It is essential that a practitioner of an art, especially a mortal art such as swordsmanship, attain a level of consciousness that will require arrogance, not presumption, to enable the raising of oneself above a previous level of accomplishment that appears impossible to transcend. Why this is a requirement for self-enlightenment becomes apparent when looking around and observing the work being done by others in the same discipline struggling to get past one hurdle or another while suffering serious confusion and frustration along the way. Desire based on sincerity of intent must become ego-driven, and at that point it is important to understand personal goals in attempts to overcome self-imposed limitations or those considered universal. The Creative Power of the Universe insists that this be acknowledged in a seeker of higher accomplishment, but it also forewarns against being a braggart and ridiculing the very same authority that is being consciously directed into the mind. It is necessary to understand that the faith OF the desired intent be accepted into the psyche as well as having faith in the desire itself and its outcome.
Presumption is based upon something known or believed to be true and suggests an inability to completely trust in the desire being produced, not understanding the need for the discipline to express itself as its own perfection. Presumption would insist and more than likely demand that the seeker assume responsibility for the actuality of the quest to follow in specific sequence. This debilitating behavior creates disharmony with the surrounding circumstances and leads to an inability to actualize the very same desire. In its finality, the seeker is left at an impasse without knowing what the original intent was and ends up losing control of the desire to manifest in its own reality.
An example is that of the sword master or acolyte; both are the same, though of different consciousnesses at any stage of personal development. In the reality of a mortal conflict, irrespective of functional ability, the inclusion of an understanding of the need to survive any conflict is to do so with expedience; otherwise, it would be stupid to engage in a confrontation. Combatants must “know” they will prevail, unless they have a hidden desire to lose; they must also have a thorough understanding of arrogance in a pure form that will permit them to ascend to higher levels of efficiency. This arrogance must be based on knowingness that comes from the desire to be, not to become, a master—regardless of devotion to and time in training.
In the beginning of training, in any art form or discipline, a desire to be the very best must be evident in a person’s own mind. Other attitudes, such as a sentient desire to practice for the sake of mere practice are valid, but they restrict the essence of the art from manifesting into a physical reality based on winning. Yes, swords can be turned into plowshares, but that is an Edenesque notion and hardly functions in the hardcore finite world. As well, a blasé attitude does not permit the art from revealing its own true nature; it is also being restricted by ambivalence. If you practice the sword, it must be practiced for its intended use. Later on it can be used as a device for meditation, but not until the parameters of its reality are correctly understood by a student.
There are those among the elite proponents of an art who develop that art to the next step in its evolution. This is the intent of art and can only be attained by those who are willing to sacrifice acceptance by others in their own desire to see over the heads of the previous generations. This does not mean that previous generations are inadequate. It means that having arrived to the point of transcendence of the past, the present will indicate the future of a quest if it is taken for its own value. It is the same understanding realized by Musashi when he suddenly began to use two swords rather than the accepted form of one sword in combat. This does not mean that ancient traditions should be cast aside. Without those traditions, the current ability to overcome the limitations of the past would hardly exist. To fully understand the need to overcome limitation, one must become arrogant in the idea that they, themselves, are the progenitors of the next step in the evolution of anything. At the point of awareness of attainment, the presumption of perfection must be loosened to enable the discover of something to probe the reality of the discovery and to maintain an attitude of being competent and self-assured that the discovery will not create foolish behavior causing an inappropriate end result.
Once ascended to a higher reality, masters of anything become students again to empower themselves to become proficient in the understanding and usage of the newly acquired skills. In the same manner, someone who first begins to study a discipline must think of themselves as having attained mastery. Then, as they continue to visualize themselves as masters, the actual requirements of the desire will take hold in the consciousness and reveal each next step. This becomes enlightenment, and enlightenment is a continuously ongoing process. The student must arrogantly assume that he or she will take the new revealization and, with true humility, become one with it.
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