Nakamura Tempu & Japanese Yoga

An Excerpt from Chapter Two: Introduction to Mind & Body Unification

2011-12-13T10:08:00.000-08:00

As human beings we seek freedom—political freedom, religious freedom, freedom from discrimination The free use of our minds and bodies—freedom of action in general—is an innate urge.

Each action we take is an act of self-expression. We often think of large-scale or important deeds as being indications of our real selves, but even how we sharpen a pencil can reveal something about our feelings at that moment. Do we sharpen the pencil carefully or nervously so that it doesn’t break? Do we bother to pay attention to what we’re doing? How do we sharpen the same pencil when we’re angry or in a hurry? Is it the same as when we’re calm or unhurried?

Even the smallest movement discloses something about the person executing the action because it is the personwho’s actually performing the deed. In other words, action doesn’t happen by itself, we make it happen, and in doing so we leave traces of ourselves on the activity. The mind and body are interrelated.

How do you feel when you’re unable to express yourself? Imagine you couldn’t speak or in some other way communicate. An extreme example perhaps, but how would it feel? In the same way that we suffer if we’re unable to express ourselves, we also languish when we cannot, for whatever reason, assert ourselves skillfully. Self-expression is natural, even inevitable, for all of us; and skilled, efficient self-expression goes beyond mere activity and enters the realm of art.

For instance, many of us realize that our handwriting tends to reflect our personalities or at least our state of mind at the moment we put pen to paper. However, when we become conscious of our handwriting as an act of self-expression, when we allow our creativity to flow through the brush or pen in a way that’s not only efficient but also coordinated and dexterous, we call what we’re doing calligraphy—the art of writing.

Just as writing can become calligraphy when it’s creatively, skillfully, and consciously performed, so can all other activities become art. In this case, we are reflecting upon life itself as an artistic statement—the art of living.

Nakamura Sensei and his Artwork

2011-12-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

2011-11-29T14:34:00.001-08:00

Every new day alive is a gift from the universe, but some people begin what could be their last day by complaining. This not only wastes the day, it weakens the subconscious mind.

Nakamura Tempu, founder of the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga & meditation

2011-11-26T07:42:00.000-08:00

We are never separate from the infinite and eternal life of the universe. Within this eternal process of existence is life and death. Regardless of whether we’re alive or dead, we are always part of this immense course of existence. Though we may change form between living and dying, we’re never separate from the endless process of life that is the universe.

Before we were born, we were in the womb of our mother. And before we were in her womb, we were in the life of our father. Before we were in our father's life, we were in the great life of the universe. From this point of view we can conclude death is nothing but a return to our original state. We could perhaps also say death is what changes our present life into a new life. We return to the infinite and eternal life of the universe when we die.

So our minds must transcend both birth and death, being attached to neither. In a way, this is to go beyond rejoicing in birth and lamenting death. Thus we should ask ourselves if there’s any real reason to fear death. We must never fear death without a reason.

Nakamura Tempu, founder of the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga & meditation

Free Japanese Yoga & Meditation Class!

2011-10-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, November 3 the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts will offer a free introductory class in the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation at 7 PM. The class will take place at 1053 San Pablo Ave. in Albany, California, right across the bay from San Francisco. You can read more about Japanese yoga at www.senninfoundation.com.

Wear loose clothing and bring a notebook. Preregistration is needed and easily accomplished. Just leave a voice mail at 510-526-7518. Give us your name and phone number, then indicate that you would like to participate in one or both classes. Let us know if anyone else is coming with you, and we'll see you on Thursday. Please arrive a few minutes early for general registration.

The classes will be taught by Troy Swenson Sensei, who has been studying and teaching at the Sennin Foundation Center for several years. Don't miss your chance to learn how Japanese yoga can help you realize better health, deeper calmness, and enhanced concentration in everyday life.

Japanese Yoga

2011-10-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

Shin-shin-toitsu-do is the form of Japanese yoga and meditation offered at the Sennin Foundation Center. Shin-shin-toitsu-do, "The Way of Mind and Body Unification," was founded in the early 1900s by Nakamura Tempu Sensei.

Nakamura Tempu & Japanese Yoga

Nakamura Sensei lived in India, where he studied the art of Raja yoga, the yoga of meditation. After studying medicine at Columbia University, he blended Indian meditation and health improvement with his background in medicine, psychology, Japanese healing arts and meditation, and Japanese martial arts. He taught for many years in Japan, authored best-selling books, and counted among his students a large number of Japan's top executives, politicians, fine artists, athletes, martial artists, and people from every walk of life. But few Westerners have yet been exposed to these extraordinary teachings.

A Dynamic Teacher of Mind/Body Unification

H. E. Davey Sensei, Director of the Sennin Foundation Center, has studied with several of Nakamura Sensei's top students, including Hashimoto Tetsuichi Sensei and Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei. Both teachers are Senior Advisors to the Sennin Foundation Center. Davey Sensei began studying Shin-shin-toitsu-do as a child. He is the award-winning author of the book Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation (Stone Bridge Press), which was featured in Yoga Journal in the U.S. and Tempu magazine in Japan. He's also a member of Tempu-Kai, the Japanese association that preserves the legacy of Nakamura Sensei.

Unique Methods to Improve Physical & Mental Health

Our Shin-shin-toitsu-do class offers you practical forms of seated and moving meditation, breathing methods for health, stretching exercises, autosuggestion for altering negative habits, stress management, and self-healing techniques that are little-known in the West. Emphasis is also placed on the development of ki (chi in Chinese). Ki amounts to life energy, and its cultivation has a profound effect on mental and physical health. You, like many of our students, may experience greatly enhanced concentration, willpower, calmness, relaxation, and physical fitness.
Make a positive and life-altering decision. Consider adding Shin-shin-toitsu-do to your life, and discover a way of living rooted in health, happiness, and harmony.

Testimonials from Japanese Yoga Experts

Visit www.senninfoundation.com for more information.

2011-10-07T23:23:00.000-07:00

"Do not think of work—any work—as a duty. If it is a duty it will become a burden. How do you turn a burden into a pleasure? Live respectfully, correctly, positively, and boldly."--Nakamura Tempu Sensei

The Sennin Foundation

2011-08-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

The Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts has been offering instruction in traditional Japanese arts under experienced, certified teachers since 1981. Established in California by H. E. Davey Sensei, it presents separate training in Japanese systems of yoga, healing arts, martial arts, and fine arts. Ongoing classes are available to people of all ages and levels of health, including classes for children ages five and up.

Members of the Sennin Foundation Center have access to the rich traditions of Japan's cultural arts through practice in the group's classical dojo (literally, "training hall of the Way"). Much more than simply a school or studio, an authentic dojo is a gateway into the timeless realm of Asian art and personal development, allowing members of the Sennin Foundation Center to realize vibrant well-being and longevity.

In fact, the word "Sennin" describes the ancient Japanese equivalent of a yogi. The Sennin were known for their high degree of enlightenment, splendid health, and according to some ancient myths, their ability to attain immortality. This same emphasis on spiritual realization and physical fitness is stressed by the Sennin Foundation, thus the use of the term Sennin.

Learn more about Japanese yoga and the Sennin Foundation at www.senninfoundation.com.

Change

2011-07-27T08:30:00.001-07:00

Always remember that the future comes one day at a time.
Dean Acheson

Nakamura Tempu Sensei

2011-07-14T15:25:00.000-07:00

Nakamura Tempu Sensei, founder of the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation. Shin-shin-toitsu-do = "The Way of Mind and Body Unification."

"Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation," is a book focused on the mind and body unification principles and exercises of Nakamura Tempu Sensei. New, signed copies of this book by H. E. Davey can be purchased at http://senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html.

Free Class!

2011-07-12T12:28:00.001-07:00

The Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts will offer a free introduction to the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation. The class will take place in Albany, California on Thursday, September 14 at 7PM. If you would like to take part in this introduction to mind and body unification principles, call 510-526-7518 to reserve your place for the class.

Japanese Yoga & Meditation at the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts

2011-05-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

Shin-shin-toitsu-do is the form of Japanese yoga and meditation offered at the Sennin Foundation Center (www.senninfoundation.com). Shin-shin-toitsu-do, "The Way of Mind and Body Unification," was founded in the early 1900s by Nakamura Tempu Sensei.

Nakamura Tempu & Japanese Yoga

A Dynamic Teacher of Mind/Body Unification

Unique Methods to Improve Physical & Mental Health

Make a positive and life-altering decision. Consider adding Shin-shin-toitsu-do to your life, and discover a way of living rooted in health, happiness, and harmony.

Testimonials from Japanese Yoga Experts

Recommended Websites

Kevin Heard

2011-05-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

Recently, the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts promoted Kevin Heard to So-shihan in the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation. He received the same advanced teaching certification in this discipline’s related healing arts (yuki). This is the highest possible rank and similar to a PhD. Mr. Heard has been studying and teaching at the Sennin Foundation Center for nearly 30 years; he is the first and only person to have received So-shihan certification.

On a related note, Mr. Heard was also recently promoted to rokudan, sixth-degree black belt, by the Shudokan Martial Arts Association Jujutsu Division. The SMAA is an international coalition of Japanese and Western martial arts experts. Mr. Heard is now one of the highest ranking members of the SMAA Jujutsu Division. You can read more here: http://shudokanmartialartsassociation.blogspot.com/2011/04/kevin-heard-receives-sixth-dan.html.

Mr. Heard earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. After working in the software development industry, he returned to the University to become Director of Computing and Information Services for UCB's School of Information. His professional interests include UNIX/Linux system administration, building information systems based on open standards, open source software, and privacy and security in the digital age. He is co-author of Mastering Netscape SuiteSpot 3 Servers (Sybex).

He regularly teaches Japanese yoga, healing arts, and martial arts to children and adults at the Sennin Foundation Center. You can read more at www.senninfoundation.com.

The Essence of Japanese Yoga

2011-05-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

Four Basic Principles to Unify Mind and Body

1. Maintain a positive mind.

2. Train the mind to arrive at full concentration.

3. Use the body obeying the laws of nature.

4. Train the body progressively, systematically, and regularly.

Nakamura Tempu, founder of the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

2011-03-11T07:56:00.001-08:00

Our thoughts go out to our friends and teachers in Japan, which was recently hit by a large earthquake and tsunami. We hope all our friends are OK, and we hope you will donate to help people in Japan. If you’re not sure how to do this, you can go to http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/japan-earthquake-tsunami-relief/.

An Amazon.com Review of Japanese Yoga

2011-02-23T16:59:00.000-08:00

5.0 out of 5 stars

Much more than yoga

December 30, 2010

By David Orman

If you are interested in anything Japanese, this is one of those books that you will find yourself reading multiple times. . . and still learning per each read.

When I first read the title, I anticipated teaching on stretching and perhaps breathing and other elements associated with traditional yoga, albeit from a Japanese perspective. This book does include these aspects but so much more. From visualization to Shodo and a dozen other topics in between, this book covers more of a lifestyle vs. a how-to-do-yoga.

I found it extremely helpful and would highly recommend it.

Movement

2011-02-13T15:20:00.000-08:00

Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul's weather. ~Martha Graham

The founder of Shin-shin-toitsu-do (Japanese yoga) also taught that the body reflects the mind, and that physical training can help us understand and develop concentration, willpower, a positive attitude, and other mental qualities. Learn more by reading Japanese Yoga by H. E. Davey. Order the book at www.senninfoundation.com.

Thoughts

2011-01-19T16:59:00.000-08:00

A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.

Mohandas Gandhi

Both Gandhi and Nakamura Tempu mentioned this idea, echoing the sages of ancient India. To learn more about how the mind can create health and illness, fortune and misfortune, read Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation, which is based on Nakamura Sensei's teachings.

Dream

2011-01-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.

Orison Swett Marden

Nakamura Tempu was the creator of Japanese yoga, and as a young man he was inspired by the positive thinking advocated by Marden's writings. To learn more, pick up a copy of Japanese Yoga at http://senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html.

A Positive Mind

2011-01-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.

Michael Jordan

Japanese yoga aims at the culitvation of a positive mind through autosuggestion and meditation. Learn the art of meditation. Pick up a copy of Japanese Yoga at http://senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html

Japanese Yoga

2010-11-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

http://senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html

Images of Japanese Yoga and Healing Arts

2010-10-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

Want to learn Nakamura Tempu Sensei's Japanese yoga? Visit www.senninfoundation.com for more information.

New Teachers of Japanese Yoga

2010-06-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

The Sennin Foundation Center has two new teachers of Japanese yoga: Wesley Keppel Henry Sensei and Troy Swenson Sensei. They both received Shihan–dai (“Associate Instructor”) certification, and they are now teaching Shin-shin-toitsu-do classes for children and adults at the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts in Albany, California.

Swenson Sensei also recently received Menkyo Shodan in Saigo Ryu, which is the first classical teaching license in this form of martial arts. Keppel-Henry Sensei is working toward teaching certification in Saigo Ryu as well, and both instructors are studying Japanese healing arts at our dojo. Swenson Sensei is also practicing in our Integrated Shodo & Meditation program, where he is learning the ancient art of Japanese brush calligraphy.

Congratulations to Keppel-Henry Sensei and Swenson Sensei! To learn more about Japanese forms of yoga, healing arts, fine arts, and martial arts, visit www.senninfoundation.com.

Free Japanese Yoga & Martial Arts Classes

2010-05-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

On May 6, 2010 the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts in California will offer introductory classes in Japanese yoga and martial arts. The Japanese yoga class, which will start at 7 PM, will feature yoga and meditation principles. It will be an introduction to how these principles of mind and body unification can help us in Japanese yoga and daily life.

The class is free to both Sennin Foundation members and the public. The instructor will be Kevin Heard Sensei, who has been studying Japanese yoga, healing arts, and martial arts for over 25 years. He has a Shihan teaching license in Japanese yoga, a very advanced rank.

Following the Japanese yoga training, Heard Sensei will present an optional introduction to Saigo Ryu aiki-jujutsu, a traditional Japanese martial art. Since he will incorporate Japanese yoga principles of mind and body unification in the martial arts practice, participation in the preceding Japanese yoga instruction is required. Heard Sensei has an advanced teaching license in Saigo Ryu, and he has received a fifth-degree black belt from the Shudokan Martial Arts Association Jujutsu Division (www.smaa-hq.com).

