In an interesting thought the other night I realized that I have been training for over 20 years now. Admittedly I have not been training as hard since I entered acupuncture school, but now that I am about to graduate I will have more time to train.
During my time studying the martial arts I have learned a lot about myself, about life, about dedication and about balance. Many of my friends that have known me over the years would probably agree that, at times, I have been very out of balance in my training. I have also, over the last three years, been able to step back from my training and get a slightly larger perspective on my life. Between these two I will strive to find my middle way of harmony and balance.
As a result of this stepping back process I have become appreciative of several things that I would like to give voice to.
But what I am thinking of now is more along the lines of what purpose has this been in my life? I have grown immensely on every level, yet the more I train in the martial arts I see with greater clarity that the main reason I train is not "on the physical plane." I see and know that each one of us in the world are here to learn lessons. Some of these lessons require strength to survive, others require dicipline to stay commited and focused during the lesson. Through the martial arts training I have developed the inner strength I need to survive the lessons and the discipline needed to remain focused, and to return to my focus when I get knocked around.
On this quiet Sunday evening, I am thinking about the way that I have attempted to use the
martial arts as a vehicle to further my Spiritual development. I have been immersed in the
study of Martial arts for 20 years now, yet I see now that I have actually been using this as a preparatoy
course for entering into and furthering my own Spiritual Discipline.
I have had the honor of working with some very fine instructors in the martial arts.
I have also been graced with the ability to read and reflect on the writings of some of the
"great" writers throughout history. I am also extremely graced with being a student
of one of the True Godmen of the 21st Century.
Tonight I was reading a different teacher Tri Thong Dang's book Toward the Unknown. I was struck by the similarity of what he espouses and what my Spiritual Teacher says.
I see that there are many differences with what I am currently being taught, but I also see the similarities. It is a reminder of that old saying "There is nothing new under the Sun." The challenge being to get to a point in life where I can see the 'oneness' of all things; to rise above the duality that is what our society uses to define the world. In the above mentioned points I can see the oneness (and the differences) with my current teachings, and this makes me even more grateful to be studying under a True Spiritual Teacher that is able to explain the nuances of the Path.
As anyone who has read many of my pages knows I usually have several ways of thinking and writing about any given subject. I will try to develop another way of expressing this.
I know and believe in the physical aspect of training hard, and training as realistically as possible. Yet, I also know that the "harder work" is on the inner-planes. In one very true analogy I have written that I believe for every 10% of gain or work done on the outer, or physical plane, there needs to be 90% done on the inner plane.
Our society is so strongly conditioned to look at the appearance, or the surface level that it is the rare person that will take the time to look below the surface. BUT BELOW THE SURFACE IS WHERE THE WORK IS DONE. Take a person that is doing a kick for example. I have seen black-belt's that have fantastic looking kicks, but these kicks are not powerful, do not use healthy body mechanics, and might not be useable in a "real fight." Or as an alternative, I have worked with some men and women that may not have "pretty" kicks, but they could lift me off the ground while I was wearing 50-60 pounds of body armor; (read that as "very effective"), and these kicks were being used in as real of a fight as I could create in that environment. What I would like to point out is that "pretty" and "effective" may not be mutually exclusive, but they are not always dependent on one another.
I would encourage EVERYONE that trains in the martial arts to be realistic in your training. In every meaning of the word. I would also encourage you to look into your real, true reasons for training. (I am writing a version of "The Seven Habits of a Highly Effective Martial Artist . When I finish it I will try to get it published; in that writting I reflect on the reason for training, and a way to discover what your true reason for training is, and why that so critical.)
One of the things I do know that is true in every area I can think of is "the Beginners Mind" In my own experience I am working at contemplation rather than meditation. If I can keep the "open-mindedness" of a beginner, but develop the perspective of Soul I will become enlightended. The reason I say contemplation is that I need to harness the energy of my mind after it becomes still enough to focus. My mind does not like to "sit," I do much better when my mind is 'engaged,' instead of learning to 'still' my mind. Contemplation teaches me to let my 'mind' flow over the subject of contemplation like water flowing around a rock. Cover all aspects and perspectives of the chosen subject, like water covers a stone. I work at allowing the the mind to "flow," not stagnating. In the same way that the qi used in acupuncture is looked at; flowing is healthy, stagnation is unhealthy.