In the desire to improve in kendo and free the mind from limiting thoughts, I enjoy the practice of developing the mind and heart. Here’s a compilation of some resources (below) in English on the subject of mushin-no-shin 無心の心 (the mind of no mind) or, in short, mushin 無心 (no mind) categorized by:
- Mushin in General:
- Books on Mushin – Openly Available On-line
- Additional Books on Mushin
- General Articles on Mushin
- Books on Mushin – Openly Available On-line
- Mushin for Particular Arts and Sports:
- Articles on Mushin in Kendo
- Articles on Mushin in Budo and Related Arts
- Articles on Mushin in Sports
- On Potential Ways to Shift into Mushin
- Quotes on Mushin
- Articles on Related Topics:
- Open Monitoring Meditation (OMM)
- “We are Not Our Thoughts”
Among them, the book entitled The Unfettered Mind (below) by the Zen Buddhist priest Takuan Soho seems particularly comprehensive and illuminating.
Float more. Steer less. – John H. Styn
Mushin in General
- Books on Mushin – Openly Available On-line
- Takuan Soho (沢庵 宗彭):
- The Unfettered Mind: Writings from a Zen Master to a Master Swordsman, Translated by William Scott Wilson, Shambhala, 2012.
- “Undisturbed Wisdom,” Translated by Dennis E. Lshka (PDF, 5 pages).
- Peter Haskel, Sword of Zen: Master Takuan and His Writings on Immovable Wisdom and the Sword Taie, Univ. of Hawai’i Press, 2012 (PDF, 33 pages).
- More resources on Takuan Soho.
- Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, D. Litt., Manual of Zen Buddhism, 1935, (PDF, 122 pages)
- The section on mushin is on PDF pp. 87-89 (hardcopy pages pp. 80-82) and in the context of letting go of mind-related attachments.
- Kusumoto Bunyu, An Introduction to Zen Words and Phrases, Tokyo: Daihorin-kaku Co., 1982. (久須本⽂雄, 禅語⼊門 Zengo Nyumon) (PDF, 449 pages)
- The section on mushin is on PDF pp. 54-58.
- Minoru Kiyota, Kendo: Philosphy, History and Means to Personal Growth, Shambhala, 2002 (Book).
- Takuan Soho (沢庵 宗彭):
- Additional Books on Mushin
- Joe Hyams, Zen in the Martial Arts, Bantam, 1982.
- The chapter “Mushin: Let Your Mind Flow” on pp. 81-88.
- Some more books which I have not read:
- Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, Christmas Humphreys, The Zen Doctrine of No Mind, 1991.
- Ernst Vaughn, Arnold and W. Dan Hausel, Mushin: A Right-Brain State of Awareness that is the Artist within the Martial Artist, 2015.
- Michael Veltri, The Mushin Way to Peak Performance: The Path to Productivity, Balance, and Success, Wiley, 2017.
- Manaka Unsui, Robert R. Gray, Kakusei-mushin: A Research Study on the Ideal Mental State in Martial Arts, 2017.
- Kanthrisa and Ramakrishna A V, Notes of Mushin, 2015.
- Joe Hyams, Zen in the Martial Arts, Bantam, 1982.
- General Articles on Mushin
- Charles Muller, in the Section “The Meaning of No-Thought” of the Article “Innate Enlightenment and No-thought: A Response to the Critical Buddhist Position on Zen,” Int’l Conf. on Sôn at Paekyang-sa, Kwangju, Korea, Aug. 1998.
- “Mushin”, Iaido-Aiki Toho Iaiai (PDF, 3 pages).
- Wendell E. Wilson, “Mushin and Zanshin,” MinRec.org, 2010 (PDF, 4 pages).
- “What is ‘Mushin’ Meditation and Why is it Important?” Japan Info, Jun 17, 2016.
- “No-Form, No thought, No Mind,” A Fettered Mind, April 16, 2012.
