore, is Ch’i yun; this concept of the Ch’i in action governs all the principles and every work of art, down to each brushstroke. Ch’i yun, literally describing the circulation of the Ch’i, has often been translated ’Rhythmic vitality’ to render it as ‘Rhythmic Vitality’ is to omit the central point and to put the emphasis in the wrong place, for rhythm is only one aspect of the total action of the Ch’i.”

(WCP, p. 60) “Georges Braque was reported to have said: “There is only one thing in art that is worthwhile. It is that which cannot be explained.’”

(WCP, p. 62) “The Ch’i in the First Cannon of painting is thus the Breath or Vital Force of Spirit of Tao, and it is also the Yin and Yang as the dual forces of Tao…In painting, ch’i is both the creative resources of the painter and the essential vitality – spiritual, divine, and creative – that can be transmitted to a painting and perceived by the spectator.”

(WCP, p. 63) “’Ch’i yun may be expressed by ink, by brushwork, by an idea, or by absence of idea…It is something beyond he feeling of the brush and the effect of ink, because it is the moving power of Heaven, which is suddenly disclosed. But only those who are quiet can understand it.’”

(WCP, p. 81) “Elsewhere the work (Tao Te Ching) mentions that a man possessed of Tao not only will live long but will be exempt from danger and decay. Thus, Tao become the source and secret of immortality.”

(WCP, p. 81-82) “The Alchemists were deeply concerned with physical and mental discipline. They evolved a comprehensive regimen, regulating diet and prescribing exercises and proper breathing, that on the whole was sensible and salutary.”

(WCP, p. 82) “It is notable that, whenever painters and critics wrote of the importance of health and a calm min, of breath control, meditation, and practices conducive to good painting, they cited methods similar to those found in Taoist alchemical works. The insistence on clarifying thought and on stilling the heart before wielding the brush was a discipline also practiced by the philosophical among the alchemists.”

(WCP, p. 88) “Zen Buddhism…encouraged what might be described as impressionistic works in which ink tones and the vitality of brushwork were the most important factors, and color was on the whole unnecessary.”

(WCP, p. 98) “Chen is the term used frequently in Taoist and Buddhist works in discussing the spiritual, the pure, the divine, that which is held to be real. As it is yet another way of describing harmony with the laws of Tao, it stands as a key term of Chinese thought and painting. Tzu jan is an equally important Taoist term. The two are complementary and in many respects interchangeable, for what is true to nature is natural and spontaneous. And to achieve trueness and naturalness is, in effect, to be in harmony with Tao: what the Taoists describe as being one with Tao.”

(WCP, p. 107) “The idea of the constant and unceasing interaction of the Yin and the Yang, of Tao in operation, is equivalent to Ch’i yun (the circulation of the Vital Force).”

(WCP, p. 107) “And the essential element of movement, illustrating the processes of transformation I nature, is further evident in the fact that both painter and spectator move through the painting; the painter draws and paints and the spectator views the results from many points, never from a single position or at one moment of time.”

(WCP, p. 108) “Painters also speak of sequence and rhythm in composition, using such terms as k’ai ho (ch. Open-together) and ch’i fu (ch. rise-fall), which refer to skill in arrangement, placing, connecting, and balancing. The terms are also descriptive of movement, of the Yin and Yang, the exhalation and inhalation of the Ch’i. They imply whole cycles change, of growth and decay, of the eternal rhythm of nature.”

(WCP, p. 109) “As space is filled with Ch’i, the Spirit or Vital Force, it also has its Yang aspect. It is this concept that makes the handling of space the most original contribution of Chinese painting and the most exhilarating aspect of the works themselves.”

(WCP, p. 110) “The stillness associated with emptiness of space and Tao also is silence, which adds to the mystery of Tao and stresses the reserve and meditative habits necessary for the painter to be receptive and able to express any aspect of Tao. Silence and emptiness of space possess vast powers of suggestion, stimulating the imagination and sharpening perception. And only through exercise of these highest faculties can Tao be apprehended and expressed.”

