Stuff Dick asked . . .

Dick: 

Hi Allen,

As always, thanks for your insights! But:

Could you explain something a bit more? I’m having problems getting it…

Here’s my conundrum. Aiki is direction/manipulation/finagling of
co-dependent and mutually arising opposite forces, right?

Allen:  Actually, Aiki is the state of forces in an In/Yo relationship. 

Dick:

To my mind, that means that some conscious
effort must be made before the movement
of the universe (the yin and yang) manifests into Aiki.

Allen:  

As far as human consciousness goes, no effort is required before the movement of the universe as yin/yang manifests and thereby creates Aiki. The universal expression of Yin/Yang or universal Aiki preexisted human consciousness. Human consciousness came afterward and as a consequence of the universal expression of Yin/Yang or universal Aiki.  Human consciousness can accord with the universal expression of Yin/Yang or universal Aiki, or it can attempt to oppose the universal expression of Yin/Yang or universal Aiki.  If human consciousness accords with the universal expression of Yin/Yang or universal Aiki, there will be a success (victory) experienced by the human. (Keep in mind that this does not guarantee a relative victory like “winning” a bar brawl.  Rather it guarantees absolute victory because one chose  “thy (the Universe) will be done”  rather than “My personal will be done.”  When one chooses not to accord with the universal expression of Yin/Yang or universal Aiki, there will be a failure (defeat) experienced by the human, but not by the universe.  The universe will always prevail, the only question is will humans?

Dick:

So when you’re being attacked by an angry Sumo
wrestler, and manifest Aiki at that
moment (directing/allowing yin/yang to balance out the forces working
on you), you’re moving in harmony with the movement of the universe.

Allen:  

Yes, at least theoretically at that level and at that moment, you are.

Dick:

But what if the angry Sumo is gone? Then you
can’t manifest Aiki
anymore right?

Allen:  

Wrong.  The universe didn’t disappear along with the Sumotori.  The Sumotori was just one of the innumerable manifestations of the universe.  Even when the Sumotori’s manifestation disappears, the matter and energy that comprised the Sumotori do not.  If the universe disappears, so do we.  But the universe isn’t dependent upon you, or me, or the Sumotori for its existence.  So when the Sumotori inevitably disappears the universe continues on.  And as long as the universe continues (a dualistic notion implying change and time) there will be Yin/Yang (a dualistic singularity implying change and time).  And as long as Yin/Yang continues, humans can accord with Yin/Yang thereby being Aiki. 

Dick:

So all of a sudden, from being Aiki being the universe, you’re plain old you again.

Allen:

Perhaps.  But more likely if you are capable of Aiki-ing a Sumotori.  Your training will probably have induced you to Aiki a majority of the forces playing within and upon you a majority of the time.  Otherwise, you probably would have gotten trounced by the Sumotori.  A Sumotori of any worth can generate a great deal of force, ought to have substantial mastery of balance within and without, and not be a chump when it comes to interacting with equally accomplished athletes.  Therefore, if you are at the lowly level of trying to discretely discern force vectors and respond by trying to create a Yin/Yang relationship in time to adequately deal with anticipated discrete force vectors . . . you had better hope that the Sumotori is a generous and kind-spirited person.

Dick:

But if you say “I am the universe”,
that seems to suggest a more permanent state of being.

Allen:

Yes, with an emphasis on “suggest a more,” since no one is perfect.

Dick:

So, should we think of this as the ability to
manifest Aiki in any circumstance?

Allen:

Not so much in “any” circumstance, but in “all” circumstances.  Why do you think Ueshiba continuously told deshi to try to attack him at any moment?  This was his training.  Supposedly he could handle anyone already in his dojo.  So training in that manner isn’t likely to necessitate much further adaptation, learning, and/or progress.  But if you gave a number of people enough incentive (“I’ll promote you instantly if you can take advantage of any moment of weakness”) one might then be prompted to progress.  

Dick:

Or does this rabbit hole go way deeper?

Allen:

For humans, the rabbit hole always goes deeper!  “One can always do less.”  “This old man has to train and train!”  But the things that come through training cannot be “given” away even if one wanted to.  This has happened time and again with teachers trying desperately to share the “best stuff” before they pass and the ones to whom they are trying to pass it to don’t have a clue what they are referring to.  

Dick:

I was also (and unrelatedly) triggered by your later remarks about
“entering into a non-resistant relationship with the universe”. That
passage seems to describe an ethical system flowing from the In/Yo
concept. That’s pretty interesting.

Allen:

When humans studied the workings of the universe, they made certain discoveries or observations.  Also,  there was a common tendency to ponder over ethical considerations, or at least causal relationships between that observed and what one desires and what one does not desire. Therefore, it was, and is, a common practice to assert ethics in relationship to such observations.  There are many examples of humans studying astrological phenomena, they also commonly tried to find causal relationships between what they observed and what they desired or wished to avoid.   Good/bad, desirable, undesirable, etc. are dualistic constructs.  It is an easy step to try to assume that there might be a relationship between those dualistic constructs and observed dualistic phenomena, and try to decern causal relationships between the two.

Dick:

Usually ethical considerations seem to be
slapped on to martial arts, almost as an afterthought.

Allen:

That itself is an interesting observation with interesting implications.

Dick:  

Do you have any reading tips for this?

Allen:

Do you mean Yin/Yang influences on ethics?  If so, I recommend studying the evolution of Taoism and also the interaction between Taoism and Buddhism.  There were other influences as well.  For example, during the Tang era, there were Taoists, Buddhist, Christians, Zoroastrians, etc., just to name a few, all rubbing elbows.  If you mean books on the phenomenon of martial arts tending to slap on ethical considerations as an afterthought, I’m not sure.  There certainly seems to be a cultural component to that being valued both in China and Japan.  You have probably noticed that there is a repeating theme about how the founder of arts discovered the secret to their art. Perhaps you could study that and be martial ethic’s, Joseph Campbell!

Best,

Dick

Allen:

As usual, thank you, Dick, for your insightful inquiries!

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