Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on February 1, 2002.
When it comes time to make a crucial decision in our lives, it is already too late. Commitment to how we live and where we want to take our lives must be determined in our hearts long beforehand, so that when the critical moment comes, we know exactly what to do and can act spontaneously and immediately without any hesitation. This may sound a little impetuous and rash, but this is how the samurai lived long ago. Maybe we can't live like this today because we calculate and speculate on everything we do. In old Japanese, this is called akinai konjo (商い根性) or "business spirit.” Merchants in feudal Japan in opposition to the samurai ethic used to say, "I will only bow my head to pick up a penny.” We live like this today. We are very clever nowadays in measuring profit and loss in everything we do. We have become so clever and smart, but perhaps, just a little too crafty? In the dojo, when a student is called or when one's name is called in any instance, one immediately says, "hai!" in a good strong voice. At least this is how it used to be in most dojos, and this is an important practice here in my dojo.
When the "hai!" is strong and immediate without hesitation, the sensei can sense a "spiritual" or "mental" connection with the student. This is called ishin-denshin (以心伝心) or “minds which are attuned to one another.” Sometimes there is a slight delay - just the very slightest delay. Immediately, the sensei can sense the "calculating" mind of the student. In everything in the dojo, an important but often neglected aspect of training is to maintain this mental connection with the teacher and to be constantly in tune and connected and aware. Once the student can understand how to make this connection naturally and spontaneously, then they can naturally make this connection with everyone and everything around them in the world. This connection can only come about through a strong sense of awareness which we must determine in our heads from the very beginning because when we need it, it is already too late.
To accomplish this when we continually determine in our own minds and hearts to be constantly aware and on the ball. Without this strong commitment and direction in our heads, we will always be a little slow and always, always a little slow on the draw.
There is a purity in the actions of a warrior, and this is where their greatness lies. The awareness and connection that we make with others, this strong sense of commitment and determination that we create within ourselves is what brings us to this idea of purity.