In Tibetan Buddhism there are eight fears which practitioners are warned to be guard against. These are akin to the Western notion of the "seven deadly sins". The eight fears are: pride; ignorance; anger; envy; wrong views; avarice; attachment; and doubt. Each of these ought to be feared as they produce suffering both for those who emanate them and those who are their targets. As in daily life, so in martial arts we ought to quite consciously avoid the eight fears so as to become both better people and better martial arts practitioners.
Pride in one’s achievements is legitimate if one remembers how one acquired them and if one doesn’t brag or make others feel bad as a result of one’s abilities. In any genuine martial art it will never have been without the guidance of a sifu and one’s classmates. The Easterners say that one ought to remember the source of the water one drinks. This means one ought to revere one’s ancestors for passing down the art and not claim, as some well publicised "names" in modern Wing Chun do, a fictitious or some patently false "secret teaching" or lineage.
False humility needs to be avoided as much as negative pride. False humility is exemplified by someone proclaiming they aren’t as good as they actually are in order to have others think they are "humble" or to disagree and elevate their status. A practitioner can be sincerely humble but honest about their attainments at the same time.
The fear of pride is clearly exemplified in the arrogance of some martial arts practitioners who assume a status of "master" or "grandmaster" or afford their sifu such status when in reality they are undeserving of it. One need not look far in the martial arts world to find some poor soul deluding themselves and fooling some of the martial arts and general public with their fanciful claims and techniques. Some speak or write eloquently and are obviously verbally fluent to varying degrees but this doesn’t alter the fact they are being devoured by the demon of pride.
Ignorance has two meanings in English - it means rudeness and stupidity. I guess we can talk about both but the Tibetan meaning is actually focused on what would be called "stupidity" or "being ill informed" in English. Rudeness is fairly self explanatory. There is no need for it and a martial arts practitioner ought to consciously practice politeness in order to avoid rudeness. There are some times when rudeness is the only response when someone is being rude and needs to feel the sting of their own lash to learn "the hard way" from being on the receiving end. Fortunately these are rare. Ignorance as "stupidity" is often a difficult fear to work with as it seems, as Buddhists would say, a karmic result of prior action, to be a character trait for some unfortunate folk. Ignorance can only be addressed when either those who have been bitten by this demon realise it or someone points it out. Unfortunately, usually the person pointing it out - even if tactfully - is despised as a result and ignorance is further entrenched. In my experience, ignorance in martial arts is most often exemplified in the "sifu sez" phenomenon. It need not even be one’s own teacher!
This phenomenon manifests as a student being so enamoured of their (or another’s) sifu that they throw away their logical and analytical capacity in favor of believing stories or explanations which if given a little objective thought they would find ludicrous if not highly questionable. We should respect our sifus but to idolise or idealise them is ignorance. And, no true sifu would want this sort of "hero worship". Only weak dysfunctional characters need that. A genuine martial arts teacher will teach the student to apply logical analysis to all they learn.
Anger is a fairly self explanatory fear. Someone once queried me as to whether it was a non sequitur to argue that anger was not appropriate in any martial art. My response was that aggression is needed but anger is counterproductive as it leads to incorrect reaction and thinking. Anger always clouds the mind. Extreme anger blinds us.
We ought to think when we have to fight that we are responding to an inappropriate action by a deluded person and that we are reacting to teach a lesson they have not yet been able to learn - i.e. quite simply that it is wrong to attack others except in self defence. We respond to their inappropriate attitude and action with an appropriate mindset - not that same anger but with a calm self assurance and determination that our action will hopefully teach the person that it hurts to be hit and that it is not OK to aggress against another. Because of the low level of an aggressor’s moral evolution we have to descend to their same level as they are incapable of moving to a higher level without pain and or fear inspiring some questioning or even the inappropriateness of their actions having to be pointed out to them. In an ideal world folk would engage in little aggression and courts would be able to successfully teach them that this is inappropriate if they did. Sadly, we are far from such a world. Indeed some parts of our world are more akin to the Hell realms than any decent civil societies.
Envy drives a lot of what is not OK in the martial arts world. Envy is something we all understand. It is being jealous of another for their good fortune, skill, achievement, possessions, fame, friendships etc. It is wishing them ill or putting them down. It may even manifest in physical action with attacks, threats, or face to face verbal humiliation. Or, it might manifest on the cowardly internet where folk can hide in electronic anonymity and thumb their noses at their superiors or colleagues. Envy in martial arts is common because of the obvious ability of others; the popularity of others; the respect given others; the opportunity others have had in learning; the sifus they have had the opportunity to learn with; their ability to be accepted in a certain lineage; their acceptance by others; and/or their fortune.
