Kagura-Mae, "Dance of the Gods"

KAGURA-MAE

“Dance of the Gods”

Reflective Selected Writings

Bjorn Saw 2021

A Selection of notes on Mythology, Shinto and Aikido.

Aikido is non-resistance.

“Aikido is the principle of non-resistance. Because it is non-resistant, it is victorious from the beginning. Those with evil intentions or contentious thoughts are instantly vanquished. Aikido is invincible because it contends with nothing.”

— Morihei Ueshiba

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Not only in Aikido is this principle applicable. It is a fundamental prerogative in all spiritual dialogue. As Aikido is a physical, mental and energetic matching of opposite forces, so is a true investigative dialogue based on the non-resistant mindsets of the participants. The mind is pliable and open, receptive and sensitive. It listens without opposing nor does it reject out of hand. The spiritual dialogue is always investigative, meaning nothing is set in stone. It’s a living exploration that unfolds (as Aikido does) in the engagement and relationship to the other.

We need to recognise the often knee-jerk reaction we have to all things unknown. There’s an immediate ‘No’ as a rst response, both in body,

mind and heart to any encounter we feel uncertain about. There’s a safety mechanism in place so we don’t heedlessly endanger ourselves. Healthy scepticism is not a bad thing but it must give way to an even healthier curiosity. Wanting to learn, to understand and to know. Non-resistance is this availability to the new, and since time itself is always new we have this capacity to love what is.

Therefore it has no need to contend. We do not oppose but apprehend, blend and funnel, in the body through a balanced centre, in the mind through not clinging, and in the Spirit through recognising unity and non-duality. Thinking you already know is a sure way to safeguard your Ego. So in a spiritual dialogue where we are meant to dislodge and recognise this foe as the only hinderance to a shared liberated eld of communication, we must become conscious of this drive from within to oppose.

The Still Point.

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In between movement nd that still point. So often we never pause, never take the time to stop. We drift if not fall into the next moment. Unable to hold our own we can’t wait to move on. Impatient we tend to loose our temper. Being still, absolute still, where we come to rest, in balance, just as it is

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required of us in deep meditation, can be incredibly demanding. Leaving no trail of remaining tremor, no dgeting, coming to a complete halt where we become still before we initiate our next movement.

We separate and disentangle the movements, letting each move stand alone. When we learn this basic way it may take time to become still. Take whatever time is needed and as you learn step by step you’ll nd that still point sooner and sooner.

Even to the point where we hardly notices a break in the ow. Learn to enjoy this quiet point inside yourself. Learn to love it. Once you nd this sweet spot inside yourself, you can always return to it at will. Take a moment, is the apt terminology. Take a breath, then focus on the next move. You will learn to use your body as an expression of your mind.

When you say sit, it will sit. When you say rest easy, your body will rest easy. When you say go, it’ll go. Like a well trained dog without any anxiety.

Once you nd this still point in yourself, you connect the dots in between the movements. Like a string of pearls you move between them like on a rosary, each one having a mantra of their own.

Finding yourself at each point, making possible a free ow of motion. A particle and a wave.

Subatomic motion.

Touch never lies.

Upon touch everything is revealed. What you hold, what you fear, what you want. Your touch will reveal your doubt and your unexamined insecurities. Touch reveals patterns of behaviour long learned in the body. A handshake gives you away. The physical contact serves as a barometer for your intimacy. Will you let them in? How far am I willing to let go? Do I need to keep my own? Can your touch suss where the other is? Can your grip calibrate the di erence? Immediately? Hands lightly held adjusts and match to blend. Can you both play the range? Without missing a beat. Never needing to separate yet opening and closing at will. Can you guide without interfering. Flow without the pause to readjust? Now this is Aiki in my book. No hesitation yet no lack nor excess. A perfect physical response re ecting your state of mind mirroring your heart’s delight. That’s why touch never lies.

From the Pali Canon.

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Now while the Blessed One was alone in retreat this thought arose in him: 'This Law that I have attained to is profound and hard to see, hard to discover; it is the most peaceful and superior goal

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of all, not attainable by mere ratiocination, subtle, for the wise to experience. But this generation relies on attachment, relishes attachment, delights in attachment. It is hard for such a generation to see this truth, that is to say, Speci c Conditionality, Dependent Arising. And it is hard to see this truth, that is to say, stilling of all formations, relinquishing of the essentials of existence, exhaustion of craving, fading of lust, cessation, nibbana. And if I taught the Law, others would not understand me, and that would be wearying and troublesome for me'. Thereupon there came to him spontaneously these stanzas' never heard before:

‘Enough of teaching of the Law

That even I found hard to reach;

For it will never be perceived

By those that live in lust and hate.

Men dyed in lust, and whom a cloud

Of darkness laps, will never see

What goes against the stream, is subtle,

Deep and hard to see, abstruse’.

Considering thus, his mind favoured inaction and not teaching the Law.

Then it occurred to Brahma Sahampati, who became aware in his mind of the thought in the Blessed One's mind 'The world will be utterly lost; for the mind of the Perfect One, accomplished and fully enlightened, favours inaction and not teaching the Law'

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Then as soon as a strong man might extend his exed arm or ex his extended arm, Brahma Sahampati vanished in the Brahma world and appeared before the Blessed One. He arranged his robe on one shoulder, and putting his right knee on the ground and raising his hands palms together towards the Blessed One, he said 'Lord, let the Blessed One teach the Law. Let the Sublime One teach the Law. There are creatures with little dust on their eyes who are wasting through not hearing the Law. Some of them will gain nal knowledge of the Law.' When Brahma Sahampati had said this, he said further:

‘In Magadha there has appeared till now

Impure law thought out by men still stained:

Open the Deathless Gateway: let them hear

The Law the Immaculate has found.

Ascend, 0 Sage, the tower of the Law;

And, just as one sees all the folk around

Who stand upon a solid pile of rock,

Survey, 0 Sorrowless All-seeing Sage,

This human breed engulfed in sorrowing

That Birth has at its mercy and Old Age.

Arise, 0 Hero, Victor, Knowledge-bringer,

Free From All Debt, and wander in the world.

Proclaim the Law ; for some,

0 Blessed One, will understand'.

The Blessed One listened to Brahma Sahampati's pleading. Out of compassion for creatures he

surveyed the world with the eye of an Enlightened One. Just as in a pond of blue, red or white lotuses some lotuses that are born and grow in the water thrive immersed in the water without coming up out of it, and some other lotuses that are born and grow in the water rest on the water's surface, and some other lotuses that are born and grow in the water come right up out of the water and stand clear, unwetted by it, so too he saw creatures with little dust on their eyes and with much dust on their eyes, with keen faculties and dull faculties, with good qualities and bad qualities, easy to teach and hard to teach, and some who dwelt seeing fear in the other world and blame as well. When he had seen, he replied:

‘Wide open are the portals of the Deathless.

Let those who hear show faith. If I was minded

To tell not the sublime Law I know,

It was that I saw vexation in the telling'.

Then Brahma Sahampati thought: have made it possible for the Law to be taught by the Blessed One'. And after he had paid homage to him, keeping him on his right, he vanished at once.

Aikido - is it relevant?

While the jury is still out on whether Aikido works or not, not many are asking the question of what

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Aiki is? Because a ghter may use a technique from either Jiu-jutsu, Daito-ryu or Aikido and incorporate it into their grappling and striking skills without necessarily using developed ‘Aiki’ principles. I can understand your interest to learn what works and what doesn’t as a martial artist.

But many things you say are obvious. Most Aikidoka are no ghters and are not looking to learn how to ght. Some do, and then they usually look around like you do, which MMA is all about; learning what works in a ght one to one, or against several attackers. What is lost in the discussion I think, is the question of what is Aiki?

Whether we use it for ‘real’ in combat or simply for the joy and skill it bestows. I think that’s where Aikido has its place; to be a source of body development, which of course we nd in all the arts, but here ideally is dealing with the concept of ‘Aiki’. So why not seek answers to what ‘Aiki’ is, should be, can be, and its use in and outside of combat training. Simply using an Aikido technique in a ght/self defence doesn’t mean we know or understand ‘Aiki’. Other arts can and will claim the technique as their own too, so it’s really not about speci c techniques is it? You mention the method of teaching Aikido being misleading? Yes it is if you propose it’s for combat purposes when you (the teacher) have no ghting/self defence experience skills. But if you’re teaching a body mind system

that coordinates movement in an e ective and powerful way using Aiki principles, then you can safely say that your students can incorporate whatever other study they want to pursue for their own personal objective. So if you want to learn how to defend and ght, you can utilise what you learned from an Aiki developed body, or you can simply want to enhance your non-competitive uke/ nage training for your own well-being and develop the sensitivity that emerges after years of practice, constantly working to improve your own understanding of Aiki and its related studies. Either way, we need competent teachers. I’m for one, is seeking to understand Aiki and trying to train and incorporate it in my Aikido teaching and learning, outside of the combative eld of MMA.

‘Resistance’ Training.

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Is often a very misunderstood term and shouldn’t really be used to describe our Aikido training. Just being grabbed rmly by the wrist by a senior Aikidoka is our chance to practice Aiki. To learn to accept, receive, accommodate, absorb, match, in uence and direct force is the beauty of Aikido. I don’t call it ‘resistance’ training. We usually call it Kotai, hard or solid training. This basic (Kihon) static practice should not be misunderstood as

‘blocking’. Now, testing our ability through ‘push’ or ‘pull’ tests or something similar, is also not to be misunderstood as ‘resistance’ training. These tests are to check our ability to take out the slack, connect and redirect with increasing subtlety.

Sparring or resistant training in a competitive engagement is not encouraged in most Aikido dojos as it changes the dynamics considerably. We can see how Tomiki Aikido has developed it into a competitive sport contest. And though Aikido in general doesn’t have the edge gained from real close combative sparring practice or from match experience, it is continuously discouraged by the mainstream of Aikido traditions. Why? Partly because O Sensei, the founder of Aikido, stated its not compatible with the principles of Aiki:

“Aikido is the principle of non-resistance. Because it is non-resistant, it is victorious from the beginning. Those with evil intentions or contentious thoughts are instantly vanquished. Aikido is invincible because it contends with nothing.” Morihei Ueshiba

This statement is a lofty but an achievable goal of our practice and to understand it we must understand what ‘Aiki’ constitutes. And to train it, to practice this, we can’t engage in contests of strength. We can’t battle for supremacy, subtly or not, in our regular mat practice in the dojo.

Kiai.

Or a loud shout, was used in Oomoto Kyo’s early days of Chinkon Kishin practice to induce a state of spirit possession in a medium. This becomes a very interesting point when we come to see the signi cance of taking command through a spirited shout as in the use of Kiai in Kendo for example.

