The Kanji of Aikido are 合気道. The meanings of each character are
- 合 (ai): fit, suit, join
- 気 (ki): spirit, mind, air
- 道 (do): way, teachings
It can be translated “the way of unifying (with) life energy”, or “the way of harmonious spirit”.
I’ve had an interest in Aikido since my mid teens. I knew then, that the word was translated The Way of Harmony. More recently, reading Wikipedia I read that Ueshiba had what seemed like some sort of enlightenment experience. It wasn’t until last night, reading the book The Art of Peace: Teachings of the Founder of Aikido that it dawned on me, that The Way of Harmony was not simply a marital art, but it was Morihei’s connection and experience with the infinite. A “cosmic consciousness” experience as it is called by some, where, according to several accounts, the individual sees all creation as interconnected, interdependent, unified at a macro and micro level, that the source of all things was love and the manifestation of Eternal Life. The Way of Harmony isn’t a martial art, it’s a description of his experience, and how it applies to all things, martial arts being one instance of which Morihei had a special interest.
When I was in my teens, I had no way of mentally accepting that Morihei Ueshiba knew God and had a legitimate divine experience. However, in the decades since then I have found how the Christian God can be harmonized with the divine experiences of the East.
Many of these teachings could have come from Moses’ creation story, the martyr Stephen, Paul, the Revelation of John, the Book of Mormon or Christ himself.
The following are excerpts from the book The Art of Peace: Teachings of the Founder of Aikido.
“In particular, he was affected by this experience:
“As we neared Tungliao, we were trapped in a valley and showered with bullets. Miraculously, I could sense the direction of the projectiles—beams of light indicated their paths of flight—and I was able to dodge the bullets. The ability to sense an attack is what the ancient masters meant by anticipation. If one’s mind is steady and pure, one can instantly perceive an attack and avoid it—that, I realized, is the essence of aiki (the art of harmonization).
“Morihei returned to Ayabe a different person. He intensified his training, and in the spring of 1925, his life was transformed and his mission made clear. After meeting a challenge made by a kendo master—the swordsman gave up in defeat after failing to land a single blow—Morihei walked out into his garden to wipe the perspiration from his face.
“Suddenly the earth trembled. Golden vapor welled up from the ground and engulfed me. I felt transformed into a golden image, and my body seemed as light as a feather. I could understand the speech of the birds. All at once I understood the nature of creation: the Way of a Warrior is to manifest divine love, a spirit that embraces and nurtures all things. Tears of gratitude and joy streamed down my cheeks. I saw the entire earth as my home, and the sun, moon, and stars as my intimate friends. All attachment to material things vanished.
“‘I am the universe!’ Morihei proclaimed; he felt that he had been summoned to serve as a messenger for Miroku Bosatsu, the golden buddha-to-come, who will bring heaven down to earth.”
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“One day [in the mid-1930’s] a group of army sharp-shooters visited the dojo to observe a demonstration by Ueshiba Sensei. After the demonstration, Sensei suddenly announced, ‘Bullets cannot touch me.’ This was a direct provocation, and the marksmen immediately challenged him to prove it at their home firing range. Sensei agreed and a date was set. Sensei put his fingerprint on a document absolving the marksmen of all responsibility if he was shot and killed. Sensei’s wife pleaded with him not to go, and even I, who had witnessed Sensei’s amazing feats many times, thought that he was going too far this time—I told another disciple, ‘Time to start planning Sensei’s funeral.’ Sensei assured all of us: ‘Do not worry. They will never be able to hit me.’ He proceeded to the firing range in a surprisingly lighthearted mood. When we reached the firing range, we found that not one but six marksmen would be taking aim at Sensei. As Sensei positioned himself as a human target, twenty-five meters from the firing line, I wondered how he could possibly escape from that distance against so many shooters. ‘Ready, aim, fire!’ went the command. There was a loud explosion, a swirl of smoke, and suddenly one of the marksmen went flying. Morihei was standing behind the shooters, laughing. All of us were totally stunned and bewildered. We asked him to perform the miracle again, and he agreed. The scene was repeated—the shots, the explosion of noise and smoke, a flying marksman, and Sensei standing behind the shooters. Even though I had tried to keep my eyes glued on Sensei’s form, I could not discern anything. On the way home, I asked him, ‘How did you do that?’ He told me: ‘The actual bullets are preceded by a golden beam of light. Although they seem to fire in unison, there is always one bullet that is first, and that is the beam of light I avoided. I then leaped ninja style to bridge the distance and throw the marksman who had fired the first shot.’ Then he added, cryptically, ‘In truth, my purpose on earth is not fully accomplished yet so nothing can harm me. Once my task is completed, then it will be time to go, but until then I’m perfectly safe.’ This is how he explained it to me, but quite honestly I still cannot understand what he did that day.
