Dojo Forum

In his speech after conviction socrates says: “The difficulty, my friends, is not to avoid death, but to avoid unrighteousness; for that runs faster than death. I am old and move slowly, and the slower runner has overtaken me, and my accusers are keen and quick, and the faster runner, who is unrighteousness, has overtaken them. And now I depart hence condemned by you to suffer the penalty of death,—they too go their ways condemned by the truth to suffer the penalty of villainy and wrong; “ We all must eventually depart, and that departure is always a loss to the world, all the knowledge all the experience all the insights a person has gathered, - are gone. Seeing that Socrates made a stand, - instead to avoid the unavoidable, he choose that he could actually attempt to achieve , - the state of “righteousness”. – and as always when we pursue an ideal we don’t need to reach the finish line, but the true attempt to do so by itself has profound impact on our life and that of others. For that the recent development and subsequent departure of Dr.Scott is a tragedy. Of advanced age, with the end in sight, Socrates’s goal to outrun the faster runner and succumb only to the slower, slipped from his hand just a few steps from reaching victoriously the finish line. We are social beings, and any sense and meaning that we as a human beings can experience can only matter, only hold meaning, within the human experience, within the social and interpersonal relationships we maintain. Unless a sociopath, which he is not, given his last communications, Dr. Scott knows deep in his heart that he has failed, and he has made a tragic bargain seduced by the faster of the pursuers. For a peace of paper nobody really cares about, empty status, serving a frail ego and injured feelings of self import he has allowed the faster runner to put his hand on him. And the price is high. Our former friend, student and sempei, lost his friend, his teacher, his community within the dojo, and the few joys of being tough by someone who can truly see him, enjoy to still improve and hold of the tide if for an hour or minutes, and the joy of sharing his knowledge. I truly mourn my former friend, my former student, and former member of our community. and a faith socrates called one worse then death.

I doubt that there is anybody who has not some elements in their soul that they would rather not have, I call those demons. They might be large or small, but they exist. Their existence by itself is not a problem, as long you recognize them, and (learn) how to control them to not let out, to not let them manifest in the real world. One important question about those is what is keeping them at bay. Is it your own true desire and recognition of the harmful and evil they would cause, that you in your heart want to prevent, or is what others think of you, social norms and possible repercussions that keeps them at bay. – if the effort come from within, powered by your own soul and will, you might stumble but eventually your efforts will be secure, and you can live with a calm heart, knowing that you and the world are safe. – or are the forces that keeps them at bay external. In that case all your being is a lie, and at the very moment those external forces are no longer of concern you will become a harbinger of pain and evil. Hence you should live in fear of your own, and for what you might do to others. Pure form is external, fragile and will fail if it is not supported by true content.

What a person does in their free time, is their choice. Within a dojo there are structures of loyalty and trust that are most fundamental, these bonds flow in both direction, from teacher to student and student to teacher. To violate those shows that the student of the art might he be teacher in his own right or disciple of a teacher, has failed to learned the very fundamental essence of eishin ryu iaido, and of budo as a way of life. – on can question ones loyalty faced with grave misconduct, - and / or unjust decisions and destructive harmful actions by either side, teacher or student. Loyalty is not absolute, and does not extend to the private life of the individual, but is retained within the dojo relationship and in relationship to the art. – There for, it is not proper to remove someone from the dojo for disloyal behavior clearly displayed within their own private life or time, even if it demonstrates lack of loyalty towards the teacher, or the dojo a person is part of, - that provides that person with a future opportunity to learn and respects the separation of private sphere from within a teacher student relationship. That is possible as long as this remains within the private domain of action relating to the individual. Averse decisions are no longer avoidable , when a persons behavior enters official territory, - at which point it can no longer be ignored, and action can not be delayed hoping for repentance. At that point a person has to be remove from any position of influence, within the community and looses all privileges of a member of the dojo and a disciple. In the event of a person declaring themselves through words or actions of no longer being a student of a teacher, but change their affiliation to an other group or teacher, it is unavoidable that changes have to be made. One has not the right nor the duty to teach a student of an other teacher, nor has a guest teaching privileges. . At the very best and only out of benevolence and compassion and given special grave mitigating circumstances, the former student might remain as guests and be permitted to practice at the location. That requires them to act as Guest, - familiarity with the teacher can no longer be assumed, the relationship to the teacher will have to adhere to formal proper interactions, just as any guest in a dojo would be required to.