Monthly Archive for July, 2008
Li Heshen
The Racehorse and the Nag
by Liu I-Ming
A racehorse, a swift runner, can travel hundreds of miles in a day. A nag, ambling along, takes ten days to cover the same distance. Although one is fast and one is slow, yet what they achieve is the same.
What I realize as I observe this is the Tao of the relative speed of effective work.
Generally speaking, people are sharp or dull by nature, greater or lesser in strength. If people who are dull by nature want to emulate those who are sharp by nature, or those of little strength want to emulate those of great strength, they will be unable to keep up, and will injure themselves by the strain.
Therefore a complete sage said that those who are born knowing are the best, those who know by learning are the next, and those who learn the hard way are next after that. When it come to knowledge it self, however, that is one. Some may carry it out swiftly, some may carry it out forcibly. When it comes to the achievement, however, that is one. Among these three kinds of people, it may be difficult for some and easy for others, slow for some and fast for others, but all are able to know the Tao and attain the Tao.
The only trouble is when people have no will. Without will, not only is it impossible to act on the Tao, it is impossible even to know it. If you have the will, study it widely, question it closely, ponder it carefully, understand it clearly, carry it out earnestly; multiply the efforts of the ordinary person a hundredfold, and you can actually master this Tao. Even if you are ignorant you will become enlightened, even if you are weak you will become strong - no one who has done this has ever failed to reach the realm of profound attainment of self-realization.
Nevertheless, there are many Taoists in the world who cannot with true heart regard the essence of life as most important. They talk about the virtue of the Tao, but in their hearts they are criminals and gangster. They want their imaginings of the Tao, and the want their greedy ambitions too. They are easily angered and unreceptive.
The intellectuals among them depend on their ability to memorize a few “spiritual” sayings, and think they have the Way. Consequently they disregard others and will not seek enlightened teachers or visit capable friends, thus mistaking the road ahead.
The dull ones do not know to investigate principles, and do not distinguish the false from the true. Having studied some “side-door” practices, playing around on twisted byways, they also think they have the Way, and will not go to high illuminations for verification, thus holding to their routines all their lives, tapped in unbreakable fixations.
People like these types do not really think about the matter of essence and life as the single most important thing in the world, and the cultivation and maintenance of essence and life to be the single most difficult thing in world. How can this be easily known, or easily accomplished?
This is why those who study Taoism may be as numourus as hairs on a cow, but those who accomplish the Way are as rare as unicorn horns.
If you are a strong person who can be so utterly aloof of all things as to step straight into the Way, like steel forged a hundred times, with an unrelenting will to visit enlightened teachers respectfully and to investigate true principles thoroughly, then it does not matter wheter you are sharp or dull by nature - eventually you will emerge on the Way, and will definitely not have wasted your years.
Reference:
I-Ming, Liu. Awakening to the Tao. Trans. Thomas Cleary. Shambhala Publications Inc.,U.S., 2006.
ISBN 159030344X
p. 77-79
The Inner Smile
One of the most well-known of Taoist neidan (Inner Alchemy) practices is the “Inner Smile” - in which we smile inwardly to each of the major organs of our body, activating within us the energy of loving-kindness, and waking up the Five-Element associational network. Here we will learn a variation on this classic practice, which allows us to direct the healing energy of a smile into any part of our body that we would like …
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 10 - 30 minutes, or longer if you’d like
Here’s How:
1. Sit comfortably, either on a straight-backed chair, or on the floor. The important thing is for your spine to be in an upright position, and your head arranged to allow the muscles of your neck and throat to feel relaxed.
2. Take a couple of deep, slow breaths, noticing how your abdomen rises with each inhalation, then relaxes back toward your spine with each exhalation. Let go of thoughts of past or future.
3. Rest the tip of your tongue gently on the roof of your mouth, somewhere behind, and close to, your upper front teeth. You’ll find the spot that feels perfect.
4. Smile gently, allowing your lips to feel full and smooth as they spread to the side and lift just slightly. This smile should be kind of like the Mona Lisa smile, or how we might smile - mostly to ourselves - if we had just gotten a joke that someone told us several days ago: nothing too extreme, just the kind of thing that relaxes our entire face and head, and makes us start to feel good inside.
