Usually, I like to devote half of any lecture to a question-and-answer period. So, that I can know what the audience is thinking and what it is interested in knowing. I’m going to follow that custom now and ask for questions.
That lady over there has a question. She wants to know why it’s necessary to keep the concentration in the soles of the feet while doing T’ai Chi Chih?
Actually, there are three reasons. First, having a point of concentration keeps the mind from wandering and from having extraneous thoughts.
Second, the tan t’ien, the spot two inches below the navel, is the all-important place Chi is stored. It is the seed of intuition and the most important spot from the Chinese standpoint. In T’ai Chi Ch’uan the student is asked to keep his concentration in the tan t’ien, but this is very difficult and often interferes with breathing. The Tu Mu meridian channel that comes down the front, goes through the tan t’ien and reaches the soles of the feet, called the Chu or bubbling spring. Therefore, by concentrating in the soles of the feet, we serve the same purpose. Bringing the Chi down to the tan t’ien by bringing it down to the soles of the feet. The Buddha once said, “He who keeps his concentration in the soles of his feet while walking, while sitting, and while lying down can heal a thousand illnesses.”
Third and most important from a health standpoint we want to bring the heart fire, that is the Yang of the heart down, instead of letting the Yin of the kidneys rise. The great Japanese Zen Master Hakuin Zenji commented on this when he said, “The essential of the molding of the outer form consists in allowing the inward spirit and vital force, that is the Chi, to penetrate into the space below the navel. Where the inward spirit is concentrated, that is when the elixir of life is made. When this elixir is thus made the outer form becomes firm, and when the outer form becomes firm, the inner spirit becomes perfected. When the inward spirit is perfected, long life ensues. This is the secret. It is entirely a matter of the heart fire descending into the space below the navel.”
This gives us a pretty good idea of the importance of health in this practice. And it also graphically demonstrates that T’ai Chi Chih goes much deeper than merely helping us to be healthy.
Incidentally Hakuin made his own breakthrough to enlightenment and totally cured his ailing health by following these principles. After his enlightenment he said, “After this, seeing the things of the world was like observing the back of my own hand.”
That gentleman over there wants me to explain the importance of softness in T’ai Chi practice.
I’m glad to answer that question because of an important point. First of all, any muscular tension causes the meridian channels to contract, and the Chi can then not flow freely through them. From the Chinese standpoint these channels not only have exterior points, but they directly lead to the inner organs. So, a free flow of Chi, the vital force, is an obvious necessity.
Now, let us consider softness from a different standpoint. We know that the soft tongue outlasts the solid teeth. And the soft water wears away the firm rocks, not the other way around. [People in Southeast Asia] point to the pliable bamboo which bends with the wind and then snaps back when the storm has passed. The sturdy oak on the other hand resists the storm and after standing firm for a while snaps and falls to the ground.
All these are secrets of living of course. And after practicing T’ai Chi Chih for a while you will find that the principles spill over into your everyday life.
Now, in actual practice we want the body to flow smoothly, not have a series of disconnected movements. Only when T’ai Chi Chih is done effortlessly with softness can the body, the arms, and the legs flow smoothly so as to get maximum results.
That older person over there has a question that may seem slightly apart from T’ai Chi Chih, but one that is important. He wants to know what the Karma is I hear so much about.
The Sanskrit word Karma means action, but we generally use it in the sense of the fruits of Karma, the results of action. When we say, “As you make your bed, so shall you lie in it.” We are giving an accurate description of Karma.
From the Indian standpoint, your deeds will bring about a like reaction. Though it may be over the course of many lives, you will be paid back every farthing for what you have done. And this is in accord with science, which says, “That every action must have an equal reaction.” You cannot fire a gun without having a recoil. So, we are governed by the fruits of our actions, and that is Karma.
The gentleman follows with another question asking; what is the relationship between Karma and the Chi we have been talking about?
That is about the deepest question he could ask. And to answer it properly I’m going to have to go into some weighty matters. Including the part of habit and habit energy weighs in our lives.
When the brain orders a particular action, a move is made called Vritti in the Indian language. Faint at first this groove becomes deeper as we repeat and repeat the same action. Let’s say I have a disappointment and take a few drinks afterward. It seems to make me feel better, so the next time I am depressed I drink again. Soon drinking becomes a habitual action in response to disappointment. Now, the Vritti, the habit move, has been made so deep, that it becomes what the Indians call Vasana, literally habit energy.
We are molded by habit energies, perhaps through many lives.
To listen to Justin reading Justin Stone Speaks, click here.