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Old 06-09-2005, 09:52 AM   #17
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Dojo: Jihonjuku/ St.Pete. FL
Location: Palm Harbor, Florida
Join Date: Jul 2004
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Re: Aikido as a Religion

I thought perhaps to go back to the original post/questions that Jun started with on this thread:
Michael Neal wrote:
Jun, many are promoting Aikido as a Religion, and practically worshiping Ueshiba as a Deity.

Magical powers of Ki, absolute faith in magical like acts performed by Ueshiba even though they never experienced it themselves, etc.

I can spend a bit of time here on Aikiweb collecting the quotes if you would like


I have never seen anyone promote AIKIDO as a religion.
Regarding some people practically worshiping Ueshiba as a deity, that is a little more closer to the truth. Fewer and fewer people are alive whom have actually seen or trained under O-Sensei. Stories told are as often happens to any story about someone with fame and a following start to develop mythological proportions. Even easier to do when it's an incredible martial artist who led/lived in interesting times. In addition, when you add a nebulous spiritually mysterious word like KI to non-Asians and it is easy to see how stories/ideas/beliefs can take on lives of their own.

The problem is to any outsider and to insiders as well, we look and act like a religion. The old adage if it walks like a duck, quacks, like a duck, looks like a duck, then it must be a chicken. It reminds me when I was a child and the controversy/legal battle over silent prayer/or moment of silence was raging through the court system, and school systems. One Saturday during that time, my family driving out to go do something passed the building for the then organization of Atheists and proponents against organized prayer in our schools gathering in their building for a Saturday meeting -people dressed in their 'Sunday go to Church' clothes getting out of cars and gathering at a building that resembled most places of worship. Asked my mother what this was and she said they were people who didn't believe in God. My question was so they formed a religion and have services to profess their non-belief in a God??

We have that religious or more than likely mysterious mystical/spiritual look and yes there has to be someone who sees or practices AIKIDO in their mind as a religion (heck, is there not a movement in Japan to treat KARAOKE as a DO), but AIKIDO being touted as religion is media hyperbole. A couple of people may write/subscribe to a religious flavor to their practice or towards their Dojo does not seem to lend credence that AIKIDO treated as a religion exists in any Dojo. But, I am glad Jun started this thread because I think we need to talk more about this perception openly.

It's always going to seem a fine line because of O-Sensei's personal beliefs and many AIKIDOKA also seeking spiritual growth/awareness through their practice. Personally, I have always seen my practice as similar to David's dance up to the Temple. A celebration of the gift God gave me that is this life and what I can do with this body given as a gift. Also like YaB connection to Jallaladdin Rumi and Whirling dervishes.
Gene
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