5. Now bring your attention to the space between your eyebrows (the “Third Eye” center). As you rest your attention there, energy will begin to gather. Imagine that place to be like a pool of warm water, and as energy pools there, let your attention drift deeper into that pool - back and toward the center of your head.
6. Let your attention rest now right in the center of your brain - the space equidistant between the tips of your ears. This is a place referred to in Taoism as the Crystal Palace - home to the pineal, pituitary, thalamus and hypothalamus glands. Feel the energy gathering in this powerful place.
7. Allow this energy gathering in the Crystal Palace to flow forward into your eyes. Feel your eyes becoming “smiling eyes.” To enhance this, you can imagine that you’re gazing into the eyes of the person who you love the most, and they’re gazing back at you … infusing your eyes with this quality of loving-kindness and delight.
8. Now, direct the energy of your smiling eyes back and down into some place in your body that would like some of this healing energy. It might be a place where you’ve recently had an injury or illness. It might be a place that just feels a little numb or “sleepy,” or simply some place you’ve not recently explored. In any case, smile down into that place within your body, and feel that place opening to receive smile-energy.
9. Continue to smile into that place within your body, for as long as you’d like … letting it soak up smile-energy like a sponge soaks up water.
10. When this feels complete, direct your inner gaze, with its smile-energy, into your navel center, feeling warmth and brightness gathering now in your lower belly.
11. Release the tip of your tongue from the roof of your mouth, and release the smile (or keep it if it now feels natural).
Tips:
1. As with all neidan practices, it’s important to find a balance between effort and relaxation. If you notice a build-up of tension, relax, take a couple of deep breaths, then return to the practice. If your mind wanders, simply notice this, and come back to the practice.
2. Remember to maintain the quality of a gentle, genuine smile - infused with the energy of loving-kindness and compassion - particularly when directing your “inner smile” into an injured place. If you notice frustration, anger, fear or judgment creeping in, take a couple of deep breaths, then connect again with loving-kindness and compassion - the energies that can heal us.
3. The Crystal Palace is known also - in Hindu yogic traditions - as the Cave of Brahma.
Reference: How To Practice The “Inner Smile” by Elizabeth Reninger about.com
Poem of Zhang Xiumu
Lai (Zhide)´s Tai-chi is the principle of Quan,
A single line runs through Heaven, Man and Earth.
Noumenon of Tai-chi is the innate Qi,
Dividing yin and yang form postnatal body.
Strategy to opponent attrack is magic number one (unitary Qi),
Flowing Qi comes from the centre cavity.
Training way is the practice of the innate Bei Si Kuo,
Tao triggers creation and transformation, changes unlimited.
Reference: Tai Chi Chuan Tao taijiquandao.com
Following are the Ten Essentials of Tai Chi Chuan Orally transmitted by Yang Chengfu Recorded by Chen Weiming Translated by Jerry Karin
- Empty, lively, pushing up and energetic
‘Pushing up and energetic’ means the posture of the head is upright and straight and the spirit is infused into its apex. You may not use strength. To do so makes the back of the neck stiff, whereupon the chi and blood cannot circulate freely. You must have an intention which is empty, lively (or free) and natural. Without an intention which is empty, lively, pushing up and energetic, you won’t be able to raise your spirit. - Hold in the chest and pull up the back
The phrase ‘hold in the chest’ means the chest is slightly reserved inward, which causes the chi to sink to the cinnabar field (dan1 tian2). The chest must not be puffed out. If you do so then the chi is blocked in the chest region, the upper body becomes heavy and lower body light, and it will become easy for the heels to float upward. ‘Pulling up the back’ makes the chi stick to the back. If you are able to hold in the chest then you will naturally be able to pull up the back. If you can pull up the back, then you will be able to emit a strength from the spine which others cannot oppose. - Relax the waist
The waist is the commander of the whole body. Only after you are able to relax the waist will the two legs have strength and the lower body be stable. The alternation of empty and full all derive from the turning of the waist. Hence the saying: ‘The wellspring of destiny lies in the tiny interstice of the waist. Whenever there is a lack of strength in your form, you must look for it in the waist and legs. - Separate empty and full
