Mushin
無心
A state of mind that does not cling to a thought or emotion and therefore responds spontaneously. The concept comes from Zen, and the monk Takuan brought it into swordsmanship.
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Definition
Mushin (無心) consists of the characters 無, without, and 心, heart, mind. The full phrase mushin no shin is translated as “mind without mind”: a mind that is not fixed on a thought or emotion and is therefore open to everything. It is not an empty head but clarity and spontaneity. The concept comes from Chinese Chan Buddhism and Japanese Zen. For the martial arts it was decisively described by the Zen monk Takuan Soho (1573–1645) in a letter to the swordsman Yagyu Munenori, known as Fudochi shinmyoroku. Takuan writes that a mind that stops nowhere is everywhere. In such a state the swordsman acts without the hesitation and deliberation that would slow him in combat.