The Ocean of The Spirit permeates all things. The Sword of The Spirit is Faith

For some time now I have read comments on line from people who have no understanding of how deep the human experience goes. There are many angles of perception. If we stand in a circle and look outward, each one of us would see something slightly different from the other. None of us would see the whole view. If we are to have any chance of understanding the larger picture we must trust in the shared perception of another. There are too many people who have no respect for diversity of perception. On the surface their response is to ridicule those who are different or who take a different approach on the various paths of life. In reality they are putting up barriers that dam the expansion of their own spirit. They are doing the exactly opposite of that needs to be done to uncover the mysterious nature of our own being. They do not have beginner's mind, they know already. They negatively judge others based on superficial information, that is what is gathered only through the senses. That is logical but logic is not the tool of realization. The mind cannot be overturned by logic. Satori or enlightenment experiences defy logic. We must reach with something else. The Scripture tells us that faith is the only way to please God. As we are fond of saying..."the inquiring mind wants to know." Be that as it may, what it finds out will never surfice to heal the wound in the soul. For that relief must come from a direction the mind is not facing. Some people can easily believe in the wisdom of the ancients. They quote Lao Tze, The Buddha, Confucius and whole-heartedly embrace the teaching of Christ, yet from the way people speak of their understanding of truth, the source of it has ceased to flow directly. It is recorded, packaged and sealed for all time. If that happened to a river, it would be dead. The Source has never stopped flowing anew moment by moment but man has stopped or forgotten how to receive directly from the primal souce. If one believes that such an experience is not possible then one becomes blind to that path, perhaps disrespectful. For a few moments, meditate on this subject with me. We will use the Martial arts to point to that something beyond it, something immeasurably deeper.

Patrick Cassidy/Sensei  (in the air)studied Aikido in Japan for over 15 years. He is a serious and dedicated practitioner. When he read the "A MIND LIKE WATER" article which appeared in What is Enlightenment? magazine he was moved. He felt a connection between my experience and that of Uyeshiba O Sensei, the founder of Aikido. Rather than speculate, he invited me to his dojo. Demonstrating a true act of faith, he arranged for me to teach a seminar to many Aikido luminaries and students. He trusted his spiritual senses, just as I had to believe in my own transformation to go across the country and face unknown challenges.

It was fitting to stand on an Aikido mat. It was my very first time. Yet, when I was a little boy looking at the covers of various Martial arts books and pamphlets I was drawn to depictions of Japanese Martial arts but one picture fascinated me above the rest. It was a life-like drawing of O sensei throwing a man with grace. I was no more than twelve but I felt something unexplainable, a spiritual  kinship. It is important to note that I was already a Christian. Simply expressed, I was aware of the spiritual undercurrent of life. What I felt from the picture was a spirituality beyond church...something internal. Those who view the Martial arts as a practice of form and technique alone assume they can measure the depths of a person by their form and techniques.  As in a Authur Murray dance course, anyone can learn the steps and techniques of a given dance but that alone will not make the person a dancer. Dancers live the dance. They are the dance.

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An effortless throw by Kitabu Roshi

Human beings possess form and all forms define degrees of function. It is to be expected that people will make judgments based on form when they themselves experience themselves as such. The Scriptures tells us that God admonishes us not to create a graven image of Him. One way or another most Religions and believers disobey that edict and form an image of The Spirit anyway. The moment we speak of God and then attributes our minds tend to generate a picture, no matter how hazy, of this being we are worshiping. A Hindu might have an Icon of Lord Shiva, A Muslim may be bound to certain garments which set them apart, Catholics may use the crucifix or a statue of Jesus or Mother Mary like idols, and protestants might cling to their mental image of Jesus of Nazareth, the manifest Son of God as the all and all, the image over the image-less. No matter how well-meaning the reason we break that edict we do so at a great cost. The  student can,indeed, be like The Master but only if he or she is willing to embrace the essence of The Master as their own.

 

The All Central Valley Wrestling Champion, Doug Edmonds tested "A Mind Like Water."

In the Western world we are used to debating everything. We seek approval for the clothes we wear and the foods we eat. People are used to believing their opinion should have some control over the lives of others, so we have public forums on people's private lives. Some places in the Middle and Far East are no better. A difference of views, even about whom you should marry could cost a person their life. In that way people are frightened or pushed into suppressing themselves in ways that they keep their spirit in bondage.  Remember this. We speak of the human spirit but no human created it. It is something we only know by living and experiencing it as it expresses itself.  Of course, we have those who are bent on mapping that spirit and controlling it to some end, as if they know what is ultimately best but they do so with the instrument we call a mind. This is like putting a hurricane in a bottle then taking it somewhere for "show and tell."

"God is Spirit and He seeks such as they to worship Him." Science is one thing, The Spiritual Path is entirely another. If you look into Scriptures with the mind of a Scientists you will never find its value.

