Essential Philosophy and Practice
Q: So how does this (emphasis) translate into the actual Taijiquan or Shaolin martial arts practice? Tek: We all know that Taijiquan is based on Taiji, an ancient oriental philosophy which looks at 'things' as ever changing. And this ever changing follows a certain pattern, and this pattern is known as 'Dao".
So in Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching), Lao Tzu (Lao Tze) mentions in his 38th Chapter: If one misses Dao, one may abide in De, one's basic goodness. If De is missing, one could hang on to Ren, his kindness. If Ren is not there, then whatever left over would just be Yi, the righteousness, the unspoken and understood obligation and duty in one's role to stay. If even that Yi is missing, then what one could do is to make up some formalities, rules, rituals and 'good' manners, in such a way that people could follow accordingly. This is called Li. If even Li is missing, i.e. people fail to follow, then the only choice left is to enforce them to people whether they like it or not. As people are forced to comply with the rules, good manners and rituals without their own willingness, then this would be the beginning of hypocrisy and confusion. As I see it, this is the trend that the martial arts practice is heading towards now.
Therefore when Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is kindness.
When kindness is lost, there is justice.
When justice is lost there is ritual.
Extract from the 38th Chapter, Dao De Jing
To the Shaolin martial arts, practitioners should look at the 'Emptiness' aspect of the practice, and not just "punch, punch, punch" with their fists and "kill, kill, kill' in their minds all the time. Instead, kindness, courage and being fearless are the essence of the practice. So besides teaching Taijiquan, Lui He Ba Fa, Ba Duan Jing Qigong and Tan Tui. I also encourage students to take my workshops on Yi Jing (I-Ching), Dao De Jing and Xin Jing (The Heart Sutra, Prajna Paramita, a complete secular psychoanalysis taught by Gautama Buddha 2,500 years ago), the essence of the Chinese Chan (Zen) and Shaolin Martial Arts.
Q: Aren't these works of Taoist and Buddhist, and therefore they are religious in nature?
Tek: One thing I want to make clear here: the martial arts practice is non-religious. The Dao De Jing, Xin Jing, and Yi Jing are just philosophies; it could be Taoist philosophies or Buddhist philosophies or whatever philosophies. It is not Taoist or Buddhist religion. In addition, for the last two millennium, the indigenous Taoism, Confucianism of China, and the foreign (to China) Buddhism from India have merged and conglomerated into one big philosophy and culture. To a non-Christian Chinese it is very difficult to put one into any of these boxes called Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian or whatever mixture of that sort.
Many Chinese have been converted to Christianity in the last century. However a large majority (whether in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or S. E. Asia) remain unconverted. They are either Taoists, or Buddhists, or Confucians, or mixed (very common). One would worship Guan Yin (Buddhist), Jade Emperor (Taoist), and one's ancestors (Confucian) at the same time in the same location (temple). In Singapore many temples even have Datok Gong (a Malay folk deity, yet not for Muslims) as well.
North American Caucasians are predominantly Christians (of some sorts), yet they are more open and willing to accept or to explore other teachings and philosophies, such as Zen, Sufi, Tibetan Buddhism etc., while the converted Chinese Christians (in general) are more inflexible about other religions or philosophies in general.
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Q: So how does this (emphasis) translate into the actual Taijiquan or Shaolin martial arts practice? Tek: We all know that Taijiquan is based on Taiji, an ancient oriental philosophy which looks at 'things' as ever changing. And this ever changing follows a certain pattern, and this pattern is known as 'Dao".
So in Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching), Lao Tzu (Lao Tze) mentions in his 38th Chapter: If one misses Dao, one may abide in De, one's basic goodness. If De is missing, one could hang on to Ren, his kindness. If Ren is not there, then whatever left over would just be Yi, the righteousness, the unspoken and understood obligation and duty in one's role to stay. If even that Yi is missing, then what one could do is to make up some formalities, rules, rituals and 'good' manners, in such a way that people could follow accordingly. This is called Li. If even Li is missing, i.e. people fail to follow, then the only choice left is to enforce them to people whether they like it or not. As people are forced to comply with the rules, good manners and rituals without their own willingness, then this would be the beginning of hypocrisy and confusion. As I see it, this is the trend that the martial arts practice is heading towards now.
Therefore when Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is kindness.
When kindness is lost, there is justice.
When justice is lost there is ritual.
Extract from the 38th Chapter, Dao De Jing
To the Shaolin martial arts, practitioners should look at the 'Emptiness' aspect of the practice, and not just "punch, punch, punch" with their fists and "kill, kill, kill' in their minds all the time. Instead, kindness, courage and being fearless are the essence of the practice. So besides teaching Taijiquan, Lui He Ba Fa, Ba Duan Jing Qigong and Tan Tui. I also encourage students to take my workshops on Yi Jing (I-Ching), Dao De Jing and Xin Jing (The Heart Sutra, Prajna Paramita, a complete secular psychoanalysis taught by Gautama Buddha 2,500 years ago), the essence of the Chinese Chan (Zen) and Shaolin Martial Arts.
Q: Aren't these works of Taoist and Buddhist, and therefore they are religious in nature?
Tek: One thing I want to make clear here: the martial arts practice is non-religious. The Dao De Jing, Xin Jing, and Yi Jing are just philosophies; it could be Taoist philosophies or Buddhist philosophies or whatever philosophies. It is not Taoist or Buddhist religion. In addition, for the last two millennium, the indigenous Taoism, Confucianism of China, and the foreign (to China) Buddhism from India have merged and conglomerated into one big philosophy and culture. To a non-Christian Chinese it is very difficult to put one into any of these boxes called Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian or whatever mixture of that sort.
Many Chinese have been converted to Christianity in the last century. However a large majority (whether in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or S. E. Asia) remain unconverted. They are either Taoists, or Buddhists, or Confucians, or mixed (very common). One would worship Guan Yin (Buddhist), Jade Emperor (Taoist), and one's ancestors (Confucian) at the same time in the same location (temple). In Singapore many temples even have Datok Gong (a Malay folk deity, yet not for Muslims) as well.
North American Caucasians are predominantly Christians (of some sorts), yet they are more open and willing to accept or to explore other teachings and philosophies, such as Zen, Sufi, Tibetan Buddhism etc., while the converted Chinese Christians (in general) are more inflexible about other religions or philosophies in general.
Read More