(WCP, p.112) “Acceptance of what seems natural and inevitable is evident in the observant, reflective, and respectful approach of the masters. It may also be seen in the representation of human beings in paintings, meditative and reverent as they move along a mountain path or stop to gaze at the scene around them, seeming to listen to the rhythm and harmony of life, stilling themselves in order to be in tune with it.”

(WCP, p. 113) “Li (ch. principle) has the meaning of ‘reason’ and ‘law’… The philosopher Chu Hsi raised the term li to a position of such prominence that painters declared it the most important thing in painting… Numerous other painters and critics in the Sung and later periods made similar statements. To the li, as inner law and Essence, was of deeper import than appearance and outer form. Yet the two aspects were mutually dependent. A recent essay on embryology offers a remarkably appropriate comment here: ‘Form is both deeply material and highly spiritual. It cannot exist without a material support; it cannot be properly expressed without invoking some supra-material principle.’”

(WCP, p. 113-114) “Painting, guided by the heart-mind through the means of skillful handling of brush and ink, should thus exhibit thought and reflection, sensibility and intuition. And it is the proper balance of these factors than can produce the harmonious results worthy of being described as expressions of harmony of Heaven and Earth.’”

(WCP, p.114) “In painting, harmony of all the elements and ideas in a composition produces general harmony, and by ‘spiritual influence’ it can inspire and sustain the desire and effort to achieve it. Thus painting may present the felicitous results of perfect rhythm and harmony, offering clues to the secret of life itself for those able to discern them.”

(WCP, p. 117) “Calligraphy at its finest and most expressive is indeed the dance of the brush and ink at its highest point of achievement, when movement, vitality, rhythm, and harmony are uppermost and the intellectual content of the written characters purposely is abandoned in the swift rendering of them by the perfectly disciplined and therefore completely free brush.”

(WCP, p. 117-118) “The nature of the soft brush and ink does not permit correcting, changing, or retracing a stroke without marring the effect of the whole picture. The hand has to be sure, and coordination of ‘heart and hand’ is essential. As expressed in the Manual, ‘each brush stroke should be a living idea.’ Brushwork is thus the direct expression of the mind in action. Its function is to make visible the invisible. The power to do this is often referred to as pi li (ch. brush strength), a term embracing skill and dexterity and, of equal if not greater importance, the mental and spiritual motivation. It is noteworthy that, in explaining the brushstrokes for modeling, the Manual opens that section with the statement: ‘He who is learning to paint must first learn to still his heart, thus to clarify his understanding and increase his wisdom.’ And painters pointed out that, when painting is guided by the heart (ch. hsin, the heart-mind), the principle of the circulation of Heaven and Earth (Tao) is revealed and the Tao of painting is made manifest.”

(WCP, p. 118) “’Stilling the heart’ expresses beautifully the quietness necessary for creative results, an inner quietness related to the silence of Tao and its processes… The practice of meditation and of exercises in deep and controlled breathing have as their end the stilling of the heart… In stilling the heart an individual can become one with the elements of nature, the great creative forces of Tao. This becoming one is the rue meaning of wholeness.”

(WCP, p.119) “Becoming one with the universe is the literal connotation of the character ch’an of Zen (kanji, ed.) (i.e., Ch’an).”

(WCP, p.119) “Identity with the object depicted might be explained in another way; the painter has to experience the rhythm of life to be able to express it in his work by means of the rhythm of the brush.”


Helmut Brinker, Zen in the Art of Painting (ZAP), 

NY: Arkana, 1987, ISBN 13: 9780140190731

(ZAP pg. 5), “The enlightened spirit of the Zen master works as a sort of catalyst which induces a comparable experience in the spirit of the pupil. Nothing is ‘added’ to the transmission: The pupil must reach the experience from his own inner resources, the master cannot ‘give’ it to him.”

(ZAP pg. 5), “Personal contact between master and pupil, without any disturbing or propagating middle factor, is here stressed. What Zen aims at is individual experience of absolute transcendence: and the disciple can attain this only by following the direct way prescribed by an experienced spiritual teacher - a required, often, indeed, provoked process of self-knowledge via the teacher’s ‘direct point at the mind of man’.”

