nerfherder
Active Member
2. mi-ni tanoshimi o takumazu
Tokitsu: Do not seek pleasure for its own sake
Wilson: Do not scheme for physical pleasure.
Mi: "the body" "oneself"
Tanoshimi: "pleasure" "enjoyment"
Takumazu: negative form of the verb takumu, which means "to elaborate, look for a good means"
On the face of it, this particular precept is an absolute negation of the idea of Indulgence. Indulgence (as opposed to compulsion) is the idea of a joyous celebration of the senses; choosing to enjoy good food, good drink, good company, whatever we would engage in, in full awareness and consciously present in the moment, what brings us joy.
While I was actively training in Hapkido, I wrote the following:
Some level of self-discipline is required to make the mental shift to "every minute training" (as my instructor likes to suggest).
Yet for me, class time, stretch time, practice time is something where I experience feelings that go beyond merely pleasant. Enjoy it? It's reaching the level of a passion for me. Am I seeking pleasure for its own sake as I train? I am not seeking pleasure, but the seeking, the finding, and sometimes the not-finding give me a joy that goes beyond merely "pleasant."
Tokitsu mentions the views of others who consider Musashi's extreme pronouncements on this as masochistic in nature. Who is renouncing pleasure? I certainly am not. A good many pleasant things are pleasant - but do not give me the sheer cutting joy of training. Am I eventually going to end up focusing on that which is essential? Is that the inevitable outcome of this Work I find myself doing?
This in the author's notes caught my eye: "There is old age in youth, death in life, hatred in love, separation in meeting, bitterness in pleasure, and so on."
I don't have a way to explain the gut feeling there, but is it approaching an understanding of the inside-out spinning circle of our own creation, destruction and recreation of the Self?
Tokitsu: Do not seek pleasure for its own sake
Wilson: Do not scheme for physical pleasure.
Mi: "the body" "oneself"
Tanoshimi: "pleasure" "enjoyment"
Takumazu: negative form of the verb takumu, which means "to elaborate, look for a good means"
On the face of it, this particular precept is an absolute negation of the idea of Indulgence. Indulgence (as opposed to compulsion) is the idea of a joyous celebration of the senses; choosing to enjoy good food, good drink, good company, whatever we would engage in, in full awareness and consciously present in the moment, what brings us joy.
While I was actively training in Hapkido, I wrote the following:
Some level of self-discipline is required to make the mental shift to "every minute training" (as my instructor likes to suggest).
Yet for me, class time, stretch time, practice time is something where I experience feelings that go beyond merely pleasant. Enjoy it? It's reaching the level of a passion for me. Am I seeking pleasure for its own sake as I train? I am not seeking pleasure, but the seeking, the finding, and sometimes the not-finding give me a joy that goes beyond merely "pleasant."
Tokitsu mentions the views of others who consider Musashi's extreme pronouncements on this as masochistic in nature. Who is renouncing pleasure? I certainly am not. A good many pleasant things are pleasant - but do not give me the sheer cutting joy of training. Am I eventually going to end up focusing on that which is essential? Is that the inevitable outcome of this Work I find myself doing?
This in the author's notes caught my eye: "There is old age in youth, death in life, hatred in love, separation in meeting, bitterness in pleasure, and so on."
I don't have a way to explain the gut feeling there, but is it approaching an understanding of the inside-out spinning circle of our own creation, destruction and recreation of the Self?