Ordinary

Ordinary

I am an ordinary man in meditation.  Like a Buddha who sits under a tree, there is nothing extraordinary, there is nothing to brag about, there is nothing to showcase, there is nothing to highlight.  If you take a picture every day, it will nearly look the same, the body will age, the tree will age, the weather will change, but there is no action, he is just a man sitting in stillness.  The clothes may be different, but the action remains the same, he is in stillness.  There is nothing extraordinary in his stillness. 

I train everyday, I bike everyday, I eat everyday, I sleep everyday, I read everyday, I write everyday.  Everything I do is ordinary.  I do the same exercises over and over; some days I lift more, some days I lift less.  Some days I do more repetitions, some days I do fewer repetitions.  There is nothing extraordinary in what I do, what I do, people have seen before.  It is like watching a man who is sitting, standing, or walking, it is nothing new.  It is nothing to be excited about, nothing to admire, nothing to photograph, nothing to brag about, it is ordinary. 

The difference is the quality from within, the meditativeness from within.  Although I do it everyday, the quality of meditation makes it seem as if it is the first experience.  To me it is not a routine, it cannot be, every moment there is change.  The body and mind cannot be the same moment to moment, every moment the body changes, every moment the mind is changing, until you grasp control of this mind and stop the thoughts.  Every day is a different day; it is impossible for any two days to be exactly the same.  Every day is something new, a new experience. 

The lifestyle of a Martial Artist to me is similar to a basketball player.  A basketball player can play thousands of games, and every single game will be different, there will never be two games that are exactly the same.  The game is not extraordinarily exciting, like watching a magician of whom you expect to see a different magic trick every single time, no, the game is very basic, so basic that you rarely even see any extraordinary slam dunks like the ones you see in the slam dunk contests.  You simply see shots being made, people dribbling and passing the ball, every game is 48 minutes long.  The difference in games are minor, one day he scores more, another day he scores less.  One day he gets more steals and rebounds, another day he gets less.  Day in and day out, he is playing the game.

But imagine this game when there is no such thing as winning or losing.  Imagine this game where there is nobody playing but yourself.  Imagine this game that lasts not just for a few years or a few decades but for your entire life.  This is what Martial Art is to me, you simply train in meditation for life.  You don’t train to win or lose; you simply train in meditation, in awareness.  The training is simply the active expression of Buddha’s sitting meditation under the Bodhi tree.  It is nothing special; it is very ordinary, nothing extraordinary.  It’s the same thing over and over.  People will just walk on by, not even taking a second glance because it is nothing new and exciting.  Like the crashing waves against the shore, like the flying birds in the sky, like the fish swimming in the ocean, it takes a man of meditation to appreciate its ordinary beauty.   

The Armed Bullies, The Unarmed Civilians, The Armed Martial Artists

The Armed Bullies, The Unarmed Civilians, The Armed Martial Artists

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=827717070637995

As a Martial Artist, if you never face up to the reality of real death, if you never face the reality of how fragile life is and how you can die at any moment, at any time, you are not training in real Martial Arts, you are training in nothing but a game.  All the games of which you play in the name of the Martial Arts, is not real Martial Arts, you can call your game, Boxing, Chess, Thai Boxing, Checkers, Wrestling, Kickboxing, Monopoly, Tae Kwon Do, Solitary, Aikido, Halo, Basketball, Badminton, Football, Soccer, Judo, Golf, Tennis, Wing Chun, etc. 

You can fight amongst one another and argue with each other to determine which game is more real than the next.  You can fight amongst one another and argue to determine which game is more effective than the next.  But the reality is that all of it are just games, none of it deals with the reality of modern day combat.  All of it is just a sport or way of entertainment, none of it deals directly with real life survival training, none of it is real Martial Arts.

Real Martial Arts teaches you not to fear death.  Real Martial Arts teaches you that when you enter into combat, you are prepared to die or you are prepared to take the life of your opponent if necessary.  Absolutely none of it deals with entertaining others, making money, winning, or losing.  In the time of real combat, you simply respond to the danger to preserve your life.  There is nothing fancy about it, you do not respond to show off, you simply respond to save your life, and that moment will last just a few seconds in your life.

