AikiWeb Aikido Forums

AikiWeb Aikido Forums (http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/index.php)
-   Language (http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2)
-   -   "Art of Peace" Kanji (http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19835)

abraxis 05-13-2011 04:57 PM

"Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Thought a bit more about "Peace Kanji" and decided the kanji I am looking for are those for "The Art of Peace". Specifically, as these appear in the original text by OSensei which in English is translated as:

"The Art of Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task in the Art of Peace."....

Excerpted by William McLuskie from The Art of Peace a collection of quotes by Morihei Ueshiba translated by John Stevens.

Carl Thompson, Are you out there?

Demetrio Cereijo 05-13-2011 06:48 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
:ai: :ki: :do:

abraxis 05-13-2011 06:53 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Demetrio Cereijo wrote: (Post 283756)
:ai: :ki: :do:

Thanks, Demetrio.

Best regards,

RT

Demetrio Cereijo 05-13-2011 07:22 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Btw,

I haven't seen the original japanese text. I'm working with what Stevens Sensei wrote in his book "The Art of Peace" (Shambala 1992, p. 5), where the following can be read:

Quote:

His (Ueshiba Morihei) way was Aikido, which can be translated as "The Art of Peace."
The kanji I provided are usually read as Aikido.

akiy 05-13-2011 11:53 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Although I do not know the exact original text to which you (or Mr Stevens) refer, Rudy, but the phrase that I most commonly have run across that was used by the founder (eg in "Takemusu Aiki") that would correspond, in my mind, to the phrase "the art of peace" would be 「」("wagou no michi").

Hope that helps,

-- Jun

abraxis 05-14-2011 06:30 AM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Jun Akiyama wrote: (Post 283762)
Although I do not know the exact original text to which you (or Mr Stevens) refer, Rudy, but the phrase that I most commonly have run across that was used by the founder (eg in "Takemusu Aiki") that would correspond, in my mind, to the phrase "the art of peace" would be 「」("wagou no michi").
Hope that helps,
-- Jun

Jun--
The source I originally used was at http://omlc.ogi.edu/aikido/talk/osen...ace/index.html quotation # 01 but no footnotes on sources are provided by either the original translator or the website indexing the quotations.

After reading your post I found http://books.google.com/books?id=Mxj...page&q&f=false

Can I safely assume the calligraphy signed by OSensei on page 9 of that text are the ones he would have translated as "The Art of Peace"? I think it may be the most likely source of the kanji I'm looking for. However, if OSensei delivered his teachings primarily through an oral tradition and used different kanji to express the same concept in different contexts then the issue may require more study. I'm guessing there's more than one thesis out there which touches on this topic.

Best regards,

RT

akiy 05-14-2011 09:05 AM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Rudy Ternbach wrote: (Post 283767)
Can I safely assume the calligraphy signed by OSensei on page 9 of that text are the ones he would have translated as "The Art of Peace"?

The page 9 of the text that you refer to contain a calligraphy for the kanji characters for the term "aikido." Although others such as Mr Stevens may certainly interpret that term as such, I personally would never translate "aikido" as "the art of peace."

-- Jun

abraxis 05-14-2011 11:13 AM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Jun Akiyama wrote: (Post 283773)
The page 9 of the text that you refer to contain a calligraphy for the kanji characters for the term "aikido." Although others such as Mr Stevens may certainly interpret that term as such, I personally would never translate "aikido" as "the art of peace."

-- Jun

Thank you. Back to square one it seems.

Josh Reyer 05-14-2011 12:23 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Rudy, it would greatly help us find what your looking for if we knew the context of what you want. "Peace" is an English word; the Japanese have multiple words/characters that mean different aspects of the English term.

If you're just looking for the character for peace used in the phrase "Art of Peace", I'm afraid you're out of luck. The "Art of Peace" was simply Steven's ostentatious rendering of the term "aikido". If you're looking for the term and character most often associated with martial arts and peace from conflict, that would be 和, wa.

abraxis 05-14-2011 12:46 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Joshua Reyer wrote: (Post 283780)
Rudy, it would greatly help us find what your looking for if we knew the context of what you want. "Peace" is an English word; the Japanese have multiple words/characters that mean different aspects of the English term.

