Kuji-in and Kuji-kiri ... long but worth it

[Soul Reaver]

Salutations.


I`ve recently read an old topic named "rin pyo toh sha kai chin retsu sai zen" about what Mugen called the "seals"....

And I thought I`d clear things up a bit, since none of the answers got even close to their true meaning.


FIrst off, the nine kanji (the so-called "kuji") were at first numerals, but have since been altered by many religious cults and Ninpo. The act of reciting them outloud is believed by many to drive away evil forces and cancel curses and other such forces. This is called "Kujikiri".

The "seals" he mentions however (and that`s as good a description as any) are a form of "evocation" spell to conjure to oneself the nine levels of power the ninja (especially Iga Ryu) believed in. These are called "kuji-in" and are a collection of 81 hand seals that are grouped 9 by 9. Their respective meanings are:


RIN - Strength of Body and Mind
PYO - Channeling of Energy (a.k.a. Kyo)
TOH - Harmony with the Universe
SHA - Healing of self and others
KAI - Danger Sense
CHIN - Percieving of Thoughts (a.k.a. JIN)
RETSU - Distortion of Space and Time
ZAI - Control over The Elements
ZEN - Enlightenment


Here is a brief description of the seals, quoted from a website that are not absolutely accurate, but are fairly reliable:




"


The legendary Kuji~In
(Kuji~Kiri can be found here)
The nine finger "cuts" that give the Ninja their power.


Although believed to be a Ninja secret the Kuji~In was also used by the Samurai. Where it came from no one is sure but it does have similarities to Hindu and Tibetan Mundras. The Kuji~In is more a way of concentrating the mind than weaving magic with ones hands despite many Sensei and Movie companies attempts to prove otherwise.

Below you will find a series of pictures showing the hand and finger positions for the "popularised" version of the Ninja Kuji~In. There are several different versions of these finger symbols that are used by the Ninja and Samurai. I have chosen only to show the basic form as I believe the secret forms should only be passed on to ones highest ranked students.
It should be stressed that it is more important to get the mind correct than it is to have the exact finger positions.
Each cut represents one of the Nine levels of power. I leave it to the student to decide what is meant by "power" but it has been proven to me time and time again that as a student progresses so does his level of thinking. I will hint at this during the description of each cut."












RIN
STRENGTH OF MIND AND BODY
At first this may appear to be physical strength and mental intellect but maybe we can think of this as being physically well and having a positive outlook.
Middle fingers extended, others interlocked



KYO
DIRECTION OF ENERGY
To begin this may seem to refer to directing your energies into work but later it could be that you see it as a way of directing your internal energy to increase your inner power.
Index fingers and thumbs extended, middle fingers curled over index fingers. Others interlocked



TOH
HARMONY WITH THE UNIVERSE
This can work on many levels from learning to live in peace with mankind and the animal kingdom to being at one with yourself.
Last two fingers extended to form a V (tips touching). Thumbs extended, others interlocked



SHA
HEALING OF SELF AND OTHERS
The ability to heel is more powerful than the ability to kill.When you sense your inner power you will no longer succumb to viruses and other ailments.A word to those that would use their powers to harm others
"It is easy to kill a man, but could you watch one die?"
Index fingers and thumbs extended, others interlocked



KAI
PREMONITION OF DANGER
If this cut is fully achieved you may find that you can feel the emotions of others (even at a distance) which can aid in knowing how others will react in a given situation.
All fingers interlocked



JIN
KNOWING THOUGHTS OF OTHERS
I believe that this cut increases your ability to "feel" the thoughts of others. When your are adept at this power you can hide your thoughts and feelings from others.
All fingers interlocked inwards



RETSU
MASTERY OF SPACE AND TIME
Think of this...Have you ever noticed how the day has passed quickly for others but has taken an age for you? Everybody has the ability to control their own "time" With this power one could use it to easily defeat an opponent.
Index finger of left hand pointing up with the fingers of the right hand curling round it. The thumb of the right hand should be pressed against the outside edge of the nail on the index finger of the left hand).



