Old Man's Riddle
"everything has a hidden in this world: people, animals, trees, stars, they are all but hieroglyphs; lucky him who starts deciphering them and guessing what they mean, but pity him: when he sees them, he does not understand them; He thinks they are people, animals, trees, stars. Only after years and years, too late, he discovers their true meaning” from Nikos Kazantzaki’s “Zorba The Greek”.

Similarly I think, tai chi may be like painting hieroglyphs with your body and spirit.                                                                           

Photo: Pansy's garden, Hawaii

What makes Tai Chi Beautiful?

Is it Grace or Power?

Photo: Girl performing Ba Gua Palms at Wudang Mountain
Some people’s Tai Chi is full of grace, like dancing, however fragile, with shaky or floating legs. They look like the injured swan from the ballet. The Chinese would say: ”your form looks beautiful, but it is empty”, in other words: it lacks grounding, root and power. At the other extreme, you can see people who look forceful, aggressive, ego-driven and somehow un-refined. Tai Chi shows a person’s spirit. I would watch a person performing Tai Chi and have a feeling about the person from their form.

The beauty we can see in the Tai Chi form is the beauty of the spirit of the person performing it; a free, pure and concentrated mind radiates through the physical body; the mind and the body become unified. Tai Chi’s beauty is also in being “the way of nature”: it reminds me of the purity in nature, of simply being. Of clouds passing in the sky; of a great river flowing to the ocean. Such a sophisticated art in the simplest expression of form!

What is Tai Chi?

“A gentle form of exercise played to soft music” or “a martial art used to develop tremendous power and speed derived from internal energy”? These two answers may be given by one and the same person, twenty years apart. Tai Chi can be many things to many people, many things to the same person over time. In fact, Tai Chi is what you make of it. If you resonate with Tai Chi, you will find it becomes your companion for life.

Photo: Qingcheng Mountain: Gate leading from Temple to the Mountain

When I first saw Tai Chi, I was captivated by the graceful yet powerful movements. I was impressed by its external form but, at the same time, sensed the internal structure and power. Was this a form of ballet? Clearly no. Is it a martial art? If yes, where are the heavy blows and kicks? Tai Chi is so deceptive! Like the poetic names of the moves, which contain hidden deadly techniques!
For the first couple of years I read many books on Tai Chi and Qigong, which helped me just scratch the surface. With my growing interest, I soon became immersed in Chinese culture, captivated by traditional Chinese music, reading Chinese novels, probing the ancient Asian soul. I needed to overcome my Western frame of mind, then open to a different view in relation to nature and the world at large, if I was to improve my Tai Chi beyond the stage of performing arm and leg moves. And thus the Gate opened.

Humility

"In our competitive modern culture people are always trying to assert themselves over others. Life is a struggle to get to the top of the pile or to stay as high on the pile as possible. In this insecure culture humility is seen as a weakness. But in fact humility – to be humble- is a great virtue and a sign of inner strength and security. Humility is also a corner stone of the learning process, because in order to learn you have to let go of the idea that you know better. In order to learn from another person you have to humble yourself and let go of the assumption that you are better or know more. To be humble means to make yourself vulnerable and open to reality".

reproduced by permission of Hans Menck:
http://freedomfightingarts.com/

Secrets of Tai Chi

Shaolindude1 comment on my video on YouTube: “wow this was really cool! i really interested in tai chi could u give me some info hows the tai chi effect on the body and what powers u can get from it?”

Cool Shaolin dude one,

Tai Chi is such a deep and secret art, that it demands a lifetime of practice and dedication. If you start out young, by the time you're 30 you may understand Natural movement, when you're 40 you may enjoy Perfect health, when you're 50 no Enemy may get near you, when you're 60 you will Shine out like the rainbow, when you're 70 you'll be at Peace with the world and by 80, you'll be ready to cross over into Immortality. Respekt!

Photo: Mystical Aura of Qing Cheng Mountain, China

My Religion

I am an Orthodox Christian. But I am also a bit of a Taoist. But then again, I am a convinced Buddhist. I could not be whole without confessing that I am a Muslim to my heart. But my hidden, true felt calling is towards Judaism. My pride is that I am an Atheist. I could not look around me, without being a Pantheist. After all, and to the exclusion of all other belief systems, my creed is the brotherhood of Man. Or just I AM.

Photo: West Beach, Adelaide

Spread the Word

“I am only showing you the way; you must seek it on your own. What I will be, what I will do, the coming days will reveal. I am renouncing my own attachment to my life and my home forever, I am working to save all living beings. But in this undisciplined world, my life’s practice is reduced to mere entertainment.”
Bodhisattva Palden Dorje

August 2, 2007
http://www.paldendorje.com/