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Category: Taiji

  • Cutting Up An Ox

    Cook Ting was cutting an ox after a sacrifice to be used as food for Lord Wen of Hui. At every touch of the hand, every heave of the shoulder, every move of the feet, every bend of the knee, he slipped the knife along effortlessly and all was in perfect rhythm as though he were performing the dance of the mulberry grove to the flow of the melody of Yao’s music.
    “Ah, this is marvelous,” said Lord Wen of Hui. “Imagine skill reaching such heights!”
    Cook Ting laid down his knife and replied, “What I care about is the natural path which goes beyond skill. When I first began cutting oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years I no longer saw the whole ox. Now I go at it through intuition. Perception and understanding have come to a stop and intuition moves where it wants. I go along with the natural construction, strike in the big hollow places, guide the knife through large openings, and follow things as they are. So I never touch the smallest ligament or tendon, much less the main joints.
    “A good cook changes knives once a year, because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his once a month, because he hacks. I’ve had this knife of mine for nineteen years and I’ve cut thousands of oxen with it, yet the blade is as good as new.
    “There are spaces between the joints, and the blade of remain in peace. Undeveloped people cannot do this; there the knife is just as if it had no thickness really. If you insert what has no thickness into such spaces, then there’s plenty of room, more than enough for the blade to play about. And after nineteen years, the blade of my knife is still as good as when it first came from the grindstone.
    “However, whenever I come to a complicated spot, I size up the difficulties, tell myself to watch out and be careful, keep my eyes on what I am doing, work very slowly and move the knife with the greatest subtlety until the whole thing comes apart like a clod of earth flopping to the ground. I stand there holding the knife and look all around me, my mind completely full with the satisfaction of accomplishing a perfect job, and then I wipe the knife and put it away.
    “Excellent,” said Lord Wen of Hui. “I have heard the words of Cook Ting and learned how to solve the problems of life!”

    Chuang Tzu or Zhuang Zi

    Reference:
    Entering the Tao: Master Ni’s Teachings on Self-cultivation
    by Hua-Ching Ni
    ISBN 9781570621611

    Links:
    Cutting Up An Ox about.com

  • Change

    Tune the Body (Toro Shen)
    Tune the Breath (Tiao Xi)
    Tune the Mind (Tiao Xin).

    The easiest way to change your mind is to change your body.

  • No I

    Despite dwelling in a material body of four elements, your nature is basically pure. It can’t be corrupted. Youre real body has no sensation, no hunger or thirst, no warmth or cold, no sickness, no love or attachment, no pleasure or pain, no good or bad, no shortness or length, no weakness or strength. Actually, there’s nothing here. It’s only because you cling to this material body that things like hunger and thirst, warmth and cold, and sickness appear.
    Once you stop clinging and let things be, you’ll be free, even of birth and death.

    Bodhidarma, Bloodstream Sermon.

  • Anuttara samyaksambodhi

    This means “complete, unsurpassed, perfect enlightment.” Notice, though, that the sutra first says the bodhisattva has nothing to attain and that, because of having nothing to attain, he attains complete liberation. You can’t attain liberation the way you attain a 1968 Camaro or D-plus on a math test. You can only attain liberation by clearly seeing there is nothing to attain.

    Reference:
    Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock Monster Movies & the Truth About Reality
    by Brad Warner
    ISBN 9780861713806

    Link:
    Buddhahood wikipedia.org

    p. 81

  • The Mindful Movements of Thich Nhat Hanh

    Links:
    Mindfulness wikipedia.org

  • Awakening The Soul

    Awakening The Soul neigong.com

  • I wish you well Okamoto Sensei

    My Sensei Seigo Okamoto of the Roppokai Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu has been hit by a stroke and “sufered cerebral infarction”. I wish you a speedy recovery to regain good health so you can practice your beloved Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu in Roppokai and enjoy your life fully again.

    I have had the great privilege of training under Seigo Okamoto Sensei for the past 4 years in the Daitoryu Aikijujutsu Roppokai Copenhagen branch. Attending joyfully almost every single practice including the many seminars in Denmark, Norway and Japan.

    I treasure all the times spend in the dojo with my classmates, the leader of the danish sibu Ole Kingston (Know from the movie “Aiki”) and Okamoto Sensei practicing art of Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu.

    When visiting Okamoto Sensei in Tokyo as a newcomer and foreigner I was welcomed and showed hospitality as a member of the Roppokai family.

    Thank you for your teachings, my heart goes out to you.

    Thomas J. Dyhr

    Links:
    Seigo Okamoto on Aiki in Aikijujutsu Daitoryu Roppokai

     

     

  • The inner depths

    Inwardly alert, open, calm.
    Outwardly upright, extended, filled with spirit.
    This is the foundation of stillness.
    Add the hard and the soft, the powerful and the relaxed,
    Motion and stillness, contraction and extension:
    In the instant these converge, there is power.

    Grand Master Wang Xiang Zhai

    Reference:
    The Way of Power: Reaching Full Strength in Body and Mind
    Lam Kam Chuen
    ISBN: 9781856751988

    p. 18

    Links:
    Search Lam Kam Chuen at neigong.net

  • Transformations of a Spiritual Dragon

    A dragon, as spiritual luminosity, can be large or small, can rise or descend, can disappear or appear, can penetrate rocks and mountains, can leap in the clouds and travel with the rain. How can it do all this? Its done by the activity of the spirit.

