Aiki Dojo Message: Fall Back Friday - Times Flies!

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on February 2, 2004.

Oh, how time flies! It is really not pleasant, I think, to think about the passing of time and how we get older and how things change - it is often kind of sad. Yet, we should always keep this in mind so that we don’t waste time.

We do waste so much time even though we go around to everyone complaining, "I am so busy, I am so busy!"

My Zen teacher used to say, "We waste 85% of our lives doing meaningless and frivolous things!" He also said, "We always think we are in control of our lives, but most of the time, we are just pulled back and forth, here and there, by so many people around us and so many circumstances in our lives so beyond our own control." When I think about this, how true it is!

Do not waste time. Every moment is needed to attain your enlightenment!

There is an old Chinese saying, "Even ten thousand pieces of gold cannot buy back one lost moment." How true this is!

In Aikido, always practice like there is no tomorrow. When you see your friends or classmates, always treat them like you will never see them again forever. When you do your work, always think that this is the only time you will ever be able to enjoy being useful

Do not think about your death, it is too depressing to keep this in your mind and it is not a healthy way to develop yourself. But always keep your death in front of you, like a true samurai warrior, and you won’t even waste one minute ever again! Please understand this well and think about this seriously!