Can it be a problem to follow a master and his teaching? What can it bring? Can I develop properly at all if I don’t follow a master’s teaching? What is a Master and what is a teaching? These are the questions we want to discuss in this article.
First Experiences
I went through a veritable puberty and adolescence crisis. At the beginning of my independent thinking, I asked myself the questions: What is normal? What is a human being? And: What is a man? I found answers in behavioural research. Especially the books by Desmond Morris were very enlightening for me. Starting an intensive, almost daily karate training at the age of 16 brought up further, deeper questions. I can still say today that one of my trainers at that time, Manfred Gilhuber Sensei, brought me in the direction of my path. My eternal thanks to him! He brought karate and meditation together. On the one hand, ‘meditari’, Latin, ‘to come to the centre’. On the other, ‘personare’, Latin, ‘to sound through’. Both became a deep experience. Outward behaviour and inner personality should have a relation to each other, that is true authenticity. With this, the gate of the path was open!
In search of the way
I thought I now understood what ‘do’ means in karate-do. Not just a martial art form, but a ‘path of self-discovery’ through martial arts. In my twenties, the late 80s, I ploughed wildly through literature on psychology, philosophy, esotericism, attended seminars in many circles, on European and American shamanism, New Age, Zen Buddhism, et cetera. These were all interesting experiences, but they did not bring me any coherence. Different directions, each at different levels. This brings nothing, except constantly new experiences – breadth, instead of depth.
To know or to be able?
The attraction of the new seduces one to constantly move into breadth. It is enough to have known something. But I realised: you have to stay where you already know the most! Where it tends to become boring, that’s where the depth lurks. You need a teaching that shows you the safe way through steps. – For me, that means martial arts. Shotokan Karate at that time had a tendency towards outwardness with an emphasis on the competition aspect. With my desire for inwardness, I was led to Aiki-Do, where competition is fundamentally excluded. Aikido follows the highest ethical standards and is dubbed a mystical martial art. And yet it is a-religious. That’s it. Now you just have to find someone who knows it. And as unadulterated as possible, close to the origin. The founder, Ueshiba Morihei, was unfortunately already dead. Finally, I was able to follow Saito Morihiro Sensei at the place of origin in Japan for 13 years. The purest teaching available – no ego-oriented interpretation. Meeting a real master, at the source. Practice, practice, practice. But, for the mind the key to the inner secrets was missing . Language was the problem. Not just the Japanese, no, the words and concepts of the founder. The language of mysticism is the problem, even for the Japanese. My conclusion: mysticism is cosmically oriented and therefore has the same perspective all over the world. (With magic it is different). After intensive research and testing, I had found the perfect combination for me in 1995: Aikido and AMORC. A very comprehensive, occidental but super-religious wisdom teaching, which was able to give me an understanding of the words and symbolism of the founder of Aikido. To this day I have found no contradictions. After Saito Sensei’s death, I continued to study under many masters. I thank all of them for their interpretations and the insights they have given me.
The true master speaks
Master can be called the one who has attained skill in a field and can practise it even under the most difficult conditions. There are many masters, in all kinds of fields, more or less far away from the respective origin. One can learn something from all of them. Namely, how they have brought it to mastery. Genuine masters are free from ego-relatedness and lead one on the individual-personal path. In this way they make themselves superfluous at some point. Real Masters are Masters in service! Their highest teaching aims at everyone becoming a master of his own life. Then the master is no longer needed. His words, however, continue to resonate for a long time. One hears his voice inside oneself, often quotes him on the outside: “Master so-and-so said…”. Now it is important not to cling to this as a perpetual external authority, but to boldly go one’s own way. Then you learn to listen to a new, initially very quiet voice: It is the inner master, the true master. Who is that? It is myself, not my ego, my mind, but my true self. I am becoming who I have always been! That is complete, risky freedom! No one left but me to whom I can make positive or negative attributions…. me All-One.
Conclusion
Without teaching, All is Nothing. Most of the way, a solid, original teaching system is very helpful and, if chosen well, provides security and guidance. Then it needs a good mediator, a real master. This person must be free of ego-interests, otherwise he will keep you on his path. But that is okay if you also pursue ego-interests. But then there are often bad separations, because you can (and must) never become as good as your teacher-master, certainly not better. This is also logical, because you are not going your own way, but that of your teacher. So it is better to look for a master without ego-interests. That is not easy, especially in the beginning. It is like choosing a partner. If you are free to leave at any time, bind yourself. Always listen within yourself, listen to the unknown voice within you. It is your Inner Master – the True Master. And: