These days, this is precisely the feeling I have when training at the Honbu. When skydiving in free fall, you have this incredible feeling of falling within your fall. It is like being into a vortex. The fall seems infinite like falling into an endless fractal. If you had the chance to experience it, you know what I mean. Speed keeps increasing. And you feel you are falling inside your fall until you reach terminal velocity.
Kūkan is like this; it is part of Ūchū, the Universe. (1)(2) Flow with this natural aspect and be one with Kūkan. If you think you can influence the universe, you’re mistaking! You can feel Jūryoku, gravity, on Earth (Chi level), but it exists everywhere in the whole universe (Ten). Being one with the Kūkan, Tori is in control (Jin level). That is the Tenchijin of 2018! (3)
There is a broad relationship between Humanity and Kūkan. Sensei said “Ningen to Kūkan Tsunagaru,” “humanity and space are connected.” (4)(5) When you connect yourself to your own inner Kūkan, you are part of the whole. The Waza are only a means to reach perfect control. As everything is linked in the universe, we just have to use this feeling and move freely. Nothing that we do is relevant, the only thing that matters is the natural flow. Sensei doesn’t do any Waza, he only controls. Control applies to the attacker, but also to the situation, space, and to yourself. If you can control your space, then the rest is natural, because you are moving in harmony with the forces of the universe.
Kūkan is the space between, inside, around Tori and Uke. It is only the place to be. Connected to Kūkan, we are moving into the natural and powerful flow surrounding us. Our intentions, our willingness to do something hinder the natural expression of Life. Hatsumi Sensei does his movements without thinking. He has no intent and is always in phase with the universe. He lets things happen. But Uke trapped in the “I want to attack,” blinded by his intents, cannot see his defeat coming. By not fighting, “Tatakai Wa Janai,” you are one with all things and Uke is your toy. (6) That is why the Bujinkan system is about peace, not war.
I love Sci-fi, and my last sentence reminded me of the end of the book “2001, a Space Odyssey” by Arthur C. Clarke. “and the star child understood the universe was his toy.”
That is what the Dai Shihan must do: play with the universe.
This year is Mutō Dori with an emphasis on justice and peace. Phil Legare on his blog wrote: “I asked Sōke if he had any instructions or advice for the Dai Shihan for the new year 2018. He said, Justice and Peace. Sensei wishes all Dai Shihan to bring about Justice and Peace in their own countries. He noted that we now have Dai Shihan in 55 countries around the world and more all the time. Sōke said that each Dai Shihan must figure out their way forward with Justice and Peace. He hopes they will foster the same goodwill within their own countries and in their groups. Honbu training is still Mutō dori, Control, and No power for each, as before. But there is also an emphasis on the five virtues of the Buddha: the Gojō.” (7)
“Then he [The Star Child] waited, marshalling his thoughts and brooding over his still untested powers. For though he was master of the world, he was not quite sure what to do next. But he would think of something.” ― Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey
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1. 空間, Kūkan: Space. Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum known as spacetime.
2. 宇宙, Ūchū: the universe. The universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary, and similar terms include the cosmos, the world, and nature.
3. 人間, Ningen: a human being; person; man; mankind; humankind
4. 繋がる, Tsunagaru: to be tied together; to be connected to; to be linked to; to be related to
5. 戦いわじゃない, Tatakai Wa Janai: There is no fight.
6. 重力, Jūryoku: Gravity, is a natural phenomenon by which physical bodies attract with a force proportional to their masses. Gravitation is most familiar as the agent that gives weight to objects with mass and causes them to fall to the ground when dropped. Gravitation causes dispersed matter to coalesce, and coalesced matter to remain intact, thus accounting for the existence of the Earth, the Sun, and most of the macroscopic objects in the universe.
7. The Gojō are:
滅の不施, Fumetsu no Fuse, endless giving
真道の持戒, Mamichi no Jikai, awareness, right path of self-justice
自然の忍にく, Shizen no Ninniku, perseverance, forbearance
光明の悟り, Komyō no Satori, the light of enlightenment
自然の超越, Shizen no Choetsu, natural transcendence
Shiro Kuma 