The Bansenshukai, the primary ninja manual, begins with not one but two books about the importance of correct mind. The first book shares this excerpt from The Great Learning in Confucianism:
If your mind is not present in the ‘here,’ you cannot see even if you look, you cannot hear if you listen, or you cannot taste if you eat.
In other words, without a correct mind, you miss out on everything.
A correct mind in this context means a mind that is present. That’s it. We can have that as our only takeaway and we would learn well.
If we want to delve deeper, the Bansenshukai explains that “here” means living into the principles of benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and fidelity. Another way of saying this is that we can describe correct mind as a mind of integrity. A virtuous mind. A wise mind. (This happens to be a perfect bridge between January’s paramita, meditation, and February’s paramita, wisdom.)
Benevolence means being charitable to everyone and everything. The Bansenshukai says someone without benevolence “should not be regarded as a human being.” That may sound harsh, but the point is to highlight that benevolence is an integral part of what it means to be human. We are made to care for one another.
Righteousness means doing things for a right cause, and for honorable leaders. The Bansenshukai warns that “you should not serve an unprincipled lord from the beginning.” It will only compromise your righteousness.
Loyalty is devoting yourself entirely to the right cause. The ideogram for loyalty can be translated as balanced mind, so loyalty isn’t meant to be blind or unquestioning. You are loyal precisely because you see the situation clearly, and you know the right thing to do.
Lastly, fidelity means holding onto what is true and not being led astray by what isn’t. It’s an aspect of correct mind because that kind of clarity only comes through practice. Fidelity holds benevolence, righteousness, and loyalty to what is true, and makes them possible.
I love this description of correct mind because it reminds us that meditation and practicing clarity of thought is a much bigger practice than getting a handle on our own internal noise-train. Correct mind allows us to see, hear, and taste truthfully and clearly. It allows us to live rightly in the world. It offers a path for us to become wise.
For the ninja, correct mind will always come first. Technique, trick, skill…these mean nothing unless the mind leading the body knows how to use them wisely.
How can you cultivate correct mind this week?
