Aikido is love. It is the path that brings our heart into oneness with the spirit of the universe to complete our mission in life by instilling in us a love and reverence for all of nature.
Fill yourself with Ki, invite the attack.
Atemi accounts for 99% of Aikido.
The true meaning of the ‘samurai’ is one who serves and adheres to the power of love.
We can no longer rely on the external teachings of Buddha, Confucius, or Christ. The era of organized religion controlling every aspect of life is over. No single religion has all the answers. Construction of shrine and temple buildings is not enough. Establish yourself as a living buddha image. We all should be transformed into goddesses of compassion or victorious buddhas.
When you lose your desire for things that do not matter, you will be free.
An attack is proof that one is out of control.
Warriorship is none other than the vitality that sustains all life.
Do away with emperors, kings, and artificial government; establish true equality; abolish capitalism; live in God’s heart, simply and purely!
A warrior is always engaged in a life-and-death struggle for peace.
Can there really be a martial art in which one downs his attacker with a smile?
The purpose of education is to open your spirit. Modern education has forgotten this. The entire universe is a huge open book, full of miraculous things, and that is where true learning must be sought. In that spirit, take responsibility, train hard, develop yourselves, bloom in this world, and bear fruit.
The purpose of the Art of Peace is to fashion sincere human beings; a sincere human being is one who has unified body and spirit, one who is free of hesitation or doubt, and one who understands the power of words.
Iron is full of impurities that weaken it; through forging, it becomes steel and is transformed into a razor-sharp sword. Human beings develop in the same fashion.
Life is a divine gift. The divine is not something outside of us; it is right in our very center; it is our freedom.
True prayer has no set form.
Throw your partner by not throwing, pin him by not pinning.
The moon appears to be really present, but if you strike the water, nothing will be there. Similarly, your opponent should find nothing solid to strike.
I want to know everything; my curiosity is boundless.
Bushido is not learning how to die. Bushido is learning how to live, how to protect and foster life. Even in war, the taking of human life is to be avoided as much as possible. It is always a sin to kill. Give your opponents every chance to make peace.