the soul of the sword

When he was a child his grandfather told him that he was out on a boat at sea one night, and there was a flashing light. When he looked into the sea he saw that inside his fishing net there was a sword. The blade was in a zigzag shape reaching a total of 7 zigzags. Desiring fish, rather than a sword, he just left it in the fishing net and went home. The next day, the sword was still in the net, but the net was cut into tiny pieces. Angry, he wanted to find out who the culprit was that had cut up his fishing net last night. All of his fellow fishermen denied doing it. He threw that pieces away and left the sword lying in his fishing boat. The next day there was a hole in his boat. Now who had done that?! They told him that no one did it, only the sword. So he took the sword home and put it in his cupboard above  the sink where he kept the dishes, and went to sleep. He awoke to the sound of breaking china, only to find all of his dishes broken, by the sword.

He now realized that he must relate to this sword in a respectful manner since this is no ordinary sword, but rather a sword with a soul. It was now used to perform the sacred sword dancing by him, and kept close to the ceiling on a special shelf built especially for it. This sword was not made by a blacksmith. It is a sword that has power and a soul. When it is used, it must be removed swiftly and totally from its; case and then one must turn upwards and then point it at the enemy, and then again swiftly return it to its' case.  When one removes it entirely, one is removing any obstacles that there may be to an open mind. When one turns upwards one is turning towards god in prayer. And when it is pointed at the enemy, it is a harmless blunt point that is meant not to kill but to attack him, and then it can be swiftly replaced into its case since the enemy has now been dealt with with an open mind, prayer and a non violent attack.

This sword was used by his grandfather, and by his father. It is a service that is done for the temple. Since his brother is now the leader of the family temple, it is not required that he use the sword for dancing. Each year it is blessed during the ceremony for sharp objects from metal. Possibly his son, who is now 4 years old, will become a sword dancer when he is older. The telling sign is that every time he sees a sword he insists that his father buy it for him, even though he has another ten at home already. Until I heard this story last night, I thought it was just the needs of a little kid whenever he sees something he wants it. But now I realize that he never asks him to buy anything other than a sword and takes a long time picking out which one he needs. And when later playing at home, the sword is his toy and weapon in life for dealing with whatever happens.