Meanings of Master/Mastery

What does “Master” or “Mastery” mean to me?


These are two very different terms. I think of one as a person, and the other as an action.

I keep “master” in my mind as a martial art kind of concept. Martial arts is the first, and as yet only, place where I have become comfortable with the action of clasping my hands together to bow in respect before my teacher. That person has to have achieved mastery of the skills I wish to learn, though the title of master may not yet have been conferred. But more than that – because there are many, many people with great martial arts skills -- the concept of master is much larger than mastery of skills – in martial arts and elsewhere.

In my definition of the term, to be a master of an aspect of life – be it a physical skill, an emotional management, a technical achievement – brings with it a requirement to share that mastery. Many of the definitions of master also suggest teaching. Sifu Steven, in his post on http://franklinkungfu.blogspot.com/, mentioned meeting Chen Yong Fa, the keeper of the Choy Lee Fut discipline. If the keeper does not teach, the knowledge of the style will not be sustained. To be a master of something means to have achieved a level of skill that is somehow individualized – a master does not just copy or imitate. A master has internalized and understood the thing, added to its life through that understanding, and assured its continued life by teaching it to others.

Mastery of something is required to be a master, though I think of mastery as much more personal. One can achieve mastery through hard work, perhaps even through self-learning, without a mentor, through trial and error, just as juggling, magic, language or math. It seems a more casual concept than becoming a master. Having mastery of something does not automatically make one a master.

Perhaps I think of a master as someone worth learning from and mastery as something one has learned very well. Anyone can achieve mastery of a given thing, with enough work and dedication, but not everyone can become a master.