Sumo wrestling
Our Lord has taught us how we must practice our wrestling against the spirits of evil.
-- The Philokalia, Hesychios of Jerusalem
If a man lives without inner struggle,
if everything happens in him without opposition,
if he goes wherever he is drawn or wherever the wind blows, he will remain such as he is.
-- Gurdjieff
All religious texts have passages describing war. These passages symbolize an internal war or struggle between the part in us striving for awakening, called steward, and the lower self. The greatest combat is the combat to control one`s lower self.
There is a war that opens the doors of heaven.
Happy the warriors whose fate is to fight such war.
-- Bhagavad Gita
The best jihad is to fight against the desires and temptations of the lower self.
-- Mohammed
Sumo wrestling has it origin in the Shinto religion and all ceremonies in Sumo are related to purification. Historians agree that the origins of sumo date back 2000 years. At certain Shinto shrines, forms of ritual dance where a human is said to wrestle with a kami (a Shinto divine spirit) are still carried out today. However, Sumo never really flourished as a spectator sport until the early 1600's. The Sumo bout symbolizes the struggle between the steward and the lower self, in which the steward tries to purify the heart so Divine Presence can manifest itself.
The essence of Shinto concerns the relationship between good and evil as represented by pollution and purity. Such impurities and evil are removed through ritual purification.
--
from 'With God on their side', by Tara Magdalinsky
If a man understands that he is asleep and if he wishes to awake, then everything that helps him to awake will be good and everything that hinders him, everything that prolongs his sleep, will be evil.
-- Gurdjieff
Good and evil come to a person only from himself. By good I mean what is in consonance with his aim,
in harmony with his nature and disposition, and by evil what is contrary
to his aim and in conflict with his nature and disposition.
-- Ibn Arabi
Before the bout the sumo wrestler performs the leg-stomping shiko exercise to drive evil spirits from the dohyō. Evil spirits are thoughts and emotions, or 'I's that take away one`s attention from efforts to be present. They are also called demons, while the lower self as a whole is symbolized as satan or the devil. One former wrestler said, The dohyo is a sacred place where gods descend. It isn’t just a ring. Gods and also Angels represent sacred reminders to be present, which descend into our heart. The dohyo symbolizes the psychological place where the struggle between the gods and demons takes place; the heart.
The devil, in reality, is a man's lower self and passion.
-- Hujwiri
Angels are the powers hidden in the faculties and organs of man.
-- Ibn Arabi
The most important work in spiritual struggle is to enter the heart and there to wage war with Satan;
to fight Satan by opposing his thoughts.
-- The Philokalia
Sumo wrestlers enjoy less personal freedoms than athletes in other sports and live the most restricted lives of all athletes. In public, sumo wrestlers are expected to be self-effacing, modest and soft-spoken. Their daily lives are defined by austerity and strict rules, symbolizing the steward controlling the lower self. The life of a Sumo wrestler is exemplified by the word ganbaru. A Japanese phrase that is often used is ganbatte kudasai . It means something like please do your best or try your hardest. In certain situation one would say good luck in English instead. It reflects a deeply rooted attitude in Japanese people that shows an understanding for the need to make efforts. In Japan making efforts itself is valued, while in the West only results are valued. The inner meaning is that when one makes efforts to be present one must not look at the result, only the effort is important. Ganbaru can also be translated as never give up. In relation to the struggle to awaken the Higher Self, this is a necessary attitude. However, without the effort to be present, any effort made in the state of sleep, ultimately doesn`t have any value.
There is one thing in this world which must never be forgotten. If you were to forget everything
else, but did not forget that, then there would be no cause to worry. Whereas if you performed and remembered and did not forget every single thing, but forgot that one thing, then you would have done nothing whatsoever.
-- Rumi
The shape of the sumo dohyo is square with a circle inside. Women are not allowed to enter the dohyo. In many of the worlds religions, women are not allowed to enter holy places, although in modern times this practice is gradually diminishing. For instance, until 1863, women were not allowed to climb mount Fuji, one of Japan`s sacred mountains.
It is a shame for women to speak in the Church.
-- I Corinthians 14:35
Do not take a woman's words to your heart. A woman is a disease who does not leave
the tree (of Life) without having destroyed it.
-- Egyptian Texts
All the holy places of all religions symbolize the intellectual part of the emotional center, called the heart.
The heart is the secluded shrine of God.
-- Al-Din Razi
In my soul there is a temple, a shrine, a mosque, a church where I kneel.
-- Rabia
The intellectual part of the emotional center, the King of hearts, is the only part in a human being that is interested in being present. Women symbolize the emotional parts of the four lower centers (the queens of centers) and the emotions coming from these parts, such as joy, anger, sadness, happiness and desire for worldly things, cannot co-exists with the desire to be present.
A ‘woman’ represents someone who is slave to his desires and unable
to consider anything or anyone except himself.
-- Ibn Arabi
These emotions are in fact, taking one`s attention away from efforts to remember oneself. In the story of Alice in Wonderland, a character called the Queen of Hearts repeatedly decides that a person she is discontented with should be beheaded. This symbolizes negative emotions from the emotional part of the emotional centre. The King of Hearts, however, follows her and pardons each person, representing the intelectual part of the emotional centre controlling the queen of hearts. When the emotional part of a centre is active, one is in a state of fascination, like the woman in this picture. All her attention is directed to the conversation. Apparently she`s experiencing some difficulty, and her identity (her experience of 'I') is completely absorbed in the conversation. This state happens exactly the same way in men and has nothing to do with being male or female. I`s from the queens of centers are controlling one, the intellectual parts of centers are not functioning, and the desire to be present is absent. As a result, one lives one`s life in a state of sleep, controlled by any 'I' that comes along.
But whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding: he that does it destroys his own soul.
-- The Bible, Proverbs 6:32
The job of the steward (the Prince) is to wake up the Higher Self (Sleeping Beauty) within one. To do this the mind or steward, must connect to the desire to be present, the heart. If the mind has relations with other parts of the lower centers, it is called adultery and Sleeping Beauty stays asleep. In Sufi literature, the steward is called the lover and the state of presence or Amaterasu, is called the Beloved.
You have left your Beloved and are thinking of others, and this is why all your work is in vain.
-- Kabir
The state of being present is opposite to the state the woman in the picture is experiencing. It is characterized by awareness of oneself in the moment and there is a sense of separation between the part that is acting and the part that is observing.