Although you see the sword that moves to strike you, if your mind is not detained by it
and you meet the rhythm of the advancing sword; if you do not think of striking your
opponent and no thoughts or judgments remain; if the instant you see the swinging
sword your mind is not the least bit detained and you move straight in and wrench the
sword away from him; the sword that was going to cut you down will become your own,
and, contrarily, will be the sword that cuts down your opponent.
In Zen this is called "Grabbing the spear and, contrariwise, piercing the man who had
come to pierce you." The spear is a weapon. The heart of this is that the sword you wrest
from your adversary becomes the sword that cuts him down. This is what you, in your
style, call "No-Sword."
Whether by the strike of the enemy or your own thrust, whether by the man who strikes
or the sword that strikes, whether by position or rhythm, if your mind is diverted in any
way, your actions will falter, and this can mean that you will be cut down.
...
Fudo Myoo grasps a sword in his right hand and holds a rope in his left hand. He bares
his teeth and his eyes flash with anger. His form stands firmly, ready to defeat the evil
spirits that would obstruct the Buddhist Law. This is not hidden in any country
anywhere. His form is made in the shape of a protector of Buddhism, while his
embodiment is that of immovable wisdom. This is what is shown to living things. ... If ten men, each with a sword, come at you with swords slashing, if you parry each sword
without stopping the mind at each action, and go from one to the next, you will not be
lacking in a proper action for every one of the ten.
Although the mind act ten times against ten men, if it does not halt at even one of them
and you react to one after another, will proper action be lacking?
But if the mind stops before one of these men, though you parry his striking sword, when
the next man comes, the right action will have slipped away.
Considering that the Thousand-Armed Kannon has one thousand arms on its one body, if
the mind stops at the one holding a bow, the other nine hundred and ninety-nine will be
useless. It is because the mind is not detained at one place that all the arms are useful.