The Zen of Mizu.

The more and more I delve into my practice, the more I feel confirmed in what I have learned, and lead back toward things I do not know with these little 'ah-hah' moments.

A lot of Teachers out there like to brag about how they teach in exactly the way they were taught, with no changes at all, so there is some semblance of purity to what they do, and this gives them pride.
Almost like taxidermy, you take a loved pet, when that pet dies, you have him stuffed and put on display; that is how I view these people, they practice taxidermy Karate!
Certainly they can pass it around, show it off, but what can it actually do? It can't move, it can't breath, it can't grow, all it can do is sit there and collect dust until time finally catches up with it.

My Sensei used to have a diabetic cat named Mizu, I used to have to give that thing its' insulin shot every morning and every night, it weighed seventeen pounds and this was AFTER she had lost weight.
That cat used to sleep on my chest at night, purring away as I tried to move to a comfortable breathing position, to no avail, 4 am would come around, Sensei would ring the bell and I'd be forced to start Zazen on thirty minutes of sleep, after giving the cat a shot.
I remember at one point Sensei had joked about having the cat stuffed when she died so that he could use her as a meditation cushion on his Zafu so that she would not have to leave the Zendo; that cat ALWAYS practiced Zazen with us, sitting off to the side of my Sensei on his Zafu.
Despite the cat's ailment, she was very relaxed, serene, not a worry in the world and, despite her weight, she was quick, alert, never missed a step.
She often let you know when your practice faltered with a quick pounce while you were attempting to sit Zazen; not long after Sensei would break out Kaishaku - Mizu was his que.

Mizu was alive, a bit querky, she was definitely in-tune with herself, perhaps a bit carried away when it came to lounging around, but very much a unique individual personality.
Sensei didn't have Mizu stuffed, so she can no longer be seen in the Zendo, which is a great thing, a testament to her memory, a stuffed Mizu is not Mizu at all! Just as stuffed Karate is not Karate at all!
No one can learn the Zen of Mizu, Mizu's Zen was all her own and those who would claim to have learned Mizu Zen would be foolish; how can you sit like a cat? Are you stupid? Do you have the brain worms?
I've said this before, that my Karate was not learned from my Sensei, my Sensei opened the door and helped guide the way, but I had to step through the door and actually walk the path.
When I die, if anyone claims to study my Karate they are sorely mistaken, they can claim me as a Teacher, but they cannot claim the teaching, theirs will be different, if it is identicle in every way shape, or form, then I have not done my job, I have failed them, and they have failed themselves.

Learn FROM the Zen of Mizu, do not learn the Zen of Mizu.