To practice the martial arts does not mean that we become invulnerable, invincible or acquire superpowers. It means to live our lives correctly and justly according to our ideals and beliefs. We all will get sick, grow old and die like everyone else, but there is something different about our lives. It is this tiny difference which is very important, and we can only find it through our daily training. When someone thinks that they are better than someone else then they are only displaying a sickness for which we still have not found a cure. All human beings have their strengths and weaknesses, knowing this fully well, how can we brag or be boastful to others? An enlightened person learns to live in accord with their weaknesses, a superficial person only lives with their strengths and blames their weaknesses on others. An individual's value is in direct ratio to the value that they see in everyone around them. To try to stand above others, means that you have disconnected yourself from others and you have become that much smaller, not bigger and not definitely not greater.
Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on February 19, 2001.