Note: I am by no means an expert in this area. Samurai Zen literature is quite deep and it probably takes many years to penetrate its deeper meanings. I posted the books that I used at the end of this mini-essay for reference.
No-Mind (or Mushin) is a state in which highly-cultivated samurai enter during combat. So what is no-mind? And what is the mind? The mind is probably the most mysterious thing in the universe. What is it composed of? How does it work? Does it have a shape or form? In Zen Buddhist philosophy, the mind is understood as being empty in its true and natural state. In other words, the ultimate nature of the mind is emptiness and it has no form. We call this "no-mind". But when the mind has been distracted by the endless current of thoughts and emotions (that may arise during combat), it takes on myriad forms and is no longer considered empty. A samurai with a fixated and distracted mind will be at a disadvantage. And a samurai with a empty and free-flowing mind will gain the upperhand. We call the latter the "state of no-mind" and it is essentially a form-less state of awareness that trancends rationalization. At this level of awareness, the samurai isn't constrained by techniques anymore and can actually transcend them and act effortlessly.
This captures the saying: "no technique can beat any technique, no pattern beats any pattern, no mind beats any mind."
As mentioned above, the true nature of the mind is understood to be empty and without form in Buddhist philosophy. This is the concept of Sunyata (voidness or emptiness) found in the Buddhist sutras. The symbol of Zen (the Zen Circle or enso) represents the empty nature of the mind. In Zen Buddhism, the emphasis is on experiencing the state of no-mind (or emptiness) directly in all facets of life. It is this reason that Zen has spread into all the cultural arts of Japan including swordplay, calligraphy and painting. Musashi himself was a highly respected Zen painter as well as a highly-accomplished swordsman. So what exactly is meant by no-mind?
One of the greatest contributors to the doctrine of No-Mind was Hui Neng. Hui Neng was the sixth and last patriarch of Zen Buddhism and founder of the Southern School of Zen which taught Sudden Enlightenment. The philosophy of no-mind is best captured in his poem which went as follows:
"There is no Bodhi-tree,
Nor stand of mirror bright.
Since all is void,
Where can the dust alight?"
Hui-Neng's poem basically encapsulates what is meant by no-mind. Sometimes people make the mistake of giving the mind a certain form. They associate their mind with a mirror and they try to keep it clean and pure by cleaning the dust off of it. But if the mind is truly without form, then how can they even begin to contemplate it? How can they even clean it? In the ultimate reality, there is no mind and there is no mirror. So if the mirror doesn't even exist, where can dust collect? Hui Neng's teachings on no-mind can be found in his Platform Sutra. It had a huge influence on samurai zen culture (and zen culture as a whole).
Highly cultivated samurai in the past practiced zazen meditation and studied zen koans (riddles) to cultivate their state of no-mind. With this deep understanding, they can carry it to their swordplay and attain a state that transcends all the limitations of techniques and forms. In Yagyu Munenori's No-Sword scroll, he states that the mind must not be fixated on the actions of the opponent. If the mind stops and lingers somewhere, you will be defeated in combat. So to adopt a form-less sword style, the mind must be free to move effortlessly. Since the true nature of the mind has no form or shape, it is invisible. But when it clings and becomes fixated, the mind takes on a form and becomes visible to both you and the opponent. To attain the state of no-mind in combat is to practice the highest level of swordplay.
References:
1) Doctrine of No-Mind by D.T. Suzuki
2) Platform Sutra by Hui Neng
3) Soul of the Samurai by Thomas Cleary
4) Book of Family Traditions by Yagyu Munenori
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