(ZAP pg. 7), “The northern school was led by Shen-hsiu (Shenxiu, 606-706), the southern by Hui-neng; and, if we may venture to express the difference between them in a nutshell, Shen-hsiu and his school saw the way to enlightenment as a gradual process, whereas Hui-neng saw it as a sudden revelation.”

(ZAP pg. 11), “At this point we must mention a further spiritual source of Zen and its art: Taoism. The Buddhist ideology emanating from India, and based, in the Zen reading, on the universal presence of the essential Buddha, was, in fact, very close to the concept of the Tao in Chinese thought...”

(ZAP pg. 15), “‘Zen Buddhists are sometimes Confucianists, sometimes Taoists, or sometimes even Shintoists’: this is D.T. Suzuki’s terse and somewhat surprising verdict.” (Z&JC, pg. 44).

(ZAP pg. 113), “In Ch’an circles of the period, the mirror was already a current metaphor for the pure, enlightened spirit; and by reminding his pupil (in the deepest sense of the work) of this, the master was making it clear that the idea that one must become a Buddha is actually an obstacle on the path to the basic experience of Zen: namely, the insight that every creature already is or has Buddha-being.”

(ZAP pg. 118), “For Orientals, the bamboo embodies fundamental ethical values: its straight growth is compared with the upright character of an exemplary gentleman, its hard, regular stem with inner rectitude; though flexible, it is stable and firm like a noble spirit, and its leaves remain green throughout the seasons, suggesting constancy, the power of resistance and the unshakable loyalty of a moral paragon. Furthermore, in apparent contradiction with its outward strength, it is hollow inside: which corresponds to the Zen ideal of ‘inner emptiness’.”


J. C. Cooper, Taoism, The Way of the Mystic (T,TWM)

(T,TWM, pg. 12) “The ideograph for the Tao is made up of two radicals: the Head, or Leader, and the Feet, or Progress by Degrees. The Head denotes a principle or beginning, while the radical for the Feet carries the implication of the power of forward movement, the two together giving the suggestion of intelligent movement along a way as well as of a pupil following a master, while the combination of the Head and Feet also implies the whole man and all that is right and normal and in conformity with the laws of nature, both in being and action; but the intelligence indicated is not that of the brain or rational mind, but a supra-rational quality.”

(T,TWM, pg. 17) “The Way is a way of life, not a school of thought, and can only be understood by being lived, hence the small amount of written material left by the early Taoists. Also, there is a danger of the written work falling into the hands of anyone and being misinterpreted or becoming a rigid doctrine or being turned into a cult. Disciples can usually be depended upon to wreck the teachings of a master.”

(T,TWM, pg. 22) “The Sage, the living example of the Tê, is not a ‘moral’ man since morals do not enter into his mind. He is already so perfectly adjusted and in such complete harmony with his surroundings that he acts with spontaneous perfection, far beyond any thou shalt, thou shalt not, and all relative morality is adapted to the particular situation.”

(T,TWM, pg. 23, quoting Giles trans. Chuang tzu, XVII) “‘The truly great man, although he does not injure others, does not credit himself with charity and mercy...he asks help from no man, but takes no credit for his self-reliance...he acts differently from the vulgar crowd, but takes no credit for his exceptionally; nor because others act with the majority does he despise them as hypocrites.’”

(T,TWM, pg. 33) “Among animals, fabulous or otherwise, the dragon and tiger represent the powers of light and darkness, although the dragon symbolism is ambivalent since the dragon ascending in spring is the Yang principle, and descending in autumn is the Yin. But depicted with the tiger, as a matter or the elemental, dark forces, the dragon is the spirit and the powers of Heaven.”

(T,TWM, pg. 60) “In the East philosophy is regarded as useless if it has no effect on character. Its whole point is to produce the Perfect Man, the Sage...Wholeness is required of the Sage, he is the quintessence of human possibilities, in whom all potentialities are realized.”