If you're just looking for the character for peace used in the phrase "Art of Peace", I'm afraid you're out of luck. The "Art of Peace" was simply Steven's ostentatious rendering of the term "aikido". If you're looking for the term and character most often associated with martial arts and peace from conflict, that would be 和, wa.

Joshua,
That clears up a bit of my confusion and seems to support Jun's post which points to a direct quote from OSensei「和合の道」("wagou no michi") as coming closest to the English phrase "The Art of Peace".

Regards,

Rudy

Demetrio Cereijo 05-14-2011 02:32 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
和合の道 can be translated of "way of harmony"

abraxis 05-14-2011 02:40 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Demetrio Cereijo wrote: (Post 283787)
和合の道 can be translated of "way of harmony"

I guess that's an ambiguity I can live with.

Peter Goldsbury 05-14-2011 06:52 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Hello,

I second Josh Reyer's question. Are you looking for an acceptable Japanese phrase to use as a dojo name or sign, for example?

Here in Hiroshima, the accepted term for 'peace' is 'heiwa' 平和. 'World peace', for example, is 世界平和: 'sekai heiwa' and 平和大通り'heiwa o doori' is the wide avenue that runs through the centre of the city. In English this is Peace Boulevard. There are a large number of enterprises and movements that include 平和 in the name, so there is not much exclusivity. However, as far as I know, there are no local martial arts dojo that use heiwa in their names.

I checked 平和の道 'heiwa no michi' (the way of peace) in Japanese on Google and received 21 million hits. Of course, one sense in which this term can be understood, a way to achieving a state as yet unachieved, would require 平和への道. In Hiroshima,however, 平和の道 is much more down to earth: it is a route that people can take to visit the various buildings and monuments to do with the atomic bombing. The name on the paving stones in English, however, is the seemingly more elegant 'Promenade of Peace'.

I have not ever checked all the references in Morihei Ueshiba's writings (published in Japanese) to see whether he ever uses the word heiwa. In the writings that I have checked, the word is usually 和合 wagou, as Jun stated, where gou is the same character as 合 ai in aikido. The problem with the translations of Prof Stevens is that he never gives or cites the original Japanese texts.

In modern Japanese, the meanings given of wagou are yawaragiau-koto 和らぎ合うこと (using the Japanese kun readings of the same characters): to soften and blend; mazeawaseru-koto 混ぜ合わせること: to compound this and that, to mix together, to mingle or blend (as in the blending of colours or sounds).

Best wishes,

P A Goldsbury

Peter Goldsbury 05-14-2011 09:28 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Edit to my last post.

"Never" is not correct. Prof Stevens gives the Japanese originals in his edition of the douka 道歌.

abraxis 05-15-2011 03:21 AM

"Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Peter A Goldsbury wrote: (Post 283792)
Hello,
I second Josh Reyer's question. Are you looking for an acceptable Japanese phrase to use as a dojo name or sign, for example?....
Best wishes,
P A Goldsbury

Hello Goldsbury Sensei,

Thank you for your reply to my post. I should have clarified the intent of my question when Josh first asked me so I will try to do so now.

I began quite simply by starting a thread asking for the kanji for peace which I wanted to use as an inscription on a wooden bokken and a jo which I plan to use both in individual practice and when working with a partner. I was also thinking of using the same phrase, or a related phrase, as calligraphy on a wall hanging in my home. Based on what I learned in the first thread I then started this thread asking about the kanji for "The Art of Peace". After reading your reply and the others in this thread I am thinking now I can specify that I would like to consider the kanji for "The Tao of World Peace" as well as "The Art of World Peace". Any assistance you can give me with this is sincerely appreciated.

Best regards,

R.Ternbach

abraxis 05-15-2011 03:26 AM

"Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Peter A Goldsbury wrote: (Post 283792)
Hello,
I second Josh Reyer's question. Are you looking for an acceptable Japanese phrase to use as a dojo name or sign, for example?....
Best wishes,
P A Goldsbury

Hello Goldsbury Sensei,

Thank you for your reply to my post. I should have clarified the intent of my question when Josh first asked me so I will try to do so now.

