The Seven Noble Truths of Aikido

https://www.facebook.com/graham.j.christian

Budo is Fearless.

The one factor which fits budo and warriors is fearlessness. Here I am going to talk about this but am going to talk about Shin no Budo. True Budo. The Budo of Ueshiba and Aikido.

Bu is love. There is no fear in love itself. It is only we ourselves through fear who disconnect from it.

Once upon a time there was a battle. A samurai battle. In this battle it involved one set of Samurai attacking a monastery. So the monks got involved in this battle too. A group of Sohei monks. Now after the battle the Samurai who had fought alongside the monks had won and were celebrating and the monastery allowed celebrations inside it's walls.

As one monk sat quietly watching a Samurai who recognized him from the battle came over to him and congratulated him on his courage and bravery and skill and asked how he learned to be so fearless. The monk in return said to the Samurai how he had noticed him too and commented on how fearless he was also and reversed the question inquiring as to how that was so for him.

The Samurai proudly explained how they meditated on being dead already, how to die in battle was indeed an honour, how he focused on the one thing and that was to serve and that was his centre. As such he had no fear.

The monk acknowledged him and bowed to him in respect. "Interesting" he said, then returned to just being there peacefully. The Samurai realized he hadn't answered as to what his secret was and inquired once more and added there was something different about the monk that he couldn't fathom. The monk smiled and explained that like him he feared not death, like he he served, like him but that they served different masters. "I meditate like you and focus on the one but in my case the one is life." said the monk. "Whilst you focus on facing death, we focus on facing life, thus we become fearless."



Shin no Budo. Apart from love it is the discipline of non resistance. From non resistance comes Ki and you could even say non resistance is Ki. For from fear comes resistance, from resistance comes suffering and pain and from suffering and pain comes the opposite budo, the budo of war and fighting, the untrue budo.



Many try to assign great similarity between Ueshiba's Aikido and a certain man he met who he said opened his eyes to true budo but I would say it definitely opened his eyes for he found a man skilled in the untrue budo and luckily also met a man of shinto who showed him a way to true budo. Thus he learned the difference and thus came about Aikido.

So it is wise to know the two Budo's or existence there of to save confusion. There is no fear in true Budo and thus it is to be a state of peace and harmony within yourself. Unmoved by fears of self or others, unmoved but words and tricks and dramas and all kinds of cleverness. Unmoved by worries or negative emotions of any kind. Moved only by goodness and love and kindness and thus in harmony with heaven and earth.



Thus there are and have been many great true warriors of the past following shin no budo. From Jesus to Mohammed,from Buddhas to Yogi's, from Martin Luther King to Ghandi. I watched a film before called A Bronx Tale and there in that film was a father who drove a bus. Another following the path of shin no budo. A warrior. No fear.

Only the tool of non resistance and thus Ki leads to the truths you are after and only the truth will set you free.

T


Fear builds walls and plants seeds of destruction.

Faith moves mountains and is the essence of Budo.

G.

Yin and Yang

The basic principles of harmony. Much is written and much has been said about yin and yang and the whole theory of complimentary opposites and even today in Aikido there are those who try to discover the mysteries of it within Aikido and what some now refer to as 'aiki'. Unfortunately the mind and ego likes the thought of opposites and balance but fails to see the truth behind such things and thus we wind up with expertise on the matter which seems to make sense but is actually far from the truth.

The two forces of yin and yang, what are they fundamentally? For they are complimentary and thus do not oppose each other. In fact they are needed by each other in order to create balance and harmony.


Goodness and love. There you are. Yin and yang.

Now in Aikido true budo is love. So that's half of Aikido. That's 'bu'. The other 50% is 'bun' which fundamentally is goodness.



So I ask you to stop for a moment and consider this. We have in this world many who recognize the true power of love and those people are usually quite spiritual people and more in tune with nature also for they recognize the true power of budo by doing so. True budo, shin no budo. But now look at this aspect of it. We have many folk who due to their love for animals or nature or indeed people then go and do very rebellious and outright harmful things due to their love for. They get very passionate and end up fighting and even killing in the name of what they love, even religion.

