Aikido (Shinjitai 合気道, Kyūjitai 合氣道, aikidō) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles including Aikikai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, and Ki Aikido.
Aikido is now practiced in 140 countries [1]. It was originally developed by Master Morihei Ueshibaas a synthesis of his martial studies, Eastern philosophy, and Shintoist religious beliefs.
AikidoFounder Morihei Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves against attacks, while also protecting the attackers from injury [2, 3].
Aikido is often translated as "the way of unifying (with) life energy" [4] or as "the way of harmonious spirit" [5]. According to the founder's philosophy, the primary goal in the practice of aikido is to overcome oneself instead of cultivating violence or aggressiveness [6].
Aikido's founder used the phrase masakatsu agatsu katsuhayabi (正勝吾勝勝速日, "true victory, final victory over oneself, here and now") to refer to this principle [7].
Aikido's fundamental principles include: irimi [8] ("entering"), atemi ("strikes") [9, 10], kokyu-ho ("breathing control"), sankaku-ho ("triangular principle"), and tenkan ("turning") movements that redirect the opponent's own attack momentum.
Aikido's curriculum is comprised of various techniques, primarily throws and joint locks [11]. It includes a weapons system encompassing the bokken, tantō, and jō.
Aikido derives mainly from the martial art of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu (a form of jujitsu) but began to diverge from it in the late 1920s, partly due to Ueshiba's involvement with the new Shinto-based Ōmoto-kyō religion (Oomoto). Ueshiba's early students' documents bear the term aiki-jūjutsu [12].
You too can learn to fight (UK)
Aikido as practiced by Ueshiba's senior students take different approaches to the art, depending partly on when they studied with the master.
Aikido today is found all over the world in a number of styles, with broad ranges of interpretation and emphasis. However, they all share techniques formulated by Ueshiba and most have concern for the well-being of the attacker. More
Jesse Enkamp(video); Editors, Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit UPDATED
(Catholic Kids Media) Created by Isabella D'Angelo. What is Holy Week? Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter! March 28, 2023: Support the channel on Patreon (catholickidsmedia) or Venmo (@catholickidsmedia) because Rome isn't paying for anything it doesn't mandate and pre-approve of. Contact: catholickidsmedia@gmail.com.
It's been a fun Christian Lent as 2.5 of us undertook to stay "holy" (kusala, wholesome, sinning only in thought and thoughtlessness, i.e., by mind and unmindfulness, which is to say, mental karma and negligence but not willful intent), Sandoval, Seven, and Pat.
What happened? Pat dipped out and came back (so gets half credit). Seven held firm by practicing contentment rather than forcefulness, and Sandoval struggled by trying to muscle it. Recovering from the influence of American, Irish, and Mexican Catholicism can be enlightening! With little to no regard for the Vatican Corporation, its current CEO, and the flagrant secularism of most of the Catholic world.
We're Mexican Buddhists, and even Pat is a Patricio for the cause. Buddhism explains things much better, gives more sensible answers to life, the universe, and everything, but Shannon Farren stayed on our backs to stay on the straight and narrow. And my friend Slim Fitzgerald is participating in mass services, so it's the least we can do to emulate her good example.
(WQ Wiki edit) Maundy Thursday or "Holy Thursday," among other names, is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the Feet (Maundy) and Last Brunch of Jesus Christ with the Apostles, as described in the canonical gospels [1].
It is the fifth day of "Holy Week," preceded by Spy Wednesday [when you fink on your siblings for breaking Lent rules?] and followed by Good Friday [2].
"Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment (mandate), reflecting Saint Issa or Jesus' words "I give you a new commandment" [3].
[Did the Good Lord also say: "Thou shalt bow to your knees and obey me, for I speaketh in the name of my Father in the Sky, and He is wanteth to smite thee, so watch it!"?]
The date of the day will vary according to whether the Gregorian calendar or the Julian calendar is used.
Eastern [Orthodox] churches generally use the Julian system.
(JCS) Judas tries to warn Jesus to stop making it all about Himself
Names
Medicine has no easy cure for toenail fungus.
Use of the names Maundy, Holy, and others is not evenly distributed. The generally accepted name for the day varies according to geographical area and religious affiliation.
