Dear J Thank you for your email. I wonder what the Yijing says about our interaction? This would be a good experience in aligning the text with material conditions - a process mediated by our own 'intentions'. Of course, material conditions and intentions continuously change - but the Yijng text remains constant. The efficacy of translation merely allows us to peer into the historicity of the text - to a lesser or greater accuracy. Indeed. 'words' are the business we are engaged in - and a question lingers as to whether it matters how these words are generated and received. An open-ended enquiry might allow for possibilities of 'being' that are firmly closed-off by precise answers. This is 'why' the individual lines of the Yijing 'move' and 'transform'. All Best Wishes Adrian
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Daoist philosophy is an immense and contradictory body of knowledge - and where the average Chinese person accesses it depends upon what part of China (and ethnic group) they are born into. Most people possess a local deity - and we work from there. One form of Daoism is faith-based (Jiao) and is premised upon making selfless sacrifices to a deity in a Temple - whilst the other is family-based (Jia) and involves a sophisticated philosophical approach to understanding the inner and outer human-body and the world it inhabits. The Daoism you are studying falls within the 'Jia' (family) category. Obviously, Karate-Do is a practical activity - where a practitioner can hold any viewpoint - providing the physical technique is correct (at least in the West). For instance, regardless of what metaphysics are used to describe Sanchin Kata (that is - what we think is going on) - the fact remains that the musculature must remain 'tensed' throughout the practice of the Kata during the inward and outward breath - and regardless of every stance, leg movement, arm movement and hand movement, as this generates the torque sheet-muscle which protects the inner organs, the bones and the joints, etc. I notice Higaonna Sensei applies an additional (and sharp) conclusion to every outward breath. This makes sense from the TCM-perspective as such an emphasis is generating a consolidation of 'qi' (ki) in the limb that has just been moved. If the hand is left 'open' - then the 'qi' (ki) will flow out through the outstretched fingers - but if the fists are 'clenched' - then the 'qi' (ki) is gathered and focused with a greater resisting force in the fist and fore-arms. This might explain why Higaonna Kanryo Sensei made this adjustment.
Dear S The words will tumble as they will - all simultaneously (and equally) full of 'worth' (Yang) and worthlessness (Yin) - and who is to say where this distribution occurs? Many spend their time ascribing 'worth' and denying 'worthlessness' - except those immersed in the essence of the Dao (whatever that is). Linguistic trickery springs to mind - but then I find that when we sit in the endless moment - here and now - we can fill eternity with whatever we want. The point about this is that we do not have to necessarily 'fill' it with physical things - as this remains beyond the means of many (and for different reason) - but ideas cost nothing in the material sense, although the spiritual paths quite rightly advise against not filling the psychic space with visions that might upset the emotional balance (as many are prone to do). Of course, I fill the space with 'silence' and with 'words' as and when the moment seems right to do so. I am not suggesting you are doing (or thinking) any of the above - but through the sharing of these words perhaps a premise for the next step might materialise - for either one of us. Many years ago, I communicated with Eva Wong (perhaps in the late 1980s) and she discussed her Old Daoist Master with me. This distinguished lady (old herself at the time) was very kind to communicate with me when she discovered my lineage link with Zhao Bichen (1860-1942). Like all effective things ‘Daoist’ - this lady chose her words very carefully - so that she did not tread in a sensitive place. She agreed to pass my respectful greetings to her Old Master - and that was enough. Again, the expert use of 'emptiness' and 'form' - 'words' and 'silence' (dare I say - 'women' and 'men'). I was taken with the stories about Bodhidharma preserved in the Chinese language (Daoist) literature - and how they differed (in content and scope) to those retained in the Ch'an Records. This was at a time long before the Internet - when there was no direct link with any other country and all academic work was pursued face-to-face and via local libraries! Letter-writing was a crucial skill in those times - something akin to a relatively short but highly mobile 'book' (a 'pamphlet' I suppose) - through which important data could be made known, provided and exchanged. Not every recipient was willing to exchange data through this method - but each letter had to be written exactly right - just in case! For a time, the inner path takes on an isolatory stage and letter-writing (already existent in ancient China) was an excellent way to remain detached from the direct machinations of everyday life - whilst still benefitting from the wisdom traditions accrued by humanity! Today, we do the same but in different ways! Best Wishes Adrian
Very interesting.
