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Old 09-23-2010, 07:58 AM   #2
Rabih Shanshiry
 
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Location: Boston/MA
Join Date: Apr 2009
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Re: Breaking the will of the ego.

Intersting post - thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I admit that I don't see Aikido as a spiritual discipline - although I do believe there are spiritual dimensions to it. Nor would I equate the sanctity of traditional houses of worship with the dojo.

If spiritual pursuit is the goal, I can think of many more fruitful paths than Aikido. Serving the less fortunate would be towards the top of that list.

In some ways, Aikido can be a selfish pursuit. And we find that inflated egos, politics, and greed are fairly commonplace among the teachers of the art. I never truly understood the idea of Aikido being a vehicle for world peace and conflict resolution when Aikido's highest ranked fail to exhibit these ideals among themselves.
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