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Old 12-05-2004, 09:59 PM   #20
aikischmid
Dojo: Shinsuikan, Genoa, Ohio
Location: Toledo, Ohio
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 5
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Re: Aikido Buddhists?

Aikido led me to Buddhism. What O-Sensei called misogi and shugyo - purification and ceaselessly hard training - I tend to think of them as carving out and peeling away the layers that subdue my innate buddha within. (In conjunction with meditation of course... but then again, anything can be meditative so long as one stays mindful of his actions - and I've even heard Aikido described as "moving zen".) I've always said that beginning to train Aikido was the best decision I ever made, but I've also said in more recent years that "Awakening the Buddha Within" by Lama Surya Das was the most life-changing book for me. I definitely don't think that the 2 rely upon each other, but they work well together. Nonconfrontation, blending and redirecting hostile energy... how do you think Buddhism grew to be such a world religion? I currently attend the Zen Buddhist Temple in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Osu!
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