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kototama - Spiritual Aikido Practices necessary?

topic posted Thu, October 5, 2006 - 8:10 AM by  Unsubscribed 		Share/Save/Bookmark
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O-Sensei stated: "Masakatsu-Agatsu-Katsuhayabi In order to master the mysteries of Budo, one must return to the source of things and unite oneself with the Divine; the only way to be invincible is to overcome one's base passions, to defeat the mind of contention with- in, and to achieve complete clarity of mind. Then one can anticipate any attack and escape unharmed"

Do you think you need to take up Aikido Cosmology to really understand and master Aikido?

Take a look at this page: www.aikiwest.com/cosmology.htm


A-O-U-E-I I-E-U-O-A
;)

SA
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  • Pr0le
    Pr0le
    offline 50

    Life is dynamic.

    Fri, October 6, 2006 - 6:38 AM
    !SA!,
    We all have different experiences as to what is effective. We all have different ideas of the elements of aikido and what the goal of 'mastery' is. I have had positive experiences with the kototama. For me, it is not curcial, but beneficial. Try it and make your own decision. Good luck! :)
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    • Unsu...
       

      Re: Life is dynamic.

      Fri, October 6, 2006 - 7:03 AM
      Paula, What positive experiences did you have from practicing Kototama?

      :D

      SA
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      • Pr0le
        Pr0le
        offline 50

        Re: Life is dynamic.

        Sun, October 8, 2006 - 8:52 AM
        Sitting amongst several other aikidoka, all reciting the kototama seemed to create a resonnance that was quite centering. So outside and stressfull issues lost importance, my mind was more set on being in the here and now.

        For me, it was like being able to take the unimportant, extraneous stresses that distract me from being in the moment, and put them on another shelf. Like clearing space for aikido.

        At least that was the case for me.
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        • Unsu...
           

          Re: Life is dynamic.

          Mon, October 9, 2006 - 6:48 AM
          Excellent Paula! I've been finding that it gives me a buzz as well. Nothing profound yet however, I'm just using the Kototama as a mirror for now and see what reflects.

          :D

          SA
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  • Dr. ...
    Dr. Awkward
    offline 27

    Re: kototama - Spiritual Aikido Practices necessary?

    Sat, October 28, 2006 - 3:05 AM
    SA, if you want to understand what Osensei meant by that, you have to take a close look at his life, and his other statements. Osensei himself had two practises; the physical and the spiritual. He did not really start the latter practice until after he felt that his physical training was complete. With this in mind, it would be pretentious to place your attention on Aikido cosmology until you have firmly grounded yourself to the physical techniques. Spiritual practice in general, however, is essential.

    Most people, in fact, can't even do a forward roll without a certain level of spiritual discipline. In training, we overcome natural fears. The fear of pain, for instance, disappears almost entirely. And in our lives, we have to learn to overcome a temptation to show off techniques, and/or the temptation to use them to harm others. Did any of that make any sense at all?
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    • Aiki1
      Aiki1
      offline 2

      Re: kototama - Spiritual Aikido Practices necessary?

      Tue, October 31, 2006 - 9:37 AM
      <<<SA, if you want to understand what Osensei meant by that, you have to take a close look at his life, and his other statements.>>>

      Agreed.

      <<<Osensei himself had two practises; the physical and the spiritual. He did not really start the latter practice until after he felt that his physical training was complete.>>>

      Hmmm..... This statement does not make any sense to me. If one looks at O Sensei's life, his spiritual practice started before he even outwardly started to evolve his martial arts into Aikido. per se. And later, as an old man, he is know to have said things like.... This old man is still training.... stuff like that....

      <<< With this in mind, it would be pretentious to place your attention on Aikido cosmology until you have firmly grounded yourself to the physical techniques.>>>

      Hmmm again, I find -this- to be a rather pretentious and presumptuous statement, no offense. It assumes that you know each individula's place in not only their spiritual development, but also what is right for them - doesn't cut it in my book....

      <<<Spiritual practice in general, however, is essential.>>>

      Not for peopole who do not want it. Aikido happens to be a large part of my own spiritual practice, but I never force it on any of my students.

      <<<Most people, in fact, can't even do a forward roll without a certain level of spiritual discipline.>>>

      Hmmmm - I started rolling when I was 12, and hadn't quite gotten spiritual yet - I guess I didn't know what I was doing.

      <<< In training, we overcome natural fears. The fear of pain, for instance, disappears almost entirely. >>>

      Good God, I NEVER want to NOT be afraid of pain. perhaps you mean something slightly different....

      <<<And in our lives, we have to learn to overcome a temptation to show off techniques, and/or the temptation to use them to harm others.>>>

      Some people do, some people dont.

      I odn't really mean to come off sounding disputive, but when speaking with authority about Aikido, I believe it is important to not assume that what is true for one individula is true for Every individual. I also think it's a good idea to have one's facts straight. Other than that - hey - welcome!

      :-)
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      • Dr. ...
        Dr. Awkward
        offline 27

        Re: kototama - Spiritual Aikido Practices necessary?

        Tue, October 31, 2006 - 4:41 PM
        I was a little tired when I wrote that, so I imagine I made a few errors, and elaborated quite poorly. In fact, it would be presumptuous of me to try to elaborate it too much at all. For those of you with decently good computers, why don't I let the founder speak? www.youtube.com/watch

        <<< With this in mind, it would be pretentious to place your attention on Aikido cosmology until you have firmly grounded yourself to the physical techniques.>>>

        Damn, I didn't mean to say that at all. I meant that it would be presumptuous to place TOO MUCH of your attention on Aikido cosmology. Three o'clock in the morning really wasn't a good time for me to post this, I guess. "Too much", by the way, is a term which is nice and vague, is it not?

        >Hmmmm - I started rolling when I was 12, and hadn't quite gotten spiritual yet - I guess I didn't know what I was doing.<

        I tend not to distinguish spiritual discipline from mental discipline. Again, that was a lack of articulation on my part. Sorry.

        >Good God, I NEVER want to NOT be afraid of pain. perhaps you mean something slightly different....<

        To conclude whether or not I am right in that the fear of pain disappears almost entirely, we need to remember the phrase "almost", and define the word "pain".

        >Some people do, some people dont. <

        I meant to say, "many of us", but I didn't want to type all that.

        >I odn't really mean to come off sounding disputive, but when speaking with authority about Aikido, I believe it is important to not assume that what is true for one individula is true for Every individual. I also think it's a good idea to have one's facts straight.<

        I don't even try to speak with authority; but merely parrot a simplified version of what the founder, the former Doshu, and the current Doshu said. In that, I hold all liability for miss-quotes, poor interpretations, and bad translations.

        >ther than that - hey - welcome!<

        Thanks.
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