Such philosophy is alien in Japan。Even though Japan is a great Buddhist nation，i-deas of transmigration and of nirvana have never been a part of the Buddhist faith of the people。These doctrines are personally accepted by some Buddhist priests，but they have never affected folkways or popular thought。No animal or insect is spared in Japan be-cause killing it would kill a transmigrated human soul，and Japanese funeral ceremonies and birth rituals are innocent of any notions of a round of reincarnations。Transmigration is not a Japanese pattern of thought。The idea of nirvana，too，not only means nothing to the general public but the priesthoods themselves modify it out of existence。
Just as alien in Japan is the doctrine that the flesh and the spirit are irreconcilable。Yoga is a technique to eliminate desire，and desire has its seat in the flesh。But the Jap-anese do not have this dogma。“Human feelings”are not of the Evil One，and it is a part of wisdom to enjoy the pleasures of the senses。The one condition is that they be sacrificed to the serious duties of life。This tenet is carried to its logical extreme in the Japanese handling of the Yoga cult：not only are all self-tortures eliminated but the cult in Japan is not even one of asceticism。Even the“Enlightened”in their retreats，though they were called hermits，commonly established themselves in comfort with their wives and children in charming spots in the country。The companionship of their wives and e-ven the birth of subsequent children were regarded as entirely compatible with their sanctity。In the most popular of all Buddhist sects priests marry anyway and raise fami-lies；Japan has never found it easy to accept the theory that the spirit and the flesh are incompatible。The saintliness of the“enlightened”consisted in their self-disciplinary meditations and in their simplification of life。It did not consist in wearing unclean cloth-ing or shutting one's eyes to the beauties of nature or one's ears to the beauty of stringed instruments。Their saints might fall their days with the composition of elegant verses，the ritual of tea ceremony and“viewings”of the moon and the cherry blossoms。The Zen cult even directs its devotees to avoid“the three insufficiencies：insufficiency of cloth-ing，of food，and of sleep。”
The final tenet of Yoga philosophy is also alien in Japan：that the techniques of mysticism which it teaches transport the practitioner to ecstatic union with the Universe。Wherever the techniques of mysticism have been practiced in the world，whether by primitive peoples or by Mohammedan dervishes or by Indian Yogis or by medieval Chris-tians，those who practice them have almost universally agreed，whatever their creed，that they become“one with the divine，”that they experience ecstasy“not of thin world。”The Japanese have the techniques of mysticism without the mysticism。This does not mean that they do not achieve trance。They do。But they regard even trance as a technique which trains a man in“one-pointedness。”They do not describe it as ecstasy。The Zen cult does not even say，as mystics in other countries do，that the five senses are in abeyance in trance；they say that the“six”senses are brought by this technique to a condition of extraordinary acuteness。The sixth sense is located in the mind，and train-ing makes it supreme over the ordinary five，but taste，touch，sight，smell，and hearing are given their own special training during trance。It is one of the exercises of group Zen to perceive soundless footsteps and be able to follow them accurately as they pass from one place to another or to discriminate tempting odors of food-purposely introduced-without breaking trance。Smelling，seeing，hearing，touching，and tasting“help the sixth sense，”and one learns in this state to make“every sense alert。”
This is very unusual training in any cult of extra-sensory experience。Even in trance such a Zen practitioner does not try to get outside of himself，but in the phrase Nietzsche uses of the ancient Greeks，“to remain what he is and retain his civic name。”
The Japanese thus wipe the slate clean of the assumptions on which Yoga practices are based in India。Japan，with a vital love of finitude which reminds one of the ancient Greeks，understands the technical practices of Yoga as being a self-training in perfec-tion，a means whereby a man may obtain that“expertness”in which there is not the thickness of a hair between a man and his deed。It is a training in efficiency。It is a training in self-reliance。Its rewards are here and now，for it enables a man to meet any situation with exactly the right expenditure of effort，neither too much nor too little，and it gives him control of his otherwise wayward mind so that neither physical danger from outside nor passion from within can dislodge him。
Such training is of course just as valuable for a warrior as for a priest，and it was precisely the warriors of Japan who made the Zen cult their own。One can hardly find elsewhere than in Japan techniques of mysticism pursued without the reward of the con-summating mystic experience and appropriated by warriors to train them for hand-to-hand combat。Yet this has been true from the earliest period of Zen influence in Japan。
Many Japanese sects，both Buddhist and Shintoist，have laid great emphasis on mystic techniques of contemplation，self-hypnotism，and trance。Some of them，howev-er，claim the result of this training as evidences of the grace of God and base their phi-losophy on tariki，“help of another，”i。e。，of a gracious god。Some of them，of which Zen is the paramount example，rely only on“self-help，”jiriki。The potential strength，they teach，lies only within oneself，and only by one's own efforts can one increase it。Japanese samurai found this entirely congenial，and whether as monks，statesmen，or educators-for they served in all these roles-they used the Zen techniques to but-tress a rugged individualism。Zen teachings were excessively explicit。“Zen seeks only the light man can find in himself。It tolerates no hindrance to this seeking。Clear every obstacle out of your way……If on your way you meet Buddha，kill him！If you meet the Patriarchs，kill them！If you meet the Saints，kill them all。That is the only way of reac-hing salvation。”
He who seeks after truth must take nothing at secondhand，no teaching of the Bud-dha，no scriptures，no theology。“The twelve chapters of the Buddhist canon are a scrap of paper。”One may with profit study them，but they have nothing to do with the light-ning flash in one's own soul which is all that gives Enlightenment。
The traditional training given by Zen teachers was intended to teach novices how“to know。”The training might be physical or it might be mental，but it must be finally validated in the inner consciousness of the learner。Zen training of the fencer illustrates this well。The fencer，of course，has to learn and constantly practice the proper sword thrusts，but his proficiency in these belongs in the field of mere“competence。”In addi-tion he must learn to be muga。He is made to stand first on the level floor，concentrating on the few inches of surface which support his body。This tiny surface of standing room is gradually raised till he has learned to stand as easily on a four-foot pillar as in a court yard。When he is perfectly secure on that pillar，he“knows。”His mind will no longer betray him by dizziness and fear of falling。
This Japanese use of pillar-standing transforms the familiar Western medieval aus-terity of Saint Simeon Stylites into a purposeful self-discipline。It is no longer an austeri-ty。All kinds of physical exercises in Japan，whether of the Zen cult，or the common practices of the peasant villages，undergo this kind of transformation。In many places of the world diving into freezing water and standing under mountain waterfalls，are standard austerities，sometimes to mortify the flesh，sometimes to obtain pity from the gods，sometimes to induce trance。The favorite Japanese cold-austerity was standing or sitting in an ice-cold waterfall before dawn，or dousing oneself three times during a winter night with icy water。But the object was to train one's conscious self till one no longer noticed the discomfort。A devotee's purpose was to train himself to continue his meditation with-out interruption。When neither the cold shock of the water nor the shivering of the body in the cold dawn registered in his consciousness he was“expert。”here was no other re-ward。
Mental training had to be equally self-appropriated。A man might associate himself with a teacher，but the teacher could not“teach”in the Occidental sense，because nothing a novice learned from any source outside himself was of any importance。The teacher might hold discussions with the novice，but he did not lead him gently into a new intellectual realm。The teacher was considered to be most helpful when he was most rude。If，without warning，the master broke the tea bowl the novice was raising to his lips，or tripped him，or struck his knuckles with a brass rod，the shock might galvanize him into sudden insight。It broke through his complacency。The monkish books are filled with incidents of this kind。