Koichi Tohei Quotes

When learning something new, you must never be critical at the beginning. Always do your thinking after trial and error. Most people make up their mind one way or the other before they even get started. The most important step is to remove your coloured glasses and get a clear view.

Some people are quick to find reasons and excuses why they cannot do things. This cuts their Ki and in times stifles their motivation altogether. Motivation is extending Ki, not receiving it. People today are more concerned with what they can get, than what they can give or do for others. That is why they cannot extend Ki.

True "fudoshin" is not a rigid, immobile state of mind, but the condition of stability, which comes from the most rapid movement. In other words, like the steadiness of a spinning top, the state of perfect spiritual and physical stability arises from movement, which continues infinitely and is so infinitely rapid that it is imperceptible.

There is no conflict in the absolute universe, but there is conflict in the relative world. If we unify our mind and body become one with the universe, others will follow us gladly. Do not say that this is a world where we must struggle to live each day. The true way to success is exactly one and the same as the principle of non-dissension, and that is the way of peace.

Ki is a very complex word... and even more difficult to translate to westerners.

The absolute universe is one. We call this ki. Our lives and our bodies are born of the ki of the universe. Study thoroughly the principles of the universe and practice them. We are one with the universe. There is no need to despond, no need to fear. The way we follow is the way of the universe, which no difficulty nor hard-ship can hinder. Let us have the courage and say, "if I have a clear conscience and a calm spirit, I dare to face an enemy of ten million."

Mind and body were originally one. Do not think that the power you have is only the power you ordinarily use and moan that you have little strength. The power you ordinarily use is like the small visible segment of an iceberg. When we unify our mind and body and become one with the universe, we can use the great power that is naturally ours.

You must not think of what you learned as belonging to you. Your learning was only possible because of the people who taught you. If you forget this, before you know it you fall under the illusion that you are the only one who can do it, or the only one who understands. This is called being full of yourself. It is wrong to think, ‘I am strong’, because this strength is nothing but weakness turned inside out. You must think how to act within universal principles.

Breathe out, so that your breath travels infinitely to the ends of the universe: breathe in, so that your breath reaches your one point and continues infinitely there. The ki breathing methods are an important way of unifying mind and body. At night when all is quiet and calm, do this alone, and you will feel that you are the universe and that the universe is you. It will lead you to supreme ecstasy of being one with the universe. At this moment the life power that is rightfully yours is fully activated.

We have learned coordination of mind and body and the "ki breathing methods". Therefore we can bring the ki of the universe into our bodies at anytime. When a water pump is dried out, no water can flow from the well up through the pump. To start this flow again we must put some water back into the pump. In the same way, ki does not flow strongly in a person suffering from illness or misfortune. Let us practice "kiatsuho" to put back into these people, stimulate their own flow of ki, and give them a fresh start to happiness.

The absolute universe is one. Then two opposing forces appeared, and the relative world was born. In the orient this dualism is called ‘yin’ and ‘yang’, in the west, ‘plus’ and ‘minus’.

The ki of the universe is absolute. There is no such thing as strong ki verses weak ki. Correctly speaking, ki is strong only because it is strongly extended, weak only when it is not extended strongly. There is no limit to how strong your ki can become if you train yourself to extend ki strongly.

We begin with the number one in counting all things. It is impossible that this one can ever be reduced to zero. Because just as something cannot be made of nothing, one cannot be made from zero. Ki is like the number one. Ki is formed from infinitely small particles, smaller than an atom. The universal ki condensed becomes an individual, which further condensed becomes the one point in the lower abdomen, which in turn infinitely condensed never becomes zero, but becomes one with the universe. Thus we understand the essence of ki.

If you throw a stone into a lake, it makes waves on the surface. Eventually the waves disappear, but just because you can longer see them does not mean that they are really gone. They have just become too small for us to see them. In the same way, we calm our mind by half, half, half... and the waves of the mind become infinitely calm. They never actually stop.

An old oriental saying tells us, ‘when our willpower is concentrated upon a stone, it can pass through it. When our willpower is focused and in harmony with the universe, it can command the wind, rain and thunder’. But from where does our willpower come? Those who understand and answer this question are those who accomplish important tasks. When we coordinate mind and body by stilling the waves of our mind to imperceptible, infinitely decreasing ripples, we can send forth our great willpower that moves the universe.