The Ultimate Secrets of Swordsmanship

Ep. 5 Yagyu yajima no kami munenori was a teacher of swordsmanship to the shogun. One of the personal guards of the shogun came to tajima no kami one day asking to be trained in swordplay. 'as I observe, you seem to be a master of the art yourself,' said the teacher. 'please tell me to what school you belong before we enter into the relationship of teacher and pupil.' the guardsman said: 'l do not belong to any school, I have never studied the art.' 'it is no use trying to fool me,' said the teacher. 'my judging eye never fails.' 'i am sorry to defy, your honour,' said the guard, 'but I really know nothing.' 'if you say so then it must be true, but I am sure that you are the master of something, so tell me about yourself.' 'there is one thing,' said the guard. 'when I was a child I thought that a samurai should never be afraid of death, so I grappled with the problem, and now the thought of death has ceased to worry me.' 'that's it!' exclaimed the teacher. 'the ultimate secrets of swordsmanship lie in being released from the thought of death. You need no technical training, you are already a master.' Season 3 Of the ultimate realization of Zen, Acharya says, "Suddenly you become aware of a music that has always surrounded you… Your heart throbs in the same rhythm as the heart of the whole." This essential Zen reader also dips into a number of other themes - cowardice, boredom and restlessness, recognition and rejection, maturity, and moving from the non-essential to the essential.