The mind must be set free
心は放たん事を要す
This is the sixth in a series of posts to examine Shotokan’s niju kun, Gichin Funakoshi’s list of 20 guiding principles for karate.
The sixth principle is:
心は放たん事を要す
In Romaji:
Kokoro wa hanatan koto o yōsu.
In terms of an English translation, this one is all over the place: Wikipedia translates this as:
The heart must be set free.
John Teramoto’s translation of Genwa Nakasone’s interpretation has:
The mind must be set free.
Mario McKenna’s translation of the same passage reads:
Respond with an unfettered mind.
And the SIKF translates it as:
Always be ready to release your mind.
So is it “mind” or “heart”? Likewise, the last two translations imply this is something you need to be ready to do in response to something else, as opposed to something you just do all the time. Which is it?
As before, let’s start by examining the original text. If we were to look at this sentence through an English lens, it’d look something like this:
- “心” is the subject.
- “放たん” is the verb.
- “事を” is acting as an adverb, indicating this is to be taken “as a rule.”
- “要す” is the auxiliary verb (describing the “mood” of the main verb).
(The astute reader will notice that we’ve run out of characters and there’s nothing left to imply the “respond with” or “always be ready to” sentiments of the last two translations, so I’m inclined to just let those go. 🤷)
We’ve seen “心” before in our treatment of the fifth precept. It means “heart”, “mind”, “intention”, or “core”. Absent any context, “heart” is the usual translation, but in the context of martial arts it tends to have more of a “mind” feel to it, at least in the West. Whether you realize it or not, you’ve probably seen it before, because this character can be read both “kokoro” and “shin”, as in:
- 水の心 “Mizu no kokoro” - Meaning “mind like water”
- 初心 “Shoshin” - Meaning “beginner’s mind”
- 無心 “Mushin” - Meaning “no mind” or “empty mind”
I’ve never heard any of those translated with “heart” instead of “mind.” Have you? I mean, I suppose they could be, but to western ears “mind” fits better.
Moving on, the verb (放たん) is pretty clear. It means to “let go” or “release” something. A more poetic translation might be to “set (something) free.”
That just leaves the “要す” part. It would be easy to translate this as “need to” and be done, but I think it’s important to differentiate between the nuances of “need to”, “have to”, and “should.”
- “Have to” implies an arbitrary social obligation.
e.g. I have to pay my taxes (because the law says so). - “Need to” implies a necessity absent social constraints.
e.g. I need to breathe (or I’ll die). - “Should” implies a potentially unwelcome recommendation.
e.g. I should do my homework (but I’d prefer not to).
With that understanding, when Funakoshi tells us that our mind needs to be set free. It’s not because it’s a good recommendation, and it’s not just because he’s telling us to. It’s because it’s necessary. But … necessary for what? Because Funakoshi was, first and foremost, a teacher, I think he’s saying it’s necessary for learning.
Nakasone’s interpretation (in both translations) talks about Shau Yong’s principle of letting go of conscious thought, and contrasts this with Mencius’s advice to “seek out the divided mind.” He explains that it’s best to keep your mind focused early on. Then, later, as your skill increases, continued learning requires letting go of conscious thought.
That sounds pretty deep, but let me put that another way:
- Early on, it’s important to focus on your training. If your mind starts to wander, you need to bring it back.
- Later, as you get more advanced, the goal is to get so good that your mind can wander without affecting your performance.
Most of us already do this without thinking about it. It’s only when we don’t that we need someone to point out that we’re not doing it so we can move forward. Let me explain …
When I first learned to drive, there was a lot on my mind: Gas pedal, brake, clutch, gearshift, steering wheel, turn signals, etc. Thoughts of when and how to use each one were rattling around in my brain and often getting in each other’s way. Now, after several decades of driving, I’m no longer conscious of what my limbs are doing. I’ve “freed my mind.”
Karate is the same way. We all know (or have been) the beginner who gets paralyzed by thinking too much, beats himself up about mistakes, or just needs to “Think less! Do more!” When teaching a new kata, I often see students’ eyes rolling back in their heads, using effort (and time) to think about the next move before they actually do it.
| White Belt Thinking | Black Belt Thinking |
|---|---|
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This isn’t just a physical thing. We do it in mental pursuits, too. A programmer writing a function, a mathematician invoking a theorem, and a lawyer citing a precedent are all just ways of “internalizing” part of the work so you don’t have to consciously think about every little step every time.
Perhaps the best example of this is learning a new language. The process of hearing, and understanding, a message in the new language goes something like this:
are you at
this language?"} B --> |Just learning| Z("Translate to native language") --> Y("Understanding") B --> |Fluent| Y
Once you’ve achieved fluency, you no longer have to translate everything you hear in the new language into your native language before understanding it. You just understand it.
But this ability to internalize knowledge and action is just the first layer of “emptiness.” As your karate journey progresses, you’ll learn to do all of the following without conscious thought:
- Individual techniques
- Transitions between techniques
- Selecting the proper technique to respond to a given attack
- Managing distance to, and orientation with, an opponent
- Choosing a starting strategy for an opponent with given characteristics
- etc.
That’s all well and good when it comes to doing karate, but there’s also value in freeing the mind when it comes to compartmentalizing the practice of karate, which brings to mind something else many of us do do before and after class: Mokuso (黙想). Literally, “mokuso” means to “silence the thoughts.”
One of the things I enjoy most about karate training is that nothing outside the dojo matters during training time. I may talk about politics, religion, work, money, or any number of other worries outside class but, once we bow in, those things are gone. In a sense, I “free my mind” of everything that’s not karate until we bow out again.
So I think the best translation of this one is:
Free your mind.
When you get to class, free your mind of everything but karate. In training,Sara practice each thing until you can do it without conscious thought, freeing your mind to work on the next thing, and then the next, etc.
