An Ashram

An Ashram

“The ashram has a totally different perspective.  The ashram means a community, a communion of people, of souls who are alike.  You will be surprised: remember, the modern Hindu ashram is not really Eastern.  The modern Hindu ashram is so influenced by the Christian monastery that it is not Hindu at all.  If you really want to have a glimpse of a Hindu ashram, you will have to go to the days of the Vedas.  The master was there, but the master was not a monk.  He was a married man: he had a wife, he had children, the ashram was his family.  That’s why the ashram was called gurukul.  Gurukul means the family of the master.  He had children, he had a wife, he lived a relaxed life, deep in the forest, deep in nature: a spontaneous way of life, unhurried, not searching, but waiting; not putting God against the world, but enjoying the world because God is in it.  And the disciples who lived with him were his family, gurukul.  It was not an institution; it was a family.  They were children to him, his own kids.  They may have been older than him – that is not the point – but they were his kids.” – Osho “The Path of Love” – pg. 172

That is how I see real Martial Arts is to be shared, through a family.  It is not an institution.  It is a community of souls that are alike.  They are unique in their ways, different than the society and culture.  They are artistic, creative, and self-expressive.  A Martial Artist is so unique that it would be rare to bump into one.  Anybody can be an athlete, but not anybody can be an Artist, it is a different breed of individuals. 

The Boxing Gyms, the Fight Gyms that you find around in America are not Eastern.  They are so influenced by the Christian way of life that it is not Eastern at all.  If you really want to have a glimpse of the Chinese Martial Arts Kwoon, you will have to go to the days of the past.  Some Chinese Martial Art movies that you will find will provide a glimpse. 

The Sifu was there, but the Sifu was not a monk.  He was a married man: he had a wife, he had children, the kwoon was his family. He had children, he had a wife, he lived a relaxed life, deep in nature: a spontaneous way of life, unhurried, not searching, but waiting; not putting Tao against the world, but enjoying the world because Tao is in it.  And the disciples who trained with him were his family.  It was not an institution; it was a family.  They were children to him, his own kids.  They may have been older than him – that is not the point – but they were his children.

Real Martial Arts Discipline

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This is the type of training required for the Real Martial Arts.  Harsh, raw, and real.  The Sifu needs to have the freedom to yell, scream, swear, and even beat the disciple into consciousness.  The Sifu begins as an authority and dies as an authority.  The disciple is never allowed to go astray in which to corrupt the Martial Art expression.  If the disciple becomes arrogant and wants to enter into combat sport, the Sifu will enter into a hard sparring match to beat the disciple into an understanding that he must remain humble. 

The disciple shall never be able to overcome the Sifu, the Sifu represents a level that is unattainable by the disciple until the disciple becomes a Sifu himself.  When the disciple becomes a Sifu himself, he should be on the correct path and ensure that he will never teach any disciples the wrong way in which to allow them to stray off the path.  The disciple who is ignorant enough to believe that he is the “best in the world” will be quickly shown by the Sifu that he is far from it by engaging in hard sparring with the Sifu. 

The disciple quickly comes to realization that how can he possibly be the best in the world if he cannot overcome the Sifu.  If the Sifu loses control of the disciple and the disciple begins to believe he is more powerful than the Sifu, then the corruption ends up taking place and the Sifu had failed to properly teach and discipline the disciple in the proper way before the disciple has gained power himself.  The critical time to teach humbleness within the disciple was lost and now the disciple believes he is all powerful and is unwilling to listen to any authority. 

The Sifu has lost his chance to instill humbleness within the disciple, now the disciple has been corrupted and there may be no turning back.  A Sifu who teaches a disciple who is already somewhat powerful but yet is unwilling to develop his spirituality from within and develop humbleness, the Sifu should withdraw and forbid the further teaching of combat to this individual.  A disciple who has demonstrated arrogance with a little power shall not be given even more power by the Sifu.  The Sifu shall retain his power over the disciple to put himself in constant authority over the disciple until the ego barrier is properly dismantled.  

Dangerous Association

Dangerous Association

“But who has forced you to be part of the commune?  It is your choice.  You were not born in the commune.  It is your choice, and a difficult choice, because by being part of my commune you are going against everybody else around you.  You are taking a risk.  It is dangerous to be part of my commune.  It is dangerous to be in association with me.  You have chosen it.  I don’t covert anybody; I try my best to dissuade you from becoming a sannyasin – what more can I do?  I give you no consolation.” – Osho "The Magic of Self-Respect" pg. 130

That is how I feel about the disciples of my school.  The ways of what I teach, goes against everybody around you.  I am teaching the ways of the East, but we live in the West.  It is dangerous to be in association with me because I speak against the majority.  Courage is needed in order to be a disciple of my school, without courage, there’s no way you can last. You must be prepared to not be accepted, you must be prepared to stand alone to represent the Way.  Jesus, Socrates, MLK, Malcolm X, all died for truth, you must have that type of courage.  You must be prepared to be disliked, the masses will not approve of you because your very being exposes their lies.