(T,TWM, pg. 60-61) “To be ‘beyond life and death’ is the mark of the Sage, the man who is variously described as the Perfect Man, the True Man, one who has attained “The Great Whole”, although the term is occasionally used in the sense of a man of knowledge, but it is never to be confused with the saint. A saint can be made in a matter of seconds through the process known as conversion. The Sage is the result of the gradual withdrawal from the illusions of the sense into the reality of the Tao, of gnosis which, too, is ‘beyond life and death’ and implies a complete acceptance of all things as they are.”

(T,TWM, pg. 65) “The Eastern mind has never demanded the precision of terms so dear to the scientifically-minded West which likes to have everything neatly labeled and confined behind the rigid bars of a mental prison.”

(T,TWM, pg. 71) “The Sage does not teach by example. ‘The true Sage keeps his knowledge within him, while men in general set forth theirs in argument, in order to convince each other.”

(T,TWM, pg. 72, cites Aristide Messinesi, Art and Thought) “‘By a Tradition is meant not merely a historical continuity, and still less a blind observance of customs bereft of their former meaning, but a transmission of principles of more-than-human origin, effectively applied in every field of thought and action.’”

(T,TWM, pg. 86) “Taoism and Confucianism were the inheritors and custodians of an ancient and primordial tradition, handed down from the Golden Age or paradisial state.”

(T,TWM, pg. 92-93) “After the life of a founder and his immediate followers, the first purity of a doctrine suffers at the hands of those who have found the teaching too hard or too austere and who seek to turn it into an easier way. Mankind is naturally lazy and looks for something more easily understood or which can be manipulated to suit its tastes. Lao tzu’s teaching of the Tao was, as he said, inexpressible in any case, and the ideas of self-emptiness, the void, wu-wei and the emphasis laid on pure being were too metaphysical and intellectual a standard for the understanding and taste of the average man who prefers the familiar terrain of moral codes and creeds.”

(T,TWM, pg. 98) “Unless an artist could live his art, that is to be in accord with the rhythms and harmonies of life, he was regarded as of no more use that ‘a blocked flute through which no breath could pass’.”

(T,TWM, pg. 105) “The scholar was expected to be highly trained and proficient in both mind and body, and the art of archery was practiced to this end, requiring, as it does, physical fitness, keenness of eye and quiet control of movement.”

(T,TWM, pg. 113) “The perfect rhythm of the form of the dragon epitomizes all that is contained in Taoist mysticism and its art. It is the ultimate mystery, hiding itself in clouds, on mountain tops and in deep places, it thus symbolized wisdom itself - the Tao.”

(T,TWM, pg. 115) “Perfection and enlightenment are also symbolized by the lotus, which like the dragon, phoenix and ky-lin (mythical - e.g. unicorn), contains in itself a balance of the yin-yang qualities.”

(T,TWM, pg. 117) “The bamboo is all the qualities of the soul of man and of nature epitomized. Seldom painted in other than black and white, throwing into relief darkness and light, expressing power and delicacy, it is the yin-yang symbol of the universe.”

(T,TWM, pg. 121) “...when he (tiger) appears in conflict with the dragon, the tiger becomes Yin, the Earth, and matter opposing the celestial forces of the spirit.”


John Blofeld, Taoism, the Road to Immortality (T,TRI)

(T,TRI, pg. 15) “‘Immortality’ is the term by which Taoist at every level of understanding designate their goal; hence the picturesque title ‘immortal’ conferred alike on Taoist sages, masters of yoga and even on elderly recluses who, on account of their wisdom and bearing, are politely deemed to have achieved their goal.

(T,TRI, pg. 15) “Personally, I am convinced that transcendent immortality was always the true aim, even though the actual title hsien-jen (immortal) came into use much later, when it became necessary to distinguish the idea of a perfected sage in the Taoist sense from the Confucian equivalent; for, during the centuries that followed immediately upon the passing of Lao-tzu and Confucius, such titles as the Princely Man, the True Man, the Holy Man were used by followers of all creeds.”

(T,TRI, pg. 23) “The Taoists could not imagine that a man of true wisdom and holiness would involve himself in the mundane affairs with which politicians and civil servants have to deal...Chaung-tzu’s definition was: ‘The Spiritual Man [Shen-jen] is one who attains to the Way of Heaven and Earth.’”

