The Tai Chi Chuan Jing 太极拳經=
- A classic attributed to the mythological creator of Taijiquan, the Taoist immortal Zhang Sanfeng
In motion the whole body should be light and agile,
with all parts of the body linked
as if threaded together.
The ch'i [vital life energy] should be excited,
The shen [spirit of vitality] should be internally gathered.
The postures should be without defect,
without hollows or projections from the proper alignment;
in motion the Form should be continuous, without stops and starts.
The chin [intrinsic strength] should be
rooted in the feet,
generated from the legs,
controlled by the waist, and
manifested through the fingers.
The feet, legs, and waist should act together
as an integrated whole,
so that while advancing or withdrawing
one can grasp the opportunity of favorable timing
and advantageous position.
If correct timing and position are not achieved,
the body will become disordered
and will not move as an integrated whole;
the correction for this defect
must be sought in the legs and waist.
The principle of adjusting the legs and waist
applies for moving in all directions;
upward or downward,
advancing or withdrawing,
left or right.
All movements are motivated by I [mind-intention],
not external form.
If there is up, there is down;
when advancing, have regard for withdrawing;
when striking left, pay attention to the right.
If the I wants to move upward,
it must simultaneously have intent downward.
Alternating the force of pulling and pushing
severs an opponent's root
so that he can be defeated
quickly and certainly.
Insubstantial and substantial
should be clearly differentiated.
At any place where there is insubstantiality,
there must be substantiality;
Every place has both insubstantiality and substantiality.
The whole body should be threaded together
through every joint
without the slightest break.
Chang Ch'uan [Long Boxing] is like a great river
rolling on unceasingly.
Peng, Lu, Chi, An,
Ts'ai, Lieh, Chou, and K'ao
are equated to the Eight Trigrams.
The first four are the cardinal directions;
Ch'ien [South; Heaven],
K'un [North; Earth],
K'an [West; Water], and
Li [East; Fire].
The second four are the four corners:
Sun [Southwest; Wind],
Chen [Northeast; Thunder],
Tui [Southeast; Lake], and
Ken [Northwest; Mountain].
Advance (Chin), Withdraw (T'ui),
Look Left (Tso Ku), Look Right (Yu Pan), and
Central Equilibrium (Chung Ting)
are equated to the five elements:
Metal,
Wood,
Water,
Fire, and
Earth
All together these are termed the Thirteen Postures
A footnote appended to this Classic by Yang Lu-ch'an (1799-1872) reads:
This treatise was left by the patriarch Chang San-feng of Wu Tang Mountain, with a desire toward helping able people everywhere achieve longevity, and not merely as a means to martial skill.
Inward Bound - The T'ai Chi Corner
Re: Inward Bound - The T'ai Chi Corner
The Power of Presence
The past is over and cannot be altered, but in the present moment, the direction of the past can be maintained or changed.
The future has not yet taken place, but the present moment can steer the direction of the future and make adjustments in real time.
If we cling to the past, we miss the present.
If we live in the future, we also miss the present.
Only the present is real.
The past is a memory of a time now gone while the future is an unlived dream.
This is why since ancient times students have been advised to "wake up" and "let go" of the ceaseless stream of thoughts that flow through their mind.
The past is over and cannot be altered, but in the present moment, the direction of the past can be maintained or changed.
The future has not yet taken place, but the present moment can steer the direction of the future and make adjustments in real time.
If we cling to the past, we miss the present.
If we live in the future, we also miss the present.
Only the present is real.
The past is a memory of a time now gone while the future is an unlived dream.
This is why since ancient times students have been advised to "wake up" and "let go" of the ceaseless stream of thoughts that flow through their mind.
Re: Inward Bound - The T'ai Chi Corner
"On Meditating, Sort Of" by Mary Oliver
Meditation, so I’ve heard, is best accomplished
if you entertain a certain strict posture.
Frankly, I prefer just to lounge under a tree.
So why should I think I could ever be successful?
Some days I fall asleep, or land in that
even better place — half asleep — where the world,
spring, summer, autumn, winter —
flies through my mind in its
hardy ascent and its uncompromising descent.
So I just lie like that, while distance and time
reveal their true attitudes: they never
heard of me, and never will, or ever need to.
Of course I wake up finally
thinking, how wonderful to be who I am,
made out of earth and water,
my own thoughts, my own fingerprints —
all that glorious, temporary stuff.
Meditation, so I’ve heard, is best accomplished
if you entertain a certain strict posture.
Frankly, I prefer just to lounge under a tree.
So why should I think I could ever be successful?
Some days I fall asleep, or land in that
even better place — half asleep — where the world,
spring, summer, autumn, winter —
flies through my mind in its
hardy ascent and its uncompromising descent.
So I just lie like that, while distance and time
reveal their true attitudes: they never
heard of me, and never will, or ever need to.
Of course I wake up finally
thinking, how wonderful to be who I am,
made out of earth and water,
my own thoughts, my own fingerprints —
all that glorious, temporary stuff.
Re: Inward Bound - The T'ai Chi Corner
It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear.
She looks back at the path she has traveled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.
And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter
there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.
But there is no other way.
The river can not go back.
Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.
The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear,
because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.
~ Khalil Gibran
a river trembles with fear.
She looks back at the path she has traveled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.
And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter
there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.
But there is no other way.
The river can not go back.
Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.
The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear,
because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.
~ Khalil Gibran