Therefore, although in England "Maundy Thursday" is the normal term, the term "Holy Thursday" is more commonly used in [more Catholic] Ireland, the United States, Scotland, and Canada [4] and is the official name used by the Catholic Church in English [5]. More
It's a good time for clean feet. As wise Mary Magdalene knew, this oil clears toenail fungus: "nard" (essential oil of spikenard) as found in the Gospel of John
QUESTION: "All y'all are Buddhists. How 'Catholic' are you?"
ANSWERS: "Catholic? Not at all, or just recovering from the residue of it. I'm only Catholic on my mother's side. My dad was Catholic, too, but he didn't care. I'm so Catholic I remembered an Irish joke. When you're Catholic, they send you to Indoctrination Camp (Catechism) as a child, where nuns berate and beat you, so once you've gone through that, you're "Catholic" because it's branded on your psyche. If you're lucky, you get molested, which I think qualifies you to teach. If you're unlucky, you just settle for the beatings. Even if you try to tell, what's anyone going to do? Oh, if only a young nun could've shepherded us into manhood as a holy rite of passage like in the olden days of Temple Prostitution, started with the ancient Sumerians and Greeks and others. It's got to be a better way than the present system that teaches you to lie, be a hypocrite, keep your head down, fear but never respect authority, and sin [miss the mark] every chance you get. Of course, Roman Catholicism is meant to do this. It's a trick and a trap, how covering up incites lust, whereas free nudity dispels it, but we're taught the exact opposite. Harsh imposition of rules leads to rebelliousness, guilt, confusion, and resentment, but free presentation of orderliness and guidelines leads to willful compliance, acceptance, and a desire to behave well even when no one is looking. It's internal versus external locus of control, pure Psych 101. I'm so Catholic I like to tell Irish jokes: A priest in Dublin tears out of the parking lot and starts swerving down the road. An officer pulls him over, and as he approaches, he can already smell alcohol. As he greets the driver, he looks in the vehicle and sees a bottle of wine at his feet. "Been drinking this morning, Father?" "Oh, no, no, no. That's just water, my Son." "Really, Father? I can smell it." The priest looks up into the heavens and exclaims, "Praise the Lord, another miracle!" (Turning water into wine.) The copper, being a right honorable Catholic, does the sign of the cross and lets him go. See there? That "joke" promotes stereotypes. It's jokes like that put us where we are nowadays, where 99 percent of the police make the other 1 percent look bad. *Rimshot* We're just doing this for Easter, which is when they kill Jesus or Saint Issa, right, on that Imperial Roman torture device? I think it's when he is reborn. Well, death-rebirth, it's the same thing, really. That's samsara for you. There isn't one without the other.
ANSWERS: "Yes, we don't have a cruci-fixation. We don't strive for a rebirth in any of the heavens. We strive for the end-of-rebirth and the end of all suffering, which is brought about -- not by rebirth -- but by awakening. Enlightenment is our goal."
QUESTION: "Nirvana, you mean?"
ANSWERS: "Yes. Yes. Yeah."
QUESTION: "But 'Nirvana is Samsara,' I've heard say."
ANSWERS: "No, that's Mahayana nonsense, a slogan, which can be true in one sense but is completely abused, misunderstood by nearly everyone who says it, and misleading. It's treated like a snappy koan to not overexert in meditation or set up a goal and craving for 'something to happen' that stifles the attainment of that goal. But it's really misleading because, if we're all already enlightened, then there's nothing to do really, right? Why am I going to go be quiet and meditate in solitude if all the work is done? I'd rather celebrate, party, amuse myself, engage in sleep and endless distractions/amusements, like the world does, more obsessively every year that passes."
QUESTION: "You said, 'it can be true.' In what sense is the 'Nirvana is Samsara' slogan true?"
ANSWERS: "Well, it's true that if one awakens, that is, attains enlightenment, one will still be in samsara for the time being. They are not mutually exclusive. Nirvana dawns within samsara. They will for that person who knows-and-sees be the same thing. That person can see the distinction, like being in prison and holding your release papers: you're in but you're out, you're free but you're in prison, you're destiny is fixed but you're not there yet. So to equate them, to make people think there's no difference when they could hardly be more different, that's like blasphemous. We don't have blasphemy in Buddhism as such. It's wrong speech. If one thinks and believes like a Hindu that we're all already GOD (Brahman), just playing (lila) in an illusion (maya), all already saved (liberated), all already destined for the end of rebirth (nirvana), then what is it we aim for, what is it we make a determination for, what is we practice to realize? That's it's already as true for me as it is for a drunk on the floor his face stuck to the rug by dried vomit?"