The attacking spirit is a state, or attitude, of mind, taking control of your opponent through your directed intent. Kiai is the reverse placing of the two kanji characters that make up Aiki. In Oomoto Kyo (the religion that O Sensei subscribed to) it has deep spiritual signi cance. Something that O Sensei (the founder of Aikido) was well aware of.

His spiritual understanding and his experience in Oomoto Kyo would bleed into his grasp of Aiki and translate into his formidable ability to handle his ukes (opponents). His technical pro ciency gained from Takeda’s Daito Ryu was being infused with his deeply held beliefs; his spiritual revelations and lifelong aspirations, to form his own art of Aikido.

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“In the old days, masters used the terms aiki and kiai interchangeably. They thought of aiki as a method of spiritually overpowering an opponent, and it was a part of many arts, especially kenjutsu (fencing). While most modern styles think of aiki as a process of gently blending with an opponent in

order to control him, daito-ryu aikijujutsu adheres to the traditional approach and treats aiki as a powerful blast of spiritual energy, little di erent from the karate kiai.”

(Black Belt Magazine March 20, 2011).

The Meaning of Kiai.

“Ei!”Cut down the enemy

Lurking inside oneself

And guide all things

With shouts of “Yaa! And “Iei!”

-Morihei Ueshiba

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A spirit shout rests on the premises that the Spirit of Truth is real. This is fundamental in order to understand the how and why, and where it comes from. ‘Self-defence’ means to defend the Self, the true being, from untruth and falsehood. So once again let’s return to O Sensei, Deguchi Sensei and Oomoto Kyo. They practiced ‘spirit possession’, ‘spirit exorcism’ and puri cation (Chinkon-kishin, Kototama and Misogi) to take control of, and to subjugate another persons spirit. This was done in response to illness or misfortune, alluded to have been caused by evil or misguided spirits taking possession of a person. So it’s important to see that it was not an equal relationship. It was not a

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give and take, a back and forth, like we sometimes view Aikido’s uke/nage relationship to be, but rather the old martial style of taking command of and subduing an evil attacker. It was based on the notion that the attacker was in the wrong from the very start. He or she had left their natural and true self, now with intent to cause harm and thereby upsetting the equanimity of a life that is inherently lled with love, harmony and balance. Simply the intent to encroach upon an other causes a rift in the fabric of truth. Thereby making it legit to put it in its place, taking control of it and making it aware of its erroneous ways. Now the interesting bit is how in order to be able to achieve this, we need to be ‘pure of heart’. Ie. only the good can ght the bad. Only truth will overcome the false. Only purity can a ect impurity. That’s why there’s so much importance laid on Misogi - spiritual cleansing. We must examine our hearts, purify our thoughts and train our body, so we can be of service of a higher good. Evil spirits (Ego) will have a eld day with you if you can’t muster up enough spirit of truth for them to admit their erroneous ways. Simply said, if you can’t act in the name of truth you have no business telling others to. O Sensei and Oomoto Kyo knew this and that’s why they laid so much importance on personal training, on Misogi. Only if we act in accordance with truth/spirit/love can we learn to be able to handle aggression and

oppression. So back to the Kiai, a spirited shout to call out and to take control of the situation.

Imposing yourself upon the other to halt them in their ways. Remember how O Sensei claimed: “Budo is the principle of nonresistance. Because it is nonresistant, it is victorious from the beginning.

Those with evil intentions or contentious thoughts are instantly vanquished. Budo is invincible because it contends with nothing.”

Implied here is that we must be free from evil intentions and contentious thoughts in order to be able to face and to take command over the misguided actions of the other. So ‘Bu’ (in Budo) is the restorative process of reclaiming peace and equilibrium. This is a process of Truth having an actual e ect upon falsehood, e ectively driving out, expelling or exorcising evil/ignorance from another person. Can you see how this all originates in the spiritual struggle between good and bad.

First within ourselves (misogi), then with another (uke/nage).

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Kye-Ho!

Listen up, those of you that have ears!

Don’t break the thread.

"Ame No Miso-Ori Me"

The Heavenly Weaving Maiden: The Cosmic Weaver in Early Shinto Myth.

In the Takamagahara, Plain of High Heaven, Amaterasu, the "Heaven-Shining-One," sat in the pure weaving hall seeing to the weaving of the garments of the gods. While this was going on Susano-o cut through the roof-peak of the weaving hall and let fall a heavenly dappled horse which had been ayed with a back-ward aying. At this the heavenly weaving maiden was so shocked that she accidentally plunged the shuttle into her vagina and thus died. Seeing this, Amaterasu became frightened and, opening the door to the heavenly rock-cave, she entered and there secluded herself.

Therefore the Plain of High Heaven became entirely dark, and in the Central Land of the Reed Plains the darkness was complete. Because of this it was night continually and the cries of countless deities, like the buzzing of ies,' lled everything, and every sort of weirdness` arose.'

-Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters).

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This account from the Kojiki, compiled in the early eighth century of the common era, is a part of the

narrative of the mythic struggle between Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess and her brother Susano-o. This struggle is the dramatic denouement of the events in the Plain of High Heaven and therefore must be regarded as crucial to the classical Shinto tradition. Dramatically, the struggle ends with the expulsion of the obstreperous Susano-o from heaven and the rm establishment of Amaterasu's sovereignty there.

Ritually, it places at the center of Amaterasu's sacred activity the performance of a rite of cosmic weaving; while the expulsion of Susano-o is clearly a paradigm of the o-harae or puri cation ceremony.

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The condition of the universe that results from Susano-o's actions is characterized in these texts as not a universe at all, not a cosmos, but chaos, that is, disorder, a random motion that results in desolation and death either by means of withering or by means of unbridled growth. Amaterasu's retreat into the cave is the storyteller's way of providing the dramatic action—the "cause" on the overt level of narration—that brings about the state of chaos. It also provides one of the necessary conditions: when the sun hides, darkness results, and darkness is the enemy of order. But the cave may have a richer symbolic message than that provided by its function of merely hiding the sun. In

view especially of the death of the heavenly weaving maiden, which immediately precedes the cave sequence, we must reckon with the possibility of sexual symbolism here as well. As has been pointed out in discussing the Daijosai, or emperor's enthronement ceremony, there is strong evidence to suggest that the new emperor makes a symbolic return to this same cave in imitation of his ancestress Amaterasu. He hides himself away at night in the Kairyuden, a special structure built for this purpose, and wraps himself in the "quilt for the covering of the true bed" (madoko-o-fusuma). But in both Shinto myth and Japanese folk-tales deities are often born from caves. Not to belabor the obvious, the natural cave that produces life in birth is the womb. The future emperor in his enthronement ceremony undergoes a symbolic death and rebirth, that is, he reenters the womb and is reborn as a divine sovereign.

Amaterasu hides herself in the cave and thus symbolically dies. This notion is strongly reinforced by the death of the heavenly weaving maiden. The wild behavior of Susano-o in the weaving hall is the cause of both events: they are in fact one and the same event. But the death of the weaving maiden adds to the elaboration of the symbolic world of the myth. She is so startled that she wounds the entrance to her own womb. Thus we are referred to

the symbolism suggested by the term sau/sabu, that is, the destruction of the cosmic order, which is the very underpinnings of life itself, caused by untrammeled power and undisciplined growth. The very instrument of the maintenance of order is here the shuttle, and the meaning of the weaving hall itself begins to emerge in the symbol of the loom on which the cosmic order is woven. This very instrument can, if used improperly, become the instrument of death. The very cave of life, the womb, if incorrectly entered, gives forth not life but death.

Some variants in the Nihonshoki (Chronicles of Japan) in fact baldly state that Amaterasu dies. The Nihonshoki also contains a story of a woman who out of remorse commits suicide by stabbing herself in the vagina, this time with a chopstick. The parallelism with the heavenly weaving maiden story becomes even clearer when one notes that it is Okuninushi, the illustrious descendant of none other than Susano-o, who, as the snake-formed lover, is the indirect cause of the woman's death.

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Susano-o cuts a hole in the roof of the pure weaving hall and ings down into the interior a "heavenly dappled (white) horse," which he skinned backward (it may be that the important word here is " ayed" since the Shinto puri cation

ceremony (o-harae) has three separate references to the sin of cutting esh). That this was a horrible desecration and pollution of the place of ritual we can tell from the consequences, that is, the death of the weaving maiden. The meaning of the horse in modern Shinto may in part be seen from the fact that many larger shrines have special structures to enclose a life-sized statue of a white horse, which is generally understood as the steed of the deities.

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What then can be said of the cultic signi cance of this activity of the "weaving of the garments of the gods"? First, the character of Susano-o tells us much. Amaterasu as the divine weaver is dramatically opposed, and is symbolically opposite, to him. Susano-o is the principle of disorder, of destructive because undisciplined power. As is made clear in later mythic episodes, he is also a powerful warrior. By this logic, then, Amaterasu must be the principle of order and, further, of creative and disciplined power. Hers is, the Japanese mythmakers seem to be saying, a power peculiar to a female deity: it is quiet, rm, steady, and, compared to the male Susano-o, hidden in its workings. The myth thus makes a basic distinction between the two gures, who are cosmic principles of classi cation, that may be tabulated as follows:

Susano-o: Male Undisciplined Chaos Disorder Impure Earth Warrior Wears a sword .

Amaterasu:

Female

Disciplined

Cosmos

Order

Pure

Heaven

Weaver

Wears jewels

(magatama)

One notable absence from the above list is the distinction between good and evil. In the contest sequence Amaterasu girds herself in warrior attire and goes out to meet Susano-o, stamping her feet and kicking the earth up in a cloud and "shouting with an awesome fury." But this appears to be bluster, for nowhere does she wield a weapon or strike an enemy. Her power is that of sovereign creator of order. She delegates physical power to others, as especially in the sequence that depicts the descent of the "heavenly grandchild," that is, the rst earthly emperor.

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We also have seen what creation by ritual means, as in the "birth" of Amaterasu and Susano-o themselves in an act of puri cation. Thus, in the pure weaving hall something is being created ritually and also ritually maintained, something

vitally important since it is the dramatic focus of this entire portion of the narrative. This something is symbolised by the garments of the gods. And to this we must turn our attention. Weaving of course produces not garments directly but cloth.

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There are two festivals, held only at the grand shrine at Ise, that centred around the preparation of cloth and the making of garments to be presented to Amaterasu. Actually one festival repeats later in the year, these are the Kammisosai. The name is from kamu, a variant of kami, "deity," and miso (or mizo) written here together with the honori c mi, now commonly taken as only a phonetic element but originally probably meant to be read separately as "august garments."

