Letting Go Discussion Ch.

19
Shinpo Uchu Rei Kanno Soku Genjo
Friday, Oct. 15, 2010
Good evening. Tonight we are having our 19 th chapter discussion group, from our book
Letting Go, and the title of this chapter is Shinpo Uchu Rei Kanno Soku Genjo. I think
everybody is probably very familiar with this phrase, which is very important to Tohei
Sensei. But maybe someone who is listening to this pod-cast or reading the transcript
is not familiar. So maybe Ill say just a little bit about it before we read from the chapter.
Shinpo uchu rei kanno soku genjo sometimes stands alone, and is sometimes used in
concert with Ki Rei/Ki Barai. To my way of seeing, because of the kind of teaching that
Suzuki Sensei gave me about this, the meaning changes slightly, but significantly,
depending upon how it is used. Standing alone, as in my translation of the phrase that
is in Ki-Aikido on Maui, The Training Manual, which was the first book I wrote back in
1985, it translates as immediately I experience Universal presence. This is more of a
literal translation and it is very beautiful. And then, when it is combined with Ki Rei/Ki
Barai, as it usually is when it is in use, its part of a ceremony. And when it is part of the
ceremony the meaning remains, but I like to give a little more active inference to it. This
would be the state that I am in right now determines how I perceive or experience my
life now and in the future. This is a definition that Suzuki Sensei used to like, or
something close to this, because it has a kind of injunction in it. It is not just a
description of a state of being, but when you say it this second way, it sort of includes a
kind of requirement to honor that. So it is not just saying Thats the way it is, but This
is our practice.
As I said, when it is used in the ceremony, it is combined with Ki Rei/Ki Barai, and this
chapter goes into each of those in some detail. I am going to read a very short excerpt
from the chapter, not of course the whole chapter, which is too long. Though I am not
sure if what I read will satisfactorily cover, for everyone, the explanation of what is Ki
Rei and what is Ki Barai. And if not, please read the chapter and look into it more for
yourself.
So Ill read now, something from the chapter. I wont start on the first page of the
chapter, but instead on page 225 where it says Ki Rei/Ki Barai:
Ki Rei/Ki Barai
Lets talk a little bit about the history of this shinpo uchu rei kanno soku genjo, and maybe we
can make it a little clearer. When Tohei Sensei first came to Maui to teach the police, Suzuki
Sensei was a police officer. In fact, the reason he spent so much time with Tohei Sensei was that
the Chief of Police happened to pick Mr. Suzuki to be Tohei Senseis escort while on Maui.
Because Suzuki Sensei was a police officer at the time, Tohei Sensei showed him this practice of

Ki Barai. This is something that he only showed others in the West much later on. Just like
everything else, this practice has changed and developed over the years. Ki Barai basically
means to wash away or clear away the negative, so you can see why Tohei Sensei might have
chosen to teach this to a police officer first. We can also say this means to clear away the
relative, or wash away the belief in, or attachment to, that which is not substantial, as I
described earlier. Also we have Ki Rei, which means the opposite an infilling of, or a
complete acknowledgement of, that which is substantial.
So this is directly acknowledging the existence of shoga and taiga, or recognizing relative
and Absolute value.
There is a little ceremony that we do surrounding this immediate practice. Tohei Sensei taught
that whenever you go into a situation that might cause nervousness, or that you feel you might
react negatively to in some way, we use Ki Rei/Ki Barai practice. This practice is also used to
bless newly acquired land or buildings. When a student or friend acquires a new piece of
property, a new building, new dojo, etc., then the teacher can come and do this Ki Rei/Ki Barai
for them. In the beginning Suzuki Sensei did this ceremony himself, and he took me along as his
assistant. And then, at some point, he turned this responsibility over to me, so now I go out and
perform this at different places. We also do this at our dojo on the first day of each year. At 7 in
the morning we all gather at the dojo, and using salt and sake, I go around the dojo throwing it
out in a certain pattern and then we go inside and I make Ki Rei/Ki Barai for the dojo and for
the students. During the last class of the year and the first class of the year we always do this
latter practice once again for the students.
When you first learn about this practice, you might think, This is a little superstitious.
However, this is not superstition in any way. I will try to explain why I say that in a moment.
The ceremony happens in two parts. The first part is Ki Rei, and then the second is Ki Barai.
Suffering is a relative condition. The Buddha said, to be human is to suffer. To be exclusively
locked into the relative world is to suffer. This is where we talk about superstition. People think,
If I do this Ki Rei/Ki Barai, then things will happen nicely for me. Things will go well. Ill get
a good girlfriend and Ill have a lot of money, Ill stay young looking, everything will be cool,
and I wont get sick. However, that is not the case. You can do this practice for your sick
mother, or others, or you can say it for yourself, but it is in no way trying to control or alter the
conditions of the relative world. That is superstition. Thinking that you can do something to
alter the conditions in the relative world is superstition. For instance, If I make special Ki
Barai, when my son gets sent to Iraq, he wont get shot. No. This is foolishness. It is a big
mistake to try to control the relative condition in the world.

