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Old 09-24-2004, 01:08 AM   #4
George S. Ledyard
 
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Location: Bellevue, WA
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Re: Article: Transmission in Aikido by George S. Ledyard

Quote:
Suren Baghdasaryan wrote:
An article about a problem that I can "feel". I agree with almost everything that is said here, however one thing still bothers me - the conclusion.



Very true. Too many practitioners to establish a close teacher-student relation. Even being lucky enaugh to practice every Saturday with Bill Witt Shihan, I doubt if I'll ever have such a relation. Shihans are very busy and in most cases they can't pay too much attention to any one student because thousands of others are waiting to be taught. And actually asking for such attention these days can be accepted as an egoims.



Those are the words I really can't accept. They appeal for self-realization or at least understanding of the art (internal part of the art) by yourself. Does anybody knows about any case when such self-realization has been achieved without sensei / guru / spiritual leader or any other form of leadership?
Sorry, but I can't find any historical fact
Many say that the light is already inside ourselves, but has anybody discovered it by himself ?

Best regards,
Suren.
Actually, there is an allowance for this in Buddhism. A Pratyeka Buddha was one who attained Enlightenment on his own without the usual transmission. The Vimalakirti Sutra was an important text for lay Buddhists because Vimalakirti attained Enlightenment as a householder and was not a monk. So in a sense Aikido folks who can't be "uchi deshi" to the highest level teachers will in a sense have to mdel themsleves after Vimalkirti and do it themselves.

Fortunately for us, there are far more resources available to the average practitioner even if he doesn't have a high level teacher immediately to hand.

Also, just as an aside, Krishnamurti addressed the issue of not having a guru extensively in his writings.

Last edited by George S. Ledyard : 09-24-2004 at 01:10 AM.

George S. Ledyard
Aikido Eastside
Bellevue, WA
Aikido Eastside
AikidoDvds.Com
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