Shibumi by Trevanian

Shibumi by Trevanian

Shibui (渋い) (adjective), shibumi (渋み) (noun), or shibusa (渋さ) (noun) are Japanese words which refer to a particular aesthetic of simple, subtle, and unobtrusive beauty. Like other Japanese aesthetic terms, such as iki and wabi-sabi, shibui can apply to a wide variety of subjects, not just art or fashion.

The book outlays the story of a man of passion, a passion for being human, where the phrase would mean that Pandora’s box didn’t include this man or the apple that Adam ate did not have any effect on this particular descendant of his or any other myth that can be thought of as an anti climax of being human in that myth.

Nicholai Hel is a man who despises worldly pursuits and is most rational of all human beings. The beauty of Trevanian’s story is that he tells a story rather than write a story. The reader is taken through a whirlwind of emotions, barely concealed in an attempt at high literature and yet the book is wonderfully acceptable. All through the book, your rational mind might tell you that the author is a absolute dandy writer and doesn’t know how to take care of the essence of the story. 

Shibumi is a novel by Trevanian, a pseudonym of Rodney William Whitaker, an American academic who remained mysterious throughout most of his life. Shibumi is set in the 1970s and details the struggle between the "Mother Company", a conspiracy of energy companies that secretly controls much of the western world, and a highly-skilled assassin, Nicholaï Hel.

The book contains 6 chapters of unequal length, each of them bearing the name of a go game figure:

1. Fuseki : The opening stage of a game when the entire board is taken into account.
2. Sabaki : An attempt to dispose of a troublesome situation in a quick and flexible way.
3. Seki A neutral situation in which neither side has the advantage. A "Mexican stand-off."
4. Uttegae A sacrifice play, a gambit.
5. Shicho A running attack.
6. Tsuru no Sugomori "The confinement of the cranes to their nest," a graceful maneuver in which the enemy stones are captured.

One of the true tests of finding out the lifespan of a book, not the day when the leafs are tattered and letters barely readable, not the carbon dated age of the book, rather the age mentioned is the time span before it may go into oblivion without a single reprint for a significant period of time (Why I am saying significant period of time is because books like phoenix might be resurrected from ashes, but that will be counted as a separate life), now this lifespan can be found out by trying to recollect from memory the entire book on a one fine morning. This is exactly what I am doing now. It is a fine morning in Bangalore, and I do not remember anything about Shibumi right now. Rather the hero of Eiger sanction is coming to my mind. Slowly the picture of Hel as a young boy comes up. Sketchy pictures of Hel in occupied Japan, his trainings in Go, his work at the American intelligence and none more. There was a girl involved. Why was he so embittered? Definitely there has to be a girl involved. That plays a crucial part in the entire plot. Somewhere he pays back to the guy who made him like this.

Now since it has come back, let me get back to the main course of this post. The book is more about a way of thinking of the author that is based on a very healthy respect for Japanese life and a measure of skepticism for American life, one wonders! Hel is born a Russian. His ways are Japanese. His mother was a survivor. She never took care of him, but a Japanese General who was his mother’s consort took care of him. Hel loved a girl. He is experienced, a master of sex. His games of sex are detailed in a very masochist manner. Again one gets to wonder about the author or his targeted audience. What is he writing or who is he writing for? These should not be answered in black and white, hence just the questions. 

One major event in the book, which would be hard for a person of lesser stomach to understand would be killing of his father-like figure, the Japanese General. I found this to be the most important aspect of character of Nicholai Hel which is brought out in full fury in the entire book only in this instance. Every other character receives only a part of his full nature.

Another character in the book is a friend of Hel. A very impossible friendship, because the two friends are in extremes of the male spectrum held by a thin strand of respect based on mutual admiration of others skill, and the need for that skill for each person’s survival. Can these be termed as cold or selfish? Throughout the life of two characters, they might have thought very minimal about the other and never considered this to be a cozy friendship. By the end of the book, Trevanian actually makes the characters to behave contrary to their nature. The friendship is found through sacrifice and revenge. Questions are answered on humanness of every single person in the book.

Shibumi is a very good book, for a light reading, to make sure that there is exotic imagery still alive in your brain’s deepest corners. The imagery of Go, martial arts and the whole plots of revenge makes it a racy read without giving you a moment to think back and ask yourself whether this is really connected to the real world. Ultimately, this book stood in my shelf for a few days after which I gave away to a needier person.

More insightful book reviews may be found here.

