I once had a friend and training partner many years ago who always thought that Aikido players should read everything possible pertaining to religion and philosophy; this, even though he was a professed atheist.  Interestingly enough, it was the exact same advice my grandfather (who was not a professed atheist and who never trained in martial arts) gave me, so having heard it all before and it making sense from an educational view, I followed it.

I always thought however, that the training partner was actually quite spiritual even thought I to this day cannot state with any certainty that he was, or was not an atheist. He always kept that part of his personal life private, as well he should.

All Sensei, and indeed all Aikido players, should keep some things in their lives private for two primary reasons; first, it is after all a personal issue and second, Sensei and senior Yudansha can without meaning to, unduly influence their deshi in ways that they should not.

I was raised in South Texas (old cowboy style ala’ John Wayne) to believe that religion is a personal matter and you shouldn’t burden others with your beliefs, because that’s what it becomes; a burden requiring them to help you to carry your “church water” which no one has a right to ask of anyone else.

This is one of many reasons why I never discuss religion at the dojo (or even away from the dojo if with other players at a social event). It is also why I don't have a Shinto Shrine up front on the Shinza as many dojos do.  Our front wall display is quite secular by design and I intend that it shall remain so regardless of the inclination of some Sensei to create that subtle ambiance (of religiosity) by claiming that one can only or best understand how the Samurai trained by understanding how they followed Shinto or, how Shinto or Buddhism has affected martial arts and Aikido in particular.

Hmmm …… or should I say, HA! You don’t say!

Understanding spirituality, or religion for that matter, has nothing, NOTHING to do with becoming a great Aikido player, or with deeply understanding the technical and philosophical principles of Aikido.

I require everyone in my dojo to follow the old fashion (but common sense) social rules of never discussing sex, religion or politics as it is neigh-on impossible to not step on someone’s toes when any comment or joke in these areas comes up.

Religion and the proclamation of same, however, is certainly not the point of today's thought process. The point that the influences on my past were trying to make to me (and others) at that time (that I now am passing on to each of you based upon my life experiences in this area) is the need for;

---ethics and morality;

---the need to study them in depth during your life so that you can both understand the concepts (many do not even tho’ they think they do; self-deception is a terrible address to live your life at);

---using your understanding to distinguish between right and wrong in both the philosophical and the practical day-to-day sense, and;

---building your own ‘rudder’ as it were so that you can consistently navigate your ship (of life) through the universe both on, and off, the tatami as a “civilian” and as an Aikido player.

The way I tend to view it is that classically the idea, or concept, of morality has to do with behavior, while ethics has to do with how to analyze and understand the difference between right and wrong.

For example; morality generalizes things into rules such as; thou shall not bear false witness (don’t lie), thou shall not covet thy neighbor's belongings (don’t steal), thou shalt not covet thou neighbors wife (don’t cheat on your spouse with anyone else’s spouse), etc. Ethics on the other hand may be considered the study of the principles of truth and non-truth, good vs. evil, (what is the true good and what is the true evil, and why) and how to apply that understanding in all situations.

As an example; if you have no money and your neighbor has lots of money and you are hungry and your neighbor is well fed with more than he needs, is it acceptable to take only a little bit to feed yourself today if you promise yourself to never do it again and to pay him back tomorrow?

People who live in the world of “situational ethics" would say yes, take the food and don't worry about it because he'll never miss it and you need it now. The “situation” allows you to steal.

Strictly applied "universal ethics" (those that apply consistently throughout life and in all circumstances) however, would say no. It's wrong in all cases to steal (and it’s wrong to steal for clearly understandable and socially required reasons that should have been internalized when you were a child).

If you are that desperate then walk up and ask him if you could do work for him, doing jobs in exchange for food. In this way you maintain your pride and self-respect by earning what you get and by not stealing or taking charity; or, as my granddaddy said, "An honest days' wages for an honest days' work, and don’t offer me charity because you’ll insult me, thank you very kindly." You set a good example for your spouse and kids, and for your students.

So if morality is a set of rules that you follow and ethics is how to understand the underlying principles behind those rules and how to apply them, then how does this apply to Aikido?

Traditionally in almost all cultures, morality and ethics are passed down embodied within the teachings of whatever religion may be predominant at the time, while the study of ethics is generally presented as part of secondary or graduate level philosophy classes in a more abstract fashion (read obtuse and difficult to pass the mid-term, and if you don’t believe me then go give an honest read to Plato, Socrates, and Seneca some time and see how many passes thru’ the material you have to make).

So I eventually came to understand that what they (my atheist training partner and my grandfather) were trying to get across was the need to begin some level of study of ethics and morality by studying the foundations and teachings of religious belief systems regardless of whether they were Shinto, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Catholic, Hindu, etc., and then branching out into the secular with a study of Plato, Socrates, Ayn Rand and whomever. 

“The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.”

Socrates Greek philosopher in Athens

(469 BC - 399 BC)

It didn’t matter if we became religious, became atheist, became Catholic, converted to Wicca; whatevvveeerrrr!. It was the knowledge that was important and the self-discovery that knowledge would eventually bring as it began to impact our lives and our behaviors.

A teacher who lives the “long view” of a continual life study wants all students to become aware of the ramifications of becoming great Aikido players who will eventually develop the ability to physically dominate other people that are most likely less well trained, less self confident, insecure, physically weak, less focused, less knowledgeable about self-defense and martial arts, and just downright fearful and easy to intimidate.

Good martial arts, and the senior players who set the example that beginners key into, become the role models, the exemplars of high level "stuff" (Hanshi in Japanese means exemplar and I need to go look up the translation of “stuff” as it’s a great all-round generic term).

There is a great deal of ethics involved in how you as a senior player comport yourself around others such as; how you relate to civilians who do not train in martial arts and who will never have your ability, how you relate to everyone else on the mat whether they are above or below your current grade, how you relate to Sensei when you are in front of him or how you talk about him behind his back, and how you talk about (support or denigrate) other senior players behind their backs.

Are you trying to create a clique and put your self above others, or are you always trying to help junior players who are confused and who are desperately seeking guidance.

Do you try to become a better person and reach your potential by helping everyone around you grow their potential (watering the flowers as-it-were) or do you make yourself feel successful by cutting down everyone around you to pull them down to your level (the crab pot theorem of no-one escapes the boiling water, “you just try to improve yourself mister and we’ll pull you back into the muck”).

Martial arts is not just about good technique; it's also about living a life worth living and an intense life-long study of morality and ethics will help you see this; or as a philosopher once said;

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Socrates, in Plato, Dialogues, Apology Greek philosopher in Athens

(469 BC - 399 BC)

Is your life-glass half empty and getting lower, or half full with the water rising?

Have you examined your life to even know what the state of your water glass is, or do you just roll (ukemi) around in a state of Aiki-bliss, completely unaware and essentially numb to the effects life has on you, and oblivious to the effects you have on your kohai?

The areas of life impacted by ethics just go on and on. One of the ways in which I, and all of my senior players became exemplars was by living an ethical life. We didn’t get there by cannibalizing those around us.

The term "Morality" has always had a little tinge of religion attached to the word so I personally prefer the use of the word "ethics" or "ethical behavior".

I always strive to improve my life and the lives of everyone around me by having a positive outlook and trying to help everyone grow (instead of spending my time negatively).

Be positive, grow, become all you can be and enjoy watching others do the same and someday your juniors will respect you for the example you set; and not the color of your belt, the number of patches you glue on, or how tough and intimidating you pretend to be.

Try this book out. It may give you some ideas.

The Examined Life - Philosophical Meditations by Robert Nozick

Originally published July 9th, 2008