Spiritual Odyssey

On my recent visit to Albuquerque I gave a talk to over 200 people on The Spiritual Life (in a busy world). Many points were similar to the Merging Sense with Essence talk [...]

At the recent, very enjoyable teachers’ conference in Albuquerque [in 1989], I was pleased to hear frequent ref- erence to the “T’ai Chi Chih community.” I do not take this as an organizational reference – [...]

For T’ai Chi Chih to grow in the future the way it has in the past, it is necessary to maintain an idealistic attitude. I believe teachers should earn good money from sincere teaching – [...]

"When the horse in Szechuan catches cold, the cow in Hunan sneezes,” say Zen Patriarchs. This means more than the usual statement that we are all somehow connected, each “a spark of the divine flame.” [...]

Shambala publishes a book called Sword of No Sword by John Stevens that should be of interest to all teachers. That does not mean I agree with everything in it, but it stresses the strength [...]

Zuigan was a Zen Master who was famous for the admonitions he gave himself each day, ending with “Don’t be misled by others,” to which he answered, “Yes sir! Yes sir!” More interesting to me [...]

At teacher accreditation courses the candidates all make presentations. This not done for academic reasons, like doing a thesis for a Ph.D., but for very practical reasons: it gives the new teacher a chance to [...]

T’ai Chi Chih has begun to spread. Little pockets of enthusiasm have begun to form in isolated places, and these tend to grow rather rapidly. It is exciting to see this. No amount of planning [...]

Your task is not to find someone to believe in or some doctrine in which to take refuge (though this is very comfortable). It is to realize Who and What You are (and I don’t [...]

To teach well, it is obviously necessary to do T’ai Chi Chih; I know what the practice has done for me. One can’t get the benefits without practice. But, whether or not you want to [...]

We stress softness and continuity in T’ai Chi Chih, and the importance of the former can be seen in the following examples: The teeth are hard and the tongue is soft, but it is the [...]

When someone comes to visit me I take my cue from him or her. If he speaks in a transcendental manner We dwell in Emptiness. Should he speak from Prajna (Wisdom), The flow will be [...]