Essence of the Essence?

Today I'm thinking again about the wide range in opinions in the Aikido world on the religious aspect of the art, and on whether there even is one. At one extreme, I've seen a book written by an instructor who's an Evangelical Christian and emphasizes the fact in his book, while flatly asserting that the Founder (Morihei Ueshiba "O-Sensei") said that Aikido is not a religion. On the other end of the spectrum, I have heard of some instructors at seminars attempting to make people engage in Shinto worship of the Aiki no Kami ("Gods or spirits of Aiki"). Somewhat similarly, in browsing pictures of videos of many dojos, I've noticed at least one that has a scroll in the place of honor bearing the Japanese inscription Aiki O-kami (合気大神）"Great Spirit/God of Aiki".

I've read enough of the Founder's words on the subject to be confident that the proper attitude lies somewhere in between the two extremes. For example, one statement of his is, "Aikido is the religion that is not a religion." While perhaps a little cryptic, it seems clearly enough to indicate that there is a religious nature and element to Aikido, but it is not organized as nor does it operate as a religion. O-Sensei also stated directly that he did not expect his students to follow his religious path, knowing that their own religions were right and good for them. At the same time, he did not hide his own religious sense of Aikido, and his live-in students (uchi-deshi)  routinely attended his prayers and other devotional activities as part of the regular schedule. Still, they were not required to participate as he did, and perhaps most significantly in the practical sense is that, although he gave talks to his students on spiritual aikido, understanding these talks was never a condition of promotion, which means that whatever religious side there was of Aikido even in the Founder's time was not mandatory nor part of the curriculum, but was in a sense parallel to the physical training that the students were there to receive.

All this being said, some readers will want to know more about what O-Sensei did actually say on spiritual and religious matters. As has been said elsewhere, his talks (those that were recorded in some fashion, at least) have been compiled in two collections, both of which are now available in English translation. (1) Aiki Shinzui ("The Essence of Aiki") was compiled from talks he gave in the dojo, collected and edited by his son, the second Head of Aikido, Kisshomaru Ueshiba Sensei. This has has been translated into English and published as "The Secret Teachings of Aikido." http://www.kodanshausa.com/books/9781568364469/ (2) Takemusu Aiki  is the transcript of a series of lectures that the Founder gave to a religious group founded by one of his friends, and it has been published in an English translation as "The Heart of Aikido". http://www.kodanshausa.com/books/9784770031143/

In the original Japanese text of Aiki Shinzui, the talks are arranged into seven chapters or sections, each with a title based (as far as I can tell) on a striking phrase or concept from one of the talks in that section. Each of these titles encapsulates a major principle in spiritual Aikido. So, as a way of sharing some of the essence of the Founder's thought, I'm going to attempt a translation of each of these chapter titles. (One could do the same with the titles of the individual talks for a slightly more detailed view... perhaps I'll try some of them in future posts.)

I will give the original Japanese text along with transliteration, then my English translation, and brief comments. Since I'm only a learner of Japanese, there may be flaws in my translations, though I have tried to research any difficulties as thoroughly as I can. (I would consider advice from fluent speakers who are Aikidoka, toward improving the translations.)

I. 合気道は魂の学び　Aikidou wa tamashii no manabi   "Aikido is the study of the spirit."

For some people, this is the most important definition of "religion". In any case, it defines Aikido as a spiritual method.

II. 合気とは愛気である  Aiki to wa aiki de aru   "Aiki is the spirit/energy of love."

O-Sensei was fond of punning between "ai" as "harmony, joining, etc." and "ai" as "love" in giving his spiritual and ethical teachings. In this way, he shows that both kinds of "ai" go hand-in-hand. It's difficult to have one without the other. This spirit of love should be sought by the aikidoka in training and even in combat.

III. 合気は武産の現われ  Aiki wa takemusu no araware   "Aiki is the manifestation of spontaneous martial action."

Takemusu is difficult to translate into English as a word or phrase, although the actual concept isn't hard to understand. It refers to a state wherein one spontaneously creates the right martial technique for the need of the moment; this is in contrast to the type of expertise in which one has a large catalog of techniques to draw upon. To put it another way, one who has achieved takemusu aiki simply does automatically what is needed, not limited by a set of memorized techniques. It may be seen as a particular type of enlightenment in martial art.

