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ARTICLES Sam Chin & Robert Hoffmann - The Matrix of I Liq Chuan Qi Magazine interview with Sam Chin - Awakening and Harmonizing - The Art of Sam Chin Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming & David Grantham - Seven Purposes of Taiji Ball Qigong Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming - Regulating the Breath A Chinese folk tale, as told by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming - A Blessing in Disguise Annie Murphy Paul - The Myth of ‘Practice Makes Perfect’ T.J. Butters - Buddhist Temple Etiquette VIDEOS I Liq Chuan - I Liq Chuan documentary shot in Russia 2010 (new translation) I Liq Chuan - Sam Chin teaching in NYC 2011 I Liq Chuan - Sam Chin teaching in NJ 2011 I Liq Chuan - Sam Chin teaching in Vienna 2011 I Liq Chuan - Sam Chin teaching in Malaysia 2010 I Liq Chuan - Grandmaster Chin, Lik-Keong teaching in Malaysia 2010 - Part 1 I Liq Chuan - Grandmaster Chin, Lik-Keong teaching in Malaysia 2010 - Part 2 Taiji Ball Qigong - Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming DVD Excerpts |
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I Liq Chuan Sam Chin featured on "Dan Test" Russian Television (with translation) Click to return to: Articles | Videos I Liq Chuan Sam Chin teaching in NYC 2011 "Scenes from the March Workshop" Click to return to: Articles | Videos I Liq Chuan Sam Chin teaching in NJ 2011 "45°& 90° on the Point of Contact" Click to return to: Articles | Videos Taiji Ball Qigong Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming DVD Excerpts Click to return to: Articles | Videos I Liq Chuan Sam Chin teaching in Vienna 2011 "Fullness, Power, Engagement, Concentration" Click to return to: Articles | Videos I Liq Chuan Sam Chin teaching in Malaysia 2010 "Penetrating the Sphere" Click to return to: Articles | Videos I Liq Chuan Grandmaster Chin, Lik-Keong teaching in Malaysia 2010 "Preventing Arm Drags and Elbow Locks" Click to return to: Articles | Videos I Liq Chuan Grandmaster Chin, Lik-Keong teaching in Malaysia 2010 "Protect 1st, Stick 2nd" Click to return to: Articles | Videos |
The Matrix of I Liq Chuan
By Sam Chin and Robert Hoffman
Part One: The Power of Peng
"Look! no matter what you do! you can't touch me!" Master Sam Chin laughed. Continuing, he said "You' re so close, but why can't you land?"
I had tried many times to move or strike him, but had no success. Kicks, strikes, entering in - they were all useless. After repeated failed attempts! I gave up. Laughing and panting for air, I asked, "What am I missing?" According to Sifu, I was missing an important piece of my foundation . In short. I could
not enter his "spheres " - that is to say. I could not penetrate Master Chin's defensive energy. Since that first encounter I have come to learn that what Master Chin called "the spheres" is closely connected to an energy named peng-jing (掤勁 ). Literally translated, peng means “ward-off” and jing means applied energy. Although peng-jing can also refer to a particular technique, it more accurately refers to the basic energy of dynamic balance.
Dynamic balance is essential to good kung fu; it is the gateway into the secrets of the internal martial arts. Peng-jing is an essential energy, but it is in fact only one part of the fifth principle that forms the I Liq Chuan system. I Liq Chuan (意力拳) means "mind-force-fist." The art of I Liq Chuan is arranged into specific levels. Each step leads the student to higher levels of mental-physical coordination. The fifth principle is called "The Force Field of Offense and Defense." The overall art of I Liq Chuan is based on six physical points, three mental factors and a unique quality called "the feel" The concepts described in this article reveal inner aspects of the nature of mind, body and the application energies of the internal martial arts, and will prepare the student for more advanced work.
Introduction
Transcending Technique
One man defeating many. A strike that no one sees delivered unbelievably fast. What appears to be a tiny push sends an attacker tens of feet away. Small motions that are so internal, you can't understand
why you're off balance and on the edges of your feet. In front of such a person, all your techniques seem useless. What's going on?
According to Master Sam Chin, one of the main requirements for high-level kung fu is what he calls the "Merging of the Spheres." This article will describe the preliminary physical and mental levels of
merging the spheres. Merging the spheres is a very refined expression of an internal energy commonly known as peng-jing. Merging the spheres with peng-jing will result in strong-rooted movements which naturally enhance internal energy, mental alertness and martial art. Not only that, but if you train well - then, as Master Sam Chin says, you can "even transcend technique itself."
What is Merging The Spheres?
Merging the spheres is a process, not a technique in and of itself. This process is as much mental as it is physical, and it depends heavily on the situation at hand.
In essence, merging the spheres means constantly maintaining the proper alignment between a point of contact and your physical-energetic root. By properly aligning the body and mind in this way, a practitioner is able to move, change and respond to a multitude of forces with relative ease.
