“Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye.” - Miyamoto Musashi
A true warrior wields discernment. In Japanese, to be discerning is hijichoumoku (飛耳長目) which means to have “Open ears and sharp eyes.” However, discernment is more than being able to judge the difference between right and wrong or good and bad. True discernment is also being able to “see” the difference as well. When a person enters into a traditional apprenticeship their training is referred to as minarai (見習い) or “To watch and learn.” This style of learning is the same in Aikido and budo training - the teacher teaches and the student quietly observes. The teacher is supposed to teach more with their actions than with their words because the descriptiveness of words can accidentally lead a student astray. They say a picture is worth 1000 words, but quietly watching a master at work is worth 100 times that. By watching something over and over and doing it over and over, a student gets a sense or a feel of what is correct. Then without knowing it, the proper way of doing something becomes instilled into their bodies or becomes what we call in the west “second nature.” An admonishment a student in a traditional Japanese art often hears is “You need to learn how to see.” What that reprimand is alluding to is that the student needs to develop the power of observation where they are not only looking and pay attention, but also paying attention to the right thing. The other day, I went flying with a student and we landed at a local airport for lunch. After lunch, we went back into the airport through the same door that we left through but there was a lock on the door that needed a passcode. He turned to me and said, “What’s the code?” I answered correctly and as we walked through, he said, “You are the only person that I have taken here who saw that there was a code written on the door as we left.” I am not better than anyone else, I was just paying attention to the right thing at the right time. Training teaches us how to “see” the right thing at the right time so that we can do the right thing at the right time. That is why the true sword that a warrior wields is discernment.
Today’s goal: Pay attention to the smallest details in your life. It makes a difference.
Watch this video excerpt from the documentary Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed to better understand discernment.