Rapid advances in science and technology have made life for humans convenient and efficient. It is becoming an age in which computers are treated like omnipotent gods, and human beings are handing over the driver's seat to science. To be a bit extreme, human beings are starting to be divided into those who utilize computers and those who are managed by them. Humans are starting to have no choice but to concede to the whims of machines, even enduring rejection by them.

Science and technology will continue to advance. Extreme competition and other negative consequences for humans resulting from such advances may become topics of debate, but it is not likely that such debates will lead to actual suppression of progress. The main reason for this would most likely be the rationale that it is economically impossible or unfeasible for anything with the power of suppression to exist. Already we are paying the price, such as increased stress, increases in medical conditions that cannot be easily treated by modern medicine, and degeneration of bodily functions due to toxic environmental pollutants like endocrine disrupters. Knowing this, is it not possible for humanity to get off this track of "progress" that we have started on?

Although human beings have brought about an unprecedented culture thanks to the advances of science and technology, humans themselves are approaching a crisis of degenerative collapse. Regarding such a situation, Alexis Carrel writes in his "Man, the Unknown,"

"... the slow progress of the human beings, as compared with the splendid ascension of physics, astronomy, chemistry, and mechanics, is due to our ancestors' lack of leisure, to the complexity of the subject, and to the structure of our mind. Those obstacles are fundamental. There is no hope of eliminating them. They will always have to be overcome at the cost of strenuous effort. (The knowledge of ourselves will never attain the elegant simplicity, the abstractness, and the beauty of physics. The factors that have retarded its development are not likely to vanish.) We must realize clearly that the science of man is the most difficult of all sciences."

The well-known Greek proverb, "Know thyself" are the words of one of the Seven Sages of Athens, Solon. The meaning of this proverb used to be, "Don't neglect your identity," that is, "Know your place." It came to be interpreted as, "Search for your own spirit," after Socrates and his research of the self. It is said that this proverb became his motto from the principle, "The beginning of knowing for a person is to know that he does not know." Thales, who Socrates credited as the "father of philosophy," also advocated "Know thyself," saying, "To know oneself is the most difficult thing."

It is nearing 40 years since I started Aikidô. I originally didn't even know the word "Aikidô" and only went to learn as my seniors in school told me to. By the time ten years had passed, I had come to question the practice methods and ways of thinking I had learned up to that point. I had even thought to end my Aikidô practice altogether. While I was in this state, I struggled to find a new way of practice. This new way was to concentrate (my ki) as much as possible, relax my upper body, and move flexibly. Several years after practicing this way, within this type of movement, I began to ceaselessly examine and confirm my state of mind: myself when it went well, myself when it went poorly, myself when I was trying to defeat my partner, myself when I was feeling fear, myself when I was feeling insecure, etc. From these confirmations, I learned the importance of ceaselessly keeping my mind calm.

While practicing in this state, I realized that techniques consisted of the relationship between my partner and myself. While executing techniques focusing my consciousness on my relationship with my partner, just for an instant, I was able to experience a state beyond words. All of my consciousness disappeared and it was as if I was riding upon some immense flow. In that state, although I had no consciousness, I could see my partner's movements well and my body moved naturally and accordingly. I also noticed that I had become positive, optimistic, and diligent all the time. I could feel an all- pervading energy that was always pulsing within my partner. I went through many trials of trying to negate any selfish or self-centered consciousness, and instead focusing on my partner. This led to being able to experience the sensation of moving naturally and without any distinction between my partner and myself. From these experiences, I became convinced that I had discovered the direction of seeking the Tao.

The founder of Aikidô Ueshiba Morihei said, "Mastery of Aikidô consists of ridding yourself of evil, harmonizing the workings of the universe and yourself, and unifying yourself with the universe itself. The heart of the universe is love, so great that it can be found in every far corner. The Budô of those who cannot harmonize with the universe is not true Budô, but Budô of destruction. True Budô is the working of love. It is not killing, but working to create and nurture everything."

Normally we practice Aikidô trying to achieve an absolute and strong self, by a process of defeating others through fighting to deny others. This is seeking Aikidô as 'jutsu' (technique) and not as 'dô' (way). The concept of 'dô' signifies a diverse unification - unification of all opposing things in the universe, including in human society. This means to emphasize the singularity of every thing, and to give priority and attempt to understand things that are unified and absolute. Those who wish to realize the Aikidô of the founder must not just seek Aikidô as 'jutsu', but as 'dô'. If we truly seek Aikidô as dô, not only will there be recovery of humanity suffering from advances in science, it will be possible to achieve the highest wisdom. However this ideal can be said to be the opposite of the ideal of competition. It is necessary to acknowledge that if we are naive and lackadaisical, we will fail against the reality of competition before long. If one is to seek a truly strong self in the ways described above, it is necessary to have strength that will hold up against competition and can continually embrace paradox. (December 2000)