The method of properly aligning your body requires you to interconnect each and every part of your body. The connecting process is called merging the spheres. Once a student is properly harmonized with the spheres (the internal structure ), their mindfulness can direct the body to respond in whatever
way is necessary based on the conditions at hand.
Specifically, the image is that every part of your body has the quality of a sphere. Merging the spheres, then, is the process of feeling that each and every sphere of the body is connected to every other sphere.
A Good Model
Spheres are a good model for how our body should be able to receive force. Although our body cannot actually become a sphere, by employing the proper mental-physical connections, we can simulate the strength and dynamics of a sphere. On this point, a student may look into the taiji classics for inspiration, as a careful study of those writings clearly reveals the importance of emulating the sphere.
Creating and maintaining the sphere-like structure is the key to accessing the higher levels of the internal arts .
Powers of The Sphere
A sphere can compress, rotate, uplift or press down. Furthermore, no matter what action is being ta ken, the center of the sphere is always well protected. Although merging the spheres is a physical “feel", there are mental aspects to it as well. Merging the spheres must be done in every moment of your life. This means that you are always seeking balance and harmony. If you can do that, then you can touch the higher levels . That is to say when your mind and body become aware enough to merge " the spheres" at all times, then you stand at the gateway to internal skill.
Classical Spheres
The taiji classics mention that internal practitioners should manifest an energy called peng-jing. The relationship between peng-jing and "merging the spheres" is one of process and effect. Merging the spheres is the process that generates the effect known as peng-jing.
Many students believe that peng-jing refers to a particular technique. In fact, while peng can be translated as "ward-off" and refers to a move commonly found in many taiji forms, peng-jing refers more-so to an application energy - a state of mind and quality of your body feel. Peng-jing is not just a technique, it should permeate all your movements.
Improving your Peng
Unfortunately, because many students are not taught about the difference mentioned above, their defensive energy is not complete. One's practice can be improved by considering Master Chin's teaching on the "merging of the spheres." The differences between peng-jing and merging the spheres will be discussed more fully later on, but for now it is enough to say this: Peng-jing is the end result of a process. The process is called merging the spheres. Merging the spheres means that mindfulness, qi and proper structure interact on every level of the body-mind. Such an interaction will generate a three dimensional energy force within the body. The three dimensional force is physical, but it is regulated by the mind . With correct interaction of body and mindfulness you will achieve a dynamic state of balance. This balance is what is required to express the higher levels of internal skill. The process of learning and maintaining the peng energy is called merging the spheres.
Mental and Physical
The process of merging the spheres has both a physical and a mental component. The physical component relates to how you hold your body posture. Proper posture is critical to allow for maximal flow of qi and intention . Stiff tension, as well as flaccid softness, are impediments to the proper flow of qi. Dynamic tension-relaxation is the rule.
The mental aspect of peng relates to your psycho-emotional state of mind. If you are tense, or obsessed with "winning," then you will never reach the higher levels . Relax into the nature of your body-mind and there you will find all you need. In the end, peng-jing - or any other worthwhile endeavor – is about self-realization and harmonizing with the nature of things. The martial aspect of the process is only one piece of the puzzle.
Part Two: Merging The Spheres
The Nature of Peng-jing
According to Master Chin, the first step in merging the spheres is creating peng-jing. Pronounced " pung-jing”, this energy is often translated as ward-off. But the term "wardoff" is misleading. More accurately, peng implies a dynamic relationship between you, your center of mass and whatever force is acting on you at the time. Master Chin teaches that if your peng is true, then you can handle even multiple forces with relative ease. This thought is supported by the taiji classics.
The Classics
According to the taiji classics, a practitioner should be able to handle forces "from the eight directions ." In order to be able to do just that, the qi, mind and force must exist in harmony at all places and at all times. Very few masters teach how to achieve such profound internal s kiII. Master Chin, on the other hand, is one teacher who throws open the doors of secrecy. As Master Chin often says, "If you work, I'll teach."
Points of Contact
To properly employ peng-jing you must properly manage points of contact. Wherever you receive a force is called a " point of contact." A point of contact might be a grab a kick or even a look. Whatever, your internal energy must respond. The way you respond is to align the point of contact to the root of your structure. Then, you employ your mindfulness to respond in whatever way is necessary. Visualizations are often useful to help imagine how the body can correctly line up with a point of contact. I Liq Chuan has specific visualizations that help access the power of peng. The visualizations also clarify the nature of a point of contact. In regards to visualization, some arts recommend that peng be thought of as a circle or hoop. Although circular energy is part of peng-jing, it is not the complete thing. " Being circular is not peng," explains Master Chin. " In fact, circularity is only part of it. Real peng is spherical and can manage force from all directions."
Applications of Peng-jing
We have now established that peng- jing is more about the way you change with change than with any particular posture. Furthermore, it is also clear that peng- jing must employ spherical rather than a circular type energy projection. Finally, we have established that in order for your skill to be great, the peng energy must be dynamic and capable of handling even multiple forces from different directions . If such integration is achieved, then peng energy will be full and can be used under any circumstance,
including self-defense.
