6. Krishna and the Talking Heads

As the Spirit of our mortal body wanders on in childhood, and youth and old age, the Spirit wanders on to a new body: of this the Sage has no doubts. -- Chapter 2, verse 13, The Bhagavad Gita (Tr. Juan Mascaro)

Before we were a foetus, we were a sperm and egg. That sperm came from a sperm and egg; that egg came from a sperm and egg. And so on back in time, all the way to the Source who started this whole thing. Now each of us is taking on this form, this shape we are currently in.

We catch a glimpse of ourselves in a mirror or storefront window with a shock of nonrecognition. We are the same Spirit we have always been, but are in-habit-ing a constantly changing form. When we lay this one down, what then?

The Talking Heads have it right: "same as it ever was" -- we go on ("wander on") to a new body. If you are a person of open awareness (a sage) you have no doubt about this. If you have doubts about it, that's okay too.

5. Krishna Smiles

Krishna smiled and spoke to Arjuna -- there between the two armies the voice of God spoke these words: -- Chapter 2, verse 10, The Bhagavad Gita (Tr. Juan Mascaro)

All that Krishna is about to say is contained in that smile. How beautiful that the Source of all being meets our doubts, our fears, our willful refusals, our angers with a smile! Not a frown. Not laughter. A smile.

Krishna first responded to Arjuna's complaints nonverbally. The nonverbal contains about 70 - 80% of the meaning of a communication; the verbal only about 20 - 30%. If Arjuna had been tuned in to Krishna rather than lying dejected on the floor of his chariot, he would have seen the smile and understood immediately. The Gita would have ended right there. Fortunately for us, Krishna had to spell it out for him.

Krishna begins by reminding Arjuna that we humans get caught up in the cycle of life and death, rooting for life and fearing and hating death. Krishna says that both life and death shall pass away. Neither is the ultimate outcome.

Thy tears are for those beyond tears; and are thy words words of wisdom? The wise grieve not for those who live; and they grieve not for those who die -- for life and death shall pass away. -- Chapter 2, verse 11

He then reminds Arjuna that the Spirit which animates us is indestructible.

Because we all have been for all time: I, and thou, and these kings of men. And we all shall be for all time, we all for ever and ever. -- Chapter 2, verse 12

We are made of the same stuff as our Source. At our core is indestructible Spirit. We have been with our Source since the beginning of time. And we shall be with our Source for ever.

I laugh when I realize that before I was born into and as this body, I was doing very well, happy and content. Then I was told I had to leave, take form in a human womb and be born into human society. I did not want to do that, sounded kind of risky to me. I was fine where I was.

Now I have grown accustomed to this embodying and I am told I have to leave here. Once again, a part of me does not want to go, sounds kind of risky to me.

It is so easy to forget I am a process. I want to make of myself a small never-changing kingdom. Fortunately, I am not listened to, for that would be sure death. When I lie on the floor of my chariot and complain, Krishna (our Source) smiles.

4. Arjuna States His Case

Arjuna and Krishna continue their conversation. Krishna has invited Arjuna to "arise like a fire that burns all before it." But Arjuna is still impaled on the horns of his dilemma.

So are we all. We are thrown into this world like gladiators in an arena. What shall we do? The Gita, as it unfolds, gives answers to this question. We shall see if those answers have relevance to us a-theological spiritual anarchists of today's post-post-modern world, we who live on the Edge with ungritted teeth.

Arjuna says:
I owe veneration to Bhishma and Drona. Shall I kill with my arrows my grandfather's brother, great Bhishma? Shall my arrows in battle slay Drona, my teacher?
Shall I kill my own masters who, though greedy of my kingdom, are yet my sacred teachers? I would rather eat in this life the food of a beggar than eat royal food tasting of their blood. --Chapter 2, verses 4-5, The Bhagavad Gita (Tr. Juan Mascaro)

In his commentary, Gandhi points out that if we are ready to cast aspersion on someone in an opposing camp, we should also be ready to point the finger at close comrades (including ourselves) guilty of the same offense. If we are going to take the head of our distant kin (and all are our kin), we should be willing to take the head of our close kin. "The Gita permits no distinction between one's relations and others."

If I am going to kill fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, children, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces in Afghanistan or anywhere "over there," then I must be willing to kill the same relations here in my home town, my home state. This is high and tough spiritual ground.

At the same time. Gandhi says, "I might be ready to embrace a snake, but, if one comes to bite you, I should kill it and protect you."

You see the moral dilemma here. This ancient dilemma which the Gita addresses is still here, fresh and new.

Arjuna continues:
In the dark night of my soul I feel desolation. In my self-pity I see not the way of righteousness. I am thy disciple, come to thee in supplication: be a light unto me on the path of my duty.
For neither the kingdom of the earth, nor the kingdom of the gods in heaven, could give me peace from the fire of sorrow which thus burns my life." --Chapter 2, verses 7-8

Rather than putting on an arrogant front, Arjuna admits that he is caught in the desolate wasteland of self-pity. While burning in the fires of sorrow, he cannot open to the arising fire that Krishna invites him to become.

Arjuna is stating his case, but he hasn't given up. He is asking Krishna for help. Arjuna is like Job sitting in the ashes of the fire of sorrow. But as we shall see, Krishna is not like Yahweh. He does not come thundering in with might and power asserting his superiority and asking Arjuna who the hell he thinks he is.

When Arjuna the great warrior had thus unburdened his heart, "I will not fight, Krishna," he said, and then fell silent. --Chapter 2, verse 9

He had come to a decision and had nothing more to say. But Krishna does. Krishna has plenty to say.

3. Krishna Speaks To His Friend

We left Arjuna crumpled down in his vehicle (our body is our vehicle, our chariot) "overcome by despair and grief."

But Arjuna was not alone. He was not going to be allowed to wallow, to get his bonbons and pink fuzzies, and sit on the sofa of despair for long.

Then arose the Spirit of Krishna and spoke to Arjuna, his friend, who with eyes filled with tears, thus had sunk into despair and grief. --Chapter 2, verse 1, The Bhagavad Gita (Tr. Juan Mascaro)

The Spirit, Source, Godhead, Wellspring, the One-Who-Breathes-Us is our friend, is friendly to us, sees and cares, is closer to us than we can imagine. In fact, imagination gets in the way.

What does one say to a friend in despair? Here is what Krishna said:

Whence this lifeless dejection, Arjuna, at this hour, the hour of trial? Strong men (humans) know not despair, Arjuna, for this wins neither heaven nor earth. -- Chapter 2, verse 2

This is the crucial time. No time to lay down now, paralyzed by indecision. You have tossed away your strength. That has changed nothing. The energies of heaven and earth are still going on. Going into stupor accomplishes nothing.