(Mr. Show with Bob and David) "Jeepers Creepers" (Parts 1 and 2)
QUESTION: "But you're God's children, don't you know that?"
ANSWERS: "Potentially. Anyone can become a devaputta (literally, a "son of god"), but here 'the gods' are not 'God,' just the devas, the 'shining ones.' Anyone with the appropriate karma can be reborn among them. Saint Issa/Jesus Christ could be reborn among them, and the God there could say, 'He's my only begotten son on [or sent to] Earth.' What is this 'begotten' business? Everyone reborn in the deva worlds is someone's son/daughter, offspring. Beings are spontaneously [without intermediary of parents but just by their own karmic deeds] reborn there. We have that potential. We also have the potential to squander it all and be reborn in subhuman worlds (animal, ghost, titan/demon, hellion). We have to take care, we have to practice, we have to keep precepts (virtue, morality), we have to be mindful, we have to cleanse our hearts/minds.
QUESTION: "So then why practice Lent, Buddhist or Catholic or Eastern Orthodox Christian, just to mock it, just for old time's sake?"
ANSWERS: No, it's a very good practice. To give up things, eat only vegetarian/vegan food like Catholics used to do and Eastern Orthodox Ethiopians still do, renounce, let go, sacrifice, do good for others, recollect how others sacrificed for us, contemplate our short lives in the human state as educated persons who can question and read and learn from other, storing up good karma... How can that be bad?
QUESTION: But you joke and you don't bow to God?
ANSWERS: "Yes, that's right. We joke. We listen to death metal and anything else we want to listen to. We do not bow to God or worship a Jewish Old Testament figure who promotes genocide, or grovel or beg his son [Issa, Jesus, or any Abrahamic holyman] or mom [Mother Mary] or wife [Asherah], or have any beef with that Cat [Douglas Adams' cat 'The Lord']. We're nontheists.
QUESTION: "Oh, atheists?"
ANSWERS: "No, non-theists. Whether there is a God or not, what difference does that make to our effort, our walk through life, our awakening or ignorance. That God is not awakened. That God cannot awaken us. We have no beef, just as the Buddha didn't. ...Let's not get off track. Question our motives if you must, but ask us what we did for Lent."
QUESTION: "What did all y'all practice and give up for Lent or sacrifice or recall?"
ANSWERS: "No sex of any kind, of any kind (not even naughty pictures). A strict vegan diet. For 40 days. We went to church on Sundays..."
QUESTION: "Aha! Church. So you called on God?
ANSWERS: "No, not really. We went to a Quaker church. Now, God may be there. The Spirit may be any- or everywhere. But there were no priests, no programmers, no thing we had to do, other than be respectful of others as one would anyway anywhere else one might be. The Quakers might be more tolerant than any others even if we had wanted to act out. They were nice."
QUESTION: "You should have told them you were Buddhists. Do you think they would have been so nice if they knew?"
ANSWERS: "We did, and they were and, yes, we think they would have been even if we said nothing but just came in there wearing Zen robes, a kung fu outfit, or a big tee-shirt that read, 'I'M A MEXICAN BUDDHIST AND IRISH.' I think they would have laughed with glee. They laughed about other things and were very friendly and inviting. The place was packed, and the Friends Meeting were Spirit-led. Did we 'waste' our time?"
QUESTION: "You know, why don't you guys go to hell and get your own Lent?"
ANSWERS: "We might. Hell is that way. Who can avoid it. At least it's not eternal, but it is very, very bad and one should avoid it at all costs. There's no telling when one will get out again, the same being true of rebirth as an animal, ghost, or titan. And we've already got one: 'Buddhist Lent' is called the Rains Retreat (Vassa), and it lasts 90 days. It corresponds with the monastic period of intensive practice indoors. Every Buddhist Sabbath (Fasting Day), which is once a week and called the Uposatha, one observes Eight Precepts instead of the regular five, and one does not eat after 12:00 pm. That leaves the day for intensive practice on the new moon, quarter moon, full moon, and three-quarters moon days. It's an ancient pre-Buddhist practice the Buddha praised and encouraged everyone to observe. One doesn't have to be a Buddhist. Anyway, according to legend and the BBC, Jesus Christ was a Buddhist monk before he was Christian...."
