In this interview I am once again joined by John Maki Evans, teacher of Japanese swordsmanship and several esoteric spiritual disciplines, and author of ‘Kurikara: The Sword and the Serpent’.

John discusses his time at Oxford University, his depression as a student, and why it took him years in a monastery and extensive training in Japan to undo the effects of academic study on his mind.

John shares his insights into ‘The Subtle Art of a Cat’, a little known, centuries old Japanese text with a potent message about spiritual cultivation, true art, and complete spontaneity.

John tells the story of the text and explores its hidden meanings, including how to maintain awareness during dynamic action, access freedom and flow, and move beyond self consciousness.

John also reflects on his powerful near-death experience, the art of teaching, and how to harmonise the primal forces of Thanatos and Eros, death and desire.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep246-subtle-art-of-a-cat-john-maki-evans-2

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro

01:09 - Getting into Oxford University

04:30 - John’s experiences at Oxford University

07:57 - Struggles with depression

09:12 - Bad effect of Oxford on John’s mind

10:25 - Stultification and John’s personality

11:04 - Time at the monastery and releasing inner stuckness

13:26 - Time in Japan and developing a different personality

17:28 - How John learned Japanese

18:43 - Study arc for reading Japanese classics

21:19 - Gaining practice value from texts

23:37 - Accessing the real thing

27:22 - The Subtle Art of a Cat

33:17 - The polarising ego

35:14 - Spontaneity and beyond self consciousness

37:09 - Neti neti

39:12 - Spontaneous action and the spiritual side of martial arts

41:35 - Freedom and flow

43:09 - Maintaining awareness and complete spontaneity

45:47 - John’s life changing near-death experience

54:20 - Hara power, the unconscious, and the survival instinct

58:16 - True martial cultivation

01:00:06 - Common mistakes and hurting oneself

01:04:11 - Complete body-mind participation

01:05:43 - Evaluating quality of movement and being

01:07:46 - Duende and art

01:09:18 - England and the old white male

01:10:24 - Learning to be with Thanatos and Eros

01:12:39 - The Gate of Killing and Death

01:15:39 - Harmonising intuition and manipulation

01:16:16 - Egotism in the martial arts

01:18:00 - Becoming exposed and the art of teaching

01:21:39 - Letting go of feeling good

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Previous episode with John Maki Evans:

- https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep231-esoteric-arts-of-japan-john-maki-evans

To find out more about John Maki Evans, visit:

- https://www.battodo-fudokan.co.uk/

Read ‘The Subtle Art of a Cat’

- https://terebess.hu/zen/neko.pdf

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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James