Fall not into degrading weakness. . . . Throw off this ignoble discouragement, and arise like a fire that burns all before it. --Chapter 2, verse 3

Hoo Boy! That is Spirit talking alright.

Three directives are given. Stop the descent into the black pit. Throw off (an active vigorous movement) this cloak of discouragement. Arise like a fire.

This transformation Krishna is asking of Arjuna is sometimes called a turning about or an orthogonal rotation of consciousness. It is done both deliberately and with grace.

Deliberately through physical change of posture and movement and breath and direction of attention. With grace through the immediate responding of our Energetic Source. The more spiritual energy we manifest, the more we are given. We forget this, do not want to even know this, when we are in despair.

2. Arjuna Overwhelmed

Arjuna stands in his chariot between the two armies. He looks at them and sees his kin and is overwhelmed.

Then Arjuna saw in both armies fathers, grandfathers, sons, grandsons, fathers of wives, uncles, masters, brothers, companions and friends.
When Arjuna thus saw his kinsmen face to face in both lines of battle, he was overcome by grief and despair . . . --Chapter 1, verses 26-28, The Bhagavad Gita (Tr. Juan Mascaro)

Arjuna did not fall into a God-is-on-our-side mentality and condemn the "other side" to hell with righteous indignation and fury. He recognized the kinship of all. All our wars are "civil" (a strange term, on which "civil-ization" is based) wars in which brother fights against brother, kin against kin, human against human.

In his lament (verses 29 - 46), he asks the eternal question concerning war:

Even if they, with minds overcome by greed, see no evil in the destruction of a family, see no sin in the treachery to friends;

Shall we not, who see the evil of destruction, shall we not refrain from this terrible deed?

Gandhi, in his translation and commentary on the Gita, points out that though this question is a worthy one, it is based on weakness. Arjuna cannot leave the field of battle. All that will happen is that the folk on his side will be slaughtered, overrun. Then the entire kingdom would be ruled by vicious despots.

As we know, Gandhi was no fan of war. But he invented a form of war, a nonviolent form based on truth (satyagraha), to counteract the violent form of war.

It is easy to blow people apart. It is not easy to oppose others effectively while doing them no harm.

Arjuna was facing this dilemma. His initial solution was not accepted either by Gandhi or by Krishna in the story.

Here is Arjuna's initial solution: "letting fall his bow and arrows he sank down in his chariot, his soul overcome by despair and grief." --Chapter 1, verse 47

This is where we leave him for the moment. Paralyzed in the middle of a situation requiring firm strong action.

The Song of God: A Warrior Story

I will begin the study here of one of the greatest warrior stories ever written or told -- the story of Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita (The Song of God).

I will be using Juan Mascaro's translation. If you wish to follow along in your own copy with whatever translation you have or choose, it will be helpful to you.

Two great armies are lined up and ready for battle on a vast plain that separates them. They are about to fight for the usual reasons humans fight: greed, hostility, and ignorance and the counter forces that rise in opposition to such. Of course, there is much more going on than that in this story, a story of how to live with wisdom in the world.

Arjuna is the leader of one army and is lamenting that he does not wish to fight. He sees that he is fighting his own kin. And isn't that always the case? We are all members of the Navel Tribe, plucked from the same vine and with the belly scar to prove it.

Krishna (God) is driving Arjuna's chariot. I start with Chapter One, Verse 21 where Arjuna says:

Drive my chariot, Krishna immortal, and place it between the two armies. That I may see those warriors who stand there eager for battle, with whom I must now fight at the beginning of this war. That I may see those who have come here eager and ready to fight, in their desire to do the will of the evil son of Dhrita-rashtra.

Arjuna wants to go out there in the middle of it all and take a look, see for himself. He doesn't just walk out there by himself. He asks his charioteer to take him. And his charioteer just happens to be the Divine. They have chosen each other as companions.

When Krishna heard the words of Arjuna he drove their glorious chariot and placed it between the two armies.

Without hesitation, Krishna did as Arjuna asked. His asking was in right alignment with the situation. Later we will see that Krishna will not follow Arjuna's wishes. Krishna is no pushover.

Notice that the two have a fine ride. It is not just a vehicle. It is a glorious vehicle. So is our body, which has been pointed to, in another holy book, as the temple of God. Here the metaphor is chariot, a glorious chariot.

Krishna takes them right into the middle of it all, places Arjuna between two opposing forces. Sounds like daily life to me. Even to walk around we have to use two opposing forces, our right leg and our left leg. Somehow we have taught them to cooperate, and they generally do, so much that we don't even think about it.

We are between opposing forces all the time, both internally and externally. As this story unfolds, maybe we will get some tips and some confirmations as to appropriate and effective action.

mourning devotional

This needs no commentary on my part --

"The only gain of civilisation for mankind is the greater capacity for variety of sensations -- and absolutely nothing more. And through the development of this many-sidedness man may come to finding enjoyment in bloodshed. In fact, this has already happened to him. Have you noticed that it is the most civilised gentlemen who have been the subtlest slaughterers, to whom the Attilas and Stenka Razins could not hold a candle, and if they are not so conspicuous as the Attilas and Stenka Razins it is simply because they are so often met with, are so ordinary and have become so familiar to us. In any case civilisation has made mankind if not more blood-thirsty, at least more vilely, more loathsomely bloodthirsty. In old days he saw justice in bloodshed and with his conscience at peace exterminated those he thought proper. Now we do think bloodshed abominable and yet we engage in this abomination, and with more energy than ever." -- Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes From The Underground

samurai mind trainiing

A long-time buddy of fierce spirit and generous nature sent this:

Samurai Mind Training for American Troops

The program reminds me of Richard Strozzi-Heckler's work with the Green Berets and the ensuing development of the Marine Martial Art Program.

flossing tiger meat

Yesterday a person reminded me in our conversation of the zen story of the dude/dudess hanging by a decaying root jutting out of a cliff face with a hungy tiger above and a hungry tiger below and the dude/ss plucking a nearby strawberry, eating it and saying how delicious!

That story irritates the hell out of me. Not so much the story itself, I suppose, as the way it is interpreted. "We are in a predicament so eat the effing strawberry and enjoy it!" Which interpretation is usually followed up with a beatific smile of all knowing and omni toleration, always the sign of the beginnings of a vomitous sainthood.

Much is left out in that interpretation. Ignored. Forget the strawberry. I'm eating the tigers! Devouring those suckers whole! And the story too! I'm talking of a consciousness state here.