The human urge to stratify as a means to move from one place another - figuratively and materially - is highly creative and drives the ongoing engine of evolution. It exists and is perpetuated because it works - regardless of the subject it is applied to. Mathematics, engineering, medicine, politics, spirituality, sport and art, etc, and so on. This is why humans conform to group activities - even group activities such as monasticism - where everyone believes they are on their own - requires a supportive mechanism that would mirror any normally functioning royal abode precisely! And here we are - at the end of stratification, somewhere in the middle of stratification - or nowhere near stratification! As for myself, I see reality from the inside - as it is happening at the root of unfolding - even though the limitation of human language makes this sound like a 'subjective' statement. Reality is a) out there, but b) I experience it through the continuous unfolding of perception. Removing fear and attachment changes the game. After-all, we manifest within a physical body that itself manifests within a physical world - which although 'real' - manifests within our perception! So, in answer to your question 'How do I see it?' - or something similar - in answer I must say that I do not see it in anyway at all - as this would fall into a false dichotomy - which is just too time consuming and energy sapping to generate, maintain and defend! Perception is spacious - that is all I know. As far as I can tell, once the mind has been 'stilled' (not an easy task), and the awareness 'expanded' (tricky), then the body and material universe appear to manifest and exist within the conscious awareness. This understanding should be, (although achieved within 'time'), purely 'existential' when profoundly experienced. The 'cause and effect' of spirituality cannot occur without material reality (and the proper placement of events) as conscious growth and development unfold in the correct physical sequence (that is, the correct unfolding of the 'mysterious' path or 'technique'). The correct sequence of events (the 'quest') ensure an enhanced and permanent transformation in 'awareness' (which seems 'timeless') whilst the body continues to 'age' according to natural (mechanical) processes.
The expanded awareness (Samadhi) is purely existential as all past, present and future events (its three reconciled qualities) are easily (and naturally) reconciled within 'it' - here and now. For instance, although the expanded mind is able to discern and participate within dualistic (subject-object) thinking processes (the last word of our previous communication feeds seamlessly into the first word of this exchange - and the time inbetween being both 'insignificant' and yet highly 'relevant') - all barriers fall away when this dualistic function is 'suspended' for the duration of the intense and/or profound meditational experience. When discursive thinking is required - then the 'dualistic' function re-emerges - but we are no longer enslaved to it. In the unenlightened state, we have no choice but to be thrown from one dualistic pole to another - but in the enlightened state - all is well, reconciled, complete and at peace. At least this is the case when we sit quietly in the fully expanded mind - allowing conscious awareness to fully permeate the maximum extent of the six senses. This is the ideal (and the idyllic) state. Everyday life, that is all the machinations concerned with interpersonal interaction, is an 'aside' that can be intense or sedate (and every level inbetween). This 'interlude' is the drama that defines our lives and which forms our (material) personal history. Samadhi exists right in the centre of all this nonsense - and yet has absolutely 'nothing' to do with it! Although we may prefer 'this' or 'that' - Samadhi does not care about any of it - and this is where it might get serious. Although we are 'alive' to be consciously aware - eventually we will be 'dead' to be consciously 'unaware'. I suspect this is the contradiction the Buddha discusses in his Pali Suttas when he describes 'Nirvana' as being 'non-conditioned' and 'beyond' (and 'between') the states of perception and non-perception. This is the reconciliation of 'awareness' and 'non-awareness' - as this is the actual challenge to be dealt with in the human mind, body and environment. The traditional answer is to 'sit through' all the worldly movement so that the 'still' and 'underlying' reality is 'identified' and 'pulled' into the present... Dear R