Hence, Kammiso-sai, the festival (sai) of the august garments of the gods. The presentation of the garments itself is brief. The superintendent of the grand shrine leads a procession of other priests, followed by the eight weaver women who have made the cloth. Before them go the bearers who carry the o erings, including the cloth made by the women. The superintendent recites the brief norito, the sacred ritual words. Then all perform a series of ritual gestures of bowing, silent hand clapping, and kneeling and make an orderly withdrawal from the presence of the deity. The norito spoken on this

occasion has been preserved in the Engi-shiki as follows:

“I humbly speak in the solemn presence

Of Ama-terasi-masu-sume-o-mi-kami,

Whose praises are ful lled, Where the great shrine posts are rmly planted

And the cross-beams of the roof soar toward the

High Heavenly Plain,

In the upper reaches of the Isuzu river

At Uji in Watarai: I humbly say that the presentation is made

Of the woven garments of plain cloth and coarse cloth Habitually presented

By the people of the Hatori and the Omi.

Thus I humbly speak.”

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The "plain cloth" of this norito is nikitae-miso, that is, "cloth of soft material," which in classical times meant silk; the "coarse cloth" is aratae-miso, "cloth of rough (arai) material," which came to mean cloth made of hemp bers. It is interesting to note that, in the Nihon-shoki account of the mythic episode in which Amaterasu hides herself in the rock-cave, among the o erings made to her by the assembled deities in order to induce her to come out were aonikite, "blue soft o erings," and shiro-nikite, "white soft o erings. This appears to be a usage from a time before silk culture was known. The blue (or

green, aoi) would refer to undyed hemp cloth, while the white (shiroi) would refer to cloth woven from paper-mulberry bark, or perhaps only the strips of bark itself." The Engi-shiki also refers to two groups of weaver women, one from the Hatori Uji (from haul, "to weave," especially on a loom, and oru, "to weave") and the other from the Omi Uji (from o, "hemp, ax," and umu, "to shred or tear into thin strips"). The term uji here refers to hereditary groups or families, who had the obligation to furnish the Miko, "priestesses" for the preparation of the cloth in this ceremony.

These are the prototypes of the historical gohei or sacred (now paper) streamers.

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Chinkon-sai, or Mitamafuri no matsuri, which was held the day before the Niinami-sai in the imperial court. The name of the festival means "to shake (furl) the august soul (mi-tama)," which referred to the soul or spirit of the emperor. Compiled in A.D. 833, its purpose was to recall the wandering soul of the emperor. Given its location in the calendar, it was apparently felt that the coming winter was a threat to the emperor's health since the separation of the soul from the body, if temporary, was re ected in illness and, if permanent, meant death.

In this ceremony the priest chanted the numbers from one to ten, using archaic pronunciation, as an incantation designed to tie "a knot in the emperor's

life-cord." This may have been a re ection of a folk practice of similar intent called tama-musubi, that is, "tying one's soul," still found in Kyoto, in which, after a sneeze, one ties a knot in a cord in order to bind the soul, which has been expelled with the breath. But this binding ceremony was but the preface to the main ritual, which required that a priestess take a box that contained the emperor's garments and shake it ten times. Presumably this had the same purpose as the binding ceremony.

Even in modern times it has been recorded that, when a person seems about to die, a relative goes up to the roof of the house and stands calling the name of the dying and shaking his clothes. Again, the shaking of the garments is a ritual designed to return or to settle the wandering soul rmly in the body.

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It is in the process of weaving that the cosmic and therefore mythic power of Amaterasu is most clearly seen and most unambiguously stated. What more graphic symbol of Amaterasu's primary religious function—that of the maintenance of a cosmos—could be imagined than the regular, orderly, disciplined, integrative, binding activity so obvious in the smooth operation of the sacred loom? That she is expected to continue this process is con rmed by the fact that for the renewal of the shrine buildings at Ise, undertaken

every twenty years, Amaterasu is presented with a miniature sacred loom, together with thread boxes, spindles, and reels.

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Amaterasu forgives Susano-o at rst; she ees into the rock-cave and hides; she quietly sits and weaves in the pure hall. Only the contest sequence might seem to portray her as given to acts of strong physical force. Here in fear of a challenge to her sovereignty by Susano-o she puts on the dress of a warrior and arms herself with a bow and arrows. But there is no bloodshed. This contest is not one between two warriors bent on cleaving heads; instead it is a contest of fecundity in the pro-duction of "children," that is, the creation of new divine beings. It is therefore a contest to see who has the power and the right to continue the cosmogony, to continue the creation of archetypal things and events that the myths, at least in their present form, have as their primary objective. The contest narrowly conceived is a draw: both produce "children." But Susano-o understands it as a victory for him and "rages" in exultation, with the result that he commits violent and destructive acts that threaten the ongoing life of the created world by destroying the order on which it depends!

Thus the contest taken in its entirety proves the superiority of Amaterasu and a rms her claim to sovereignty.

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It is a symbolic event with obvious sexual implications. The two stand on opposite sides of the "Celestial River." Amaterasu takes Susano-o's sword (that is. the male principle, his semen) into her mouth (womb) and there incubates it with her saliva (egg) and spits out (gives birth to) "his" children. Then Susano-o takes Amaterasu's magatama jewels (plump stones with holes in them, that is, her female principle, her eggs) into his mouth (womb) and there incubates it with his saliva (semen) and spits out (gives birth to) "her" children. The one who gives the essence "ownsthe children, while the one who incubates only bears them. This suggests the primacy of maleness, or may only re ect the reckoning of descent in the male line. Each acts as giver (male) and as bearer (female) to the other. This suggests a kind of androgyny or at the least an equality of importance and power. Yet, what Amaterasu gives (acting as male) is clearly feminine in nature (the magatama jewels), while what Susano-o gives (acting as male) is as clearly masculine in nature (the phallic sword). This suggests sexual equality, but at the same time sexual di erentiation. Finally, the sex of the children, reported di erently in the Kojiki and in several variants in the Nihonshoki, is clearly irrelevant. So is Susano-o's "victory." He has proven his equality to the great goddess, the mother of the world, and this so overwhelms him

This Mortal Coil.

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The Shimenawa.

How we stand in attendance. How we fret to get rst in line. Me rst! Me rst! Do you remember the velvet coiled rope that restaurants and nightclubs had to bar entry? Enforced by two muscle meat heads. It cordoned o the hallow ground, the inner sanctuary. Mid winter in Stockholm the door bouncers wouldn’t let you in because you didn’t t

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that he immediately proves his inferiority to her in his violent activities. She is both fecundator and orderer, while he is only fecundator.

The divine weaver continually creates the order of the cosmos. It is a process, never nished, and thus never rei ed, never codi ed, and never served as such. It is the goddess that one serves and not the order that she creates. The interaction of warp and woof, and indeed the knots so formed, create the beautiful brocade of the world, whose skies, mountains, plains, and seas are permeated with the essence of the kami, or the sacred. This image suggests that the garments of the gods and the gods themselves might be di cult to separate in Japan. Indeed, what we have been able to distinguish in myth and ritual become in folktale even more closely interwoven.

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the pro le. Freezing to death you hated their guts.

These two guardians watching the entrance where you want to enter, are endowed with erce qualities. Muscles bulging, martial capacity, the law on their side, what’s not to dislike about them? I’m entitled to be let in, let me in for Gods sake!

Instead you catch the last bus home, promising yourself never to go there again. Quietly rioting inside. I remind myself of Sanatana, the Saint that rode on the wind to see Shiva at his home on Mt Kailash but was stopped at the nal gate by two overzealous guardian deities. For their insolence Shiva made them live through hundreds of lifetimes to repent of their arrogance.

In Shintoism, a Miko (shrine maiden) has a mikosuzu (Shamans bell) on her hand and rings it when she dances the kagura mai (sacred music and dancing performed at shrines). Moreover, in the oratory of a shrine, a bell on the top end of a coiled rope sounds when pulled in order to attract the attention of a deity when you arrive at their entrance.

According to "Kenzoki (Records of Kenzo era)" from "Nihon shoki/ Chronicles of Japan", an old woman called Okime came to Emperor Kenzo in February in the rst year of his accession. Since she pointed the location of his deceased father's bone, the Emperor let her live near the royal palace in appreciation.

He told her 'put a bell at the end of a rope and ring it to tell the receptionist of your arrival when you come to me.'

This is thought to be one of the oldest examples of the practical bell usage in Japan. The Shimenawa, the twined coiled rope decreeing a sacred area, often hanging at the gate entrance of all Shinto shrines, and over the main hall as well. Originally the very rope that the god of strength put across the rock cave opening so Amaterasu would not be able to retreat her steps back into the cave. So this mortal coil of strength depicts our human inner ability to secure a perimeter of safety by exercising the inner esoteric understanding of the dynamic interplay of yin and yang, of heaven and earth, in a twisted stretch of an inner aligned and balanced body and mind. So to arrive at Gods place we must ring the bell at the end of a mortal coil to catch his attention. This mortal coil then should hinder the light from withdrawing and welcome people in to the sacred.

Putting the Aiki back into the Aikido.

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That is my project. Been working on it for a year in my room. It’ll be very interesting to see if it works once we’re back in the dojo. I’m hopeful though, I think with a few tweaks it might just t like a treat.

Aware that a year is a very short time for this to work but looking forward sneaking it in without telling. See if they notice? Adding spice to a well known dish. Ascribe meaning to routine moves.

Generating coordinated movement from a connected body without wreaking havoc. Like trying my new robot vest on, ne tuning and error testing it. Like spending the winter taking the engine apart, dismantling it to its smallest parts.

Learning how to rebuild a classic. Hoping it’ll start in the spring.

Churning of the Cosmic Ocean.

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To churn the primordial ocean, Mount Mandara (a spur of Mount Meru, the world axis) was used as a churning rod and the snake-king, Vasuki as the churning rope. The Asuras held the head of the snake and the Devas held its tail and they pulled his body alternately, causing the mountain to rotate and the ocean to churn.

When placed in the ocean, Mount Mandara began to sink, so Vishnu, in his second avatar as the tortoise Kurma came to the rescue and supported the mountain on his shell (his turtle back). The colossal tug of war continued for a million years before the gifts of the ocean were revealed.

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The churning of the ocean of milk is a momentous event in Hindu mythology that appears in the Bhagwat Purana, Vishnu Purana, and the Mahabharata. It is the story of the Devas (the Gods) obtaining the ultimate prize of immortality by consuming Amrit, the elixir of immortality.

Bereft of their strength and fortune, the Devas sought Amrit, the elixir of immortality from the depths of the primordial ocean. The Devas had to join forces with their mortal enemies, the Asuras (Demons) to churn the cosmic ocean and bring the Amrit to the surface – who agreed to do so in return for half of the reward.

