“Sensei Ni Rei”

Posted by danielle on Nov 27, 2011 | 0 comments

Over the summer, there was a weekend where our teachers were away, but rather than close the dojo, they allowed Black Belt Club members to lead class.  In the first class of the day, after bowing to tradition, the BBC members just stopped and looked at each other for a moment. “Sensei Ni Rei” was supposed to come next, but there were no senseis present. It was awkward for a moment, but Melissa just laughed, Mike pointed to Melissa, and with a chuckle and shrug, everyone just said “Melissa Ni Rei” since she was standing in the front.  We had a giggle, adapted, and brushed it off. When our teachers returned, Darryl asked how everything went. It was fine, obviously, but Melissa told him about not knowing what we should have done in bowing in without a sensei around. Darryl smiled and just said, “Sensei Ni Rei would have been fine. Sensei just means someone who has gone before.” I remember thinking casually “that’s interesting,” but I didn’t give much thought to it at the time.

Earlier this month, through a series of very personal experiences, I was led to a new appreciation of both gratitude and what it means to exist in a given moment.  The first time I bowed in after those experiences, I had a mental flash of that summer moment and heard Darryl’s words in my head.  I suddenly realized that I would not have had the experiences I needed to have to come to the new appreciation I felt without the help of those who had stood on the same path at one time or another.  To say I bowed differently in that moment is an understatement.  It is deeply humbling to “show respect to all who help me progress” particularly when that respect is given not as much for knowledge as it is for the experience that brings forth that knowledge.  Furthermore, saying “Oneigaishimas” suddenly takes on a whole new meaning, well at least to me.  And I guess therein lies the rub…

I can tell you I’ve had these interactions and experiences that have redefined or given meaning to the words we use or rituals* we perform, but I can’t communicate or give you the depth of feeling of the same.  Recently,  Mr. Hayes posted a link to this Black Belt magazine article where some martial arts terms are broken down.  In it both sensei and rei are defined, but your reading of the article and the definitions are likely not the same as mine.  This is not to say that my internal definitions are more right than yours (in fact mine are probably less right for you), but rather that it takes experience to create understanding.  But to further complicate matters, even our process of experience to achieve understanding may not be the same.  Personally, I watch.  I observe.  I ask, sometimes ridiculous, questions.  I come to what seem like logical conclusions.  And then somehow I find myself in some moment, like bowing in, where I either internalize those conclusions or find myself completely throwing those same conclusions out.

On your path, do you look for a deeper meaning in the words we use and rituals that we perform?  If you do, what is your process?  How do you find your experiences to create definition?  What does “Sensei Ni Rei” mean to you?

 

 

 

*I realize the word “ritual” is a heavily loaded one.  Most people instantly associate the word “ritual” with something of religious significance.  I use it here in the context of “performance of formal acts” that form a “repetitive behavior.”  See Encarta® World English Dictionary[North American Edition] If you choose to see something of religious or spiritual significance in these behaviors, that is your choice.

Danielle DeBlois
SMAC Student