Spirituality and Budo and Bushido (480 views, 7 replies)

The second you devalue any human being's worth, you have been mislead by Lucifer. That is dangerous for a Christian.

The second you challenge another's beliefs, that can be healthy and is philosophical, spiritual, ethical, moral, etc. Just don't devalue the communicator.

In Aikido and Jujitsu, grappling is healthy. Uke (the one who is thrown) is willingly allowing you (Nage) to learn wrestling techniques to hone both theirs and your abilities. Uke must learn to love to fly and as they are tossed, they maintain zanshin ie a constant state of readiness and focus. Then immediately shift to a stable position and attack anew.

You (Nage) then counterattack and Uke is not your enemy. Uke is your benefactor. In a perfect Uke vs Nage engagement, neither can get an advantage.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yP9Mmzy...
In some sense, in The Last Samurai, when Ujio-san (Hiroyuki Sanada) duels with Algren-san, there is aiuchi meaning a perfect simultaneous attack from BOTH. Neither attempted to defend, but utterly committed to an attack, and had the engagement been real, both would have perished. This is why all are amazed as they felt he was a Westerner barbarian ie a Gaijin and yet he fought exceptionally well. And Ujio-san warms to his worth. Why? He is no longer a gaijin but a human being just like himself.
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The genuine enemy in the Martial Arts from a Japanese perspective [in Budo (the arts of War) and Bushido (literally the chivalrous servant's journey)] is the SELF.

The SELF is prideful. The SELF sees opponents where none truly exist. The SELF is selfish.

In most cases, the Other is just confused about your intensions and motivations. Wars start for this reason and largely over essential resources.

Even a hostile Other can be an Uke.

The SELF is your genuine ENEMY. Nage polishes his/her soul and erases the SELF and then the self is what remains. Enlightenment is the self being willing to further travel on the long lonely path.

Lucifer acts entirely at crosspurposes to YHWH. Lucifer (Helel ben Shahar) is the ULTIMATE ENEMY.
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en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuroda_N...

Kurodo Nagamasa was a Christian samurai daimyo (lord of a clan).

"The arts of peace and the arts of war are like two wheels of a cart which, lacking one, will have difficulty in standing."

True Budo is to accept the spirit of the universe, keep the peace of the
world , correctly produce, protect and cultivate all beings in nature .
Morihei Ueshiba

In Japanese history, there were several names for the people who later became known as the samurai. This can be seen in Budo and Bushido as Bu meant "war" and "shi" means person and do at the end means za way or journey"

A daimyo was a lord over a region or regions. And though war was constant and brutal, some began to perpetuate and intermarry. To ensure the continuity of the ways of way and the ways of those who serve, the daimyo would create or add to a damiyo house code. This was a primer and the other samurai were expected to read it.

So you have three religions: Shinto, Confuscianism, and Buddhism (various sects) and these melded with the daimyo house code in that region.

That became Bushido.

Then when the Spanish and Portugeuse arrived, they brought Roman Catholicism. Some were so impressed they gave up land so a foothold was established. And then Christianity affected Bushido as well.

This period begins about 1150 AD to the 1600AD.

Then post Sekigahara when most of the clans sided with one of two sides, power was large consolidated by the Shogunate. The Emperor largely becomes a figurehead.
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The Shimazu in southern japan and on a different island are able to effectively be seperate. They effectively control Okinawa. Okinawa had been controlled by the Koreans (Joseon) and China and so Okinawa is a plum as a vital trading post.

Samurai become clerks as war has effectively ended. There are lots of ronin who lost their positions. This leads to widespread banditry.

Samurai fear that Budo and Bushido might be lost so dojos rise up in a major way. Samurai teach young samurai who have no realistic exposure to war. Even others like merchant sons take lessons.

Then in the 18th century a Christian pacifist writes the first book documenting the basic principles of Bushido.

The samurai are effectively ended under Meiji. Military and scientific advisors arrive from Europe. Simultaneous all boys 9+ are taught Budo but no Bushido as that was only for samurai.

This is the period of The Last Samurai film.

You have the Russo-Japanese War and later as other nations expand into China, Japan also begins establishing footholds.
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There are many people who would like to take martial arts lessons, but cannot find a teacher. They also cannot afford the lessons.

One of my many sensei (roughly "teacher" in Japanese) told me once that his sensei suggested that he charge the rich and louts a very high fee as they could afford it and then the louts would listen, and to charge a nominal fee to others to spread the art to the world, and to charge nothing to the impoverished but to ask them if they would tidy up a little. All students are expected to humble themselves and clean the school as it is everyone's responsibility and reduces the SELF.

A sensei is far different in Japan and Okinawa than America. A sensei is generally revered as that is the highest calling and exceeds the respect or authority that even physicians have.

A sensei is devoted to the student and it is a sacred relationship. It is not uncommon for serious students to see their 6th grade teacher and then buy them lunch and profusely thank them for their many considerate actions. That may occur even when one is 50 years old.
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It is inherently tied to the Five Relationships in Confuscianism. All samurai were expected to study Confuscius.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confuciu...

The least expensive way than anyone could learn is to either make or acqure a boken. This is historically made of white or red oak. One could just use a straight tree branch or a dowel rod but of course a boken is superior.

Before WW2, many studied Budo regularly BUT they were the first to volunteer. Similarly all law enforcement studied Budo, and these also were among the first to volunteer. Most died.

After WW2, the sensei who had been very xenophobic realized that if they stayed that way, then all Budo might be lost...forever. And many Japanese renounced all martial arts as WW2 had devasted their nation. That feeling persists.

So the sensei had lots of Americans and some Australians who were there during the occupation as well as maintaining Pacific military bases. So they did a radical thing and taught those who were their enemies.

Many Americans were very rude at first as they despised the Japanese, but in time, as they were soldiers, saw the benefits and the beauty of Budo and Bushido. They also witnessed that it is deeply spiritual even when Zen Buddhism is involved (for that can be atheistic).

The Americans and Australians then took Budo and Bushido back home and then started their own schools. Judo FLOURISHED across the world so greatly that it became an Olympic sport. Karate did as well and was the most common martial art in America. Kobudo (mixed weaponry from Okinawa) and Kenjutsu (generalized sword art) and Kyudo (archery) did not fare so well.

Grappling was popular and some felt it should not be a sport and was extremely extremely practical. Therefore Jujitsu and Aikido faired well internationally with variants. Some variants were very brutal and so effective that these were incorprated in law enforcement tactics. In fact, in Hong Kong and Japan, UK citizens were among the first very early proponents in say 1920-1930. And there are very limited editions of Jujitsu in America aimed at law enforcement from 1920-1940. Even President Teddy Roosevelt studied Jujitsu/Judo. Putin studied Judo.
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dosmovies.com/watch_movie/Last_Samurai_T....
Here is my review of The Last Samurai versus actual Japanese history.

The true enemy of all humanity is the SELF.

Quite wasting time with Hollywood and Madison Avenue telling you who are villains.

Look in the mirror and fix the selfishness in your heart that causes suffering.

That is the beginning of the spirtitual journey of Bushido.

The true samurai was a man of letters who intensely studied the Chinese Classics, was a spiritual man, was fully knowledgable of the agriculture in his village, understood the interconnected arts and crafts of blacksmiths and healers and potters, cultivated art within his domain, and was a selfless soldier.

His life meant nothing. He had been exposed to death from childhood. He would think of himself as dead and so be perfectly willing to die for his liege lord and to preserve the people.

That true samurai was master of the spear, the sword, and the bow. he could fight without weapons by wrestling. He knew how to command and how to use tactics and strategy. He understood the terrain and the weather and how these affected morale.