The Heart of Aikido

The Philosophy of Takemusu Aiki

Morihei Ueshiba

What is Aikido?

Aikido is the heavenly truth that marvelously functions as takemusu aiki [ valorous, unlimited creativity ].

Aikido is the eternal principle of the universe.

Aikido is the way that harmonizes heaven, earth, and humankind.

Aikido is the way to maintain universal justice.

Aikido is the truth of the martial spirit. Aikido is the function of Love. It is the Way to nourish and protect all living beings. That is, Aikido is a compass that points us in the right direction.

Aikido guards the Way of Love. Without Love, the world will never improve. The world will perish if there is no aiki.

Aikido came into being for the purpose of misogi [ purification of body and mind ]. It is a divine sword, a magic blade that cuts to the heart of things and slices through all entanglements. It clears the path for us so we can find the truth.

Leave  everything to the divine, offer everything up to the divine, return everything to the divine.

Aiki is the fundamental principle of existence. Aikido is what I call the true martial spirit. The world in fact functions as  takemusu aiki : From one source, fire and water, that is to say the breath of heaven and earth, were unified through aiki into one cosmic breath.

In Aikido, a single cut of the sword manifests the cosmic breath of heaven and earth. When a human being breathes he or she breaths circularly on the exhalation, and squarely on the inhalation. Let the essence of the universe circulate within your body, and let it purify your senses. The circle is in the form of water, the square is that of fire. “Circular” is the breath of heaven; “square” is the breath of earth. True techniques are a combination of the breath of heaven and the breath of earth.

The Breath of Heaven activates the Breath of Earth, resulting in the creation of the universe.

Cosmic breath is the interaction of the breath of the sun and the breath of the moon; that is where we find the martial spirit and employ it in the techniques.

“Employ the divine to bring forth infinitely varied techniques.” This marvelous skill is derived from pure emptiness, an emptiness that nevertheless evolves into the essence and the form of a technique, a technique that can be seen and felt.

Love generates more love. Trust begets more trust. A sense of reverence produces warmth and light, the essence of the divine wisdom we aspire to obtain. Our beliefs are based on the harmony of warmth and light.

Warmth and light are united in one body.

Of course, warmth and love are inseparable; they equally manifest Supreme Goodness and Supreme Purity. Underlying all existence from the past to the present is this cosmic flow of truth. Human beings cannot oppose this cosmic flow of truth.

The universe has no limit; its truth also has no boundaries. Human existence has no beginning and no end.

The purpose of Aikido is to bring out the best in people. It is to walk on a divine path. It is the way of the universe. Aikido is the power of the spirit manifest in many ways. Aikido reveals the manner in which the universe works. Human beings share a common destiny, to assimilate the true form of the universe within the body and let it permeate the soul.

True budo has no enemies. True budo is a function of Love. Budo is not fighting or killing; it is to nourish and bring all things to fruition.  Love makes it all happen. Aikido is the actualization of Love.

In Aikido, as soon as we face our partner, we assimilate his mind into our own in whatever attitude he or she takes. We use the power of attraction to do this. When that is the case, we can take in everything with a single glance. But this is so difficult…how many have mastered this? I haven’t.

Aikido is always concerned with the spiritual side of things, not the material. Aikido is ment to bring out the best in people, to lead us along the proper path. Its basis is Love. The purpose of Aikido is to help us fulfill our mission to bring peace and harmony to this world. That is why there are no competitive matches in Aikido, no contest. We attack with the power of Love, and we wield the weapons of harmony and peace. We bind our opponents with the power of Love. We purge our opponents of aggression.

Aikido is liberation of the spirit. It allows us to cut through the things that bind us, it helps us eliminate evil thoughts, it clears the path for us.

THE ESSENCE OF TECHNIQUE

The appearance of an opponent should be thought of as an opportunity to test the depth of one’s mental and physical training, to see if one is actually responding to the divine will. When facing life and death in the form of an opponent’s aggression, one must be firmly settled in mind and body, and not at all intimidated; without providing your opponent the slightest opening, control his or her mind in a flash and move where you will…straight, diagonally, or any other appropriate direction. Enter deeply, mentally as well as physically, transform your body into a true sword and neutralize the aggression of your attacking foe.

Daily training fosters valor, sincerity, fidelity, goodness, and beauty, as well as making the body strong and healthy.

The best strategy relies upon unlimited responses. Use the one to strike the many. Always keep the mind as bright and clear as the vast sky, the great ocean, and the highest mountain; calm and clear.

Enter into your opponent’s mind and guide him or her along the path heaven and earth have indicated to you. Regardless of what arises, even if you are staring death in the face, strike like thunder, and fly more quickly than lightning.

Gauge the distance…physically and spiritually…between self and other while remaining centered.

Regarding technique, develop a strategy that utilizes all the elements at hand. Don’t rely on abstract concepts. Train to eliminate weakness in body and spirit. Depending on the circumstance, you should be hard as a diamond, flexible as a willow, flowing like water, or as empty as space.

Do not chase after many techniques; practice one technique at a time and make each technique your own.