I began quite simply by starting a thread asking for the kanji for peace which I wanted to use as an inscription on a wooden bokken and a jo which I plan to use both in individual practice and when working with a partner. I may also use the same phrase, or a related phrase, as calligraphy on a wall hanging in my home. Based on what I learned in the first thread I started this thread asking about OSensei's kanji for "The Art of Peace". After reading your reply and the others in this thread I am thinking now I can specify that I would like to consider the kanji for "The Tao of World Peace" as well as "The Art of World Peace".

Best regards,

R.Ternbach

Peter Goldsbury 05-15-2011 05:08 AM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
To R Ternbach,

Many thanks for your response.

Well, the Tao of X, the tao of anything, in fact, presents some major challenges for a translator, as you will see from the Japanese translation of Fritjof Capra's famous book, The Tao of Physics.

The full title of the work is The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism.

The Japanese translation of the title is: 『タオ自然学―現代物理学の先端から「東洋の世紀」がはじまる』.

Here is the transcription into Roman script, with spaces between the words: "Tao shizengaku--gendai butsurigaku no sentan kara 'toyou no seki' ga hajimaru."

The main title, the Tao of Physics, is translated as Tao shizengaku.
タオ is simply Tao in the Japanese katakana script and presumably means here what it does in English (though one should never take this for granted). Shizen means nature and gaku means study. However, it is a made-up word that does not appear in the dictionary and it does not quite mean 'natural science', this term being shizenkagaku. So shizengaku is looser, meaning something like, studying nature or natural phenomena.

As for the subtitle, only one phrase is translated word for word into Japanese. This is 現代物理学: gendai butsurigaku: modern physics. 先端: sentan: primarily means point. Its transferred meaning is spearhead, vanguard, in the lead, at the cutting edge.

Then you have a phrase in single quotes: 東洋の世紀 touyou no seiki. Touyou means the Orient, or, the East and seiki means century.

Finally, you have はじまる: hajimaru: begin, which is written in hiragana.

So if you put everything together, including the three different writing systems and the grammatical particles, you get something like:

The Tao (&) Studying Nature: From the Cutting Edge of Modern Physics, the 'Century of the East' Dawns.

Best wishes,

abraxis 05-15-2011 07:43 AM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Peter A Goldsbury wrote: (Post 283806)
To R Ternbach,

Many thanks for your response.

Well, the Tao of X, the tao of anything, in fact, presents some major challenges for a translator, as you will see from the Japanese translation of Fritjof Capra's famous book, The Tao of Physics.

The full title of the work is The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism.

The Japanese translation of the title is: 『タオ自然学―現代物理学の先端から「東洋の世紀」がはじまる』.

Here is the transcription into Roman script, with spaces between the words: "Tao shizengaku--gendai butsurigaku no sentan kara 'toyou no seki' ga hajimaru."

The main title, the Tao of Physics, is translated as Tao shizengaku.
タオ is simply Tao in the Japanese katakana script and presumably means here what it does in English (though one should never take this for granted). Shizen means nature and gaku means study. However, it is a made-up word that does not appear in the dictionary and it does not quite mean 'natural science', this term being shizenkagaku. So shizengaku is looser, meaning something like, studying nature or natural phenomena.

As for the subtitle, only one phrase is translated word for word into Japanese. This is 現代物理学: gendai butsurigaku: modern physics. 先端: sentan: primarily means point. Its transferred meaning is spearhead, vanguard, in the lead, at the cutting edge.

Then you have a phrase in single quotes: 東洋の世紀 touyou no seiki. Touyou means the Orient, or, the East and seiki means century.

Finally, you have はじまる: hajimaru: begin, which is written in hiragana.

So if you put everything together, including the three different writing systems and the grammatical particles, you get something like:

The Tao (&) Studying Nature: From the Cutting Edge of Modern Physics, the 'Century of the East' Dawns.

Best wishes,

Sensei Goldsbury,

Appears that some , like me, forget we are servants to language while at the same time believing the opposite to be the case.
May I safely conclude that "The Art of World Peace" would be a simpler translation to implement?