We are the tigers! Tigers who have successfully trapped ourselves into hanging from an uncertain rooting and all we want to do, all we can think to do is eat a strawberry! Reminds me of that president who told us the best response to world calamity was to go shopping. He knew exactly what he was talking about and to whom he was speaking. Forget the tigers, eat the strawberry.

Enough already with the strawberry! If you are going to tell me that story, you better have tiger bone marrow stuck in your teeth.

gateless gate

We are a gateless gate between the outer infinity and the inner infinity. Our "duty" is to remain gateless between these two infinities.

warrior math

7 X's down, 8 X's up!

death-dealing life lovers

One of the problems I have with "modern" medicine (is it post-modern now? I can't keep up with our designations of our era. How about "rapid transitional" medicine?) and the societal attitudes it represents is the seeing of death as an enemy. For heaven's and mercy's and pity's sakes! We come from death and to death we return -- the eternal cycling and recycling. What's that saying? "Everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die."

And never mind that we as a nation, as a people are death-dealers, whacking folk down every day, plus eradicating entire species, poisoning the earth. If death is such an enemy, why are we so snuggly with it? We don't mind causing the death of others ("collateral damage"), it is our precious selves we wish to preserve.

There can be no death without life, so I say get rid of life and there will be no death. What? You find fault with my logic? The greatest curse I could put upon you would be that you live forever (as the particle you are).

Rather than life and death, I see ongoing transformation. We are continuously dying and being reborn. Keeping people alive is primarily a selfish motive. When they die, we take it as a personal affront. All you stalwart defenders of life out there, relax and smell the compost!

condensing

The experiential act of condensing is different from that of contracting. In contracting, one freezes up, loses the freedom of one's bodymind. In condensing, one is fluid yet is small as a pinpoint at one's core.

(IV) Notes: 1974 Tohei Sensei Ki Development Session

A physics teacher in the class asked: "Light waves and sound waves can be expressed by formulas. Can ki be expressed by a formula? Do you have a formula for ki?"

Tohei Sensei: "Yes. Very simple. One."

(III) Notes: 1974 Tohei Sensei Ki Development Session

Talk:
"Some think there is no fighting in aikido. In aikido, you do not allow others to control you. Keep control of yourself through the four principles. When you control yourself, you control the situation. Harmony does not mean do with me what you will. When you are in harmony with nature, you are in control."

Exercises:
Exercise. Put your hand on your head. Tell yourself it is glued and cannot move. Have partner test. (Similar to weight underside,)

Exercise. Sit lotus. Keep one-point. Have partner push from behind. After an interval, get up and walk away.

Exercise. Bend to tie shoe. Keep one-point. Partner push from behind.

Exercise. Make contact with other's extended arm very gently -- like a towel draped over his arm, same gentleness. With ki, push other's arm down.

(II) Notes: 1974 Tohei Sensei Ki Development Session

Exercises:
The "two-point," middle of the forehead, third eye is the focus for many. Put your mind at the two-point and allow partner to test you for stability. (Unstable)

When your mind is at the one-point, it is also at the two-point. Test. (Stable)

Sit down on floor. The strict lotus position with chin pulled in leads to grimness, mouth pulled down. (Sensei demonstrates.) Test it for stability with your partner. The lotus with erect spine but relaxed arms and shoulders with Ki is stable. Test.

Tohei Talk:
"I am the center of the universe. But not the only center. Because I am the center, there is no one above me, beneath me, in front of me, behind me."

"Sleep is the restoring of Ki. With Ki, one can sleep when one chooses for as long as one chooses, regardless of the surroundings."

(More to come)

(I) Notes: 1974 Tohei Sensei Ki Development Session

After warmups, we paired off and taught each other the basic principles of ki. Sensei listened and made corrections as needed. At the clap of his hands, we focused our attention up front where two students (different ones each time) explained with demonstration of the particular principle. We learned from teaching and were taught to teach from the very first day.

"An aikido teacher measures his success by how well his students teach."

Four Ki principles:
Keep one-point
Weight underside
Extend Ki
Relax correctly

Exercise: Why put the mind at the one-point (the hara)? Pair off. Put your mind in your toe; in the top of your head; at the one-point. Partner pushes you, starting gently, then applying more pressure. See what happens.

Exercise: How large is the one-point? Make it the size of a basketball; softball; golf ball; pinpoint. Partner pushes each time. Partner does not know what size you have chosen.

Exercise: What is the effectiveness of relaxation? Test Ki while stomach muscles tense and while they are relaxed. Focus on one-point both times. Partner pushes.

(More to come)

1974 Notes from one of Tohei Sensei's Talks

Notes from one of Tohei Sensei's 1974 talks --

Breathing and meditation --
You can't chase two rabbits at once and catch one.
Either breathe or meditate.

War--
Sensei received order to go to war, went to war.
Did not kill anyone. Turned people loose.
Better they not die in jail.

When choosing men for patrol, did not say #1, 3, 10, come with me. Said all who want to drink liquor come with me. Only took "plus-ki" men with him.

Problems--
What to do with problems. Love them.

Universe--
Universe will look after you. Will wake you up when enemy comes,
not with friend. "While the universe needs me, I don't have to die."

Children--
Oldest son studies nuclear physics. Father-son can't go same way.
"I have many children. My students." Instructors taught strictly.
One small mistake is magnifed if they teach it. He is not as hard on us. We would run away.

(More to come)

1974 Ki Training -- Sensei Koichi Tohei -- Initial Impressions

In the summer of 1974, I was fortunate in attending a six-week training in Ki Development taught by Sensei Koichi Tohei. I had been practicing (and teaching) Isshinryu Karate for 15 years and was looking for something less violent. With this posting, I will begin transcribing my notes taken during that time.
***
The first time I saw him (Sensei Tohei), he looked at me with a calm, almost tender gaze. He sat on a bench against one wall of a large room filled with mats and chatting, laughing people. I was a day late.

"Sensei, this is my friend, George Breed."

A smile of acknowledgment revealing gold dental work.

I took my place on the mat with the others and was soon going through the warmup exercises in my first aikido class. We were fortunate in receiving instruction directly from Koichi Tohei, master of Aikido.

Tohei Sensei seems to be many men in one body. In street clothes, he looks like a Japanese businessman on vacation -- grey hush-puppies, blue socks, navy-blue full-cut slacks, and a white open-necked short-sleeved shirt. Though he moves gracefully, few would suspect his agile speed and power.

During the question and answer sessions he holds with us, Master Tohei could be taken for a visiting lecturer in a cultural exchange program. Highly alert but relaxed, he listens carefully to each question. Almost all his answers contain humor -- such as walking around the dais on all fours to illustrate the difference between human and animal movement. His teaching often takes the form of a parable based upon some past experience.