(T,TRI, pg. 23) “Writing centuries later, the great Taoist master Ko Hung remarked that the Sage or Holy Man must possess six qualities, namely: lofty virtue, deep sincerity, love of stillness unmarred by the stirring of desire, wide learning, devotion to a teacher worthy of his veneration, and clear understanding that true holiness develops from a heaven-implanted human instinct, the way of the sage and the way of humanity being inseparable.”

(T,TRI, pg. 35) “As to Taoism, almost the whole of its higher level teachings and practices, except the practice of internal alchemy, were gradually absorbed into Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism...”

(T,TRI, pg. 41) “Thereon the spiritual progeny of the Yellow Emperor wove the theme of immortality, the idea that individuals enmeshed in desire-born delusions, by according with nature’s laws and entering into stillness, cast off those toils and return to the Source of being; the idea of distilling within the body a golden elixir - pure spirit purged of dross so as to be once more identical in substance with the cosmic spirit from which it originally derived.”

(T,TRI, pg. 42) “There is ample evidence in the writings of those sages to indicate that their ideas were derived from a source so old as to have seemed ancient even as far back as the fifth or sixth century B.C.”

(T,TRI, pg. 42) “Properly understood, the term ‘immortal’ connotes something similar to what Lao and Chuang meant by ‘the True Man’, ‘the Perfect Man’, ‘the Sage’,...”

(T,TRI, pg. 45) “Lao-tzu condemned the talk of benevolence, filial piety and loyalty that was so characteristic of Confucians, pointing out that insisting on the need for them is a sure sign of their being in decline.”

(T,TRI, pg. 46) “‘becoming an immortal’ and becoming a perfect sage’ have always been regarded as virtually synonymous.”

(T,TRI, pg. 51) “The Ch’an (Zen) masters, who are as much the heirs of early Taoism as of Indian Buddhism, teach methods much closer to Taoist cultivation of the Way and therefore to the teaching of Lao and Chuang that is generally realized. Their terse aphorisms and characteristic humor are both highly reminiscent of those sages.”

(T,TRI, pg. 51) “The Ch’an doctrine that Enlightenment is to be attained in the Here and Now is precisely the Taoist doctrine of ‘attaining immortality’ properly understood. The Taoist word shen and the Ch’an Buddhist term hsin, the one meaning ‘spirit’, the other ‘mind’, are often interchangeable and, in the later Taoist works, hsin often replaces shen.”

(T,TRI, pg. 74) “...the term ‘immortal’ is also used of the Taoist equivalent of the Confucian Princely Man, a sage of exalted virtue and transcendent wisdom so attuned to the Way as to be beyond the ordinary joys and vicissitudes of life.”

(T,TRI, pg. 75) “Indeed, the Chinese ideogram for ‘immortal’ also bears the connotation ‘mountain man’...” (Sennin, jp. ed.).

(T,TRI, pg. 90) “The Chinese have seldom subscribed to the view that adhering to one religion precludes adherence to another - or several others! Traditionally, most Chinese have been simultaneously Confucian, Taoist, Buddhist and followers of the ancient folk religion that never achieved a name of its own.”

(T,TRI, pg. 135) “In the words of Ko Hung, ‘there must be moderation in everything.’...Exercise, though good, should not be over done and strain must at all costs be avoided.”

(T,TRI, pg.137) “Kung fu was originally a Taoist art and Judo, Kendo and so on can all be regarded as offshoots of Taoist methods of armed and unarmed self defense. The Judo principle of utilizing an opponent’s weight and strength to overthrow him is typically Taoist.”

(T,TRI, pg.139) “Transmutation is essential and occurs in three stages: (1) from coarse ching, ch’i and shen to their subtle counterparts; (2) thence to pure yang-shen (cosmic spirit); (3) and thence from pure yang-shen into void.”

(T,TRI, pg.150) “This advanced stage, nourishing the shen, seems to involve no special requirements beyond stillness of mind - that is, ‘blocking the outside, controlling the inside’, or cutting off the attractions of sense objects and causing the mind to become limpid and still.”