If you and/or your friends would like to participate, please call 510-526-7518 (PM) to register. Then, drop by 1053 San Pablo Ave. in Albany, California at 6:45 PM. If you are not already a Sennin Foundation member, you will need to fill out a registration form and waiver. Wear loose clothing and bring a notebook.

After the class, you will have a chance to purchase related books and CD-ROMs, and you and/or your friends can also make arrangements to join the Sennin Foundation Center if you like. We hope you will make plans to attend this special event.

Troy Swenson Receives Japanese Yoga Teaching Certification

2010-03-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

Sennin Foundation member Troy Swenson recently received Shihan-dai ("Associate Instructor") certification in the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation. Swenson Sensei also studies in the Sennin Foundation's healing arts, martial arts, and fine arts programs. He is working toward teaching certification in these disciplines as well. Mr. Swenson joined the Sennin Foundation Center in 2005, and he lives in El Sobrante, California. He works as a structural engineer. For more information about Japanese yoga, visit http://www.senninfoundation.com/.

Free Japanese Yoga Class

2010-01-04T11:00:00.001-08:00

On January 7, the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts will offer a FREE introductory class. The class, which will start at 7 PM, will feature Japanese yoga and meditation principles. It will be an introduction to how these principles of mind and body unification can help us in Japanese yoga and daily life. The class is open to both Sennin Foundation members and the general public.

The instructor for this class will be Kevin Heard Sensei, who has been studying Japanese yoga for over 25 years. He has a Shihan teaching license, a very advanced rank.

If you and/or your friends would like to participate, please call 510-526-7518 (PM). Then, drop by 1053 San Pablo Ave. in Albany, California at 6:45 PM. If you are not already a Sennin Foundation member, you will need to fill out a registration form and waiver. Wear loose clothing and bring a notebook.

After the class, you will have a chance to purchase related books and CD-ROMs, and you and/or your friends can also make arrangements to join the Sennin Foundation Center if you like.

Anjo Daza Ho Meditation CD

2009-05-26T13:22:00.001-07:00

The Sennin Foundation Center is now offering a new Anjo Daza Ho Meditation CD for just $8.95 (plus $2.00 U.S. shipping, $5.00 international). This unique CD is only sold by us, and it features the soothing sound of a classic Japanese meditation bell, timed at particular intervals, which can be used for Anjo Daza Ho meditation (as described in H. E. Davey Sensei's book Japanese Yoga). These kane, Japanese bowl-shaped bells, aren't widely available outside of Japan, and Anjo Daza Ho uses this sound to powerfully focus the mind for meditation. A special buzzer can also be used to effectively concentrate the mind, and this distinctive hum is included in our new CD as well.

The CD contains two tracks: one for beginners and one for more advanced meditators. The beginners' track features a longer sound, with shorter periods of silence, making it easier for novices to initially focus the mind and requiring them to maintain the meditative state for shorter periods. It lasts about 30 minutes.

The track for advanced students uses shorter periods of sound, with longer intervals of quiet, encouraging more adept meditators to focus the mind rapidly, and sustain soundless meditative consciousness for longer periods. This track is also about 30 minutes in length.

The production of this extraordinary CD was personally supervised by H. E. Davey Sensei, author of Japanese Yoga, and internationally acclaimed teacher of Japanese yoga and meditation. It represents your chance to more easily practice Anjo Daza Ho, a potent meditation created by Nakamura Tempu Sensei, the renowned founder of the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation. With our Anjo Daza Ho Meditation CD, you can experience heightened calmness, relaxation, concentration, and willpower.

You can order this meditation tool by visiting

http://senninfoundation.com/meditation_cd.html. Once there, you can buy your CD using a major credit card or your PayPal account. Transactions are handled via PayPal and are safe and secure.

FREE Classes!

2009-02-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, February 5 the Sennin Foundation Center in Albany, California will be offering free introductions to Japanese yoga and meditation as well as Japanese martial arts. The classes will be taught by Kevin Heard Sensei, a Sennin Foundation instructor with over 20 years of experience. These classes are for age 14 and up, and we hope you'll participate. Please let your friends and family know about this special event, too. It's open to the public.Our free introduction to Japanese yoga and meditation (Shin-shin-toitsu-do) will start at 7 PM, but if you aren't a Sennin Foundation member, you should arrive at 6:45 PM to fill out a registration form. Loose clothing and a notebook is recommended.

Following this class will be an introduction to Japanese martial arts (Saigo Ryu aiki-jujutsu). Since principles covered in the previous class will be referenced in our martial arts training, participation in Japanese yoga is required. However, the introductory martial arts class is optional.You and your friends will need to reserve a place for this limited attendance event. To do so, just call 510-526-7518. Leave your name, and let us know that you want to participate on February 5. We hope to see you there!

An Article by Japanese Yoga Expert Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei

2008-12-09T14:12:00.001-08:00

Autosuggestion in Japanese Yoga & Daily Life
By Sawai Atsuhiro

My teacher Nakamura Tempu Sensei was the founder of the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation. One of his central teachings was the use of autosuggestion to alter the subconscious mind and thus change negative habits. I learned various forms of autosuggestion directly from Nakamura Sensei, and I’d like to explain how they can help you to become more effective and cheerful in your daily lives. But first, you’ll need to know a bit about the nature of the mind.

The Conscious Mind and the Subconscious
When we think in everyday life, this thinking takes place in our surface waking consciousness. We can call this surface awareness the conscious mind.

Elements in surface consciousness are influenced by elements that are kept in the subconscious mind. The subconscious lies deep beneath the covering of the conscious mind, and we’re not typically aware of the workings of the subconscious during our waking hours.
During our sleep, however, the subconscious rises to the surface and the conscious mind is moves into the background. This is why a number of authorities claim that dreams are a manifestation of the subconscious.

More than just the motivator for our dreams, the subconscious is a kind of storeroom for most of the elements in the mind. If the elements stored in the subconscious are negative in nature, the conscious mind cannot think positively. If elements stored in the subconscious are positive, the conscious mind thinks positively. In short, the subconscious records past experiences, events, and especially feelings. The elements stored in the subconscious constantly influence our conscious thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Even if we consciously try to be positive, we cannot easily do so if negative elements are in the subconscious. Elements in the subconscious minds of many people are negative, and this influences their conscious minds. As the result, they tend to think pessimistically. They are inclined to take a negative attitude toward anything. They are easily angered, complain often, and are fearful of even small matters.

Suggestions
“Suggestions” are sometimes defined in psychology as something that enters the mind and has an impact on it. Such suggestions are received by the conscious mind and recorded by the subconscious mind.

When we see, hear, or say something repeatedly, these suggestions have a large impact on the subconscious. A happening that is dramatic or traumatic also has a great impact on the subconscious. Whatever is stored in the subconscious tends to have an unconscious influence on all of our conscious actions.

There are many sources for these suggestions such as spoken words, letters in books we read, our behaviors and that other people. Any phenomena around us produce some suggestions that are recorded by the subconscious.

We should be aware of what kind of suggestions we receive in everyday life. Such awareness is necessary, because both positive and negative suggestions exist. A positive suggestion influences the subconscious to be bright, cheerful, energetic, and brave. Negative suggestions do the opposite.

Those who are weak in mind are inclined to accept negative suggestions and reject positive ones. Those who are strong in mind are not negatively swayed by discouraging events. The purpose of the various forms of autosuggestion, or jiko anji, is to create a positive, vigorous, and powerful mind.

Many people do not understand the nature of the mind. They may have accumulated numerous negative elements in their subconscious minds. These negative materials in the subconscious produce many negative habits like smoking, pessimism, insomnia, and others.

Fortunately, you can readily grasp the relationship between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind if you receive clear instruction and information about this topic. So it is important to realize that we can easily change negative habits into positive ones. And this will allow you to quickly adopt a more positive mental attitude, which is also extremely important for success, health, and happiness.

I’d like to offer you four simple methods of autosuggestion:

1. Renso Anji
2. Meirei Anji
3. Dantei Anji
4. Hanpuku Anji

Renso Anji
Renso means “to think of things one after another.” Anji means “suggestion.”

In Renso Anji we simply think of positive things one after another as we’re about to fall asleep. From the time we get into bed, until we are asleep, we must not imagine anything negative. In other words, avoid thinking of something that makes you angry, fearful, or sad.
The surface consciousness blurs and the subconscious arises and becomes more active, when you are sleepy. So autosuggestion is easiest and most effective at this time. (Any suggestions we receive right as we’re about to fall asleep penetrate the subconscious more directly, in that they don’t need to filter through layers of waking consciousness.)

When you are sleeping, the conscious mind is resting and the subconscious is active. So, as previously noted, dreams are reflection of the workings of the subconscious, which is why some psychiatrists analyze dreams to understand the subconscious motivations of their patients.

When we are falling asleep, we easily accept any suggestion into the many depths of the subconscious, because right before sleep, the conscious mind and the subconscious are in a process of transition. The most ideal time to positively influence the subconscious is, therefore, the moment before we fall asleep.

If we think of positive matters one after another, they will enter the subconscious easily. And the content of our subconscious will gradually become more and more positive. In a few days or months, many people find themselves changed. One example of such a change can be found in the nature of their dreams. Why not have happy dreams instead of unhappy dreams?

Although they are more highly educated than in the past, many people in modern times hold on to negative feelings like anger, fear, and sorrow. As the result, they weaken the mind’s power. Even rich people, who eat gourmet dinners, are often plagued by insomnia stemming from their fears and sorrows. Simply being well-educated and wealthy isn’t enough to guarantee happiness.

For such people, the situation will not change until they change the nature of their minds. One way to do this is to change the nature of what they think about before falling asleep. Then they will sleep well. Deep sleep is very important. Sleeping lets us receive a great amount of ki, or “life energy,” from the universe. The time when we sleep is the time when we relax completely, and in a state of deep relaxation, the universe and the individual are closely united.

Meirei Anji
We can create a stronger form of autosuggestion by using a mirror just before falling asleep. It’s called Meirei Anji.

Meirei means “ordering or commanding.” Anji means “suggestion.”

In Meirei Anji, we utter a single simple sentence, which serves as a positive suggestion. Shortly before we speak this command to the subconscious, we watch our face in the mirror, or more exactly, we look at our reflected face between the eyebrows. Then, we speak to our reflected image and strongly order ourselves to become what we want to be.

Examples of positive suggestions for Meirei Anji are:

· “Your confidence will become strong!”
· “You will not be worried about your illness!”

You need not speak loudly, but you should be very serious at the moment you make this suggestion to your subconscious. Just one suggestion is good and effective. If you use many suggestions, they may confuse the subconscious.

Quality is more important than quantity. Say it just once, then immediately go to sleep. Intensity is important.

I hope you will soon feel the effects of Meirei Anji, but even if you don’t notice sudden results, I advise you to continue to practice it every night. Just as it took time to develop negative habits, it may be some days before you feel the effects of Meirei Anji.

We have acquired bad habits over many years. It is unrealistic to expect these harmful habits to be gone instantly by using Meirei Anji.

A French psychologist taught Nakamura Tempu Sensei this form of autosuggestion using the mirror. But he suggested we do it as often as possible during the daytime. Nakamura Sensei modified it and advised us to do it before falling asleep, because it is psychologically the most effective.

Furthermore, Nakamura Sensei was skilled in shodo, Japanese brush calligraphy. Students, who want to improve in shodo, can use a sentence like this:

“You will become fond of shodo.”

This is more effective than “You will be good at shodo.” If we come to like something, we study it harder and naturally become good at it.
Children that wet the bed during sleep can use a sentence like this:

“You will wake up when you want to urinate.”

People who want to correct their stuttering should not say, “Your stuttering will be gone.” Rather they should say, “You will not care about stuttering.” A person’s psychological state and ability to speak are closely connected. If we stop worrying about stuttering, we often stop stuttering.

The same can be said of many problems in life. We create problems by worrying about them.
People who are ill should not say, “You will recover from the illness.” They should say, “You will not worry about your illness.” This is not to indicate that you shouldn’t get medical treatment, it is more an indicator of the psychosomatic effect of the mind. The mind controls the body; positive mental states have a very real impact on our health.

The sentence we use for this autosuggestion should be an imperative form, not a prayer or a request. For example, “Your confidence will be strong” is an imperative sentence. “Please make my confidence strong” is more like a prayer or request.

In addition, we must order ourselves (the face in the mirror) to change. We should use the word “you” instead of “I” in Meirei Anji for this reason.

Don’t be impatient in practicing this method. Be diligent and keep going. I promise that the time will come soon when you can recognize the effectiveness of this method for changing your personality and habits.

Dantei Anji
Dantei means “affirm.” Dantei Anji compliments Meirei Anji.

When we get up in the morning, we can respond to the previous night’s order that we gave our subconscious. We can, in short, affirm the previous night’s command we spoke to our face in the mirror.

We need not use a mirror in Dantei Anji. Your sleepy face isn’t perhaps the best image of yourself or the first thing you want to see in the morning.

If your suggestion the previous night was “Your confidence will become strong,” then upon waking say aloud, “My confidence has become strong.” In this way, we affirm the previous night’s suggestion.

Hanpuku Anji
You can repeat the same suggestion even during the daytime. Frequent repetition of a single suggestion is very effective, and you can do this mentally or out loud, with or without a mirror. Hanpuku means “repetition.” Again, work on only one suggestion at a time. Once you’ve boosted your confidence or stopped smoking, go onto a different suggestion.

Since the early 1900s, thousands of people in Japan have learned and benefited from these four forms of autosuggestion. I’m one of those people.

Now that my colleague H. E. Davey Sensei is writing books about these methods and teaching them across the USA, I’m hoping many of you will achieve the same happy results.

About the Author: Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei is a direct student of Nakamura Tempu Sensei, founder of the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation. He holds the highest teaching credentials issued by the Tempu Society. He is also Professor Emeritus of English for Kyoto Sangyo University, and a Senior Advisor for the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts. To learn more about autosuggestion and Japanese yoga, visit http://www.senninfoundation.com/.