You can be a peaceful person, but no matter how peaceful you are, sometimes violence will come your way, and when that time comes, as a Martial Artist, you simply respond accordingly.  You may be a peaceful person, but sometimes violent bullies will put your friends or family in risk of immediate death, as a Martial Artist, you must respond accordingly. 

Everybody that possesses and carries a gun is not automatically a violent, evil, and irresponsible person.  A Martial Artist that possesses and carries a gun for self-defense and the defense of his loved ones and the defense of fellow citizens, is considered like a modern day super hero.  He should not be despised, but he should be highly respected and praised. 

You can claim peace and not believe in guns, but that does not mean the criminals will feel the same.  Guns will exist whether or not you believe in them or not.  We have violent bullies who will use guns to oppress those peaceful civilians who do not believe in guns, and then you will have the Martial Artists who will possess and carry guns to protect themselves and these peaceful unarmed civilians from the violent bullies. 

You are either an armed bully, an unarmed civilian, or you are an armed Martial Artist.  Once you are armed, and you are not a bully, you become a Martial Artist, regardless if you realize it or not, you become a Martial Artist, you are lethal but yet you are responsible.  You are powerful but yet you do not abuse this power.  An armed Martial Artist represents someone who is completely responsible with his powers.  The armed bully represents someone who is completely irresponsible with his powers.  The unarmed civilian is powerless.

The unarmed civilian then is either being protected by the Martial Artists or they are being oppressed by the armed bullies.  You can practice all sorts of unarmed combat techniques, but that still makes you an unarmed civilian, it still does not give you the power of an armed Martial Artist.  The armed Martial Artist is the true modern day Black Belt.  Boxers, Wrestlers, and all sport Fighters are nothing but unarmed civilians, when it comes to real Martial Arts, they are powerless against armed bullies and armed Martial Artists. 

Sport fighters are simply delusional, they think they are armed Martial Artists but they really are not armed at all, they think they have power but they really have no power, they are simply unarmed civilians, they are as powerless as teachers, clerks, managers, or whomever, they are not training in real combat, they are just playing games, like playing chess or checkers.  Compared to real life combat, all sport fighters are simply playing a game, no different than playing chess, and do not think for a second that just because you are proficient in playing the game of chess that suddenly you have the power to survive a real deadly encounter with an armed bully over an armed Martial Artist.

Initial Response to Video

This is real combat, this is as real as it gets, there is nothing more real than this. Everything else of which you think is real combat compared to this is nothing but a game, this is not a game, this is real life survival. This is what I train to survive everyday of my life in Zen Martial Arts. I train to understand that death can come at any moment and because of that, I must always be totally aware at every single moment of my life.

The Buddha's Are One

The Buddha’s Are One

“When I am with you, I feel like a boat on the wide ocean and the waves go higher and higher.  And then the question arises: are you me or am I you?”

“Two sides of one coin – both are right.  You can see this side, you can see that side.  The higher you go, the closer you come to me.  At the highest point, certainly this question arises: Who are you? – me or yourself?  In fact, those two entities have disappeared into one organic whole.  This is what I call devotion, the ultimate state of disciplehood.” – Osho “Sermons in Stones” pg. 549

I feel at one with the great sages of whom I have become a disciple of.  I feel at one with 2pac, Bruce Lee, Lao-tzu, Buddha, Osho.  As I have grown I have grown with them.  I feel that their expression is one with my own and that my expression is an expression of theirs.  I am able to transform and adapt to change my expression according to the time and circumstances.  I see that once you discover the Buddha within, you become one with all Buddhas.  You understand all Buddhas.  We all have no names, we are all just one.  Their expression lives through me and my expression is expressed through their teachings.  Even when they have passed away, their teachings live on, even when I pass away, my teachings will live on, because the teachings of all Buddha’s lead towards the same source. 