It is always better to overcome an enemy’s spirit before an attack begins. Make him gladly abandon his aggression.

Even when the entire world is opposing you, don’t waver; one in body and spirit you can overcome oppression. Always remain positive, calm, settled, and full of energy, centered in the heart of nature, and attuned to the world of the spirit.

A good stance reflects a proper frame of mind. The key to good technique is to keep your hands, feet, and hips straight and centered.

Always conduct your training in a vibrant and joyful manner.

I came to Aikido through my study of meditation. My question had always been, what is meditation? After many years and hundreds of books on the subject, I understood that there still must be living masters of this art around and I began a search for a teacher. I met Swami Muktananda in Colorado in 1973 and became uchi-deshi to him. Muktananda was famous for his ability to transmit his own centered state to his students. Through grace, I was able to experience meditation with out sitting for thirty years.

In meditation we simply rest as the Witness of all that arises. As a technique, we were instructed in the art of breathing called pranayama. Prana is the vital force, ki in aikido. Muktananda taught using his ki and knock your socks off sutras.

Pranasamachare samadarshanam (Shivasutras 3/22) - evenness of prana brings equality consciousness:

Prana is the most important thing in the body; it keeps it alive. Without it even the individual self will have no force; it is the power of animation. All beings, sentient or insentient, owe their existence to prana. When the prana becomes uneven, the sense of duality arises. When the inner shakti awakens by grace, prana is purified and becomes even. Prana and apana (in-breath and out-breath) become equal and then consciousness and matter, subtle and gross, are seen to be one, even as one sees the different parts of his body as one. The awareness of the equality of all things dawns.

In meditation the world of illusory differences is dissolved in unity-consciousness where the truth of oneness alone ends our suffering. The universe is assimilated into the Witness in blissful union.

With the profound understanding of the unity of all things, Muktananda would ask us to meditate, “Look upon the unceasing flow of images that arise in the mind as nothing but the mind, and you will be free.” For Muktananda meditation was a matter of correct understanding. It was not concentration or any other technique, but rather the effortless awareness of being.

Of course stories of other Masters were a frequent topic in the ashram. I heard about O-Sensei’s experience with unity-consciousness and how he had created a physical art out of his spiritual experience with the ki. He called it Aikido, the Art of Peace.

My first opportunity to see Aikido came in the spring of 1981, when my teacher went back to India for the last time (he died in 1982). I had heard there was a dojo on 18th Street in New York City where a direct student of O-Sensei, Shihan Yoshimitsu Yamada Sensei, was teaching.

I remember the afternoon I came into the dojo accompanied by a beautiful Italian woman who was also interested in Aikido and we sat on the bench at the end of the mat to watch. Yamada Sensei was away. Butch was teaching and came by frequently to answer any question the young lady might have. I was amazed by the students’ relationship with the mat and by the senior students’ calm demeanor while under attack! I remember thinking “How elegant! What a beautiful flow of energy. Ki in action!” The young lady never did take up Aikido, but I signed up that day and with great eagerness began my meditation with the aiki movements.

We begin each class with the breath-watching technique and as we repeat the exercises in rhythm with the breath we begin to feel the subtle intoxication of pure awareness. Even without any understanding of meditation we have all seen this effect many times. Any activity that brings the mind to “one point” - listening to music, painting a picture, watching a movie, being in the presence of the one you love - allows the inherent joy of existence to arise naturally. Harmonizing with the energy (aiki) is revealed as calmness in action, coming from this one-pointed awareness.

The current doshu and grandson of O-Sensei, Moriteru Ueshiba, says in his new book Progressive Aikido the Essential Elements:

The Founder Morihei Ueshiba, who researched the concept of aiki (harmonization of ki) deeply, explained ki like this: ‘Ki is the vital energy of the universe, and the subtle functioning of ki enlivens the five senses. Employ that force, with unity of body and mind, and you can move freely as you will.’

How can we employ the subtle functioning of ki? First of all, we need to learn how to use our breath power (kokyu-ryoku). In Aikido, ki is actualized through breath power. The Indian philosophical term prana means ‘breath.’ It was an understanding of that eternal truth (the nature of universal breath) that led to the enlightenment of the Founder Morihei.

The Founder realized that it was necessary to unify mind, body, and ki. From that individual integration, one had to link oneself to the universe as a whole, and manifest the tremendous power of the life force. Ultimately, that harmonization (between ki, mind, and body) will result in true enlightenment. This is the purpose of Aikido.

Although we don’t talk much about the subject of breath or meditation, this is the foundation of our practice. O-Sensei left few writings on the subject, preferring to teach his students by direct example. To this day the master teachers put us in the right posture over and over again. This centering - an art, a science, a practice - changes everything in your life: the way you sleep, the way you wake, the way you sit, the way you stand, the way you walk, the way you move, the way you breath, the way you feel, the way you think, the way you create. It is a way of being in the world. In order to do the techniques properly we must rest in the still center. Aikido practice develops this strong still center from which we can deal with whatever arises.

One should meditate all the time.

See you on the mat!

Shidoin Michael McNally, Godan
Chief Instructor Hoboken Aikikai