Gojo 悟宝

Soke has given us the physical and spiritual methods to form a life with no form, but with the brightness of light to guide us and help those around us.

Through the teachings of the Gyokko Ryu, we have been given training in the oldest forms of budo. These forms are know as the Godai no Gogyo no kata and we are told that from training in these forms,we can come to understand the essence of  the martial arts.

 With all martial arts, philosophy is integral for the martial artist to develop fully as a complete person. This is the reason for the Gojo.

Soke over the last few years has mentioned in his classes and written publications, the five precepts denoting the ” correct path of a man “.

The word Gojo, literally means “honored writings.” For people in the various Nichiren Schools this title is given to the written works of The Great Sage Nichiren (Daishonin means great sage) whom most of us regard as the founder of a unique stream of Buddhism. Unlike many religious founders, hundreds of these endure as originals or as copies in the archives of the various schools. His disciples collected and catalogued them, treasured them and copied them. These Gojo came to be treasured to this day by both his original disciples and us later day disciples, as much for their wisdom and common sense about day to day and religious matters as for their doctrinal value. The “Great Sage” Nichiren was truly a unique individual. And for that reason his writings are worth reading and understanding even by people who aren’t practicing a Buddhism connected with his teaching. Far more so by those of us who find his teachings worth following.

The Religious Law is always the same. It is based on the Gokai or Gojo,  the five commandments of Buddhism, which correspond to the well-known five principles of Confucianism jin, gi, rei, chi, shin . It adapts itself to the various circumstances of human life.

Its presence in a man may be known by his observance of the King’s Law.

礼Rei:- Courtesy
義Gi:- Truth and Justice	智Chi:- Wisdom
仁Jin:- Love and Sympathy	信Shin:- Faith
The above shows the Chinese characters from the sho or shodo (calligraphy) on the tenegui with the Japanese pronunciation and in English, their Confucian meanings.
The Combination of the characters 仁 義 礼 智 信 (Jin-Gi-Rei-Chi-Shin) is called Gojo in the Japanese pronunciation. Gojo represents the five ethics which should be kept by a human being in Confucianism. The Tokugawa Shogunate adopted Confucianism as an official ideology. Gojo therefore became a samurai’s ethics standard. These are also the five values represented by the five pleats in the front of a hakama.

 

The Gojo as written by Soke

 

Fumetsu no Fuse    滅の不施       Everlasting giving

Mamichi no Jikai      真道の持戒　 Vow of the true way

Shizen no Ninniku     自然の忍にく     Natural resolve

Shizen no Choetsu       自然の超越        Transcendance of nature

Komyo no Satori       光明の悟り　　Illumination of the awakening

  I was once told a story by Nagato Shihan about Fumetsu no Fuse.

There was once a monk who was proud of his ability to fulfill the goal of being able to selflessly give endlessly.

Hearing this, a man approached him and said,” I’d like your ear please.”

The monk looked at him, then cut of his ear, and gave it to him.

The man took it and when he turned to walk away, he threw it into the bushes!

  These precepts are given to aid those in developing a balanced life. If ( like anything ) you develop in an unbalanced way, then you loose the capacity to discern right from wrong and live in society harmoniously with the self and others.

Developing in a balanced manner also allows you to see the truth and falseness that lies everywhere around us. It also  minimises the chance of being manipulated.

 

I believe the words of Takamatsu sensei say the same:

“Wood, fire, soil, metal, water and spring, summer, fall, winter cannot exist without the earth. The five elemental manifestations and the four seasons balance the earth in the same manner as heaven is balanced by truth.

If a person is honest, virtuous and faithful, he is walking on “the path of heaven”. When he goes with the path of heaven, he is following the will of heaven. This is the mind and eyes of god. Therefore,a ninja has to be a sensible and righteous person. Ninjutsu methods of perseverance can also be understood as methods of perception. A ninja is always calm and never surprised by any situation.”

Bufu Ikkan