Shugyo is sometimes defined as “determined training that fosters enlightenment”. Its purpose is to “tighten the slack, toughen the body, and polish the spirit”.

“Shugyo” is also defined as “continuous daily practice”.

“Shugyo”, was traditionally understood as  “very austere training” or “intensely rigorous practice”; one could say that Shugyo is about “engaging in intense training or hard rigorous practice in order to master a martial or aesthetic art and/or attain deeper levels of spiritual awakening”.

“Gyo” is usually translated as practice, but the concept is also related to the footprint, to walking along essential stages of life and crossroads, it also alludes to intensively and passionately choosing to practice, and learning step by step. Somehow we could also relate this to the concept of the path (do) that on choses to walk.

“Shu” is a more complex concept; for a deeper understanding of the meaning of “shu” one might want to integrate four different definitions. 1) Dusting one’s heart/mind to authenticate their original clarity and openness, 2) One’s willingness to take up endless dusting (again and again), 3) A human being who embraces himself completely as he is (completion) while being endlessly committed to refining his character in the midst of his own greed, aggression, ignorance, and delusion (shackles), 4) and finally the archetypal symbol or function of the feminine in human beings, i.e., that which compassionately listens and is unconditionally receptive.

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