In fighting, peng-jing is about maintaining your structure and not letting forces control the center of your mass.
Part Three: Physical and Mental Aspects of Peng-jing
Mental Visualization
With the difference between circular and spherical types of internal energy now clear, it is important to learn how to bring that understanding into your body-mind. To do this, Master Chin recommends that you imagine that every part of your body is capable of expressing the spherical type force.
In all cases, one should feel that the point of contact is spherical. If that can be done, then no matter what the other person does, you can remain poised and balanced. This is easy to say with words, but the skill requires true dedication.
Physical Structure
"Every part of the body is capable of expressing a spherical energy/, says Master Sam Chin. The energy of this sphere can be solid or light, hard or soft, receptive or warding off. The energy manifested will change as the moment demands .
Peng-jing is achieved when you can maintain the fullness of the spheres at all times and on all parts of your body. Changing as the moment requires, projecting here and repelling there, the dynamic interchange of the spheres is what is known as peng-jing. Peng-jing is the basic defensive energy. "Because peng-jing is the foundational skill in the martial arts, peng is the gateway to everything else," says Master Chin. The way of expressing peng is to harmonize the many sphere-like points of contact of the body-mind, and merge them into one.
In closing, the process of merging the spheres is feeling the fullness of the "one-ness of the sphere." The process leading to that oneness is the foundation from which all movement correctly arises. The I Liq Chuan system organizes physical and mental activity in a step-by-step progression. Organized in this way, the student can ultimately achieve unity of body, mind and spirit. With that harmony in hand, one can reap the fullest benefits of the martial, medical and spiritual aspects of this art. This article has revealed some of the essential teachings which, if experimented with, can help lead the practitioner to the higher levels of martial skill.
Awakening and Harmonizing - The Art of Sam Chin
An Interview with by Qi Magazine
Since childhood, Sam Chin (Chin Fan-Siong) trained Kung Fu traditionally with his father, the founder of I Liq Ch'uan. He has won championships in T'ai Chi push-hands and kick-boxing tournaments, and is the Chief instructor of the system in U.S.A. Prior to his arrival in U.S. seven years ago Sam had taught for 16 years in Malaysia and Australia. He currently holds classes in Kent,NY at Chuang Yen Monastery and in New York City.
(Note: This article was originally published in January of 1999 and some of the information above is out of date. Master Sam F.S. Chin has since been named 1st Lineage Holder and Successor of the Art. In addition, he no longer holds weeeklyn classes at Chuang Yen Monastery.)
QM: What is the meaning of I Liq Chuan?
SC: I Liq Chuan literally translates as Mental-Physical Martial art. 'I' is mind, 'Liq' is strength, and 'Chuan' is fist so we can say 'Mental-Physial Martial Art'.
QM: How and where did this art originate?
SC: My Father, Chin Lik Keong, learned the skill from one of the masters in Malaysia, called Lee Kam Chow. At the time it was called Hsing I-Pa Kua (Xingyi-Bagua), but some people called it Feng Yang Chuan or Liew Mun Pai (nomadic clan). It originated from Wudang mountain. It was a hidden martial art skill used by these nomads to protect themselves on the open roads and was not open to the public, only passed down secretly. The higher levels of skill were kept for the family members. When my father decided to trace back the history of the name to discover its origins, he found the training methods didn't really look like Hsing-I Quan (Xingyiquan) or Pakua Chang (Baguazhang), or even Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan), yet the contained the principles of all three. My father continued his research and expanded on what he had studied. He eventually concluded that what he had learned was an art of self recognition and self-realization, of both the mental and physical. So, feeling uncomfortable with naming the art under any one of the three internal styles he renamed it I Liq Chuan. In 1976 he formed the I Liq Chuan Association in Malaysia.
QM: What are the principles of I Liq Chuan?
SC: I Liq Chuan is based on Tai Chi and Zen principles. So you can say it has it's roots in Taoism and Buddhism. It is based on non-assertion, non-resistance, and an understanding of yin and yang. The training is being mindful, which means neutral, formless and in the present, to become fully aware. Action and reaction are based on mental habitual reflex, which is the mental expressions accumulated through past experience. In this case you are not in the moment and not with the condition as it is (Tao). When you are in the moment you can flow. Flowing is to be with the conditions, not backing off, or resisting, just sensing and merging.
From flowing you can observe the condition as it is, and then merge, to be as one, harmonizing with the environment and the opponent. When you harmonize then you can take control. Mindfulness is the cause, and awareness is the effect of being mindful. We need to understand the learning process, which is merely to recognize and realize; it is not to accumulate or imitate as that is just building another habit. From Zen we need to empty ourselves so that the nature of all things can reveal itself to us.
"Every move is based on the conditions, with no fixed moves. Inner feel is cultivated first. "
Students train through a process. First they train to understand muscular movement, body structure and alignment. Then they train to incorporate Chi (Qi) energy, and the mental process. I Liq Chuan is an internal art. Its aim is to understand the inner feel and to express that inner feel outward. Relaxation is an essential component of the art. It contains the process of looseness, softness, elasticity and fa jing (issuing power). The energy released is from relaxation out, from zero to 100%.