In the art of Tai Chi Chuan, separating full and empty is the number one rule. If the whole body sits on the right leg, then the right leg is deemed ‘full’ and the left leg ‘empty’. If the whole body sits on the left leg, then the left leg is deemed ‘full’ and the right leg ‘empty’. Only after you are able to distinguish full and empty will turning movements be light, nimble and almost without effort; if you can’t distinguish them then your steps will be heavy and sluggish, you won’t be able to stand stably, and it will be easy for an opponent to control you. - Sink the shoulders and droop the elbows
Sinking the shoulders means the shoulders relax open and hang downward. If you can’t relax them downward, the shoulders pop up and then the chi follows and goes upward, causing the whole body to lack strength. Drooping the elbows means the elbows are relaxed downward. If the elbows are elevated then the shoulders are unable to sink. When you use this to push someone they won’t go far. It’s like the ‘cut off’ energy of external martial arts. - Use Intent Rather than Force
The taiji classics say, “this is completely a matter of using intent rather than force’. When you practice taijiquan, let the entire body relax and extend. Don’t employ even the tiniest amount of coarse strength which would cause musculo-skeletal or circulatory blockage with the result that you restrain or inhibit yourself. Only then will you be able to lightly and nimbly change and transform, circling naturally. Some wonder: if I don’t use force, how can I generate force? The net of acupuncture meridians and channels throughout the body are like the waterways on top of the earth. If the waterways are not blocked, the water circulates; if the meridians are not impeded the chi circulates. If you move the body about with stiff force, you swamp the meridians, chi and blood are impeded, movements are not nimble; all someone has to do is begin to guide you and your whole body is moved. If you use intent rather than force, wherever the intent goes, so goes the chi. In this way - because the chi and blood are flowing, circulating every day throughout the entire body, never stagnating - after a lot of practice, you will get true internal strength. That’s what the taiji classics mean by “Only by being extremely soft are you able to achieve extreme hardness.” Somebody who is really adept at taiji has arms which seem like silk wrapped around iron, immensely heavy. Someone who practices external martial arts, when he is using his force, seems very strong. But when not using force, he is very light and floating. By this we can see that his force is actually external, or superficial strength. The force used by external martial artists is especially easy to lead or deflect, hence it is not of much value. - Synchronize Upper and Lower Body
In the taiji classics ‘Synchronize Upper and Lower Body is expressed as: “With its root in the foot, emitting from the leg, governed by the waist, manifesting in the hands and fingers - from feet to legs to waist - complete everything in one impulse.” * When hands move, the waist moves and legs move, and the gaze moves along with them. Only then can we say upper and lower body are synchronized. If one part doesn’t move then it is not coordinated with the rest. - Match Up Inner and Outer
What we are practicing in taiji depends on the spirit, hence the saying: “The spirit is the general, the body his troops”. If you can raise your spirit, your movements will naturally be light and nimble, the form nothing more than empty and full, open and closed. When we say ‘open’, we don’t just mean open the arms or legs; the mental intent must open along with the limbs. When we say ‘close’, we don’t just mean close the arms or legs; the mental intent must close along with the limbs. If you can combine inner and outer into a single impulse, then they become a seamless whole. - (Practice) Continuously and Without Interruption
Strength in external martial arts is a kind of acquired, brute force, so it has a beginning and an end, times when it continues and times when it is cut off, such that when the old force is used up and new force hasn’t yet arisen, there is a moment when it is extremely easy for the person to be constrained by an opponent. In taiji, we use intent rather than force, and from beginning to end, smoothly and ceaselessly, complete a cycle and return to the beginning, circulating endlessly. That is what the taiji classics mean by “Like the Yangtze or Yellow River, endlessly flowing.” And again: “Moving strength is like unreeling silk threads”. These both refer to unifying into a single impulse*. - Seek Quiescence within Movement
External martial artists prize leaping and stopping as skill, and they do this till breath (chi) and strength are exhausted, so that after practicing they are all out of breath. In taiji we use quiescence to overcome movement, and even in movement, still have quiescence. So when you practice the form, the slower the better! When you do it slowly your breath becomes deep and long, the chi sinks to the cinnabar field (dan1 tian2) and naturally there is no deleterious constriction or enlargement of the blood vessels. If the student tries carefully he may be able to comprehend the meaning behind these words.
