From The Avant/Garde Diaries comes a beautiful film about Japanese kendo swordsmanship and the lessons it can teach us about disciplining the human character:
Western beauty is radiance, majesty, grandness and broadness. In comparison, eastern beauty is desolateness. Humility. Hidden beauty.
Even when a fighter is moving fast, his mind is calm, like an ocean with no waves. This is called an immovable mind. In opposite terms, when a fighter is completely still, his heart and mind is moving. So understanding the mind and actions of your opponent takes both stillness and movement.
…your ultimate foe is your own self. Your confusion, fears and arrogance may arise. To rebuke them, you need to raise your energy with a great battle cry.
西洋の美は輝き、荘厳、壮大、広大。それに対し東洋の美は孤独。謙虚さ。隠された美。
剣士が素早く動いている時でさえ、彼の心は波のない海のように穏やか。これは動かざる心とよばれる。逆から言えば、剣士がじっと静かにしている時、彼の心は動いている。だから対戦相手の心と動きを理解するには、静寂と動作を必要とする。
…究極の敵は自分自身。心の乱れ、恐怖心、傲慢が沸き起こるかもしれない。これに打ち克つためには、大きな声を出して戦うことでエネルギーを引き出さなくてはいけない。
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