"Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power." - James Allen

"If you think you're enlightened; go home." - Ram Dass Ram Dass' quote reminds us that the people closest to us, who know us the best, have the ability to put us off balance no matter how exalted we become.

The holidays can be a huge source of stress. As martial artists, we know that the ability to be calm in the midst of conflict is our greatest asset.

The Dalai Lama once said, “Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways.”

"To find inner peace, be still the mind and let go. Live in the now. Breathe." - Ryokan

To control one's self is the source of true strength. To be able to use our minds properly is true mastery. The ability to be calm is not only the goal in budo training but the display of true power. Our training dictates that we not only be strong and powerful but also kind, compassionate, patient and forgiving.  After all, it's the holidays regardless if we are warriors or not.

Be strong, work hard and persevere.

Welcome to the first day of winter! Here is a classic Japanese art motif of heavenly bamboo (nanten), snow and sparrow.

Furuya Sensei said, "A truly good human being is hardly noticed by anyone because they are good. This, I believe, is true goodness." Thus, the Nanten is the symbol of our dojo and is supposed to represent something that is so plain and simple that its beauty goes unnoticed. Nanten is a powerful plant and is supposed to have the power to turn evil into good as well.

The Snow represents the harshness of winter and the need to work hard and persevere because not only its temperature but its weight can cause things to break.

The Japanese sparrow or suzume sings, "chu, chu, chu." Chu (忠) usually means to be loyal and therefore the sparrow's song warns us to be loyal, but another variation of chu translates as hard work or mame.

This scroll calls to us to be strong in the face of whatever adversity we are facing in our lives. We learn the most about ourselves during adversity.  A great quote by Albert Camus is, "In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."

When we look at this painting, it is easy to just notice the upfront perception of being a nicely painted scroll. As we look deeper into the symbols it reminds us that in order to be successful ,despite the circumstances, we need to be strong, work hard and persevere.

Where we go, we go alone.

Where we go, we go alone. You can lead a horse to water...

We've all heard that one. True budo is a singular adventure because the Way is really a journey within. Nobody can do it for us and we can't do it for anyone other than ourselves. Gambatte! Gambatte means to do nothing more than our best. To be the best one only has to their best.

Our work has to be done by us. Teachers guide us and friends are there to support us, but any work that gets done, only gets done by us.

Take heart, have courage and be strong because although the battle is long and hard, it is worth it. The only way to get better is to never ever quit. You will get beaten and you will be discourage but never give up hope. It is not the strong who prevail but the one with heart who strives and never gives up. Gambatte!

And the battle within rages on...

What do you get to do?

Today, we are at a most unprecedented time in history. Never before have we been given the freedom that so many of us enjoy today to do whatever we want and be whoever we want. Because we have this freedom it is our responsibility not to waste it. When Japanese people see something being wasted they say, "Mottainai." Mottainai is almost a sacrilegious feeling that something is being wasted. Here is something I read that inspires me to be more productive:

If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of the world.

If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and some spare change you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness you are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the agony of imprisonment or torture, or the horrible pangs of starvation you are luckier than 500 million people alive and suffering.

If you can read this message you are more fortunate than 3 billion people in the world who cannot read it at all.

We often lose sight of things that we already have. We are lucky. We get to spend our time the way we want to. We choose budo thus we must throw ourselves into our practice because there are many who would like to but don't have the opportunity, resources or capabilities to do so.

Don't waste! Don't let this day go away lightly, spend it wisely.

The joy of mondays

Bring it on! Mondays are always so hard. The weekend comes and goes and all we are left with is the foreboding joy of Mondays.

Martial artist are not average people. We relish in a challenge. Nothing more needs to be said. Stand up, push your chest out and be heard. There is no tomorrow.  There is only the next great battle. Regardless of winning or losing, just show up.