Before the Amrit was revealed, the mythological poison of Halahala was released when Vasuki’s head vomited forth the poison that threatened to fall into the ocean and contaminate the amrita.

Shiva hurriedly drank the poison to prevent it from contaminating the ocean. His wife, Parvati saved him by choking Shiva, which stopped the poison in his neck from reaching his stomach. According to some legends, the Halahala may be the reason for Shiva’s iconic blue color.

Several ratnas or gems other than the Amrit were bestowed by the cosmic ocean during this di cult toil, such as: Chandra, the moon, parijata, a beautiful and fragrant tree now planted in Indra’s heaven, the four-tusked elephant Airavata, Indra’s mount, Kamadhenu, the cow of plenty, Madira, the

goddess of wine, who became Varuni, the wife of Varuna, Kalpavriksha, the wish-ful lling tree, the apsaras (celestial dancers), the celestial horse Uccaihshravas, the goddess Lakshmi, who became Vishnu’s wife, Panchajanya, Vishnu’s conch, Vishnu’s mace and magic bow, various gems, and Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods, who rose up out of the waters carrying in his hands the supreme treasure, the amrita. When the Amrit was nally revealed, the Devas and Asuras immediately reverted to their rivalry and tried to obtain the elixir for themselves. Vishnu turned himself into a beautiful woman named Mohini, to distract the Asuras while the Devas hurriedly swallowed the Amrit and gained the ultimate prize of immortality.

Sudarshan Chakra

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The Sudarshan Chakra is the only divine weapon which is constantly in motion. It could perform millions of rotations every second and has the capability to travel several million yojanas at the very blink of an eye. It is not thrown, but with willpower it is sent against the enemy. The literal meaning of Sudarshan Chakra is “one that has auspicious vision.” In fact, the word Sudarshan Chakra is composed of two Sanskrit words, “Su” +

“Darshan” meaning auspicious (Su) vision (Darshan). The word Chakra is derived from ‘chruhu’ meaning movement and ‘kruhu’ meaning to do. So, Chakra means that which is mobile. Lord Vishnu is portrayed holding the Chakra in his right rear hand of the four hands. Lord Vishnu adorns the Sudarshan Chakra on his index nger like a ring. He also holds a Shankha (conch shell), a Gada (mace) and a Padma (lotus) in his other hands.

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In the Puranas, the Sudarshana Chakra was made by the architect of gods, Vishvakarma.

Vishvakarma's daughter Sanjana was married to Surya (the Sun god). Due to the Sun's blazing light and heat, she could not go near the Sun. She complained to her father about this. Vishvakarma made the sun shine less so that his daughter could hug the Sun. The leftover stardust was collected by Vishvakarma and made into three divine objects;

1. The aerial vehicle Pushpaka Vimana.

2. Trishula of Shiva.

3. Sudarshana Chakra of Vishnu. The Chakra is described to have 10 million spikes in two rows moving in opposite directions to give it a serrated edge. The Sudarshana Chakra was used to cut the corpse of Sati, the consort of Shiva into 51 pieces after she gave up her life by throwing herself in a yagna ( re sacri ce) of her father Daksha. Shiva, in

grief, carried around her lifeless body and was inconsolable. The 51 parts of the goddess' body were then tossed about in di erent parts of the Indian subcontinent and became "Shakti Peethas".

The Sudarshan Chakra has twelve spokes and six navels. Its center is composed of “Vajra.” It is said that the words “Om Sahasrara hum phat” (सह त् फट्) are inscribed on each of its spokes. The twelve spokes of Sudarshan Chakra are believed to represent the twelve months of the Hindu Lunar calendar as well as the twelve deities (Soma, Indra, Varuna, Vayu, Agni, Vij, Mitra, Indragni, Prajapati...).

The six navels represent the six seasons.

The stable middle part: They are named as Bhruvi (equality), Bhag (radiance), Sampada (nectar of nutrition), and Nirdesh (speed).

The spokes: consists of twenty-seven feminine principles created from Prajapati. It contains yoginipanchak – the ve cosmic elements. It is beyond all restrictions of direction and time.

These cosmic elements are described as:

◦ Yogini

◦ Lakshmi

◦ Narayani

◦ Murdhini

हुं

स्रा

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◦ Randhra

The Parigh (periphery): It has eight masculine principles.

◦ Aditya

◦ Varuni

◦ Juhu

◦ Narayan

◦ Navadha

◦ Gandhi

◦ Mahish

It is so small that it can be kept on the tip of a leaf of Tulsi plant and at the same time it is so big that it can cover the entire universe.

Once it is released, the Sudarshan Chakra annihilates the enemy and returns back to the one who wielded it. Even after its release, the Sudarshan Chakra remains in complete control of the one who wielded it. The Chakra chooses the Shunyamarg (path of zero stress nature) for traveling and hence can reach anywhere within a moment. It increases its speed when posed with an obstacle. It is called as “Hansagati.”

◦ It is soundless/noiseless.

◦ It has tremendous power to destroy everything.

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There are various mythological stories narrating how the divine weapon – Sudarshan Chakra came into being. Some believe that it was created by the combined energies of Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh (Shiva). Other scriptures state that it was given to Lord Vishnu by Guru Brihaspati. There is one popular mythological story that describes the origin of Vishnu Sudarshan Chakra.

Once it so happened that the cosmic gods were su ering badly at the hands of the demons. They decided to seek the help of Lord Vishnu. So, they approached Lord Vishnu and requested Him to protect them from the demons or Asuras.

At this, Lord Vishnu told the Devtas (cosmic Gods) that He did not possess the necessary weapon that was required to defeat the demons. However, Lord Vishnu consoled them that He would seek help from Shiva and requests Him to give a special weapon that could overpower and defeat the demons.

So, Vishnu went to Lord Shiva. He found Lord Shiva sitting in a state of meditation. Vishnu started praying to Lord Shiva hoping that He would soon come out of His state of trance. Shiva remained in this state of trance for several years. However, Vishnu continued His penance and prayed Him chanting Lord Shiva’s name and o ering him lotus owers. Finally, after many years, Shiva came out of the state of trance. Lord Vishnu’s joy knew no

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bounds. He ran and gathered one thousand lotus blossoms so that He could worship Lord Shiva and ask for a special boon.

Shiva was immensely pleased with the prayers of Lord Vishnu. However, he decided to test Lord Vishnu’s devotion towards him. So, Lord Shiva secretly stole one of the lotus owers. Now, there were only 999 lotus owers. Lord Vishnu started to worship Shiva and o ered Him the lotus owers while chanting Lord Shiva’s name. At last, Vishnu found that one lotus ower was missing. He had only counted 999 lotus owers. It meant that Vishnu had to go and search for yet another lotus ower. However, instead of doing so, Lord Vishnu plucked one of his eyes and placed it in front of Lord Shiva. Seeing such immense devotion of Lord Vishnu, Shiva exclaimed, “I am extremely pleased with your devotion. I will grant anything that you want”.

Hearing these words, Vishnu requested Lord Shiva to give him a powerful weapon that can easily overpower all the demons. Lord Shiva then gave Vishnu the Sudarshan Chakra that would help Vishnu to conquer all his enemies.

There is yet another very popular legend behind the origin of Sudarshan Chakra. According to this theory, the Sudarshan Chakra was created from the Sun’s rays.

Vishwakarma, the architect of the cosmic Gods, had married his daughter Sanjana to Surya Deva.

However, due to the intense heat and light of Surya, Sanjana was unable to look at him and was neither able to approach him. Sanjana told this misery to her father, Vishwakarma.

On hearing this request, Vishwakarma decided to lessen Surya’s shine. He collected Sun dust and made three objects. One was Lord Shiva’s Trishul, the next was Pushpaka Vamana, and the third one was the Sudarshan Chakra.

Lord Krishna generally balanced the chakra in his little nger though Lord Vishnu in his index nger. It is supposed that once the divine chakra has demolished its enemy, it returns back to the person who attacks with it. As a result it is said that even after the introduction, it remains in the control of the warrior. It travels long, long distances and comes back from anywhere within a moment.

Sudarshan Chakra got still when a barrier comes in its way and the speed of the chakra increases after that (see Sumi-Kiri).

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In mythological descriptions, Indra's thunderbolt or vajra is shaped either like a circular discus with a hole at its center, or in the form of a cross with transverse bladed bars.

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According to Hindu religious scriptures and particularly the Vedas, Indra God is the King of Svarga (Heaven) and the leader of the Devas. Indra is the God of thunder, lightning, storms, rains, and river ows. Lord Indra is the God of War, the greatest of all warriors, and the strongest of all beings. Indra is known as the defender of Gods, the one who protects humanity against all the evil forces. He rides in a golden chariot (across the heavens) wielding the celestial weapon Vajra, the lightning bolt. It is believed that his powerful weapon Vajra has been made from the bones of sage Dadichi. Lord Indra also uses the bow, a net, and a hook in battle.

The earliest mention of the vajra is in the Rigveda, part of the four Vedas. It is described as the weapon of Indra, the chief among Gods. Indra is described as using the vajra to kill sinners and ignorant persons. The Rigveda states that the weapon was made for Indra by Tvastar, the maker of divine instruments. The associated story describes Indra using the vajra, which he held in his hand, to slay the asura Vritra, who took the form of a serpent. On account of his skill in wielding the vajra, some epithets used for Indra in the Rigveda were Vajrabhrit (bearing the vajra), Vajrivat or Vajrin (armed with the vajra), Vajradaksina (holding the vajra in his right hand), and Vajrabahu or Vajrahasta (holding the vajra in

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his hand). The association of the Vajra with Indra was continued with some modi cations in the later Puranic literature, and in Buddhist works.

Buddhaghoṣa, a major gure of Theravada Buddhism in the 5th century, identi ed the Bodhisattva Vajrapani with Indra. Many later puranas describe the vajra, with the story modi ed from the Rigvedic original. One major addition involves the role of the Sage Dadhichi. According to one account, Indra, the king of the deva was once driven out of devaloka by an asura named Vritra. The asura was the recipient of a boon whereby he could not be killed by any weapon that was known till the date of his receiving the boon and additionally that no weapon made of wood or metal could harm him. Indra, who had lost all hope of recovering his kingdom was said to have approached Shiva who could not help him. Indra along with Shiva and Brahma went to seek the aid of Vishnu. Vishnu revealed to Indra that only the weapon made from the bones of Dadhichi would defeat Vritra. Indra and the other deva therefore approached the sage, whom Indra had once beheaded, and asked him for his aid in defeating Vritra. Dadhichi acceded to the deva's request but said that he wished that he had time to go on a pilgrimage to all the holy rivers before he gave up his life for them. Indra then brought together all the waters of the holy rivers to Naimisha Forest,

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thereby allowing the sage to have his wish ful lled without a further loss of time. Dadhichi is then said to have given up his life by the art of yoga after which the gods fashioned the vajrayudha from his spine. This weapon was then used to defeat the asura, allowing Indra to reclaim his place as the king of devaloka.