Envy can often manifest between members of the same gwoon. I’ve seen students envious of those with greater natural talent; those whom they believe may be getting more attention from the sifu; and, those chosen to become disciples or instructors. Maybe they needed more attention.
Maybe they’d earnt it. Maybe they’d earnt the right to be disciples by loyalty and the display of good character. Envy blinds the person whom it bites and they can’t see such explanations.
Wrong views is another fairly obvious fear. However, who would admit to holding wrong views? In the martial arts world there is a lot of machismo chest beating and denigration of others. Oddly enough it is often the minnows who berate the sharks! Much of the angst folk experience in martial arts is not because two masters argue but usually because their students do so without the masters necessarily even knowing. Sometimes, however, pseudo masters will argue. True masters wouldn’t bother. Wrong views can manifest in a variety of ways. For example: in supporting a patently flawed lineage and/or immoral sifu; not understanding and applying the principles of one’s art; in adhering to incorrect technical structures; pursuing improper training methods; and, performing techniques incorrectly.
Avarice - I have sadly found a number of martial arts sifus who do manifest this vice all too clearly! Doubtless, however, there are many fine folk who are generous and not avaricious. Avarice, though, is a nasty business. Many a martial arts student has had the unsettling experience of a sifu charging unjustifiably high fees; upping the fees regularly beyond what is reasonable; overcharging; extending the learning period to extract a longer fee paying learning time; inventing multiple levels of grades to ensure a cash flow; and, even inventing or importing material to extend the learning time.
To the great shock of some Western practitioners, this phenomenon has been engaged in by Oriental teachers in some arts in the past, several generations ago. It is not something new! Avarice can manifest in students too. Students can become avaricious in acquiring levels of the art, expecting too much too soon. They can also become avaricious in what I call "collecting" - trying, by various means, piece together the "puzzle" that their teacher has apparently not taught them. Or alternatively they are trying to "second guess" their teacher rather than trust him and wait until he decides they are ready to learn a certain piece of the art.
Attachment is an interesting fear. Attachment to a Buddhist means being attached both to physical objects, to people, to ideas, to habits. All these need to be addressed as they obscure enlightenment. In martial arts the practitioner can also be led astray by being attached to an art; a lineage; a teacher; to certain notions; to habits; to technique; and to endlessly collecting techniques.
Doubt is a fear that strikes many martial arts practitioners. Some will question their art, their lineage, their teacher, themselves. Sometimes the doubt is legitimate and serves a good purpose in furthering the student’s martial arts development. At other times it simply impedes it. How do we tell the difference? Therein lies the rub! Sometimes blind faith is the fear and doubt the antidote!
Whether doubt is a good or bad thing very much depends on context and actors. "Pigs are happy in mud" it is said. So perhaps at times we have to try to "step outside" our conditioned beliefs and look through objective eyes at our art. In a Buddhist sense doubt of the truth of the Dharma is a fear. So, perhaps in a martial arts sense, doubt of the art might be the fear.
So there we have it. Eight fears to be avoided!
Author
Zopa Gyatso is a Tibetan Buddhist. Zopa has been fortunate to have obtained a very comprehensive and diverse education, completing five Western university qualifications in addition to his Buddhist and martial arts studies. He is a lay householder disciple of His Holiness Sakya Trizin and is a follower of Lama Choedak. He took full Tantric Buddhist vows under His Holiness Sakya Trizin and Chogye Trizin Rinpoche and is initiated into a number of Tibetan Buddhist sadhanas. Zopa has also made an exhaustive study of Ch’an (Zen Buddhism) over several decades.
Having already studied Fukien Crane Gung Fu for several years and having been awarded black belt in karate by the Japanese, he began his Wing Chun training in the early to mid 1960s under Choi Siu Kong, a private student of Yip Man and later student of Wong Sheung Leung. Later, Zopa met and trained with Sum Num, legendary sifu of Yuen Kay San and converted to Yuen Kay San Wing Chun after twenty five years of training in Yip Man Wing Chun and karate, having studied several karate styles to various dan levels. Zopa also practices Ku Lo Pin Sun Wing Chun, considering this to be the final and supreme version of Wing Chun master Leung Jan’s teachings. Zopa teaches a small private gwoon of selected students and a handful of disciples.