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Old 03-03-2012, 01:42 AM   #124
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Dojo: Team Combat USA
Location: Olympia, Washington
Join Date: Jul 2002
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Re: How to be non-competitive in a competitive world

what I agree with in the end state not the methods. You are failing to understand that.

The other difference seems semantical to you, but you are missing that as well. The definition of competition. The mere fact that you want to preserve anything at all, be it your life, your idealogy, your family...what ever immediately means you are in competition for something.

A noble idea to have equal and true compassion equally for all. If you truly love your enemy as much as you love your child, then there is no reason for defence. The enemy needs he lust from raping your daughter and taking your son to serve as a soldier. He needs this and true compassion or as you put it ...requires you to not put your needs or the needs of your child over his.

My friend, we are at best hypocrites in this world. We are human and we must make choices. Life is about attachment. It is not about confidence and pontificating. It is noble to what to make things the way we want them to be, but ignoring those things that make us human is pure anxiety simple ignorance and or audacity.

I understand what love is, and I have experienced pure hate as well. I have stared into the eyes of evil and corruption that is way past the ability for redemption. If you experience it, there is no room for love.

Now, we can talk about my mental state all day long about killing with compassion, or detachment from anger, and no mind etc. The things I think you are describing as being void of the competitive mind. I understand those things pretty well. They have nothing to do with competition or competitiveness.

They have everything to do with detachment or compassion.

You see it is possible to love somethings more than others. It is possible to value good over evil. Our mind is in constant competition over priorities and attachments. We need to learn to manage the hypocracies. That is what we do in budo. It is about choices and priorities...they compete.

In dealing with things that don't agree with us, that we consider wrong, unjust, and bad...we can still deal with those things compassionately and choose to use the most ethical means necessary to deal with it. To only deal with the core of the issue and not inject feeling or emotion.

I have dealt with my enemies in like real in actual combat. I engaged with him, not in anger, not in hatred, I only dealt with his actions and choices, using the force he choose to use. So, I get it and understand it crystal clear. I have stopped him from forcing his negative behavior on others, and then turned to take care of his family as if I would take care of my own, to feel their pain and suffering. It is an absolute requirement. It it human.

The fact of the matter is that in the end, we are human, the very nature of your existence means we form attachments, which makes us hypocrites at best. The difference in our opinions is that I believe budo is designed to help us deal with this hypocrisy and ignorance, to manage it and come to reconcile this at the midpoint.

Whereas you seem to believe that it is designed to transform us into a state of nirvanna. Nirvanna is a worderful concept and one I would personally like to in theory achieve. However getting there is difficult at best and relegates the human experience to something that is completely meaningless, and I think that there is something to be heavily considered in that. It is a catch 22.

So as you say, if you look deeply my friend you will see that.

I really fail to see also what studying a fighting system or at least one based on that would have anything to do with reaching a state of pure love or bliss. You can kinda skip all that if this is what you want to achieve.

I see those that do Aikido falling into three categories. First those that do this because they like it, but have not really figured out why they do it, they simply like it. Those that do it because they understand the nature and realities of budo and why we need it. Third, those that choose to ignore the realities of the world and attempt to co-opt or hijack budo to fit whatever warped paradigm they wish it to be. This third group is of danger to themselves and others as they out of intention o not, are ignorant to the realities that are around them.

I pray that the dissonance that they experience when reality meets their skewed perspective that it is not in a situation that causes them true harm. And that my friend is me showing you true love and compassion, or as you put it, the non competitive mind.

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