Jesus wore this Buddhist-saffron-colored seamless robe like a sadhu (Christian Faith Guide)
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(Brian Oblivion) 12/19/11: From Minute 38 on comes the interesting bit. This British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC 4) documentary examines the question "Did Jesus Die?" It looks at various ideas around this question until Minute 25, where this examination of ideas takes a very logical and grounded turn with surprising conclusions that demonstrate: The "Three Wise Men" were Buddhist monks who [were in search of a tulku] found Jesus and came back for him around puberty. After being trained in a Buddhist monastery [Hemis Gompa, Ladakh] he spread the Buddhist philosophy, survived the crucifixion, and escaped to Kashmir, Afghanistan [near the birthplace of the Buddha, ancient Gandhara], where he died an old man at the age of 80 [and was entombed in the Jesus style with Buddhist foot imprints marking his burial site, not covered by an Islamic grave and another person, making excavation difficult or impossible without trouble. See the scholarship of Holger Kersten and Nicolas Notovitch for the details and written evidence].
Andrew Lloyd Weber, Jesus Christ Superstar, "This Jesus Must Die"; Deicide, "Once Upon the Cross"; Pfc. Sandoval, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly
Israeli woman speaks of [personal] experience with Hamas fighters
(Middle East Eye) Oct. 10, 2023: An Israeli woman gave an interview to a local Israeli channel, recounting her experience with Hamas fighters when they entered her home following the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023.
(Democracy Now!) March 29, 2023. Journalist Alissa Quart (author of Squeezed), executive director of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, talks about her new book, Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream, which examines myths about individualism and self-reliance that underpin the U.S. economy and the inequality it fosters. Banks get welfare bailouts in the billions, but we don't shame them the way we do a single parent living on scraps. Quart says a focus on "succeeding through hard work" obscures the degree to which many rich and powerful people have benefited from social support, resulting in a cycle of "shame and blame" [and severe racial inequality] for those who fall short.
An unsparing, incisive, yet ultimately hopeful look at how we can shed the American obsession with self-reliance that has made us less healthy, less secure, and less fulfilled.
The promise that we can “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps” is central to the story of the American Dream. It’s the belief that if we work hard and rely on our own resources, we will eventually succeed.
However, time and again we have seen how this foundational myth, with its emphasis on individual determination, brittle self-sufficiency, and personal accomplishment, does not help us.
Instead, as income inequality rises all around us, we are left with shame and self-blame for our condition.
BOOK
Acclaimed journalist Alissa Quart argues that at the heart of our suffering is a do-it-yourself ethos, the misplaced belief in our own independence, and the conviction that we must rely on ourselves alone.
Looking at a range of delusions and half solutions — from “grit” to the false Horatio Alger story to the rise of GoFundMe — Quart reveals how we have been steered away from robust social programs that would address the root causes of our problems.
Meanwhile, the responsibility for survival has been shifted onto the backs of ordinary people, burdening generations with debt instead of providing the social safety net we so desperately need.
Insightful, sharply argued, and characterized by Quart’s lively writing and deep reporting, and for fans of Evicted and Nickel and Dimed, Bootstrapped is a powerful examination of what ails us at a societal level and a plan for how we can free ourselves from these self-defeating narratives. Bootstrapped
Early math-savvy Muslims, under Islam, built India's magnificent Taj Mahal.
Ramadan Kareem (“Have a generous Ramadan”) and Nakba(“Catastrophe”) in Palestine!
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We put our hope in peace, God-willing.
This week marks the start of Ramadan [Islam's "Lent," "Muslim Vassa"] for more than a billion Muslims around the world.
The month-long observance -- which starts on either May 15 or May 16 this year -- will see Muslims fasting from sunrise-to-sunset, reciting verses from the Quran, and attending prayer sessions.
For many of those observing Ramadan, it is a time to become closer to God [Allah]. It is also a time of joy and for spending time with one’s family and for giving to charity and those in need.
Here’s what’s good to know about Ramadan, which is known as the "holiest month in Islam."
When is Ramadan?
Muslim males in prayer caps kneeling in a mosque doing obligatory prayers free of female contamination due to their ritual impurity (Bilgin S. Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images).
Ramadan begins during the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, when the new crescent moon is first sighted.
The exact start date of Ramadan will only be confirmed when the moon is spotted, and this year it is expected to be seen between Tuesday, May 15 and Wednesday, May 16, allowing for a day here and there depending on atmospheric conditions.