However, your perception of, and reaction to, the relative condition in the world is
everything. Remember, you dont really have a choice in what this life brings to you. You cannot
control what happens to you or your loved ones. But you can control your reaction to that. You
can control the keeping One Point or not. You cannot be responsible for what someone else
does, or what nature does, but you can be responsible for your reaction, which is a direct result
of your perception. This practice is acknowledging that whatever state of being I am in, that is
the state of being that I will receive everything in. This is an important distinction. When things
go well, everyone tends to say, Oh, thank you, Lord. I got the contract, or the money, or the
girl, or the whatever. Oh wonderful, everything is going well. But then, when things go badly,
we say, Oh, why me? And then we go to our priest or psychologist and complain. So this is
really foolish, hey? This is really a shortsighted way to be, and yet we find a part of ourselves is
indeed like this. We dont always have to go there, but there is no one that says this is not in
them. We all have this.
So you want to recognize what you do have a choice for and what you dont have a choice for,
and live accordingly. Once we do understand this, then we want to acknowledge this regularly.
When I sit in the morning the first thing I do is express gratitude for every condition I find
around me. This is just a simple acknowledgement that things are as they are. This is not
making a value judgment by saying that circumstances are particularly good, or bad. Things are
just as they are. So I express that gratitude first, and then I make Ki Rei and Ki Barai. Every
morning this is the first thing that happens. And then at the end of the day, just before I drop off
to sleep, I do this again. This is a good practice. It is a very practical help in reminding
yourself not to become too attached to that which does not last, that which is not dependable.
No matter what life brings you, when you let go of it, then you have all you need. When you are
hanging on, clinging to it, then it seems like you cant get enough of it.
This is kind of like what we were talking about last night. When you are up on a
mountain-top over looking the valley and the mountains in the distance, and there is a
storm brewing and it is spectacular, its sunset, and everything is so quiet, and you
never think of your self or even where you are. You are just in it. Its so beautiful, so
silent. And then you get back in your car and drive down to the shopping center. And I
asked someone, Where did that silence go? Did it go anywhere?
You know, its like you see the beautiful sky. Here in Hawaii, driving to work every
morning I see the spectacularly big, open, blue sky. There are clouds in it, and birds,
and sometimes there are airplanes. But to the sky, it doesnt have any thought or care
about whats in it. The clouds and the birds and even the airplanes dont interrupt the
sky in any way. They are there, theyre part of it, theyre not separate from it. But the
sky doesnt have any reaction to them. If you can experience the silence that you