Another version of the story exists where Dadhichi was asked to safeguard the weapons of the gods as they were unable to match the arcane arts being employed by the asura to obtain them. Dadhichi is said to have kept at the task for a very long time and nally tiring of the job, he is said to have dissolved the weapons in sacred water which he drank. The deva returned a long time later and asked him to return their weapons so that they might defeat the asura, headed by Vritra, once and for all. Dadhichi however told them of what he had done and informed them that their weapons were now a part of his bones. However, Dadhichi, realising that his bones were the only way by which the deva could defeat the asura willingly gave his life in a pit of mystical ames he summoned with the power of his austerities. Brahma is then said to have fashioned a large number of weapons from Dadhichi's bones, including the vajrayudha, which was fashioned from his spine. The deva are then said to have defeated the asura using the weapons thus created.

Dadhichi then went into a deep meditative state and released his life force from his body. The celestial Kamadhenu Calf then licked and removed the esh from his bones, after which the Devas fashioned the Vajrayudha (Thunderbolt) from his spine and made numerous other weapons.

An instrument symbolizing vajra is also extensively used in the rituals of the tantra. It consists of a spherical central section, with two symmetrical sets of ve prongs, which arc out from lotus blooms on either side of the sphere and come to a point at two points equidistant from the centre, thus giving it the appearance of a "diamond sceptre", which is how the term is sometimes translated.

Aikido and Tantra.

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A few years ago the wife of one of my students came along to watch a practice. After the training she commented that Aikido looked very homoerotic. We were slightly ba ed and we laughed at an outsiders rst impression. But I could see her point. Aikido is very sensual in the care we lay on the interaction, trying to make it smooth and owing and it opens itself up to a very

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intimate relationship. Touch transfers feeling directly into the other and with the aim to do it e ortlessly and without violence gives Aikido the broad appeal of physical communication that is very satisfying to our psyche. The interactive physical arts appeals to many and in a safe environment lends itself to greater insight and growth of our human being-ness. We learn that touch communicates as well as any other medium.

In Aikido this generates joy and happiness simply in the exercise of the give and take between uke and nage, as long as respect and concern is in place. A tantric relationship as I understand it, is a vital connection between interlinked parties; it’s an energetic and spiritual merging, or matching on a deeper level than what is usually experienced.

Aikido lends itself to this kind of shared experience. Hopefully we all have had a taste of it to one level or another. It is quite extraordinary especially if you’ve never experienced that kind of closeness before. You can experience oneness in your own self through transformative work and that de nitely includes Aikido. You can also experience oneness with another, either through your own e ort or by the work done by both parties. It is a process of opening up, controlling the ow and escaping your self. Aikido, once again, gives the opportunity to experiment with this dynamic interaction. While some either can’t stand the

intimacy, nd it too scary or doesn’t want it to belong to a martial art and simply get their thrills through the rough and tumble of combative exercise enjoying the skill involved, others use Aikido as a tool and medium of self transformation and learning, to enrich their lives and grow both physically, emotionally and intellectually through touch. And some do both, enjoying the skill of Aiki in a powerful dynamic martial exchange, controlling the energies and space to the best of their abilities where close combat is fully appreciated between brothers in arms. Either way, the physical relationship is very soul satisfying and we leave the dojo with smiles on our faces. Trust and respect becomes the cornerstones for every dojo, to ensure the safekeeping of our students, both male and female. Let us enjoy and grow together in the intimacy Aikido bestow on us.

Tai no henko.

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It is argued by many that Daito-ryu is the parent art of aikido and so it should come as no surprise that the origins of Daito-ryu are indeed recorded in the Kojiki, speci cally in a martial contest between two deities. Contests are actually a regular pastime of deities in the Kojiki and this particular contest

featured the well-known martial activity of ‘grabbing the wrists.'

The earthly deity Take-mi-na-kata-no-kami was upset by the appearance of a ‘stranger' in his land and immediately challenged him to a contest. The earthly deity happened to be carrying a huge ("one-thousand person") boulder with his nger tips and this might have prevented him from seeing that the stranger was in fact a heavenly deity, named Take-mika-zuchi-no-kami, who had been commanded by none other than the Sun Goddess herself to come down from the high plain of heaven to take over the land. When they began the contest, the earthly deity took the arm of the heavenly deity and it became column of ice and then a sword blade. Then the heavenly deity took the arm of the earthly deity, as if he were taking hold of a young reed. He grasped it, crushed it and threw it to one side. This and some other actions had the desired e ect and the earthly deity o ered to surrender the land, which was, in fact, Japan.

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"Then [Take-mika-duti-nö-kamï], in his turn, demanded [the right] to take hold of the arm of Take-Mi-Na-Kata-Nö-Kamï. When he took it, it was like taking hold of a young reed; he grasped it and crushed it, throwing it to one side. Immediately he ran away.

They pursued him, and caught up with him by the lake of Supa in the land of Sinano; as they were about to kill him, Take-Mina-Kata-Nö-Kamï said:

‘Pray do not kill me. I will go to no other place. Also I will not disobey the commands of my father OpoKuni-Nushi-Nö-Kamï, and will not disobey the words of Ya-Pe-Kötö-Sirö-Nusi-nö-Kamï. I will yield this Central Land of the Reed Plains in accordance with the commands of the o spring of the heavenly deities.'" -Kojiki.

What is a connected body?

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In Iwama, Saito Sensei would begin each class with Tai no Henko. From a Kihon, static stance he would ll up his hand and arm from ‘o ’ to ‘on’, a Kokyu-extension as we would know it. He exaggerated this in lling as it was of utmost importance, from a soft arm to a solid arm and body, to impress upon us the Ki used in executing the techniques. He would ll out within the held wrist without wrenching it away or twisting out of the rm grip. He would accommodate our strong hold, like a balloon being lled within a con ned space, only to feel deeply and to connect to our touch. The next moment my balance was taken.

This is Kihon, basic solid training in Iwama. But

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what is a connected body? To say ‘ ll out’, is that enough to understand it? How do we practice it?

What steps are there to gain a thorough understanding in a real experience of it? In Iwama we held hard, learning not to tense up yet using extraordinary power. That in itself is a practice worth contemplating. What is a strong grip? We’re still speaking Kihon here so let’s not jump yet to Awase and Ki no Nagare. But back to a connected body. How do we develop it? I never really knew what constituted the inner ‘mechanics’ of this skill.

Only after meeting Dan Harden and coming in contact with some Western Chinese internal martial artists (if I may call them so) did I begin to have it explained to me. A new world opened up and my Aikido was in for a big revision. I’m in the beginning stages of trying to incorporate (literally) these dynamic principles in my practice. I nd that without this fundamental knowledge and skill I cannot do Aikido at all. It is that important! Ki and Kokyu is now explainable and demonstrable. And I will point towards those who know. How will you use it? Up to you but do it with care and concern please.

Chasing the dragon.

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When teachers wave their arms around and expect their students to follow their every move, they call it Aiki. If you don’t follow their movements they sometimes punish you with an atemi suggesting you’re at fault. When teachers display this arrogance and reveal their own ignorance of what it means to guide someone within the framework of ukes attack they give Aikido a bad name. You can feel it the moment you lay hands on them, them twisting and turning away, pulling or resisting contact. You’re told to follow, no matter what, even if it feels ridiculous and you need elastic arms.

Mind you, this is no reason to go sti or resist being good uke, responsive and sensitive, but please there’s no need to chase a disconnected movement. If the teacher want to teach ow he/ she better be able to show what that means from standstill. Because when you touch a good Aikidoka, you feel it instantly. Your balance is a ected without roughness. To be uke is an art in itself and it takes time to teach the body to be responsive but over time you’ll realise when nage is able to move you and when he is just going through the motions. A little give and take is in place as we all train to learn more. But don’t be fooled by waving arms and grandiose statements of Ki ow.

Knock’m dead.

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The straight arm knuckle st approach serves as an eye opener to one style of Aikido. Atemi (当身) is 70-90% of Aikido depending on who you listen to. To intercept, even preempt your ukes attack with a strike, or ‘metsuki’ (⽬付), often referred to as the concentrated glance you observe your opponent with, but with a change of kanji the same word becomes a stab or strike 突き (tsuki) toward the eye ⽬ (me). To blind your foe before you cut him down makes sense in a life and death encounter, but maybe we need to tone it down in the dojo. I’ve seen a few ill measured strikes land causing serious injury. Not only is the atemi not meant to make contact in Aikido training but it is also a measure of your ability to judge distance, use the o setting of balance as part of the execution of the technique and to hinder any counters. It’s NOT meant to be a nal blow. It possibly could be but then we’re entering another art. This ability to stop your strikes within millimetres of your opponents body becomes increasingly important when we use bokken and jo.

The risk of accidentally hurting your partner in training is real so we avoid directing our strikes toward the face.

With an exaggerated stress on the initial atemi many times you loose the connection to uke as he/ she scrambles to defend as a reaction. This usually upsets the ow and stops ukes continued engagement. Learn to measure your atemi as part of the holistic response to, and in balance with, the rest of the technical application.

Back on the Mat.

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My god it was hot and the hakama had shrunk, out of the bag for the rst time in a year. We started o as if time had stood still, thinking we’ve got this.

After a few ukemi we realised that wasn’t the case at all. It’s going to be a long hard return. Older, sti er and heavier, I think I need to slow it down to basics. Work on the outer technical applications and the corresponding inner principal dynamics.

Yes that was more our speed since none of us are getting any younger. Slowly slowly we will stretch and get our bodies back into working order.

Building stamina and endurance will take time.

Wear and tear, years of practice is felt in the joints, my body aches and protests. Advice to the young ones, go easy on the arm locks, it will come back to haunt you in your old age. Smooth application that’s what I seek. Internal strength is more about alignment and connection than anything. Find the

angles and your knife will cut e ortlessly. Hopefully skill will outweigh sheer pace but since Aikido also must be dynamic and energetic, physical endurance is important. Coming out of lockdown it seems there’s no easy way back. Blood sweat and tears before this body regains its former tness.

One step at a time.

Now let’s see if they can reinstall that air-con system again?

Welcome back to the dojo!

Still open for business!

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Dojos are opening, students are back in training.