Master Zhao Ming Wang (Beijing) tends to favour 'face-to-face' instruction due to the teacher being able to 'adjust' the energy imbalances. In other words, treating any outstanding illnesses and ailments with Daoist medicine (pressure points, herbs and exercise). However, when this is not available, then 'neidan' becomes the focal-point - or 'self-study' through self-cultivation. In this sense, we all form a supportive 'net' around the world helping one another on the path. In China today, Western medicine exists side by side with TCM, and people can choose and switch between these systems. Obviously, acute, chronic or severe medical issues should be treated with the correct medicines if available as no amount of will-power will cure a physical ailment. On the other hand, preventative medicine probably does work but we are never aware of the illnesses we do not catch! Sometimes, I have had the honour of working with those who are 'dying' from an incurable disease and the issue is then one of psychological and emotional transcendence of the body (loosely termed 'spiritual').This must happen whilst the individual is still within their body and before the life-processes come to an end. With Best Wishes Adrian Translator’s Note: The provenance of this story is difficult to pin-down. Although published online in China on the 9.4.2021 – as part of an interesting text for ‘Reading in May Read’ - and despite it containing contemporary photographs of recently living individuals, I suspect it is an old (true) story preserved within a family from before the 1949 Revolution (as after the Revolution ‘monogamy’ became the norm throughout Chinese society). The titles used ‘avoid’ real names and rely instead upon the old feudal designators not in common usage today, designed to act as both a ‘social’ and ‘military’ rank according to a) order of birth, and b) the ‘closeness’ or ‘farthest’ away an individual happens to be from the main male life of inheritance. Although once prevalent throughout the entirety of Chinese feudal society, this is behaviour typical of traditional Hakka Chinese social structure, which advocates that a local village is also a military unit - with both deploying in exactly the same hierarchical fashion! ‘Er Ye’, for example, refers to a ‘second son’, whilst Er Nia Nia (‘Mistress’ or ‘Lady of the House’) refers to a ‘secondary wife’ or ‘concubine’ whose main task is that of ‘giving milk’ to the children of much more important ‘number one’ wife (that is, to serve as a ‘wet nurse’ as the designation ‘’Er Nai Nai’ or ‘second milk milk’ implies). This would suggest a pre-1949 era when Chinese society was still subject to patriarchy and Chinese men granted themselves the right to have at least ‘four’ wives at any given time! On the other hand, ‘Er Nai Nai’ can also refer to a ’maternal grandmother’, but obviously this woman is not likely to be the grandmother of the already elderly ‘Er Ye’. Another interpretation to consider is that ‘Er Ye’ may have married twice after 1949 – having two wives separately and at different times, etc. ACW (17.11.2021)
More than ten years ago, the elderly gentleman known as ‘Er Ye’ (二爷) or the ‘Second Lord’ within English translation was already in his seventies. At this time, however, his body was very tough, he moved vigorously, and when he walked his feet appeared to cleanly ‘strike’ the ground with a "boom-like" sound. As his teeth were white, hard and complete (something that baffled us children back then), he preferred to eat the harder type of fried popcorn – and would always consume a large amount without damaging his pristine teeth! People who knew ‘Erh Ye’ back then, were of the opinion that he must be a ‘long-lived’ person due to his obvious robust psychological and physical health! Just over ten days before his death, his faintly observed that his speech suddenly became a