Hijikata sipped on the glass of sake as he stared out the open window at the cherry blossom trees. They were currently in bloom, their pink and white petals cascading down to the ground. So achingly beautiful and so brief... Just like life.
Just like the Shinsengumi.
He threw the cup of sake against the wall with a growl as anger took hold of him like it never had before. Kondo, a man who had been his best friend and brother since they had been children, had been captured. Hijikata had tried for the last few weeks to negotiate his release, to no avail. His execution was going to happen as planned... Tomorrow.
They had wanted to be samurai. Both men had grown up poor and they shared a dream of becoming warriors and protecting the people. For a while, they had lived out that dream. Once they had been protectors of Kyoto. Now they had been betrayed and were considered traitors to their own country.
What was the point anymore?-
Each one of us is a prisoner... everyone's schedule tight, like the infamous white rabbit, in a hurry to get somewhere, but never reaching in time, everyone is busy running a rat race. Trapped inside the confines of our screens and cut off from the connections of the world by the blaring music on our headphones... The world sped by... I found myself caught up in the rapid current, becoming trapped in the same prison of a mechanical and lifeless existence..
Panic set in... Heart racing, it was tough to breathe.. the mind erupted into complete chaos.. It was too much to take in...I was losing myself....
Then... I remembered... Closed my eyes, took a Slow and deep breath... And Let go.. with each breath, the magic happened, and as I went deep within myself, witnessing as the shackles faded, the prison vanished, The illusion of success was shattered,the vivid hues of the mind created the path to knowing myself... Slow & steady, flowing with the gentle stream of consciousness... Leading to the form of true-eternal-bliss...-
As he went through the routine of his swordplay, his blows strong, but lacking precision, his hands shaking with the suppressed fury. His Mind agitated with Rage... And suddenly in middle of the chaos, he saw the image of his master clearly, manifesting from the gossamer stands of his memory...
"You lose, not because your sword skills are bad... You lose, because you get angry... You use your Anger against your opponent, trying to intimidate him, hoping to defeat him... But remember, You can't control the outcome of the battle if you're angry... You would be dead in less than a minute. Anger clouds your judgement .
Slow and deep breaths...flow through the movements, to match the breath,Visualise in your mind, the water of a lake settling down... Becoming still... untainted by ripples of emotions and thoughts...The point beyond rage, and even serenity ... That's it... Deeper into yourself... reach the state of awareness called "no mind"... Become one with that nothingness...That is where you must fight from... That's what it means to be a Samurai, to seek a stillnes of mind, That my boy is Bushido!"
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As the sun rose over the horizon, his breath misted in the cold breeze as he breathed evenly, muscles flexing and rippling, as he flawlessly moved through the postures, practicing his swordsmanship.
His eyes, focused on the path that the tip of his sword was tracing. Whistling and swishing through the air. Cutting down numerous foes in an imaginary battle. His speed and grace, only a few could match.
The coiling tension of the battle within him dissipated, as he let go of the wandering mind, slipping into a state of consciousness that couldn't be explained in mere words.
The warrior, the sword, the postures, the cold, the breath, the enemy, the mind... Everything merged. And then there was no warrior, no sword, deeper and deeper into a state of "no mind"...
Serenity...
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If you cannot accept your Losses,
Then you are NOT WORTHY of your Victories .
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