Aikido Buddhists?

Are there any other Aikido practitioners out there who are Buddhists?

While reading the book, The Zen Way to the Martial Arts, I discovered Buddhism which was perfect harmony with Aikido and my personality. Curious if anyone else has followed a similar path.

Regards,

I practice aikido and I'm also a Buddhist.

Yep it does. I like buddism, its a religion that doesnt, use fear to gain believers.

I just want to say anyone who is knew to aikido that it isnt a religion. Osensei specifically said this.




Matt Banks

I started training in aikido about a year after I started regular Zen practice, and I find that for me the two complement each other nicely.

Some teachers, such as Chiba Sensei, encourage zazen. In fact, there is an interesting article by Chiba Sensei at aikidoonline regarding this topic.

However, I would not say that there is any necessary correlation between the two. Aikido is not a religion, but it can lend itself to the cultivation of sincerity, which is the heart of all religious practice.

Chris Guzik

When I gain real understanding of a new piece of the aikido puzzle it _feels_ like kensho.

Awareness and mindfulness are surely the same.

No nage, no uke, just aikido.

zen and aikido could not go better together. It was aikido which introduced me to eastern philosophy. However I don't know whether I would consider myself a buddhist or a taoist (zen has its own set of indoctrination, as all organised religions, such as the koan and formal meditation).

Good thing is that you don't have to be a zen person to practise aikido so you tend not to 'stink of zen' during practise, as it is only on relfection that you realise the similarities.

Ian

My old sensei was.......

I am.

i actually got in to zen buddhism from the same book about a year after i started aikido. then i went to find a zen group so i could be taught zen.
i don't consider my self a buddhist, yet
i figure i have more to learn first.


James

Buddhisim led me to aikido. What began as a moving meditation to aide my sitting practice became a whole new thing pretty quickly. While they are certainly complimentary in many ways, they are different practices for me.

namaste,
Karl

A guy in my dojo ranking brown, soon to be shodan is also a buddist. Personally, I don't really have a set religion yet, although thanks to the library at my dojo I am now fully into the Taoist philosophy. I must admit however, I've only touched the surface of comprehending its meanings.

-Jase

Karl Kuhn wrote: Buddhisim led me to aikido. What began as a moving meditation to aide my sitting practice became a whole new thing pretty quickly. While they are certainly complimentary in many ways, they are different practices for me.

Hi Karl,

You may find that after considerable more time in both practices that they (and all else you do) are ONE.

Regards,

For what it's worth, I've studied Eastern thought, and I find much in Zen and Tao that complement not only my Aikido training, but also my Christian faith.

Go figure. Maybe there are some universal truths, and enlightenment by any path is still enlightenment.

-Drew

Many paths, could it be that they all leads toward the same Source?

Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaeism, budo....

the more I study, the more they all seem to be different labels, different explanations, different garments on the same Truth.

Yes, of course they are much the same. I think it is worth considering where they differ, however. Now, there are no absolutes here but my Aikido training is not the same as my sitting practice, nor do I it should be. I think that it is worth investigating, critically, the manifestations of buddha-dharama in our lives and practice.

I mean, the whole universal oness of buddha mind remains, but if we are to do the work we should look to the tools. History rolls with teachers who sought distincton in method and practice- Shakyamuni, Nagarajuna, Dogen, and yes, Ueshiba........

Cheers,
Karl

Although religions may have some fundamental similarities at their core, they are often expressed differently and usually require different behaviour from their practitioners. I have no doubt that religion has an aspect of social bonding with evolutionary importance i.e. it is easier to live in a society where people have the same ethical beliefs, otherwise you always feel others are doing wrong, and other people feel you are doing wrong. i.e. it is a way of genertaing a universal ethic for your society. (This is supported by the use of exclusion of others outside the religion, or missionary action).

Saying this I would say Zen & Taoism are different (call me biased) because they are acutely personal. They also do not have an intrinsic ethical system. (although compassion could be considered part of zen buddhism, it would be expected to arise naturally from a removal of distinctions, rather than being something to necessarily practise).

