Fight For World Peace
* A Japanese translation of this essay is available in the Comments section. Thank you, Makiko Tachibana for your work, your time and your permission.
Some people wonder why I like learning from Endo Sensei so much. To some, "he is just doing the same thing over and over". "He is not really teaching any techniques!" "He talks so much! You don't get to practice," they say. If so, why do you think dojos all over the world are lining up to request for Sensei to go teach?
To me, Endo Sensei teaches way beyond the mechanics of Aikido. He is trying to cultivate the core from which our Aikido grows.
Endo Sensei is the only teacher I know who constantly reminds people to inspect their inner feelings. "How do you feel?" "What are you feeling?" "What are you thinking?" "Why are you so worried?" Sensei asks. And he reminds us the importance of keeping calm inside.
Sensei also instructs us to slow down and be more gentle if we encounter difficulties. "Your partner gives his energy to help you learn. And all you have for him is this [brute force]? What kind of person are you?'
"Always reflect and ask yourself why. Pay attention to your feelings inside. Take everything that is good and also everything that is not good and think about it. Examine your own insecurities. Ask yourself what it is about."
"It is always easy to pick on someone who is smaller or weaker. Some people like to derive pleasure out of bullying the weak. Isn't it kind of shallow?"
"Mental stiffness transforms into physical stiffness. If your mind is not free, your body will never become free."
At the seminar dinner at Saku Dojo in 2018, Pepe from Spain told a story of him congratulating Sensei on his 8th degree black belt promotion. To Pepe's surprise, Endo Sensei did not seem particularly thrilled. Sensei actually turned to ask Pepe why he was so excited, "You got promoted, Sensei. Doesn't it mean your Aikido is even better now?" Pepe said. Endo Sensei responded in an indifferent tone of voice, "A promotion is only a promotion. It has nothing to do with my Aikido. Not until I become a better person will my Aikido become better. I am still working on it."
I feel that, through his teaching, Sensei is trying to bring us along on his quest in seeking to become a better person.
I read a book on Aikido when I first started. There was a quote by O Sensei, saying that he wished to promote world peace through Aikido. "Promoting world peace through a martial art? People attack each other and throw each other. How can that bring about world peace?" I wondered.
I do not think many of us come to learn Aikido because we really look forward to, some day, using the techniques in some real life fights. "If you are not planning to use your moves, what is the point of training so hard?" some ask. Those who ask this question probably cannot see that the training of the physical self is just the means; the cultivation of the soul is the real thing.
Imagine being a Buddhist monk who isolates himself from the rest of the world and only meditates in the mountain for enlightenment. Wouldn't it be easy to find peace and quiet for oneself when nobody is around to bother you? Of course, you may seek enlightenment just for your own sake. Yet, what is the value of this to the world? Like what the Buddha did, the greater value of the monk's study would be to find the secret of happiness, and then share it with the people by being among them. I think this is O Sensei's idea with Aikido and world peace.
This is no easy feat and we cannot do it alone. Endo Sensei once said at the conclusion of his seminar, "This is the way I teach Aikido, and this is the way we practice. If you like it, please come again. But, if you don't, please don't come. Please don't ruin it for everybody else."
Some people wonder why I like learning from Endo Sensei so much. To some, "he is just doing the same thing over and over". "He is not really teaching any techniques!" "He talks so much! You don't get to practice," they say. If so, why do you think dojos all over the world are lining up to request for Sensei to go teach?
To me, Endo Sensei teaches way beyond the mechanics of Aikido. He is trying to cultivate the core from which our Aikido grows.
Endo Sensei is the only teacher I know who constantly reminds people to inspect their inner feelings. "How do you feel?" "What are you feeling?" "What are you thinking?" "Why are you so worried?" Sensei asks. And he reminds us the importance of keeping calm inside.
Sensei also instructs us to slow down and be more gentle if we encounter difficulties. "Your partner gives his energy to help you learn. And all you have for him is this [brute force]? What kind of person are you?'
"Always reflect and ask yourself why. Pay attention to your feelings inside. Take everything that is good and also everything that is not good and think about it. Examine your own insecurities. Ask yourself what it is about."
"It is always easy to pick on someone who is smaller or weaker. Some people like to derive pleasure out of bullying the weak. Isn't it kind of shallow?"
"Mental stiffness transforms into physical stiffness. If your mind is not free, your body will never become free."
At the seminar dinner at Saku Dojo in 2018, Pepe from Spain told a story of him congratulating Sensei on his 8th degree black belt promotion. To Pepe's surprise, Endo Sensei did not seem particularly thrilled. Sensei actually turned to ask Pepe why he was so excited, "You got promoted, Sensei. Doesn't it mean your Aikido is even better now?" Pepe said. Endo Sensei responded in an indifferent tone of voice, "A promotion is only a promotion. It has nothing to do with my Aikido. Not until I become a better person will my Aikido become better. I am still working on it."
I feel that, through his teaching, Sensei is trying to bring us along on his quest in seeking to become a better person.