Aikido lives on. Muscles are aching but we feel so much better for it. Now we need your renewed commitment. What have we learned during this time away? That we can solo train at home. So plan your Aikido di erently from before. Blend the mat practice with instructive online classes, mix and match. I will continue holding Zoom lessons to complement our regular dojo schedule. With short 40 minutes online sessions you’ll inject insight into your hands-on dojo time. Two, three times per week on the mat? Two, three times a week online?

Make Aikido your complete training. Solo exercises, detailed instructions, both empty handed and with weapons. Then bring this

knowledge to the dojo, engage and pair practice.

Study your art, from the inside out. Aikido can give you a very complete tness program. You only need to add a little walking or running for the cardio workout. Private sessions are also available for deeper self study.

Make Aikido your priority and by Christmas you’ll feel a new person. That’s a promise. We’re back in business.

Takamagahara

⾼天原 Plain of High Heaven.

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This is where I meet you. No other place is su cient. Below this place is the world of contention, of strife, of pain and su ering. I will have no part in that. If you want you can step out of that world and taste the thin cool air high above the normal everyday. But it means you have to leave all your things behind. Give up on your cherished ideals and stern convictions. This is not my way nor your way, it is the high way literally.

Above and beyond what you’ve ever experienced.

It’s the realm of freedom. It’s no fantasy nor is it wishful thinking. It’s real and you can experience it as your own ground of being once you get used to it. It can be demanding depending on how much

you have to let go of. That’s why it was sometimes considered a young persons prerogative as they had yet to accumulate lots of things. Because it does have real world implications. You can’t simply just change your perspective and think everything else will remain the same. It is a challenge.

But this is where O Sensei lived. And he prayed every day to remain there. Was he full of opinions and preferences? Sure he was! But what was foremost in his heart and mind? I tell you: Takamagahara.

The Dilemma.

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In Aikido there are many styles but Kokyu extension is something familiar to them all. My experience with it is puzzling. Some strong arm it like with a sword, working with the pivot points on the outside, others blend their Kokyu into you so the experience is altogether di erent. I always thought that Kokyu extension was taught in the beginning to learn solid structure and basic form, but later transmuted more and more into inner connection and sensitivity. Shaving the rough corners o without loosing the trajectory. Keeping the physical alignment and the connected body without any sti ness or rigidity in it, and thereby eliminating the reactive confrontation that a hard application always provoke. How to transmute blue steel into liquid metal? That has always been my

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goal. I go back and forth, remelting and reforging over and over again. And why do I prefer softness over hardness? Over time all things loosen and disperses its solid mass. In nature all things eventually break up, hurried along with the help of the elements. Wind, rain and re creates the fertile soil we plant in, sow our crops and reap our grains.

Cold steel is not the end game. Molten iron has a greater and more lasting e ect, the heat it produces creates nourishment. If Ki is the re that cooks our rice, Kokyu is the breath that billows and fan the ames.

Aikido’s set-up practices relies on compliant ukes that are pliable yet not too soft, strong yet not too rigid. Many misunderstand resistance training and develop their own style-congruent blocks that only works as long as we resist in the particular way the setup allows for. For example, in Iwama we were known to train hard and hold strongly, even to the point of stopping someone being able to move. I have also seen Doshu train like this in Hombu dojo so it’s something that is a traditional way of forging young students; trial by re. It has several objectives, one is to advance upon the student that he/she has to exert utmost e ort to train the body, exhaust the system, and gain con dence in strong interaction. Another objective to the ‘attacker’ is to practice and learn the skill of gripping with kokyu, of holding and arresting simply with the hands. In

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this two-fold sense, both practitioners train their respective eld under stress. I usually call this young mens Aikido. It has its place but we must also understand its limitations when used as a way of testing uke or simply by sabotaging a technique.

We sometimes see this in the good intentions of a teacher trying to impart the correct way of doing things by xing and resisting a student’s attempt to complete a technique, often several times before allowing the student through. This is a method many use to impress upon the student the teachers greater skill and knowhow. But sadly, too often, the teacher or sempai have only blocked the beginners attempt. This is something relatively easy to do once you know your Aikido, or simply strong arming someone weaker. And because we are respectful we don’t return the favour once it’s our turn, giving the teacher an air of invincibility and prowess. So, many learn to resist in a speci c way according to the style of the school. If we resist, unbalance or block in any other way we are told o as if not understanding the practice. Do you get my point? I’m sure you’ve been on the receiving end of this kind of sempai bullying?

Some actually train in this way to achieve the ability to resist anything, thinking they are learning Aikido. That is a sel sh way to train and it completely foregoes any understanding of ukemi. I call this Aikido, one-mans Aikido. Doing it without

any regard to the other. Sometimes you see two of these specimens coming together to train. They battle it out and derive pleasure from it. A good workout I give you that, but not much more. This kind of practice is more akin to wrestling, judo and BJJ, and that’s why you’ll see so many cross over to those practices to gain that competitive edge to their Aikido. Somehow the Aikido was lost on the way. I’ve trained with people that feel like a knife blade, sharp and dangerous, I’ve trained with excellent people that feel like water and wind, and I’ve trained with people that feel like bulldozers. It should be a developmental stage to stage process shouldn’t it? Something hard becoming smoother over time.

The story behind the eating of the sword.

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“The Wisdom King Fudoo Myoo-oo and the Sword Kurikara 不動明王と倶利伽羅不動剣

The unmovable Fudoo (Acala Vidyaaraaja) is one of the Wisdom Kings (Myoo-oo). He is usually depicted in a very wrathful way. He is a typical Japanese deity, introduced by Kooboo Daishi about 806 and soon became a special protector of the Mountain Ascetics (yamabushi). An impressive waterfall is considered the personi cation of Fudoo, for example the Great Waterfall at Nachi,

which we met in the story about Kumano. Fudoo is portrayed holding a two-edged sword with a threepronged hilt in his right hand and a coiled rope in his left hand. With this sword of wisdom, Fudoo cuts through deluded and ignorant minds and with the rope he binds those who are ruled by their violent passions and emotions.

Kurikara Fudo is another personi cation of this deity, this time in the form of a Dragon-Sword. The Dragon King Kurikara (Sanskrit: Kulikaa Nagaraajaa) is said to have a golden body color and is sometimes depicted with one or two horns on his head. Legend has it that Fudoo had to ght the representative of a di erent religion. He changed himself into a aming sword but the opponent did the same and the ghting went on without a winner. Now Fudoo changed himself into the Dragon Kurikara, wound himself around the opposing sword and started eating it from the top.

This episode gave rise to the iconographic rendering as we know it now.”

Real Time Understanding.

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The ‘What if?’ scenario is an often heard question in martial arts. What would you do if..? et cetera and right there and then play-act an assumed situation. This is altogether a made-up false

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premise to give any credit to. This argument in its extension leads to competitive matches to decide the proposed con ict. We decide it in the ring. Yet we have now removed real life and replaced it with an assumed reality of ‘what if’s’. Which we then play act out within con ned rules and regulations.

The normal natural situation is where you’d like to de-escalate any threat unless you’re looking for a ght and feel con dent that you can win it. Once the odds are stacked against you, you’d reconsider very fast. One on one you may be tough but what if they bring out the knife or gun? What if they outnumber you? Gang culture, do you really wanna go there? Go to the shooting range, join the police or army. Be the bouncer to test your game? It’s a slippery slope. Once you sign up for it there’s no limit to where you can take it; kill or be killed.

Maybe it looks cool in the movies but in real life it is ugly and horri c. Live by the sword and die by the sword, a creed that sounds good but in real life sucks. Heroes, our boy soldiers, coming home in body bags. Train hard yes, realistically ne, but never kid yourself it’s but a last resort. And even then, don’t oppress. Pull your friend out of the heat, restrain with care. Real time means you know who you are and where you are. Never raise a hand in vain.

O Sensei would always say: “You can relax your body but don’t relax your Ki”.

Establishing a Centre.

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In Iwama we were always concerned with establishing (ie. stabilising) our hips/waist (Koshi 腰). Firmly planted our legs would propel through the hip when executing any technique. Since Saito Sensei didn’t go into detail or possibly because I did not understand the brief japanese explanations given, I was left with little or no understanding in regards to my abdomen centre (Hara 腹). Though the kanji are very similar (腰 and 腹) I focused on my hip movement in training and lost sight of the belly and lower back. Saito Sensei undoubtedly stressed and used ‘Koshi’ more than ‘Hara’ in his instructions. Being tall and skinny I could not readily identify with belly power and super cially and with a grin assigned it to those with a potbelly.

Yet never really being able to access real power through to my hands it wasn’t until recently I was directed to ll out my lower back to create a pathway up through the legs, through the hips and lower back to reach my hands extension. Suddenly Hara development becomes the centre of attention

and of vital importance to create a connected Aikibody.

Tamashii 魂

The jewel in the crown as it were. Let’s undress it from its Japanese syntax: Yamato-tamashii, ⼤和 魂, the "Japanese soul".

魂 Kon; tamashii. Soul.

The Shikon no Tama

四魂の⽟, "Jewel of Four Souls” from ichirei shikon (⼀霊四魂), a Shinto theory according to which the spirit (霊魂, reikon) of both kami and human beings consists of one spirit and four souls. So the Tama ⽟ (Jewel) then is the person; the one spirit. Why a person? Compare the kanji Tama ⽟ Jewel with 王 King, with 主 Master, and with ⽣ Life. The traditional interpretation is that the three horizontal strokes represent Heaven, Man and Earth. The vertical stroke is the king, the one who connects them together. Older representation of the character shows a man like ⼤ (Great) or 天 (Heaven) above a horizontal stroke.

So now play with the word ‘tamashii’ soul. Tama as we’ve seen above sounds like jewel ⽟, the exalted person, and shii sounds like four 四 in Japanese, again emphasising the four aspects of our soul.

Ichirei Shikon, Sangen Hachiriki

⼀霊四魂 三元⼋⼒

One Spirit - Four Souls, Three Origins - Eight Powers.

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One Spirit: Ichirei.

The “naohinomitama” is the one spirit that acts as kind of a ‘re ective’ conscious container for the four souls. Ie. You and me. The real ‘I’, the Person.

Naohi whose function is described as 省 with one Chinese character can polish the four souls by re ecting what was done is proper or not. Naohi can distinguish right from wrong to guide the human so that it will not make mistakes, and calls for re ection, self reproach and repentance when mistakes occurs. Only this naohi can be connected with 'heaven' and has a function to polish the four souls by controlling them. It gives feedback to Aramitama through shame, to Nigimitama remorse, to Sakitama through awe, and to Kushimitama through notice

Four Souls: Shikon

1. the turbulent (aramitama) Autumn ‘courage’.

Fire, East.

2. the tranquil (nigimitama) Winter ‘relation’. Water, West.

3. the happy (sakimitama) Spring ‘love’. Earth, North.

