by Phillip Starr
For
those may not have heard of him, Alan Watts (6
January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British-born
philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter of
Zen. A one-time Episcopal priest, the church still utilizes some of
his writings to this day. He was a prolific writer, particularly
after studying Eastern ways of thought. authoring some 25 books and
many articles. His first book, “The Way of Zen” (1957) remains
a classic to this day. I was most fortunate in being able to meet
him at a summer seminar in 1973 shortly before his untimely demise in
an airplane crash. I learned more from him than I ever suspected at
the time and a number of things that he told me that day have stayed
in my mind ever since. This article is in regards to one of them.
Few people, even
most fans of his, know that Watts was an avid practitioner of aikido.
I found out because I was young, didn't know much about him or his
fame (thus, I wasn't awed by him in the least until a few hours
later), and I asked him directly, “Mr. Watts, do you practice
martial arts?” He glanced sideways at me and I told him that I was
a teacher of Chinese martial arts. It was then that he admitted to
studying....and loving, aikido. In fact, he was very interested in
all of the martial ways and because it was a rarity to find a
practitioner of Chinese martial arts in those days, we talked at some
length.
As we discussed
martial arts he said, “Any physical activity taken to its extreme,
becomes s spiritual path and leads to awakening.” I asked what he
meant by, “extreme?” I remember that he smiled as he answered
me. “If you strive for perfection in it, it eventually becomes a
spiritual experience.”
“Even something
like...tennis?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Yes,
even tennis...or baseball, or crocheting. Any activity.”
I've mulled this
over for many years now. The operative phrase in his answer is,
“strive to perfect.” If we attend classes on a regular basis,
that isn't enough. If we simply engage in the practice of basic
techniques, kata, two-person routines...it isn't enough. We have to
CONSCIOUSLY strive to perfect our skills as this leads towards
self-perfection. It is the underlying theory of all martial arts.
It is why we continue to practice for decade after decade. We don't
do it for the exercise, although that certainly provides many
wonderful side benefits. And we don't do it for self-defense; heck,
we've acquired more than adequate self-defense skills after a fairly
short time in training. We (should) do it because we are aiming at
self-perfection.
Is such a thing
even possible? I would have to answer, “No, not in this lifetime.”
But that shouldn't discourage you in the least.
