A Little Incident That Lasted A Life Time!

I just talked to a person who spoke of kindness and used the word karma. This brought memories of when I first heard the term. I was in the Army Special Forces in Japan. I made missions to Viet Nam, Asia and the Middle East. One day while in a judo class in Tokyo I had just thrown by my instuctor for the first time. Of course, I was standing there all smug. An older man, perhaps 79 or in his 80s with a black kimono and a red slash around his waist walked towards me. No smile or eye contact, he just walked up to me and threw me and kept on walking. I am gasping for air asking my instructor "who is that?" He replied that he was a 10th degree belt holder in judo and a Zen master.

Well, I wanted to know more about him and the term Zen Master explained to me. I quickly found out that Zen was a school of Buddhism that had a special type of mediatation that was not a mediatation at all. Also, that the followers of Buddha did not believe in killing. That last element really hit me. Is there really a group of people who do not kill and think it is wrong to do so. I had a very difficult time with that fact. The more I investigated, the more it effected me.They truely believe that "we are one" so no killing of bugs, animals or humans.Not only that but there was a large international movement some 2500 years ago whereBuddhist walked all over Asia spreading the word. Many soldiers laid down their spears and swords and became monks.

Tibet had one of the greatest armies on earth butthe majority became monks. People all over Asia stopped eating meat. As far West as the Greeks where the King accepted Buddha. Well, my story is a very personal one. I was a highly trained soldier who every day trained others in the art of killing. I was sent here and there to Viet Nam and the Cold War arena. This actually changed my life and my attitude towards life. Oh no, I did not resign as I could have but I suffered in the effort to make peace with myself. I practiced Zen and attended a nearby monastery for years. It became a life time practice and I feel that it not only saved my life but the lives of my men several times. Of course, this story is somewhat superficial due to time and space.

Many years later, after a prolonged illness my Zen practice restored me to health. Thanks for listening and I welcome your comments. If you haven't yet, go look at my profile as in a way it is part of the story as well as the Peter Pan story. It is a strange world. The other day I asked a young woman if she was familiar with the term, "green beret". She said no.