The Zen Dojo And Zen As A Martial Art

The Zen Dojo and Zen as a Martial Art A Tract Book Essay By Anthony J. Fejfar, B.A., J.D., Esq., Coif © Copyright 2007 by Anthony J. Fejfar I am a practitioner of Zen Meditation. As many master would tell you, the Zen that can be spoken of is not Zen, it is illusion. Nevertheless, as many masters have nevertheless tried to say something about Zen, so will I. Zen is very direct. Zen is not flow, Zen is Action. Dao is flow. Zen pushes. Zen moves. Zen makes things happen. The chief goal of Zen is clarity of mind. Clarity is required in two different instances in the beginner’s mind. One type of beginner is mundane and his or her mind is cluttered with stray thoughts. Zen teaches the mediator to silence these thoughts and achieve mindful harmony with one’s mind. Another type of beginner is a psychic novice whose mind is cluttered with channeled information. Sometimes the mind of the novice is so cluttered with psychic traffic that he or she cannot even sleep. In the Zen Dojo there is a bare room with a comfortable floor mat and a comfortable room temperature. The Zen novice begins his or her training by learning to meditate. Sometimes a novice will learn to meditate with a mantra. A good Christian mantra that I started out with is: “Your ways O Lord make known to me, teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour and I wait for you all of the Day.” Another is, “Being.” Another is, “God, please guide me to Satori” (enlightenment). Another is, “Wisdom.” And so on.

The use of the mantra helps to focus one’s spiritual energy and one’s mind on the transcendent. It also acts to block out stray thoughts or channeled information. The Dojo instructer carries a stick with him which he taps on the shoulder of the novice to make sure that he or she is maintaining attention and is not falling asleep or into a deep trance state indicating channeling behaviour. As one become proficient in meditation, another Zen technique can be developed. First the initiate must learn to find his or her own mind in his or her own imagination. You must be able to visualize your own mind. You must also be able to feel your own mind. When this is done, you then need to develop an internal “block” or mental weapon which is used to force stray thoughts or channeled thoughts out of the mind. You learn to do this first by finding a thought in your mind, focus on it, be attentive to it, and then consciously follow it. Often this process will result in the thought disappearing. When this happens, you keep your mind clear and wait and see it another stray thought occurs. Then repeat the process of attention, and so forth. The last stage of Zen is that of a martial art. It is said that no one can harm you unless he or she first patterns that physical move on the Astral Plane. While Zen practitioners are to take vows of physical non-violence, and only fight physically as a matter of self-defense, this does not apply to the mental-spiritual world. Here, psychic warfare is common place. I someone enters your mind without permission, you must attack that person in your imagination or the Astral Plane, or risk extinction as a human being. A Zen Master is able to manifest and use Weapons on the Astral Plane and in the imagination.