Budo (武道), as many Japanese - English dictionaries will show you, translates to martial art. This is a generalization of the term.
Let's look at this
eruditely. If we say
budo as martial art, it may not be entirely correct. The word for art is actually
gei (芸) as in
geisha (芸者). A
geisha is an artist. A
bugeisha (武芸者) is a martial artist.
Some will then say, martial art in Japanese is
bujutsu (武術). Jutsu (術) actually translates to technique, sometimes calling it strategy. So,
bujutsu could translate to martial techniques or martial strategy.
Then maybe,
budo does not necessarily translate to martial art.
Let's look at the
kanji do (道). The
kanji is depicted as a person walking on a road. The
do of
budo, read
michi when standing alone, means: road, path, or way. Therefore a more accurate translation of
budo is
the martial way.
Then again, the martial way may not be entirely accurate either.
Let's look at the
kanji bu (武).
Bu actually translates to military affairs or martial. The
kanji is a compund of two other
kanji:
hoko (矛) which means
halberd and
ashi (足)
which means foot. The kanji depicts a soldier/foot-soldier carrying a
halberd, this in turn depicts military acts or martial. This is the
accepted translation of
bu.
Now let's look at it another way. The
ashi part in
bu actually resembles
tome (止), which means to stop. Then the
kanji could also depict stopping/pacifying the halberd. This translation is more in a philosophical and/or spiritual sense.
Now we could see
budo as the way of pacifying the halberd, or
the way of non-aggression.
How could this be?
Budo's centuries of history is written in blood. The warring periods of Japan (
sengoku jidai - 戦国時代) is just to name a few. Some people would think this as another spiritual
budo bullshism. How could you be non-aggressive in a world where to kill or be killed is a way of life?
This concept would be very hard to accept and not easy to explain. I
could only explain it as the spirit of your battle. Is it out of anger?
Is it out of hate? Is it out of greed? Hate, anger, and greed, these
are not a part of
budo.
Budo has the following values, known as the 7 pillars of
budo, which are depicted in the 7 pleats of the traditional
hakama (袴) - 5 in the front and 2 in the back:
- Yuuki (勇気): courage, valor, bravery
- Jin (仁): humanity, charity, benevolence
- Gi (義): justice, righteousness, integrity
- Rei (礼): etiquette, courtesy, civility (also means bow/obeisance)
- Makoto (誠 or 真): sincerity, honesty, reality
- Chuugi (忠義): loyalty, fidelity, devotion
- Meiyo (名誉): honor, credit, glory; also reputation, dignity, prestige
You cannot have one without the other, these pillars are the very foundation of
budo. When a
budoka (武道家), a
budo
practitioner, decided to engage his/her attacker, he/she is motivated
by these pillars. As a reminder, this might not be the reality in this
world, but this is the idealism that the
budoka live by, the codes that the
samurai (侍) live by.
So what does this have to do with the way of non-aggression? If you look at the idealism of
budo,
there is no martial, military, or aggression. A samurai cuts down his
attacker not out of anger and not because he wants to kill either. Then
for what? The idealism of budo could be seen in the movie "
The Last Samurai". I will not discuss the movie here, because simply it will be too long.
The
budoka has no enemy, he does not go around looking for fights. The
budoka
should revere the very aspects of life and protect it. When attacked
one could always choose non-engagement, but this does not mean one will
just stand there and get cut down. One will not just protect one's own life but more importantly
the lives of loved ones and will willingly gives up one's own life for them.
One of the higher aspect of
budo,
is not to take the life or even hurt the attacker, but to pacify the
attacker's will to fight. One could do this through techniques. If the
attacker will not give in and he remains a deadly threat, the last
resort may be to end his life. The highest aspect of
budo
is that the fight will be ended without even drawing out the sword,
ended without fighting. The battle ends even before it starts.
Even with the ability to pacify an attacker, whether it is using
martial techniques, cunning strategy, or otherwise, it is not enough
to defeat the greatest enemy of a
budoka, which is oneself.
The greatest battle will be against oneself.
True victory is victory over oneself (
masakatsu agatsu - 正勝吾勝)
