"Budo prepares you how to die.

Chris Parkerson wrote: The Tao of Surfing Matthew Gianno wrote I learned that from surfing in So. Cal. It was the natural way to become a Taoist for me. If you fought the wave, you paid the price. Kevin wrote Some forms of abuse make you feel more alive. We used to think it wussey to use wetsuits during the winter. Two hours of letting the waves purify you with a natural Misogi. I was hooked for ten years. Luckily I stayed in school. I do wonder if those who prefer BDSM of the Christian Flagesists for that matter, are not totally within their niche and loving it. I may try hanging myself by hooks some day. I bet the Chi really flows. Kevin wrote I resonate with Nick Pittson when he said, "the fear worse than dying is the fear or not having lead a full life…… living life to the fullest, every moment, as death is an integral part of that life. Find the beauty in every moment, and appreciate it for what it is, not what surrounds or defines it". The ultimate Taoist surfer for me was Jesus of Nazareth and his hardest words are his most precious. Matthew 6: 25 … Take no bthought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? …. 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 … aConsider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, ashall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little bfaith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? ….. Lynn Seiser wrote: The best surfing session I remember were when I emptied my mind and let the wave write upon it…. "The Silent Flute".

Ah, here is the crux of the matter, methinks.

Budo may prepare you for death by affirming the negative (we all die) but religion (or better yet, spirituality) allows you to fully accept and welcome the experience by affirming the positive (this body is not all we are).

Just my 2 cents, I suppose.

-Blake

Nick Pittson wrote: Someone far more intelligent than I stated, and I am paraphrasing, that the only fear worse than dying is the fear or not having lead a full life (or something like that). I believe that that is where the essence of budo lies; living life to the fullest, every moment, as death is an integral part of that life. Find the beauty in every moment, and appreciate it for what it is, not what surrounds or defines it. Odd that has to come out while sitting in front of a PC....and a bunch of my colleagues on this path (you guys) are sitting in front of your PCs reading this. Hah!

WORD! And with that in mind, I'm off to enjoy a cup of tea with my wife.
Cheers folks!
Matt