Our Motto in Daily Life

Our Motto is a practical tool for our daily lives.

When you feel the "rattling thunder" of stress or anger, you are stuck in your small, relative self (小我 / shoga). You feel separate from the solution, the person, or the world.

The Motto is your reminder. In that moment:

1.  Experience Bodymind (Keep one-point)

2.  Let go (Relax completely)

3.  Be natural (Keep weight underside)

4.  Positive attitude (Extend Ki)

By "letting go," you become "fully open", switching from "me vs. the problem" to "me as part of the Universal Mind," in the same way a wave is part of the ocean. This Universal Mind, which this passage from Saikontan calls "one fabric with the origin of the stars", is already calm, stable, and "loves and protects all creation". You are training to act from that state (大我 / taiga), not your small, selfish, reactive one (小我 / shoga). This is the main point (眼目 / ganmoku) of our practice.

Table of Contents

• Our Motto in Daily Life

• Reflection of the Week:

• Unpacking Ki Sayings

  • Our Motto

    • Line 1: The Universal Mind

    • Line 2: The Purpose of Training

    • The Four Principles: The "How"

Reflection of the Week:

Unpacking Ki Sayings

The Shokushu (誦句集), or Ki Sayings, are the crown jewels of Soshu Koichi Tohei Sensei's teaching influenced by, among other things, his reading of Saikontan (菜根譚) as a young man. We often read one of the Ki Sayings before class, and it's easy to let them wash over us without washing through us. So I want to take time to chew on each of them in depth so we can soak more deeply in their meaning.

There is a challenge here. These Ki Sayings are experiential teachings, written in Japanese many years ago and not updated significantly even as Tohei Sensei’s own experience and pedagogy progressed through his life. The English version was translated early on by students whose own level of understanding was still developing, so, even with small revisions over time, the English version can sometimes be misleading and sound like commands or a distant goal. 

In this series of articles about each Ki Saying, I will do my best to present the Japanese original, the standard English translation, a more literal translation, and an exploration of the deeper meaning. The real teaching, however, is not about the meaning of words, but about experiencing the Oneness of Bodymind now, now, now, in every moment. 

Our Motto

The first saying, "Our Motto," is the foundation for everything we do. Let’s take a look at it line by line to see the plain meaning versus the deeper, practical instruction.

Line 1: The Universal Mind

Standard Translation "Let us have a Universal Mind that loves and protects all creation and helps all things grow and develop."

Japanese:「万有を愛護し、万物を育成する天地の心を以て、我が心としよう。」

Literal Translation "With the heart/mind (心 / kokoro) of Heaven and Earth (天地 / Tenchi) which loves and protects all existence (万有を愛護し / ban'yū o aigo shi) and nurtures all things (万物 / banbutsu ), let us make this our heart/mind (心 / kokoro)."

Deeper Meaning This is not a command to create or find a new, loving heart/mind. Tenchi (天地), or Heaven and Earth, is the Universe, which already has this heart/mind, it's impartial, nurturing, and allows growth. The instruction is to allow our own small, relative self (小我 / shoga) to actually be this big, absolute self (大我 / taiga). Or, put another way, experience the Universal Mind as our own mind in every moment. 

"The substance of mind is nothing other than the substance of the universe" is exactly this principle of making our heart/mind (心 / kokoro) the mind of Tenchi (天地). The "me vs. them" perspective is a barrier. To be "fully open" and "put up no barriers" is a practical way to drop this subject/object separation and experience the totality of the moment as a single momentary gestalt in each moment. This is "body-mind molting" (身心脱落 / shinjindatsuraku ), the foundation for Fudoshin (不動心), or "immovable mind"]. 

Line 2: The Purpose of Training

Standard Translation: "To unify mind and body and become one with the Universe is the ultimate purpose of our study."

Japanese:「心身を統一し、天地と一体となる事が我が修行の眼目である。」

Literal Translation: "To unify (を統 / toitsu) mindbody (心身 / shinshin) and become one body/unit (一体 / ittai) with Heaven and Earth (天地 / Tenchi ) is the main point (眼目 / ganmoku ) of our disciplined training (修行 / shugyō)."

Deeper Meaning: This can sound like we should do something to “unify” two separate things, “mindbody” on one hand and “the Universe” on the other. Or we might even think we need to unify three things: mind, body, and Universe. But really, we are reminded to experience the original and natural Oneness of Bodymind and realize that we are now, always have been, and always will be, one with the Universe.

The standard translation of "ultimate purpose" can make this sound like a distant, far-off goal. The Japanese 眼目 (ganmoku) is more immediate. It simply means the “main point" or "central focus" of our training. Experiencing Bodymind Oneness isn't a final destination we’ll get to in some distant future; it is the central point of our practice right now and in every single moment.

Shugyō (修行 / disciplined training) is the tool we use to let go of our idea of a separate self and realize the connection we already have. It is the method for becoming "one fabric with the origin of the stars", as Saikontan reminds us.

The Four Principles: The "How"

The Motto then gives us the "how." The standard English translation uses verbs, making them sound like commands: "Keep," "Relax," "Extend". A more helpful way to see them is as descriptions of a state of being.

In this way, the Four Principles are a practical method for achieving the state of being "fully open" and "one fabric with the origin of the stars" described in Saikontan.

1.  Keep one-point  (Japanese: 「臍下の一点に心をしずめ統一する。」 - "Calmly realize the original and natural oneness of mind and body at the One Point in the lower abdomen.") This is your anchor, the direct, immediate experience of Bodymind Oneness in the present. We explored this principle in depth here previously. 

2.  Relax completely (Japanese: 「全身の力を完全に抜く。」 - "Take the power of your whole self and throw it all away.") This means to "let go" or "throw away” all of your power, not just your physical power, but your knowledge, your past experiences, everything, both positive and negative. When we are tense physically, mentally, or emotionally, we are putting up barriers. We are bracing against the "rattling thunder and violent gales" of our own anger or stress, or holding on tight to “soft winds and sweet dew” of our pleasure and happiness. To "let go" is to become "fully open and put up no barriers," allowing these internal phenomena to "follow their rise and their decrease" without resistance. Read more about Relaxing Completely here.

3.  Keep weight underside (Japanese: 「身体の総ての部分の重みを、その最下部におく。」 - "The weight of every part of the body is naturally underside") This reminds us to "be natural." We’re not forcing anything; instead, we let our Bodymind find its comfortable, stable alignment that is also light, flexible, and at ease.  We covered this in more detail here. 

4.  Extend Ki (Japanese:「氣を出す。」 - "Ki extends") This is critical, it does not mean "you push your Ki out." It means "Realize that Ki extends naturally and infinitely.” This is already happening, not something you have to make happen. It’s a natural expression of being connected and at ease with ourselves and others. When Ki extends freely, we are filled with a sense of brightness and positivity. This concept is foundational, as we discussed previously here.

Upcoming Events

December 3, 2025 7:15 - 8:45pm LVKA Dojo Monthly Misogi / Sokushin no gyo

January 9 - 11, 2026 EKF Shugyo Tassai Kigan Shiki (New Year’s Seimnar) hosted by Northern Virginia Ki Aikido

I look forward to seeing you on the mat (and in daily life) soon!