experience at the mountain-top at the shopping center, then the cacophony and the
chaos, the business and craziness, will still be there, but it wont bother you. Its not that
you dont care, but just that you dont mind. You dont have a mind to change anything.
Its with this meaning that I say that Ki Rei/Ki Barai is not designed to change anything.
Its designed to help us recognize this universal condition, this universal presence,
which is our true nature. And as long as we rest in awareness, which is our practice, no
matter where we are, we will always have this experience of peace and stillness and be
able to continue with our practice.
Of course, we are constantly forgetting, and getting bugged by something, something
that doesnt seem right, and when we do then we just go back and remember.
Remembering is everything. Ah, right! Oh yeah, this. So then just rest in this.
Its nice when we are in the dojo and we are all together like this and we all have a nice
feeling. Here it is very easy to keep One Point. Here it is very easy to have a loving
heart and be open minded and free in our thoughts. But when we go out in the world
that is always a challenge, whether we are at work, with friends, at home. There is
always something available to distract us, or take us away, or invite us to follow, to cling
to that. And so we do. Thats our nature. But if we are practicing, then we remember,
Oh, this is my practice. Its not that we try to change any of those life conditions. To
try to change any of this is to get sucked into it and get engaged in the relative condition
in the way that is very dangerous, if you are serious about practice. But everybody has
a life, and in that life there are demands placed upon us, from within us or from outside
by other people, conditions, events, weather, something, car breaks down, something
happens. So if we are in our practice, if we are in awareness, if we are in this Original
Condition, then we have the best chance to respond appropriately. The more we are
engaged in a structured, reactive, belief system that makes us want to change
something that doesnt seem right, as you all know from your experience, the less likely
we are to respond appropriately in a difficult situation. So thats why we practice.
Because when we dont respond appropriately, then we have to suffer the
consequences of that. And when we do respond appropriately, we dont have to suffer.
The purpose of our practice, then, is to put an end to this suffering. Thats why
everybody walked into this room, this dojo, the first time they did, way back when. If
you really look deeply at your motivation, you will see that. Of course, you might have
consciously had a completely different expectation, (I certainly did), than the way it
turned out, because you had no idea at that point. But there is some sort of feeling that
we have, even when we are very, very young, that we want to be free of suffering.
Usually we say, I want to be happy. But that leads us to try to avoid pain and cling to
happiness and so to further suffering. So happiness is not the way.
This is a much deeper way to look at how to be, and much more natural, and we have
Tohei Sensei to thank for this wonderful teaching.
So now if you have any questions, you could ask.

Student: Sensei, you said at the start that shinpo uchu rei kanno soku genjo has
changed for you, the definition or the meaning has changed, from when you first wrote
your book. Obviously you were aware of that when teaching, prior to writing the book,
so I wonder if you could elaborate a little bit on what your first understanding was, and
the process, a little bit of how it changed.
Well, I did address that somewhat in my introduction tonight. I think I understand what
you are asking. The sort of literal translation is emphasizing genjo, which means
immediately. Genjo koan is being able to use this moment as a koan, in other words the
immediate presence. So shinpo uchu rei kanno soku genjo is recognizing the
experience of Reiseishin, or Universal Presence, immediately, genjo, right now. So
literally this is what this means. But I said that what it means in our life, if terms of our
practice, might, to Suzuki Senseis way of thinking and certainly to mine, include an
injunction, or a kind of compelling inference to saying that. Why do I want to experience
Reiseishin, immediately? What is the meaning of that? What is the importance of that?
Why do I make Ki Rei/Ki Barai? Why do we do this? So that is why, when I translate it
these days, I usually make it a little more, what, user-friendly, a little more easy to see
Oh, this is what its about. I mean that literal translation is fine, but I think the literal
translation even has the word wishing or praying in there, that even in my first book I
ignored. Look out for that. You know, hoping that I am going to be able to do this some
day. Hah! This is deadly.
Similarly, for so many years I thought masa katsu a gatsu kachi haya bi meant one
thing, and I finally got it translated correctly and realized, Oh my goodness, its the very
teaching that we are doing today, now. It is this very teaching. So I think that is maybe
what you are saying. There is a sort of traditional, more old-fashioned way of seeing
this, but for students who are really interested, I dont want them to think this is some
sort of ritual that brings you some kind of something in the future. Thats superstition. I
dont know how you feel about that, but to me, this is utter nonsense. And I wont teach
that to anybody. But the ceremony is very beautiful, and the way it helps me is the way
I was describing. It helps me not be so attached to things being a certain way to make
me happy and keep me from feeling pain. Thats a natural inclination that I have and
that everyone has. So it is a really useful practice because it reminds me every time.
So this is a practice that you can use like any mantra. In Plum Village, one of the
teachings of Thich Nha Hahn is every time you open a door, let that remind you to be
present. Well, you can get pretty obsessed with that. There are all of these cabinets,
car doors, house doors, etc, but if you practice that way, then thats great. We might
even say Every time I take a breath, let it remind me. Some people decide to do one
hundred million Om mane padme hum before they die. So they sit all the time saying
Om mane padme hum. Well, it keeps the clutter out of your mind. Nothing wrong with
that, as long as you are not thinking that you are going to get something in the future out
of that. Its just a way to be. And the thing I like about shinpo uchu rei kanno soku
genjo is thats what it actually says, itself. Its just the way to be.

