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Resolve
Normally it is fundamental for people to focus exclusively on social norms, but when the time comes it is impossible to gain victory unless you abandon thoughts drawn by lords, parents, wives, and children, forgetting yourself with the attitude that there is no rival facing you and no public behind you.

Of course, the training of resolve must begin with not being afraid of powerful opponents. For example, when you’re surrounded by blazing fire, there’s no way out; to summon resolve at such a time, you think you can’t get out so you might as well die trying to cross the fire. When you leap over that blazing fire, there’s one chance in a thousand you’ll make it out. If you face a powerful opponent like this, you realize that even if you won’t be able to inflict the slightest cut, it would not be an act of courage to stretch out your neck to be beheaded. Even if he is a master, if you determine that you’ll at least cut off one of his arms even if you get your head cut off, in the spirit of leaping over a raging fire even if you die in the attempt, you will not easily be defeated no matter how powerful your enemy is.

Once when a servant of a certain master of the One Sword school was summoned by another distinguished personage, toward whom he’d committed a discourtesy, the sword master called his servant to him and said, “You were discourteous to so-and-so, and now he’s asked me to turn you over to him. I’m sorry, but I have no choice but to send you to him. No doubt my sword and you can go away if you kill me. Otherwise he’ll kill you.”

The servant said, “What can someone like me, with no skill at all, do to a famous person like you, master? Please excuse me.”

The master said, “I’ve never faced someone who’s gone berserk before. It’ll serve as a test. So since you’re a dead man anyway, I’m taking you on as an opponent for a test. Fight with all your might!”

The servant said, “Well, then, I’ll have to take you on.” Then when they dueled, the master unexpectedly retreated and was ultimately driven back to a wall. When he saw he was in danger, he shouted and cut his servant down in one fell swoop.

Turning to his disciples, who were watching, he said, “Well, now-going berserk is scary stuff! You shouldn’t do things like this for no good reason. If even a menial without skills is like this, how much the more so someone with first-class training-if he were to fight berserk, no one could stand up to him.”

The disciples asked, “When you were pressed, were you really pressed, or were you feigning retreat?”

The master said, “I was really pressed. His blade was sharp, and I backed up without planning to.”

The disciples also asked, “When you shouted and cut him down, did you kill him because there was an opening?”

The master said, ‘There was no opening whatsoever, but the kill was subtle.”

The subtlety does not come from one’s own mind, it is the subtlety of the imperturbable mind.

Even a world-class master was stymied this way by an unskilled menial. Even someone with no skills can do this when he throws his life away.

Anyway, a warrior has to be brave. Reflecting on this, you should train your resolve, beginning with having no fear of opponents; in such a state you’d even leap over a blazing fire. Then a true state of resolve should naturally come about.

This does not, however, mean you should become aggressive. It’s a matter of getting rid of timidity and solidifying courage.

If you battle without bravery of any sense of resolve, you’ll slash and stab at random in fear of your opponent, losing your presence of mind, confused like someone who’s lost his way in the mountains; you won’t win once in a hundred battles.

Now, when there’s raging fire on all sides and you’re in the middle of it, there’s no way out. At such a time an ordinary person would weep and wail and lose control and go crazy, and therefore would die before the fire even got to him. So it is with inexpert martial artists when they’re going to duel. That’s why they can’t win.

Real resolve is when, in the midst of fire raging all around, you realize there’s no way out, and you sit there calmly, as if you were having a smoke of tobacco, considering it a reminder of the imminence of death; abandoning yourself, you compose your mind and face your adversary forgetful of the opponent before you and forgetful of yourself, just leaving it all up to subtlety. This is absolute resolve.

Kenshin said, “Fate is in heaven, armor is on the chest, accomplishment is in the feet; always fight with your opponent in the palm of your hand, and you won’t get wounded. If you fight willing to die, you’ll survive; if you fight trying to survive, you’ll die. If you think you’ll never go home again, you will; if you hope to make it back, you won’t. While it is not incorrect to consider the world uncertain, as a warrior one should not think of it as uncertain but as totally certain.”

You should reflect on resolve in these terms, Smoking tobacco in the midst of a fire refers to self-abandonment. When perfected, this self-abandonment becomes the imperturbable mind. The imperturbable mind is the secret of warfare.

Demonic Difficulties
There are greater and lesser demons. The greater demons are inner demons, the lesser demons are outer demons. The difficulties caused by greater demons are not demons but are in ourselves. When we’re arrogant, we look down on others; when we treat others contemptuously, incidents occur, are these not great demons that come from ourselves? One who neither fears great opponents nor is contemptuous of lesser opponents is a master.

Lesser demons are devils. Difficulties caused by devils are rare, and even if they exist, as external demons they come from outside, so if you have no vulnerability there’s nothing to fear.

Also, even if you are troubled by devils, the trouble is because of your own conceit, so the ego is called the great demon. Since inner demons draw out external devils, all of it comes from one’s own conceit.

The interference of the great demon exists within, so it is never apart from one’s person. Because the great demon comes from the self, it is not visible yet causes trouble all the time. Realizing this, one should never forget the admonition of sages that troubles caused by the gods may be avoided but troubles you cause yourself cannot be escaped.

Even famous commanders and distinguished heroes of the past may have overcome external demons yet were prone to personal destruction, loss of their domains, and disgrace of their names because of this diabolical king of inner demons. Consider the cases of men like Minamoto Yoshitsune and Nitta Yoshisada. So inferior people like us in these latter days should be a million times more wary against the interference of this great demon.

Two Wheels, Two Wings
Generally speaking, the keys to martial arts are three, practical, theoretical, and psychological.

The practical element is learning the forms and techniques taught by teachers, hardening the body, mastering maneuvers, learning how to strike, stab, parry, and press.

The theoretical element consists of the principles of victory and defeat. These lessons generally teach mastery of calm as a matter of principle. In addition, the forms and techniques that teachers transmit each have a principle. Comprehending them is called theory.

The psychological element is mastery of calm. Mastery of calm is the imperturbable mind.

These elements are likened to a chariot, or a bird in flight. Practice and theory are like the two wheels or two wings, while the mind is like the axle or the body of the bird. If you master practice but don’t know principles, you’re like a chariot missing a wheel or a bird missing a wing. A chariot cannot run with a wheel missing, a bird cannot fly with a wing missing. If you master practice but don’t know principles, even if you win it’s not real victory but weakness on the part of your adversary.

Now then, even if you know principles, if you don’t practice in action you cannot maneuver freely. It’s like a disabled man getting into a fight; he can say what he may, but he can’t put up any resistance.

So it is that practice and principle are like two wheels or two wings. When a chariot has two wheels it can run, when a bird has two wings it can fly. But mind is the axle of the chariot, the body of the bird. Without the axle, the chariot cannot move; without its body, a bird cannot fly. Only when the axle is there are the two wheels complete; only with the body are the two wings complete.

Therefore the imperturbable mind is fundamental. When the mind is disturbed, you cannot perform actions or act on principles, because of the way you’re affected. To win victory by performing actions and understanding principles is in the imperturbable mind alone. Whoever studies martial arts should cultivate action, principle, and mind to master the secrets of arms.