Duality.....

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[piyush.kumar]

To start off with the quote i have a question on by O sensei as set down by John stevens-san.
"there is no place in the art of peace for pettiness and selfish thoughts. Rather then being captivated by the notion of winning or losing, seek the true nature of things. ......If your thoughts are antagonistic towards the cosmos, those thoughts will destroy you and wreack havoc on the environment"

Q 1. What is the true nature of things? The world itself is divided into dualities throughout. Right and wrong, up and down, hot and cold, day and night and so on and so forth. Depending on which side of the river one is standing. A certain event or person is either good or bad given the perspective of the person observing. Then what must be the true nature??

Q 2. Puzzled how the world looked like to O sensei. To be enlightened, he must have been able to observe the world for what it is, then knowing what can be changed, what can be influenced and so forth, how must he have directed his actions apart from teaching aikido so that we may learn something which might start us off in our journey?

P.S I know i am just being impatient asking these questions, but then again, perhaps that is for a purpose and i'll learn by making this mistake (if it is one).

[SeiserL]

IMHO:

(1) there is no true nature of things, there is only nature.

(2) if O'Sensei was a mystic, he did not look at the world, because there was no he.

Learn patience. They only thing I can do quickly is destructive. Constructive things take time. Relax, breathe, and enjoy the journey.

[Eugene Leslie]

Hi Mr. Kumar;

I'm opening a can of forum thread worms here but here goes..

For the last 500 years there has been a program of governmental, religious and economic control. We (human beings) have become neurotic because of it all.

"You need the government to protect and direct you."
"Think like this or you will go to hell; not heaven."
"You must accrue this paper and ink; it is the currency of life."

Food, clothing, shelter.
Love and compassion.

That's all our bodies and spirits really need and desire..

This is my way of interpreting The true nature of things.

*snip* he did not look at the world, because there was no he..

Osensei was enlightened and able to see beyond the worldly machinations; hence his "loving everything" and "one with the universe" quotes.

*snip* To be enlightened, he must have been able to observe the world for what it is, *snip*

[Janet Rosen]

re q. 2, I have no idea what it means to "be enlightened" or how that informs how one is in the world.

But re #1, I would say that the universe simply IS, that all the listed dualities are human constructs people need and use to make sense of the world and to live in it and communicate with others about it.

What I mean is.... take for instance "hot/cold"..... the spectrum of possible temperatures in the universe encompasses cold and heat far beyond what humans can tolerate or even mostly comprehend. So what is "hot" or "cold" other than a human construct to compare 2 temperature settings - that happen to be within our realm of experience, AND that are subjective and relative depending on circumstances. I mean, 85 degrees F would be called "hot" if it was the temperature in your house, but it would be called "cold" if your coffee was served that way. Meanwhile the universe, the true nature of things, couldn't care less about your house or your coffee.....

[piyush.kumar]

Thank you all for your kind replies :). It does open up a lot of thought processes for me to hear all the different outlooks. I am glad now i asked that question.

[lbb]

In addition to the problem of false dichotomies, I think another problem is in interpreting the phrase "seek the true nature of things" in the active sense, like looking for an item in a scavenger hunt.

[Abasan]

The fact that you are seeking is what differentiates you. Or would you rather be one of the millions who go about in their daily life, sleeping, eating, working, having sex and playing without regard for anything other?

You search to make your life meaningful and that is enough. If you find something, that's the bonus.