Does that satisfy your question?

Student: Yeah, it did. It think that it was stating the obvious that you didnt want it to be
a literal translation.
Yeah, the literal translation is fine, but lets take it a bit further.
Student: And so it more like a living dynamic.
Yes. Its not just a statement, its a practice, as you say, living and dynamic.
Student: Thank you.
Student: Sensei you say you do it first thing in the morning and the last thing before
you go to sleep. Do you literally do that or do you kind of do it in your head, you know,
like silently.
Well, in the morning I am sitting up, so I make gasho and do it physically. When I am in
bed at night, when I put my head on the pillow, I close my eyes and just say it inwardly. I
do everything in my mind, but not with my hands, which might wake Lynn up.
And now, there are many other times I do this during the day as well. I was talking
about every time you open a cupboard, but I have my own life, and the way I want to
practice as often as possible, every moment if possible. So it happens a lot more than
that, but for sure, first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Student: But it is a clearing, right? I mean, thats what it was made for, to clear
energies maybe? I dont know if I want to get that deep.
Careful. Thats not particularly deep. Thats the one thing I was warning about, the
superstitious aspect of this. I dont want to teach it, if you are going to think of it that
way. Were not here to try to alter the conditions of the world, energetically or otherwise.
We are here to learn to be true to our strength, our clarity, our purpose of being human,
which is to wake up and not be fooled by, or a slave to, every little Tom, Dick, and Harry
that comes along, every little sensation, every little emotion, every little thought story.
And some of them are very serious and torture us, we are so susceptible to them. So
when you come near one of them, cut it. You know, thats where Ki Barai is useful. But
understand, this cutting is not trying to change it. Its recognizing that I am the source
of my own difficulties. And its not saying that Universal Presence is athing that can be
manipulated. Thats the problem that Christianity has. Of course theres nothing wrong
with Christianity, but it becomes a big problem when you have an all-loving, omnipotent,
God. Then when you have pain or loss, you are like, How could He do this? Its a
problem. It doesnt make sense, you know?
There are ways offered in Christianity to see beyond that, but it is not practiced that way
by the general public. And so I want to be very careful when I am teaching that I at least
dont cause any more trouble than I am already causing. You know? At least dont do
any harm, thats the thing.