There is an imbalance there. They lack 'bun' goodness. 'Bun' has been described as education and yes they lack eduction, education in goodness.



Aikido is the way of both goodness and love and thus is the way of devine. Devine is thus true and balanced.

As these two principles combine from the centre comes the sword. From the centre of yin and yang comes the sword of kindness. Opening up the universe to Ki and life.

This is Aikido.


Peace.G.

Responsibility in Learning...part 1.

This is a little write up on a view I teach about learning. I base this view on three principles I use in Aikido and as I call call it three parts of self. Ie:Heart, spirit and soul.

Anyway suffice to say what it leads to is that I say you are therefor responsible for three parts of yourself and in the field of study, in the field of learning then there are three of you within yourself to take account of.



So when you go to study something you are starting off obviously as a student. So there you are being a student. This is a function of heart, love. Always open, open to learn, to perceive, to embrace. So far so good, all makes sense.

So now I'll move on to spirit. Spirit is the discipline part of you but the disciplined energy, the doer, the rule giver according to which you flow your enrgy and put effort into. So the one who is interested in the rules and the doing, that's spirit. Funny thing is that's also the teacher.



So part of you is also the teacher. You are in yourself both student and teacher. Now you may have a teacher telling you what to do but you the student is taking in the instruction and then you the teacher is saying yep, so lets do it.

We are responsible for both parts in equal measure. Much is said in Martial arts about student teacher relationships and indeed in life and schooling but actually we are both within ourselves so fundamentally we can look at our own relationship within ourselves. It's no good concluding I'm a useless student but good at teaching or that I think I am a good student but wouldn't be any good at teaching for all we are saying is that part of ourselves needs addressing for we can't escape it.

Now, what I introduce into the equation in the third character. The charachter based on soul. What is soul? Well I say that when we talk about intuition or such like we are talking about soul. When we talk about conscience then we are talking about soul. We are talking about that overseeing part of us that looks at the results of what we do and tells us if it's any good or good enough etc. We are talking about the supervisor.

So not only are you the student and the teacher but you are also the supervisor.

The supervisor takes in the whole scene and the aim of the supervisor is harmony ie: all going well. Student doing well, spirit and thus discipline doing well and results good and as expected. In studying and practice in Aikido for example we are always reviewing and going over the movements and repeating and practicing so it's a good example of the overviewing part of ourselves, the supervisor.



So then we can look at the different qualities of each and thus start to polish them.For example the highest quality of spirit, how to stay focused, active, energetic, disciplined is actually non-resistance. The more non-resistant we are the less reasons we are giving ourselves why we can't do. The more positive we are.

The more loving we are the more perceptive, the more all embracing, the less blinkered. Thus the more open to learning.

The more patient and calm we are the more we can receive and take into account and oversee the whole. Thus each character has it's own beneficial qualities to offer. A supervisor with no patience is basically a pain in the ****. A doer or teacher who is short tempered and full of blameing everything and everyone for things going wrong or people not listening is just a pain in the ***** for he lacks that non-resistance.

And so on. I find this method of approach very rewarding and have used it many years helping others with their problems in study etc. Hope you like it and maybe find something that helps you.

Peace.G.

Hara......A Gift to Carina.

Hara. Usually associated with centre and indeed one point but as I say in my Aikido each are different. Each are aspects of Aikido and each has a different function but all are interdependent too and thus work together.

Hara, location body wise being the stomach area. When using Hara all is effortless and the Hara feeling itself is softness. These reflections are to take you on a journey into Hara.

In my Aikido Hara is the home of the soul. Hara connects with nature, puts you in connection with nature and thus with mother nature. Those in touch with their soul are thus in touch with nature.

Hara looks for something, it is the guardian of something, it is from the realm of something and that something is harmony. For mother nature creates life forms which are all cells and molecules etc' working in harmony. This is the energy of hara at work.