ZAI
CONTROL OF THE ELEMENTS OF NATURE
Can one truly control nature? Maybe the real answer is that a Ninja understands nature and works with it.
Fingers outspread, palms out. Index fingers and thumbs touching



ZEN
ENLIGHTENMENT
Know yourself before you ask "Who are you?"
Right hand covering Left hand. Thumb tips touching






By Soul Reaver... a drifter in the sands of time...

[sshh]

If you are going to quote a website, maybe you should give the source address, ya know, to avoid being accused of plagiarism.

That stuff looks very familiar, and I believe I saw it on a website that also had this line, "Note: Please DO NOT use this part of my web site or the graphics on any other web site."

I'm sure Jim Gould is around here somewhere, may want to ask him about it.

[Soul Reaver]

Originally Posted by sshh

If you are going to quote a website, maybe you should give the source address, ya know, to avoid being accused of plagiarism.

That stuff looks very familiar, and I believe I saw it on a website that also had this line, "Note: Please DO NOT use this part of my web site or the graphics on any other web site."

I'm sure Jim Gould is around here somewhere, may want to ask him about it.

Perhaps you`re right. Here`s the site: http://shell.world-net.co.nz/~jimgould/


Dont know who Jim Gould is though.

Anyway, the seals provided there are the most commonly known and have been used in many things from trainning to the openning theme of "Go Go FIve" (a kind of power-rangers-like japanese tv series for kids) and are thus no real secret. The true seals are a little different, some slightly, some drastically altered. I myself have had access only to one variation of the kuji-in set, but know of the existence of the other seven.

Perhaps someday I`ll have the honor of learning those?
WHo knows, but for now, I`ll stick with what I know, and if anyone has a greater knowledge I humbly ask: Enlighten me if you find me ignorant.


Thanks.

[sshh]

http://www.geocities.com/fascin8or/jsp_kuji.htm

I recommend doing a search for Mikkyo / Buddhism and then finding info on kuji, rather than get information about religion from a martial arts website.

I'll see what else I can dig up.

"Enlighten me if you find me ignorant."

I cannot consider those that seek enlightenment to be ignorant.

Gambatte kudasai!

[JimGould]

I think that the web site also states that 'this is the popularised version' Maybe Jim Gould means that we should use this as a spring board to seek the truth. Your explanation of Kuji-Kiri is wrong BTW

Do not forget that this is a Samurai Art and NOT A ninja one. Oh yes and plagiarism is fine if you remember the APA form of referencing

[Keikai]

I dont think things like this should be shown on the net, it gives all the freaks out there an opportunity to say they are ninja because they KNOW finger weaving.

Bit irresponsible i think, but thats only my opinion!

[khafra]

Originally Posted by Greg Chapman

I dont think things like this should be shown on the net, it gives all the freaks out there an opportunity to say they are ninja because they KNOW finger weaving.

Bit irresponsible i think, but thats only my opinion!

And freaks out there having an overly high opinion of themselves hurts you how?

Been thinking about it a bit, lately--if martial artists are to care more about substance than image, and free from constraints of ego, wannabe's, however successful they are at self-delusion, simply shouldn't be a concern.

[sshh]

JimGould: "Do not forget that this is a Samurai Art and NOT A ninja one."

Wrong. Kuji is neither a samurai art nor a ninja art, it is a buddhist spiritual practice. Those samurai that also happened to be buddhists (or at least appreciated some of the philosophy) may have used kuji, same goes for ninja.

" Oh yes and plagiarism is fine if you remember the APA form of referencing "

Well, if you use any form of referencing, it is no longer plagiarism. And I prefer MLA over APA myself.

Anyhoo . . . if you're going to copy text from somewhere, give credit to the author in some form or another. It's just the right thing to do.

[Keikai]

This hurts the art because there are schools like the Bujinkan Genbukan etc and other ninja schools who get kids coming to the door reading things like that with high expectations, i would'nt even dream of trying to learn something like that until i well well up the dan scale, this is the stuff of the seniors. Its not about people getting high opinions of themselves, its about some 14 yr old kid who does karate reading this pretending he is a ninja and either people laughing at him or the ninja or giving him a real beating for been a bellend!

