My sister and I have an on-going, laughter-filled discussion on the subject of Purgatory. We keep saying we’re going to have a podcast with the same title, but similar to the concept, we’re stuck between the idea and the execution. Before I go on, this is in no way a slight to Catholics; my sister and I grew up in the faith and like many Catholics, we have a lot of questions. The least of which is, what in the world is Purgatory?
If we break down the word, Purgatory (Latin: purgatorium; from purger) means, “to purge.” Without going into a lot of detail, it is a period of time a soul enters after death of the body where purification takes place prior to entry into Heaven. One of the best explanations I’ve read is that a person dies in God’s grace after a faith-filled life, but perhaps is still hanging on to some aspects of a sinful nature. And because sin cannot enter Heaven, a person is “purged” of any remaining sin. This is why Catholics pray for those in Purgatory, that their time in this space may be shortened.
A lot of folks probably confuse this with the concept of limbo, in which one’s eternal fate is being decided. My sister and I are probably guilty of this because in our comedic ramblings we tend to mix the two ideas. Let me give you some examples of our version of Purgatory:
There is a coffee house with easy chairs and books, but the chairs are lumpy, all the pages are stuck together, the reading lights flicker, and the coffee is cold
There is a bar in Purgatory, but it only serves hoppy, flat beer.
There is a bathroom and a toilet, but there’s never more than three little sheets of toilet paper.
Again, not making fun of Catholicism; I have a deep respect and reverence for the faith. And if I may say, many Catholics I know don’t have the slightest idea of where the concept of Purgatory comes from. (2 Macaabees 12:39-45, the Aprocrypha). I do appreciate the idea of refinement; purging our impurities so that we may become sharper and more God-centered over time. This is one of the reasons why Proverbs 27:17 has always been displayed in our dojo; “As Iron Sharpens Iron, So One Man Sharpens Another.”
I really didn’t appreciate or grasp the idea of physical, mental and spiritual refinement until I stumbled (literally) into the art of Aikido. As I’ve said in other posts, Aikido is Budo; the way of enlightenment through warrior training. Westerners, such as myself, struggle with this concept because Budo is really focused on self-perfection first, self-protection second. Moreover, if you seek praise and acknowledgment through competition and other aspects of martial arts, you don’t understand the purpose of Budo. In essence, real Budo training strips away our ego and carefully constructed ideas of self. It challenges you to the core; you often leave the dojo wondering why you keep going back because it seems like you’re never able to move the needle forward. And that’s where refinement happens.
So many nights after Aikido training, I would jog home from that cold, smelly, broken down little dojo in Misawa, Japan, wondering what the hell I was doing there. In years prior, I competed, did full contact Karate, played some Judo, boxed a little, etc. I was by no means proficient at any of these arts, but I could at least hold my own. I’d have the occasional win, score a good shot once in a while and that would give me motivation to keep going. Not the case in Aikido, or so it seemed. Endless repetitions, painful joint locks, complicated throws, no chance to prove how much better I was than the person next to me. It would take me more than a decade to figure what that was all about.
Martial arts like Aikido, Karate, Judo, Kendo, etc., all start with the most basic form of humility…a bow. You bow when you enter the mat, bow to your teacher and your training partners. And then you do the reps, accept the pain and the idea that it’s going to take you long time to have a physical understanding, an even longer time before you can feel like you’re moving the needle. That’s the whole point. I’m convinced that we need training like this now more than ever. So convinced, that I’m staking my livelihood on it. It’s worth it.
I struggle with the concept of Purgatory for many reasons. If you ever want to sit down with me over a cup of coffee, tea, or bourbon (not in the morning), and discuss it, I’m all in. In my humble opinion, not that it matters, I think life on earth is its own Purgatory. God is always near, always in our grasp, ever-present, but we step away or allow ourselves to be pulled away. And then, some form of calamity happens and the only way we can get through it is to call on God, even when we don’t believe in Him. We struggle, we pray, we cry. We get on our knees and ask why. And somewhere in the depths of that suffering, we feel, if even for a moment, a sense of peace. That is the outcome of humility; of understanding that there’s only so much we have control over and then we put the sword down and pray. That is where the Master does his finest work.
A sword must be laid down before it can be sharpened.
Dave Magliano
Tatsu Dojo
Jissenkan Budo
Dojo Cho
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