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Old 05-25-2007, 05:55 PM   #25
Allen Beebe
Location: Portland, OR
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 532
United_States
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Re: Aikido is a pair of ducks- tantric practices and aikido

For what it's worth . . .

Japanese Mikkyo, being older than the oldest Koryu, similarly take their practice pretty (OK, very) seriously. While one may have a familial relationship to a Mikkyo lineage and thereby only have a ceremonial/formal association rather than a practical one, those that have entered, and remain active, within a orthodox lineage of Mikkyo as a practitioner tend to be very serious indeed due to the arduous and demanding nature of training.

Does Mikkyo have a relationship to Aikido? For Mikkyo practitioners, Mikkyo has a relationship to everything. Does Aikido have a relationship to Mikkyo? To many Aikido practitioners Aikido has a relationship to everything. YMMV.

To my mind Budo and Mikkyo are one and the same. For me, that is the only way they can work. However, that is just my mind. I've been prejudiced against from both ends, having been accused of being so heavily committed to Budo that it must be that I do not take my Mikkyo practice seriously, while also having it assumed that, being so heavily involved in Buddhism, I couldn't possibly be a serious Budoka. However, Shugyo (whether martial or spiritual) implies obstacles to overcome. I have found that external obstacles are the least of my worries.

I believe that the 13th Dalai Lama said that a practitioner could profitably use the powerful forces of sex to further their Buddhist practice when they could, with equanimity drink a glass of water or urine. And, at that stage of development they'd hardly have need to use those powers anyway. If I remember correctly, with this statement he also implied that he wasn't ready to do so either. Considering the depth of the Dalai Lama's training, the quality of his teachers and the proven sincerity of his practice, the field of individuals that could authentically engage in sexual tantra (the use of sexual energies for the purpose of enlightenment) is rare indeed.

I would humbly suggest that if you run across a person, usually a person of power and authority, suggesting that if you relinquish to them anything of great personal value or worth to you in exchange for filling some personal need, lack or emptiness, proceed with great caution. Our greatest needs are not usually fulfilled from external sources.

I think Budo (Aikido) and Mikkyo both teach this lesson.

(BTW, I am ordained in, and practice, Koyasan Shingon-shu Mikkyo, and was also ordained in an independent lineage of Shingon. My Aikido teacher, Shirata Rinjiro, practiced and taught Hagurozan Yamabushi no Gyo which, while being Shugendo, shares roots in Mikkyo. It was his introduction that prompted me to explore Shingon Mikkyo.)
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