musings on ninja
It's been a while...I've been busy with work and such...so busy that I haven't had much time to do some things I really want to do, like type up more lyrics for my site, or catch up on watching Naruto. And this next week is going to be crazy with book rush and classes starting on Tuesday. I'll be glad to get back to class though.
So before break I'd only seen like six episodes of Naruto, and then because I was so bored by myself in Arizona, I watched thirty-five episodes or so and really found myself caught up in the story. And then when I got back here I didn't have any time to watch the rest of what I had. -.- On that note I found a really cool book at a used bookstore that's all about the philosophy of the ninja as understood by a Westerner who actually studied under a ninja master in Japan. It's really interesting and changed the way I thought about elements (earth, water, fire, air, void). There's a hierarchy where earth is the lowest and void is the highest. This corresponds to levels of living things and even senses. Also, each sort of reaction to a particular situation can be classified into corresponding to a particular element. Ninja think about what element a particular reaction would correspond to and which elemental nature would be best in any situation from diplomacy to combat. Earth is solid, so an earth reaction in combat would be one that holds ground and endures an attack. An earth reaction to an unpleasant situation would be just to ignore it and endure it rather than actually reacting. Water is fluid, so a water reaction in combat is one that gives ground, retreats or withdraws. A water reaction to an unpleasant situation would be to complain or get angry about it. A fire reaction in combat is very much on the offense, taking ground and striking out. Oddly enough, a fire reaction to an unpleasant situation is to find a way to enjoy it anyway. An air reaction in combat eludes and confuses the opponent, and an air reaction to an unpleasant situation is to contemplate how it could be made better. There's more depth to it than that, but that's the essence. Maybe I'll write more about it when I understand it better. It's interesting that in a lot of circumstances I tend to naturally react in a way that corresponds to either air or fire. For a long time I've been thinking about what element the people I know well have dominant in their personalities (I usually end up with a primary and a secondary element). But then, when I though about how they'd react to things according to this correspondence, the elements I already had for people matched how they tend to react to things. That was the thing that made me go "Wow, this makes a lot of sense somehow, even though it sounds kinda weird."
So before break I'd only seen like six episodes of Naruto, and then because I was so bored by myself in Arizona, I watched thirty-five episodes or so and really found myself caught up in the story. And then when I got back here I didn't have any time to watch the rest of what I had. -.- On that note I found a really cool book at a used bookstore that's all about the philosophy of the ninja as understood by a Westerner who actually studied under a ninja master in Japan. It's really interesting and changed the way I thought about elements (earth, water, fire, air, void). There's a hierarchy where earth is the lowest and void is the highest. This corresponds to levels of living things and even senses. Also, each sort of reaction to a particular situation can be classified into corresponding to a particular element. Ninja think about what element a particular reaction would correspond to and which elemental nature would be best in any situation from diplomacy to combat. Earth is solid, so an earth reaction in combat would be one that holds ground and endures an attack. An earth reaction to an unpleasant situation would be just to ignore it and endure it rather than actually reacting. Water is fluid, so a water reaction in combat is one that gives ground, retreats or withdraws. A water reaction to an unpleasant situation would be to complain or get angry about it. A fire reaction in combat is very much on the offense, taking ground and striking out. Oddly enough, a fire reaction to an unpleasant situation is to find a way to enjoy it anyway. An air reaction in combat eludes and confuses the opponent, and an air reaction to an unpleasant situation is to contemplate how it could be made better. There's more depth to it than that, but that's the essence. Maybe I'll write more about it when I understand it better. It's interesting that in a lot of circumstances I tend to naturally react in a way that corresponds to either air or fire. For a long time I've been thinking about what element the people I know well have dominant in their personalities (I usually end up with a primary and a secondary element). But then, when I though about how they'd react to things according to this correspondence, the elements I already had for people matched how they tend to react to things. That was the thing that made me go "Wow, this makes a lot of sense somehow, even though it sounds kinda weird."