"What’s comin’ will come, an’ we’ll meet it when it does." - Hagrid, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Anger is an energy

In Japan, it is thought that people have an innate power to not only overcome and persevere but to also excel. When children get to be a certain age, they have something called iji or willfulness which causes them to act out or misbehave. It is the teacher's job to push the students to change their iji into konjou or fighting spirit. This transformation process requires a large amount of strict discipline which sometimes causes the student to dislike the teacher so much that they use this anger or hatred to drive them to excel.

The problem with using negativity as motivation is that we become vessels that are only fueled by hate, anger or fear. That negativity isn't healthy and leads one to lead their lives with a kind of "scorched Earth" way of living. Results or not, it is toxic and unhealthy and will eventually take its toll. A fake quote by the Buddha that is still apropos is, "You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger."

There is a great song lyric from punk rock legend, John Lydon is "Anger is an energy." Anger is an energy but it's not clean energy. As Yoda remarked, "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” We should be careful not to let things like hate, anger or fear motivate us regardless of the reason or results. 

After victory, tighten your helmet

"When you think you're safe is precisely when you're most vulnerable."- Kambei Shimada, Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai

No win is ever permanent. With victory sometimes comes arrogance. That arrogance brings with it a sense of righteousness where we think that either the end of the battle is the end or that we are somehow invincible.

All warfare is based on some form of deception, misdirection or sleight of hand. Sometimes the win is just the calm before the storm or a rouse our opponents uses to gain the overall victory. In martial arts this type of technique is a sutemi-waza or sacrifice technique. We give up something small to get something even bigger.

There is a Japanese saying that Furuya Sensei was fond of, "Katte kara kabuto no o wo shime yo" which means After victory, tighten your helmet.  Never let your guard down even if you think you have won. That just might be what your opponent wants you to think.

The enemy of achievement is comfort

I read a sign the other day, "Comfort is the enemy of achievement." This is a quote by a businessman named Farrah Gray. In terms of budo it is spot on. On the road to greatness, the main question is, "What are we willing to sacrifice in order to get good?" Not can we, but will we forgo things like sleep, money, food, or any other thing that causes us to be a little bit uncomfortable in order to achieve our goals? Most normal people won't, but warriors are not normal people.

Warriors are people who stave off pleasure for purpose. People who "need" to sleep, eat or save the money will never push themselves to get good.  There will always be something. Over the annals of time, the greatest opponent there has ever been and who has beaten millions of warriors has been the soft, warm and comfortable bed. Don't let it beat you!

So the question is, "What will you sacrifice to get good?"

Serenity is the path.

The author, Haruki Murakami said, "When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about." As Furuya Sensei used to say, "The Way is in training." The goal of training is serenity. The path to serenity is training. Training itself is serenity.

What we are trying to achieve by training in the martial arts is not the ability to destroy others but rather the ability to control ourselves so that we don't have to. We seek to be the calm in the eye of the storm.

When confronted, it is easy to lash out and use our darker more negative self to win, but after a while one realizes that the true opponent lies within. It takes a more evolved and more sophisticated person to realize where the real battle lies.

Yoda once said, "That which you seek, inside you will find." Serenity is that thing we all seek. Training is serenity. Serenity is the path. The path is serenity. "The Way is in training." Keep on training because training is the Way.

Align yourself and leave no openings

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Many times in life, whether we like it or not, perception is reality and budo is no different. As a warrior, we must be forever diligent and thus must be en garde at all times. We can expect to be attacked anytime we let our guard down. Therefore we cannot leave any openings.

There is a famous Japanese saying, bushi wa kuwanedo taka yoji (武士は食わねど高楊枝) which means a "A samurai, even when he has not eaten, uses a toothpick like a lord."

Most think it means that a hungry samurai chooses pride before poverty. Another way to understand it is that if one lets on that they haven't eaten and are hungry then they will be weak and thus an easier target for attack. The perception of weakness can then lead to a person being attacked.

