Thanks for those, Carina. Thanks Bob - it was in the links - it was in the news recently. Thank you very much, Chris - I'm sure I've seen that in a movie!
Thanks, Ziv. No I don't know that name and I wonder if it's something to do with the translation. In Japanese that point is usually called mizu ochi or mizo ochi. In English we say solar plexus though, from latin - network of the sun.
Moon in the Water is about mushin - no mind. It comes from zen and swordsmanship. This is a passage about it from
Zen and Japanese Culture by D T Suzuki:
Quote:
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It is a state of mind known as munen or muso, no-thought or no-reflection. This does not mean to be without thoughts, ideas, feelings, etc., when you stand with the sword before the opponent. It means letting your natural faculties act in a consciousness free from thoughts, reflections or affections of any kind. This state of mind is also known as egolessness (muga or non-atman), in which you cherish no egoistic thoughts, no consciousness of your own attainments. The so-called spirit of sabi-shiori (solitariness), running through Saigyo or Basho, must also have come from the psychic state of egolessness. This is often likened to the lunar reflection in water. Neither the moon nor water has any preconceived idea of producing the incident designated by us as the moon in water. Water is in a state of no-mind-ness as much as the moon. But when there is a sheet of water, the moon is seen in it. The moon is but one, but its reflections are seen wherever there is water. When this is understood, your art is perfect.
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