Discover Japanese Yoga & Meditation

2008-12-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

Shin-shin-toitsu-do is the form of Japanese yoga and meditation offered at the Sennin Foundation Center. Shin-shin-toitsu-do, “The Way of Mind and Body Unification,” was founded in the early 1900s by Nakamura Tempu Sensei. Nakamura Sensei lived in India, where he studied the art of Raja yoga, the yoga of meditation. After studying medicine at Columbia University, he blended Indian meditation and health improvement with his background in medicine, psychology, Japanese healing arts and meditation, and Japanese martial arts. He taught for many years in Japan, authored best-selling books, and counted among his students a large number of Japan’s top executives, politicians, fine artists, athletes, martial artists, and people from every walk of life. But few Westerners have yet been exposed to these extraordinary teachings.

H. E. Davey Sensei, Director of the Sennin Foundation Center, has studied with several of Nakamura Sensei’s top students, including Hashimoto Tetsuichi Sensei and Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei. Both teachers are Senior Advisors to the Sennin Foundation Center, and Davey Sensei began studying Shin-shin-toitsu-do as a child. He is the award-winning author of the book Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation (Stone Bridge Press), which was featured in Yoga Journal in the U.S. and Tempu magazine in Japan. He’s also a member of Tempu-Kai, the Japanese association that preserves the legacy of Nakamura Sensei.

Our Shin-shin-toitsu-do class offers you practical forms of seated and moving meditation, breathing methods for health, stretching exercises, autosuggestion for altering negative habits, stress management, and self-healing techniques that are little-known in the West. Emphasis is also placed on the development of ki (chi in Chinese). Ki amounts to life energy, and its cultivation has a profound effect on mental and physical health. You, like many of our students, may experience greatly enhanced concentration, willpower, calmness, relaxation, and physical fitness. Make a positive and life-altering decision. Consider adding Shin-shin-toitsu-do to your life, and discover a way of living rooted in health, happiness, and harmony.

You can get more information about classes at the Sennin Foundation Center by visiting http://www.senninfoundation.com/ and by calling 510-526-7518.

Sennin Foundation 27th Anniversary

2008-12-05T08:41:00.000-08:00

“Serving Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Kensington, Oakland, Richmond, Martinez, San Pablo, Hercules, Pinole, El Sobrante, Emeryville, San Francisco, San Rafael, Piedmont, and the Bay Area since 1981.”

In November, the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts celebrated its 27th anniversary with separate workshops in Japanese yoga/meditation and martial arts. Practice kicked off with martial arts training that focused on Saigo Ryu aiki-jujutsu, a traditional Japanese martial discipline. This was followed by Shin-shin-toitsu-do (Japanese yoga) practice, which began with 30 minutes of meditation, followed by mind and body unification training.

A special lunch took place at the nearby Ruen Pair Thai restaurant. To learn more about the Sennin Foundation Center, visit www.senninfoundation.com.

Free Introductory Classes!

2008-11-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, December 2 the Sennin Foundation Center will be offering free introductions to Japanese yoga and meditation as well as Japanese martial arts. The classes will be taught by Kevin Heard Sensei, a Sennin Foundation instructor with over 20 years of experience. These classes are for age 14 and up, and we hope you'll participate. Please let your friends and family know about this special event, too. It's open to the public.

Our free introduction to Japanese yoga and meditation (Shin-shin-toitsu-do) will start at 7 PM, but if you aren't a Sennin Foundation member, you should arrive at 6:45 PM to fill out a registration form. Loose clothing and a notebook is recommended.

Following this class will be an introduction to Japanese martial arts (Saigo Ryu aiki-jujutsu). Since principles covered in the previous class will be referenced in our martial arts training, participation in Japanese yoga is required. However, the introductory martial arts class is optional.

You and your friends will need to reserve a place for this limited attendance event. To do so, just call 510-526-7518. Leave your name, and let us know that you want to participate on December 2. We hope to see you there!

More Images of Sawai Sensei's Sennin Foundation Visit

2008-07-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

These are more photos that were taken during Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei's visit to the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts in 2007. They were taken during a lecture and lunch. The topic of the lecture was changing the content of the subconscious mind as a way of modifying negative habits. To learn more about these methods of autosuggestion, pick up a copy of Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation at www.senninfoundation.com.

Sawai Sensei Visits the Sennin Foundation

2008-07-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

On September 8, 2007, Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei visited the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts (www.senninfoundation.com.) in California. He presented a special class in Nakamura Tempu Sensei's methods for changing the content of the subconscious mind. He learned these methods for altering negative habits directly from Nakamura Sensei; and in fact, Mr. Sawai is widely considered to be one of the top students of Nakamura Sensei, founder of the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation.

Sawai Sensei, who lives in Kyoto, is a Senior Advisor for the Sennin Foundation Center. His class took place in a private room at a restaurant next door to the Center. It was the first time Mr. Sawai taught Shin-shin-toitsu-do to the general public in English, his second language, and his instruction was very well received.

Following his class, he was given with a special plaque honoring his 50 years of training in Shin-shin-toitsu-do. The award was presented by H. E. Davey Sensei, author of Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation, Director of the Sennin Foundation Center, and organizer of the event.

"Japanese Yoga" Blog

2008-05-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

Want to read more about Nakamura Tempu Sensei, Japanese yoga, and the book Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation? Just drop by our sister blog at http://japaneseyoga.blogspot.com/. You can also learn more about these subjects at the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts website: www.senninfoundation.com.

Hashimoto Tetsuichi, Japanese Yoga Expert

2008-05-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hashimoto Tetsuichi Sensei is a resident of Tokyo, and he is one of the most senior disciples of Nakamura Tempu Sensei, founder of the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga. He started his study of Shin-shin-toitsu-do directly under Nakamura Sensei in 1950. Nakamura Tempu Sensei continued to be Hashimoto Sensei's primary teacher until he passed away in 1968 at the age of 92.

Hashimoto Sensei holds the highest lectureship position in the Tempu-Kai ("Tempu Society"), and he has taught Shin-shin-toitsu-do in Japan and the Philippines, where he was the Director of the Japanese Studies Program at Ateneo de Manila University.

Hashimoto Sensei is a retired professor of political science for International Christian University in Japan. He attended Duke University from 1954 to 1958 for graduate studies, and he was a visiting professor for the Japanese Studies Program at De La Salle University in 1985.

In addition to his position on the Sennin Foundation, Inc. Board of Advisors, he is the Senior Advisor to the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts (www.senninfoundation.com) and the teacher of H. E. Davey Sensei. While Hashimoto Sensei does occasionally instruct classes at Tempu-Kai in Tokyo, aside from his personal instruction of Mr. Davey, he is largely retired from active teaching.

Sawai Atsuhiro, Japanese Yoga Expert

2008-05-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei was born in 1939 in Japan. At the age of 18, he entered one of Kyoto's top universities.

Like many college students, Sawai Sensei was filled with dreams, aspirations, and ambitions, only to fall seriously ill. Despite the efforts of many doctors, he could not find a cure for his sickness. Filled with despair, he stopped going to university classes.

Thinking that his illness might eventually result in his death, Sawai Sensei read books on Buddhism and Christianity to attempt to discover what will become of a human being after he or she dies. He thought constantly about the purpose of life, and he reached a conclusion that amounted to nihilism. In short, Sawai Sensei felt that there was no such purpose of life, in that we are born without the knowledge of where we came from, where we are going, and why we are here. He felt completely lost.

Sawai Sensei's aunt advised him to attend the lectures of Nakamura Tempu Sensei, the founder of Shin-shin-toitsu-do. Sawai Sensei listened to one of his lectures, and he was fortunate enough to meet him. He began to study with Nakamura Sensei at that time, and he felt awakened by the universal truths that he taught. More than this, he felt revived. It was in the spring of 1958.

In a short time, after beginning to practice Japanese yoga, Sawai Sensei's health completely recovered. Sawai Sensei continued learning the philosophy of mind and body unification from Nakamura Tempu Sensei for 11 years until he passed away in 1968.

In addition to regular training sessions in Japanese yoga, every summer for 11 years Sawai Sensei participated in a special multiple-day intensive summer training session, where he received Nakamura Sensei's teachings. Three years after joining Tempu-Kai ("The Tempu Society"), he was chosen as an Assistant Teacher, or Hodo, to Nakamura Sensei. He still considered himself to be just a student of Japanese yoga, but he was also asked to contribute to the Tempu-Kai magazine, Shirube.

Eventually, Sawai Sensei began to write poems inspired by Nakamura Sensei's teachings, teachings that acted as a catalyst for a wide variety of artistic expressions by his students. His first collection of poetry, Seishun no Ma (Devils of Adolescence), was published in 1967. In it, he reflected on the insights he experienced when he overcame the "devilish" sufferings of his adolescence.

The collection was highly praised in various newspapers in Japan by Kuroda Saburo, the chairman of Japanese Modern Poets Association (Nihon Gendai Shijin Kai), and Sawai Sensei received a letter from Nakamura Sensei, who praised his poems and tried to encourage him: "...Something beautiful from the poet's mind seems to stream into my mind. I will read your poems again and again."

The next year his teacher Nakamura Tempu Sensei passed away. Even after his death, Sawai Sensei continued to practice Japanese yoga (Shin-shin-toitsu-do). He presently practices every day as Nakamura Sensei personally taught him.

Sawai Sensei eventually became a full Lecturer for the Tempu-Kai, which is the highest teaching credential issued by this group. He became a Councilor for Tempu-Kai and Tempu-Kai Branch Manager of Kyoto in 1998. In 1999, he became Director of Publishing for Tempu-Kai and Editor of their magazine, Tempu. He also wrote regular articles for this publication.

Professionally, Sawai Sensei was a full professor of English at Kyoto Sangyo University for 23 years, and he taught at the university for 33 years. He entered semi-retirement and became Professor Emeritus of English in March 2004. He has also had the following books published:

Devils of Adolescence (poetry collection), 1967
The Mirror (poetry collection), 1973
The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke (translation), 1984
British Colonization of New Zealand (collected research essays), 2003

In the summer of 2004, Sawai Sensei accepted a position as a special Senior Advisor to the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts (http://www.senninfoundation.com/), which is a dojo lead by H. E. Davey Sensei, a fellow Tempu-Kai member as well as Sawai Sensei's friend and colleague in Shin-shin-toitsu-do. Since the beginning of 2004, Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei has been contributing short articles to the Sennin Foundation Newsletter, visiting the Sennin Foundation Center, and helping Davey Sensei with his work on a new book tentatively titled The Teachings of Tempu: Practical Meditation for Daily Life. We hope to be able to post Sawai Sensei's articles about Nakamura Tempu Sensei and Japanese yoga to this blog.

Where can I Study Nakamura Sensei's Japanese Yoga?

2008-05-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

Shin-shin-toitsu-do, commonly known as Japanese yoga in the West, is rarely taught outside of Japan. At this time, the only school outside of Asia offering full time professional instruction in the original methods of Shin-shin-toitsu-do, as created by Nakamura Tempu Sensei, is the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Sennin Foundation Center was established in 1981 by H. E. Davey Sensei.

We’re located in Albany, just across the bay from San Francisco and right next to Berkeley. Our dojo, or training hall, can easily be found at 1053 San Pablo Avenue, in a safe, well-lit neighborhood only 1 1/2 miles from both the El Cerrito Plaza and North Berkeley BART stations. AC Transit's 72 bus stops right in front of our dojo. To see a map of our location, click here.Visits are by appointment, and appointments can be scheduled by visiting http://www.senninfoundation.com/ or by calling 510-526-7518 in the evenings. Be sure to ask about our free introductory classes.

For individuals living outside Northern California, seminar instruction is a possibility. Davey Sensei has presented seminars in Japanese yoga and meditation throughout the USA, and depending on his schedule, he may be willing to conduct a seminar in your location. Contact the Sennin Foundation Center to discuss the details of bringing him to your town to teach Japanese yoga.Along the same lines, we've offered “crash courses” in Japanese yoga and meditation for out of town guests in the past. Such courses are a combination of group and private instruction. Plan on being in Albany for at least one week, and be sure to contact us to discuss the cost and details of your short term course well in advance of your arrival.

For interested parties that are unable to visit California or sponsor a seminar in their area, we offer Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation. This is the first and only book in English on the original Shin-shin-toitsu-do of Nakamura Sensei. It’s out of print, but you can still order new, signed copies by going here: http://www.senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html.Davey Sensei regularly corresponds with readers of his many books via e-mail. He’s willing to answer questions, making the use of his book Japanese Yoga even more effective for people that are unable to practice at the Sennin Foundation Center.

If you live in Japan, and you're able to speak Japanese fluently, we can put you in touch with teachers of Shin-shin-toitsu-do in that country. Just contact us at http://www.senninfoundation.com/.

More about Nakamura Tempu

2008-05-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

THE CHRONOLOGICAL BIOGRAPHY OF NAKAMURA TEMPU
By Sawai Atsuhiro and H. E. Davey
Photos Courtesy of Sawai Atsuhiro

1876
Nakamura Tempu Sensei was born on July 30 at Oji Mura, Toyoshima Gun, Tokyo Fu (presently known as Oji, Kitaku, Tokyo To). His father was Sukeoki, and his mother was Chou. He was born Nakamura Saburo, their third son.

Nakamura Sukeoki was from the Yanagawa Clan (1) in Kyushu and a high-ranking central government official, Director of the Department of the Mint in the Finance Ministry. Nakamura Saburo's mother is said to have been a bright and cheerful woman from the Capital of Edo (now Tokyo) (2).

A British engineer, who specialized in printing, was working for the Mint. He lived near the Nakamura family house in Oji, and his wife was fond of Saburo, so she taught him conversational English on a daily basis.

1889
He finished his elementary school education at Honjo, Tokyo. Nakamura Saburo entered Shuyu Kan High School (3) in Fukuoka, Kyushu.
1892

At 16 years old, he withdrew from the high school and stayed at the Genyo Sha (4), managed by Toyama Mitsuru (5). This was through the introduction of Baron Maeda Masana (Saburo's uncle), who was Undersecretary of the Agriculture and Commerce Ministry.

Nicknamed the "Panther of Genyo Sha" because of his fierce and quick temperament, Saburo became an errand boy for Kono Kinkichi, an intelligent officer in the Imperial Army, who held the rank of Captain. Saburo engaged in secret service activities in Manchuria and the Ryoto Peninsula in China a few months before the Japan /China War broke out. He studied Chinese language intensely for one year.