4. the wondrous (kushimitama) Summer ‘wisdom’.

Heaven, South.

The four ‘sides’ to our self, ful lling the complete human experience. Physically creating the Aikicross; the vertically and horizontally connected body.

Three Origins: Sangen

1. Heaven 🔼 Ryu-tai: Ki-no-nagare ‘ owing’ Pine.

2. Man ⏺ Ju-tai: Awase ‘ exible’ Bamboo.

3. Earth ⏹ Ko-tai: Kihon ‘solid’ Plum.

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Also seen as:

Sho-chiku-bai 松⽵梅

‘The Three Friends of Winter’: Pine-bamboo-plum: (steadfastness, perseverance, and resilience) symbolises happiness and good fortune in Japan.

A three-tier gradation from gross to subtle.

🔼 The triangle represents ‘Iku-musubi’, the power of birth and creation, the gaseous dimension. It symbolizes initiative, the animal realm, and Masakatsu. Technically, the triangle represents entering and owing movements (Ryutai).

“The triangle represents the generation of energy and initiative; it is the most stable physical posture.”

⏺ The circle represents ‘taru-musubi’, the enriching power, the liquid dimension. It symbolises uni cation, the vegetable realm, and Agatsu. Technically, the circle represents blending and soft movements (Jutai).

“The circle symbolises uni cation, serenity and perfection; it is the source of unlimited techniques.”

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⏹ The square represents ‘tamatsume-musubi’, the power that xes the soul in the physical body, the solid dimension. It symbolizes form, the mineral realm, and Katsuhayahi. Technically, the square represents control and rm or ‘hard’ movements (Gotai).

“The square stands for form and solidity, the basis of applied control.”

“When the triangle, the circle and the square become one, it moves in spherical rotation together with the ow of ki, and the Aikido of sumikiri (total clarity of mind and body) appears.”

–Morihei Ueshiba

In Shinto, the mitsu-domoe, is mostly used and commonly represents the interaction and union of the cosmic forces that make up the Universe.

These three can be seen as:

1. The High Plain of Heaven – Takama-ga-hara (⾼ 天原),

2. The Earth

3. The Underworld

(the Divine, the Manifest and the Hidden realms).

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Eight Powers: Hachiriki

are opposing forces:

1. Movement – Stillness

2. Melting – Congealing

3. Pulling – Loosening

4. Combining – Splitting

O Sensei from the beginning of Takemusu Aiki:

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“Today, as requested, I will attempt to describe for you what aikido is.

Aikido is the principle of eternal continuation throughout all ages of the one and same system of the Universe.

Aikido is Heaven-sent truth and the marvelous work of Takemusu Aiki.

Aikido is the Way of union and harmony of Heaven, Earth and Man.

Aikido is, moreover, the Way to take care of the entire creation.

Aikido is the supreme work of kotodama and the Great Way of Universal Puri cation (misogi).

Those who deeply believe in this Way must serve in the administration of the founding of a Universal Nation.

We must accomplish our missions as human beings and become guideposts for the Great Union and Harmony of the Universal Family. Therefore, we must understand Universal Truth, the true state of things, and attain oneness with the mind of God. We must learn from the manifestations and works of God in this Great Universe, and assist in His administration serving as a sword (tsurugi).

In aikido, it is absolutely indispensable that we stand on the Floating Bridge of Heaven (Ame no Ukihashi). This is essential for us to return to and

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be uni ed with God, who is the spiritual source, the Original Parent.

And we must stand on the Floating Bridge even if we can nd nothing else. Before God we must give up our ego, freeing our mind of all thoughts and endeavor to be able to execute divine deeds by ‘calming our spirit (kon) and returning to God’ (Chinkon Kishin).

The primary divine work is attaining oneness with God, the Creator, returning to and unifying with God in harmony. We can realize this work by carrying out our God-given missions and unifying ourselves with the Divine Spirit, that is, becoming one with the Great Universe.

Therefore, we must put our spirit and body in order, but independently of each other. We prepare our spirit and body in order to advance into the world of ki, ryu, ju, and go.

When we correctly establish the boundaries between ki, ryu, ju, and go and clearly master them, this is called shikishin, the ability of the mind to see things as they are.

Now aikido is the name given to our practice of the Way to attain oneness with the spirit and body of the Universe, and the Way of uni cation with the light of harmony.”

One Self.

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Some assign di erent identities to their layers of self. Whether that be the popular neo-Zen practice of Genpo Roshi’s ‘Big Mind’ or the Aikido transformative exploration of Robert Nadeau Shihan, they both name and classify each dimension of a self in transition from gross to subtle being. Identifying the personal Ego identity and successively moving to a wider more inclusive, larger sense of self. At each stage naming and ‘owning’ the state you inhabit, recognising the parameters of the present mindset; who you are in the moment. They both propose a journey both forward and back, from personal to universal to oneness, from Ego to Self to Being, and back again in order for us to acquaint ourselves and learn to recognise the ways we change our sense of identity depending on circumstance. This is very enlightening as we come to realise that we are free to alter our perception dependent on who we think we are at any given moment. Usually to suit our purpose of engagement at the time. This happens quite naturally and swiftly, fashioned and conditioned by our past experiences. Often without us being really that aware of it, we’ve taken it for granted. We see no fault in it. It suits our purpose of being who we believe ourselves to be. Once we become conscious of this shifting of focus we also

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become aware of where we reside most of the time; who we fundamentally identify to be. What is then our default position? Maybe it’s uid, dependent on how you feel? Perhaps under pressure we fall back to a protective egocentric view. Or can we take a step back and see events from a larger, less personal, perspective? We uctuate between opening and closing ourselves to various degrees at di erent times. This is part of a natural movement and is a great gift to be able to change according to circumstance. Once we are awake to this kind of automatic zoom lens adaptability we will be able to control it better when for example, we get frightened and shut down and close in. We will be more able to remain in wide angle, to see things from a larger perspective, maybe stopping us from reacting from a limited sense of self. The process of waking up spiritually but also simply maturing as a human, is to loosen the grip of identity of the personal, the ego sense of ‘I am’, in favour of a radical limitless sense of being that transcends time and space yet inhabits it. This universal consciousness is something we all are endowed with yet usually we do not ascribe identity to it. We habitually fall back to what we can touch and feel; the ‘me’, the historical self. Often we need a breakthrough experience, a zen awakening, to grant us this perspective. Often after a long and hard journey of

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self discovery. But it doesn’t have to be di cult since it’s a natural already fully functioning ability we all possess. Yet we overlook it since we do not ascribe identity to it. We prefer to xate on body and mind.

O Sensei described these layers of Self as the Divine, the hidden, and the manifest: Heaven, Man, and Earth. Three realms we all participate in, all the time. Three facets of your being. Learning to traverse these and identify each helps in being awake to who we are. We can go back and forth, like a good mountain guide that knows his mountain inside out.

Now my only critique would be that we need to remain in and retain the singular mode of operandi, ie know yourself to be the one person behind all the shifting identities. You do not change even though your perspective does. And this Self of yours is nothing less than the same Self as everyone else is carrying inside themselves. This Self sees no division and sees no other. This is where you want to anchor your identity regardless of the shifting sands. This is the meaning of the moon in the water; the principle of ‘Suigetsu’. The One True Self.

Lectures by O Sensei from Mitsugi Saotome's book "The Principles of Aikido"

The Importance of Learning.

"First you must gain insight into the natural world.

You must learn to see the depths of its reality. If you glance casually over the things of this life, their real signi cance eludes you.

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"I want my students to observe all of life's phenomena. This includes listening to people, taking what is valuable from what they do and say and making it your own. All of this is raw material for your re ection and your inspiration. It can begin to open your soul. Paying attention to the realities of this world will lead you to fresh insights. If you make use of these insights in your daily life and contemplate the results, your life will become more orderly. Step by step you will raise your spiritual level. Preserving in this kind of honest and openminded examination of yourself and the world will eventually enable you to grasp the divine wisdom and supreme consciousness that inhabit the material world. I want my students to accept life in all its forms as their teacher. If they succeed in doing this, they will grow in both depth and purity.

The vital energy of nature is the greatest teacher of all.

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"There is nothing in this world that cannot teach us. Some people, for example, will shy away from the teachings of religion. This is evidence that they have not grasped the deeper meanings of these teachings. Religious teachings contain much

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"Examine the orderly cycles of the sun, moon, and stars, the gradual change of the seasons, the ow of a river through an open valley, or the graceful movement of water as it rushes between rocks. You can learn to see parallel movements within your own body as well. You will also gain knowledge and progress toward true understanding by reading ancient texts and studying the many wonderful interpretations of them by teachers past and present. You must then translate the insights that you gain into your daily life and practice them through the way of bu. As you experience things on an increasingly deeper level, you must continually reexamine the truth of your understanding of reality and nature. Both the written and the spoken word will help you toward this goal. it is the task of the budoka to make what he learns new and to make it an integral part of himself. The student of budo cannot a ord to overlook the ne arts or the sciences. Knowledge surrounds us in an in nite variety of forms. Do not slight any of them or take any of them lightly.

insight and wisdom. You must understand this and express your understanding through budo.”

I Ching

☰ Heaven ☷ Earth

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At the outset, the Book of Changes was a collection of linear signs to be used as oracles. In antiquity, oracles were everywhere in use; the oldest among them con ned themselves to the answers yes and no. This type of oracular pronouncement is likewise the basis of the Book of Changes. "Yes" was indicated by a simple unbroken line (—), and "No" by a broken line (- -).

However, the need for greater di erentiation seems to have been felt at an early date, and the single lines were combined in pairs. To each of these combinations a third line was then added. In this way the eight trigrams came into being. In order to achieve a still greater multiplicity, these eight images were combined with one another at a very early date, whereby a total of sixty-four signs was obtained. Each of these sixty-four signs (Kua) consists of six lines, either positive or negative.

Each line is thought of as capable of change, and whenever a line changes, there is a change also of the situation represented by the given hexagram.

The original purpose of the hexagrams was to consult destiny. As divine beings do not give direct expression to their knowledge, a means had to be found by which they could make themselves intelligible. Suprahuman intelligence has from the beginning made use of three mediums of expression—men, animals, and plants, in each of which life pulsates in a di erent rhythm. Chance came to be utilized as a fourth medium; the very absence of an immediate meaning in chance permitted a deeper meaning to come to expression in it. The oracle was the outcome of this use of chance. The Book of Changes is founded on the plant oracle (the yarrow stalks) as manipulated by men with mediumistic powers. The established language for communication with suprahuman intelligences was based on numbers and their symbolism.