A desperate mother sent her unmanagable son to Tohei for aikido instruction. "I looked at this boy for one week and even I could not find his good points. Finally I said, 'You are very good at being bad. Someday I will find your other good points.' He was so surprised. From that day on, he began to change."

This man who is so relaxed and gentle, who plays the flute and sings (some of us got together with him at night), who shakes hands with a soft welcome rather than with a macho squeeze, can also show overwhelming ferocity, is as fierce as a samurai -- the boldest and most fearless of warriors. His voice becomes powerful and commanding. The shock waves of his kiai, a power-releasing and enemy-inhibiting shout, can be felt many feet away.

A master swordsman, Tohei showed us how to allow an attacker's force to pass harmlessly, then with one easy fluid motion to cut his throat twice and stab him in the kidney. This, by the way, was a little extracurricular knowledge. Aikido is based upon nonviolence.

(More to follow)

Fuji snail

If this snail
sets out for
the top of Fuji
surely he will
get there

Unified in spirit what
cannot be accomplished?

--Tesshu

(Click for closeup)

George in Uniform

A gentleman from Okinawa asked for any pics of me in uniform. This is it other than what I have already posted. (1) Parris Island (2) Me, my brothers (3) Me, my Mom

war styles

You do not want to get in between two people quarreling. Unless you are an idiot or a saint (the two are not all that different).

A person in the heat of battle is not easily distracted. Too busy giving shots and receiving them.

One thing I have learned about humans is if it is sticking in their craw, some will try to swallow it, some to spit it out. Some go on a crusade. Some hunker down.

That craw stuff is bile and bitter vetch. And watch out if it is YOU, person or group, sticking in the craw, because the crusader will use their war stuff on you. Slitting their own throat in doing so. The spitting crusaders are throat slitters, cutting off their own brains from their hearts.

The hunker downers tend to flood their own guts with bile. They wish to stomp and fuss and wear a righteous cape and roll their eyes and seek allies, but instead swallow and internalize.

You don't want to get in between them. Because there is no between. One slitting their own throat. The other busting their own gut.

Whatever happened to love you might ask. But you forget. This is war.

I know, I know. I should look at all the arguments for each one's righteous cause. But all I can see is what they are doing to themselves. Throat slicing. Gut busting.

Maybe they have come to terms by now and I am agonizing over nothing.

New Book

"Radical Openness is above all not a self-help book, although that, as a retired university psychologist and talented psychotherapist, is a book George certainly could have written. Nor is this, his latest offering, a manual for living a conventional spiritual life--though indeed, a robust sense of living in soul or spirit while knowing the Divine as a living reality permeates this book....

That these "irruptions of the heart" are conveyed in a lean, muscular, martial style of writing is no surprise either, for if I imagine George to be anything, I imagine him as a triple-hyphenated threat, the epitome of the warrior-philosopher-poet, and his well honed skills in the Asian martial arts are apparent in the parry, thrust, and the interwhirling play of his ideas." -- Foreword, Bradley Olson, Ph.D.

Radical Openness is available at iUniverse and at Amazon.

jelly bellies

The bodhisattva, having taken the vow to not enter Nirvana until all have entered, now sees that all have already always been in Nirvana, and

becomes a laughing buddha, a Hotei, a jelly-belly with a back-pack of goodies, on the road with all the other dharma bums, and

on the more serious side, founds schools with teachings and students and assignments and certificates of enlightenment, which

produce bodhisattvas who take vows to not enter Nirvana until all have entered, until

at some point the world is filled with bodhisattvas refusing to enter Nirvana in which they already are

settling down

Breathe in to your heart area.
When breathing out, breathe down
and inside to your balance point.

From Warrior of Spirit Handbook

like our cousins the trees

Like our cousins the trees,
we root and ground
while spreading our branches
to the cosmos.

From Warrior of Spirit Handbook

suffering as coagulation

Do you know why we suffer? It is because we are coagulated; we believe in certainty. As Francisco Varela has put it, we create a world, "forget we have done so, and then...fixate on it as certainty." Then we get angry because others are not going along with our creative design. We think they are mean, stupid, immoral, and a threat. The last is true. They threaten our world, and like Yahweh of old, we are ready to smite, to kill all "that piss against the wall," and the squatters too. This flaming of rage, of anger, of righteous indignation burns our butts. We smolder and blaze in our self-created hell of coagulated certainty. This has become our identity and we will not let it go. This is the plight of the beef-on-beef approach to life.

armor

The best armor a Warrior of Spirit can wear is no armor at all.
With heart wide open, one walks through hell unscathed.
When totally open, there is no opening.

tough going

When the going gets tough,
the tough get calmer.

From Warrior of Spirit Handbook, George Breed

tengugeijutsuron

From Trevor Leggett, Zen and the Ways.
(Click for closeup)

The warrior, the horse, the pursuing enemy, the precipice, the rushing torrent. Calm and relaxed while wide awake. This is Life. "Always spur a running horse."

warrior woman

Whatever you give a woman, she's going to multiply.
If you give her a house, she'll give you a home.
If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal.
If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart.
She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.

So, if you give her crap, you will receive more shit
than any one human being can handle.
--George Carlin

stagger li confronts satan

I continue to write the story of the warrior Stagger Li and his journey to Hell to recover his lost innocence, a small child held captive in Hell's very core. Here is a small sample of the latest unfolding. Stagger Li has confronted that old Christian and Islamic nemesis, Satan, who says:

"As long as you see me as 'other,' I will remain the evil one, the cast-off one, the despised, ignored, and hated. If you see me as you, I will be redeemed, no longer 'other' and its defiant desperation. The paradox, the danger, is that I will become even more powerful if you accept me; you will become my minion and I your master. The only way out for you at that point is love. Love the evil that you are without being overcome by it."

"You mean I incorporate duality, allowing twoness to merge into not even one."

"Easier said than done," said Satan.

"No. Easier done than said," smiled Stagger Li.

zen no-mind and beowulf

"The hero observed that swamp-thing from hell,
the tarn-hag in all her terrible strength,
then heaved his war-sword and swung his arm:
the decorated blade came down ringing
and singing on her head. But he soon found
his battle-torch extinguished; the shining blade
refused to bite. It spared her and failed
the man in his need. It had gone through many
hand-to-hand fights, had hewed the armor
and helmets of the doomed, but here at last
the fabulous powers of that heirloom failed.

