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In the Japanese martial arts, several terms are used for the mental attitude of practitioners. All contain the character 心 (shin), which means both “heart” and “mind”. Four of them are regarded as especially fundamental: Shoshin, Mushin, Zanshin and Fudōshin.
Shoshin (初心) – beginner’s mind
Shoshin is made up of sho (初, “beginning”) and shin (心, “mind”). It means an open, unprejudiced attitude towards learning, even with great experience. The term is associated with Zen Buddhism and is already attested in the Nō playwright Zeami (1424) in the admonition “Shoshin wasuru bekarazu” (“Never forget the beginner’s mind”). It became known in the West through Shunryū Suzuki’s book Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (1970): “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.”
Mushin (無心) – the mind without fixation
Mushin literally means “no-mind” or “mind without mind” (Chinese wúxīn) and is a short form of mushin no shin. The term comes from Chan/Zen literature and is also found in the Daoist Zhuangzi. It does not mean the complete absence of thoughts but the absence of clinging and brooding: the body reacts spontaneously, without anger, fear or ego disturbing the action. The Zen monk Takuan Sōhō (1573–1645), in his letters to swordsmen, contrasted the “mind with intention” (ushin, 有心) with the “mind without intention” (mushin).
Zanshin (残心) – the remaining mind
Zanshin means “remaining mind”: alert, relaxed attention before, during and after an action. In Kyūdō it refers to the posture after releasing the arrow, in Kendō to the mental and physical readiness that persists after an attack. In karate, Zanshin stands for complete awareness of the surroundings and of possible further opponents, combined with readiness to react. In Kendō, Zanshin is considered an essential part of a good attack.
Fudōshin (不動心) – the immovable mind
Fudōshin (“immovable mind”) describes equanimity and steadfastness. The image comes from Fudō Myōō (不動明王), a protective deity of Shingon Buddhism who holds a sword in the right hand (to cut through delusion) and a rope in the left (to bind the passions). In the Fudōchi Shinmyōroku (不動智神妙録, “record of the mysterious immovable wisdom”, a letter to the sword master Yagyū Munenori), Takuan Sōhō interpreted “immovable” not as standing still: the mind clings to nothing – neither to the opponent nor to its own sword – and can therefore move freely in every direction.
How the terms connect
The four terms describe different sides of the same attitude: Shoshin keeps one open to learning, Mushin and Fudōshin describe freedom from fixation in the moment of action, Zanshin the lasting alertness afterwards. The terms come mostly from swordsmanship and Zen and were later carried over to karate; their interpretation varies by school and author.
Connection to training
- Shoshin: even advanced students repeat basic techniques (Kihon) with the attention of beginners.
- Zanshin: at the end of a technique or kata, gaze, posture and tension are maintained instead of relaxing or switching off immediately.
- Mushin and Fudōshin: in kumite and kata the point is not to get stuck on individual attacks, successes or mistakes.
- The meditation (Mokusō) at the beginning and end of class (see Opening and closing of class) trains the calm, collected attitude.
Sources
- Dōgen: Shōbōgenzō, Buch 2 und 4. Übersetzt von Gudo Nishijima und Chodo Cross. Windbell Publications 1996/1999, S. 103 bzw. S. 31.
- Zeami: Performance Notes. Übersetzt von Tom Hare. Columbia University Press, New York 2008, S. 467, ISBN 978-0-231-13958-8.
- Shunryū Suzuki: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Weatherhill, New York/Tokio 1970.
- Daisetz T. Suzuki: Manual of Zen Buddhism. S. 80 (mushin no shin).
- Livia Knaul: The Habit of Perfection. A Summary of Fukunaga Mitsuji’s Studies on the Chuang-tzu Tradition. Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 1, 1985, S. 71–85, doi:10.3406/asie.1985.860.
- Tadashi Nishihira: The Philosophy of No-Mind. Experience without Self. Bloomsbury Academic, London 2022, S. 114–119, ISBN 978-1-350-23304-1.
- Kenneth Kushner: One Arrow, One Life. Zen, Archery, Enlightenment. Tuttle, Boston 2000, S. 73.
- Hideharu Onuma, Dan und Jackie DeProspero: Kyudo. The Essence and Practice of Japanese Archery. Kodansha International, Tokio 1993, S. 84–85.
- Kevin Healy: Karate. Connections Book Publishing 2002, S. 21.
- H. E. Davey: Japanese Yoga. The Way of Dynamic Meditation. Berkeley 2006, ISBN 1-880656-60-4.
- further reading: Wikipedia, article “Fudōshin” (on Fudō Myōō)
- Takuan Sōhō: The Unfettered Mind. Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master. Übersetzt von William Scott Wilson. Kodansha International, Tokio 1986 (enthält das Fudōchi Shinmyōroku).
- Einleitung zu Takuan Sōhō, Schriften über Zen und Schwertkunst (PDF, Terebess)