    What I realize as I observe this is the Tao of inconceivable spiritual transmutation. The reason humans can be humans is because of the spirit. As long as the spirit is there, they live. When the spirit leaves, they die.

    The spirit penetrates heaven and earth, knows the past and present, enters into every subtlety, exist in every place. It enters water without drowning, enters fire without burning, penetrates metal and rock without a hindrance. It so large that it fills the universe, so small that it fits into a hairtip. It is imperceptible, ungraspable, inexplicable, indescribable.

    One who can use the spirit skillfully changes in accordance with time, and therefore can share the qualities of heaven and earth, share the light of sun and moon, share the order of the four seasons, command nature in the primordial state, and serve nature in the temporal state. This is like the transformations of the spiritual dragon, which cannot be seen in the traces of form.

    Reference:
    Awakening to the Tao
    by Liu I-Ming translated by Thomas Cleary
    ISBN: 159030344X

    P. 23-24

  • Taiji Spring Festival

  • Walking Meditation on Langelinie

    After hours of Qigong in the Studenthouse and a good dinner at Lai Ho in St. Kongensgade we simply had to make a mess out Langelinie and the Little Mermaid.

  • The Song of All the Chakras

    FEET IN THE SAND

    What is sand?
    Mountains and time
    The ongoing meeting of
    Matter and weather

    Now, for the lapse of a moment
    I am the king of the mountain
    Standing ever so relatively still
    On what’s left of forgotten giants

    Enjoying the caressing warmth of the sun
    Before we are washed to the sea

    LAVA

    A big bang and a seed was planted
    An explosion followed by implosion
    The first chapter of my story of creation
    Took place in a volcano’s seat
    So my source is liquid
    Melted, melting stone in motion
    Dependent on the burning fire
    Not to turn into concrete
    I try to keep the air channels open
    I fight to keep the wood supply sufficient
    I dance to enjoy the abundance
    Of lust and trembling heat

    YAWN AT DAWN

    The sun breaks the horizon
    In an overwhelming moment of light
    The tiger stretches its’ body out
    To wipe off the dull of the night
    Prepared for whatever the day will bring
    Of pleasures, of patience and fight

    So soft a being
    And still so tense
    Aware and awake in every sense
    No stress, no hurry, no worry, no strive
    But ready to do
    What it takes to survive

    BIRD

    I carry a precious bird in a cage
    And the bird is carrying me
    Both safe and protected by the ribs
    And capable of being free
    The more at home it feels within
    The further it’s able to fly away
    ´Cause happiness makes my little bird sing
    Tunes that caress what they meet on their way
    And for every soul that is able to listen
    The air is humming with songs from the hearts
    No need to feel lonely in the midst of creation
    Inside your chest
    Is where freedom starts

    FROM THE THROAT

    Hey, hey
    Here I am
    Here I stand

    Drinking of the wholly grail
    Singing without fear to fail
    From my centre reaching out
    Free to cry, to scream and shout
    Express anger and sorrow without being violent
    Or choose to remain receptive and silent

    Let my lips run over with joysparkling laughter
    By oration and song praise the world as it is
    My hands give wings and support, and everything’s merging
    As my love for life is shared in a kiss

    DIAMOND-TINGLE

    The water’s surface
    Clear as a mirror
    Quiet and still. Then a drop breaks the spell
    Rings in the water. A moment of movement
    A tone as crisp as a silverbell
    Mist dissolves, curtains are lifted
    Clouds drift away and the moon appears
    The air is so clean that I find myself listening
    To transparent harp sounds and angels’ tears
    The way pointed out by a star so bright
    A crystal ball beam-glowing in the night
    Images come, and images go
    Points of views in eternity flow

    ZENIT

    The energy source that once said ‘be light’
    Can never be grasped or defined
    All I can do is try to be open
    For the golden bliss of the divine

    The universe, so vast and endless
    Is loaded with power and light
    Stars and planets, and the space between them
    Float shimmering on through the night

    Through a soft spot in a solid skull grace gave me
    Access to this abundance of love
    When connection is made and the tunnel is open
    It floats steadily in from above

    Note:
    This was a present from a friend – what a nice present! 🙂

  • The Teaching Just for You

    “To approach perfect practice, there is no way other than to accept yourself.”

    Shunryu Suzuki

  • Knowing the self is enlightenment

    知人者智，
    自知者明。
    勝人者有力，
    自勝者強。
    知足者富，
    強行者有志。
    不失其所者久，
    死而不亡者壽
    老子

    Knowing others is wisdom;
    Knowing the self is enlightenment.
    Mastering others requires force;
    Mastering the self needs strength.
    He who knows he has enough is rich.
    Perseverance is a sign of willpower.
    He who stays where he is endures.
    To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.

    Reference: Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching XXXIII ( Trans. Feng & English )

  • The most submissive thing

    The most submissive thing in the world can ride roughshod over the hardest in the world – that which is without substance entering that which has no crevices.
    That is why I know the benefit of resorting to no action. The teaching that uses no words, the benefit of resorting to no action, these are beyond the understanding of all but a very few in the world.

    Lao Tse, Book 2, XLIII
    (Translation D.C. Lau Penguin1963)