Best,

R. Ternbach

Demetrio Cereijo 05-15-2011 09:47 AM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Demetrio Cereijo wrote: (Post 283787)
和合の道 can be translated of "way of harmony"

Sorry, I meant translated as the "way of harmony", like in this other Stevens Sensei book:

http://www.amazon.com/Aikido-Way-Har.../dp/0394714261

abraxis 05-15-2011 10:42 AM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
1 Attachment(s)
Quote:

Demetrio Cereijo wrote: (Post 283816)
... I meant... "way of harmony", like in this other Stevens Sensei book:

http://www.amazon.com/Aikido-Way-Har.../dp/0394714261

So, and I'm sorry if this is redundant, the kanji for "the way of harmony" are

Chris Li 05-15-2011 10:44 AM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Rudy Ternbach wrote: (Post 283812)
Sensei Goldsbury,

Appears that some , like me, forget we are servants to language while at the same time believing the opposite to be the case.
May I safely conclude that "The Art of World Peace" would be a simpler translation to implement?

Best,

R. Ternbach

The peace prayer is kind of long, but it would be nice...

The kanji are at the bottom of http://www.aikidohawaii.org/peaceprayer.html

Best,

Chris

Demetrio Cereijo 05-15-2011 11:07 AM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Rudy Ternbach wrote: (Post 283818)
So, and I'm sorry if this is redundant, the kanji for "the way of harmony" are

Looks "Aiki O Kami" (great spirit of aiki) to me.

abraxis 05-15-2011 11:51 AM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Demetrio Cereijo wrote: (Post 283820)
Looks "Aiki O Kami" (great spirit of aiki) to me.

Thanks Demetrio, I'll save that one for another time.

abraxis 05-15-2011 11:58 AM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Christopher Li wrote: (Post 283819)
The peace prayer is kind of long, but it would be nice...

The kanji are at the bottom of http://www.aikidohawaii.org/peaceprayer.html

Best,

Chris

Chris

Quite nice; you've moved me to me thinking about the wood I'll use for the prayer pole.

Regards,

RT

Diana Frese 05-15-2011 11:59 AM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
The kanji Rudy quoted in post #20 of this thread seem to be as Demetrio stated in English in post #22 , literally. It is interesting that these kanji are the ones that were framed and hung on the wall of New York Aikikai above O Sensei's portrait photo at the front of the mat area, in the place of honor... (Sorry, I haven't been to NY in a long time) and probably still are..

The difference was that they were arranged horizontally, right to left in the Japanese order, if I remember correctly, rather than vertically, as in Japanese books. For those not familiar with them, Japanese books are read with the pages in order from the right side of the book, ending with the left, the reverse from English language books.

The calligraphy I assumed was written by O Sensei and given to Yamada Sensei to bring to his dojo in the United States .... probably in 1964 ....

Anyway, fascinating thread, I'm just adding some old memories in case some are interested in where this phrase appears in a slightly different arrangement... thanks, Rudy for introducing this topic which has inspired many of us .... and thanks, Chris for the interesting link, I had heard of Professor Goi and and am happy to be able to read more about him and about your dojo.... And of course Professor Goldsbury's information is always a great help ....

Diana Frese 05-15-2011 12:04 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
(was typing at the same time as Rudy) Again, nice topic, and please keep us informed ....

Demetrio Cereijo 05-15-2011 12:14 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Diana Frese wrote: (Post 283825)
The kanji Rudy quoted in post #20 of this thread seem to be as Demetrio stated in English in post #22 , literally. It is interesting that these kanji are the ones that were framed and hung on the wall of New York Aikikai above O Sensei's portrait photo at the front of the mat area, in the place of honor... (Sorry, I haven't been to NY in a long time) and probably still are..

http://www.nyaikikai.com/images/children.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rYuq1aMXmk...0/DSCI1005.JPG

Diana Frese 05-15-2011 12:40 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Wow, thanks! We've simply got to go there for a visit soon. ( My husband Chuck and I have been saying that for years.)

The whole area looks really beautiful now.

Yamada Sensei taught a special class at Ray Farinato's in 2003, saw me in the audience and said "do I know you?" and he was laughing because I'd been away so long. Well, we've started training again, in the driveway, and plan to visit NY Aikikai and Ray's dojo Aikikai of Fairfield County as soon as Chuck gets some time off from work...

Demetrio Cereijo 05-15-2011 03:03 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Rudy Ternbach wrote: (Post 283824)
Chris

Quite nice; you've moved me to me thinking about the wood I'll use for the prayer pole.