IV. 合気は息の妙用なり  Aiki wa iki no myouyou nari  "Aiki is the wonderful or mysterious effect of breath."

This illustrates the close connection between aiki, spirit, and breath. In many languages and cultures, there is little if any distinction between spirit and breath, and Japanese is among them.

V. 宇宙につながる合気  Uchuu ni tsunagaru Aiki   "Aiki connects (or connecting?) to the universe."

Here reference is made to connection between man and the universe at large, which is accomplished through aiki. Thus, Aikido is, as O-Sensei says elsewhere, a means of connecting to the universe, to heaven and earth, to the Great Spirit (O-kami, and Paramatma)

VI. 合気とは禊である   Aiki to wa misogi de aru   "Aiki is purification"

Misogi is more specifically a rite and method of purification. Those familiar with Sanskrit terms will understand if I translate it as "tapasya", which means purificatory rites of austerity. The Founder of Aikido tells us that his martial art is itself a method of misogi; and as it happens, too, some of the warm-up exercises he instituted are in themselves traditional forms of misogi. In some recent research, I noticed with interest that there is some similarity in principle and effect, even when not in form, between these misogi warm-ups in Aikido, and warm-up exercises and chi-gong in Chinese martial arts, particularly as used as warm-ups for Tai Chi Chuan. This in turn reminds me of article written by a former aikidoka who pursued Chinese internal martial arts after aikido, in which he relates a belated discovery, after years of practice, that the warm-up exercises that his teacher did before the main tai chi form practice were the key to his internal power, that is, his chi or in Japanese ki. Though the exercises are not identical, it seems they fulfill the same functions, both as "misogi" and physical warmups... and stimulation and awareness of ki/chi. I hasten to add that like with the rest of Aikido, the mindset, intention, attention, concentration, etc., of the practitioner makes a huge difference in the effect of the practices. Lackadaisical practice will bring lackluster results, though there is benefit to any sort of practice, unless you're doing things truly badly. Sincere and enthusiastic practice will bring far greater results.


VII.  神人合一の修業   Shinjin go-itsu no shuugyou    "Pursuit of knowledge of unity of god and man"

This last chapter title is another that strongly highlights the specifically spiritual side of Aikido. O-Sensei speaks of the practice and study as leading to the state of unity between god (kami) and humanity; similar to the way that an earlier chapter spoke of connection with the universe. Aikido is, if we take all these things together, along with the purely physical and technical side, the way of harmonizing or coordinating every kind of "energy": the totality of your own body, mind and spirit (if you believe in the latter); the energy of yourself and partners or attackers; the energy of humanity, of heaven, of the universe as a whole, of gods and spirits.

Although none of these chapters bring it out, another major theme of the Founder's words on spiritual, religious and ethical is the goal of building "heaven on earth". In this regard, we should remember that he lived through both World Wars, fighting in one and losing many students to the next; and saw large parts of major Japanese cities flattened. In other words, he saw the desolation of hell on earth, and so he instead wanted his students to work toward a heaven on earth, a harmonious world.

In one chapter, misogi was mentioned, but another kind of practice was also greatly emphasized by O-Sensei, although it was not named in any of the seven chapter headings. This is "kotodama", which can be seen as the Japanese version of "mantra". The Founder was familiar with both Shinto kotodama and practices of Shingon ("True Word") Buddhism, which is the Japanese tradition corresponding to the Tantric Buddhism of Tibet and India. In regard to kotodama, it seems to me that one could profitably chant and meditate on these chapter titles as a kind of kotodama, alongside more traditional kotodama.

In short, then, the Aikido Founder's vision was of perfect harmony between all parts of reality... all beings, and all inanimate parts of the whole as well. Our practice, study, awareness, etc., is the way. And let us not forget "love", the other "ai".