Free The Way Of The Sword by Chris Bradford

cross-legged, in his usual position on the raised dais at the rear of the Buddha Hall, his hands gently folded in his lap. Trails of incense weaved a curtain of smoke around him and mingled with his grey spiderweb of a beard, making him appear ghost-like, as if the slightest breeze could blow him away.
    The students, also sitting in the half-lotus position, studied the squares of paper laid out before them like large snowflakes.
    ‘Paper, Sensei,’ scoffed Nobu from the back of the class, grinning at Kazuki for approval. But Kazuki just shook his head in disbelief at his friend’s idiocy.
    ‘Never assume the obvious is true, Nobu-kun,’ said Sensei Yamada. ‘That’s what it is, but it’s much more than that. What else is it?’
    Nobu fell silent under Sensei Yamada’s glare. The sensei may have been an old man, but Jack knew he’d been
sohei
, one of the notoriously fearsome warrior monks of Enryakuji, once the most powerful Buddhist monastery in Japan. It was rumoured the fighting spirit of these monks had been so strong, they could kill a man without even touching him.
    Sensei Yamada clapped his hands and called,
‘Mokuso!’
signalling the start of the class’s meditation. The
koan
had been set: ‘It is paper, but what else is it?’
    Jack settled himself on his
zabuton
cushion in preparation for his
zazen
meditation. Half closing his eyes, he slowed his breathing and let his mind empty.
    As a Christian, Jack had never encountered meditation, or even Buddhism, prior to his arrival in Japan. At first he had found the process and concepts difficult to grasp. He questioned whether, as a Christian, he should be accepting them so readily, but three things had helped him change his mind.
    First, when he had raised the conflict of faith with Sensei Yamada, the monk had explained to him that Buddhism was a philosophy open to all religions. This was why the Japanese had no issues with following Shintoism – their native religion – practising Buddhism, and even converting to Christianity, at the same time.
    ‘They’re all strands of the same rug,’ Sensei Yamada had said, ‘only different colours.’
    Second, Jack had discovered that meditation was quite similar to the act of praying. Both required focus, peaceful surroundings and, usually, reflections upon life and how it should be led. So Jack decided he would think of meditation as simply another form of praying to God.
    Third, during a particularly deep meditation, he had experienced the vision of a butterfly overcoming a demon and this vision had helped him win his
taijutsu
fight in the
Taryu-Jiai
contest.
    This had been the proof that encouraged Jack to open his mind to the possibilities and benefits of Buddhism, even if he remained a Christian at heart.
    Through daily practice he had become adept at meditation, and in no time at all his mind was focused on the piece of paper before him, trying to unravel the mystery of the
koan
. Even though no answer was immediately forthcoming, he wasn’t worried. He knew enlightenment,
satori
as Sensei Yamada called it, took patience and intense concentration.
    Yet, whichever way he looked at the paper, it was still merely a sheet of paper.

    A whole stick of incense had burnt through by the time Sensei Yamada called a halt to the meditation, and Jack was no closer to experiencing
satori
.
    ‘Mokuso yame!’
said the sensei, clapping his hands once more. ‘So, do you have an answer for me, Nobu-kun?’
    ‘No, Sensei,’ mumbled Nobu, bowing his head in shame.
    ‘Anyone else?’ invited the sensei.
    Kiku raised her hand tentatively. ‘Is it
kozo
, Sensei?’
    ‘What makes you say that?’
    ‘The paper is made from the fibres of the
kozo
tree,’ explained Kiku.
    ‘A fair suggestion, but you are still thinking too literally. How about if I do this?’
    Sensei Yamada picked up his paper and folded it several times. Initially shaping it into a smaller square, he then bent the sheet in increasingly intricate folds.