little strange and difficult to understand. I remember that in the first months of winter of that year, Er Ye's son - Uncle Liang (亮) - (who was away from home at the time), asked someone local to provide Er Ye with extra winter clothes – but when he received the clothing – he avoided looking at the bundle and made no attempt to acknowledge the gift or to put-on the extra-layers. He merely picked-up the bundle and placed it onto a nearby chair – with his movements being both swift and precise – whilst remaining unrushed or unduly influenced by outside events. He then muttered ‘I no longer require clothing and have no reason to wear new garments!’ He then walked away complaining that his smoking-pipe was ‘dry’ and that he might need something useful – such as a pouch of ‘new’ tobacco! He then sat quietly for a long-time – with those present being astonished by his behaviour! The Mistress (二奶奶 - Er Nai Nai) of the house (probably ‘Er Ye’s’ ‘second’ wife) attempted to ‘break the silence’ by stating ‘Just look at all this “old man” nonsense!’ As far as every present was concerned, Er Ye was muttering ‘half-sentences’ and acting in an incomprehensible manner! The observable fact was, however, that Er Ye was quite happy and content. Three days before his death, however, he became agitated with the Mistress of the house whom he said was not dedicating enough time toward his personal care. This was because she had given-up trying to understand his ‘half-sentences’ and often did not prioritise his needs or properly arrange his meals times. On that day, however, the Mistress heard that a visiting salesman was selling small native chickens in the village. There were not many pure native chickens left in those days, with broiler and egg-laying chickens of foreign descent had flooded the market. The Mistress still missed the taste of the native chickens from the old days. When she heard that there was a dealer selling these chickens, she happily opened the savings-box, found the right amount of money, and urged Er Ye to buy her a native chicken and raise it in their garden! The usually very diligent Er Ye, was acting uncharacteristically on this day. He sat motionless in his chair, not nodding but dozing off and looking indifferent to events. The Mistress urged him several times but he did not move. Then the Mistress became annoyed and shook Er Ye roughly by his shoulders demanding that he pull himself together! Er Ye angrily replied ‘I cannot eat ‘meat’ again – my time is complete!’ The still angry Mistress replied ‘Are you so selfish that you are about to die right away?’ She then ran outside to purchase a ‘new’ chicken! Without looking back Due to the continuing anger between the couple – the Mistress stopped cooking for Er Ye and he went hungry! No one expected the demise of Er Ye to be so close at hand. In the morning three days later, most of the people in the village were still in bed, but this is exactly the early time that Er Ye used to rise in the morning! He would wash and dress, and then sit on a small bench outside his house and start the day by weaving a mat! Indeed, he was a recognised ‘Master’ of mat-weaving, and he would often walk down the mountain to chop bamboo and walk back again. His craftwork was sought-after far and wide but the local people were reluctant to ask him for mats. When Er Ye heard this, he stepped-up his individual output and made enough mats so that he could give them out ‘free’ to the local people! The Mistress soon started calling for Er Ye to get-up from inside the house – but her pleas were met only with silence. Local villagers then ran over to find Er Ye lying peacefully on his side in his yard - after having just passed away. Er Ye had fulfilled his intentions of ‘talking less’, ‘not wearing’ new clothes and never eating meat again! It would seem that some elderly people are able to ‘sense’ the approach of physical death and prepare themselves accordingly. https://www.163.com/dy/article/GJ1SER890543VRV0.html 老人临终前,常说半头话 2021-09-04 09:51:51 来源: 五月读书汇 十多年前,那时的二爷七十多岁,身子板十分的硬朗,走路虎虎生风,直踩得地上“咚咚”直响,特别是吃那种炒的比较硬的玉米花时,他一次可以来个一斤多,直让当年我们这些小孩子们瞠目结舌,无不佩服他的牙齿。 认识二爷的人,都说按他目前的身体状况,一定是个长寿的人。 就在去世的前十多天时间里,我们都隐隐感觉他说话突然变得有些莫名其妙起来,让人听起来怪怪的。