Student: Sensei, I found this chapter very engaging and very interesting and I read it
very rapidly. And when I read this however you are now is actually how it is going to be
for you in the future my first reaction was, Oh no! Seriously, like I just happen to find
myself in the state of mind where I am dealing with something that seems to be beyond
the scope or the realm of being present. Like this problem is too big to be present with.
And this represents too much. I can handle so many other things, but this one thing I
cant be present and focused with that and get some perspective around it.
Anyway, I read it again and I thought that this is a bit of a mirror because I recognize
that I went Oh, shit! and then I went Oh, shit! My reaction to the first was the
second. Oh man, I am going to be that way if I am that way now! Its sort of like what I
put out is what I will get back. And if I think I am unhappy, then thats exactly what Ill
experience in the future. Is that close to being accurate?
Well, I will say we are always practicing something, at every moment. And whatever we
are practicing, we are going to get better at.
Student: Indeed. So having that state of mind, cultivating that, means I guess that
what one puts ones attention on grows stronger. Is that what you are saying? It grows
stronger in ones life?
Sure. You know in martial arts we have the rule of three. You can fool a guy for sure
the first time. The second time you make the same move, you might fool him. But if
you try it a third time, he is going to be there waiting for you. This rule of three is
traditionally known. So the same kind of thing works with us in our practice. You might
do something foolish once. If you notice you do it again, it might be coincidence, but
probably not. And if you see you are doing it a third time, know that your propensity for
that is in full swing already. So, karma-wise, it is established in you. You know, karma
basically means evolution, how things evolve in us. Most of us have patterns from
long ago that we notice, are apparent to us, established long ago, and every day we are
practicing those, or not, depending on what condition we are in. In other words,
whether we are wrapped up in that, or not. Or we might be establishing new patterns,
which is also happening all the time.
One thing I think is very important to remember in our practice is that when we see,
when we notice that a pattern is in operation, we dont do anything to try to alter that
either. Because there is another strong part of us, just like when you said Oh, shit! the
second time, that is the superego reacting to a reactive response, and multiplying the
problem many times. When we see something in the world that we think is not
appropriate and we think, Thats not right. That should be changed, thats the
superego in action. Thats the one who thinks it knows how things should be, the
judger, the judge. We are much harder on ourselves, in this way, inside, than we ever
are with other people, and we can be pretty cruel with our judgment of other people.
Pretty foolish. Pretty narrow-minded. But with ourselves we are just merciless. I wont
say ruthless, because we are not really pitiless. Were just cruel and hard on ourselves,
when we catch ourselves. So the practice is to notice this and notice that, and just rest

in the silence, rest in the awareness, rest in the knowing. And dont feel like you have to
do something to become a different person than you are. There is actually no such
thing as a you. There is no such person, as such. Everything that comes up is new.
There are a million personalities that are available to you and you utilize them all. So
there is nowhere you can hide, nowhere you can nest, nowhere you can roost in there.
Only just notice it, and be in awareness. Thats the practice, in other words.
Is that clear?
Student: Yes. And just beyond that, what is the best practice to be able to get this
perspective, to step back? Is it Ki Breathing practice, or is it just cultivating that every
time I go through a doorway, reminding myself to be present? This is what I am
searching for, in a way. Like, OK, what is the best way to get that perspective, because
I want it?
Someone, I think it was Longchenpa, one of the Tibetan masters from years ago, said,
When you are studying, looking for a practice, look everywhere, study everything.
When you are contemplating, keep and open mind, and consider everything. But when
you practice, practice one thing. Because what we are interested in is going very, very
deeply.
Student: Keep digging the well
No, keep following the sink hole. There wont be any digging. I think this statement of
Longchenpas is very important. I mean, no matter who is teaching you, they will give
you more and more. In Aikido it happens to be Ki Breathing, Ki Meditation. Those are
really good ways. And so is misogi, ken cutting, the techniques, and Tohei Sensei gave
us a whole bunch of them. But of all the things that you come upon when looking
around, something will strike you as Ah.. Like, in my case it was Ki Breathing. It just
seemed right. Something will strike you. And use that then. Just do that and go deeply
into it. And then, the nice thing that I have discovered in Aikido practice, is that the
things that we practice within our system, or within our school, are so complimentary
that if you pick any one of them and go deeply into it, then you will automatically be
deeply into the others, because they are so the same. So you dont have to think, Well,
I do Ki Breathing, so I am not going to practice Kiatsu, or Im not going to any more
technique classes because I am practicing Ki Breathing. This is my way. I mean, you
can do that if you want, but its not necessary. Thats not what I mean. I dont mean
you have to ignore the rest of the practice thats offered you. Because sometimes over
here youll understand something that will help you understand something over there.
On the other hand, if you were to say Therefore Ill do Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Karate, and
Tai Kuan Do, AND Aikido, the more the better. No, because those practices are very
different and some of them antithetical to Aikido. So, if you find something that works
for you, then go into that very deeply.
And here you are, so.

Student: And here I am.