QM: How does the training progress?
SC: The first process is the unification of the mental and physical. The second process is to unify with the opponent and the environment. Actually, in the beginning I Liq Chuan had no forms. It was a formless art. All the system contained was specialized sticky hands practice and Chi Kung (Qi Gong). The applications we learned from the sticky hands practice and the practice to gain feel. The system has expanded and now has two training forms, the 21 Form and the Butterfly Form. The forms are merely tools to recognize the principles, which are based on Tai Chi (harmonizing and recognizing the balance of yin and yang) and Zen (being mindful and being in the present moment). The objective is to actualize these principles to recognize and harmonize with the nature as it is. The second form, the Butterfly Form, has more fajin and is more aggressive.
From the form, the student is taught to become formless. Every move is based on the conditions, with no fixed moves. Inner feel is cultivated first. You cannot attain the combative skill from just practicing forms. This is only possible through the two person practice of spinning hand / sticky hand drills.
In training, to unify the mental-physical, we need to understand the nature of the mental and physical, how they affect each other and how to unify and coordinate them. Through the exercises we need to recognize the six principles which are relaxation; body alignment; center of gravity force; dynamic center of mass; internal and external circle (or force field of spheres of defense and offense), and the spinning force of coordination.
QM: Can you Elaborate on some of the terms?
SC: The dynamic center point of mass (located on the sternum) is that point to which we direct energy to achieve control of the opponent, where you make contact with the opponent, and by exerting a certain force, you can control his whole body. The force field of spheres is for offense and defense. It is the feeling of producing a roundness as in Tai Chi Chuan, or what they call 'Peng Jin' an expanding of the inner force. In I Liq Chuan the fundamental requirement is to be able to produce roundness, defending all round. If this roundness is attained then the movement can be properly born. From understanding the force field of offense and defense you must be bale to produce a three dimensional force, which comprises the horizontal, frontal and saggital. If you can produce the three dimensional force as a whole you can change with the change. you can call this primordial spinning force.
From understanding and applying this force you will be more centered which means having your own spheres, theupper body peng, the lower body peng, back peng, the sides peng, all round peng. Only when the three dimensions are produced can the proper the proper movement be born, i.e. open, close, retreat or advance. Every action itself contains the three dimensions. With this kind of feel then you can flow and change without any kind of resistance. If the opponent cannot produce three-dimension force, he cannot change with the change and will be overcome because he is either resisting or collapsing.
The spinning force of co-ordination is the spinning force that acts as our scanner. We scan and recollect the six aforementioned points to be centered, and keep extending these points to unify; at the same time, we are trying to clear mental and physical blockages and achieve the 'mindful state'. Above all the practitioner must learn to break away from habit, to understand that the movement is not from the habitual relax and one should be conscious of the movement itself at all times.
QM: What does the practice of spinning hands entail?
SC: Spinning hands is the training awareness and harmonizing yourself with the opponent. From spinning hands we try to recognize that our movement is not based on habit but rather on the conditions. Spinning hands develops three sections; the wrist, elbows and shoulders. First we have to flow, which is to recognize and be with the opponent. Secondly we need to develop fending, which is to produces the feeling of roundness, which is a force-field of defense and offense that the opponent will not be able to penetrate. When you have flow and fend, the you can lead the opponent. When you lead him, you can control him; for when he begins to follow your movements, he belongs to you. So the progression is flow, fend, lead and control. When you can control the opponent then you can do whatever the conditions require.
The training of spinning hands develops projection force, absorption force and splitting force. First is understanding the force from your feet up to the hands, to the opponent and down to the opponent's feet. This is called the projection force. The second process is to lead the force from the opponent's feet back down into your feet. This is the process of absorbing the opponent's energy into you. The third is the split. At higher levels we can split our energy, while maintaining unity, at any point of the body we want. We can pick any place as the ground to exert power. Splitting is with more of the explosive power because the range is closer.
"When you confront an opponent you might find it hard to move his body using strength alone, but the mind has no weight and no volume."
QM: What would you say are the combat strengths of the system and how long does it take to aquire these?
SC: I Liq Chuan develops the ability of redirecting and off-balancing. At higher levels of training there are strikes to the meridian points. Though there are some closed fist punches, mainly we use open palm strikes, qin na as well as elbow, knee and shoulder strikes. The most important aspect is controlling the opponent as soon as contact is made. Unlike many martial arts systems we do not concentrate on developing techniques for dealing with specific situations. Instead, we develop physical sensitivity and sensorial mental awareness so when an I Liq Chuan practitioner makes contact with any part of the opponent's body he can feel what technique is about to be used and where the the opponent's weight and center of gravity are extending. This skill is eventually developed to sense with absence of touch through awareness.