Sometimes, heeding a little word of advice do good too

1. A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"
"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

2. The Burden

Two monks were returning to the monastery in the evening. It had rained and there were puddles of water on the road sides. At one place a beautiful young woman was standing unable to walk accross because of a puddle of water. The elder of the two monks went up to a her lifted her and left her on the other side of the road, and continued his way to the monastery.
In the evening the younger monk came to the elder monk and said, "Sir, as monks, we cannot touch a woman ?"
The elder monk answered "yes, brother".
Then the younger monk asks again, "but then Sir, how is that you lifted that woman on the roadside ?"
The elder monk smiled at him and told him " I left her on the other side of the road, but you are still carrying her."

3. Finding a Piece of the Truth

One day Mara, the Evil One, was travelling through the villages of India with his attendants. he saw a man doing walking meditation whose face was lit up on wonder. The man had just discovered something on the ground in front of him. Mara’s attendant asked what that was and Mara replied, "A piece of truth."
"Doesn’t this bother you when someone finds a piece of truth, O Evil One?" his attendant asked. "No," Mara replied. "Right after this, they usually make a belief out of it."

4. The Other Side

One day a young Buddhist on his journey home came to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier. Just as he was about to give up his pursuit to continue his journey he saw a great teacher on the other side of the river. The young Buddhist yells over to the teacher, "Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river"?
The teacher ponders for a moment looks up and down the river and yells back, "My son, you are on the other side".

5. Is That So?

The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbors as one living a pure life.
A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child.
This made her parents very angry. She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment at last named Hakuin.
In great anger the parents went to the master. "Is that so?" was all he would say.
When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewed as a pariah by the whole village. They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. “Is that so?” Hakuin said calmly as he accepted the child.
A year later the girl-mother could stand it no longer. She told her parents the truth – that the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fishmarket.
The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask his forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back again.
Hakuin was willing. In yielding the child, all he said was: "Is that so?"

6. Maybe

Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“Maybe,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“Maybe,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“Maybe,” said the farmer.

7. Cliffhanger

One day while walking through the wilderness a man stumbled upon a vicious tiger. He ran but soon came to the edge of a high cliff. Desperate to save himself, he climbed down a vine and dangled over the fatal precipice.
As he hung there, two mice appeared from a hole in the cliff and began gnawing on the vine.
Suddenly, he noticed on the vine a plump wild strawberry. He plucked it and popped it in his mouth. It was incredibly delicious!

8. The Blind Men and the Elephant

Several citizens ran into a hot argument about God and different religions, and each one could not agree to a common answer. So they came to the Lord Buddha to find out what exactly God looks like.
The Buddha asked his disciples to get a large magnificent elephant and four blind men. He then brought the four blind to the elephant and told them to find out what the elephant would "look" like.
The first blind men touched the elephant leg and reported that it "looked" like a pillar. The second blind man touched the elephant tummy and said that an elephant was a wall. The third blind man touched the elephant ear and said that it was a piece of cloth. The fourth blind man hold on to the tail and described the elephant as a piece of rope. And all of them ran into a hot argument about the "appearance" of an elephant.
The Buddha asked the citizens: "Each blind man had touched the elephant but each of them gives a different description of the animal. Which answer is right?"

9. Right and Wrong

When Bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of Japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to Bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case.
Later the pupil was caught in a similar act, and again Bankei disregarded the matter. This angered the other pupils, who drew up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief, stating that otherwise they would leave in a body.
When Bankei had read the petition he called everyone before him. "You are wise brothers," he told them. "You know what is right and what is not right. You may go somewhere else to study if you wish, but this poor brother does not even know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I do not? I am going to keep him here even if all the rest of you leave."
A torrent of tears cleansed the face of the brother who had stolen. All desire to steal had vanished.

10. Nothing Exists

Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku.
Desiring to show his attainment, he said: "The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received."
Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry.
"If nothing exists," inquired Dokuon, "where did this anger come from?"

Bonus 11. Teaching the Ultimate

In early times in Japan, bamboo-and-paper lanterns were used with candles inside. A blind man, visiting a friend one night, was offered a lantern to carry home with him.
"I do not need a lantern," he said. "Darkness or light is all the same to me."
"I know you do not need a lantern to find your way," his friend replied, "but if you don’t have one, someone else may run into you. So you must take it."
The blind man started off with the lantern and before he had walked very far someone ran squarely into him. "Look out where you are going!" he exclaimed to the stranger. "Can’t you see this lantern?"
"Your candle has burned out, brother," replied the stranger.