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Monday, April 11, 2005
The Fighting Hero - The Appeal of the Martial Arts
The Fighting Hero The Appeal of the Martial Arts Jason Lo 1995 The Fighting Hero - The Appeal of the Martial Arts Throughout the evolution of life, the use of superior physical power has allowed continued survival in all the habitats of this world. Humans, and our various hominid ancestors, although not the most physically imposing animals, are notorious in their capacity for effective violence and ingenious means of battle. The need for warfare arose through the intense competition for food, both hunted and cultivated, between band and village tribes, and escalated to strategic warfare, once large civilizations appeared. The Epic of Gilgamesh, written in Mesopotamia in 1800 BC, describes the use of spears, bow and arrows, axes and swords, and by that time, all the weapons of war had been invented, bar the eminently more lethal discovery of gunpowder, in 800 BC by Chinese alchemists, and the explosive weapons which this discovery led to. The distinctions which exist between an exponent of war and a martial artist are not readily definable, as both can be the other: a martial artist can be involved in war, and consequently, that particular practitioner can be regarded as an exponent of war. Warfare is a combative event or struggle against a chosen opponent, using groups of combatants, or individuals, as a result of conflict, involving the use of force. The martial arts differ because they are not events that one takes a part in, but a form, or forms, of physical exercise, which would enable the exponent to neutralize an attack, to protect, should combat occur, the basic principle of martial arts. For a trained martial artist to become involved in an act of war, would be a contradiction of a fundamental philosophical rule the martial arts embody, namely, the avoidance of physical conflict. There exists, though, a paradox in this way of thought, in situations dependent on ethics where the individual should make a careful decision based on the foreseen outcome of any action taken. The Mahãyãna, the Buddhist Canonical texts, teach on the subject of ethics, that should a dilemma arise, involving morals, or karma, then the path of least evil should be taken, a process known as the use of ‘skilful means.’ One example provided in the Mahãyãna describes how a Brahmin convert to Buddhism, travelling with a caravan of traders, encounters a friend, who is a scout for a 500 strong gang of bandits, who seek to attack such parties. The bandit warns the friend so he can save himself, but the Buddhist promptly kills him (T. 156 vol 3 161b-162a). He reasons that if he revealed the bandit to the traders, they would kill him, and they would carry the karmic responsibility for his death. If he didn’t warn them, the scout would return with the bandits, and the traders would surely be doomed. The Buddhist, therefore, takes the path which is the lesser of three evils, and accepts the responsibility for his action. This act can be described as protection, the fundamental philosophy behind the martial arts. Another well documented example is offered in the book, ‘The Way of the Warrior,’ based on the research for the BBC series of the same name, (1)“The Emperor T’ai Tsung (Li Shih-Min) of the T’ang dynasty endowed the (Shaolin) temple with the right to train a force of fighting monk-soldiers. He asked for help from the temple when he was in danger, and thirteen monks went to his assistance. The incident was recorded on a tablet that can still be seen at the temple today.” This is an extreme example, as the subjects were devout Buddhist monks, and believe that acts of violence must have a greater purpose that would be benevolent to counterweigh the karmic imbalance that would be produced. (2)“The grateful Emperor attempted to persuade the thirteen to accept official posts at court, but they replied that their fighting arts were to protect the Temple and to keep the monks healthy: ‘Since the world is now peaceful we will return to our monastery, but if society needs us we will go into battle again.’” The skills of protection, of neutralisation, can so easily be used to initiate attack. Mankind’s tendency towards violence cannot be explained exclusively as innate or biological. Irwin S. Bernstein, and associates, from the Yerkes Primate Research Center, says, (3)“With the elaboration of the cerebral cortex in the primate, hormonal influences on behaviour are not lost, but may be superceded.” If this is the case in primates, then, in the highly advanced mind of the human, it is even more so. Anthropologist, Dr. Marvin Harris, on the subject of testosterone controlling the violence in man, (4)“I am not saying that testosterone has no influence on aggressive behaviour. There is a positive feedback between the two, but it is weak and there are many factors that can override, distort or suppress that relationship.” In view of these researched opinions, the credibility of the theory, that acts of violence are caused by environment and previous experience, or a person’s upbringing, holds more weight. The necessity of developing a non-violent attitude to compliment the potentially violent physical actions of the martial arts is important. There is a degree of understanding which the individual will come to realise on their own, during practised, controlled ‘mock-fighting ,’ when blows received generate pain, and, therefore, respect for such powerful actions. However, the discipline and ethics must be enforced. In a piece entitled ‘Shao Lin Chuan Fa’ (Shaolin Boxing), specific guidelines are provided, attributed to Chueh Yüan, a Ming dynasty monk, which follow closely the traditional Confucian ethics, (5)“1. A student must practice without interruption. 