- Rahul Singh, “The State of No Thought,” LifeBeginner.com, Aug 5, 2016.
- Wikipedia: Mushin_(mental_state)
- Wikipedia: Flow (psychology)
Mushin for Particular Arts and Sports
- Articles on Mushin in Kendo
- Geoff Salmon, “Getting lost in the moment,” KendoInfo.net, May 2004.
- George McCall, “Pursuing the spirit of and modern kendo” (five-part series), kenshi247.net, 2011 (Sections 4 and 5 mention mushin).
- Hafiz, “Mushin,” KendoMushin.Blogspot.com, Jan 2008.
- “Mushin = Non-Abiding Mind = No Mind,” ShoshinRyu.org
- Articles on Mushin in Budo and Related Martial Arts
- “Mushin: The Mind without Mind,” Aikido-no-Sekai, Mar 23, 2014.
- Norm Robitza, “Mushin: Empty Mind,” Senshin: The Enlightened Mind, Nov 27, 2012.
- Richard L. Light, “Mushin and learning in and beyond budo,” Journal of Martial Arts Anthropology, 2014.
- Austin Ormonde, “Mushin – No Mind,” gojubudo.com, Jan 10, 2015.
- Articles on Mushin in Sports
On Potential Ways to Shift into Mushin
- Tim Rosanelli, “Two Easy Steps to Achieve a Mushin State of Mind,” Everyday Sensei, – Ancient Karate Secrets to Modern Success, Sept. 30, 2011.
- “Open-Focus, Mushin and Kendo,” KendoNotes.com, May 3, 2016.
- “‘Soft Eyes,’ A Way of Seeing and Being – Resources and Quotes,” KendoNotes.com, Dec. 21, 2018.
- “The Zen of No Mind (or How to Live Happily in the Present),” NeuroAlchemist.com, Mar 20, 2016.
- Acharya Shree Shankar, “How to Stop Thinking & Achieve No-Mind.”
- To help clarify the intent, there may be a potential typo in Paragraph 3, line 4 “Neither try
triesto stop…”
- To help clarify the intent, there may be a potential typo in Paragraph 3, line 4 “Neither try
Quotes on Mushin
- Quotes related to “Mushin” can be found in Quotes on Mushin, Flow and Open-Focus.
Articles on Related Topics:
- Open Monitoring Meditation (OMM)
- This approach to meditation (in contrast to that of Focused Attention Meditation) seems quite related to mushin.
- Articles on OMM can be found in “Ways to Meditate” under the “Articles” section of Resources on Meditation (黙想 mokusou).
- This approach to meditation (in contrast to that of Focused Attention Meditation) seems quite related to mushin.
- The “Gap” Between Thoughts
- Choiceless Awareness and Mindfulness
- This state of being seems quite related to mushin and is described in the sub-section “Beyond Thoughts and Feelings: Choice Awareness” in the section entitled “Mark Williams, John Teasdale,…” in Quotes on Meditation and Mindfulness – Related to Thoughts and Thinking.
- “We are Not Our Thoughts”
- Nancy Colier, “Why Our Thoughts Are Not Real – One physical world, but billions of different internal worlds.” Psychology Today, Aug, 23, 2013.
- Eckhart Tolle, “You Are Not Your Mind,” SoulFullLiving.com
- Heather Stone, “Look: You are Not Your Mind,” DrHeatherStone.com (PDF, 4 pages)
- Michael Jeffreys, “Want Peace? Stop Identifying with Your Thoughts,” Collective-Evolution, April 24, 2014.
- Ways of Paying Attention
- William Reed, “Concentration and the Martial Arts,” an Interview with Dr. Robert M. Nideffer (PDF, 10 pages). (On the very related topics of: broad vs. narrow and external vs. internal ways of paying attention and being “in the zone” or “choking under pressure”)
- Robert M. Nideffer, PhD, “Getting into the Optimal Performance State,” Enhanced-Performance.com (PDF, 20 pages)
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