When you confront an opponent you might find it hard to move his body using strength alone, but the mind has no weight and no volume, and it leads the body. So in I Liq Chuan, we learn to lead the opponent's mind. When this is mastered, a woman or even a small child can easily overcome a big man by leading his mind, then his own mind leads his body. It normally takes about five years under my guidance to acquire a high standard and maybe three years to acquire good self-defense capability, providing the students apply what they have been taught in the class and practice regularly.
QM: Is there anything further you would like to say?
SC: The purpose of the training is not spinning hands or the form; it should apply to everything in daily life. Spinning hands and the form are merely a tool for developing mindfulness. It's not like when you come to class to train and you wear a uniform and when you leave you take it off. When you train you train you learn to be mindful even at your job or when you eat, talk, walk, etc. Then more of life opens up to you as your perception of the causes and effects of the present has increased. The most important goal for a student learning I Liq Chuan is to attain total awareness and be themselves. Hopefully, my students will develop so that they can share with others.
QM: Master Chin, thank you.
Seven Purposes of Taiji Ball Qigong
By Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming and David Grantham
1. Strengthening and conditioning the physical body.
We know that the body’s functions depend on the strength of the bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. If any part of the body is weak, the body’s coordination and function will be less efficient. Therefore, an effective exercise that allows you to condition from the surface to the deeper areas of the body is crucial. That means you must have an exercise that allows you to condition the shallow places such as the muscles and tendons, while also enabling you to reach deeper to the ligaments and bones. In order to accomplish this, you must be soft, round, and flexible. This allows the tendons and ligaments, located at the joints, to be exercised. Not only that, the exercise must also be able to condition the muscles and bones simultaneously. Taiji ball qigong is able to provide such conditioning.
Let’s think about the body’s structure. The strength for power manifestation originates from the torso, especially the area of the lower back. Taiji ball qigong specializes in conditioning the torso (spine) and lower back.
2. Improving the quality of the physical body’s structure.
Having a strong body structure will provide you with a firm root, center, and balance. In addition to having a strong physical structure, you must also learn to coordinate different parts of the body needed to perform various actions. Without meeting these criteria, the power manifested will be weak and ineffective.
3. Increasing the potential of endurance both physically and mentally.
You should understand one important thing. A real battle could last for a few hours, not just a few minutes. You needed good endurance, especially since you would, often as not, be wearing heavy armor. If you did not have endurance, it would not be long until you were killed. It is well known in the Chinese martial community that surviving a long battle did not solely depend on one’s power or techniques, but relied more heavily on one’s endurance level.
Two keys to improving endurance are—breathing correctly and conserving muscle usage. Knowing how to take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide efficiently will allow for an abundant supply needed for the body’s biochemical reactions or metabolism. In addition, knowing how to cut down muscle usage, you can conserve oxygen in the muscles and reduce acid build up. Without knowing how to breathe correctly, upon manifesting power for either neutralizing or attacking, your power and technique will be weak.
It is important to have a strong and firm spirit when practicing. This is a crucial key to surviving a battle. Losing the morale of fighting, giving up easily, will naturally lead you to be killed. Therefore, the will and self-confidence of surviving must be strong. This mental discipline can only be received from constant taiji ball conditioning practice.
4. Coordinating actions with correct breathing.
In Chinese qigong practice, the body is compared to a battlefield, the breathing is considered as a strategy, the mind is the general, and qi is soldiers, and finally the spirit is the morale of the entire army. From this analogy, you can see that if the breathing is carried out correctly, the qi can be led efficiently.We cannot deny that when oxygen is abundant, the body’s metabolism is smoothly executed. This is crucial when manifesting power. As mentioned before, your metabolism rate plays a huge role in having lasting endurance.
5. Building quantity of qi.
In order to manifest power on a higher plateau, you must first possess an abundant amount of qi. Without a high quantity of qi, your physical body will not be able to perform to its maximum efficiency. One of the training methods in taiji ball qigong teaches you how to coordinate breathing with the buildup of qi in the lower dan tian (xia dan tian).
6. The mind leads the qi efficiently and smoothly.
This will provide you a quality manifestation of qi. Leading qi efficiently to a specific area of the body is achieved by concentrating and focusing the mind to a higher level. If done correctly, you will be able to use the minimum amount of qi needed to manifest power to its maximum. Conserving the usage of qi is a crucial key to a lasting endurance.
In taiji ball qigong, you learn how to use your mind to lead qi to the four major qi gates of the body, two laogong located at the centers of the palms, and two yongquan cavities, located at the bottoms of the feet. This will provide you with a strong root and the balance of energy needed for power manifestation.
7. Mastering the skills required in soft martial styles.
In soft martial skills, the capability of listening (ting), adhering (nian), following (sui,), connecting (lian), coiling (chan), rotating (zhuan), and spiraling (chan jin and luo xuan) are extremely important. To many internal styles, these skills are the core essences of the arts.
Through taiji ball qigong practice, you will be able to learn and master these skills, especially when practicing with a partner.