Regards,

RT

You have to consider "Peace Poles inscribed with the message, May Peace Prevail On Earth, is a trademark icon of The Peace Pole Project™"

You have to buy yours via World Peace Prayer Society online shop.

abraxis 05-15-2011 03:19 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Demetrio Cereijo wrote: (Post 283834)
You have to consider "Peace Poles inscribed with the message, May Peace Prevail On Earth, is a trademark icon of The Peace Pole Project™"

You have to buy yours via World Peace Prayer Society online shop.

I'll ask if they have a stripped birch pole with hand carved and painted kanji. I'm willing to bet the money goes to the cause of world peace.

Chris Li 05-15-2011 05:08 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Demetrio Cereijo wrote: (Post 283834)
You have to consider "Peace Poles inscribed with the message, May Peace Prevail On Earth, is a trademark icon of The Peace Pole Project�"

You have to buy yours via World Peace Prayer Society online shop.

That's not true at all, although you can order poles from them.

From their website:

Quote:

A Peace Pole is an internationally-recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth. Each Peace Pole bears the message May Peace Prevail on Earth in different languages on each of its four or six sides. There tens of thousands of Peace Poles in nearly every country in the world dedicated as monuments to peace.

Your organization is invited to plant a Peace Pole at each of your centers to highlight the important work you do in many countries to bring about world peace through inner peace. Your Peace Poles would symbolize your mission and simultaneously link your work with that of people of all faiths and nationalities worldwide who are striving for a better world. Won’t you join this great network of peace?

Your Peace Poles may be purchased or hand-crafted locally, displaying the languages that are meaningful to your organization. Each Peace Pole should be dedicated in a ceremony that can commemorate a special occasion (such as the founding of your organization or the annual UN-designated International Day of Peace). The prayers offered at your Peace Pole dedication will help to activate the worldwide network of prayers for peace.
Best,

Chris

Demetrio Cereijo 05-15-2011 05:22 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
I stand corrected.

Anyone can make his own Peace Pole then. Thanks for the info, Chris.

Peter Goldsbury 05-15-2011 09:57 PM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Rudy Ternbach wrote: (Post 283824)
Chris

Quite nice; you've moved me to me thinking about the wood I'll use for the prayer pole.

Regards,

RT

Of course, if you have the Japanese carved on a jo and/or bokken, you will have the best of both worlds: a pole or implement you can actually use, as well as pray with.

My profession is to explore cultural contexts and some might find the discussion in Robert Kinsala's book of interest. The book, published in 1999 by Hawaii U P, is Prophets of Peace: Pacificism and Cultural Identity in Japan's New Religions. The discussion of Goi and the Byakko Shinkokai starts on p. 57. Morihei Ueshiba and aikido are not mentioned, even once.

In Hiroshima, we approach world peace with a certain realism. There are many, many peace groups, all competing for membership. Many of these have links with Japan 'new' religions, like Byakko. Although in Japanese, the following website gives a wide overview of what there is to choose from: http://park8.wakwak.com/~kasa/index.html
There are links to various websites.

The 'peace industry' goes into top gear around August 6, when there is a huge ceremony at the Peace Museum. The organization that runs the Peace Memorial Museum is the Peace Culture Foundation: http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/hpc...ish/index.html
(If you scroll through the website, you will find my name listed among the Directors.)

The point I am making here is that here in Hiroshima, world peace is invariably tied to an ideology, such as a religion like Byakko Shinkokai, or a political viewpoint, such as the abolition of nuclear weapons. So, when people come to my door asking me if I support world peace--and I say yes, of course, this is immediately followed by a request to join their religion. And, yes, all the founders are very holy people, like Mr Goi, who have achieved enlightenment.

So, back to 'the art of world peace.' It is a short and pithy phrase in English, but hard to put into Japanese. The Byakko Peace Prayer does not quite do it.

Best wishes,

Peter Goldsbury 05-16-2011 06:07 AM

Re: "Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Diana Frese wrote: (Post 283825)
The difference was that they were arranged horizontally, right to left in the Japanese order, if I remember correctly, rather than vertically, as in Japanese books. For those not familiar with them, Japanese books are read with the pages in order from the right side of the book, ending with the left, the reverse from English language books.....

