Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Chapter 159: What the Master’s Say

·     It must be true, right? 
·     After all they are the “Master’s” and they did create the karate and martial art systems, right?
·     The master’s must be revered as they are ... “The Master’s,” right?
·     The master’s quotations are often bandied about as if they were presented as tablets created from sage voices from burning bushes, right? 
·     But are they and are the quotes, meme’s and aphorisms actually what individuals perceive them to be or are they just assigning them importance as if properly understood and their own biases and perceptions?
·     Is veneration of the master’s, a healthy and beneficial way to learning, understanding and creating evolutionary change necessary to keep the disciplines viable for current times, situations and applications?

Granted; master’s, grand master’s and luminaries all have a good deal of knowledge, understanding and teachings that benefit those who follow and yet we tend to put them on pedestals; often like a statue of gods as if infallible, unquestionable and of sage-like status; leading many into cult-like, sudo-religious followings where deviation is met as if committing blaspheme. 

What the master’s and sensei have to say is not written in stone for the very reason that to evolve the disciplines requires exchange and participation, up and down as well as side to side, in order to continue in the very traditions created by those very same masters. 

I love the quotes that are being passed along to inspire training and practice, they all serve a purpose much like all those bottles one sensei spoke of so long ago. 

On quotations of the venerable master’s; if you seek their intent and meaning then “good luck”; if you seek to find applicability for current issues, teachings and philosophical meaning then don’t just put out the quote, provide guidance along with it!

Merely providing the quote while saying it applies as sage-like advice then leave everyone hanging on assumptions just leaves them ignorant and uninformed - just too easy cause otherwise it requires one to think, research, discuss with peers openly and with an open mind and then synthesize something ... special.

To find the “Master’s” intent and meaning you will have to time travel back to his time and Dojo to seek his guidance personally and for an extended time. Even then the language and cultural difference will leave gaping holes in what you know, what you think you know and what you will never know you don’t know!!!


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