1894
He entered Gakushuin High School (6), but he withdrew soon after beginning. He became good friends with Iwasaki Hisaya (7).

1902
At 26 years old, he was hired as an intelligence agent belonging to the General Staff Office. He received special training, which prepared him to enter Manchuria. He collected intelligence and engaged in military operations a few months before the Japan-Russia War began.

1904
The Japan-Russia War broke out when Nakamura Sensei was 28 years old. He played a significant role in this conflict as a military agent involved in espionage and intelligence gathering. He was captured by a Russian squadron and given a death sentence. A few seconds before his execution by firing squad, he narrowly escaped death, when a hand grenade was thrown by his subordinate.

On another occasion, he was shot by a sniper during his patrol on the Great Wall of China. He jumped from the wall, and he was seriously injured, falling into a coma for about a month. For most of his life, he felt occasional acute dizziness as an aftereffect of this incident. He also had problems with his vision in both eyes.

Due to yet another wartime injury, a nerve was cut in his right hand, making it impossible for him to fully bend his right middle finger.

1905
At 29 years old, he returned from war to his parents' house in Hongo, Tokyo. Nakamura Sensei was one of only nine people that returned home alive out of his group of 113 military personnel.

Around this time, Chairman Nezu Kaichiro asked him to join the management of the Dai Nippon Flour Mill (now the Nisshin Flour Mill) as an executive.

1906
At 30 years old, Nakamura Sensei was diagnosed with a rapidly advancing case of tuberculosis, a disease that was often fatal. He was treated by a Dr. Kitazato, the top tuberculosis specialist in Japan, but he did not recover. To find a cure for his disease and to arrive at peace of mind, he began reading about medicine, religion, philosophy, and psychology.

1909
At 33 years old, Nakamura Sensei traveled to the USA to seek advice and medical treatment, rather than waiting to die. Travel to other countries (back then) was difficult even for healthy people. He met Orison Swett Marden, reputed to be a great young philosopher and the author of How to Get What You Want, but Marden's method provided no psychosomatic cure for his disease.

1911
At 35 years old, Nakamura Sensei's illness went into remission due to the medical treatments he received in the USA. Impressed by these treatments, he entered Columbia University, where he studied medicine.

His illness returned, prompting him to look for a psychosomatic cure in London, where he attended a psychology seminar titled "Mental Activities and the Nervous System," which was presented by H. Addington Bruce. He went to Paris, and he met a Dr. Lindler at Lyon University. This was through an introduction from the actress Sarah Bernhardt, and he studied with Lindler, who taught him an effective method of autosuggestion using a mirror.

His illness continued to worsen, but he still visited Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch, a famed biologist and philosopher living in Germany. His tuberculosis remained, however, and he found no answers to his questions concerning life, death, and the human mind.

In May of 1911, Nakamura Sensei decided to return to Japan by ship. On the way home, at a hotel in Cairo, Egypt, he came across a yoga and meditation teacher named Kaliapa. He followed Kaliapa to the village of Gorkhe, which lies between China and India at the foot of the third peak of Mt. Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas.

Via the practice of yogic meditation, Nakamura Sensei experienced spiritual realization and awakened his higher mind after two years and several months of practice. His tuberculosis disappeared. He would later become the first Japanese to introduce yoga style philosophy and meditation to Japan.

1913
At 37 years old, while returning from India to Japan, Nakamura Sensei stopped in Shanghai. There he met his old friend Yamaza Enjiro, then Japanese Ambassador to China. By his request, Nakamura Sensei joined the second Xinhai Geming Revolution. He assisted Sun Wen, and he became one of his highest political advisers. However, the revolution failed, and he came home to Japan. In a few years, he became President of the Tokyo Bank of Business & Savings. He also successfully managed several companies and played an active role in the Japanese business community.

1919
At 43 years old, Nakamura Sensei was suddenly inspired to abandon his social position and wealth to found the Toitsu-Kai ("Association for Unification"). This was later renamed the Toitsu Tetsui Gakkai, the "Unification Philosophy and Medical Research Institute," and it was dedicated to helping people to improve their mental and physical health.

He began offering free classes in Shin-shin-toitsu-do, "The Way of Mind and Body Unification," which took place daily at Ueno Park and Hibiya Park in Tokyo. In September of this year, Mukai Iwao, Chief Prosecutor, noticed him and introduced him to Prime Minister Hara Takashi (8). Prime Minister Hara said, "This is a man to speak in a proper place, not in the streets."

As the result, many well-known people in political and financial circles came to attend his public lectures. Admiral Togo Heihachiro (9); Sugiura Jugo (10), a famed educator; and Ishikawa Sodo, a renowned Zen Buddhist priest of Sojiji Temple in Tsurumi, Yokohama are just a few of his early famous students.

1923
At the age of 47, at the request of Justice Minister Yokota Sennosuke, Nakamura Sensei was asked to intervene in a dispute involving the Korean Keinan Railway. During the process of successfully resolving this dispute, he met Saito Makoto, Korean Governor, and Nakamura Sensei established a Korean branch of his association.

1924
When Nakamura Sensei was 48, famed Navy Admiral Yamamoto Eisuke (then President of the Japanese Naval Academy) advised Marquis Komatsu to become one of his students. Yamamoto was, at that time, President of the Japanese Naval Academy. By the recommendation of Komatsu (former Prince Kitashirakawa Teruhisa), he lectured several times to three Imperial princes (Higashi Kuni, Kita Shirakawa, and Takeda).

Many prominent people such as Ozaki Yukio (Justice Minister of Japan), Goto Shinpei (Interior Minister of Japan and President of Manchuria Railway), and Asano Soichiro (founder of Asano Cement Company) came to attend his lectures on Shin-shin-toitsu-do (a.k.a. Japanese yoga).

In December of 1924, the Kansai Headquarters of the Toitsu Tetsui Gakkai was established in Osaka.

1925
When Nakamura Sensei was 49 his lecture entitled "Yamai and Byoki" ("Illness and Worrying about It") was put on air throughout Japan by the Osaka Broadcast Station. Taking place on June 8, his program was broadcast just eight days after the radio station was established. (Nakamura Sensei was one of Japan's first on-air featured speakers. History's inaugural radio broadcast in Japan took place on March 22, 1925 from Tokyo's Atago Mountain.)

1925 to 1947
From 1925 on, many district branches of the Toitsu Tetsui Gakkai were established in Kyoto, Nagoya, Kobe, Otaru (Hokkaido). In January 1940, the Toitsu Tetsui Gakkai was renamed the Tempu-Kai (the "Tempu Society"). Many seminars and activities were held nationwide until the start of World War II.

In March 1945 (the last year of WWII), Japan's wartime military government ordered the demolition of Tempu-Kai's headquarters in Tokyo. This was due to Nakamura Sensei's pacifist philosophy and public denouncements of the war.

In October 1946, the first Shin-shin-toitsu-do lectures after the war took place in the hall of the Toranomon Building in Shibaku, Tokyo. From that date, every month public lectures were held at various places in the war-ruined metropolis.

1947
In October 1947, at the age of 71, Nakamura Sensei taught Japanese yoga (Shin-shin-toitsu-do) for three days to an audience of about 250 officials of the U.S. Army General Headquarters at the request of Commander Eikelburger. This seminar took place in the basement hall of the Mainichi Press Building. The millionaire John D. Rockefeller III happened to be in the audience. Impressed by the teachings of Japanese yoga, he offered to bring Nakamura Sensei to the USA to teach. Nakamura Sensei declined and stated that his first priority was to reestablish the health of the citizens of war torn Japan.
Tempu-Kai activities began to take place throughout Japan.

1962
In April 1962, when Nakamura Sensei was 86 years old, the Japanese government officially recognized Tempu-Kai as a nonprofit educational foundation, or zaidan hojin.
This was in acknowledgement of the work the association had been doing for many years to help Japanese citizens to improve their health.

1968
In April, the Tempu Kaikan ("Tempu Society Hall") was completed on the grounds of Gokokuji Temple in Tokyo. Nakamura Sensei passed away on December 1, 1968 at the age of 92.

1968 to the present

The students directly taught by Nakamura Tempu Sensei numbered more than a 100,000. He taught people from all walks of life and from every part of Japan.

Among the past and present students of Shin-shin-toitsu-do are members of the Japanese Imperial Family, government officials, business leaders, famous scholars, Japanese Order of Culture recipients, Olympic gold medalists, well-known actors, and celebrated novelists.

Tempu-Kai does not advertise for students. New students join the association through the introduction of senior members. In 1988, Tempu-Kai's 70th anniversary was celebrated, and the total number of members at that time was over one million (11).

Notes
1. The Yanagawa Clan was famous for cultivating many strong warriors.
2. A person born in Edo was called Edokko. In Japan, just mentioning that a person was Edokko implied that he/she was vigorous and quick to respond.
3. Even today, Shuyu Kan is a famous private high school in Kyushu.
4. The Genyo Sha was a well-known political group, considered to be right wing, which advocated and led a national movement to realize their version of democracy in Japan.
5. Toyama Mitsuru was an influential political activist and the leader of the Genyo Sha. He not only influenced politics in Japan, but he was involved in the Chinese Revolution lead by Sun Wen and the national independence movement in India. Nakamura Sensei was assisted by Toyama in many ways during his life. Toyama helped him get a visa to travel to the USA and helped to put him in a position to teach Japanese yoga to princes and princesses of the Imperial Family.
6. Gakushuin is a special high school to educate the members of the Imperial Family and the sons of the Japanese aristocracy. Later, Gakushuin University was also established. All of Japan's Emperors were educated there.
7. Iwasaki Hisaya was a son of the famed founder of the Mitsubishi Cartel, but this statement seems wrong to Sawai, because Hisaya was 11 years older than Nakamura Sensei. It might have been his younger brother Koyata, who was three years older than Nakamura Sensei. Koyata studied at Cambridge and became president of the Mitsubishi Company.
8. Hara Takashi was one of the most famous Prime Ministers in Japan. He was well-known for creating the Seiyu-Kai, Japan's first political party, and he contributed to the introduction of democracy in Japan.
9. Togo Heihachiro was a famous Admiral, often compared to Nelson of Britain; he is known as the "Nelson of the East." He led the Japanese fleet to defeat the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Empire during the Japan-Russia War.
10. Sugiura Jugo was a great educator and thinker. He studied chemistry in England, and he became President of Tokyo University (Division of Juniors).
11. This number seems to Mr. Sawai to be exaggerated.

"Japanese Yoga" & PayPal

2008-05-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

How to Purchase Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation

Japanese Yoga can be purchased easily and safely through PayPal. It's simple to set up a PayPal account, and if you don't wish to do this, PayPal will accept most major credit cards. You can read more about PayPal here:

https://www.paypal.com/. This really is one of the safest ways to transfer funds on the Internet, and it's effectively used by a huge number of people each day.

To buy Japanese Yoga with a credit card, or through your PayPal account, just go here:

http://www.senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html. And if you don't want to use either of these approaches, the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts will accept postal money orders. You can contact them here: http://www.senninfoundation.com/.

But don't wait too long as this book is out of print. For a limited time only, the Sennin Foundation Center is offering autographed copies of H. E. Davey Sensei's landmark book Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation for just $18.95. These are BRAND NEW copies of an out of print book, which is becoming increasingly hard to find and going up in price.

Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation

2008-05-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation

By H. E. Davey

Stone Bridge Press

ISBN 1-880656-60-4

224 pages

$18.95

Emphasizing gentle stretching and meditation exercises, the ultimate goal of Japanese yoga (Shin-shin-toitsu-do) is enhanced mind/body integration, calmness, and willpower for a healthier and fuller life. Developed by Nakamura Tempu Sensei in the early 1900s from Indian Raja yoga, Japanese martial arts and meditation practices, as well as Western medicine and psychotherapy, Japanese yoga offers a new approach to experienced yoga students and a natural methodology that newcomers will find easy to learn.

In Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation, after a brief history of Shin-shin-toitsu-do, H. E. Davey Sensei presents Mr. Nakamura's Four Basic Principles to Unify Mind and Body. These principles relate the meditative experience to the movement of everyday living and thus make it a "dynamic meditation." Each of the Four Basic Principles is illustrated with step-by-step explanations of practical experiments.Readers are then introduced to different forms of seated and moving meditation, health exercises, and self-healing arts. All these are linked back to the Four Basic Principles and can enhance performance in art, music, business, sports, and other activities. Readers learn to use Japanese yoga techniques throughout the day, without having to sit on the floor or seek out a quiet space.

Included at the end of the book are simple but effective stretching exercises, information about ongoing practice, and a glossary and reference section. Amply illustrated and cogently presented, Japanese Yoga belongs on every mind/body/spirit reading list.

For a limited time only, the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts is offering autographed copies of H. E. Davey Sensei's landmark book Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation for just $18.95. These are BRAND NEW copies of an out of print book, which is becoming increasingly hard to find and going up in price. To order your copy, go here: http://www.senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html

The Life of Nakamura Tempu (4)

2008-05-29T13:39:00.000-07:00

AWAKING FROM THE WANDERING DREAM—
THE LIFE OF NAKAMURA TEMPU
(Part Four)

By H. E. Davey
Photos courtesy of Sawai Atsuhiro

Western and Eastern Influences
Nakamura Sensei’s stress on experimentation and comprehension through direct insight echoes his background in science and medicine. He supervised experiments to study the effects of Shin-shin-toitsu-do; to this day, prominent Western-style doctors in Japan are well-known practitioners of this art. His processes of autosuggestion, which you can read about in Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation, are borrowed from his study of psychology in Europe.

Practices like autosuggestion were in vogue during Nakamura Sensei’s time in the USA and Europe, where they were popularized via the New Thought philosophy. Some New Thought groups emphasized 19th century semi-scientific theories such as mesmerism, while others promoted the autosuggestion, affirmations, and self-help methods of Emile Coue. Some advocated meditation, while others taught positive thinking as a jumping off point for teaching the "law of attraction," or how to attract personal/financial success by visualizing these conditions. Some stressed vegetarianism, others taught the significance of willpower and directed thoughts, and still others focused on psychophysical healing and affirmative prayer.