Hygelac's kinsman kept thinking about
his name and fame: he never lost heart.
Then, in a fury, he flung his sword away.
The keen, inlaid worm-loop-patterned steel
was hurled to the ground: he would have to rely
on the might of his arm. So must a man do
who intends to gain enduring glory
in a combat. Life doesn't cost him a thought."
-- Beowulf (Translated by Seamus Heaney)

The sword matters at first. That fails.
Then pride matters, name and fame.
That gives way to fury which provides adrenaline,
but that is not enough. Then he relies on himself
and the might of his arm. He's getting there.
His intention to gain glory drops away
and he finally moves to the realm of no-thought,
which is the same as the realm of heart-mind.
At that point, the battle outcome is decided.
To external eyes, all appears hopeless.
Inner vision reveals that the fearsome opponent,
the tarn-hag, is now as one dead.

hand strikes

Idly amusing myself the other day while sitting in Heritage Square in downtown Flagstaff where all us geezers and geeks hang out while others are imprisoned in their work cubicles, I counted eleven major strikes with the hand:

• heel of hand (upward strike to nose or jaw)
  
• first two knuckles of fist (traditional Isshinryu punch)
  
• all four knuckles of first joints of fingers (good for loosening another's teeth)
• index finger supported between thumb & other 3 fingers folded in (good for eyes)
• thumb knuckle atop fist (side swing into temple or around back into kidney)
• bottom of fist (downward strike to mid-sagittal suture atop head)
• chop (excellent for collarbones)
• back of fist (good nose breaker)
• thumb tip and finger tips joined for a "peck" strike
• claps on ears (possible ear drum rupture)
• spear hand (drive into solar plexus & other assorted areas)

No doubt I am forgetting some. But I had a good time trying them out while sitting on my geezer bench, deep into my guise as a little old white-haired guy sitting in the sun.

Credo: Warriors of Spirit

As Warriors of Spirit, we follow a path of integrity.
We continuously endeavor to live in accord with the principles
of generosity, lovingkindness, and aware wakefulness.

We feel a deep kinship with all life and know deeply
that all that exists is a manifesting of the Source,
an outpouring of the Wellspring.

Like warriors of old, we are here to ensure the welfare
of the community, human and otherwise, all our relations!

We train to become increasingly awake and aware.

We explore the depths and vastness of our inner space.

We notice our cognitive and emotional obscurations
and look to release ourselves from their grip.

We look to let our fear of lack turn into a lack of fear.

We do this through deliberate generosity.

We combat greed by clinging to nothing.

We make No Clinging our motto.

We engage all that arises with sincerity, with compassion,
with relentless intent, and with full surrender to our Source.

We live our lives in the Creative Fires of Love.

ultra ki

We live a surface life, but within us and around us is the Deep. The Deep, both which we are and which we fear, manifests through us and as us in a variety of energetic formings. One of these is the Warrior.

The Warrior can cut loose with great explosive force, which leaves no one the better, including the Warrior, who sits now amidst ruin, his only consolation a sociopathic retreat into numbness.

The "taming" of the Warrior in at least one past age has been to have him bow his knee to the feminine. This works only temporarily and has its dangers -- the feminine too has problems. Every womb has teeth and the will to use them. Giving up the masculine for the feminine (or vice versa) is not the answer for the Warrior's unrest and his quest.

The Warrior can be encompassed and thus brought to equilibrium only by the Deep Itself. The Deep calls to the deep with immediate resonance and answer. Right action occurs, within and without. The Warrior's deep internal life is in equilibrium with his wide external life, like two oceans that have met and are the same.

warrior monk

"If you are prepared to cut open your belly,
you can shave your head." -- Suzuki Shosan, Warrior of Zen

dangerous mood

.

JOURNEY'S END -- Japan, December, 1959

1) Japan Landing
We had already driven our radio jeeps off the LST. So I got out my trusty camera.

2) First View of Fuji
I walked away from all the landing hullabaloo down a dirt road through some trees and there it was! Fuji! Something fell into place inside me. I felt complete, as if a circle had been completed, a circuit of energy re-opened. I took the photo and returned to my Marine duties.

3) Mount Fuji
Later, we drove inland and I took this shot.

4) DeSoto, Ewing, Breed at Fuji Camp

THE JOURNEY continues (Okinawa to Japan, 1959)

The sea creates a sense of smallness and a deep sense of calm --
1) DeSoto
2) Ewing (Hindu)

Endless waiting for Japan to appear --
3) DeSoto on the Rack
4) Ewing Racked Up
5) Breed in Rack-oon Position


Part Two of "THE JOURNEY." Stay tuned for Part Three.

Altruism's Bloody Roots
"By favoring acts of battlefield selflessness,
Stone Age warfare might have accelerated
the development of altruism."

Presenting THE JOURNEY (from Okinawa to Japan) --Time: 1959 -- Starring: Hindu, De Soto, Breed -- Supporting Cast: 3rd Marine Division & 7th Fleet

From Top to Bottom --
1) Malone, DeSoto, Ewing
2) The Boys
3) Our New Home, LST 854
4) Rocking & Rolling
5) Barf Barrel
6) Barfing Virtuoso

(Click for Closeups)

Do not miss the next exciting episode! Soon to be shown on your favorite blog!

thought zombies

The over-arching consciousness mode of this era (which according to some is ending -- we are thinking in centuries here, not in years) is conflict-based. Though pervasive, regardless of philosophical or religious bent, it is best seen in the Western culture in Christianity, which in itself is going through a struggle.

The thought system or consciousness mode of Christianity is based upon conflict. The Father has emanated in two Sons, one a Son of Light, the other a Son of Darkness. The two Sons are locked in struggle -- a cosmic battle. The Dark Son has taken over Planet Earth, thus forcing the Light Son to assume human form and die, which is part of a plan to capture the Dark Son and put him in an eternal Guantanamo where he is tortured forever along with his followers. Meanwhile, the Light Son and his followers will be enjoying themselves in an eternal Shopping Mall with unlimited credit and access to chains of the best restaurants. Sound familiar? We play out our theology, our consciousness structure, every day.

Given that scenario, that thought system (out of which capitalism was born), hand-to-hand combat is valued, cherished, even necessary. Hugh Hefner puts on his pajamas and lounges in a bevy of boobalicious babes. We martial artists put on our pajamas and fight evil; evil being anything that we feel threatened by, though to paraphrase Bruce Lee and Pogo, the evil is in ourselves.

My point is that as long as we do this good versus evil dance, we are victims of a consciousness structure that is long past due for transformation. Thought zombies.

Our era will eventually give way to one beyond chopping our individual and societal world into divisive pieces. Though it seems impossible right now, befuddled as we are by the current dualistic, duelistic consciousness that lies like a fog upon this planet, our consciousness will shift and we will move beyond good versus evil. Some in this consciousness state already walk the planet.

