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Old 01-28-2005, 02:28 PM   #4
Don_Modesto
Dojo: Messores Sensei (Largo, Fl.)
Location: Florida
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,267
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Re: The Art of Peace?

Quote:
John Matsushima wrote:
One of my favorite Aikido books is John Stevens' "Art of Peace". In his translation, he has several quotes by o sensei mentioning the "art of peace". My question is, did o sensei actually refer to his art this way? Here is an example from his book which quotes a poem from o sensei;

The art of peace can be summed up like this: " True Victory is self victory...."

Did he actually say "art of peace"?, or was it Aikido, Budo, or something else? Does anyone think that this is how he meant it, or is it misunderstood?

-John Matsushima
Long before there was Judo Judo, using the other guy's strenght against him, there was Verbal Judo.* The cultural context whence aikido grew depended on sophistical reconciliations of opposites. Pagan gods became expressions of Buddhist truth, e.g. (and Buddhist institutions thus accrued the cultic economic resources thereby.) In the mush ensuing from such unembarrassed myticism (a dirty word in areas priding themselves on rigor), anything can be anything including aiki being peace. Stevens milks this propensity ad nauseam.

* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...580185-4671255

Don J. Modesto
St. Petersburg, Florida
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