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Old 05-27-2012, 06:29 PM   #37
mathewjgano
 
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Dojo: Tsubaki Kannagara Jinja Aikidojo; Himeji Shodokan Dojo
Location: Renton
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Re: Spiritual and i/p

Quote:
Matthew Gano wrote: View Post
However, for those who see that as secondary, even for a budo practice, I don't think it make their practice invalid. Less valid, perhaps, but that's a personal choice subject to a series of personal judgements/values...and not one discussion will ever solve. It's still a matter of bringing a horse to water...and anything that smacks of forcing will cause the horse to resist.
I want to clarify I meant "less valid" in terms of comparative physical potency. I learned something about how to deal with brute force from skiing. I might even say it was an effective way of training for it. If I were to, many people might interpret that as suggesting it matches their sense of what "effective" entails. Instead of telling me why I'm wrong or how my view is invalid, I think folks would do better to simply offer their sense of things and move on. We cannot escape the mind's task of judging the world around us; it does that whether we're aware of it or not, but we can show each other that we respect the fact that we cannot see into each other's world, even if in fact we're 100% correct about our assumptions.
When people speak of "not judging each other," they're addressing this "need" people have for walking their own path (though often taking it too literally, in my opinion). People have the right to be wrong and to find the truth in their own way. This is something I think everyone ought respect; while actively doing their best to express their own opinions as strongly as they can.
I believe O Sensei left it to the individual to go after whatever they valued. I think it's clear his first mission was to raise himself up to be a worthy actor on the stage of the universe; next was his household; neighborhood; etc. I presume he expected us all to do our best and that in sincerely doing so we would eventually stumble upon profound truths. Internal Power training is, in my opinion, the highest form of physical training, but not the highest form of training. People can live without it and still be said to be working on potent (i.e. enough for their goals) "budo."
...And most of us, in my strictest opinion, cannot claim understanding of budo because most of us have never been through a battlefield. We're all working on an approximation and hoping that when called upon for the precise thing itself, our approximation is close enough.
...or something like that. I'm tired and want a cookie.
I feel like trying again later when I'm feeling more lucid, but here's an attempt for our consideration. Any feedback would be appreciate.
Take care,
Matt

Last edited by mathewjgano : 05-27-2012 at 06:32 PM.

Gambarimashyo!