Practice for the sake of practice

修験道、剣道、柔道、茶道、書道。

Shugendo, the path to mastery through ascetic training, Kendo, the way of the sword, Judo, the way of passivity, Sado, the way of tea, Shodo, the way of the brush. The ancient Japanese were wise in that they realised this type of pursuit is a path that you take, with goals along the way, but with no succinct goal in mind.

Once you understand this, you understand that your aim in doing things shouldn't be to reach a certain goal, but to do things for the sake of doing them. Practice for the sake of practice. It's that simple. Well, there is a slight caveat. It's not about just doing it for fun, it's about doing it with the intent to be better than yesterday.

What that means depends very much on the practitioner, which is the beauty of it. This means you don't compare yourself with others, one of the biggest pitfalls there are.

ENJOYED THIS? HAVE MORE.

MOUNTAINS OF WISDOM

Subscribe to my yamabushi newsletter

RECENT BLOG POSTS

Kumomi: The Next Japanese Sensation
black camera recorder
‘Foreigner in a Suit’ and The Beginner’s Mind
Hand holding chopsticks drawing, vintage
Why we eat what we eat at Obon

YAMABUSHI BLOG POSTS

person hiding behind a tree trunk
When things don’t go your way
young troubled woman using laptop at home
Doing you a favour
Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi at Yamadera in Yamagata Prefecture
The Litmus Test

RANDOM POSTS

people inside room
That’s my escape
Avoid the imperative
Win some, lose some
Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi

Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi

Get In Touch

Sakata City, Yamagata, Japan 

tim@timbunting.com

Share this:

Like this:

Like Loading...
Scroll to Top