The concept of "mushin" or no-mindedness (mushin no shin, mind of no mind) is familiar to any westerner who has some acquaintance with the martial arts. It is seen in beautiful kanji on many dojo walls. Intellectually, it is an easy concept. The martial arts practitioner is admonished to be completely in the moment, to set aside other mundane concerns and to concentrate completely on the martial transmission from master to student. It is a deceptively simple concept, seemingly finite but, in fact, marvelously expansive in application.
In my own training, I have come to understand the critical impact that the application of "mushin" has. In any combative sequence there must be fluidity of movement with moments of prescience. The mind must flow from instant to instant, not stopping to formulate, or the ephemeral connection between combatants will be broken. The mind must be free to move in the void; if it stops for a moment on the weapon I wield, then I am at that instant mastered by my own sword and the result of the conflict will surely result in my destruction. If the mind is stopped in technique instead of allowed to flow in the moment of battle, then I am mastered by technique and my intentions are revealed to the opponent.
Spiritually, I see the concept of "mushin" echoed in the divine Word, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6:34
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