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Fun story along these lines...
An army was invading a town where there was a temple presided over by an enlightened sort of monk. As part of this invasion, a warrior ran into the temple, and saw the monk there in meditation. He screamed at the monk "get down on your face and acknowledge me as your master". The monk continued to meditate. The warrior continued to bluster, shouting at last, "do you know who I am? I am a man who could run you through without batting an eye!" The monk finally responded, saying "do you know who I am? I am a man who could be run through without batting an eye"
Fun stories aside, you can think of aikido and zen this way; A perfectly enlightened person without a sense of 'self' might not need to defend themselves. But they might wish to avoid dying at another's hands in order to help their attacker properly appreciate a lesson in valuing compassion.
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