Speculation | ||
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Slap
It is important to realise that Tao and Zen are not speculative studies or
in any way philosophical.
They are about the immediate, spontaneous experience of reality.
Consequently, your study of tai chi must be as real as a slap to the face.
Be real
A tai chi student must be careful to avoid speculation. Philosophising and
metaphysical debates will not further your understanding of the system.
Root your training in the real, in the tangible.
Asking questions is not always such a good thing. The flaw may lie in the
motive behind the question.
Knowledge
Speculation is relative to knowledge. If your knowledge is limited, your
determinations will inevitably be flawed.
Knowledge is the consequence of information, context, experience and
insight. Assumptions are foolish; many things are not as simplistic as they
first seem.
Tai chi is sophisticated and rich in detail. A cursory grasp of the syllabus
will not yield fruitful insights.
Qi power
What qi can and cannot do is a speculative subject, and a student is
unlikely to gain skill by talking about it.
It is important to ground your training in the real world.
Learn skills that you can use. Skills that work. Skills you can prove in
practice.
Thinking too much
Students are often guilty of thinking too much when they start to study
tai chi.
They imagine that the entire system will unravel, with its secrets laid bare
if only they think a little harder.
This is not Taoist at all. Thinking, pushing, trying and forcing are not the
way.
You must calm your agitated thoughts and feel what is happening. Be in the
body, not the mind. What is your body telling you?
Our advice is simple: be patient.
Intellectual folly
Do not attempt to intellectually grasp tai chi.
If you want to think, turn your mind to something worthwhile: koan, Tao Te
Ching, Chuang Tzu, Miyamoto Musashi, Sun Tzu or Krishnamurti.
If you cannot fathom "What is the sound of one
hand clapping?" there is no way you can hope to unravel our
syllabus.
Students are expected to explain koan, and research books from our reading
list with a view to completing assignments.
Your skills need to be rounded and complete.
Speculation is an indication of
restlessness; and a restless mind, however gifted, destroys understanding
and happiness.
(Krishnamurti)
Modes of thinking
Once, people thought in terms of magic and
superstition. This was later
replaced by religion and then eventually science. Yet, this model of
progression is simplistic.
Taoism and other ways of thinking existed
alongside superstition, religion and science. These alternate
modes of thinking were
often based on loss of self/ego. Not implicating
oneself in everything.
Beyond ego
Scientific thinking has its merits; especially
when people talk about qi (superstitious thinking). However, we don't
need
to know or understand in order for something
to work.
Just avoid jumping to
conclusions? Not knowing is fine.
If you can discover the answers, then do so. If not, be okay with that.
Ground your thinking in what is, not in
what you already know.
Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023
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