A true seeker reads The Scripture as is. The power comes only if you accept The Source of Scripture as valid. It is written as map for spiritual beings to find their way home to the Original Essence of Man. So here is the difference in the path of those who practice Martial arts as a sport or people who approach Religions as an eternal pursuit maintained by a dogmatic attachment to difference. Wisdom comes directly from The Spirit. Knowledge is linear. Its path is traceable. Those on the outer path take pride in knowing. Those who are inner-directed, that is, guided by The Spirit, embrace emptiness, or the path of surrender. They must by the very nature of that path, live by faith, for there is absolutely nothing to see. For me, the Warrior Path (Bushido) or what I call, Zen Mushin Ryu became a demonstrable model of how our creator, The Supreme Spirit can work through and with us to teach us about ourselves. It was for me, a private journey of faith. I had no clue that anyone would ever find out what I was up to.

MORE TO COME

Bodhidharma traveled from India to introduce Zen (Ch'an)to China.

Historically, Bodhidharma was the 28th patriarch of Gotama Buddha. Nevertheless, he was the founder of the enlightenment approach now known mostly by its Japanese name, Zen. Bodhidharma was also known as Tamo and Daruma. He travelled the distance from India to China over treacherous ground...but for what?  After years  meditating on Chinese soil  he had an encounter with the man who would not only become his first disciple but the first beneficiary of  his Zen. His name was Huike.  He was seeking a means to pacify his mind. Bodhidharma did not make it easy for him. Those who awaken are often compelled to go to great distances to stand with others. Only a few people will understand why they travel.  Even fewer people  will directly  benefit from their journey but the trip is worth it. If a single soul understands, if only one person receives without blocking, no distance is too far to go.

 I observed the world travelling of my own Spiritual Teacher, Sadguru Sant Keshavadas but I never suspected  that one day that same spirit would also draw me to many parts of the world to share The Way, its power and its peace, its love and grace. Why did Bodhidharma comes to the West?  For me the answer is simple...to dance in Maastrich, Holland.

The Zen Punch of Kitabu Roshi (Vernon KitabuTurner)

To achieve No-Mind is to free The Spirit to act without impediment.
Jesus also spoke of this phenomenon. Zen is not a Religion. When you experience
the truth of your nature directly and act upon it without hesitation your action
is focused, spontaneous and effortless. Jesus taught his diciples to "take no
thought" so that The Father, The Supreme, might act through them. I see the
means of Zen as tools for breaking down the greatest wall blocking The Path.
The ego-mind is the most persistent demon of them all.

I am grateful to the spiritual warriors of Asia for pointing to what
lies within us . It is with gratitude that I wholeheartedly embrace the
Tathagatha within my own skin, looking neither to the left nor to the right, I
summon him at will. The punch you see is just so. Where does it come from and
how? The sun hung in the universe before there was anyone on earth to see
it. The vast waters swelled into waves and crashed on the shores without
intention. Like lightening flashing where it wills when it wills so is this
punch. It just comes. I am a student of The Way. I yield to the Author of All
Things to experience my true being. I do not need words for this. I sit
and stand, I walk, I lie down. I find these acts to be fascinating. Many people
try to trace my Martial roots to a land or a style. What is the origin of God or
the source of Tao? Discover that and your Zen punch will come without a
trace.

We are all included in this. Zen is just a word for awakening
something fundamental to our true being. We have lost connection with living
soul. The passive path is comforting but I prefer to mount the sky and
wrestle with dragons. This is not the easy path of your mother and father but it
is the path of those who prefer to be "sons" of God rather than mere peitioners
of God. "He leadeth me besides still waters, he restoreth my soul..." The Lord
meets us half way. Restoring the mind...that is what we refer to as Zen
practice. The Zen warror applies his discipline to his own mind and body. One
day he will hurdle the wall of ego and be free.

Kitabu Roshi

Dancing:The Way of Warriors

I never imagined that I would teach a Martial path or Zen for that matter but I grew up in a Christian church under the guidance of Christian parents, so the possibility of being a preacher was not so difficult a stretch. The spiritual path is foremost a personal path. It is not based on what others think of your approach or what you might say about it that is most important. A spiritual path is the distance between the delusion of carnal (flesh-centered) mind and the transformation to a mind that is inseparable from our spiritual nature. Words divide us from the experience and so people sacrifice their own enlightenment to control or define the activity of others.

There is no different between what some call the Martial arts and dance or worship for me. I celebrate the Creator of my life in many ways. The Warrior Way or Zen Mushin Ryu, as I call it is a dance of celebration and devotion. After several days of teaching at Aikido Maastricht in Holland, I shared this spirit with those who attended my Sword of The Spirit Seminar. Sensei Rob Vincken sponsored the event.

OCEAN OF THE SPIRIT