Homage to the Ueshiba Lineage. It is true; aikido is where the practitioner makes a firm commitment to abandoning competitive behavior. This commitment is made repeatedly.
There is No Competition in Aikido
There is no competition in Aikido. The lineage holds the transmission. Let it be a kofu-an-toku (koan) for consideration if there is doubt, meditate on it, and continue to do so to resolve doubt. Investigate the meaning behind the word ’compete’, and realize its causes, results, and conditions.
Many Forms of Competition
Competing comes in many forms, for audiences, for credential, for inclusion, for occlusion, for exclusion, for status, for results, for markets, for winning, for losing, for insight, for maintaining, for skill, for first, for last, for loudest, for quietest, for smartest, for dullest, for approval, for disapproval, for shortest, for middle-est, for tallest… for competition… for non-competition…
For -est. And what is -est? To be. Competing for… to be… or not to be.
Breaking Friendship; Kuzushi
If the practice does not engender this willingness to let go of competitive behavior, then aikido is not being practiced and kuzushi has already taken hold; the mountain has broken the friendship of two moons. Do not loose heart, practice aikido, and restore friendship, even better to realize emptiness and realize friend ship. Then realize that there is no need to compete between left and right, between frontal lobe and amygdala, between chakras, and ultimately between, itself.
Swift Reconciliation Through Realization
Upon realization of emptiness… self-view, other-view, we-view, they-view all roll off the lotus disc of wisdom and method. Divine presence alone remains. Here, love and compassion work swiftly, immediately abstract time, abstract location; most effective for peace and harmony. Love and compassion operate more directly on the phenomena of intents, annoyances, pains, griefs, lamentations, distresses, and suffering (enduring) without concern for self, other, we, or they. The object is suffering itself, and the cause of suffering itself; without distractions of valences of conceptual dualism.
See even the faintest whispers of competitive behaviors, arrest it with the reconciliation of aiki. Don’t forget aiki! Practice the stop spear way, bu. Share in the fruits of these practices to be of benefit to the world; be generous with wisdom and method.
How joyous to be free of competitive nature; all energy is poured into throwing open the rock door and illuminating the ten thousand dhammas.
Practice Through Realization
And do not be content with lesser realization, continue to practice with great sincerity, go beyond, and realize takemusu aiki. And continue through narrower and narrower gates, until only the narrowest of awareness penetrates, rushing forward beyond… and now the grounds established, higher orders of benefit, of merit, are accomplished… in thought, word, and deed…
for the benefit of all beings.