“Through this instructive tale, Morihei shows us that the spiritual can defeat the material, even against the most overwhelming, seemingly impossible, odds. Armed with modern and efficient weapons of destruction, the arrogant military marksmen were still no match for one who was functioning on a higher, more spiritual level. It also shows that Morihei was well aware that he had a definite mission as prophet of the Art of Peace. (The Japanese word I have translated as ‘prophet’ is amakudaru, which also means ‘incarnation’ and ‘avatar.’ Morihei often used that term when referring to himself.) The war years from 1931 (date of the Manchurian Incident in China, which Onisaburo called ‘the beginning of hell’) to 1945 were very trying for Morihei. His guru Onisaburo was thrown into jail in 1935 by a government afraid of his dangerous pacifist and egalitarian ideas. Morihei himself avoided arrest, thanks to his contacts in the military and police establishments, but he remained under surveillance since he was considered ‘soft’ by extremists. They did not like his stance that ‘Bushido is not learning how to die. Bushido is learning how to live, how to protect and foster life. Even in war, the taking of human life is to be avoided as much as possible. It is always a sin to kill. Give your opponents every chance to make peace.’ Morihei disliked teaching lethal techniques to members of the military and police academies, and he was dismayed when techniques he had taught showed up in military hand-to-hand combat manuals without his permission and without reference to aiki, disarming an attack nonviolently. The violence of war sickened Morihei. A disciple whose duties included giving Morihei a nightly massage became alarmed at how much thinner Morihei grew as the war dragged on. Morihei’s life was guided by visions. In December of 1940, Morihei had this vision: Around two o’clock in the morning as I was performing ritual purification, I suddenly forgot every martial art I had ever learned. All of the techniques handed down from my teachers appeared completely anew. Now they were vehicles for the cultivation of life, knowledge, virtue, and good sense, not devices to throw and pin people. In 1942, an inner voice said to Morihei, ‘You are the one who must assume the mantle of the Prophet of Peace and teach human beings to live with creative courage. This is your calling, your privilege, your task. Go to the country, build a shrine dedicated to the Great Spirit of Peace and Harmony, and prepare yourself to be a guiding light for a new era.’ Morihei moved to Iwama, in Ibaraki Prefecture, to train, pray, and farm. Around this time, he began calling his teaching Aikido, which can be interpreted as ‘The Art of Peace.’
“The war came to a conclusion on August 15, 1945. Japan was in ruins, and the populace despondent, but Morihei was optimistic: ‘Instead of foolishly waging war, hereafter we will wage peace, the true purpose of Aikido. We will train to prevent war, to abolish nuclear weapons, to protect the environment, and to serve society.’ He told his handful of remaining students, ‘One day, this art will be practiced by people all over the world!’”
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“A wrestler from Nepal came to see Morihei, and the master said, ‘Try to lift me.’ The wrestler could not budge Morihei and requested the secret of this technique. ‘I am one with the universe. Who can lift that?’”
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“Aikido is the Way of Harmony. It brings together people of all races and manifests the original form of all things. The universe has a single source, and from that core all things emerged in a cosmic pattern. At the end of WWII, it become clear that the world needed to be purified of filth and degradation, and that is why Aikido emerged. In order to eliminate war, deception, greed, and hatred, the gods of peace and harmony manifested their powers. All of us in this world are members of the same family, and we should work together to make discord and war disappear from our midst. Without Love, our nation, the world, and the universe will be destroyed. Love generates heat and light. Those two elements are actualized in physical form as Aikido. As the last aspect of creation, human beings came into existence as an actualization of all higher powers. Human beings represent all of creation and we must bring the divine plan to fruition. The purpose of education is to open your spirit. Modern education has forgotten this. The entire universe is a huge open book, full of miraculous things, and that is where true learning must be sought. In that spirit, take responsibility, train hard, develop yourselves, bloom in this world, and bear fruit.”
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“In general, Japanese martial artists tend to be conservative politically, often right-wing, even fascist in some extreme cases, but Morihei proclaimed Aikido to be the source of true democracy and real freedom. He told a member of the Japanese Communist Party, ‘I am a communist myself.’ ‘You are?’ the startled comrade asked. ‘Yes, but my communist party is the one formed by the gods, not human beings. It is the communism of seeing all of humanity as comrades, as true equals, with equal access to the world’s spiritual treasures.’”
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Morihei was asked if his miraculous powers were due to spirit possession:
“No. The divine spirit is always present within me—and you too, if you delve deeply inside—so I am just obeying its commands and letting the awesome power of nature flow through me.”
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“One does not need buildings, money, power, or status to practice the Art of Peace. Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to train.”
“If you have life in you, you have access to the secrets of the ages, for the truth of the universe resides in each and every human being.”
“As soon as you concern yourself with the “good” and “bad” of your fellows, you create an opening in your heart for maliciousness to enter. Testing, competing with, and criticizing others weakens and defeats you.”
“Each and every master, regardless of the era or place, heard the call and attained harmony with heaven and earth. There are many paths leading to the peak of Mount Fuji, but the goal is the same. There are many methods of reaching the top, and they all bring us to the heights. There is no need to battle with each other—we are all brothers and sisters who should walk the Path together, hand in hand. Keep to your Path, and nothing else will matter. When you lose your desire for things that do not matter, you will be free.”
“The Art of Peace is a form of prayer that generates light and heat. Forget about your little self, detach yourself from objects, and you will radiate light and warmth. Light is wisdom; warmth is compassion.”
“We can no longer rely on the external teachings of Buddha, Confucius, or Christ. The era of organized religion controlling every aspect of life is over. No single religion has all the answers. Construction of shrine and temple buildings is not enough. Establish yourself as a living buddha image. We all should be transformed into goddesses of compassion or victorious buddhas…..The divine is not something high above us. It is in heaven, it is in earth, it is inside us….You cannot see or touch the divine with your gross senses. The divine is within you, not somewhere else. Unite yourself to the divine, and you will be able to perceive gods wherever you are, but do not try to grasp or cling to them….The divine does not like to be shut up in a building. The divine likes to be out in the open. It is right here in this very body. Each one of us is a miniature universe, a living shrine.”
Breathings 