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Aikido-Yoga and Zen Zen is a distillation of mystic Buddhism that originally migrated from India, thru China (footnote 1), and then finally into Japan. It depicts a philosophical way of life that is typically Japanese, but retains the mysticism of India, the Taoists' (footnote 2) deep appreciation of nature, and the practicality of Confucianism (footnote 3). The Kegon School in Japan adopted Buddhism around 1200 A.D. They named their version of Buddhism ‘Zen’. As in Buddhism, the various schools of Zen attach great importance to sitting meditation (zazen). Zen also inherited the Buddhist belief in the perfection of our original nature, with enlightenment resulting from a realization of this fact. The experience of enlightenment in Zen is called satori. Zen has had an enormous influence on all aspects of the traditional Japanese way of life. Its influence extends to the arts of painting, calligraphy, gardening, the tea ceremony, flower arranging, and various martial arts such as archery, swordsmanship and Aiki-do. Each of these disciplines are known in Japan as a “do”, or "way" toward enlightenment, because they utilize Zen to train the mind to be calm, present and spontaneous. All of these disciplines require you to perfect technique, however mastery is only realized when technique has been transcended, and your spontaneous actions are no longer inhibited by debilitating intellectual processes such as evaluating and judging.
At this level of being, the Aikido-Yoga exponent becomes completely selfless and devoid of analytical thought or negative emotions. In this higher mental state, his/her focus shifts away from any form of pre-determined action to a state of awareness where he/she is simply responding to the attacker's actions spontaneously - moment by moment. The Aikido-Yoga exponent's non-violent movements are therefore in direct response to the attacker's aggressive intent and actions. In this expanded state of awareness, the Aikido-Yoga exponent is merely dealing with the dynamic interaction and interplay of energy that exists in time and space. The Aikido-Yoga exponent is therefore not actually involved in the conflict, however nonetheless effortlessly controls any aggressors by absorbing their movements into the "eye of the storm" - where his calm mind, fully present in the moment, can act appropriately.
Julius Aib, -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Footnote 1: When China first came into contact with Indian thought around the first century A.D, it translated the Buddhist sutras in the light of their own philosophies. The result was the Hua-yen (Sanskrit: Avatamsaka) school of Buddhism in China. They named their version of Buddhism Ch’an. Footnote 2: Lao-Tzu, born in China around 550 B.C, stated that the spiritual path was not possible to describe in words, so instead, he used the visual imagery of emptiness and fullness, fluidity, and constant change to describe the spiritual path he called the ‘Tao’. The fundamental principle that underpins Taoist philosophy is that the source of all ongoing life in the universe is a ‘life-force energy’ they call “Qi”. Footnote 3: Confucianism was founded in China by Kung-futze (551-479 AD). Known as Confucius, he wrote the ‘I Ching’, a book of wisdom that gives detailed explanation on appropriate and balanced behaviour in response to changing life circumstances. This book has had a tremendous impact on the Chinese mind. ‘I’ means change. ‘Ching’ means book. Therefore ‘I Ching’ means ‘The Book Of Changes'. The basis of ‘I Ching’ philosophy is that nothing is static and that our task is to adjust to the ebbs and flows of change. Julius Aib,
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Like Zen, 