Reference: yangfamilytaichi.com
Stand straight with feet apart, about shoulders’ width. Find a perfectly balanced posture. Breathe in slowly, gathering the qi in the general Dan Tian, an area three inches below the navel. On the exhale, send the qi to the Gate of Life, which is a point on the spine across from the navel, and from there out to the arms, hands, legs and feet.
Practise for about thirty six breath at about six breaths per minute.
You can also do this qigong while lying down and facing up.
This exercise can be used for calming down.
Reference:
Joe Hing Kwok Chu alternativehealing.org
The Mindfulness of Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat Hanh, Plum Village plumvillage.org
mindfulness is awareness of one’s thoughts, actions or motivations. wikipedia.org
Reference:
The clip is from the DVD accompanying the book “Walking Meditation” (sep 2006) Thich Nhat Hanh, Anh-Huong Nguyen, ISBN 1591794730
Books:
The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation (dec 1999) Thich Nhat Hanh
ISBN 9780807012390
The Blooming of a Lotus: Guided Meditation for Achieving the Miracle of Mindfulness (jun 1999) Thich Nhat Hanh
ISBN 0807012378
Links:
Mindfulness of Ourselves, Mindfulness of Others www.explorefaith.org
Ram Dass interviews Thicht Nhat Hanh youtube.com (mindfulness)
Asume the basic standing posture, but with the arms out to the sides at about navel height an sligthly forward crouch a little as if sitting down slightly and keep the back erect. When one is relaxed and the attention collected, shift one’s weight completely onto the right foot and strain on the hip. Move the left foot straight back a half a step then forwards in an inward curve, brushing past the right instep and out forwards to a place in front of its original position, turning the toes out a bit as is lands. Shift the weight forward on to the left leg, turning the torso slightly to the left as one does so, then bring right foot forward in a curve past left instep and out to the front, turning toes out slightly as it lands. Shift weight onto the wright leg again, turning torso slightly to the left as one moves, then take another a step with left foot. Continue forwards and then backwards in this was for as long as comfortable.
When taking a pace, raise the knee slightly, keep toes straight and do not raise foot to far off ground. It should feel as if dragging one’s feet through mud, and as gentle as if one were rolling a ball along with one’s toes. Again the motion must be smooth and unbroken.
Traditional Chinese Therapeutic Exercises: Standing Pole by J.P.C. Moffett, Wang Xuanjie
ISBN 9787119006963
p. 65-67
There are many kinds of stepwork in Dachengquan, and Mocabu or friction step is the most basic one. The posture is as follows: Stand naturally with two feet in parallel, apart form the legs which bend slightly at the knee, the posture is like standing attention. Keep torso erect, shoulders relaxed, arms stretched sideways, forming an angle of about 60 degrees with the body. With fingers parted naturally and palms facing downward as if you where pressing two big balloons, raise the head upright and drop to half a squat, with chest in and back intense. See that you have abundant energy, a quiet and easy mind and a substatiel abdomen. After standing in this way for some time, with the body weight on the soles of the feet, shift weight onto the left hip and slowly move right foot horizontally in a small arc to the right with the toes forward and land right on outer right side. The shift the weight onto the right hip, and move left foot in the same way as the right one has just done, and lands on the outer left side. The feet are desirably keept one foot length and a half apart all the time. Repeat the above mentioned movements alternatively with one foot and another. In practising this skill, care must be taken that the knee-cap is accompanied be an intention of a slight up-lift, toes are slightly hooked and the sole is not to high above ground. At the same time imagine that two feet are walking in shallow water, overcoming resistance. All the movements should be steady and flexible flowing easy and comfortable. This is the advacing posture. For retreating posture, just reverse the order of movements.
A ballad for Mocabu goes as follows:
With the torso erect and the head upright, He walks like a chicken but with torso a bit inclined.
Advance or retreat at will as the hip and shoulder move, Weaves rise and fall as the knee leaps and the foot circles.
Dachengquan by Wang Xuanjie
ISBN 9789622381117
p. 48-49
Yao Zongxun
Wang Xuanjie
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