Click to return to: Articles | VideosRegulating the Breath
By Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming
Regulating the breath means to regulate your breathing until it is calm, smooth, and peaceful. Only when you have reached this point will you be able to make the breathing deep, slender, long, and soft, which is required for successful qigong practice.
Breathing is affected by your emotions. For example, when you are angry or excited you exhale more strongly than you inhale. When you are sad, you inhale more strongly than you exhale. When your mind is peaceful and calm, your inhalation and exhalation are relatively equal. In order to keep your breathing calm, peaceful, and steady, your mind and emotions must first be calm and neutral. Therefore, in order to regulate your breathing, you must first regulate your mind.
The other side of the coin is that you can use your breathing to control your yi. When your breathing is uniform, it is as if you were hypnotizing your yi, which helps to calm it. You can see that yi and breathing are interdependent, and that they cooperate with each other. Deep and calm breathing relaxes you and keeps your mind clear. It fills your lungs with plenty of air so that your brain and entire body have an adequate supply of oxygen. In addition, deep and complete breathing enables the diaphragm to move up and down, which massages and stimulates the internal organs. For this reason, deep breathing exercises are also called "internal organ exercises."
Regulate Breathing; Keep Lungs Relaxed
Deep and complete breathing does not mean that you inhale and exhale to the maximum. This would cause the lungs and the surrounding muscles to tense up, which in turn would keep the air from circulating freely and hinder the absorption of oxygen. Without enough oxygen, your mind becomes scattered, and the rest of your body tenses up. In correct breathing, you inhale and exhale to about 70 or 80 percent of capacity so that your lungs stay relaxed.
You can conduct an easy experiment. Inhale deeply so that your lungs are completely full, and time how long you can hold your breath. Then try inhaling to only about 70 percent of your capacity, and see how long you can hold your breath. You will find that with the latter method you can last much longer than the first one. This is simply because the lungs and the surrounding muscles are relaxed. When they are relaxed, the rest of your body and your mind can also relax, which significantly decreases your need for oxygen. Therefore, when you regulate your breathing, the first priority is to keep your lungs relaxed and calm.
When training, your mind must first be calm so that your breathing can be regulated. When the breathing is regulated, your mind is able to reach a higher level of calmness. This calmness can again help you to regulate the breathing, until your mind is deep. After you have trained for a long time, your breathing will be full and slender, and your mind will be very clear. It is said: "xin xi xiang yi," (心息相依) which means "heart [mind] and breathing [are] mutually dependent." When you reach this meditative state, your heartbeat slows down, and your mind is very clear: you have entered the sphere of real meditation.
Comments on Breathing by Ancient Daoists
An Ancient Daoist named Li, Qing-an (李清庵) said: "Regulating breathing means to regulate the real breathing until [you] stop." This means that correct regulating means regulating is no longer necessary. Real regulating is no longer a conscious process but has become so natural that it can be accomplished without conscious effort. In other words, although you start by consciously regulating your breath, you must get to the point where the regulating happens naturally, and you no longer have to think about it. When you breathe, if you concentrate your mind on your breathing, then it is not true regulating because the qi in your lungs will become stagnant. When you reach the level of true regulating, you don't have to pay attention to it, and you can use your mind efficiently to lead the qi. Remember, wherever the yi is, there is the qi. If the yi stops in one spot, the qi will be stagnant. It is the yi that leads the qi and makes it move. Therefore, when you are in a state of correct breath regulation, your mind is free. There is no sound, stagnation, urgency, or hesitation, and you can finally be calm and peaceful.
You can see that when the breath is regulated correctly, the qi will also be regulated. They are mutually related and cannot be separated. This idea is explained frequently in the Daoist literature. The Daoist Guang Cheng Zi (廣成子) said: "One exhale, the earth qi rises; one inhale, the heaven qi descends; real man's [meaning one who has attained the real Dao] repeated breathing at the navel, then my real qi is naturally connected." This says that when you breathe you should move your abdomen as if you were breathing from your navel. The earth qi is the negative (yin) energy from your kidneys, and the sky qi is the positive (yang) energy that comes from the food you eat and the air you breathe. When you breathe from the navel, these two qi's will connect and combine. Some people think that they know what qi is, but they really don't. Once you connect the two qi's, you will know what the "real" qi is, and you may become a "real" man, which means to attain the Dao.
The Daoist book Sing [of the] Dao [with] Real Words (Chang Dao Zhen Yan, 唱道真言) says: "One exhale one inhale to communicate qi's function, one movement one calmness is the same as [i.e., is the source of] creation and variation." The first part of this statement again implies that the functioning of qi is connected with the breathing. The second part of this sentence means that all creation and variation comes from the interaction of movement (yang) and calmness (yin). The Yellow Yard Classic (Huang Ting Ching, 黃庭經) says: "Breathe original qi to seek immortality." In China, the traditional Daoists wore yellow robes, and they meditated in a "yard" or hall. This sentence means that in order to reach the goal of immortality, you must seek to find and understand the original qi that comes from the dan tian through correct breathing.