When we do recruitment for our club, the first few lessons we do is drumming into these people what they are really doing and to actually get rid of there ego and wannnabe perspective, thats why it is damaging.

[Soul Reaver]

Originally Posted by Greg Chapman

This hurts the art because there are schools like the Bujinkan Genbukan etc and other ninja schools who get kids coming to the door reading things like that with high expectations, i would'nt even dream of trying to learn something like that until i well well up the dan scale, this is the stuff of the seniors. Its not about people getting high opinions of themselves, its about some 14 yr old kid who does karate reading this pretending he is a ninja and either people laughing at him or the ninja or giving him a real beating for been a bellend!

When we do recruitment for our club, the first few lessons we do is drumming into these people what they are really doing and to actually get rid of there ego and wannnabe perspective, thats why it is damaging.

Damaging to the one in question, not the school per se.

That shouldn`t be a concern if you`re sure of what you`re doing. The fact that others may be missing the greater meaning of an art doesn`t mean anything to the real practitioners.

As in Helloween`s song "Rise and Fall" :
"Sometimes you`re wrong by some things you have done
You see fate is too strong, nothing`s won

No use for a fight, if you`re not acting right you`ll be
Cut down to size like a lie."


So just let it be...
And if people give less credit to ninjutsu practioners, it just means they`ll get a greater beating from underestimating their foes if combat arises.


Be true to your path, for it is yours and yours alone to walk.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surrounded by night I`ve been offered insight, there is none but the sin of pride.

[Rus]

Originally Posted by Soul Reaver

As in Metallica`s song "Rise and Fall"

Sorry to hijack the thread, but what album is that on please? I thought I'd heard everything Metallica had done, but I guess not!

[Soul Reaver]

Sorry, my mistake, it's actually from Helloween's "Keeper of The Seven Keys" album, track name's Rise & Fall...

But let's keep the focus on the topic at hand, shall we?
Sorry for the bad reference...
I'll edit it right away...

[sshh]

Greg Chapman: "This hurts the art because there are schools like the Bujinkan Genbukan etc and other ninja schools who get kids coming to the door reading things like that with high expectations ..."

Soul Reaver is right on that one. I wouldn't worry about anything giving the true art of ninjutsu a bad name. Those in the know, know; those that don't, don't matter.

It's like people talking about pollution harming the planet. Believe me, the planet is just fine, it's all us poor animals that are going to suffer.

So what if people come to the art with high expectations? They should be! If they get disappointed, then they weren't meant to learn ninjutsu in the first place. If some 14 yr. old karate-kid wants to think he's a ninja 'cause he saw some cool-looking stuff on a website . . . let him play, he's a kid. Dojo's shouldn't be recruiting the immature anyway.

I was a buddhist before I was a martial artist. I've used hand-mudras, chanted mantras, and focused my mind with certain thought patterns long before starting ninjutsu. The fundamentals of kuji really aren't all that strange once you understand how it's supposed to work, and you don't have to be a ninja master to learn it. Now, learning how to use it to improve my ninjutsu skills is something I would rather save until after I actually know more about ninjutsu skills.

If you are worried about things giving ninjutsu a bad name, maybe it is because you connect yourself with the art, and you don't want to look bad yourself. This is defending your own ego, not defending the art.

[xplasma]

ZEN
ENLIGHTENMENT
Know yourself before you ask "Who are you?"
Right hand covering Left hand. Thumb tips touching
.

We used this hand postion to mediate before and after class. however, the other Positions aren't taught yet at my level.

[dragon_bunny]

on a semi related topic. The new-ish ninja anime naruto use hand seals to mould their chakura and perform spells or moves, it's atchually quite a good take on the whole ninja seal thing...
anyways thats i have to say on the matter except we do the retsu in kami no kata, and were basically told not to do any other hand seals except that and a wecome one untill we knew what they all ment