记得那年初冬,二爷远在外地的儿子亮叔,托人给二爷带回了几件冬天的衣服,谁知道,二爷接过后,拿在手上别说试穿,他硬是看也没有看,就“呼”的一下,丢在一旁的凳子上,嘴里咕嘟道:“我不要,我又穿不到了!”,说完,叨着他的旱烟袋走开了。一句话只说得在场的我们一头雾水,愣愣的半天没有反应过来。 二奶奶为了打破这僵局,笑着指着他离去的背影轻声地骂道:“瞧死老头子,尽胡说!” 不能仅这次二爷说了一句半头话,不久后,也就是在他 去世的前三天,他的一句半头话气得二奶奶有大半天懒得搭理他,还让不会做饭的他饿了一顿肚子。 那天,二奶奶听说村头来了一个卖小土鸡的人,当年纯土鸡已不多,洋系血统的肉鸡蛋鸡已冲斥了市场。二奶奶总还是怀念着当年土鸡的味道。一听说有卖土小鸡的贩子,她高兴地打开箱子,找出钱,催促二爷快去买些回来自己饲养。 平时很勤快的二爷这天却一反常态,坐在椅子上一动不动,还不是地点头打着瞌睡,一幅无精打彩的样子。 二奶奶催了好几次他也没有挪动身子。最后二奶奶发飙,连推带拉非让他去,没想到二爷竟没好气地白了二奶奶一眼说道:“我又吃不到了的,我卵得去搞!” 二奶奶一听气得七窍生烟,指着二爷的鼻子骂道:“怎么吃不到?你难道马上去死!”说完,不再理二爷,自己一个人“咚咚”地跑出门亲自买去。 为此事,二奶奶生了二爷大半天的气,硬是一句话也没有和他说,害得不会做饭的二爷饿了一顿肚子。 大家都没有料到,二爷的大限之期就到了,而且来得让人瘁不及防。三天后的那个早上,村里人大多都还没有起床,二爷闲不住,他有个早起的习惯,起来后没事,他就会坐在一个小板凳上,伏下身子,开始蹲在地上编织蔑席。 他是远近有名的蔑匠,大家都找他编织蔑器,后来年岁大了,左邻右舍也就不好意思请他,都纷纷从很远的地方请篾匠。但是二爷却不管这些,自己下山砍竹子,编织一些竹器,乐呵呵地免费送给大家用…… “快起来!快起来!老头子不行了!”二奶奶的惊呼声,清晨的寂静,将大家从睡梦中惊醒。 大家急匆匆地披衣下床,慌慌张张地跑到二爷院子里一看,只见二爷侧身卧在地上,很平静的躺着,就仿佛是在熟睡中…… 二爷就这样走了。真应验了他的话,亮叔给他带回的新衣服他没有穿上,二奶奶买回的小土鸡他也没有吃到。难道在冥冥之中,二爷真的是已感知到了死神的到来? Yin – Yang (陰陽) = ‘Shadow’ (‘Lack of Light’, ‘Dark’) – ‘Non-Shadow’ (‘Presence of Light’, ‘ Bright’)
Taiji Tu (太极图) = ‘Grand Ridge-Pole’ (a theoretical ‘rotating, controlling and directing ‘central’ polarity that lies at the heart of all material and immaterial reality – continuously ebbing and flowing between light (Yang) and dark (Yin) – dark and light (and any and all other corresponding and associated polarities). There are a number of shaded roundels all depicting the inter-play of ‘light’ (Yang) and ‘dark’ (Yin) – all termed ‘Taiji Tu’ – although within popular culture in the West these symbols are referred to as ‘Yin-Yang’ Symbols. Within Chinese culture, the ‘Taiji Tu’ is understood to symbolise the flux of ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’ – but only from within the context of a continuously rotating and controlling centrality (the ‘Grand Ridge-Pole’). Therefore, the ‘Taiji Tu’ is never referred to as a ‘Yin-Yang’ Symbol within Chinese thinking – as this would imply an inversion of logic – similar to only ever referring to an ‘automobile’ through the functional agency of ‘mileage’. This ‘measure of movement’ tells the enquirer ‘nothing’ about the ‘automobile’ that is moving. Immortality has not really got anything to do with a long life lived over many years. A genuine Daoist must a) perceive the eternal moment, and b) integrate with that insight. As perception folds in on itself at the point of physical death – this is the only immortality that truly matters! We dissolve into the ‘eternal moment’ - this is the genuine ‘immortality’! The side-effects of taking the journey that leads to this insight involves the ‘neidan’ self-discipline and the pursuance of psychological and physical science that comprises ‘Daoist’ methodology. In this case, the functionality of the mind and body is brought to a maximised frequency whereby a robust health and a certain sense of longevity are definitely incorporated. Although this type of immortality is important – it is not the most favoured or elaborate of those available. We may give-up our bodies at the point of death and merge with the timeless universe – or we may remain in our no longer functioning bodies which retain the upright, seated meditation position. In this case, the physical is ‘dead’ in one sense, and yet ‘living’ in another – again, this is a matter of ‘frequency’ of manifestation. Furthermore, there are people who possess bodies that are permanently ill or injured (for various reasons), and yet they are considered ‘immortal’ by their teachers. This being the case, health is not always the complete lack of illness, injury or disability, and is reliant upon what the mind is able to ‘perceive’ rather than the state of the cells of the physical body. Such insight carries with it the power to revitalise the cellular structure of the human-body even if it is carrying an illness, injury or disability. The point is that life will improve for such successful aspirants and they will certainly live longer than if they had never trained. Immortality, of course, is linked to the purification of insight rather than any notions of physical purity. Physical purity does not exist as the body certainly does not last forever – but forever is a very long time!
