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Old 11-08-2008, 12:28 PM   #9
Joe McParland
 
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Dojo: Sword Mountain Aikido & Zen
Location: Baltimore, MD
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 309
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Re: Aikido Or Squash

Quote:
Simone Chierchini wrote: View Post
I don't get you. Can you articulate for the slow people like me?
I suspect you're not slow so much as I am obtuse, Simone

You cannot see yourself as superior without creating something that is inferior. "I am on a spiritual path" leads one to see those who are not. "His practice is bad" only exists when you see your practice is better.

That's the mirror.

Masakatsu agatsu is the founder's "true victory is victory over oneself." Others have the "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" or variations. Zen folks have the path of saving everyone else is saving yourself first.

People come to aikido from different places. Ron Ragusa, in his blog here, cites what he calls the "transformative" properties of aikido. I agree with him in that if you sincerely practice (and I add, "and your teacher has some sense about him"), then you'll move in the right direction. It doesn't matter how you came to aikido, and you don't actually have to realize you're on a spiritual path to be affected spiritually. As a matter of fact, clinging to the idea of spiritual development can actually be as much of an obstacle to spiritual development as anything else.

Long winded---sorry. Make any sense? Anything I can clarify?

By the way, these are just my own thoughts and experience---don't assume I know anything

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