Most
people think of meditation as a static, sitting cross legged exercise.
In China, the qualities of calmness, concentration and relaxation were
combined with movement. In the Shaolin Monastery, the Yi Jin Jing (the
Muscle and Tendon Changing Qigong) was developed to train the body under
the influence of meditation. It was an early attempt at integrating
stillness with motion.
Chan or
Zen Buddhism, as it became known in the West, sees no contradiction
between the Zen state of mind and performing every day activities. In
Japan, the Zen state expresses itself in gardening, painting,
calligraphy, tea ceremony, archery, swordsmanship and flower
arrangement. Developing a high degree of concentration and entering a
profound state of being or Samadhi (meditative absorption where the
duality of subject and object disappears) enables the practitioner to
gain a profound insight into the nature of reality.
In
China, an archer was boasting about his ability to loosen 3 arrows in
quick succession, hitting and killing a bird in mid air. All 3
arrows found their mark before the bird hit the ground. When a
Chan Buddhist master spoke to the man, he suggested that his skill was
quite good but not top level. They agreed on a contest to test
each other’s archery skills.
The
Chan master was not an expert at archery, but his power of concentration
was very high. The two combatants went up to a high mountain ad
walked slowly to the edge of a ledge that hung precariously above a deep
gorge. The contest involved standing with half of one foot on the
ledge and the other half in mid air. From this position, they were
to shoot at a target. Whoever hit the target won the competition.
The Chan master walked calmly to the ledge and shot a bull’s eye.
His opponent began walking confidently towards the ledge. Then he slowed
down, finally crawling on his hands and knees, unable to stand on the
ledge, let alone shoot. The Chan Master might not have been an
expert archer but he knew that “unless one has mastered one’s mind, one
will not be able to master one’s body.”
Miss
Gao Fu (1916–2005) was an accomplished Tai Chi practitioner and student
of Grandmaster Feng Zhi Qiang, founder of the Hun Yuan Tai Chi system.
When Gao Fu talked about her own experiences in Tai Chi, she said, “The
most important thing in doing Tai Chi is coordinating the inside energy
with the outside movements. Tai Chi is an internal style of martial
arts. If there is no internal, only external movement, then how can you
say it is an internal style of martial arts? The internal is the core
of Tai Chi. The spirit and soul. So without the internal, then Tai Chi
has no soul.” (Marvin Smalheiser, “Gao Fu on the Spirit and Soul of Tai
Chi.” T’ai Chi Magazine, vol. 21, No. 6, Dec 1997, p.6)
How do
we cultivate the internal? We do this by calming and focusing the mind
which in turn relaxes the body. A high level Tai Chi practitioner’s
movements are as soft and flowing like a river although as strong as
refined steel internally. My Wu Dao Gong teacher, Fei Wang, always
says, “It’s only by combining the internal with the external that we can
reach the higher levels of the art. It is like having two legs – one
depends upon the other to move.” In your own practice, always try to
relax and calm the mind and body. Use the intention to lead the qi to
guide the movements. Over a period of time, the sensation of qi will
become stronger. This will allow you to harmonise the internal with the
external, giving rise to the full expression of Tai Chi.
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