While many countries wait until they can see the moon before announcing the start of Ramadan, in some, like...
The end of Ramadan is also marked with the sighting of the crescent moon, marking Eid-al-Fitr, which should be around the second or third week of June this year.
Muslims perform the first "Tarawih" prayer on the eve of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at the Chicago Mosque in Illinois, United States on May 26, 2017.
Ramadan is observed by Muslims to commemorate when God revealed the first chapters of the Quran, Islam’s sacred text [the Qu'ran or Koran dictated by God and written down, word-for-word, by] the Prophet Muhammad [PBUH].
Muslims believe that during this period, the gates of heaven are open and the gates of hell are closed.
Breaking fast at iftar, UAE (Francois Nel)
Muslims mark the holy month by [daytime] fasting (sawm) -- considered to be one of the five pillars of Islam -- during sunlight hours.
The pre-dawn meal is called the suhoor, while the fast is broken at dusk with the iftar, starting with a few sips of clean water and some sweet dates.
Abstinence during Ramadan isn’t just restricted to food and water though. It extends to refraining from sexual activity, smoking, and even to jealousy, anger, and other negative thoughts.
Muslims believe that following these practices during Ramadan will lead to self-purification, self-control, and bring them closer to Allah. More
WARNING: Disturbing images and yelling! Can women rock? Just ask Alissa White-Gluz, THE AGONIST, "And Their Eulogies Sang Me to Sleep" Dimmu Borgir's Norwegian death metal from Viking urges, "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse"
What in the heaven does Slayer -- or any of that filthy music labelled "heavy metal, "punk," and "extreme rock" -- have to do with kind, peaceful Buddhism?
Slayer and the like have, to the personal taste of individuals, to do with fighting. It's not all organic peaches and vegan cream around here, sister. Is fighting a good attitude? In part it depends on what one is up against and choosing to take on. Addiction? Fight it. Living beings? Don't fight 'em.
British contribution to heavy music Cradle of Filth "Gabrielle"
Original grindcore masterpiece, Cannibal Corpse's "Hammer Smashed Face"
This is not about fighting in the literal sense of war, violence, or cops shooting people. Consider the bigger picture -- fighting for liberation, freedom, knowledge, wisdom, to overcome the mental defilements and Five Hindrances to meditation. Yes, not everybody will fight. Not everybody takes being a spiritual "warrior" as a contest.
But some do. Striving, seeking, endeavoring, putting forth viriya (virile effort) is one way to go, not the way that can take one all the way there. But it can go a long way for a start.
WARNING: Extreme violence and brutality! Title track from Slayer's latest album "Repentless" (American Hardcore soundtrack) How did extreme music begin? Seven years of early punk!
What was the Warrior Prince Siddhartha doing when he shook off the comforts and delights of a sheltered life to go out and seek his Quest for Enlightenment? He wasn't gently letting go. He was shirking, throwing, casting off the burden.
So anyone who says Buddhism's peace has only to do with lovey-dovey tender mental activity has not been paying attention. This is the Middle Way that avoids extremes, sometimes going to extremes to find the middle. Yes?
(Avenged Sevenfold) What's the point of this music? Bigger mosh pits!
Who's to say what counts as an "austerity" when all we do is live in luxury? Eat only one meal a day! Pishah, impossible! It's totally possible. Sleep sitting up? Wear stitched castaway rags? Shave your head? Stay up striving for stillness? The Buddha enumerated "13 Sane Ascetic Practices" or dhutangas which are hardcore and not at all easy. They are severe hardships.
Some are not necessary. No one does all 13, and no one needs to. But some are so valuable, that they have become incumbent on all monastics and novices (samaneras and samaneris). Ever hear the horrible-to-American-ears word "jihad"? How about the horrible-to-others word "crusade"?
KLOS FM's Full Metal Jackie interviews Alissa White-Gluz
What does it really mean at a deep level? It isn't fighting others. It's fighting oneself, overcoming oneself, taking the reins and guiding oneself to freedom. As the Buddha and other sages have said, What does it profit a person to conquer the whole world if one loses him or herself in the process?
Better the one who conquers oneself than the one who conquers everyone else. And listening to Slayer, Carcass, Cannibal Corpse, Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, or any of the groups that make it to DarkLyrics.com may serve as inspiration or motivation to keep up the good fight when engaged in combat for the war within.
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