Kotsu Kotsu

When you think of the Buddha, you think of the young man who was born in Kapilvastu, who practiced many years in the forest and who went around India to live the teaching. But that is only a portion of the Buddha, because the moment when the Buddha began to build the sangha , he begin to transfer himself to the sangha and many disciples, monastic and lay, they continue the Buddha. You have to see the Buddha in the sangha . You have to be able to see the Buddha in the dharma (teaching). If you have not seen the dharma and the sangha , you have not seen the Buddha. The dharma is available in the here and the now. The sangha is also available in the here and the now. You do not have to go to India in order to see the Buddha.   If you believe that Buddha is a god, and can bestow on us the things we want, then that is not the Buddha.  The Buddha is a human being who has a deep capacity of understanding and of loving and of having maha karuna , great compassion, maha maitri...

Shuji Maruyama Sensei has been characterized as being "like a cross between a butterfly and a piece of heavy farm equipment." When Rick Berry said this at a dinner celebrating Sensei's 35th anniversary in the U.S., it really struck me and has stuck with me these last 10 years. I was thus very surprised to see  Thich Nhat Hanh  described as "a cross between a cloud, a snail, and a piece of heavy machinery - a true religious presence." (by Richard Baker, in the introduction to Nhat Hanh's  Peace is Every Step ) Each of these great teachers has reached a profound level of understanding about the capability of human beings. But Maruyama Sensei teaches Kokikai Aikido , a martial art, and Thich Nhat Hanh teaches Zen Buddhism , a way of peace and individual transformation. Isn't this interesting?

"Peace must first be developed within an individual. And I believe that love, compassion and altruisim are the fundamental basis for peace. Once these qualities are developed within an individual, he or she is then able to create na atmosphere of peace and harmony. This atmosphere can be expanded and extended from the individual to his family, from the family to the community and eventually to the whole world." H.H. the Dalai Lama from the Foreword to Peace is Every Step,  by Thich Nhat Hanh