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Old 09-07-2005, 02:24 AM   #9
Peter Goldsbury
 
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Re: Omoto-kyo Theology

Hello Charles,

I think the deafening silence that greeted David's article in AJ is due to the fact that virtually no one has had the opportunity so far to examine all the texts thoroughly.

For example, Ellis's "Three Peaches" blogs are very good, but seem to be based on the translated parts of Takemusu Aiki. The translated portions are a small part of the whole and I think the other parts need to be looked at. In addition, these lectures were made to members of the Byakko Shinkoukai, which is a distant offshoot of Omoto. I am curious about the extent to which O Sensei was lecturing with a particular audience in mind, but to check this we would need to look also at the writings of Masahisa Goi.

Then there are the discourses that have appeared in Aiki Shinzui, but I understand that these have been edited.

I have the same suspicions as David does about the Founder's close reliance on Omoto theology and have been acquiring a collection of texts on Omoto theology in Japanese. I think the most important text is Reikai Monogatari and I know from the Aikikai that O Sensei had a text of work which he annotated and often had read to him. No one sems to know where this text is.

So I think that David has made a very good start, but I also think, as any academic would, that his conclusions need to be closely evaluated.

Best wishes,

P A Goldsbury
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