Yamaoka Tesshu (1836-1888) was a lay Zen master famous for, among other things, his statement that swordsmanship, Zen Buddhism, and calligraphy were identical in that they aspired to a state he described as "no-mind."
His study of kenjutsu (i.e. kendo), begun at the age of 9, resulted in the style of combat now known as "no-sword," where the samurai (to which class Tesshu belonged) realizes that there is no enemy, and that a purity of style is all that is necessary. Or, as Alex Bennett has phrased it in his introduction: "The sword changed from a weapon of destruction into a tool for spiritual emancipation through ascetic training."
Likewise, zazen is not about spiritual aspiration, and calligraphy is not, primarily, about communication. "No-mind" describes a desired lack of cogitation. Things are done for themselves. Zen understanding, the brush of calligraphy, the flash of the sword are manifestations, uncontrolled, eventually intuitive.
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