Moreover, the Daoist Wu Zhen Ren (伍真人) said: "Use the post-birth breathing to look for the real person's [i.e. the immortal's] breathing place." In this sentence it is clear that in order to locate the immortal breathing place (the dan tian), you must rely on and know how to regulate your post-birth, or natural, breathing. Through regulating your post-birth breathing you will gradually be able to locate the residence of the qi (the dan tian), and eventually you can use your dan tian to breathe like the immortal Daoists. Finally, in the Daoist song Ling Yuan Da Dao Ge (靈源大道歌) (The Great Daoist Song of the Spirit's Origin) it is said: "The originals [original jing, qi, and shen] are internally transported peacefully, so that you can become real [immortal]; [if you] depend on [only] external breathing [you] will not reach the end [goal]." From this song, you can see the internal breathing (breathing at the dan tian) is the key to training your three treasures and finally reaching immortality. However, you must first know how to regulate your external breathing correctly.
All of these emphasize the importance of breathing. There are eight key words for air breathing which a qigong practitioner should follow during his practice. Once you understand them you can substantially shorten the time needed to reach your qigong goals. These eight key words are: 1. calm (jing, 靜); 2. slender (xi, 細); 3. deep (shen, 深); 4. long (chang, 長); 5. continuous (you, 悠); 6. uniform (yun, 勻); 7. slow (huan, 緩), and 8. soft (mian, 綿). These key words are self-explanatory, and with a little thought you should be able to understand them.
Click to return to: Articles | VideosA Blessing in Disguise
A Chinese Folk Tale as told by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming
The old man and his son would ride their horses every day. They would travel great distances to trade horses, meet new people, and enjoy the good fortune that life had bestowed upon them.
One morning, a servant left the stable door open and one of the old man’s favorite stallions escaped. When the neighbors heard the news of the stallion’s escape, they came to comfort the old man. They told him they were sorry he had had such bad luck.
But strangely enough, the gentle old man was not upset. He explained to his neighbors that losing the horse wasn’t necessarily bad luck. There was no way to predict that the horse would escape, it just happened, and now there was nothing that could be done about it. “There is no reason to be upset,” said the old man. The neighbors soon realized that there was nothing they could do to help get the horse back, and that they shouldn’t feel sad for the old man’s misfortune.
One week later, the stallion came back, and he brought with him a mare. This was not just any mare, but a rare and valuable white mare. When the neighbors heard of the old man’s good luck, they quickly came to congratulate him. But again, the old man was not excited. As he had explained before, it was not necessarily good luck that had brought him this new and beautiful white horse. It just happened, and there was no reason to get excited over it. Still a bit puzzled, the neighbors left as quickly as they had come.
A short time later, while his son was riding the white horse, she slipped and fell. She landed on the son’s leg, and broke his leg, so that he would always walk with a limp. Again, the neighbors came to the old man’s house to give their sympathy for the bad luck that had befallen his son. One of the neighbors suggested that the old man sell the mare before anymore bad luck could happen, and others said that he should take his revenge and kill the mare. However, the old man did neither. He explained to the neighbors that they should not feel sorrow for his son, nor anger towards the mare. It was purely an accident that could not be predicted, and there was nothing he or they could do to change it. At this point, the neighbors thought the old man was crazy and decided to leave him alone.
Two years later an enemy invaded the country, and all of the old man’s neighbors were drafted to defend the country against the attack. Because the old man’s son was lame, he did not have to join in the fighting. The war was very bad, and most of the old man’s neighbors were killed, but his son was spared because he had been hurt by the white horse two years earlier.
Very often, when an event takes place that everybody thinks is good luck, the end results are disastrous. In the same way, an unlucky event can bring about happiness. Therefore, you should not lose your will to continue if an unlucky event happens, nor should you be too overjoyed or feel too self-satisfied because of a lucky event, or because something that you desire comes very easily to you.
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The Myth of ‘Practice Makes Perfect’
It's not how much you practice but whether you're quick to fix your errors that leads to mastery.
By Annie Murphy Paul
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice. In a groundbreaking paper published in 1993, cognitive psychologist Anders Ericsson added a crucial tweak to that old joke. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Deliberate practice.
It’s not a minor change. The difference between ineffective and effective practice means the difference between mediocrity and mastery. If you’re not practicing deliberately — whether it’s a foreign language, a musical instrument or any other new skill — you might as well not practice at all.
I was reminded of the importance of deliberate practice by a fascinating new book, Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning. Its author is Gary Marcus, a cognitive psychologist at New York University who studies how the brain acquires language. Marcus is also a wannabe guitarist who set out on a quest to learn to play at age 38. In Guitar Zero he takes us along for the ride, exploring the relevant research from neuroscience, cognitive science and psychology along the way. One of his main themes is the importance of doing practice right.