In training, we constantly trying to ensure that our intentions match our reality. If we want people to think that we are respectful then we must act respectfully. If we want people to think that we are humble, we should then act with humility. Conversely, if we want people to think we are jerks then we should act like a jerk.

Like it or not, people "judge" us by the things that we say and do. Our job as martial artist is to make our actions and our words line up with our intentions.

Go out and get it

If you want to try and save your 2016, there are 36 days left. What did we want to get done that we never got around to doing or failed to complete? Furuya Sensei used to say, "There is no time left." Don't waste your time putting things off for 2017 that you can start doing today. There is still time left. Start today...

Start eating healthy.Go to bed early. Wake up early. Be more grateful. Quit your job. Find a new job. Start exercising. Start Aikido ;) Stop smoking. Ask that person out. Stop going out with that person. Enroll in college. Tell people what you really mean. Go to class more often. Etc, etc

In life, there are no free lunches, shortcuts or ways to cheat. If we want something, we have to go out and get it. If you want to get good at Aikido, all you have to do is come to class. It is that simple!  There are still 31 days of training left this year. Want it? Come get it!

No matter what, choose to do it

"I took an arrow in the knee" was an old Norse saying to indicate that someone had gotten married. The arrow implies that one of the biggest decisions in one's life isn't necessarily made by choice. Just after Furuya Sensei passed away, I was working with one of my older clients and was telling him about Sensei's death. I said, "Now, I have to take over the dojo." He stopped me and said, "No, you choose to take over the dojo." At the time I did not think I had a "choice" but today I understand that it is what I chose to do. We can be in control or we will be controlled.

Today, in an arguably more civilized society, we are free and thus have freedom of choice. What is choice?  Choice is the ability to decide to empower ourselves with what it is we want. This empowerment begins by saying, "I choose to..."

Regardless of the situation or circumstance we can always "choose" how we internally address what is going on - we give it context. In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, it is called re-framing.  In Buddhism, it is called equanimity.  In budo, it is called the non-abiding mind.

Today, we don't have to do anything but we do get to choose to do whatever we want.  The choice is ours.

We make each other better

For For 20 years during the Sengoku period, Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin fought a series of hard fought battles. It was during this time that each cultivated a deep respect for one another. When Takeda Shingen died suddenly on the battlefield, Uesugi Kenshin supposedly wept and said, "I have lost my greatest rival, there will never be a greater hero."  Our adversaries can be our greatest teachers. As a training partner, it is our duty to bring out the best in our partners. We owe it to them to give them a good hard practice. That doesn't mean be a jerk. It means to push them to become better. If we are too easy they become too complacent and soft. If we are too hard they become bitter and contemptuous. Pushing them to their heights in a positive and productive way enables them to reach their true potential. It is a great honor to be a part of that process.  Be a positive force for change so that as C.S. Lewis stated, "All of hell rejoices that I am out of the fight" because I help make others better.

Embrace the struggle

We sometimes erroneously think that the Way is the end product - a place of bliss, peace or happiness. However, the place where the Way truly resides is in the places where we struggle. On good days, it is easy to follow the righteous path and anyone can do it. The days and situations that are the most difficult are when we need, utilize and come to understand the true meaning of following the Way. Therefore the Way is in the struggle. That one moment between when we don't want to but do so anyways is the real moment of the Way. Everything else leads up to that point and all others are a result of that decision. "Embrace the struggle and let it make you stronger. It won't last forever." - Tony Gaskins

Art by Sam Didier

Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on November 19, 2002. His statements ring true today more than ever. We as martial artist must strive to be better.

I think that the very basis of civilization and ultimately our own survival is that we can get along with each other. As far as we have advanced in science, medicine, technology, finance, the arts and education, we still do not do this very well at all. Why do you think this is so? Why do you think that it is so hard for us to get along with each other? We don't even get along with many people we like and love sometimes! It is really quite amazing if you think about it. Even the simple ant has evolved their own social structure and monkeys do not even have all the problems we suffer from. In Aikido, we talk about harmony and blending, we probably need to go into this idea much, much more than we really do.