Despite “New Thought” being an umbrella term for various occasionally diverging movements and philosophies, it has certain universally accepted principles. A primary tenet is that thinking itself creates one's experience of the world. A philosophy of idealism and optimism, New Thought professes the central role of the mind in relation to experiencing the physical world and emphasizes positive thinking, affirmations, and meditation. These methods are commonly taught using books and courses.

New Thought's proponents birthed various self-development, self-empowerment, and self-help offshoot philosophies, such as those advocated by writers Napolean Hill and Charles F. Haanel, with their focus on training willpower for success. One prominent New Thought influenced author was Orison Swett Marden, who Nakamura Sensei met, and some of whose teachings are clearly echoed in Shin-shin-toitsu-do. In researching this article, it became clear that the New Thought movement had a profound effect on Shin-shin-toitsu-do, much more than is sometimes acknowledged in Japan.

And unquestionably, Japanese influences can be discerned in Nakamura Sensei’s teachings. Shinto, the native Japanese faith, underscores purity and union with nature; it impregnated every aspect of Japanese civilization. Similarly, Zen Buddhism made an impression on Japan with its appearance from China myriad years ago. Since Nakamura Sensei grew up in Japan, which has been tinged for hundred years by Zen and Shinto, ambient factors and aesthetics of these doctrines are detected in what and how he taught.

He enjoyed the books of Dogen, a famous Zen monk. While he dismissed most of the religious trappings, rituals, and regulations Dogen mentioned, he found a kindred spirit in Dogen’s spiritual insight and concept of meditation. When Nakamura Sensei’s students indicated that the wording of these texts was different from his (and for loads of people incomprehensible as well), he was unabashed. He explained he identified not with the writing as much as the spirit behind it, adding that yoga and Zen sprang from the same Indian soil. He felt the yogic meditation of Kaliapa and the Zen of Dogen lead to the same place, but he was also clear about his desire to create new explanations for both Indian meditation and Japanese Zen that modern people could more easily relate to.

In addition, “Japanized” Chinese influences can be discovered in Shin-shin-toitsu-do. Nakamura Sensei spoke Chinese and lived in China at several points in his life.

Chinese Taoism originally stressed existing in friendship with nature and the cosmos. Over time it evolved meditations and health practices aiming at not just wisdom, but also long life, and in some sects even outright deathlessness. Hundreds of years ago, like copious aspects of Chinese civilization, these teachings shifted to Japan, where Taoism was proclaimed Dokyo. Advanced Taoist mystics, who’d accomplished elevated spirituality and physical health, and according to ancient legends eternal life as well, were called Hsien in China and Sennin in Japan. Although modern Japanese often mistakenly fail to distinguish between man and myth when they think of the Sennin, real life Sennin mystics practiced Sennin-do, the Japanese version of Taoist yoga, which underscores developing life energy via chi-kung exercises (kiko in Japanese). The Sennin have been characterized as Japanese equivalents to the yogi, and several of their techniques are comparable to methods found in Shin-shin-toitsu-do, which some believe is also a form of Sennin-do. Nakamura Sensei mentioned the Sennin and Sennin-do (a.k.a. Senjutsu) in his books, and his methods of self-healing and some of his breathing practices are too close to esoteric Taoist disciplines to be mere coincidence.

Although Shin-shin-toitsu-do isn’t a martial art, Japanese budo (“martial Ways”) also made an impression on Shin-shin-toitsu-do. Nakamura Sensei was exceptional at Zuihen Ryu swordsmanship, and the power of the martial arts can be felt in forms of dynamic meditation taught in Shin-shin-toitsu-do. It can likewise be witnessed in the vigorous and disciplined atmosphere in Shin-shin-toitsu-do classes.

During the Russo-Japanese War, he utilized his sword in combat, earning the somewhat dubious handle “Man-Cutting Tempu.” However after returning from India, he stressed compassion for all living things and during World War II earned the ire of Japan’s government by speaking against war of any kind. While he drilled solo sword exercises throughout his life, he imagined no adversary when using a sword for mobile meditation. His ability, nonetheless, remained so immense that he could easily slice through fat sections of bamboo. And he could do it using a wooden sword.

Inspiring? Certainly, but more inspiring still was the fact that the bamboo was suspended from hollows incised in two ribbons of paper, which in turn hung from two upturned knives clutched by two assistants. The bamboo would be split without ripping the suspending top and bottom holes in these paper ribbons. (When bamboo is carved in half with enormous speed, the middle part drops, permitting the outer ends to slide from the holes without disturbing the paper.) And Nakamura Sensei, using mind and body coordination principles, taught average folks with no swordsmanship training, to accomplish the same feat. He even taught students to slice through a pair of chopsticks with a business card or postcard, by visualizing ki energy passing through the utensils. Such is the power of mind and body unification.

Moving from the shita hara, a natural abdominal center, and concentration in the same region, has a heritage in both Zen and martial arts. In some of his dynamic meditation drills we can notice imprints of judo as well. Because Nakamura Sensei was friends with the originator of aikido and had important aikido instructors as students, we can notice aikido influences in Shin-shin-toitsu-do, especially in the art’s contemporary spin-offs.

All of these disciplines relate to Shin-shin-toitsu-do, but they aren’t Shin-shin-toitsu-do. A respected exponent of this art once criticized part of my history of Nakamura Sensei in Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation by saying Shin-shin-toitsu-do was the creation of Nakamura Sensei and that it shouldn’t be related to other disciplines. I agree . . . up to a point.

Shin-shin-toitsu-do is undoubtedly an outgrowth of the creativity of Nakamura Sensei. Nonetheless, everything comes from something. Nothing just spontaneously appears, and to imply that Shin-shin-toitsu-do evolved solely from the mind of its founder—with no historical ties to other cultures and meditative disciplines—won’t go over with readers versed in Asian culture and spirituality. For people like myself, who’ve spent their lives researching Asian religion, culture, art, and meditation, it isn’t difficult to see that yoga, Zen, Shinto, Taoism, martial arts, and Western sciences relate to Shin-shin-toitsu-do.

But make no mistake; I’m not stating that blending the disparate subjects above culminates in Shin-shin-toitsu-do. We could repeat everything Nakamura Sensei did and still not attain realization or even arrive at identical practices. He studied a glut of methods before traveling to India. It didn’t help him much. In truth, it was only when he stopped shopping for a fresh remedy or discipline that he could behold the Way of the universe.

Teaching the Way of the Universe
Nakamura Sensei taught for about 50 years. He gradually evolved exercises and mind-body unification principles that encapsulated his realization in India, and his teachings transformed countless people. The students directly taught by Nakamura Sensei numbered more than 100,000.

One of his favorite pupils, Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei, remembers him having the vigor of a twenty-something in his late eighties. Sawai Sensei often comments on how even as he aged his extraordinary intelligence and acutely heightened senses never dimmed.

Shortly before his death, he noticeably weakened. He counted among his students leading doctors. They were consulted, and they indicated that something unusual was happening—each of his organs and bodily systems were slowly declining. No cause could be determined. But his clarity of consciousness never paled.

At 92 years of age, on December 1, 1968, he called his family and students together. Sensing the end was near, or perhaps consciously deciding to leave, he said in a clear and calm voice, “Thank you. I’ll see you all again.” With that, like the fading note of an immense and ancient bell, he closed his eyes and merged with the universe.

Shin-shin-toitsu-do Today
It’s Nakamura Sensei’s unadorned perception of existence that made him beneficial to others. To reveal his insight, he employed different practices with which he was well-versed; but this is nearly incidental, as everything he communicated and every individual he moved with his statements, was inspired more by the strength of his link with ultimate reality than by anything else. It’s futile to only mimic the original methods he studied, to accumulate a compilation of such arts ourselves, or to blindly copy what he developed. Instead, we should personally perceive the truth as he did.

After his death, Tempu-Kai attempted to preserve and consolidate his teachings, creating official versions of exercises and methods. Easier said than done, as Nakamura Sensei taught “according to the person,” meaning different students sometimes learned different things, with exercises performed in different ways. Because he wasn’t promoting a dogma or religious tradition, when he was alive his teaching was not fixed and “official versions” were in flux. He continued learning and growing, which caused the way he taught and practiced various exercises to change and grow as well.

Thus, early students learned different approaches than people joining Tempu-Kai later in Nakamura Sensei’s life. Likewise, people in Kyoto didn’t always get identical instruction as individuals in Osaka or Tokyo. Over time, especially after his death, certain teachers made discoveries of their own concerning mind and body unification, discoveries that caused them to teach and practice in new ways. A case in point, Tohei Koichi Sensei, a top proponent of aikido, Zen, and misogi breathing exercises as well as one of Nakamura Sensei’s senior students, gave birth to a new group called Ki no Kenkyukai. He created his own style of Shin-shin-toitsu-do, modified by his experiences with other arts, and he created a new martial art called Shin-shin-toitsu aikido.

Like Tohei Sensei in aikido, other students mixed the principles of mind and body unification with their particular interests or jobs. This isn’t surprising as Nakamura Sensei encouraged pupils to apply his teachings to their daily lives. For instance, in addition to being a practitioner of Shin-shin-toitsu-do, my teacher Hirata Yoshihiko Sensei was a musician. Even after retiring from teaching Shin-shin-toitsu-do, he made his living offering music lessons based on coordination of mind and body principles.

Nakamura Sensei attracted leaders from various fields including fine arts, sports, healing arts, and other disciplines. A number of these teachers integrated mind and body unification exercises and concepts into their particular subject. (They haven’t, unfortunately, inevitably acknowledged their debt to Shin-shin-toitsu-do.) This represents another direction taken by some of Nakamura Sensei’s pupils after he passed away.

Tempu-Kai has published a multitude of books and audio tapes of his ideas; they’re generally accepted by the average Japanese as the “public face” of his teachings. Many talented people at Tempu-Kai devoted many hours, for many years, to preserving Shin-shin-toitsu-do. And in many ways, they’ve succeeded. Nevertheless, there isn’t now, nor has there ever been, a single, concrete, and universally practiced standard for this art.

Moreover, during Nakamura Sensei’s life, and to a greater degree after he passed away, some folks deified him as a god-like being, whose words cannot be altered and whose methods shouldn’t be allowed to evolve. This quasi-religious approach to Shin-shin-toitsu-do would have dismayed their sensei, who stated that organized religions frequently divide people, where he wanted to bring them together. Nakamura Sensei further emphasized that Shin-shin-toitsu-do seeks the source from which all spirituality emerges—before it’s organized and altered by institutions. Hashimoto Tetsuichi Sensei, one of his close students, writes:

First, Nakamura Tempu Sensei was really broadminded enough to accept all persons as his students, including Buddhists, Christians, non-religious people, agnostics, and atheists, if they sincerely wanted to learn and practice his Shin-shin-toitsu-do (Japanese yoga). This is the reason why the Tempu Society is a zaidan hojin (nonprofit educational organization) for promoting our mental and physical human condition. It is not a religious foundation of any sort, and this organizational direction is based upon the generous intention of its original founder Tempu Sensei.

Secondly, Tempu Sensei used to call himself “a finger pointing at the truth” and not the truth itself. Therefore, he strictly instructed us not to worship him.

Thirdly, Tempu Sensei also used to encourage us by saying, “You can and must start from the point I have reached.” Therefore, he would be most happy if his disciples, thankfully believing in his words, try to go beyond limitations of any kind, regionally, racially, culturally, etc. In other words, you do not have to enter the Himalayas as he did or become Japanese. You can make use of Shin-shin-toitsu-do in your own way, but you must not forget that you are encouraged to surpass the achievements of our teacher. (4)

Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei also quotes Nakamura Sensei as saying:

Each of us was born with a unique mission and role in life, which we must personally discover. I don’t desire to tell you what to do in your lives. I teach methods to help you find the strength and creativity to be able to do anything you decide you’re meant to do. There’s no need to copy me. (5)

According to Sawai Sensei, his teacher hoped Shin-shin-toitsu-do would spread outside of Japan, which is also a long cherished dream of Mr. Sawai’s. Yet Shin-shin-toitsu-do cannot be understood by Westerners who merely read articles like this one. We need to actually practice mind and body unification to discover our connection to the universe as Nakamura Tempu Sensei did. (6)

About the Author: H. E. Davey Sensei is the Director of the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts, located in the San Francisco Bay Area (http://www.senninfoundation.com/). In 2001, he wrote the first and only book in English about Nakamura Tempu Sensei and his system of Japanese yoga and meditation. The book is out of print, but autographed BRAND NEW copies can be purchased exclusively from the Sennin Foundation Center. Supplies are limited, and if you’d like to read more about how Japanese yoga can help you improve your health and realize your full potential, order a copy of Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation here: http://www.senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html

Notes
1. Nakamura Tempu, Shokushu—Shuren Kaiin Yo (Tokyo: Tempu-Kai, 1957), p. 46.
2. A yogi is a practitioner of yoga.
3. Changing names to commemorate key moments in one’s life has a long tradition in Japan. While less common today, it is still practiced by some traditionally minded Japanese.
4. Hashimoto Tetsuichi, The Sennin Foundation 25th Anniversary Commemorative Booklet (Albany, Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts, 2006), page 6.
5. Sawai Atsuhiro, personal conversation, 2006.
6. Much of the biographical material and quotes in this article comes from The Life of Nakamura Tempu, an unpublished manuscript written by Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei. It is used with the kind permission of the author.

The Life of Nakamura Tempu (3)

2008-05-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

AWAKING FROM THE WANDERING DREAM—
THE LIFE OF NAKAMURA TEMPU
(Part Three)

By H. E. Davey
Photos courtesy of Sawai Atsuhiro

Returning to Japan
After approximately three years in India and Nepal, he left in 1913. Before he got back to Japan, he landed in Shanghai to exchange ships. There he met an old friend, Yamaza Enjiro, Japanese Ambassador to China. The diplomat asked him to be a bodyguard to Sun Yat Sen, who was engaged in the Xinhai Geming Revolution to liberate the Chinese people from the reign of the Chinese Emperor. Saburo agreed and eventually became a top consultant to Sun Yat Sen. As a reward for his service, Saburo was given a hefty amount of silver when he left China for Japan.

