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Old 11-04-2010, 11:28 PM   #89
Janet Rosen
 
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Location: Left Coast
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 4,339
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Re: Life Question - Harming Another Human Being

For me there are three different moral imperatives:
1. I have an obligation to not harm my training partners.
2. I have a responsibility to do my best not to hurt a client/patient/impaired person who may need to be restrained to prevent them from harming me, themself, or a third party.
3. I have a moral right to do whatever is needed to protect myself from someone who is trying to harm or kill me or my family.

From what I have read/understood of OSensei's teachings - and I do not read Japanese or have any formal study - he conceives of an attack as a disturbance in the harmony of the universe, and "aiki" as restoring the harmony. I don't see anything there about the initiator of the disturbance walking away whistling dixie...

Janet Rosen
http://www.zanshinart.com
"peace will enter when hate is gone"--percy mayfield
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