Speak Wisely

Speak Wisely

“Don’t speak anything that is not absolutely necessary.  Don’t speak anything that is going to hurt somebody.  It is better to be silent than to be unnecessarily in quarrels and fights and violence, because most of your violence begins with your words, with your mouth.” Lao-tzu from “Sermons in Stones” by Osho – pg. 445

From my past experiences, I have learned that I have to remain silent, to only speak when I feel it is necessary, not to speak because I am being paid to speak, not to speak to get attention or recognition, not to speak because I am asked to speak.  But rather to speak from the heart, never from the mind, but only from the heart.   If I choose to speak, I should speak when I am filled with love within, I should speak when I am at peace within.  If I am ever angry, I should not speak, it would be wiser to express this anger energy through physical exertion aimed towards creativity.  Harsh words can cause much damage to an individual’s psychology.  Clearly it is not good to be physically violent towards others but also it is not good to be verbally violent towards others as well.  All violence needs to stop physically and verbally.  

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

“But it is an insane world, where Muhammad Ali can declare himself three times great, because now one time does not matter.  Alexander was great, but only one time; and nobody thought of being great two times, double the amount of Alexander the Great.  But Muhammad Ali has figured it out.  He is not even talking about a second time, he is talking about a third time.  He is saying, “Muhammad Ali thrice great.” And what is creative about him?  This man has broken many people’s noses, has fractured many people.  He is awarded; he is thought to be a hero.  He should be kept in a cage in a circus – that is the only place where he belongs.” 

“Our values govern people and their behavior.  If you are by nature strong, use your strength for your deeper inquiry; use your strength for higher flights in your consciousness.  It is not right to destroy this strength in wrestling, in boxing, in being idiots.” – Osho “Sermons in Stones” pg. 269

I don’t respect Boxers, I don’t respect Fighters, never had, never will.  They do not impress me, what they do is destructive and violent.  They are not wise, they are not intelligent, and they are not creative.  Rather than admiring a Boxer or Fighter, if I am to admire anybody for their physical strength and power, I would admire animals, such as the tiger, lion, cheetah, etc.  I would rather watch animals in the animal kingdom than to watch these stupid Boxers and Fighters.  I have been put in this world to be guided towards wisdom, the people I admire are Buddha, Lao-tzu, and Osho. 

I admired Bruce Lee, but he was not a Fighter, he was an Artist, and as a profession he was an actor.  He was paid to act, he was never paid to fight, he was never paid to hurt people, he was never paid to destroy people.  He was paid to create.  He was paid to choreograph fight scenes, he was paid to act in movies, he was paid to direct movies, he was paid to share the beauties of the Chinese culture and Eastern Philosophy to the world.  He was the only person that practiced combat that I truly admired.  But there can be millions of Boxers, millions of Fighters, they can win thousands of matches without losing one, but I admire none of them, actually the more they win, the more disrespect I have for them. 

To me it is like the mass murderer who has killed the most innocent people.  To me it is like the pedophile who has raped the most children.  None of this is worth admiring.  It is like admiring Hitler for killing the most amount of Jews.  Absolutely none of this violent behavior is worth admiring.  Not only is it not worth admiring but all these people should be punished for their crimes, so that it discourages the public from learning their behaviors.  See it like this, on the streets, the more violent you are the more you are despised from the public, the longer your criminal record, the more damaged your reputation; I see the same should be the case with Boxers and Fighters. 

Now training in Martial Arts is different, training in self-defense is different.  If you are training to learn how to defend yourself from danger, that is different.  It is not about training to strengthen your ego, it is not about training to compete to better another athlete.  It is about training to defend yourself from the murderer, it is about training to preserve your life.  It is like learning how to safely operate and use a firearm to defend yourself from danger, this has nothing to do with destroying others for egoistic purposes, this is about learning skills for survival.  Like an animal that fights when his life is in danger, not because he wants to build up his self-esteem to feel better about himself or to show off. 

A Martial Artist is creative, he is self-expressive, his fight training is not destructive, it is more creative like a dance.  It enhances his health and well-being, it brings positive energy to the people around him.  He uses his combat training towards spiritual growth.  He never fights to destroy, he fights to guide people towards spiritual growth and understanding.  A Martial Artist is a different breed, rare to find.  Fighters are everywhere, fighters are criminals, fighters are animals, fighters are violent people full of ego.  Martial Artists train towards no ego, Martial Artists train in meditation.  Martial Artists train to be the longest living human beings in the world, they train towards optimum health.