The devine aspect of Hara is innocence. The home of soul. Thus we see a principle of Hara and that is the principle of allowing in. Innocence allows in. Thus we also see humility being born. Hara the seat of harmony.

Also there is another aspect or realm to Hara as to where it operates from and where it operates in. In operates in the realm of here. Thus the mind associated correctly with Hara is zanshin now that we are differentiating from centre.

So when travelling in the countryside enjoying the world of mother nature we are feeling and connecting from hara and we are enjoying here. When doing kokyudosa from hara we are using that soft harmonious energy to blend and move. When someone in life says you must look at that bad thing over there or that potential threat over there or the bad government or ...well..etc.etc. then they are tricking you usually into coming out of the realm of here and joining them in some mental drama.

When a cup falls and smashes do you jump? Do you let your hara get taken and thus you are jumping into a realm which is not here? Or do you calmly look and see what happened? If you expand on that then you may find you reach out and catch the cup before it smashes......operating from hara.

Innocence can and does allow in and move. Isn't that amazing?



As I throw a stone in the well and roughen the water I look and see the rflection of the moon is still here.

Peace.G.

Aikido Philosophy...Time Travel.

Do you believe in time travel? Have you ever watched a sci-fi film or star trek and like me been fascinated by the time travel and all the 'time line' machinations? All good imaginative stuff. In this post I am going to explain to you about time travel and it's relation to Aikido.

Earlier this 'evening' I was talking to a friend and mischievously asked her if she believed in time travel. It seemed to her like a sudden 'off key' question, but that's usual coming from me but she smiled and began to question and wonder whether she did or not. Anyway, to cut the story short, after she had answered I gave her another 'off key' statement this time and pointed out that most peoples problem is they time travel too much.

You see we had been talking about where she wanted to go in the future. When we remember something we are going back into the past. Time travel. You see there is you there is your body and there is your mind. The only factor here really which tends to confuse the issue is the mind. Thus there are two ways of remembering. We have 'memories' which are recordings, pictures if you like or films we store in the mind. That's all good. Then there is you spiritually. You are the one looking at those memories for it's not your eyes doing it, it is you. So you can also just look back at the past for real. So we have a difference here, one is looking at pictures of the past and one is looking at the past. Putting yourself in the past and similarly when planning a visit to somewhere and what you plan to do and where to go etc. then you are putting yourself in the future. Time travel.

So what has this to do with Aikido. Well, in Aikido there is a term called Zanshin which basically means being in the present. Described by many as meaning 'spare or free attention or awareness' I feel that type of descriptive definition can lead to too many assumptions. The main one being that it means you can do this and that and be alert and strategize and notice openings etc. and at the same time be aware of all around. Thus maintaining Zanshin.

Well I'm going to give my reflection on the matter (I do love that word reflection) and first say it is good to be aware of the term 'here and now' and that it is equated with 'zen' and 'in the moment' and such phrases. However I am going to say split here and now into two separate things. There is here and there is now.

Zanshin is to do with here. One of the five 'spirits' of budo. Spiritually being here. That means also your attention here. Sounds simple but that's why it's so hard for as I said already 'you do too much time travelling.'

So to understand Zanshin even better recognize that attention here means it is not led elsewhere by anything. A noise taking your attention is already in the past. Predicting what you will do is already in the future. Neither is here. Then we have the mind....oh dear. Thoughts. Attention given to any thought means you have been led and are no longer here. You are now elsewhere. Even feelings lead you elsewhere. Now we can begin to see why just 'being here' is actually quite a feat. Zanshin.

The best practice I use for this in Aikido is actually kokyudosa. Many phases of learning and improvement happen over the years even on this one simple excercise until one day you find "wow, no that can't be!" One of those moments where it was too easy and also too late to avoid or deny for the kokyudosa has been done so you can't escape the fact you did it but even in yourself you find it unbelievable. For you know all you did was somehow be aware here and the partner and everything else just 'happened.'

Advanced Zanshin is what happened but it's almost too hard to believe. For it means all that happened was my attention was here and nothing else. Thus also Ki was here.