With this capital, he became a success in the world of business. In a few years, he was President of the Tokyo Bank of Business & Savings and served on the Board of Directors of the Dai Nihon Seifun Milling Company. He also profitably managed several companies, becoming quite wealthy.

After several years of playing a leading role in the Japanese business community, he had a powerful vision that he was to teach what he’d realized in India. He abandoned his social status, businesses, and fortune. At 43, he began teaching the public. It was June 8th, 1919.

The Wind of Heaven
Saburo renamed himself Tempu, “The Wind of Heaven.”(3) He derived this name from the characters ten and pu, substitute pronunciations of the characters for amatsukaze. The amatsukaze is a formal technique, or kata, in Zuihen Ryu swordsmanship, which Nakamura Sensei was exceptionally proficient at. This name likewise appealed to his spiritual nature.

He taught a combination of the different arts and forms of meditation he’d learned, but exclusively in private lessons. Gradually, he taught more openly. Every morning he presented free training in Shin-shin-toitsu-do in Tokyo at Hibiya and Ueno parks. Nakamura Sensei stressed the union of mind and body, which he christened Shin (“mind”)-shin (“body”)-toitsu (“unification”)-do (“Way”). At times the names Shin-shin-toitsu (“Mind and Body Unification”), Shin-shin-toitsu-ho (“The Art of Mind and Body Unification”), and Toitsu-do (“the Way of Unification”) were, and occasionally still are, used by practitioners. The authentic spirit of the teaching cannot be limited by a name.

He founded the Toitsu-Kai (“Association for Unification”), with the word “toitsu” being an approximation of the term “yoga,” meaning union and harmony in Sanskrit. In September of 1919, Mukai Iwao, Chief Prosecutor, noticed him and introduced him to Hara Takashi, Prime Minster of Japan. Hara said, “This is a man to speak in a proper place, not in the streets.”

He helped some of Nakamura Sensei’s students create a society to support his work. It was called Toitsu Tetsui Gakkai, the “Unification Philosophy and Medical Research Society,” and dedicated to improving mental and physical health. It was a nonprofit educational organization as opposed to a church or temple. Nakamura Sensei insisted that Shin-shin-toitsu-do is an inquiry into the core of spirituality, not an organized religion.

Well-known people in political and financial circles attended his lectures. General Togo Heihachiro; Sugiura Jugo, a famed educator; and Ishikawa Sodo, the renowned Zen master of Sojiji Temple are just a few of his early students. Later, other prominent people such as Ozaki Yukio (Justice Minister of Japan), Goto Shinpei (Interior Minister of Japan and President of Manchuria Railway), and Asano Soichiro (founder of the massive Asano Cement Company) began participating in his seminars. By 1923, his fame had grown to the point that Justice Minister Yokota Sennosuke asked Nakamura Sensei to intervene in a workers’ dispute involving the Korean Keinan Railway.

In 1924, eminent Navy Admiral Yamamoto Eisuke (President of the Japanese Naval Academy) advised Marquis Komatsu to study Shin-shin-toitsu-do. Through the recommendation of Komatsu (former Prince Kitashirakawa Teruhisa), Nakamura Sensei taught three Imperial princes (Higashikuni, Kitashirakawa, and Takeda).

When Nakamura Sensei was 49 his lecture “Yamai and Byoki” (“Illness and Worrying about It”) was put on radio throughout Japan by the Osaka Broadcast Station. On June 8, 1925 it was broadcast just eight days after the radio station was established. (He was one of Japan’s first on-air featured speakers. His initial lecture took place just a few months after Japan’s inaugural radio broadcast on March 22, 1925.)

From 1925 on, numerous branches of the Toitsu Tetsui Gakkai were established in Kyoto, Nagoya, Kobe, and Otaru, Hokkaido. In January 1940, the Toitsu Tetsui Gakkai was renamed Tempu-Kai (the “Tempu Society”). Seminars and activities were held nationwide until the start of World War II.

In March 1945 (the last year of WWII), Japan’s wartime military government ordered the demolition of Tempu-Kai’s headquarters in Tokyo. This was due to Nakamura Sensei’s pacifist philosophy and fearless public denouncements of the war. In October 1946, the first Shin-shin-toitsu-do lectures after the war took place in the hall of the Toranomon Building in Tokyo. From that date, monthly public lectures were held at various places in the war-ruined metropolis.

In October 1947, at the age of 71, Nakamura Sensei taught Shin-shin-toitsu-do for three days to an audience of about 250 officials of the U.S. Army General Headquarters. This seminar took place in the basement hall of the Mainichi Press Building. The millionaire John D. Rockefeller III happened to be in the audience. Impressed by the teachings of Japanese yoga, he offered to bring Nakamura Sensei to the USA to teach. Nakamura Sensei declined, stating that his first priority was reestablishing the health of war torn Japan.

Tempu-Kai activities began taking place again with much greater frequency at the dawn of the 1950s. In 1962, when he was 82, the Japanese government officially recognized Tempu-Kai as a nonprofit educational foundation, or zaidan hojin. This important and difficult to obtain status was acknowledgement of the work Nakamura Sensei had done for years to help people improve their health.

In 1968, the Tempu Kaikan (“Tempu Society Hall”) was completed in Tokyo. Among the past and present students of Shin-shin-toitsu-do are members of the Japanese Imperial Family, government officials, business leaders, famous scholars, Japanese Order of Culture recipients, Olympic gold medalists, well-known actors, and celebrated novelists. Students included Emperor Hirohito, Matsushita Konosuku—Chairman of Matsushita/Panasonic, Kurata Shuzei—President of Hitachi Manufacturing, and Sano Jin—President of Kawasaki Industries. Yet Nakamura Sensei never directly advertised for students. He preferred to share the Way of the universe with people who found him through the natural course of their spiritual evolution. New students joined Tempu-Kai via the introduction of senior members of the group.

While Nakamura Sensei did teach specific methods of mind-body coordination, meditation, and health improvement, they merely served as techniques for living well. These techniques, while useful, cannot mysteriously produce enlightenment. No technique can. Correct techniques can, nonetheless, greatly improve our health, and under the right circumstances, aid in giving birth to an environment within which meditation can occur. It’s within meditation, not within a copied method, that the opportunity for spiritual realization exists. Various historical influences can be seen in Shin-shin-toitsu-do.

Indian Influences
Nakamura Sensei practiced unique versions of Raja yoga and Karma yoga with Kaliapa, with an emphasis on Raja yoga. These yoga forms had a major influence on Nakamura Sensei’s teachings.

Karma yoga is the yoga of action, cultivating awareness of our actions and their aftereffects. Karma yoga is also the yoga of selfless service (seva, Sanskrit), recognizing that since we’re all one with the universe, to help others is to help ourselves. Nakamura Sensei’s writings, indeed every one of his actions after returning from India, were examples of his Karma yoga path.

Raja yoga is often thought of as “classical yoga,” the yoga of meditation outlined in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the two-thousand-year-old seminal work on this subject. In the Yoga Sutras, a course of meditation, involving both mind and body, is explained as a way to spiritual liberation through union with the universe. Patanjali taught an eight-limbed path, one of the oldest and most respected interpretations of yoga in India. While several types of yoga evolved since the Yoga Sutras were written, the eight-aspect form that follows is considered by many to be most representative of ancient and traditional yoga:

1. Yama—The five outward characteristics of spirituality:
a. Aparigraha—Contentedness and not being materialistic
b. Asteya—To respect other’s property and boundaries; to not steal
c. Ahimsa—Nonviolence
d. Brahmacharya—To transcend lust
e. Satya—Sincerity and integrity

2. Niyama—The five internal characteristics of self-mastery:
a. Samtosa—Satisfaction in the present moment
b. Tapas—A burning determination
c. Saucha—Purity of mind and body
d. Svadhyaya—Self-awareness and introspection
e. Ishvara Pranidhana—Surrendering to the universe

3. Asana—Posture, which refers more to correct postures for seated meditation than to the postures of physical training practiced today in Hatha yoga

4. Pranayama—Breathing practices to balance, purify, and strengthen the mind and body

5. Pratiyahara—Nonattachment to the fleeting aspects of life; transcending the senses

6. Dharana—Methods of concentration that fix the mind on a single point

7. Dhyana—Meditation that progresses from dharana

8. Samadhi—An ecstatic state of union with the universe that is the essence of meditation

Nakamura Sensei’s teachings parallel the eight aspects of classical Raja yoga. His worldview embodied yama and niyama. The lotus posture he advocated for meditation is similar to one of the postures (asana) espoused in the Yoga Sutras. He also promoted pranayama breathing for health.

In his book Anjo Daza Kosho, Nakamura Sensei explained the advantages of not being attached to the relative world of fleeting phenomena (pratiyahara). He likewise indicated that in meditation, we transcend our five senses to “hear” a “soundless sound” that’s the quintessence of the universe, also an expression of pratiyahara. Nakamura Sensei further indicated his methods of meditation stem from dharana (concentration) that leads to meditation (dhyana). All of this culminates in what he called zanmai, the Japanese rendering of samadhi. His Shin-shin-toitsu-do shows the clear influence of classical yoga. True, it isn’t aligned with the Hatha yoga often popularized in the West, with its emphasis on physical training and body sculpting. It is, however, very much in line with the ancient Raja yoga outlined in the Yoga Sutras.

While Nakamura Sensei’s teachings don’t represent Hatha yoga, or even traditional Indian yoga, it’s wrong to think they’re only slightly related to genuine Indian yogic traditions. They are deeply connected to the time-honored meditative practices of Raja yoga.

Nonetheless, his teachings aren’t a mere copy of what he learned in India. They are, rather, a new way of explaining ancient truths . . . truths which transcend cultures and divisions. Drawing on medicine, psychology, and science, he sought a different, easier way of presenting these teachings to modern people. It is, therefore, mistaken to think that Shin-shin-toitsu-do no longer has an association with Indian meditation. Nevertheless, assuming that it’s simply a Japanese translation of the original Raja yoga is also erroneous.

Both Anjo Daza Ho and Muga Ichi-nen Ho meditations, which Nakamura Sensei created, were shaped by yogic meditation. Since Nakamura Sensei had limited training in Hatha yoga, the more physical style of yoga, it was natural for him to evolve stretching exercises and physical education based on the philosophy of Kaliapa, Japanese martial arts, and his own insights. Still, he sporadically taught a handful of asana, or Hatha yoga “postures.” And while he created new breathing techniques, some traditional pranayama exercises were also covered. I made a point, however, in Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation to avoid offering material readily available in scores of books on Indian yoga.

About the Author: H. E. Davey Sensei is the Director of the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts, located in the San Francisco Bay Area (http://www.senninfoundation.com/). In 2001, he wrote the first and only book in English about Nakamura Tempu Sensei and his system of Japanese yoga and meditation. The book is out of print, but autographed BRAND NEW copies can be purchased exclusively from the Sennin Foundation Center. Supplies are limited, and if you’d like to read more about how Japanese yoga can help you improve your health and realize your full potential, order a copy of Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation here: http://www.senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html

The Life of Nakamura Tempu (2)

2008-05-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

AWAKING FROM THE WANDERING DREAM—
THE LIFE OF NAKAMURA TEMPU
(Part Two)

By H. E. Davey
Photos courtesy of Sawai Atsuhiro

Encounters with Celebrities and Philosophers
Shortly after Bruce’s seminar, an acquaintance gave him a letter of introduction to the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844—1923). He went to Paris to meet her in 1911. Bernhardt wasn’t only a great artist but an ardent student of philosophy as well. When he visited her mansion, he expected an old woman, but Bernhardt looked to be just 27 or 28 years old. She was, in fact, 66 years of age.

“You look very young. Are you really Sarah Bernhardt?”

“Yes, there’s no age for an actress,” she said smiling. Saburo received his first lesson in the effects of attitude on aging, and this “no age philosophy” afterwards was referenced in his classes.

He stayed a few months at her home, where stunning actresses and celebrities visited her salon, and where he often heard genuinely happy laughter. It was there that he realized the impact of laughter on health and mind-set. It would become one of his major teachings. (Years after, one of my teachers of Shin-shin-toitsu-do, Hirata Yoshihiko Sensei, sometimes started classes by leading us in three successive belly laughs, a procedure inherited from Nakamura Sensei.)

Bernhardt recommended a biography of Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher who had an incurable lung disease from childhood. Kant endured immense pain and relentlessly complained to his parents. But his doctor finally advised, “Your illness, I’m sorry to say, cannot be cured. Your body’s suffering, but your mind is healthy and needn’t suffer. If you don’t think about your body, your mind will do what you want it to do.”

Kant then realized how he’d live his life—he would follow the inclination of his mind to do what he most wanted. And that was to study philosophy.

Saburo was moved by this tale, and its message was subsequently reflected in his Shin-shin-toitsu-do, “The Way of Mind and Body Unification.” Nakamura Sensei mentioned that he often recalled the story of Kant when struggling with long periods of meditation in India, the final stop in his search for health and spiritual realization.

While in Paris, he visited Lyon University through an introduction from Bernhardt. He studied with a French psychologist, who taught a method of autosuggestion using a mirror. (Nakamura Sensei’s version of this important habit-altering tool can be found in Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation.)

About this time, Saburo left France to meet Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch (1867–1941). Driesch was a German biologist, who turned into a philosopher. He discovered that a segment of an early sea urchin embryo could develop into an undiminished, though smaller than usual, living being. This challenged prevailing mechanistic outlooks and led to Driesch’s theory of “vitalism,” explaining organic systems in terms of an enigmatic self-determining law instead of in purely physical or chemical terms. He was the author of The History and Theory of Vitalism, Theory of Order, Logic as a Task, and Theory of Reality. He taught philosophy at the University of Heidelberg, and later at Cologne and Leipzig. In 1933, Nazi intervention caused him to “retire.”

Saburo asked him about the relationship between body and mind, and how to make his mind stronger. The philosopher replied, “This is an age-old mystery. I’ll think about it, and you’ll think about it. If either of us find the answer, it will be a vast contribution to humanity.” Driesch’s comments were honest but not encouraging. Nakamura Sensei years after told students, “I thought if I opened this door, there’d be a garden of beautiful flowers. I found an immense ravine of despair.”