The slam-bang warrior emerges from conflict consciousness. The warrior of spirit emerges from universal consciousness.

stations on the path of transformation

The alchemists did us all a service. Not only did they help give birth to present-day chemistry, they gave us something of equal, if not more, importance: an outlining of a path of transformation. Just as some Christians make use of the symbology of the stations of the cross, and as the Sufi Al 'Arabi writes of distinct stations on the spiritual journey, so the alchemists give us descriptions of the stages in the process of "turning lead into gold." We are the lead looking for transformation into untarnished wholeness. This is the path of a warrior of spirit.

Here, very briefly, is an outline of phases of the process of alchemical transformation.

• Calcinatio -- Going through the fire. All dross burned away. Desires consumed. No possess-ions.
  
• Solutio -- Becoming like water. Dissolving and being reborn. Wu wei. A continuous process.
  
• Coagulatio - Coagulate. Come to earth. Embody.
• Sublimatio -- Becoming like air. Rising above. Wider view. Eagle of spirit. Invisible and unpredictable as wind.
  
• Mortificatio -- Death. Putrefication and rotting of all that is worthless. Going to ashes (necessary condition for re-birth of fire, Phoenix rising from the ashes)
  
• Separatio -- Dismemberment; adjourning the ego meeting, setting all its members free. Letting go of all clinging.
  
• Coniunctio -- Union.
  

For more detailed information, see Edward Edinger's Anatomy of the Psyche: Alchemical Symbolism in Psychotherapy.

The process of transformation is painful and often difficult (we make it that way), but even more so is the process of non-transformation. Leap into the fire. Dissolve in the water. Coagulate into a strong center. Become like the wind of spirit. Let all that is putrid die. No clinging. Move as one.

Note: Thanks to my warrior friend, Brad Olson, for directing me to Edinger's book. I have been studying all works I could find on alchemy for decades. This one is a powerful one indeed.

Ki Principles / Practices

1. Keep one-point. Not only does this refer to moving from and practicing maintaining one's physical center of balance, it also means to claim, and open out of one's unique place or positioning in the universe. No one else, no matter how hard they try, can see precisely from your point of view. You are unique. Honor your uniqueness. Your body is like a bookmark, holding YOUR place in this ongoing, emerging story we call life. In olden terms, a keep was the stronghold of the castle, its most interior point where all treasure was kept. Keep one-point. Sit in the seat at the center of your soul.

2. Weight underside. Your position in life and as life is solid, unless you keep yourself disturbed and all up in the air. No matter what others say, no matter the nature of circumstances, maintain deep spiritual weight. Root and ground in love. On the physical plane, this means no one can toss you around.

3. Relax completely. This universe and all in it is our Source embodying. Our Source is giving us mouth-to-mouth resuscitation at all times. Our Source is an ever-replenishing Wellspring. Our Source is in our favor. You can relax. Completely. "Be still as a mountain and move like a great river."

4. Extend plus ki. Extend positive energy. Radiate. This does not mean the "put on" radiance of personal energy. This means universal energy. To allow the energy of the universe, of our Source to flow through, the little self must be relinquished, must be let go. Open to your larger self -- no longer holding yourself in separation, but opening in relationship with all that is. Radiance automatically occurs.

When you practice (and practice is a key word here) any one of the four, the other three will shift into play.

Ki Motto and Four Major Principles

Sensei Koichi Tohei presented this Ki Sayings booklet to those of us at his 1974 summer training camp in Fullerton, California. I may present further pages with a commentary.

(Click to enlarge)

Ronin

I wrote the following in a format inspired by
the writing of a 14th century unknown Samurai.

I have no home. The universe is my home.
I have no clothes. I stand naked in the universe.
I have no sword. Spirit is my sword.
I have no horse. This breath is my horse.
I have no dog. My mind is my dog.
I have no map. Infinity is my map.
I have no heart. Life's rhythm is my heart.
I have no mind. Vast openness is my mind.
I have no security. The unknown is my security.
I have no intelligence. Awareness is my intelligence.
I have no enemies. Attachment is my enemy.
I have no ruler. The ruler of rulers is my ruler.
I have no place to go. Here now is my place to go.
I have no family. All sentient beings are my family.
I have no apology. Unswerving intent is my apology.
I have no sorrow. Laughter is my sorrow.
I have no gratitude. Joy is my gratitude.

Here is a translation of the 14th century document.
I have no parents; I make the heavens and the earth my parents.
I have no divine power; I make honesty my divine power.
I have no means; I make submission my means.
I have no magic power; I make inward strength my magic.
I have neither life nor death; I make the Eternal my life and death.
I have no body; I make fortitude my body.
I have no eyes; I make the flash of lightning my eyes.
I have no ears; I make sensibility my ears.
I have no limbs; I make promptitude my limbs.
I have no design; I make opportunity my design.
I have no miracles; I make the Dharma my miracle.
I have no principles; I make adaptability my principle.
I have no friends; I make my mind my friend.
I have no enemy; I make incautiousness my enemy.
I have no armour; I make goodwill and righteousness my armour.
I have no castle; I make immovable mind my castle.
I have no sword; I make no-mind my sword.

Breed, Okinawa, 1960

Ready to catch the Agena bus to the dojo.

Suggestions For A Warrior's Library

Austin, James. (1999) Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness. MIT Press.

Breed, George. (2004) Embodying Spirit: The Inner Work of the Warrior. iUniverse, Lincoln.

Chia, Mantak. (1985) Taoist Ways to Transform Stress Into Vitality. Healing Tao Books.

Chuen, Lam Chan. (1991) The Way of Energy: Mastering the Chinese Art of Internal Strength with Chi Kung Exercises. Simon and Schuster.

Coelho, Paulo. (2003) Warrior of the Light. HarperCollins.

De Caussade, Jean-Pierre. (1975) Abandonment to Divine Providence. (John Beevers, Trans.) Image.

Deshimaru, Taisen. (1982) The Zen Way to the Martial Arts. (Nancy Amphoux, Trans.). Arkana.

Friday, Karl. (1997) Legacies of the Sword: The Kashima-Shinryu and Samurai Martial Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

Fauliot, Pascal. (2000) Martial Arts Teaching Tales of Power and Paradox. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions.

Furuya, Kensho.(1996) Kodo, Ancient Ways: Lessons in the Spiritual Life of the Warrior / Martial Artist. Santa Clarita, California: Ohara.

Gebser, Jean. (1985) The Ever-Present Origin. (Noel Barstad with Algis Mickunas, Trans.) Ohio University Press.