Hello Diana,

The reality is a little more complicated. Sure, Japanese books are arranged with the pages numbered with the spine of the book on the right, not on the left. However, the writing on the pages is printed vertically, not horizontally. The horizontal arrangement from right to left was more common in Morihei Ueshiba's day than it is now. I have seen it only on the sides of trucks and cars, like taxis. For example, my local taxi company, つばめタクシー (Tsubame Takushii = Tsubame [Swallow] Taxis), sometimes has ーシクタめばつ on the (right) driver's side of the car. In Roman script, this can can be written as i-ihs-uk-aT em-ab-usT, or, better, shii-ku-Ta me-ba-Tsu.

Japanese is clearly a wonderful language to speak and write.

Best wishes,

Peter G.

abraxis 05-16-2011 09:55 AM

"Art of Peace" Kanji
 
Quote:

Peter A Goldsbury wrote: (Post 283845)
Of course, if you have the Japanese carved on a jo and/or bokken, you will have the best of both worlds: a pole or implement you can actually use, as well as pray with.

My profession is to explore cultural contexts and some might find the discussion in Robert Kinsala's book of interest. The book, published in 1999 by Hawaii U P, is Prophets of Peace: Pacificism and Cultural Identity in Japan's New Religions. The discussion of Goi and the Byakko Shinkokai starts on p. 57. Morihei Ueshiba and aikido are not mentioned, even once.

In Hiroshima, we approach world peace with a certain realism. There are many, many peace groups, all competing for membership. Many of these have links with Japan 'new' religions, like Byakko. Although in Japanese, the following website gives a wide overview of what there is to choose from: http://park8.wakwak.com/~kasa/index.html
There are links to various websites.

The 'peace industry' goes into top gear around August 6, when there is a huge ceremony at the Peace Museum. The organization that runs the Peace Memorial Museum is the Peace Culture Foundation: http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/hpc...ish/index.html
(If you scroll through the website, you will find my name listed among the Directors.)

The point I am making here is that here in Hiroshima, world peace is invariably tied to an ideology, such as a religion like Byakko Shinkokai, or a political viewpoint, such as the abolition of nuclear weapons. So, when people come to my door asking me if I support world peace--and I say yes, of course, this is immediately followed by a request to join their religion. And, yes, all the founders are very holy people, like Mr Goi, who have achieved enlightenment.

So, back to 'the art of world peace.' It is a short and pithy phrase in English, but hard to put into Japanese. The Byakko Peace Prayer does not quite do it.

Best wishes,

Hello Goldsbury Sensei,

I think Kinsala's book may deliberately exclude OSensei's Aikido because in World War II aikido was clearly not a pacifist activity. Even decades after that war, when the first generation of shihans were being sent out to Europe and America to open dojos, the emphasis was on martial arts not pacifism--at least that is my impression. I do not believe aikido qualifies as a new religion dedicated to pacifism even though many of its practitioners will at times try to make it sound that way.

I've never been to Japan but my sense of the new religions that have sprung up there and which are active in Hiroshima is that many of their promoters are deeply committed to remembering those who were lost. As well, I feel they are sincerely committed to the cause of "world peace" and believe they are in a unique position to foster that peace--both motives resulting from the experience of Japan before, during and after World War II. Competition among these groups and the commercializtion of these activities is not surprising given what is understood of human behavior but you offer a very illuminating look at the culture which prevails outside the doors to your dojo and I thank you for it.

I've spent some time in Jerusalem during Easter--Passover holy days. The old city is often considered one of the holiest and most religious sites on the planet. God's themepark, I might say, at the height of "the season", is complete with lines of tour buses and its arteries are clogged by long traffic jams and pilgrims on parade. Hawkers attempt to sell you panoramic posters of the downtown mosques, the orthodox churches, and the walls of the last temple. If anyone tried to stop me on the street to ask me, "Are you Jewish?" I was ready to answer with "Who wants to know?" and just keep on walking. When Jehovah's Witnesses came to my door back home once and asked, "Are you optimistic about the future?" I answered "Yes I am but I don't put it in religious terms".

As for: The Art of World Peace, kanji?
It's now become a koan,
it doesn't require translation but thanks for your advice.

Sincerely,

R.Ternbach


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:56 PM.

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.