(T,TRI, pg.151) “For yang-shen is composed solely of prior-to-heaven yang-ch’i. In the beginning there was no thought, no activity, no infection of the senses. Take no heed of what you see; then will you rest spontaneously in the perfect stillness of undifferentiated being...”

(T,TRI, pg.151) “It is written in the Book of the Elixir: ‘Yang-shen transcends the triple world. [With it] you task will be complete, your practice done; and you will ascend to the shining canopy of heaven.’ The final transmutation process demands no special practice. As a result of all that has gone before, the knowing, discerning mind is ready to dissolve into the pure spirit of the void.”


Henry P. Bowie, On the Laws of Japanese Painting (OtLoJP)

(OtLoJP, ,p. 29) “Along with these are innumerable art secrets called hiji or himitsu, never published, but orally imparted by the masters to their pupils- not secrets in a trick sense, but methods of execution discovered after laborious effort and treasured as valued possessions.”

(OtLoJP, ,p. 33) “An artist, be he ever so skilful, is cautioned not to feel entirely satisfied with the use of the brush, as it is never perfect and is always susceptible of improvement. The brush is the handmaid of the artist’s soul and must be responsive to his inspiration. The student is warned to be as much on his guard against carelessness when handling the brush as if he were a swordsman standing ready to attack his enemy or to defend his own life; and this is the reason: Everything in art conspires to prevent success.”

(OtLoJP, ,p. 34) “...the brush must be so fashioned as to receive and transmit the vibrations of the artist’s inner self.”

(OtLoJP, ,p. 48-49) “A canon of Japanese art...requires that there should be in every painting the sentiment of active and passive, light and shade. This is called IN YO and is based upon the principle of contrast for heightening effects.

(OtLoJP, ,p. 52) “...TEN, CHI, JIN, or heaven, earth and man. This wonderful law of Buddhism is said to pervade the universe and is of widest application to all the art of man. TEN CHI JIN means that whatever is worthy of contemplation must contain a principal subject, its complimentary adjunct, and auxiliary details. Thus is the work rounded out to its perfection.”

(OtLoJP, ,p. 77) “Whatever the subject to be translated...the artist at the moment of painting it must feel its very nature, which, by the magic of his art, he transfers into his work to remain forever, affecting all who see it with the same sensations he experienced when executing it.”

(OtLoJP, ,p. 79) “...thus, by this sentiment, called living movement (Sei Do), reality is imparted to the inanimate object. This is one of the marvelous secrets of Japanese painting, handed down from the great Chinese painters and based on psychological principles - matter responsive to mind.”

(OtLoJP, ,p. 82-83) “This intrinsic loftiness, elevation or worth is known in their art by the term KI IN. Without this quality the painting, artistically considered and critically judged, must be pronounced a failure. Such picture may be perfect in proportion and design, correct in brush force and faultless in color scheme; it may have complied with the principles of IN YO, and TEN, CHI, JIN or heaven, earth and man; it may have scrupulously observed all the rules of lines, dots and ledges and yet if KI IN be wanting the painting has failed as a work of true art. What is this subtle something called KI IN?...It is that indefinable something which in every great work suggests elevation of sentiment, nobility of soul. From the earliest times the great art writers of China and Japan have declared that this quality, this manifestation of the spirit, can neither be imparted nor acquired, It must be innate...Such is what the Japanese understand by KI IN.”


Below are a few excerpts from an excellent book.

KYUDO, The Art of Zen Archery, Hans Joachim Stein,  

1988, Element Books, Ltd., ISBN 1085230-035-3.

(KAZA, p. 25) "Another central Taoist notion is Wu-Wei, which signifies Non-Doing or Without Doing...The (flower) bud opens spontaneously without struggle; the overripe melon bursts open without perceptible volition. That is how man should act too, spontaneously and without self-consciousness."

(KAZA, p. 26) "Wu-Wei signifies pure action, an extremely active stillness, and a spontaneity in activity which is not hampered by busy restlessness, action for action's sake, or the frantic desires of our little ego. Wu-Wei means action in non-action, spontaneously doing exactly the right thing at exactly the right moment."

