John Stevens (born 1947) is a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

priest, teacher of

Buddhist studies Buddhist studies, also known as Buddhology, is the academic study of Buddhism. The term ''Buddhology'' was coined in the early 20th century by the Unitarian minister Joseph Estlin Carpenter to mean the "study of Buddhahood, the nature of the Bud ...

and

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practic ...

teacher. Stevens formerly taught

Eastern philosophy Eastern philosophy (also called Asian philosophy or Oriental philosophy) includes the various philosophies that originated in East and South Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Korean philosophy, and Vietnamese philoso ...

at Tohoku Fukushi University in Japan. His Aikido rank is 7th dan

Aikikai The Aikikai is the original school of Aikido. It is centered on the Aikikai Foundation in Japan, and its figurehead is the Doshu (the family heir of the founder of Aikido). It is represented globally through the International Aikido Federation ...

. He lived in

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

from 1973 to 2013. He currently resides in Honolulu, Hawaii where he instructs at Aikido-Ohana dojo.

Biography

Stevens was born in Chicago but grew up in Evanston, Illinois. He moved to Sendai in Japan in 1973 in order to study Buddhism and began practising Aikido soon afterwards. He practiced under Hanzawa Yoshimi Sensei and then under Shirata Rinjiro Sensei. He has created his own system of Aikido, which he calls Classical Aikido, which is a complete system emphasizing misogi, kotodama, and the unity of aiki-ken, aiki-jo, and taijutsu (body arts). He has taught it all over the world.

Bibliography

Stevens has written over thirty books on Buddhism, Aikido and

Asian culture The culture of Asia encompasses the collective and diverse customs and traditions of art, architecture, music, literature, lifestyle, philosophy, food, politics and religion that have been practiced and maintained by the numerous ethnic g ...

, including: * ''Training with the Master – Lessons with Morihei Ueshiba'' (2004 Edition) * ''Zen Brushwork: Focusing the Mind With Calligraphy and Painting'' * ''Lust for Enlightenment: Buddhism and Sex'' * ''The Sword of No-Sword: Life of the Master Warrior Tesshu'' * ''The Secrets of Aikido'' (1997 Edition) * ''Abundant Peace'' * ''Aikido: The Way of Harmony'' * ''Invincible Warrior'' (1999 Edition) * ''Zen Bow, Zen Arrow'' (2012) * ''Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei'' (Shambhala 1988, Echo Point Books 2013 paperback, ) * ''The Philosophy of Aikido'' (2013 paperback edition) * ''Extraordinary Zen Masters: A Maverick, a Master of Masters, and a Wandering Poet'' (2013 paperback edition) * ''Sacred Calligraphy of the East'' (2013 paperback edition) * ''The Way of Judo: A Portrait of Jigoro Kano'' (2013) * ''Three Budo Masters'' (1995) * ''The Shambhala Guide to Aikido'' (1996) * ''Budo Secrets'' (2001)

Translations and collections

* ''The Art of Peace'' (2011 Edition) * ''Best Aikido: The Fundamentals'' (Illustrated Japanese Classics) * ''The Aikido Master Course: Best Aikido 2'' * ''Budo Secrets'' * ''Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf: Zen Poems of Ryokan'' * ''One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryokan'' * ''Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyu'' (Companions for the Journey) * ''Lotus Moon: The Poetry of Rengetsu'' (Companions for the Journey) * ''Rengetsu: Life and Poetry of Lotus Moon'' * ''Mountain Tasting: Zen Haiku by Santoka Taneda'' * ''The Heart of Aikido: The Philosophy of Takemusu Aiki'' by Morihei Ueshiba * ''The Essence of Aikido: The Teachings of Morihei Ueshiba'' (1993)

References

External links

Books by John Stevens

Shambhala Publications Shambhala Publications is an Independent publisher, independent publishing company based in Boulder, Colorado. According to the company, it specializes in "books that present creative and conscious ways of transforming the individual, the societ ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, John 1947 births Living people American aikidoka American Buddhists Martial arts writers Buddhist writers People from Evanston, Illinois Sportswriters from Illinois