“Hundreds of thousands of people took music lessons when they were young and remember little or nothing,” he points out, giving lie to the notion that learning an instrument is easiest when you’re a kid. The important thing is not just practice but deliberate practice, “a constant sense of self-evaluation, of focusing on one’s weaknesses, rather than simply fooling around and playing to one’s strengths. Studies show that practice aimed at remedying weaknesses is a better predictor of expertise than raw number of hours; playing for fun and repeating what you already know is not necessarily the same as efficiently reaching a new level. Most of the practice that most people do, most of the time, be it in the pursuit of learning the guitar or improving their golf game, yields almost no effect.”
So how does deliberate practice work? Anders Ericsson’s 1993 paper makes for bracing reading. He makes it clear that a dutiful daily commitment to practice is not enough. Long hours of practice are not enough. And noodling around on the piano or idly taking some swings with a golf club is definitely not enough. “Deliberate practice,” Ericsson declares sternly, “requires effort and is not inherently enjoyable.” Having given us fair warning, he reveals the secret of deliberate practice: relentlessly focusing on our weaknesses and inventing new ways to root them out. Results are carefully monitored, ideally with the help of a coach or teacher, and become grist for the next round of ruthless self-evaluation.
It sounds simple, even obvious, but it’s something most of us avoid. If we play the piano — or, like Marcus, the guitar — or we play golf or speak French, it’s because we like it. We’ve often achieved a level of competency that makes us feel good about ourselves. But what we don’t do is intentionally look for ways that we’re failing and hammer away at those flaws until they’re gone, then search for more ways we’re messing up. But almost two decades of research shows that’s exactly what distinguishes the merely good from the great.
In an article titled “It’s Not How Much; It’s How,” published in the Journal of Research in Music Education in 2009, University of Texas-Austin professor Robert Duke and his colleagues videotaped advanced piano students as they practiced a difficult passage from a Shostakovich concerto, then ranked the participants by the quality of their ultimate performance. The researchers found no relationship between excellence of performance and how many times the students had practiced the piece or how long they spent practicing. Rather, “the most notable differences between the practice sessions of the top-ranked pianists and the remaining participants,” Duke and his coauthors wrote, “are related to their handling of errors.”
The best pianists, they determined, addressed their mistakes immediately. They identified the precise location and source of each error, then rehearsed that part again and again until it was corrected. Only then would the best students proceed to the rest of the piece. “It was not the case that the top-ranked pianists made fewer errors at the beginning of their practice sessions than did the other pianists,” Duke notes. “But, when errors occurred, the top-ranked pianists seemed much better able to correct them in ways that precluded their recurrence.”
Without deliberate practice, even the most talented individuals will reach a plateau and stay there. For most of us, that’s just fine. But don’t delude yourself that you’ll see much improvement unless you’re ready to tackle your mistakes as well as your successes.
Click to return to: Articles | VideosBuddhist Temple Etiquette
By T.J. Butters
Picking up a backpack, pulling on a pair of hiking boots, and traveling around Southeast Asia is a rite-of-passage for many young people. Buddhist temples are scattered like confetti throughout Asia, and have a time-honored tradition of beckoning wandering travelers with their engaging history and sublime architecture. Buddhist temples are not meant to be intimidating to the curious foreigner, but there is a definite set of simple rules of etiquette you should always adhered to.
Respect
Put your left foot first when you enter the temple and lead with you right foot when you leave, as it symbolizes "oneness." The ear-piercing tones of an annoying mobile ringtone have no place in a Buddhist temple, so make sure you turn your phone off. Loud conversations are not encouraged either. So if your friend has a big mouth, tell him to keep the volume down. Pointing is considered offensive in Buddhist temples, so no matter how wonderful you may find the decor, never point it out to your companions. When wishing to indicate something, always do so with your right hand, palm-facing up. Buddha statues should be admired from a distance and never touched. As a mark of respect, you should always bow to the temple's main Buddha. When you leave, you must back away from the Buddha statue slowly before you make your exit. If you are sitting when a monk enters, always respectfully stand and wait until he has finished his prostrations before sitting. Always avoid sitting in an area which is higher than a monk.
Appearance
The pile of shoes outside all Buddhist temples are there for a reason. It does not matter how fond you are of your designer hat or footwear, they both have to come off if you're to be allowed into the main shrine room. It's hot in Asia, and most tourists tend not to wear too many clothes. In the understated confines of a Buddhist temple always make sure you wear trousers rather than shorts and do not expose too much flesh. The monks appreciate conservative dress as a mark of respect.
Interaction
When interacting with a monk, use only your right hand for giving and receiving. Traditionally you should place you hands together as if in prayer and bow slightly, with your hands near your forehead. Women are not allowed to physically interact with monks. If a woman accidentally touches a monk's robe, a cleansing ritual is required. Putting money in the donation box is not required, but is considered the right thing to do. It is common in all Asian temples to find a raised threshold. You must never step on this threshold. If someone is praying in front of an altar or idol, never walk in-between the sacred space which divides the two, because you are thought to be severing a spiritual connection as well as a physical one.
Traditions
Respect for custom, tradition and the other person is essential in a Buddhist temple. The monks welcome tourists keen to learn about their religion and way of life, as long as they are respectful and sincere.
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