Gichin, Funakoshi. (1973) Karate-Do Kyohan: The Master Text. Tokyo: Kodansha.

Gichin, Funakoshi. (1975) Karate-Do: My Way of Life. Tokyo: Kodansha.

Gleason, William. (1995) The Spiritual Foundations of Aikido. Rochester: Destiny.

Hanh, Thich Nhat. (1987) The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation. Boston: Beacon Press.

Haruo, Yamaoka. (1976) Meditation Gut Enlightenment: The Way of Hara. San Francisco: Heian.

Jou, Tsung Hwa. (1991) The Tao of Tai-Chi Chuan. Warwick, New York: Tai Chi Foundation.

Kabat-Zinn, Jon.(1990) Full Catastrophe Living. Delacorte.

Kabat-Zinn, Jon. (1994) Wherever You Go, There You Are. Hyperion.

Keating, Thomas. (1993) Intimacy With God: An Introduction to Centering Prayer. Crossroad.

Keating, Thomas. (1999) The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation. Paulist Press.

Kongtrul, Jamgon. (1996) Creation and Completion: Essential Points of Tantric Meditation. (Tr. Sarah Harding) Boston: Wisdom.

Leggett, Trevor. (1978) Zen and the Ways. Boulder: Shambhala.

Leggett, Trevor. (1995) Realization of the Supreme Self. New York: Kegan Paul.

McCarthy, Patrick. (1995) The Bible of Karate: Bubishi. Boston: Tuttle.

Mitchell, Stephen. (1992) Tao Te Ching: A New English Version. Harperperennial.

Musashi, Miyamoto. (1982) The Book of Five Rings: Gorin No Sho.(Bradford Brown, Yuko Kashiwagi, William Barrett, Eisuke Sasagawa, Trans.). New York: Bantam.

Nitobe, Inazo. (1979) Bushido: The Warrior’s Code. Burbank: Ohara.

Payne, Peter. (1981) Martial Arts: The Spiritual Dimension. Crossroad: New York.

Sato, Hiroaki. (1986) The Sword and the Mind. Woodstock: Overlook.

Shi Ming, with Siao Weijia. (1994) Mind Over Matter: Higher Martial Arts. (Thomas Cleary, Trans.). Berkeley: Frog.

Shosan, Suzuki. (1994) Warrior of Zen: The Diamond-Hard Wisdom Mind of Suzuki Shosan. (Arthur Braverman, Trans.) Kodansha.

Skoss, Diane (Ed.). (1997) Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan. Berkeley Heights, New Jersey: Koryu Books.

Stevens, John. (1984) The Sword of No-Sword: Life of the Master Warrior Tesshu. Boulder: Shambhala.

Stevens, John. (1993) Three Zen Masters. Tokyo: Kodansha.

Stevens, John. (1995) The Secrets of Aikido. Boston: Shambhala.

Stevens, John. (2001) The Philosophy of Aikido. Tokyo: Kodansha.

Takuan. (1988) The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master. (William Scott Wilson, Trans.). Tokyo: Kodansha.

Tohei, Koichi. (1962) What is Aikido? Tokyo: Rikugei.

Tohei, Koichi. (1976) Book of Ki: Coordinating Mind and Body in Daily Life. Japan Publications.

Tohei, Koichi. (2001) Ki in Daily Life. Japan Publications.

Trungpa, Chogyam. (1993) Training the Mind and Cultivating Lovingkindness. Boston: Shambhala.

Tsunetomo, Yamamoto (1980) The Hagakure: A Code to the Way of the Samurai. Tokyo: Hokuseido.

Ueshiba, Morihei. (1992) The Art of Peace. (John Stevens, Trans.)Boston: Shambhala.

Von Durckheim, Karlfried Graf. (1984) Hara: The Vital Centre of Man. London: Unwin Paperbacks.

Wallace, B. Alan. (1998) The Bridge of Quiescence: Experiencing Tibetan Buddhist Meditation. Chicago: Open Court.

Wilson, William Scott (Tr.). (1984) Budoshoshinshu: The Warrior’s Primer of Daidoji Yuzan. Santa Clarita: Ohara.

warrior

"The one-after-another is a bearable prelude to the deeper knowledge of the side-by-side." -- Jung, Mysterium Coniunctionis

You may realize by now that by "warrior" I do not mean those who slam bullets into human meat. A warrior is one who practices the balance of maintaining his/her own center, yielding that sacred space to no one, while engaging in what the Buddhist warriors, the bodhisattvas, call right relationship; moving in unexpected, unpredictable ways while looking to do no harm.

But as that wonderful old Zen warrior, D.T. Suzuki, pointed out, sometimes the sword swings itself. The story goes that even Mr. Buddha, in an incarnation immediately prior to his riding his buddhacycle, killed a man. And Mr. Jesus certainly whacked that fig tree, and down the road a ways told his buddies that the soft times were over and if they didn't have a sword, to sell their cloak and buy one.

A warrior is one who lives by the spirit, the lifeforce. To do this, one must surrender the ego, must fall into the Ground and die. As Bunan put it, "While living be a dead man, be thoroughly dead -- and behave as you like, and all's well." As the Sufi put it, "Die before you die." It's a paradox. But the warrior lives as paradox, trusting the Mystery that births him.

archetypal thrust

Here is a martial arts question that could use some attention.

Energy Training

General Principles

1. Energy fields exist.
2. An energy field has a movable center, an area of influence, and a vibrational quality.
3. Humans have movable centers, areas of influence, and vibrational qualities.
   
4. Humans are energy fields.
5. Attention directs energy.
6. Your energy quality changes through attention direction.
7. Whatever you attend to, you become.
   
8. Your energy quality transforms the world around you.
   

"the mind is one with heaven and earth"

“The mind is one with heaven and earth” reminds one that indulging in a felt sense of separation, of separativeness, is disastrous. First, because it does not fit reality. It’s like placing a head on top of your head. Second, by fostering dualism, one is creating “self” as potential target and “other” as enemy. Strife is created through divisiveness. Destruction is the result.

With feet on the ground and head in the sky, the warrior embodies both earth and heaven. Heaven and earth combining form the warrior body. The warrior is “rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:17). Rooted and grounded (earth) in love (heaven). One condenses (earth) and expands (heaven) simultaneously.

Heaven and Earth are the first two topics of the I CHING, The Book of Changes. The image of the first hexagram, Ch’ien/The Creative is heaven, whose symbol is the dragon, representative of all heavenly creative forces. “In relation to the universe, the hexagram represents the strong creative action of the Deity” (Wilhelm/Baynes, p. 3). “These unbroken lines stand for the primal power, which is light-giving, active, strong, and of the spirit.”)

