Belief | ||
classes qigong tai chi kung fu about us reviews a-z
Belief
'Belief' is quite an odd concept.
It is an idea or impression which you trust
without any logical evidence to support your faith.
Quite often, a belief is a commonly-held world
view, such as the world is flat.
There are always a number of
assumptions underlying a belief.
Belief system
All cultures develop a system of values that are applied to meet a culture's
needs.
Our understanding of the
values of a culture and our acceptance or rejection of those values is
often based upon our own cultural belief system.
A shared system of beliefs and values serve to systematically define a way
of perceiving the social, cultural, physical
and psychological world.
Perception
A belief system uses ideas to organise and define the way in which we
perceive reality.
These ideas are often manifested through interaction with others like
parents, peers, mentors, educational
material or society institutions.
In modern culture, belief in money,
success, fame and celebrity is
widespread.
Yet if you gave a suitcase of money to a tribal community, it would be
difficult to convince them that your faith in the power of money is grounded
in reality.
If the world stock markets crashed and banks failed,
you too, would lose your faith in money.
Religion
Organised religion is a clearly defined belief system concerning the
supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices and
institutions associated with such belief.
Each individual religion has its own unique way of
interpreting the relationship between humanity and existence.
Although most religions have very similar beliefs and principles at their
centre, they are often in competition with one another for supremacy.
Superstition
The unexplained was once attributed to unseen forces controlling our
destinies.
Greek Gods were believed to favour certain
warriors and punish others.
Superstition constitutes an unsubstantiated belief in the power of rituals
and omens.
In the past, many people died because such
beliefs were so widely held.
Science
To some extent, science has removed many people's faith in what they once believed.
Yet, science is not fact.
The scientific method is to assert a
possibility and then set out to prove
(or disprove) what you believe to be true.
This is why the scientific beliefs of the 1600's are not the
scientific beliefs of today's era.
Tai chi
Tai chi is not part of any belief
system. Tao and Zen are not religious
in the Western sense of the word; they do not have any bearing on the
supernatural, deities or any kind of ritual.
A belief is something that has been given to you by somebody else.
It is an idea. Tai chi is not concerned with ideas, but
with reality.
Tangible
If you adjust your structure, it becomes
stronger or weaker accordingly.
If you move in a particular way, you may
or may not avoid a punch.
Tai chi is grounded in substance.
No belief is required.
Spiritual
The spiritual component of tai chi is not based on belief, but rather on
observation and awareness.
A practitioner learns to stop and
appreciate the world in which you live, and to
really look at the nature of the
relationships around you.
Awakening
By opening your mind and
heart to the world you share, you
become soft and receptive, caring and respectful.
You see that there is more to life than
your own petty concerns.
This change of consciousness is not the
product of dogma or assertions, or even logical argument and reasoning, but
simply of seeing. This is not a belief.
Cord: Who are you?
Blind man: Whoever you think I am or want me to be, I am.
(The Silent Flute)
Page created
5 March 1998
Last updated
16 June 2023
▲