OK.
Student: Thank you, Sensei.
Student: So, Sensei, I should stop using Ki Barai to find parking places?
This is very old fashioned. You know, of course I did it for years. I used to be the driver
for one of the old time teachers when he would come to Honolulu to teach, Koretoshi
Maruyama Sensei. I was his otomo so I would drive him around. And so I used to
always be worried about not being able to find a parking place at lunch or dinner. So I
always made Ki Barai and somehow it always worked out and there always seemed to
be a place to park. And then on the last day at lunch, we had to go to a restaurant
which I knew had about four parking places in front of it, and that was it. And the
nearest alternative to park was a few blocks away in a parking garage. If these four
were full, and at lunch hour it was guaranteed to be full, then it was a problem.
Because I couldnt just drop him off, and on the other hand I couldnt make him walk
from several blocks away either, and I didnt have any helpers in my car. So I did Ki
Barai for the spot, and we got there sure enough, there was a parking place open right
in front of the restaurant. So I pulled in, feeling quite proud of myself, and turned and
looked at him. He had this smile on his face and I said Did you? and he said,
Yeah And I said, And youve beenall this time? and he said, Yeah And I
said, But I thought I and he said, Mm, maybe So it was pretty funny.
But that was a stage of his training and my training where that kind of thing was still
viable in terms of a way to be in the world. Because even he was still in a place of
trying to make it a better world all by himself. He is a great teacher and wonderful man.
I am not being critical of him. But it was early on, and if he hears this, hes going to
chuckle, I would hope, because sooner or later you have to come to terms with this.
You have to see that superstition has no place in real practice.
But if you want to do it, and it works for you, you keep it up. If you feels that it brings
you good parking places, far be it from me to tell you not to.
You know the placebo effect works in many ways. We dont say dont do it. If it helps,
and doesnt harm, then go ahead. But look out. You dont want to get addicted to it.
Student: The other part of todays talk that struck me is this injunction of the absolute
invokes the relative world fully. Thats what I heard, that the two are inextricably joined.
They are one. You cannot do one without the other.
Well, yes. You know, relative world and absolute are not antithetical. They are not
opposing each other. The relative condition is part of, and exists at the same time as,
the absolute, and its possible to perceive both and live in the reality of both at the same

time. But only if you are not stuck, wrapped up in, either the relative or the absolute as
if it were separate and isolated. This happens when you attempt to turn your back on
the relative world and go into a cave, or go into some sort of psychotic state, because
you just want to be in the absolute and protected in a kind of a womb. And for some
people, its OK I guess if you want to be a monk. But for most of us, weve chosen to
live in this world, not hide ourselves away from it. So our practice has to be one that
allows us to live with simultaneous experience of the absolute condition, which is
beyond relativity, the relative condition that our senses, our emotions, and our thoughts.
In this way we can have relationships, our professions, do business and whatever it is
that we are engaged in. And through that, we can be actually practicing.
Student: It also makes clearer to me what happens when we take one thing and
practice it a lot, how this comes about. Just take one thing, like cutting bokken, and
suddenly its not about a sword or me or the body or anything. Its not about that at all.
The Ki Rei makes more sense to me now.
Sure, and if you are really in practice and engaged, you will go into a state where the
relative disappears for awhile, but it always comes back. So we have to know how to
deal with it wisely and with respect. But at the same time do our practice on a deep,
deep level, so we get to experience whats underneath all of this, which means
underneath us, what makes us present in this life.
Student: Sensei, I hope this isnt too much off topic, but everything seems pretty
congruous with what you do with your breathing and Ki Barai and so forth. At World
Camp I think I have spent a few evenings with you in the same room, and in the
morning we got up and breathed together. And at the end of the breathing, you went
phpht, phpht, phpht. And I always wondered, what is that?
Well, its good that this question comes at the end here, so I guess we can always cut it
off of the recording if we dont want it. Lynn, do you ever hear me do that in the
morning? (she says no) See, she doesnt know what youre talking about.
Yeah, OK, this is something that I learned from Suzuki Sensei years and years ago.
Because I would always stay in the same hotel room with him when we traveled, and I
breathed with him in the morning. And when he finished he would do that. I didnt know
what he was doing at the time, but I had to do it too of course. Suzuki Sensei, I got to
know him so well, now I know he was doing wash away, clear away. That was just his
own little way of doing that. So I used to do that too. I dont do that any more.
Did you want to do that? Have you been doing that?
Student: Well, no, but thank you.
Youre welcome. You can have it. OK, thank you everybody.

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