Maurice Ashley Quotes

Aikido is the spirit of loving protection for all beings.

Aikido is based on the projection of love.

To injure an opponent is to injure yourself. To control aggression without inflicting injury is the Art of Peace.

Master the divine techniques of the Art of Peace and no enemy will dare to challenge you.

Aikido is the Way and Principle of harmonizing Heaven, Earth and Man.

The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood. It is not a means to kill and destroy others. Those who seek to compete and better one another are making a terrible mistake. To smash, injure, or destroy is the worst thing a human being can do. The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent such slaughter – it is the Art of Peace, the power of love.

The real Art of Peace is not to sacrifice a single one of your warriors to defeat an enemy. Vanquish your foes by always keeping yourself in a safe and unassailable position; then no one will suffer any losses. The Way of a Warrior, the Art of Politics, is to stop trouble before it starts. It consists in defeating your adversaries spiritually by making them realize the folly of their actions. The Way of a Warrior is to establish harmony.

THE ART OF PEACE is the religion that is not a religion; it perfects and completes all religions.

I could never have been a pacifist. To kill a man was surely to grant him an immeasurable benefit. Oh yes, people always, everywhere, loved their enemies. It was their friends they preserved for pain and vacuity.

I don't want to torture anything. It's about trying to live a life where I'm not contributing to the cruelty in the world... While I am on this planet, I want everyone I meet to know that I am grateful they are here.

I often say that sociology is a martial art, a means of self-defense. Basically, you use it to defend yourself, without having the right to use it for unfair attacks.

Martial arts is not for hurting people, it's for protecting people.

PRACTICE THE Art of Peace sincerely, and evil thoughts and deeds will naturally disappear. The only desire that should remain is the thirst for more and more training in the Way.

I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life

Aikido is the principle of non-resistance. Because it is non-resistant, it is victorious from the beginning. Those with evil intentions or contentious thoughts are instantly vanquished. Aikido is invincible because it contends with nothing.

I believe in a non-killing future.

The strength to kill is not essential for self-defence; one ought to have the strength to die.

Refraining from harm, not out of fear, but out of concern for others, their well-being and out of respect is non-violence.

I love the discipline. I love the schedule of pushing your body to an extreme and getting it to a particular type of physical shape. Learning a new self defense or some kind of martial art that I didn't know before and the loving of that is also hating that at the same time.

I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life. We cannot support any act of killing; no killing can be justified. But not to kill is not enough ... If in your thinking you allow the killing to go on, you also break this precept. We must be determined not to condone killing, even in our minds.

Martial arts is for defense. It's not for attacking. So when people are fighting, always, always, defend.

ALWAYS PRACTICE the Art of Peace in a vibrant and joyful manner.

My pacifism is not based on any intellectual theory but on a deep antipathy to every form of cruelty and hatred.

It is better to take many injuries than to give one.