Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote:
So maybe the question is, why did O Sensei believe that aikido was the right tool to achieve "Universal Harmony"?
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And how did he define "Universal Harmony," anyway?
O Sensei put MUCH more emphasis on the meditation and purification aspects of his practice than most of his students, and certainly more than most of their students. For him, at least, it was very much a religious practice. I'm pretty sure that he never claimed "Universal Harmony" could be achieved through waza-oriented training alone.
But the mystical/Shinto aspects of aikido are not something that most Western teachers are prepared to discuss, much less teach, and not something that most Western students would be willing to embrace, anyway.
Which means, in practical terms, that it falls to the individual student to decide what, if any, spiritual practices will best complement their aikido training.
Katherine