K’un/The Receptive, the second hexagram of the I Ching, has devotion as its attribute (the essence of the 1^st hexagram is power or energy) and earth as its image. “The broken line represents the dark, yielding, receptive primal power of yin.” (p. 10)

In embodying heaven and earth simultaneously, the warrior allows the Creative and the Receptive to flow simultaneously within and through his being. More accurately, the warrior becomes/is the Creative (energetic force, spirit) and the Receptive (lovingly yielding). In doing so, he is in complete accord with the universe, with reality.

“[The Receptive] is the perfect complement of THE CREATIVE – the complement, not the opposite, for the Receptive does not combat the Creative but completes it. It represents nature in contrast to spirit, earth in contrast to heaven, space [in contrast to] time, the female-maternal [in contrast with] the male-paternal” (p. 10).

Hanging on my wall is a bamboo scroll with a painting depicting these two elemental forces. The creative dragon surrounded by clouds and flames of fire gazes toward earth with lightning flashing and creative energy pouring from its fierce mouth. The tiger, firmly rooted and grounded on earth, gazes upward with a receptive eye and open-mouthed roar meeting and receiving the heavenly energy strongly and with no barrier.

The warrior is both dragon and tiger. The warrior is one with heaven and earth.

martial art precepts

In Patrick McCarthy’s translation and commentary on The Bible of Karate: Bubishi, he lists the eight precepts of Quanfa (fighting methods and strategies). The precepts describe the warrior’s way of being:

“Article 13: The Eight Precepts of Quanfa

1. The human mind is one with heaven and earth.

2. Our blood circulation parallels the solar and lunar cycles of each day.

3. Inhaling represents softness while exhaling characterizes hardness.

4. Adapt to changing conditions.

5. Response must result without conscious thought.

6. Distancing and posture dictate the outcome of the meeting.

7. See what is unseeable.

8. Expect what is unexpected.” (pps. 159-160)*

*NOTE. – Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957), an Okinawan karate master who began demonstrating and teaching karate in Japan in 1922, listed the eight precepts from the Bubishi in his Karate-Do Kyohan: The Master Text as part of his “Maxims for the Trainee.” The English translation (Tr. Tsutomu) is: “Eight important phrases of karate:

The mind is the same with heaven and earth.

The circulatory rhythm of the body is similar to the sun and moon.

The Law includes hardness and softness.

Act in accordance with time and change.

Techniques will occur when a void is found.

The Ma requires advancing and retreating, separating and meeting.

The eyes do not miss even the slightest change.

The ears listen well in all directions.” (p. 248)

On the facing page, as best I can make out with limited understanding of written Chinese, are the Bubishi’s Article 14: The Principles of Ancient Law and Article 16: Grapplings and Escapes. Both articles are presented untranslated in Chinese cailligraphy by the translator who “was unable to locate the original source” and (admirably) did not wish to “risk the transmission of inaccurate thoughts.” (p. 249)]

My Okinawan karate teacher, Sensei Tatsuo Shimabuku (1906-1975), gave me (and other graduates) what appears to be a translation of the Bubishi’s Article 13 upon our graduation from his Agena, Okinawa dojo:

“The Code of Karate

A person’s heart is the same as heaven and earth.

The blood circulating is similar to the moon and sun.

The manner of drinking and spitting is either hard or soft.

A person’s unbalance is the same as a weight.

The body should be able to change direction at any time.

The time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself.

The eye must see all sides.

The ear must listen in all directions.”

Examining these precepts allows an understanding of the state of consciousness, or way of being, that is the warrior. To embody these precepts, to live them dynamically, the warrior drops the conventional mindset and opens to the realm of spiritual reality. [See Shi Ming & Siao Weijia, Mind Over Matter: Higher Martial Arts, originally copyrighted as On Refinement of Consciousness Through Martial Arts, for discussion of spirit as energetics.]

warrior of spirit

Warriors, in the usual sense, are thought of as destructive killers who are bent on the annihilation of others and preservation of self. Destroying others while keeping self alive is highly valued, both in the military and civilian population (especially in the business world.)

While I was in the Marine Corps and also in my first few years as a martial artist, I adopted this attitude of volatile egocentricity. I could hardly wait for someone to attack me (no one did), so I could be completely justified in pounding them into the ground.

Fortunately, beneath this arrogance of addled essence was a core of heartfelt compassion and strong understanding of others’ sufferings. This compassionate understanding has been present since early memory. I could sense the HeartMinds of others and feel the suffering of their existence. As a result, people often approached to disclose the heart, soul, and circumstances of their existential situations.

It wasn’t long before the realization came that Killer-Warrior principles and practices could be applied to Healer-Warrior ways. Leaving the Marine Corps behind (though it is true: once a Marine, always a Marine), I continued the practice of the martial arts with a gradual movement toward understanding the usefulness of martial arts as a model for conversations in daily life. The Killer-Warrior sat to the rear while the Spiritual-Warrior emerged.

A spiritual warrior focuses on the annihilation of self while attending to the wellbeing of others – the mirror opposite of the Killer Warrior – but using the same strengths and skills that any warrior embodies (centering, relaxing, opening, facing and dealing, allowing no resting place for fear, vulnerability, blending, re-directing, energizing, and halting others in their tracks).

Not surprisingly, I found strong examples of the spiritual warrior in all the religious/spiritual traditions I investigated. What was surprising (at least to me) was that the spiritual warrior exemplars with whom I became familiar embodied martial art principles. Now I know that the same set of universal principles form the basis of the healing arts, martial arts, spiritual arts, and psychological arts, and that these principles are all about stance and relationship.

So far, at least in the lifetime of this small wave in the vast ocean of existence, the martial arts seem to give the clearest and cleanest exposition/demonstration of these universal principles. Maybe it’s because the martial arts allow little room for abstraction or intellectual theorizing. What works, works. What doesn’t work is immediately obvious to all.

graduation silks from sensei tatsuo shimabuku

the code of karate

The Code of Karate as depicted on one of my graduation silks from Sensei Shimabuku, Founder of Isshinryu Karate. These are principles of fighting, also known as The Eight Precepts of Quanfa, about which more later.

agena dojo 1960 -- clarence ewing

My friend Clarence "Hindu" Ewing, who introduced me to Isshinryu Karate and to Sensei Tatsuo Shimabuku, about to demolish the body bag.

(Click for larger view)

agena dojo 1960 -- george breed

George Breed kicking body bag
(Isshinryu Agena Dojo, 1960)