We always talk about kendo but like I always say something "do" means the way of "something". And the way of "something" is the way of life. If you do kendo, probably you know about it.  

Born in Japan and raised in Japan, I have a privilege to access to those ways to learn about life. More specifically about self.

In this newsletter, I would like to share my experience about shygo at this temple called, Jigenji. This is not going to be a religious article. Well, if we talk about traditional shugyo, those shugyo are related to either Buddhism or Shintoism in Japan. Anyway, here is shugyo at Jigenji.

Anazenjo

It is called Anazenjo. Zenjo means a calm state of mind and a state of mind that you are so focused and there is nothing else in your mind, i.e. zanmai. And ana means a hole. Here it means, cave.

This shugyo is to go through a limestone cave and go back. It sounds too simple, don't you think? Yes, it sounds too simple. I heard about this cave from one of my friends and she told me that you would learn a lot if I did that. Oh yes, I learned!

Jigenji is located in Tokushima and it is about 6 hours away from where my mother's house so I had to leave there before 5am. Since there was no public transportations before 5, I took a taxi to a Shin-Osaka station to take a bullet train, Shinkansen. So 5 hours of taxi, shinkansen, express trains and taxi, I got to Jigenji around 10:30.

But you can't just go through the cave when you get to the temple. You have to walk about 20 minutes to get to the cave. But the cave is a way up on the mountain and the way to get there is so steep. First, this makes you very tired and making worried about what would happen from then. At least this steep path to the cave worried me about what would happen in the cave since that made me really tired.

And finally I got to the cave. You cannot just get into the cave. There is a sendatsu to lead your way. Sendatsu means someone who have done this before you and who knows what you should do. It is similar to setmpai in kendo. My Sendatsu was an old lady and probably all of the Sendatsu there are ladies. I do know know why.

So the first thing you should do is to follow her instructions. And you would know why soon. When I saw the entrance of the cave, I thought, "I do not think I can get through that...".

Not everyone are allowed to get into the cave. First, there is a pair of stone pillars for you to go through between them. If you cannot go through between them, you are not allowed to go into the cave.  You do not want to be stuck in the cave. Also if you have knee problems, you should not go into the cave. Most of the time you either kneel on one knee or both or crawl forward, sideways or backward. My left knee is not in a good condition. While in the cave, I did not feel much pain but a few hours after I was done with the cave, it started hurting a lot. So if you have a serious knee problem, you should not try this.

Left in the Dark

Just do what the Sendatsu says you to do. You have a candle. That is it. That is the only light you have. Then your Sendatsu will tell you how to move your body. "Have your left leg forward. Lower your head. The left shoulder down and twist your body to your right and push your right knee forward. From there, crawl forward. Watch your head!" Can you imagine, all the way to the end of the cave and all the way to the exit, this continued? In the dark!

The Sendatsu kept giving me detailed instructions in the dark even including which hand I should be holding my candle at certain parts of the cave. If I could see around, it would be easier to follow her instructions. But without knowing how rocks sticking out or what's underneath of my body, even when I did what she said, there were some parts that I just could not go through easily.

Without her guidance, I had no clue what I should have been doing. Without her guidance I would have been there with a candle stuck.Simply left in the dark.

What does it tell you? Let's see this through kendo.

You have someone that teaches you kendo. You have no idea what to do. And the instructor tells you this is how to move your feet, this is how you move your arms and so forth.

Many people listen to the words coming out of the instructor but it is very hard for many to do EXACTLY they are instructed.

Now if you don't do exactly what you are told to do in the cave of jigenji, you simply cannot go through. Mind you only oral instructions. Sendatsu cannot show you how to move your body. She goes before you and you watch her what to do. She is so good that you cannot see what's going on.

Sounds familiar?

In kendo, you do not physically get stuck but your kendo will get stuck and won't improve. You must trust your instructor and do exactly what is been instructed.

You will have difficulties with doing exactly what you are being told to do but it is a part of training. You are learning how to move your body. You are learning patience. You are learning how you should learn in kendo. You are learning how to observe and process the movements in your brain and made them happen. It is all parts of the process of shugyo.

Now I have been talking about how to learn. It is not all I learned. I learned how to teach as well.

It definitely needs experience. The sendatsu knows the cave. I am sure she can go through the cave like going to a grocery store. Well, my sendatsu actually did right in front of my eyes. Without knowing the cave, you just don't know what will be expecting.

The experience includes instructing experience as well. She obviously knows how to instruct. She cannot touch you and tell you what to do. She has to lead you verbally. And of course, the way you should instruct must be different from person to person. I am way bigger than her so the way she does won't apply for me. Well, the basics is the same but she has to give me extra information so it will be easier for me to go through. I said easier not easy. Nothing was easy for me in the cave but the sendatsu helped me and made it easier for me to go through. So obviously she knows how to instruct a variety of people.

I am sure that she has different patterns in explaining the same thing. She should know one pattern does not work to everyone. It is already proven. Different body shapes need different instructions. She might have one way to explain what to do to tall people. But she needs to adjust the way she explains the same thing so they understand better. This happens a lot in kendo too.

Finally, she knows what her job is; taking us in the cave and getting us out of it safely. She was constantly telling me to watch my head because she did not want me to hit my head and crack my head open. This might be one of common injuries. Thanks to her constant warnings on it, I did not hit my head with those rocks. But some people did hit their head and bled. I am sure they got warnings like I did. Simply it is really hard to listen to instructions and it also proves that it does not matter how much you are careful you might not be able to move your body as you are supposed to move. You also need experience to listen to instructions and move the body as instructed.

Conclusion:

Learners:

• Listen to your instructors and sempai:. There are there to lead you through the darkness

• Be humble: Know that there is a strong possibility that you are not doing what you are supposed to do.  

• Learn how to communicate with your own body.

• Learn how to become calm and patience

• Learn to observe and compare between you and your instructor/others and think how to make up the differences

• Learn to emulate

• Stop saying "but" without doing

• Know that you actually know nothing

Instructors/sempai:

• Keep calm and patient. Remember you were a beginner once.

• Know everyone is different. Change the way you communicate with others

• Always doubt in your instruction: A reason your students are not doing what they are supposed to do may be your instruction is not clear. You might want to change expressions of your instructions.

• Know there is timing/phase: Just like human, people have phases. My 5 years old daughter now thinks that she knows everything. It is worse when adults think that they know what they are doing. They do not listen. You cannot make them listen to you. So until they ask you for your teaching, you do not have to be irritated or angry. Just wait for the right time.

• Know some just cannot do: Some people just cannot do things that they are supposed to do. No big deal. Just help them to accomplish something else.  

Kendo is a long cave. You think you know where you are supposed to go but then suddenly you will have no lights, total darkness. But there are always people with more experiences so when they give you some advice, take and do them. They might work for you, they might not work for you. You don't know. But unless you try you will never know what works. And if you give others an advice but they did not take it. That is OK. That is their loss not yours. They just are not ready yet. They will eventually understand the advice you gave them. That is what it counts.

Thank you for reading!

Hiro Imafuji