Today's Schedule:

No Iaido today.

9:00-10:00am Children's Class

10:15-11:30am Aikido

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WASHING YOUR FACE, BABY'S BATH WATER:

When you get up in the morning, one of the first things you do is wash your face. Before you go out, we need to wash up, shower, brush your teeth, comb your hair, etc. . . There is no benefit to these actions and they do not serve a particular purpose toward your career or what you plan to do during the day, but they are essential as an expression of the quality of your life and is the basis of normal living in our society today. Perhaps, you do not feel like it yourself, if you do not take care of yourself properly each day, and perhaps, it is unpleasant to deal with others who not not take care of themselves in the proper way as well. If I see someone, I wonder, how come he didn't face his face this morning, what is wrong? Maybe he doesn't feel good, or maybe he is suffering some problem. . . .

In the same way, before we enter and use the dojo, we must "wash the face" of the dojo. In our practice, we clean the dojo before practice and we clean the dojo after practice. These actions are no benefit to us, but it is a part of the quality of our lives and how we live our lives. For most things we use, we wash it before and after we use them. It is the best way to take care of things we have and it is the best way to express our quality of living. We learn this in the tea ceremony and in the process of the dojo practice and it is important to understand this. Most people enter the dojo like they enter a big supermarket or restaurant, they do not have to take care of or clean anything because you are a guest and are treated like a king - if you spill something, someone else will come along to clean it up for you. If something is broken, you do not have to fix it. I suppose it is nice to live like a king, but it is not in harmony with our Aikido practice and the rules of living in the best of the normal, ordinary way.

Perhaps, you yourself don't care if you don't take a bath or wash your face or comb your hair, but maybe it is unpleasant for your friends and co-workers to see you like this. Perhaps, you will not feel good about yourself and be embarrassed or ashamed to appear in public like this. . . . we keep ourselves presentable not only for ourselves but for others as well. . . . .

When you take a bath, perhaps you don't really care or mind if the bath water is a little too cold or a little too hot. You can always deal with it yourself even though it is not quite the perfect temperature you are accustomed to. However, when you give a bath to your little baby son or daughter, of course, the temperature of the water must be perfect, without compromise. If the water is too cold, your baby will catch a cold, if the water is too hot, the baby may get injured or suffer. For your baby, the bath water must be perfect every single time, without fail. And what if you draw the bath water for your elderly parents? Of course, it must be perfect each time. If the water is too cold, your parent may catch a cold or pneumonia and die. If the water is too hot, you will scald your elderly parent and your mother or father will suffer needlessly. . . For your baby or for your parent, of course, the bath water must be perfect every time.

In Aikido practice it is the same way. You can say to yourself, "I don't mind if the practice is a little this or that, but for your partner the practice must always be perfect, adjusting the practice, not too "hot or cold" not, too soft or hard, for each partner you practice with. For your partner, like the bath water for your baby of for your parent, must be perfect every time. For the baby, not too hot or cold, or for your parent, not too hot or cold, is a totally different standard although the requirements are the same. With each partner on the mat, each has a totally different and unique standard, although the requirements are the same. Can you understand this?

Do not practice like an unthinking, insensitive machine, practice like a human being following the natural, ordinary, but fundamental, principles of humanity, sensitive to each and every person.