(KAZA, p. 26) "Through Ki we can achieve a harmonious balance between Yin and Yang within ourselves. This process of harmonization is fundamental to any self-knowledge and self-realization...When we control our breathing, we attain a state of active stillness - inwardly and outwardly, mentally and physically - which corresponds to the Wu-Wei and balances the interplay of the passive Yin and the active Yang forces that determine our being."

(KAZA, p. 26) "If a person continues unswervingly on this path, he will gradually learn to integrate his life into the all-embracing rhythm of the cosmos."

(KAZA, p. 27) "All purely philosophical endeavors are restricted to an essentially intellectual level and fail to attain the profundity of spiritual and material penetration which can be achieved by way of meditative breathing. Through meditation and breath control we can reach direct awareness of our union with nature and with the entire universe."

(KAZA, p. 27) "Meditation in this sense does not only mean the traditional sitting in a special posture. Meditation can be practiced in any situation, and it is of no account whatsoever whether the body is at rest or active."

(KAZA, p. 27) "An ancient maxim of Chinese Universalism says that stillness leads to Enlightenment. Stillness is attained by meditative breathing, but does not necessarily involve sitting quietly. Instead it entails a silence which comes from our innermost being, bringing forth and inspiring all our actions, even those which seem to be most insignificant."

(KAZA, p. 28) "Anyone who regulates and concentrates his breathing, the `Breath of Life' or cosmic energy, can achieve a balancing of soul and mind, a harmonization of Yin and Yang."

(KAZA, p. 30) "Without correct posture, correct and natural breathing is impossible. Without correct breathing, in turn, meditation is impossible, and often becomes physical and mental torment."

(KAZA, p. 32) "In addition, the breath has to find its own rhythm, and after just a few days that is no longer any problem. Once the archer has established this state of stillness within himself, he will - in the silence of his heart - be able to sense and hear the Tao within himself and without, above and below. When he picks up his bow, he must and will derive all his movements from this fundamental spiritual attitude - effortlessly and without excessive participation of the will, correctly but without calculation."

(KAZA, p. 33) "The archer shoots without willing to shoot because that happens to be the activity he is engaged in. He could just as well be doing something else in the same spirit."

(KAZA, p. 34) "Hara is the seat and center of all spiritual energies, which are concentrated in the Tanden. Tanden breathing is therefore ultimately `spiritual breathing'.

(KAZA, p. 38) "During all the movement involved (in archery), the breathing continues to be calm, deep, and even, at one with the rhythm pulsating through the universe."

(KAZA, p. 39) "What really matters during inhalation, breath retention, exhalation, and renewed retention is to become aware of our individual rhythm, understanding and concretely experiencing its interaction with the cosmic rhythm so that they will ultimately achieve alignment and become one. Kyudo also demands of the archer that all his movements - up to release of the arrow and the moment when he steps back from the shooting line - be harmonized with the unified individual and cosmic rhythm.."

(KAZA, p. 39) "Anyone who breathes correctly and has achieved the decisive re-fusion of those two poles which originally constituted a unity and were only rent asunder by our self-centeredness and the illusion of possession of separate I, cannot help but attain perfect execution of all the movements required by the technique of archery. He will integrate these movements into the `Great Harmony', the `Great Breath'. Once the archer has acquired the correct technique through persistent practice and learned to breathe in the right way so that he can let technique and breath look after themselves - allowing them to arise out of his innermost being and to manifest as they wish, all his actions will start in the `Great Harmony', the Tao, and the archer has attained his goal."

(KAZA, p. 41) "The Tao, or Way of the Universe, has its correspondence in the Tao as the Way of Man. The Way of Man must harmonize as completely as possible with the Way of the Cosmos. If man, therefore, deviates in his thoughts and actions from the Way of the Universe to which he is subordinate, he will inevitable come into conflict with himself and the surrounding world...it becomes understandable that the term `Way' was specifically adopted by a variety of Arts and Sciences since the Arts include everything that contributes to the perfection of human nature and furthers man's aspiration to complete self-realization."



Prepared by: David A. Scheid