An Open Invitation to all Aikido Students


I am writing this as an open invitation to all aikido students who wish to participate in our training center.

In order to insure the highest level of training, the retreats will be limited to twenty participants and divided into the levels of fundamentals, intermediate and advanced. The word Okugyo indicates the advanced level, yet the training will go into depth at each level. Each student will be required to pass all aspects of one level before participating in the next.

The Okugyo training will emphasize the spiritual as well as the physical aspects of aikido. Students will participate in daily meditation, reading and discussion, and other activities designed to help the student move towards an integrated understanding of Aikido.

It has long been my goal to create an environment for this kind of personal training. Okugyo seminars will not make any distinction between affiliation or rank, but will be open to all who approach it with a sincere and humble attitude.


Sincerely,

William Gleason

Monday, March 24, 2008

Bodhidharma's "Two Entrances and Four Practices" (part 1 of 3)

The Drinking Gourd Podcast presents a retreat workshop with Jay Sensei at the Toledo Zen Center on January 20th, 2008.

This workshop begins with a historical overview of Bodhidharma's time and the teachings ascribed to him as they relate to other spiritual teachings of the day. After this, Chikyo begins working with the text: "There are many avenues for entering the Way, but essentially they all are of two kinds: entering through Principle and entering through Practice..."

Available on iTunes as "The Drinking Gourd Podcast" or Here.

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