Sometimes, the simplest and most fundamental questions are the hardest to answer. We still must try very hard - our lives depend upon it!

What matters to you

Sozan, a Chinese Zen master, was asked by a student, "What is the most valuable thing in the world?" The master replied: "The head of a dead cat." "Why is the head of a dead cat the most valuable thing in the world?" inquired the student. Sozan replied: "Because no one can name its price." The things that matter to us, only matter to us. In the beginning, middle and end, we are under our own power and thus choose what is valuable to us. Others might not agree. That is fine because what matters to us only matters to us. Be only concerned about what it is that you do and don't worry about what others think or what they are doing.

Take control

There is a great saying from the movie Sanjuro, "The best swords are the ones that are kept in their scabbards." At the heart of all martial arts training comes the understanding that our minds are our greatest weapons and simultaneously our worst enemies. In the Japanese traditional arts, the highest level one can attain is the ability to show restraint. A master is supposed to be someone who has kokkifukurei or the ability to demonstrate their skills in decorum and etiquette but more importantly their ability to exercise self restraint at all times. Restraint can only come after years and years of training. Restraint is the ability to do the right thing at the right time which one might call seido in Japanese or precision in English. Learn to control yourself and your emotions so that other people cannot control you.  

Fear is the true enemy

At some point in time, somewhere along the Way we all must all confront ourselves.  For each person the what and when are different. This confrontation is an inner battle where we face our own fears and demons. Those things that we fear are the keys that unlock the doors to our inner most sanctum where true peace lies.

If we do not open these doors then sometimes we set off on a darker path that some Star Wars fans might call the "dark side." In this place, we turn our gaze away from our true opponent (ourselves) and we might mistakenly believe that some thing or some other person is our true enemy. It is so much easier to pin our suffering on others rather than accept responsibility and ownership of our selves.

Gandhi said, "The enemy is fear. We think it is hate, but it is really fear." Fear is the gateway to change, but we have to have the courage to face it. When we dig deeper and see what is behind the hatred or anger, it is really fear and we can then realize our own part in our suffering which is that we allow that fear to control us.

Yoda said, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." One only has to look at Anakin Skywalker's evolution to see this to be true.  Anakin Skywalker is the prototypical archetype of one who gives into his fears and allows it to follow the dark side and develop into anger, hatred and suffering.

Today more than ever, martial artist must be a cut above. Don't give into the fear no matter who you support. Move past that fear and conquer your demons and find true peace for yourself. They are not the enemy; fear is. Don't give into that fear.

Just this one moment

 

Today's kakejiku or scroll hanging in the tokonoma is an ichigyo brushed with the single character toki  刻 which is commonly translated as time. An ichigyo is a single line of calligraphy that is supposed to elicit a response or provoke the viewer into a different mental state.

Warriors of old were always well read individuals who were not only well versed in the military arts but also in religion, literature, poetry, Japanese and Chinese classics and art.

Generally, most kakejiku are supposed to be profound and many times what is left out is sometimes more important than what is put in. This scroll is no different. Its meaning is not readily understandable by simply just reading the character.

The character toki 刻 left standing alone means "to chop or engrave." So an uneducated person could accidentally misinterpret that as its meaning. However when the character toki is added into the idiomatic expression jijikokkoku it means "from one moment to the next." From here we extrapolate that it is supposed to mean "moment," but that also is a little too juvenile. As we sit there and ponder the scroll's deeper meaning, what arises could be the Buddhist's perspective on impermanence and thus every moment that existed before or after this one moment is an illusion and that we can easy be deluded into thinking that those thoughts are real.

Since this scroll is more of the smaller size used in a chasitsu or tea house, we can theorize that its meaning is to make full use of this one moment for all other moments before may not have happened and all moments after may never come. All we have is this one moment - cherish it!