Ian

P.S. I have recently realised that zen is not about one-ness; to have that concept assumes a distinction.

Ian

"to achieve the Way is not difficult; just reject discrimination. If you cast aside the mind that disciminates, then at once you gain awakening. To abandon the discriminating mind means to break free from the self."

Dogen

Go figure. Maybe there are some universal truths, and enlightenment by any path is still enlightenment.

and...

Many paths, could it be that they all leads toward the same Source? Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaeism, budo.... the more I study, the more they all seem to be different labels, different explanations, different garments on the same Truth.

Ultimately I believe that there is no right or wrong religion that one could follow, but that all religions serve the point to make their followers happy. This being said it makes perfect sense that the spirituality that one finds in aikido goes hand in hand with the religion one finds in life...

While, this might sound like I'm saying aikido is a religion, I am not...simply stating that there is a level of spirituality located in it that opens our minds.

Many religions do teach many different things but deep down most ( those that serve to help mankind) follow the ideal of peace and harmony...Christians are vessels of God and therefore should have his light shine through them...Muslims are commanded by God to do good things to fellow man...Buddhists strive to extinguish dukkha...Hindus open their arms to all of these trains of thoughts and follow them in peace...All of these religions are different yet they all teach peace.

Zen Buddhism and Aikido can go hand in hand and it wouldn't make any sense for it not to...make peace through not suffering...make peace through universal love, both of these ideologies bind the existence of man and must be seen together and seperate.

One can practice aikido and never gain a strong following of any religion, the same as anyone can follow any religion without even hearing the term aikido but in the end they strive to accomplish the same thing...

But that's just my opinion.

I've been studying Buddhism for pretty close to two years now. If it weren't for Aikido, I probably wouldn't be. It all began when my sensei used to have us sit for a minute or two at the end of class, before bowing out. I was curious about meditation, I liked the stillness at the end of class....especially being a newbie when I'd get so frustrated all the time. So I researched meditation online and kept coming up with Buddhism sites. The more I read, the more I liked. So I started meditating nightly and reading all I could get my hands on about Buddhism.

I haven't meditated in a couple months now, though. Funny, life got stressful and I stopped. This is probably when I need it the most. When sensei has us sit for a few minutes at the end of class sometimes, I am finding it difficult.

So while I don't belong to a specific form of Buddhism, I do consider myself Buddhist, I guess. I'm still learning.

Aikido led me to Buddhism. What O-Sensei called misogi and shugyo - purification and ceaselessly hard training - I tend to think of them as carving out and peeling away the layers that subdue my innate buddha within. (In conjunction with meditation of course... but then again, anything can be meditative so long as one stays mindful of his actions - and I've even heard Aikido described as "moving zen".) I've always said that beginning to train Aikido was the best decision I ever made, but I've also said in more recent years that "Awakening the Buddha Within" by Lama Surya Das was the most life-changing book for me. I definitely don't think that the 2 rely upon each other, but they work well together. Nonconfrontation, blending and redirecting hostile energy... how do you think Buddhism grew to be such a world religion? I currently attend the Zen Buddhist Temple in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Osu!

I'm a Buddhist but my practice was derived more from Theravada than Zen, and I do not feel that the buddhism I practice is a religion, and sometimes i feel that my aikido practice IS.

Ahh... the blurring of all lines. Life itself becomes the highest form of worship!

Actually, Zen got me into marial artsover 35 years ago.

IMHO, Buddhism is aligned with Aikido. It is also aligned with cognitive-behaviorial psychotherapy which is the one proven most effective. 2500 years of peace of mind cannot be all wrong.

More Tibetan for me. I study with a group 2 times a month. Aikido and the Buddhism interest appeared about the same time with the Buddhism evolving later.

Matt Snyder wrote: Ahh... the blurring of all lines. Life itself becomes the highest form of worship!

Life is all there is.... Buddhism is just the the pursut of truth....The truth is, Buddhism is just a lable....