A number of my academic colleagues in Mainland China have discussed with me the necessity for the formation of a ‘new’ type of Daoism. The point of this is to move away from the pointless ‘dead-ends’ of superstitious teachings and empower Daoist practitioners with the most effective and efficient medicalised training programmes available. Without a shadow of a doubt, this redesigning will have to accommodate the rigours of modern medical science just as it should retain the elements of traditional Chinese thinking that was premised upon logic, practice, results and replication of those results. Indeed, there is much existing within Daoist (and TCM) methodology that is both ancient in construction and highly effective in practice! Of course, something of a ground-breaking foundation already exists within the teachings of the Qianfeng School of Beijing where its founder – Zhao Bichen (1860-1942) - was able to integrate Western medical science with tradition Daoist and TCM concepts. This modified the Quanzhen, Longmen and Wu Liu Daoist lineages and created a Daoist methodology that educated Chinese people about Western thinking – and Westerners about Chinese thinkers! What many Westerners do not know is that Zhao Bichen often replaced or enhanced a traditional Chinese Daoist term with its exact Western (biological) designate – for instance, for the ‘Ancestral Cavity’ (祖窍 - Zu Qiao) - Zhao Bichen would add the Chinese translation of the Western anatomical term ‘centre of the forehead’. Within his Daoist manuals (see: ‘Taoist Yoga’ translated by Charles Luk as an example), the Western concepts of the ‘centre of the brain’ is used to correspond to the ‘mud pill’ (泥丸 - Ni Wan) and the ‘solar plexus’ is used to describe the ‘middle dan tian’ ((中丹田 - Zhong Nei Dan), etc. All these terms are in Chinese translation and are presented alongside their traditional Chinese equivalent. When Zhao Bichen set about compiling an integrated glossary of Daoist and Western anatomical terms in the early 20th century, such phrases as ‘centre of the forehead’ was completely alien for all but the most well-travelled and well educated of Chinese people of the time. A point that has to be understood is that most traditional Daoist terms were considered ‘obscure’ even for native Chinese-speakers – as the techniques and methods were closely guarded through the descriptive use of metaphor and allegory. Zhao Bichen sought to ‘align’ formerly complicated Daoist terms with regular (modern) terms so that an understanding between the two cultures could be built, and misunderstanding ‘educated out’ of the process of communication. Zhao Bichen was also following the instructions of his two traditional Daoist Teachers who advised him to abandon the exclusivity usually associated with Daoist instruction, and teach any who asked. To modernise and strengthen China, Zhao Bichen decided to align the wisdom of ancient China with the highly effective thinking that formed the foundation of Western medical understanding. Since 1949, the literacy rates in China have sky-rocketed and many modern Chinese readers are now able to fully understand the Western medical terms employed by Zhao Bichen. This allows the average person in China to work backwards into the traditional Daoist codes and decipher the hidden meaning contained inside! The fruits of this labour are experienced by myself when I translate the Chinese-language blog posts of Master Zhao Ming Wang into English. Not only is my task made easier by the integration of Eastern and Western thinking, but this also gives me a firm theoretical understanding when purely ancient Chinese terms are introduced!
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AuthorAdrian Chan-Wyles (內丹 - Shi Da Dao) - Qianfeng Lineage: Zhao Bichen (1860-1942), Charles Luk (1898-1978) and Richard Hunn (1949-2006). Acknowledges Master Zhao Ming Wang (赵明旺) of Beijing as the ONLY Lineage Head of the Zhao Family Lineage of Qianfeng Daoism in China and the world. Archives
February 2024
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