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The two fundamental principles of the world are heaven and earth (spirit and matter). Earth is the derived principle; therefore the number two is assigned to it. Heaven is the ultimate unity; yet it includes the earth within itself, and is therefore assigned the number three. The number one could not be used, as it is too abstract and rigid and does not include the idea of the manifold.

“In ancient times the holy sages made the Book of Changes thus:

Their purpose was to follow the order of their nature and of fate. Therefore they determined the tao of heaven and called it the dark and the light.

They determined the tao of the earth and called it the yielding and the rm. They determined the tao of man and called it love and rectitude. They combined these three fundamental powers and doubled them; therefore in the Book of Changes a sign is always formed by six lines.

The places are divided into the dark and the light. The yielding and the rm occupy these by turns. Therefore the Book of Changes has six places, which constitute the linear gures.”

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Just as in the heavens, evening and morning make a day through the alternation of dark and light (yin and yang), so the alternating even and uneven places in the hexagrams are respectively designated as dark and light. The rst, third, and fth places are light; the second, fourth, and sixth are dark. Furthermore, just as on earth all beings

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In addition to its use as an oracle, the Book of Changes also serves to further intuitive understanding of conditions in the world, penetration to the uttermost depths of nature and spirit. (Cf. the rst chapter of Lao-tse.)

are formed from both rm and yielding elements, so the individual lines are rm, i.e., undivided, or yielding, i.e., divided. In correspondence with these two basic powers in heaven and on earth, there exist in man the polarities of love and rectitude— love being related to the light principle and rectitude to the dark. These human attributes, because they belong to the category of the subjective, not of the objective, are not represented speci cally in the places and lines of the hexagrams.

Heaven Earth Man.

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The trinity of world principles, however, does come to expression in the hexagram as a whole and in its parts. These three principles are di erentiated as subject (man), object having form (earth), and content (heaven). The lowest place in the trigram is that of earth; the middle place belongs to man and the top place to heaven. In correspondence with the principle of duality in the universe, the original three-line signs are doubled; thus in the hexagrams there are two places each for earth, for man, and for heaven. The two lowest places are those of the earth, the third and fourth are those of man, and the two at the top are those of heaven.

A journey with the I Ching.

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I rst learnt about it when I was reading CG Jung’s autobiography on my way to China. Sitting on the Trans-Siberian railway in midwinter 1986 he mentioned the ‘I Ching’ and he also mentioned his good friend and German Sinologist Richard Wilhelm. Having found Jung to be an exceptional man with a keen questioning mind, very much to my own liking, I’d pay attention to all his recommendations and links to people and sources of wisdom he himself had come across during his lifetime. Until then I’d never heard of the I Ching nor did I know anything about Chinese philosophy except from a passing glance at Lao Tzu’s ‘Tao te ching’:

“The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao.

The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth.

The named is the mother of myriad things.

Thus, constantly without desire, one observes its essence.

Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations.

These two emerge together but di er in name.

The unity is said to be the mystery.

Mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders."

(Translated by Derek Linn, 2006).

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That left me none the wiser but now I would spend the next six months crisscrossing mainland China maybe getting some hints as to what it was all about? Eventually I traveled overland to Pakistan and arrived in India early September. Roaming the bookstores of Delhi thirsty for knowledge suddenly I came across this thick black brick of a book with big letters spelling ‘I Ching’ on the cover. At a closer look I see the foreword is by Jung. I think I read the whole foreword in the shop before buying it. Seeing the translator was Richard Wilhelm, Jung’s very good friend and seeing that they’d discussed the classic in detail convinced me beyond any doubt. Now, the I Ching is one of the ve classics of Chinese ancient literature originating some ve thousand years ago, and as I scanned the pages I realised I didn’t understand a single word. But I was very happy to walk out of the shop with it in my hand, guring it would take a while to get into it. But I had lots of time. For the next two years it would sit just underneath the lid of my backpack as I continued my journey through Asia. I had also realised it was a book of divination; a source to ask the oracle for information. This was way beyond my pay grade and I was leaving that for later. I knew I needed to understand the book long before ever attempting to tempt fate. I decided to read it front to back, over and over again, until I began to grasp its meaning and

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purpose. It would take years, and it’s still unfolding for me to this very day. The book has traveled with me to many fantastic places, including Everest base camp and to the tropical beaches of Thailand, always there to keep the mystery alive.

This journey was to become a journey of awakening and my interest besides the outward love for di erent cultures, people and nature, was my inward focus trying to understand myself and life’s origin really. Constantly fascinating this interest in the I Ching never made it boring. Nine months later I walked into the Iwama dojo in Japan and was met by Pat Hendricks, my sempai and ‘older sis’ while living there. One day she saw my I Ching and swiftly snatched out of my hand and ran o into O Sensei’s room mumbling something about consulting the oracle. I was intrigued. So actually people could do this? What was she doing in there with my precious book? Glad to have it back I asked her how one consulted it, and learned all you needed was three coins. Then the instructions of how to go about it was outlined in the book. I was a little taken aback because I thought I was in no way nearer to understanding it.

Yet I was curious. I had seen the excitement in her face when she grabbed it. So I decided to ask it my rst question. Knowing it was a classic text thousands of years old I knew I had to treat it with respect and my question had to be sincere and

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possibly the most important one I could ask at the time. So I went, “How can I nd the Kingdom of God?” I was 23 years of age and had been on the road the past year and a half, my existential questions slowly coming to the forefront. Throwing the coins six times and receiving six lines in response, either a full line or a broken line, making up a hexagram outlining a cryptic answer to your inquiry. The answer I received was “no. 46.

‘Pushing Upward’ has supreme success.

One must see the great man.

Fear not.

Departure toward the south

Brings good fortune.”

Look it up if you want to delve into it. It is fascinating. I wondered who the great man might be? Surely not Saito? Joke aside, I was on a spiritual journey and my aim was beyond Aikido and I knew it. It sent tingles through my body and soon thereafter I was continuing my trip through Asia for another year. My eyes opened to the ever present possibility of consulting the book in regards to my spiritual questions and several times during my trip I used it and it blew me away every time. Somehow it was tuned in to the spiritual heart and slowly I began to see and understand the essence behind the Tao, the way it communicated.

As I was now consciously seeking for answers inside myself, I embarked on years of meditation

गीता Gita - a song, sacred song or poem.

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(गाथा gāthā; from the Proto-Indo-Iranian word *gaHtʰáH, from the root *gaH- "to sing". The Avestan term gāθā, 𐬁𐬚𐬁𐬔 "hymn", but also

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and study till I nally ran into my spiritual mentor to be in Andrew Cohen, when seeking ended and nding began. The I Ching was left on the bookshelf except for the occasional reading now and then. Having begun to see with my own eyes much was already plain to see without necessarily needing to ask anyone about it. But the science and wisdom behind this exceptional book will never cease to amaze me and most recently it has a kind of a revival as a blueprint to the internal martial arts in its symbology and hidden descriptions of a profound body/mind/heart synergy. There’s so much to be teased out and so much to be learned we’ll need years and years of study and training to gain. And of course, nding the right teachers that know what they teach and can show it.

I Ching was my companion on my personal journey and I have nothing but gratitude to it for its friendship along the way.

"mode, metre". Gati, the continuous movement or change).

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What I’m looking for is embodied words corresponding to inner movement; a way to express aligned motion. A rhythm of sorts, that works both ways. Either beginning with inner physical coordination and mounted in sound, ie make your movement sing. Or begin with true words and nd their resonance in your body. Some say prayers are empty unless lled with spirit; embodied. Yet the saying goes on to say; start empty and be patient, once the spirit hears its name it’ll enter. Ie. feel the connection between thought(mantra), word(shingon) and deed(motion).

The Sanskrit word mantra is derived from the root man- "to think". Empowered simply because all three coincide and their synergy is larger than their individual parts. Body, mind and speech in accord; in one uni ed expression.

“The term "shingon" is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese transcription of the Sanskrit word "mantra", 真⾔ (zhēnyán, true word). Kūkai classi ed mantra as a special class of dharani and suggested that every syllable of a dharani was a manifestation of the true nature of reality – in Buddhist terms that all sound is a manifestation of shunyata or emptiness of self-nature. Thus rather than being devoid of meaning, Kūkai suggests that

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dharanis (Buddhist chants, mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, usually the mantras consisting of Sanskrit or Pali phrases) are in fact saturated with meaning – every syllable is symbolic on multiple levels. One of Kūkai's distinctive contributions was to take this symbolic association even further by saying that there is no essential di erence between the syllables of mantras and sacred texts, and those of ordinary language. If one understood the workings of mantra, then any sounds could be a representative of ultimate reality.”

“One of the key Vajrayana strategies for bringing about a direct experience of reality is to engage the entire psycho-physical organism in the practices.

In Buddhist analysis, the person consists of 'body, speech and mind' (refer: Three Vajra). So a typical sadhana or meditation practice might include mudras, or symbolic hand movement, the recitations of mantras; as well as the visualisation of celestial beings and visualising the letters of the mantra which is being recited. Clearly here mantra is associated with speech.”

Come Trikaya: Three Bodies concept in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. The doctrine says that a Buddha has three kāyas or bodies:

1. The Dharmakāya, "Dharma body," ultimate reality, "pure being itself," Buddha nature, emptiness, akin to Nirguna Brahman;

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2. The Saṃbhogakāya, "Enjoyment (or Bliss) body," the divine Buddhas of the Buddha realms, akin to Saguna Brahman;

3. The Nirmāṇakāya, "Transformation (or Appearance) Body," his physical appearance in the world.

Mind to body, to expression, ie. how to funnel direct experience of Truth through to the ngertips and out your mouth. How to express directly an embodied experience of truth through word and movement. When motion becomes animated and speech empowered.

“Vajrayana sometimes refers to a fourth body called the svābhāvikakāya "essential body", and to a fth body, called the mahāsūkhakāya, "great bliss body". The svābhāvikakāya is simply the unity or non-separateness of the three kayas.”

Aikido has traditionally been seen as a coordination of body and mind (see Koichi Tohei, Aikido: The Co-ordination of Mind and Body for Self-defence). Now add O Sensei’s daily incantation of Norito and his emphasis on Kototama. He clearly saw the signi cance of thought, word and deed (mind/body/speech) connected as one unit. How can we appreciate this in our Aikido? I think we can nd the clues and the keys in the three ‘bodies’; in the interaction and connective agency of our self with the dual opposing forces engendered within us in practice.

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Ie activating the connective tissue through dual opposing spirals. The up, down, turn; feeling of simultaneous movement. It has a rhythm to it if you like. A pace which we activate through conscious attention and intent. It’s physical, and which can bring us into harmony with our voice. I think all singers can extrapolate on this; on the power it generates. In enters Kokyu, our breath in alignment. No wonder Krisna is depicted playing his ute.