Self Development through Swordsmanship: A Look at the Spiritual Aspects of the Art of Swordsmanship in Zen Buddhism

This article tends to pinpoint one of the most fundamental aspects of the distinction between Eastern and Western arts, focusing on swordsmanship, one of the extremely significant Zen arts in Japan which not only enjoys a high social stance in Japan, but also displays key points of the Eastern art. The role of mind in swordsmanship as well as its ultimate goal has been illustrated in this article, using the invaluable works of Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki,who, in addition to being among the best researchers of Zen, is also the one who introduced Zen to the West. The path the seeker is to follow in Zen eventually leads to the highly significant point of self - control, concentrating on his Self and making effort to achieve the state of " inadvertence"; the samurai swordsman also follows the path to perfection and transcendence.