Saburo lost all hope. In May of 1911, he decided to return to Japan to see his mother and die a disappointed man. At Marseilles, he boarded a cargo ship for China. He pondered, “I wonder if I’ll die on the way home, lying in bed like a sea louse.”

When the vessel neared the Suez Canal, there came a report that an Italian gunboat ran aground at the Canal, and that they’d have to wait in Egypt for several days. They dropped anchor in Alexandria at the mouth of the Nile River.

A boiler man onboard from the Philippines befriended Saburo. “You and I are the only Asians on this boat. Why don’t we become friends and go see the pyramids?” Saburo wasn’t in the mood, but he went with him to Cairo, where they stayed at a hotel. The following morning Saburo vomited a hefty quantity of blood into the washbasin. Feeling dizzy, he couldn’t stand, so he lay lifelessly in bed. His companion saw the pyramids alone.

A Mysterious Stranger
Eventually an African hotel worker noticed him and said, “If you continue to go without eating, you’ll die.” A huge man, he carried an emaciated Saburo in his arms to the hotel restaurant. Nakamura Sensei later wrote that he ordered soup, but in his condition it tasted like sand.

He then noticed a gentleman dressed in purple sitting five or six tables away. His skin was brown, and he looked to be about sixty years old. In truth, he was closer to 100. Two men were standing behind him and waving an immense feather fan.

“Maybe he’s a chieftain somewhere,” Saburo thought.

The stranger looked at Saburo and smiled. Saburo, strangely moved by the man’s gaze, grinned back weakly. The old man commanded, “Come here!”

In an instant, Saburo found himself standing before him. He felt as if he was pulled by a strong magnet. The gentleman watched him intently for several minutes and then spoke in English.

“You have a serious illness, and you’ve given up on life. But my eyes tell me you’re not destined to die yet. Come with me tomorrow.”

“Certainly,” Saburo answered without thinking. He was surprised by his own words.

He told the story to the Filipino boiler man, who replied, “He could be trading slaves, and you could be sold!” He tried to stop Saburo from going with this peculiar person. The situation looked serious, and his friend started crying in apprehension and frustration. But Saburo’s mind was made up.

The next morning he went to the river bank behind the hotel, where he saw a ship with three sails moored. Onboard was his new benefactor, who simply said, “You’re saved.”

Saburo didn’t ask who he was, where he was taking him, or even how he could save him. Nakamura Sensei later said, “My silence seemed to interest and delight the gentleman in purple.”

At the Foot of the Himalayas
After a three-month journey through India, they reached a village in Nepal called Gorkhe, which was at the foot of the third peak of Mt. Kanchengjunga in the Himalayas. At 28,146 feet, Kanchengjunga is the third highest mountain in the world. It belongs to a mountain chain crossing India, Nepal, and Bhutan. Between China and India, Gorkhe resides in the Ramam river valley. It’s just a few miles from the Indian towns of Mirik, Simana Basti, and Shiliguri; dense forests and mountains surround it. Rhododendrons and magnolias grow wild throughout this area.

Gorkhe was an old historical place, where yogis (2) came to practice under the guidance of their guru, or teacher. The mysterious man was this guru, a yoga expert named Kaliapa (a.k.a. Cariapa and Kariappa). He stated that the British Royal Family invited him annually to see the King, and Saburo met Kaliapa by chance in Cairo, when he was returning to India. This encounter was a pivotal moment in history and not merely because it saved Saburo’s life. Nakamura Saburo became Nakamura Tempu Sensei, founder of Shin-shin-toitsu-do. Often affectionately referred to as Tempu Sensei, he, in turn, rescued countless Japanese from illness, while helping numerous others spiritually.

In this yoga village, an elderly man was assigned to care for Saburo, who was given a simple hut. As Saburo was by Indian belief the lowest class (caste) and Kaliapa the highest, Saburo was told not to talk directly to him.

Every morning the guru gave an audience to his students. Saburo and others prostrated themselves on the ground and were forbidden to look up. Days passed in this way, but Kaliapa didn’t teach him anything.

Saburo assumed his guru would call him immediately for instruction, but more than a month passed with no training. Had Kaliapa forgotten his promise at the Cairo hotel? Saburo couldn’t wait any longer, and one day when the guru came his way, he stood up suddenly and blurted, “I have a question!”

Kaliapa smiled broadly. Saburo knew then that he hadn’t forgotten his pledge.

“You told me in Cairo that you’d teach me. When will you do it?”

“I’m prepared to start anytime, but you’re not ready yet.”

“I am ready! I’ve come here for no other reason.”

“You don’t look ready. Let me explain—bring me a pot of cold water.”

Earthen pots of water were lying here and there. Saburo brought one to his guru. Next, Kaliapa ordered him to bring a pot of hot water. “Pour this hot water into the cold pot,” the teacher said, even though the pot was already full.

“The water will overflow, if I do,” said Saburo.

“How do you know that?”

“Why, it’s an easy thing to see,” Saburo stated indignantly.

“The same can be said of you. Your mind is full of other things. You’re thinking, ‘I’ve studied medicine in America, I’m from a developed country, and I’ve read a lot of philosophy books.’ You’re filled with pride. If you’re not empty, whatever I say won’t enter your mind. Right?”

He understood immediately and was taken aback.

“You seem to understand me now. All right. I’ll teach you from tomorrow morning. Come to my room with a mind like a newborn baby’s.”

First Steps on the Path
At last Saburo began yoga training. He studied various methods, with an emphasis on meditation and breathing exercises. But more than this, Kaliapa produced an atmosphere in which Saburo stopped searching for revelations in books, ideologies, or the beliefs of others. Kaliapa, using psychological approaches that Nakamura Sensei remembered as severe, energized him to seek firsthand awareness, which wasn’t reliant on any master or method.

Kaliapa taught him that the universe and human beings are one. We’re thus endowed with the energy of the universe (ki in Japanese, prana in Sanskrit). Consequently Kaliapa felt that we can learn from nature itself.

He informed Saburo that he relied too much on the knowledge of others, and that his illness was a blessing in disguise, because it compelled him to contemplate the nature of his being. Nonetheless, to progress further in life, it was time to forget about dying. Kaliapa noted that as it was impossible to predict when he’d be no more, Saburo should cease agonizing about death and live every day fully.

Kaliapa also noted that the body mirrors the brain and feelings. Figuratively, the mind is the origin of a stream, and the body is like the downstream flow. Kaliapa stressed that if the body falls sick, the mind must stay positive or our bodily state further weakens. He even indicated the condition of specific organs was a sign of associated emotional difficulties.

He taught Saburo that an important step for maintaining a positive condition in the mind, body, and organs was understanding kumbhaka, a psychophysical state he said was akin to a spiritual body, which could endure hardships in the harsh Himalayan Mountains. His teacher only gave hints about how to accomplish this: “Keep your body like a bottle full of water with even pressure around it. This is kumbhaka.”

Yogis entered a shallow stream and sat in the water in meditation to grasp kumbhaka. Gorkhe’s elevation is 4094 feet, and the water was icy, coming from melted Himalayan snow. With the lower body in the torrent, they attempted to adopt a posture utilizing kumbhaka, which let them endure extreme cold, and which is fully detailed in Japanese Yoga: the Way of Dynamic Meditation. Once a day, Saburo practiced this with the other yogis. His guru told him an old man, then nearly 90, had been doing it for years, but he still couldn’t remain composed in the frigid conditions. Saburo, however, after some weeks could tolerate the ice-cold stream.

“Now you’re getting it,” Kaliapa shouted as Saburo sat in the water. But once he left the brook, his guru cried, “No, not yet!”

Saburo wondered what wasn’t yet good enough for his mentor. He continued practicing in the waterway, and a few days later, after he stepped out of the stream, Kaliapa said happily, “Now you have it. You’re the fastest to master kumbhaka.”

Although Saburo was happy about his progress, he wasn’t too excited about what he was eating. He felt meals were meager at the yoga village—sometimes just millet (a grain) or barnyard grass dipped in water and served on fig leaves. One day he complained to his teacher, “I’m suffering from tuberculosis. When I was in Europe, I ate nutritious food like meat and eggs every day. Meals are poor here. Can they sustain my body?”

Kaliapa indicated that a vegetarian diet was more than acceptable for maintaining health. Saburo in time realized how important this statement was.

After some months, he stopped vomiting blood. His chronic fever dropped, and he gained weight. At first he thought, “This clean, fresh air must be good for me.” But years after he decided the vegetarian food improved his health. Throughout his life, he encouraged his students to follow a vegetarian, or at least semi-vegetarian, diet.

Once he understood kumbhaka, his guru began taking him to a waterfall deep in the mountain to meditate. Kaliapa riding a donkey and Saburo on foot went up the mountain daily. There was a flat rock near the basin of the waterfall. On their first visit, Kaliapa pointed at the rock and said, “Sit there and think about why you were born.” Once he was in the lotus position, his guru’s favored seated meditation posture, Kaliapa left.

Saburo sat and thought for hours. In the evening, his teacher abruptly appeared and asked for an answer to the question. His answer was wrong. Kaliapa suddenly struck him!

At that shocking instant, Saburo realized that we’re born with a great mission to work in unison with the universe. He later remembered feeling one with the universe and receiving its wisdom. Nakamura Sensei’s realization ultimately led him to declare that people are “lords of creation,” since only humankind is conscious of being born and the certainty that we’ll pass away. Even more, while plants and animals are one with the universe, just like human beings, only humanity can consciously recognize this and act upon it. Within the human race are reflexive attributes shared with plants, and an emotional nature similar to animals. But divergent from plants and beasts, humanity has an aptitude for logic seldom duplicated by animals. This capacity for rational thought can usher people away from their natural condition. But it also gives us the ability to consciously grasp our intrinsic harmony with the universe, a faculty which Nakamura Sensei called uchu-rei, the “universal mind,” or reiseishin, the “spiritual mind,” of a genuine human being.

He told this, in essence, to Kaliapa. And this time, his teacher replied, “Well done.”

The Voice of Heaven
Despite his realization, Saburo and Kaliapa continued visiting the waterfall for meditation. At first, Saburo was annoyed by the thundering cascade, complaining to his teacher, “That sound’s terrible and deafening; it drives me crazy. Can I sit somewhere more peaceful?”

Kaliapa replied, “I’ve thought deeply about this, and I’ve chosen that flat rock for your meditation.”

“Why?”

“To help you hear the Voice of Heaven.”

“The Voice of Heaven?”

“Yes.”

“The heavens have a voice?”

Saburo respected his guru, but he had doubts about this “Voice of Heaven” idea. Coming from a more urbane, educated society, he thought he was in a less sophisticated country. He asked cynically, “Have you ever heard the Voice of Heaven?”

“Yes, all the time. I’m hearing it even as we speak.”

This made no sense to Saburo. Kaliapa elaborated, “If you’re disturbed by the waterfall, you can’t hear it. Nor can you hear the Voices of the Earth.”

“You mean there are Voices of the Earth, too?”

Kaliapa explained, “Beasts howling, insects chirping, birds singing, the sound of the wind—these are all Voices of the Earth.”

“I already hear them.”

“Can you hear them by the waterfall’s basin?”

Saburo blurted, “No, it’s impossible! Near that overpowering sound, you can’t hear anything.”

“Think negatively and you really can’t hear them. Try to hear the Voices of the Earth today. Actually try first, and then see whether you hear them or not.”

He tried, but the roar thundered over him, and he couldn’t listen to a thing. But a few hours later, as he was closing his eyes and sitting calmly on his rock, he faintly heard chirping, “Twee, twee, twee.” He opened his eyes to see petite colorful birds flying from one stone to another. At first, it seemed like a hallucination, but suddenly he clearly heard a bird singing in unison with the movement of its hooked beak. After that, he noticed whenever he strained to listen to them, he couldn’t hear the birds. But when he did nothing, his mind grew unruffled and empty, and he could eavesdrop on their twittering. It was a key realization, one you’ll also find valuable when you study meditation in upcoming chapters. In short, the more we try to calm the mind, the more we unsettle it.

After days of sitting alone, motionless by the Himalayan cascade, Saburo perceived cicadas chirping, the wind rustling foliage, and even the howls of panthers and wolves deep in the woods. He happily reported this to Kaliapa.

“That’s wonderful. Now also listen for the Voice of Heaven.”

Saburo tried hard to perceive this Voice. However, he couldn’t hear anything. He didn’t have a single clue to go on, so he eventually asked Kaliapa, “What does the Voice sound like?”

“Did you also hear the Voices of the Earth, when you tried to hear the Voice of the Heaven?”

“What?”

Kaliapa clarified, “You can naturally hear the Voice of Heaven if you’re not attached to the Voices of the Earth that enter your ears.”

Saburo was puzzled, but kept struggling to notice the Voice of Heaven. “I’ll really ignore the Voices of the Earth,” he thought. But the more he tried, the more the natural sounds stuck in his mind. Saburo then understood if we strain to not think about something, we are thinking about it. Real meditation involves doing nothing and resting in complete naturalness.

Day after day he listened for the Voice of Heaven to no avail. He was irritated, but his ego wouldn’t let him ask Kaliapa another question. Frustration mounting, he began grinding his teeth.

He sat statue-like for long hours, absolutely motionless in meditation, beside the falls. And each day he experienced immense pain in his legs and back, to say little of his psychological torment. Once, he contemplated throwing himself into the basin of water at the bottom of the cataract. “How many days have passed like this?” he wondered.

One day, sitting with his eyes closed, he felt something lick his knee. He opened his eyes and saw an animal the size of a large dog. Saburo quickly realized this was no oversized puppy. It was a black panther.

Saburo stared at the panther. The panther stared at Saburo.

Looking into its glaring eyes, his mind emptied itself just as when he first heard the Voices of the Earth during meditation. He did nothing, and the big cat leisurely wandered down to a stream. After it departed, Kaliapa appeared and rushed to him, “Did you see the panther?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Are you all right?”

“Yes I am, sir.”

Saburo was told Himalayan black panthers are the world’s most fierce and dangerous. On the way back home that evening, his guru asked, “Did you feel fear when you met the panther?”

“No, not at all.”

“Then you’ll hear the Voice of Heaven soon. When your eyes and the panther’s met, you did and thought nothing. That natural, unforced, innocent feeling is extremely important. Don’t forget that feeling!”

