BAMBUTSU RUTEN

This translates literally as "All things existing in the Universe are in perpetual motion".

Universal flux and change is a fairly obvious statement, but let us examine what lies within this phrase. Bambutsu Ruten does not simply state that the Universe moves, but specifically states that "All things move". If all things move, then nothing is still and hence there can be no centre, except in a relative sense. The motion of anything only exists in relation to something else, and therefore motion itself is "Relative" rather than "Absolute". It was this basic idea of the relativity of motion which led to Einstein’s famous theory and this concept - not the theory itself - is implicit in the apparently innocent statement that "ALL THINGS MOVE".

Because there is no centre and no source, this means that the Universe is infinite because the concept of a perimeter, or limit, only has relevance in relation to a centre. Perpetual motion reaffirms this idea in that it never ends and because the idea of time is tied up with motion, there was no "time" before the motion began. These philosophical concepts of relativity and infinity are the most difficult problems of philosophy and they are held in the words "ALL and PERPETUAL". The concept of relativity and of infinity does not simply refer to the profound structure of the Universe, but also to the practice of the Budo arts.

RITSU DO RHYTHM

This second precept states that such perpetual motion is rhythmic in nature, imposing an inherent order within the apparent chaos of the Universe. The very concept of rhythmic motion imposes the idea of a cycle, or repetition, and therefore there is the cycle of the seasons together with countless examples of the cyclic order of nature. It is from this precept that the principle of circular action in Kyushindo Budo is derived. When your body is consciously put into circular motion you are then in harmony with Universal law.

In Kyushindo all motion is circular and the way this comes about is as follows. A circle in motion along the plane of its axis results in various ellipses, parabolas, and curves, whilst motion perpendicular to this axial plane extends into a spiral. A spiral when viewed from the side of its axis produces the zigzag line of a familiar "wave form". It can be said that even a straight line is a circle on edge. Einstein’s general theory of relativity states that light waves are bent, or distorted, by gravity. Therefore a straight line never occurs in nature, only in the mind of man.