Notice I said nothing else. No thought, no mind. So Zanshin is not spare attention whilst using your mind for there is no mind there. Only quiet. So it's time to take a better look at what Zanshin actually is.

If using mind and strategy and whatever takes 'x' amount of attention then you can then see how the left over attention can be here and call that zanshin. However, why waist all that attention on those superfluous things for then all your attention would be here. Now that is pure Zanshin. No time travel. No elsewhereness. So without the mind you have full attention here, you are fully here and thus can perceive everything.

So we have quiet. The mind has gone quiet. In fact not one thought, not one anything......gone. Attention is free and here. You are free.

Shhhhhhhhh.....

Peace.G.

Aikido Philosophy.....What is Martial?

Aikido is a MARTIAL art. I have seen many 'debates' on this and witnessed many a discussion and have been quite surprised by peoples views. Even on Aikiweb I see arguments as to what it means in regards to Aikido and it's the word Martial which seems to cause so much confusion.

On one side you have those who say they do Aikido as a journey and even to the point of saying they don't do it for Martial reasons and on the other side you have those who insist they are more traditional and explain how martial means in it's origins and thus it should be practiced as if 'fighting'. As usual the winning concepts in most of the arguments are those which favor ego and thus everyone can be comfortable thinking about 'opponents' and what they are preparing themselves for. Oh dear.....

Well, a martial art does not mean preparing to fight or go to war or anything military at all. Military folk may learn different ways of fighting and strategy and tactics and so called competitive martial arts may learn great disciplines and skills but neither is in truth anything to do with martial arts.

So MARTIAL, what does it mean? Well you can trace most martial arts back to their origins and you will find two things. One is merely systems of fighting but all the 'superior' ways were not for fighting at all but rather spiritual disciplines done by religious monks or even nuns. So in truth martial arts originates from religious practice. Only ego takes it into the other realms and only the ego of the other realms want to try to learn it to use for fighting and war and power and domination.

So once again I ask you what does Martial mean in the context of true Martial Art having said already it has nothing to do with fighting or competition? What makes it Martial? For therein lies the understanding needed before you can even get a basic idea of what a martial art is. One thing that sets it apart from many other things is that it is a long term discipline, emphasis on all three words there. Thus those both inside and outside of such who do understand see it is a way of life. So we are getting nearer but not there yet. What is the one factor which makes this discipline martial?

Well there is one factor that outweighs all others in this discipline which makes it Martial and as such was practiced by the more spiritual monks be they from Shaolin or Sohei or whatever and that is the discipline of facing death daily.

This is why the Samurai excelled as warriors because they also had facing death as an ingrained 'honourable' thing as do all warriors. But even most Samurai were confused by any peaceful monks having the same view. In fact when taking to arms the Sohei Monks were far more skillful than most samurai and unfortunately even they succumbed to ego. But back to the point...the discipline of facing death.

Just contemplate that statement for long enough and you will begin to see what a martial art is and how extremely disciplined it is and indeed how spiritual it has to be. You will also begin to see how zen like it is for in facing death only then can you truly apprecate life itself. Thus it also shows you, hold your breath now, how appreciating life takes discipline. True Budo is love.

Just think, death includes loss. Loss of all loved ones, loss of everything you hold dear. Yet most go to pieces over the loss of a purse or wallet. Facing the unknown. Yet ego always wants to know and hates not knowing and thinks knowledge is power. Death is also escape for some but once again that is ego running away, fear. the opposite of facing. The great zen riddle of freedom.

Now what better way of practicing facing death for monks than an action where you have to remain disciplined and calm and at the same time face threatened harm and potential death. Thus you can begin to see how the martial arts were born. How true martial arts can only lead towards enlightenment. The way.How it is the facing of rather than the using of weapons which is the true skill. Turning then the killing sword into the healing sword and the spear into the holy staff. There is plenty to learn and lots to face on the path of budo is love.

A warrior meditates and practices facing death and that is his goal. A true martial artist meditates and practices facing death as a discipline but not a goal for his goal is enlghtenment and his purpose is harmony and life.

Peace.G.