2. Boxing must be only used for legitimate self defence. 3. Courtesy and prudence must be shown all teachers and elders. 4. A student must be forever kind, honest and friendly to all his colleagues. 5. In travelling, a boxer should refrain from showing his art to the common people to the extent of refusing challenges. 6. A boxer must never be bellicose. 7. Wine and meat must never be tasted. 8. Sexual desire cannot be permitted. 9. Boxing should not be taught rashly to non-Buddhists., lest it produce harm. It can only be transmitted to one who is gentle and merciful. 10. A boxer must eschew aggressiveness, greed and boasting.” So, due to the misuse of their skills and an ignorance of the ethics, there exists a possibility of a practitioner using their physical abilities to initiate an act of conflict, or, in the extreme, to take another’s life. Roger Andersen, a sociologist’s definition of power, (6)“is the production of intended effects,” and is applicable to the skills of the martial artist, and, therefore, these skills can be designated as a form of power. Everyone in the world, at the onset of adolescence, has the physical ability to take another’s life. This terrifying, but true, fact creates a basic equality amongst humans, and the upset of this equality, be it greater physical size, or comparatively advanced weaponry, can create distrust, unease or fear within others. The martial practices, the expertise of disabling another using the mechanics of the body, are an example of a factor which can disturb this ‘equality,’ and can, therefore, create discomfort in those who recognize it, but indifference in those who don’t. This may not be entirely true of today’s societies, but is certainly true of societies in their previous feudal incarnations. This ‘power’ is not to be mistaken for a form of prestige, but the manner in which it can be used conforms to a certain ideal: that of the hero, which in turn, affords respect and higher status. Thorsten Veblen notes about prestige, (7)“With the exception of the instinct for self-preservation, the propensity for emulation (of the leisure class) is probably the strongest and most alert and persistent of the economic motives.” This theory applies to ‘material’ prestige, and can only exist in societies aware of a leisure class. In those few tribes that still separate themselves from the technologically advanced society we stubbornly call ‘The World,’ for example the !Kung tribes of the Kalahari, whose people belittle themselves to state an overall equality, there exists no higher social class. However, even in such isolated cultures, there exists the symbol of the hero figure, however rudimentary. Joseph Campbell, in his examination of the Hero in ancient myths and fairy tales, provides a definition of the hero as, (8)“The hero is the man of self-achieved submission,” and then continues by posing the question of submission to what? The initial answer is submission to the cosmogonic round, the universal cycle of life and death. The hero, then, is someone aware of the eternal process of birth, death and rebirth of physical matter, parallel to the never ending spirit, and understands and complies to the restrictions of the body, but is able to use the limitless powers of the divine state. Campbell declares that the myths of the world are a means of explaining, or making valid, the cycle of life and death. Such is the mythical hero’s influence, he is able to traverse the material world to the divine, the spiritual, and become a bridge for those unable, as yet, to cross the boundary on their own. Campbell, (9)“The hero, therefore, is the man or woman who has been able to battle past his personal and historical limitations to the generally valid, normally human forms.” “The hero has died as a modern man; but as eternal man - perfected, unspecific, universal man - he is reborn. His second solemn task and deed, therefore, is to return to us, transfigured, and teach the lesson he has learned of life renewed.” How, then, does the mythical hero relate to real man? The modern hero is often typified by the screen stars’ portrayal, locked within their own universe, never transcending to awareness of the macro cosmos. This is the ‘anti-hero,’ who does not possess the character traits, or proceed upon the journey, of the hero, but unwittingly, provides us with clues to begin the journey ourselves. There are two ways that this is achieved. The first, the spiral towards death and dismemberment of the spirit, wallowing in the tragedy of the cycle’s end, through the catharsis, purging of the emotions, thereby passing to the observer the realization of the end of the cyclic universe. The second, often more familiar, is of continuation, fulfilled immortality, reaching past the conclusion of the circle of life, alias, ‘happy ever after.’ Through observing these depictions of life, we relate them to our own lives. (10)“Too well we know what bitterness of failure, loss, disillusionment, and ironic unfulfillment galls the blood of even the envied of the world!” says Campbell, and so it is that we see how inconsequential our own problems may seem, compared with such tragedy, and we can begin to perceive the futility of striving for physical immortality, of suffering, and, learn to accept the culmination of the cycle. (11)“The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read, not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man,” states Campbell. ‘Happy ever after,’ alludes to the existence of eternity, but is not, as is often perceived , immortality of the material. It is not the opposite to the message a tragedy projects, but is the compliment to it. In Campbell’s words, (12)“Tragedy is the shattering of forms (of reality); comedy, the wild and careless, inexhaustible joy of life invincible.” Together, they embody the effects of the monomyth, the path of the hero and it’s conclusion. The question, then, is does the fighting hero possess the characteristics of the mythical hero? This rather depends upon which society the fighting hero originates. It is speculated, due to insubstantial evidence, that the forms of exercise we today call the Martial Arts, were originally developed in Asia* and and became immersed in the local religions and philosophies, to the extent of practical forms arising from the ethics, rules and guidelines of the relevant philosophies. Many of the martial arts, both of a long lost era and of today, attribute their origins to the Song Shan Shaolin Temple in today’s Ho Nan Province, China, where it is said, during the sixth century AD, Bodhidharma, the twenty eighth patriarch of Buddhism, visited, and introduced Ch’an, or Zen, Buddhism, which involved long periods of passive meditation. He also introduced a series of breathing techniques and physical exercises, for the monks to withstand the rigours of their spartan but enduring religious life. There is little known about the enigmatic monk Bodhidharma, and his history is open to speculation. His indirect relationship to the Buddha, whom Joseph Campbell provides in his analysis as an example of the mythical hero, stimulates the idea that Dharma himself could be considered a hero figure, and, subsequently, his descendant monks, too. That Bodhidharma existed rests on an eye-witness account, by Yang Hsuan-chih, a citizen of Lo-yang (Ho Nan), who describes the monk climbing to the great Yung Ning Temple with Lo-yang’s Prefect, (13)“....at the time also there was the Sramana of the Western lands, Bodhidharma, who was basically a Hon of Po-sseur (Persia). Before the marvels of the temple he said he was 150 years old, that he had traversed in all directions many and different kingdoms and there was not the equal of this temple for beauty.” The possibility of Bodhidharma being 150 years old is remote, and the more plausible explanation is that he was talking in riddles, a practice much favoured by scholars of all ages. French orientalist, Paul Pelliot, declares that the phrase, ‘basically a Hon of Po-sseur,’ means an ‘Indian with blue-green eyes,’ from Persia, because of his light skin colour. In the north-west of India, there are fair-skinned, blue eyed Indians, often of the higher caste members of society, whose exotic looks were distinct from the darker skinned castes. This is supported by the high position of state Dharma held and provides a convincing sign that he possessed martial skills. In India, one of the oldest, original combat arts is still practised as it was thousands of years ago, Kalaripayit. Reid and Croucher indicate that the art could be several millennia old, (14)“From prehistoric times India has had an entire class whose function was to wage war. The ‘Kshãtriyas,’ traditionally the military and the ruling class, supported their king in his quarrels with neighbours. As members of a warrior class they had the time to practise, and they were exactly the kind of men who would be ingenious in their thinking about fighting. A warrior class would also keep a fighting tradition alive for as long as it lasted.” It is likely that the founder of Buddhism, Prince Gautauma Sakyamuni Siddhartha, also knew the martial skills, due to his royal status. An ancient parable of India, ‘Prince Five Weapons and the Sticky Hair ogre,’ thought to be the earliest version of the Tar-Baby story, in which the Prince’s five weapons become stuck in the ogre’s hair, and so has to use his sixth weapon, his weapon of Knowledge to defeat the ogre. Although incredible, and highly symbolic, the story is said to be of a previous incarnation of the Future Buddha. This is far from concrete evidence that Prince Sakyamuni was a skilled fighter, but, in the story’s beginning, the Prince Five Weapons is returning to his father’s city, after completing his military studies under a world-renowned teacher, from whom he received his five weapons, and thus gives further proof that the nobility would have extensive knowledge of combat skills. Whether these skills werre at all passed on to the followers of Buddhism is uncertain and perhaps unlikely, but reinforces the possibility that a high caste member of society, such as Bodhidharma, could have possessed such skills. The skills of combat are not a necessary part of the mythical hero’s repertoire, although many of them are capable fighters in order to overcome the dangers that they encounter. Other similarities can be drawn between the fighting monk and the mythical hero. They share an ‘enlightened’ consciousness of the universe, an understanding of the cosmogonic cycle. They act without ego or thought of ‘self,’ and they do so for the greater good of the ‘universe.’ However, though both possess these essential hero characteristics, they may not necessarily follow the same path or journey, but comparisons can be drawn. Joseph Campbell summarises the adventure of the mythical hero as thus, (15)“The mythological hero, setting forth from his commonday hut or castle, is lured, carried away, or else voluntarily proceeds, to the threshold of adventure. There he encounters a shadow presence that guards the passage. The hero may defeat or conciliate this power and go alive into the kingdom of the dark (brother-battle, dragon-battle; offering, charm), or be slain by the opponent and descend to death (dismemberment, crucifixion). Beyond the threshold, then, the hero journeys through a world of unfamiliar yet strangely intimate forces, some of which severely threaten him (tests), some of which give him magical aid (helpers). When he arrives at the nadir of the mythological round, he undergoes a supreme ordeal and gains his reward. The triumph may be represented as the hero’s sexual union with the goddess-mother of the world (sacred marriage), his recognition by the father-creator (father-atonement), his own divinization (apotheosis), or again - if the powers have remained unfriendly to him - his theft of the boon he came to gain (bride-theft, fire-theft); intrinsically it is an expansion of the consciousness and therewith of being (illumination, transfiguration, freedom). The final work is that of the return. If the powers have blessed the hero, he now sets forth under their protection (emissary); if not, he flees and is pursued (transformation flight, obstacle flight). At the return threshold the transcendental powers must remain behind; the hero re-emerges from the kingdom of dread (return, resurrection). The boon that he brings restores the world (elixir).” The Shaolin monk does not follow such a path fraught with dangers and offering material reward, although one aspect does relate to the monk’s life, that of apotheosis. The Buddhist lives life following the Buddha’s footsteps to ascend the levels of awareness and enlightenment, perhaps, eventually, to attain Buddhahood, but does not actively seek to do so, as this would be materialism. The Shaolin monk, then, is not a man who purposely gains the skills of the fighter in the hope of a pressing need for his services, thereby gaining him good karma, and escalating his status amongst his fellow monks, in the hope of achieving Buddhahood. That would be a contradiction of the hero’s characteristics, to act in the interest of self. The self-less hero: the very ground of such a one is worshipped by the grateful world he saves. To accept such worship would be vanity, and the true hero would not, as in the example before involving the thirteen monks, and furthermore increasing the respect for the hero. Respect, prestige, status, power: this is where the appeal of the martial arts lies. As mentioned before, the martial arts are a form of power, and power that can be used to prevent harm to others. To do so, perhaps to avert a mugging, or death, would be termed heroic, according to the dictionary definition. Does this imply that the rescuer is a hero? He is certainly to be admired for his courage and bravery, but that does not constitute the entirety of heroism, although that is based on the definition of the mythical hero. Nonetheless, this ‘hero’ has committed a presumably self-less deed, and this invokes the essence of the hero. He is accorded with respect from his community, and his standing, therein, rises: he has increased status. It is the motive behind the heroic deed which can distinguish the hero and the ‘hero-aspirant,’ but the difference is vague. Earlier, it has been explained that the martial arts are a form of protection using the physics of the body, which are learnt to prevent acts of violence, that in moments leading to physical conflict, the practitioner is able to neutralize an attack with least harm to any party. If this is the incentive of the practitioner, then, in the process of wishing to be confronted with a situation, whereby, in the event of a victorious intervention, would cause the rescuer to be showered with praise and respect, the practitioner is committing the act for reasons of self, to boost ego; the practitioner, then, is no more than a ‘hero-aspirant.’ Marvin Harris provides a possible explanation for the ‘need for prestige.’ (16)“Personality differences decree that some humans crave affection more than others (a truism that applies to all our needs and drives). It seems likely, therefore, that headmen and mumis (leaders among equals) are individuals who have an especially strong desire for approval (presumably as a result of a mix of childhood experience and heredity). In addition to possessing outstanding organizational, oratorical, and rhetorical skills, egalitarian leaders come to the fore as individuals who have a large appetite for praise, a reward that others happily supply in return for basketfuls of delicacies and a safer, healthier, and more exciting existence.” Harris makes the distinction that with the evolution of ranks in structured societies, (17)“retention of wealth and concentration of power mingle with continued expectations of approval and support.” If his theory of a nature-nurture need for prestige is correct, then that would contend with the former theory of the hero-aspirant, and thus redeem the practitioner from the status of hero-aspirant, if, indeed, the craving for respect is not a conscious one. The definition of the hero has to be refined to suit the modern example. The craving for hero-prestige, the need to be able to protect, to have the potential to ‘do,’ which may or may not be intentional, is perhaps an initial incentive to learn the martial arts. This is not the only reason, for logic suggests that some people study to promote fitness, some to learn control of the body, others, as a means of venting aggression, and others still, to learn discipline of thought, to adjust the mental attitude. These do not relate to the theory behind the hero, and are perhaps peripheral to the hero-appeal of the fighting arts. The appeal of the martial arts owes a lot to the image of the hero often projected from media such as the film industry, not only of the martial hero, but of the gun-toting heroes of recent popularity. Unable to live as the heroes of the screen, they bow to their instinct to emulate. To don the appearance, to possess the characteristics of the hero, ergo, is to be the hero, ergo, is to have attained the status of the hero. Referring to Thorstein Veblen’s answer to the craving of prestige, that the need for emulation is strong in societies with a leisure class, an amendment should be added, in that even in societies without a leisure class, there will exist a hero-class, which is similarly emulated, and with as much dedication. At this point, it must be made clear that, although hero-emulation/hero appeal is an incentive to learn the martial arts, this incentive is replaced with a need to further self, both physically and mentally. The constant practice of moves and techniques develops the mind and body, until the need to emulate is lost, or atrophies. The practitioner becomes confident in his/her abilities, becomes confident in the use of the body, which incites confidence in the mind. Thus, the need to identify with a hero figure is replaced by the need, or the achieving, of self-identification. Here, the mythical hero can again step in, for the process of self-identification is fundamental to the discovery, the realization of the cosmogonic round. Campbell recognises the need for psychoanalysis to further the study of the myths, (18)“The bold and truly epoch making writings of the psychoanalysts are indispensable to the student of mythology; for whatever may be thought of the detailed and sometimes contradictory interpretations of specific cases and problems, Freud, Jung, and their followers have demonstrated irrefutably that the logic, the heroes and the deeds of the myth survive into modern times. In the absence of an effective general mythology, each of us has his private, unrecognised, rudimentary, yet secretly potent pantheon of dream.” The Martial Artist, then, can be regarded as a Fighting Hero, or, at least, the potential to be. By learning the qualities, or skills necessary for the practitioner to successfully negotiate an adventure, or solve a problem, then that practitioner has the capacity to become a hero, however slight the added status, no matter how small an achievement. This is the appeal of the Fighting Hero, the ability to do good in the face of conflict, the potential to help another. The Fighting Hero-aspirant is the potential hero, for the path that the hero aspirant takes in the martial arts, leads to the ‘rank’ of the potential hero, the hero-in-waiting. Quotations (1) Howard Reid & Michael Croucher The Way of the Warrior, p61 (2) ibid, p62 (3)Marvin Harris, quoting Irwin S. Berstein Our Kind, p265 (4) ibid, p265 (5) Stewart McFarlane Fighting Boddhisattvas and Inner Warriors, Buddhism and the Martial Arts, p7 (6) Roger Andersen The Power and the Word (7) Marvin Harris Our Kind, p367 quoting Thorstein Veblen Theory of the Leisure Class (8) Joseph Campbell The Hero with a Thousand Faces, p16 (9) ibid, p19 (10) ibid, p27 (11) ibid, p28 (12) ibid, p28 (13) Howard Reid & Michael Croucher The Way of the Warrior, p26 (14) ibid, p37 (15) Joseph Campbell The Hero with a Thousand Faces, p245 (16) Marvin Harris Our Kind, p366 (17) ibid, p366 (18) Joseph Campbell The Hero with aThousand Faces, p4 Bibliography Joseph Campbell The Hero with a Thousand Faces 1988 Paladin an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 77-85 Fulham Palace Road Hammersmith London W6 8JB Roger Andersen The Power and the Word Paldin 1988 address as above Marvin Harris Our Kind 1990, Harper Perennial address as above Howard Reid & Michael Croucher The Way of the Warrior 1983, Century Hutchinson Limited Brookmount House 62-65 Chandos Place London WC2N 4NW Stewart McFarlane Fighting Bodhisattvas and Inner Warriors. Buddhism and the Martial Traditions of China and Japan unpublished paper from Lancaster University, Dept of Religious Studies Stewart McFarlane Body and Mind in the Martial Arts Unpublished paper as above |
