Strength
Foreword
When my friend and student Kevin Keitoshi Casey took a deep interest in the ninja kuji-no-ho, seemingly magical channeling powers, I warned him that it would not be an easy study. I present a glimpse of these teachings only rarely, because so few are willing and able to grasp this kind of training. I told him that the initiation experiences at the seminars were just the introduction. I also warned him that there would be no such thing as completing the training because it is an ongoing personal evolution. I warned him that mere knowledge was insufficient to work with these powers.
I pointed out that the hunger for this secret knowledge has led many people to speculate or outright lie about how it works. There are many frauds in the world willing to pretend they have attained mastery of such ancient spiritual wisdom. As the subtle truth from authentic training eludes the seeker, he may be driven to grasp at any seeming source of knowledge, no matter how questionable.
Ironically, this passion-driven grasping can close the door permanently on progress, as the seeker latches on to false information and becomes hopelessly distracted by it. It becomes even worse if the seeker then poses prematurely as a teacher, as that person must now justify their confusions to others and further entrench the delusions in their own heart. I was very concerned that my friend Kevin could fall victim to such a fraudulent teacher. I was also reluctantly aware of the compelling ego seduction that could lead to Kevin becoming such a premature, and thereby fraudulent, teacher himself.
The truth is, if a person really wants to pursue secret inner knowledge like the ninja kuji, they will have to hold a difficult balance. The burning passion that drives one to track down spiritual power must be matched with a firm commitment to lessons offered by authentic teachers, practical and grounded research, serious inner inquiry, and a willingness to face awkward and painful personal realizations. It will not be easy, and it will not be comfortable. if a person is only pursuing the kuji to fulfill a fantasy of personal power or illusion of special destiny, they will be turned back when they encounter the true inner obstacles and inevitable personality defects that block the flow of this power.
In my own life, I was certainly inspired by a sense of unfolding destiny as I apprenticed with the ninja grandmaster in japan, studied his martial art and these seemingly magical nine capabilities, went on to study with yamabushi seekers of the mountains’ power in japan, and then gained access to the dalai Lama and coaching through even deeper realizations by Tibetan masters of the esoteric spiritual tradition in the himalayas. What is not described in my books is the extreme inconvenience, cost, awkwardness, and even resistance from friends as I pursued this training. Add to that my own moments of doubt, possible arrogance, misunderstanding, and frustration as I unraveled the mystery of what the kuji are. Walking barefoot on hot coals is one literal training experience in the kuji, but also an apt metaphor for the path. It works, but it doesn’t always feel safe or comfortable, physically or mentally. The only way to succeed is to keep moving forward with earned faith.
It takes more than one experience with the kuji for the lessons to penetrate and integrate. Way past knowledge, and even past familiarity with the initiation rituals and the feeling of the energy, is a wild land of personal exploration and living the kuji. For that reason, I was so pleased to read Kevin’s personal stories of the kuji coming to life for him. He shares the authentic lore, as he interprets it from the layers of understanding revealed along his journey. This personalization is the most authentic way to share the meaning of the kuji.
I am amazed to read how much he remembers of what happened in our times together. I am impressed and a bit surprised to see that he retained those important moments and got the significance. For most of the people at the events he mentions, the memory has long since faded and been forgotten. Kevin really saw the point of what I was teaching. He explored it tenaciously until it made sense to him. I am proud to count such a seeker on the path among my friends and students.
There is an old Tibetan tradition called terma treasure-finding, where a seeker who has just the right personal aptitudes and karma connections rediscovers an ancient lost teaching and brings it back to life for everyone. Often the seeker literally finds a physical artifact or text, but sometimes the seeker accesses a teaching transmitted unexplainably through their own mind and destiny. The seeker’s way of looking at the world brings the teaching to the surface and gives it a revitalized form for the age.
The Ninja Mind brings to life the first aspect of the nine kujino-ho powers as reflected from a modern american’s adventure. It is a new teaching, because Kevin is interpreting the kuji through his experiences. It is at the same time the original ancient lineage teaching, because it is through our personal challenges and triumphs that these kuji methods live on. He shares the old mantra and mudra that I learned from my teachers on Mt. Yoshino and Mt. Hiei in japan, he explains how I taught it to him at sacred mountain sites, and then he shares his own reflections on applying the power in the world.
It is his and my hope that you will be inspired to seek out such power in your own life. The journey towards grasping the needed lessons will not be easy. It will not be comfortable or quick or inexpensive. It could be very dangerous. It will never be completed. But it is worth it. We’d like to show you how.
– Stephen K. Hayes
Stephen K. Hayes was the first american to be accepted as a personal student by Masaaki Hatsumi, the thirty-fourth master of the Togakure-ryu ninjutsu tradition. A member of the Black Belt hall of Fame and the founder of To-Shin Do, a mind and body self-protection system, he lives in dayton, Ohio. He is the author of numerous books including The Ninja and Their Secret Fighting Arts and The Ninja Defense.
Martial arts legend Stephen K. Hayes with his friend and student Kevin Keitoshi Casey. —Photo by Kim Speek
