Mature Spontaneity

The Zen parable “Swordsmanship of the Cat” offers an interesting entry point for discussion around the form and essence of mastery. The story features feline characters symbolizing varying skill levels in swordsmanship and disciplines. On the surface, it celebrates a resting cat whose spontaneous response outdoes the trained talents of his mocking peers.

However, unpacking the deeper lessons in this tale leads to insights bridging immature versus mature spontaneity, the balance of diligent effort with wu-wei, and the maturation process enabling childlike wonder to manifest through wisdom.

We will summarize the allegorical narrative, explore connections to Taoist and Zen principles, address potential misinterpretations, and relate the concepts to a wider framework of human development.

Ultimately, while exalting the natural mastery flowing through aligned effortlessness, the story also subtly cautions against assumptions that such mastery arises without engaged cultivation.

The Story

The “Swordsmanship of the Cat” tale originates from a 17th century Buddhist text. It depicts a feudal lord who adores felines and has gathered many cats acclaimed for their talents and tricks. Several of the cats can perform impressive feats — leaping over high walls, catching mice, walking on their hind legs, and so forth.

However, there is one cat who simply sleeps all day, seemingly doing nothing and displaying no skills. The other cats mock this lazy feline for its inactivity. But when a barking dog suddenly encroaches, it is revealed that the resting cat possesses the deepest mastery. In a flash the cat neatly sends the dog retreating without needing to even fully rise.

The moral illustrates that true mastery transcends technical feats or external performance, residing more fundamentally in effortless action, alignment, and cultivation of presence. The spontaneous cat represents this deeper discipline, while the showboating cats showcase a more superficial level of conditioned talent.

Connections to Zen Principles

The resting cat’s spontaneous skillful response aligns with core Zen ideas of purposelessness and non-striving. Rather than having a goal to perfect and intentionally showcase talents like the performing cats, the sleeping cat lives in a state of simply being.

Its action emerges intrinsically without conscious effort or imposition of will. This alignment with its Buddha-nature represents the Zen perspective on mastery — shedding personal agendas allows wisdom to flow freely.

Additionally, the surprise twist of the unassuming cat’s genuine mastery mirrors the theme of “beginner’s mind” valued in Zen practice. Despite skills gained, the resting cat maintains an attitude of openness and humility. Its understanding transcends intellectual knowledge, directly intuiting the Tao through presence instead of discriminative thought.

The tale poetically conveys principles of wu-wei, intrinsic action, and the power of receptive beginner’s mind — gently pushing past conceptual mastery into the direct experience of enlightened nature manifesting spontaneously.

Laziness vs. Effortlessness

While the story celebrates the intrinsic mastery of the resting cat as it spontaneously responds to the dog, a surface-level reading could incorrectly justify mere laziness rather than illustrating the deeper concept of aligned effortlessness. It is easy for the pendulum of interpretation to swing too far.

However, true effortless spontaneity arises after sincerity along the path — years spent consciously training the mind and body, developing presence through rigorous meditation, learning the wisdom teachings. The other cats mistake stems from mocking something they have not sincerely undertaken themselves.

The middle way concept in Buddhism points to the need for balanced diligence avoiding lifeless austerity as well as negligent apathy. Wu Wei remains an ideal to guide rather than an absolute rule. Even the master cat needed to apply effort at some stage on its journey to realization.

Discernment allows us to apply the right effort and non-effort at each phase, integrating focused engagement with receptive resting. The cat reveals that form alone does not guarantee mature understanding.

Maturation Metaphor

The resting cat’s demonstration of mastery has parallels to the maturation trajectory in human development models. This maps the progression from pre-personal states of undifferentiated spontaneity, to cultivation of individual ego identity, before opening into trans-personal integrated wisdom with a flavor of childlike wonder.

Jesus pointed to this by saying “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Not childish, but child-like — an innocence grounded in wisdom cultivated through cycles of personal formation and transcendence.

The young egoic cats playing with arrogance display immature spontaneity. The master cat revealing disciplined effortless action shows mature spontaneity. The difference in outer form may be subtle, but flows from very different inner places.

This maturity enables a return to beginner’s mind, informed by seasoning not possessed by a literal beginner. What was spontaneous action from innocence early on transforms into spontaneous action from cultivated wisdom later on.

Mature Spontaneity

The deceptively simple tale of the swordsmanship cats reveals profound depths around the maturation and essence of mastery. On the surface celebrating innate spontaneous flow, further reflection uncovers the underpinnings of sincerity that ground responsive wisdom.

Unpacking the layered insights around immature versus mature spontaneity, the balance of focused effort with receptive rest, and cycles of human unfolding shows how easy it is to misinterpret. True alignment requires nurturing the soil for innate buddha-nature to blossom.

The resting cat role models a harmony of developed talent with beginner’s mind, not rejecting lessons learned while dropping fixed agenda. This willingness to return to innocence yet with the seasoning of experience enables the full expression of our enlightened nature, in tuned harmony with all creation.

Image by Albrecht Fietz