I read a book on Aikido when I first started. There was a quote by O Sensei, saying that he wished to promote world peace through Aikido. "Promoting world peace through a martial art? People attack each other and throw each other. How can that bring about world peace?" I wondered.
I do not think many of us come to learn Aikido because we really look forward to, some day, using the techniques in some real life fights. "If you are not planning to use your moves, what is the point of training so hard?" some ask. Those who ask this question probably cannot see that the training of the physical self is just the means; the cultivation of the soul is the real thing.
Imagine being a Buddhist monk who isolates himself from the rest of the world and only meditates in the mountain for enlightenment. Wouldn't it be easy to find peace and quiet for oneself when nobody is around to bother you? Of course, you may seek enlightenment just for your own sake. Yet, what is the value of this to the world? Like what the Buddha did, the greater value of the monk's study would be to find the secret of happiness, and then share it with the people by being among them. I think this is O Sensei's idea with Aikido and world peace.
This is no easy feat and we cannot do it alone. Endo Sensei once said at the conclusion of his seminar, "This is the way I teach Aikido, and this is the way we practice. If you like it, please come again. But, if you don't, please don't come. Please don't ruin it for everybody else."
世界平和を求めて
ReplyDelete私が遠藤先生の稽古を受けるのが好きなのを不思議に思う人たちがいる。「いつも同じことの繰り返しじゃないか」と思う人もいるようだ。「技をちゃんと教えていないじゃないか」「しゃべってばっかり！身体を動かさないし」ともいう。だけど、ならばどうして世界各地の道場が、先生に来てくださいとリクエスト待ちしていると思いますか？
私が考えるに、遠藤先生は合気道のメカニズムをはるかに超えたことを指導していると思う。先生は私たちの合気道が生み出される核を探究しようとしていると思う。
私が知る限りでは、自分の感じていることを確認しなさいと繰り返し言うのは遠藤先生だけだと思う。「どう感じていますか？」「何を感じていますか？」「何を考えいてますか？」「なぜそんなに心配しているのですか？」先生は私たちに投げる。そして先生は、心が静かな状態であることの大切さをいつも気づかせてくれます。
先生はまた、難しい状況にあるときは、ゆっくりやさしくするようにと言う。「相手からくる気があなたに気づかせてくれるはず。そんな（協力してくれる）相手に力まかせに応えるの？それはひどくない？」
「常に自分を省みて何故そうなのか問いなさい。何を感じているかに意識を向けなさい。良いことも良くないこともすべて受け止めて考えるようにしなさい。何が不安なのか観察しなさい。どうしてなのか自分に問いかけてください。」
「自分より小さい人や弱い人を痛めつけるのは簡単ですよね。弱い人をいじめて喜ぶ人もいますよね。なんて浅いんでしょ。」
「頭が固いと身体も硬くなりますね。心が自由でなければ身体も自由になりませんね」
2018年の佐久道場での講習会で、スペインのペペさんが、遠藤先生の八段昇段におめでとうと伝えた時の話をしてくれた。ペペさんが驚いたのは、遠藤先生はとくに昇段を喜んでいなかった様子だったこと。先生は逆にペペさんに、なんでそんなにめでたいのか聞いた。「昇段ですよ、先生。先生の合気道がさらにうまくなったことを認められたことになりません？」ペペさんが言うと、遠藤先生は普通の声で答えられた「昇段は昇段に過ぎない。私の合気道となんら関係はありません。私が人間としてよりよくならなければ、私の合気道もよくなりません。まだまだ修行です。」
先生は私達への指導を通して、より良い人間になる探究の道を示してくれていると私は思う。
合気道を始めたころ、合気道に関する本を読んだ。大先生の言葉があり、合気道を通して世界平和広めたい、とあった。「武道を通して世界平和？お互い攻撃しあって投げあうのに。それはどうやって世界平和へつながるの？」と思った。
合気道を始めようと思う人たちで、実際にいつか実戦で使おうと思って習う人は少ないと思う。「実戦で使うつもりがないなら、なんでそんなに稽古するの？」という人もいる。そういう人はわからないと思う、身体を使って稽古するのは方法に過ぎず、本当の目的は心の鍛錬であるということを。
俗世と自分を切り離し、山の中で悟りをひらこうと瞑想する修行僧を思い浮かべてほしい。だれも邪魔するような人が周りにいなければ、心静かにいることはなんと簡単だろうか。まあ、自分のためだけに悟りをひらくということもあっていいとは思うが。しかしそれが世に何の意味があろうか？仏陀のように、幸せの真義は追究したのち周りの人たちと分かち合って大いに価値がある。大先生が言う合気道と世界平和の考えはこういうことではないかと私は思う。
これは簡単なことではなく一人ではできない。遠藤先生が講習会の最後であるときこう言った。「私はこういうふうに合気道を教え、こういう稽古の仕方をします。もし気に入ったのであればどうぞまたいらしてください。もし気に入らないのであればもう来ないでください、ほかの人たちのためにも、台無しにしてほしくないので」