Are we using words with freight? Robert Aitken spent his entire chapter on jnana describing how language has lost its power. He writes, “All words and phrases were intimate with experience but many have lost their intimacy, which is to say they have lost their meaning.…
Jnana is healing knowledge. While learning about this tenth and final paramita, the word knowledge is regularly used to translate it. The reason so many Western writers use other translations (like awakened awareness) is because for us, knowledge is so riddled with complications. Knowledge can be…
Zanshin is total and complete awareness. You could say it is the martial arts equivalent of jnana, awakened awareness, because it is a way of being that permeates everything. When we translate it literally, it means something like “remaining mind.” Not ‘remaining’ like whatever is left…
Awakened awareness is like communion with the universal mind. That’s what Lama Surya Das says. I was thinking about that today when I was reading about the distinctions between Western and Eastern mindsets. In the West, we hold individuality to be so important. We can’t fathom…
Awareness embodies wisdom. But they are not the same thing. Lama Surya Das puts it this way: Wisdom is everything. Awakened awareness realizes this. In other words, awakened awareness is what allows wisdom to be embodied in a holistic way. Wisdom becomes being. Another way of…
The ninja do not use weapons. They use tools. The word “weapon” is destructive. It emphasizes violence. The word “tool” is constructive. It emphasizes harmony, because tools are only useful in the context of a bigger goal or project. Using the word tool instead of weapon…
Awakened awareness is like a radiant pearl. It is found naturally. It comes into existence through both time and trial. And those who know its worth most fully rest in its beauty most completely. The pearl of awareness resides within us all. Many of us do…
June marks the final month of the Paramita Project! This month, I’ll be practicing and pondering jnana, which can be translated as awakened awareness. What a beautiful note on which to end this symphony of spiritual practices, yes?! Lama Surya Das says, “Jnana paramita is simply…
There is a technique named tobutori no kurai. This means ‘the dignity of flying birds.’ With this method you can make the enemy follow you as you wish but only by fortifying your body and mind. It is like a hawk flying high up in the…
Are you worthy of spiritual power? Over the course of this month as I’ve practiced and pondered bala, I recognize that so much of spiritual power is related to our dedication to the practice. (This feels very much in line with core Soul Ninja wisdom, that virtues…