Three more months passed, but Heaven wasn’t talking. He told Kaliapa, “It’s really hard to hear this Voice.”

“If you think negatively, it is hard. Right now birds and cicadas are singing. But when you listen to me, your mind perceives them, yet it isn’t attached to them or distracted by them. You can only truly hear me when you aren’t mentally stuck on the other sounds in your environment. That’s why you can listen to me, right? That’s it. It’s the same thing. It’s simple.”

Saburo tried again and again to hear the Voice of Heaven, and it nearly drove him insane. Humiliated, his burden was nearing its limit.

“No more! I’m done. I give up.”

He stood up shouting, “What’s the use? I’ve lived my whole life without hearing that Voice. The hell with it!”

He threw himself face up on the grass. Opening his eyes halfway, he gently looked at the sky.

Flecks of clouds floated by, and he was slowly attracted to the changing form of each cloud. Although he still heard the sounds around him, unconsciously he found himself, once again, doing and thinking nothing.

Instantly, he experienced a state beyond thought, beyond personal ego, beyond suffering. He later wrote at that split second, in a moment outside of time, he penetrated deeply into the ultimate nature of life.

Kaliapa ambled up to the waterfall aboard his faithful donkey. However this particular sunset he found a transformed student. Saburo said to him as they left the mountain, “I was watching the clouds, and suddenly my thoughts about myself disappeared . . . just a vast void, brimming with energy. It’s indescribable, but I didn’t hear any Voice.”

“You’ve heard it at last!”

“What do you mean?”

“The Voice of Heaven is the Voice of the Universe. It’s a voiceless voice, a soundless sound—absolute stillness.”

“I see . . . well, I have another question. What will happen, now that I’ve heard the Voice?”

Kaliapa answered, “From this moment, your life will be guided by, and filled with, the immeasurable energy of the universe.”

“Energy of the universe?”

“Soon the signs of its presence will be clearly evident to you.”

Tears welled up in Saburo’s eyes. He thought, “I studied medicine at Columbia, but I couldn’t see this truth. Now the universe, trying to save a fool like me, whispers its secrets through this old man.” He cried in joy.

It was 1912. At 36 years old he experienced satori, or spiritual realization. And his illness was long gone. It never returned.

About the Author: H. E. Davey Sensei is the Director of the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts, located in the San Francisco Bay Area (http://www.senninfoundation.com/). In 2001, he wrote the first and only book in English about Nakamura Tempu Sensei and his system of Japanese yoga and meditation. The book is out of print, but autographed BRAND NEW copies can be purchased exclusively from the Sennin Foundation Center. Supplies are limited, and if you’d like to read more about how Japanese yoga can help you improve your health and realize your full potential, order a copy of Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation here:

http://www.senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html

The Life of Nakamura Tempu (1)

2008-05-29T12:39:00.000-07:00

AWAKING FROM THE WANDERING DREAM—
THE LIFE OF NAKAMURA TEMPU
(Part One)

By H. E. Davey
Photos courtesy of Sawai Atsuhiro

Now I am completely awakened from the wandering dream, and I stand at the entrance to a new, enlightened existence. My eyes are open to see a brilliant life in the future. My heart is filled with inexpressible and infinite joy.

Nakamura Tempu (1)

Since the early 1920s, a unique spiritual path has existed in Japan. This distinctly Japanese version of yoga is called Shin-shin-toitsu-do, and it combines seated meditation, moving meditation, breathing exercises, and other disciplines to help practitioners realize unification of mind and body. A synthetic method, it’s also influenced by Japanese meditative and healing arts, martial arts, as well as Western psychology, medicine, and science. Shin-shin-toitsu-do is widely practiced throughout Japan. And it is almost unknown in other countries.

Through its principles of mind and body coordination people have an opportunity to realize their full potential in everyday life. A remarkable man, who led an equally remarkable life, created it. He was known in Japan as Nakamura Tempu Sensei, and this is his story.

The Birth of Nakamura Saburo
Nakamura Sensei’s father Sukeoki was a samurai (a bushi warrior) and a son of a prominent feudal lord in Kyushu. Descended from the Tachibana family of the Yanagawa Clan, Sukeoki was a progressive man, who introduced European ideas into his country. Chou, Nakamura Sensei’s mother, a charming woman, strong and reliable, was born in Tokyo.

For much of Japanese history, the Emperor reigned, but he didn’t actually rule. A feudal military regime, lead by the bushi caste, governed Japan with an iron fist.

In the late 1800s, Emperor Meiji and his followers wrenched Japan from the hold of the bushi in a bloody civil war. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the bushi were no longer in power, and their class, with its special rights and privileges, was abolished. Nakamura Sensei’s ex-bushi father was given a high-ranking post in Tokyo with the Department of the Mint in the Finance Ministry. While working for the Mint, he invented an exceptionally strong paper (made of silk and traditional Japanese paper), which was used to manufacture the new government’s bank notes. The family lived well in a Tokyo suburb, not far from the paper factory. Nakamura Sensei was born in this house in 1876 and originally named Nakamura Saburo.

A British engineer, who specialized in printing, was employed by the Mint. He lived near the Nakamura family, and his family was fond of Saburo. They taught him conversational English on a daily basis. He excelled in English, a skill that served him well during his later travels in the USA, Europe, and India.

He was a wild child, and hoping that some discipline would settle little Saburo down, his parents enrolled him in martial arts classes at age six. It didn’t work. Once during a schoolyard fight, he became so furious that he broke a child’s fingers and tore off another’s earlobe! This is quite a contrast with the gentleperson he became, a respected spiritual teacher who espoused world peace.

In junior high school, Saburo led the school judo club. When his squad defeated another school’s team in a tournament, the losers bore a grudge against him since he was the winning club’s headman. They ambushed him when he was coming home from school; ten of the boys beat him severely.

The next morning, Saburo visited each of their homes and confronted them. Apologies were forcefully extracted. Finally, he visited the house of the losing team’s leader, and upon entering the residence, found the teenager. Fearing for his life, the boy rushed into his kitchen, grabbed a knife, and attacked Saburo. They grappled until Saburo snatched away the knife and plunged it into his adversary’s belly.

The boy died. Saburo went to prison. He was subsequently released after being declared innocent, having acted in self-defense. He obviously hated being bullied and losing to others.

While problematic in childhood, he later felt that, as he matured, aspects of this attitude helped him overcome several difficulties which arose in his life. In time, this inclination mutated into a search for perfection that caused him to take immense satisfaction in doing anything and everything thoroughly. Still later as a teacher, his perfectionism could be seen in his quest for genuine truth through science and philosophy.

A Secret Agent is Born and Nearly Dies
Nakamura Saburo played an active role as a military intelligence agent in the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95). He engaged in secret service activities in Manchuria and China a few months before the Sino-Japanese War. He studied Chinese intensely for one year in preparation for entering Mongolia and China.

When the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) broke out, he applied for a job as an undercover agent and got it—even though there were 2000 applicants. Saburo was chosen because his history indicated that he was courageous, and because he excelled at judo, kendo (a modern sport based on swordsmanship), and Zuihen Ryu batto-jutsu, an ancient form of swordsmanship. (His ties to Toyama Mitsuru, a political leader, also likely helped during the selection process.)

He worked as a spy in Manchuria with his partner Hashizume, a Japanese person born in Manchuria, but who looked Chinese. During the Russo-Japanese War their team blew up bridges and railways, slipped into the headquarters of the enemy to steal documents, and fought with bandits using swords. Saburo, in particular, was a lethal weapon when he had a sword in his hands. Despite his skill, he was captured by a Cossack cavalry and sentenced to die.

He later wrote that, to his surprise, he wasn’t afraid to face death. In fact, he had a sound night’s sleep before his scheduled execution. That morning he was served a substantial Russian breakfast, which he ate to his heart’s content.

The official, who was to observe the execution, joined him at breakfast. Impressed by Saburo’s composure, he said, “You look like a young boy. I’m sorry I have to execute you. Do you have anything to say before you die?”

“No, nothing.”

“Strange . . . you don’t look sad or frightened. Why?”

Saburo said, “I’m not sad, but I do regret something.”

“What do you regret?”

“My mother can’t see me now.”

The Russian official exclaimed, “I don’t understand Japanese people! Would your mother be happy to see you die?”

“No, but she’d be proud that I’m dying for my country.”

Before he was to be executed, Saburo refused a blindfold. Tied to a wooden post, he told the three gunmen, “I want to see where your bullets hit me. Don’t miss.”

When the shooters were about to fire, a hand grenade exploded. It marked the timely arrival of Hashizume. He was told of Saburo’s plight by a Chinese girl Saburo once saved from bandits. The commotion caused by the explosion allowed him to run away, albeit with a stake stuck to his back. It was a narrow escape. Later, this incident became a play performed in Japanese theaters.

Tuberculosis and the Search for a New Life
Japan won the Russo-Japanese War. However, Saburo’s life in Manchuria was less than wonderful. He drank polluted water, ate rotten food, and worked in disguise, wearing old laborer’s clothes. At 29 years old, he returned to his parents’ house in Tokyo. (He was one of only nine people that returned home alive out of his group of 113 military personnel.) After his return, Chairman Nezu Kaichiro asked him to join the Dai Nippon Flour Mill as an executive.

His employment was cut short when he began coughing frequently, and after vomiting blood, he was diagnosed with severe tuberculosis, which he probably contracted during the war. Death was advancing, and there was no cure in those days. In fact, the doctor who made this diagnosis gave him only six months to live.

Despite Saburo’s knowledge of Japanese healing methods, his condition worsened. This created not only a problem in his body but also in his mind. Along with tuberculosis came an existential crisis that was worse. Years later, he wrote that when he’d been sentenced to die, he wasn’t afraid, but this time it was different. Feeling his physical and emotional deterioration, he grew angry with himself. He began reading about religion and philosophy, constantly pondering the meaning of life. He met religious authorities, Christian and Zen Buddhist, but none of them could help him find peace of mind.

Looking for clear, pragmatic principles or methods that could guide him, he didn’t find them in organized religion. What he did find, he subsequently recalled, were people preaching certain ideas, who couldn’t actually teach them. When Saburo became the celebrated meditation teacher Tempu, his first priority was inventing easily understood principles and techniques of mind-body unification. He helped people with immense compassion, remembering what he went through during his illness.

Even with our modern ease of transportation, most of us wouldn’t travel internationally while seriously ill, but this wasn’t the case with Saburo. He visited the United States in 1909 to meet Orison Swett Marden, a doctor and author of books on personal growth. While in the U.S., Saburo received Western medical care, which initially seemed to cure him. Pleased with the potency of these treatments, Nakamura Sensei attended Columbia University, where he studied medicine.

But his illness returned, and he was crushed. After the long journey by ship, crossing the Pacific Ocean to seek answers about human mortality and to treat his disease, he was coughing up blood again.

Despite training in Japanese spiritual paths, since his tuberculosis diagnosis he’d become completely preoccupied with his body. Understanding this and maybe sensing that he had gone as far as he could with “body-oriented remedies,” he investigated the mind as a mechanism of healing. Encouraged by Thomas Edison’s assertion that his famous discoveries weren’t due to what he’d learned in school, but came from conscientiously observing ordinary events, Nakamura Sensei thought a remedy might lie within his psyche, and it might be unearthed in daily life.

After medical training in New York, he felt the secrets of life weren’t confined to Japanese spiritual approaches. As a result, he eventually succeeded in contacting Orison Swett Marden (1850-1924), an important philosopher and the author of How to Get What You Want. Marden, a Harvard trained M.D., is considered by some to be the initiator of the modern human potential movement in the USA. Marden's first work, Pushing to the Front, published in 1894, sold well. In 1897, he founded Success Magazine, which reached the large circulation (for that era) of almost a half-million. His periodical ran into monetary difficulties and ceased publication in 1912. In 1918, he created a new Success, which was swiftly growing in circulation when Marden passed away in 1924. His numerous books express the need for optimism and self-assurance. He had roughly two million words waiting in unpublished manuscripts when he died. Despite his prolific and pioneering efforts in the psychosomatic field, Marden’s method provided no cure for Nakamura Sensei’s disease.

Nakamura Sensei then heard of a metaphysician, who’d successfully treated an ailment of Edison’s, applying psychosomatic medicine. None of it worked for him. Yet from these mind-body theories, he developed a spiritual outlook and non-materialistic attitude that influenced him for the remainder of his days.

In 1911, he sailed across the Atlantic to Britain, where he attended an expensive psychology seminar lead by H. Addington Bruce called “Mental Activities and the Nervous System.” Bruce authored books like Adventurings in the Psychical, The Riddle of Personality, Scientific Mental Healing, and Sleep and Sleeplessness. From roughly 1903 and until America's entry into World War I, he wrote copious articles and books about psychology. During an era when extensive differences existed between psychologists as to subject matter and techniques of study, he developed a progressive portrayal of psychology, which emphasized the subconscious and the power of suggestion. Unlike more materialistic premises adopted by many academic psychologists, Bruce's pushing of the significance of environmental and spiritual factors in psychology lent scientific credence to new psychological approaches. It foretold psychology's change in the 1920s towards a greater stress on the effects of one’s environment on the mind and a greater concern with the unconscious.

Having probably read Bruce’s books, it’s easy to see why Saburo wanted to attend a seminar with such a well-known lecturer. At the conference, the speaker concluded: “If you have an illness, forget it. That’s the secret to curing a disease.” Saburo wasn’t satisfied with Bruce’s explanation, so he visited him.

“I’m at a loss. I can’t seem to forget my illness. Please show me how to forget it.”

“Well, you just need to keep trying,” the seminar leader said.

“I’ve tried many times, but . . .”

Bruce didn’t have another answer, and they quarreled. Saburo grew angry; he got up and kicked the door before leaving the room. He later recalled thinking that lecturing people, without first showing them how to do what you’re asking of them, was as effective as not speaking at all. Even today many people teach various subjects in just that way, and this became a catalyst for his practical approach to teaching mind and body unification.

Inasmuch as he was in Europe, he resolved to keep investigating the young European science of psychology, common themes from which he later adapted to his teachings. His research into psychology and philosophy spread across France, Germany, and Belgium—with tuberculosis haunting his every step.