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Embodying the Principles of the Book of Changes |
Excerpts 'Lao Tzu (sometimes translated as 'Old Master') has always been deemed, along with Huang Ti, as a founder of Taoist philosophy. Consisting of five thousand characters, his little book of eighty-one chapters is by far the most translated and printed book in the world. The history of the Tao Te Ching, which is quite spurious, tells us that the sage Lao Tzu decided to leave the world behind and head off to the far northwest regions of China to go into hermitage. A gatekeeper named Kuan Yin entices Lao Tzu to write a few words of instructions for posterity. La Tzu then wrote two short treatises, one outlining the Tao (Way) and the other Te (Virtue). 'Within this work are wonderful aphorisms that directly related to the very premise and heart of T'ai Chi practice. The Tao Te Ching at its very root is a model for leading a life void of aggression — valuing yielding over forcefulness and, most importantly, viewing virtue as the highest power of human and spiritual beings. 'In regard to the practice of T'ai Chi, the most influential concept of the Tao Te Ching is Wei Wu Wei — Active Noncontention or Nonaggressive Activity. As we can surmise from its principles, T'ai Chi is completely based on this idea: yielding as a means of overcoming the unyielding, learning to lose as a means of winning without aggressive intents, using intrinsic energy (chin) rather than external muscular force (li), and abiding by the tan-t'ien rather than by the reactions of the mind. '.... Another very important concept Lao Tzu presented in relation to the development of T'ai Chi is found in his question, 'Can you obtain the pliability of a child?' The bones of a child are soft and pliable, and the internal processes of T'a Chi, the circulation of ch'i, are meant to increase and reestablish marrow to the bones, making them more pliable. 'A child's mind and spirit are not hindered by constraints of logic and rationalism, as implied in the Christian Bible — 'have childlike faith.' 'To have the clear and unhindered mind of a child is the ideal in Taoism. Everything in Taoism, generally speaking, related to the idea of returning to and regenerating youthfulness, both physically and mentally. 'The difference is in the conscious awareness of being youthful, something the child does not have. Will Roger's statement that 'it's too bad youth is wasted on the young' seems very Taoist. The motive of T'ai Chi is identical with this Taoist thinking, to bring the body and mind back to the pliability of a child. 'To live naturally in the Tao, Lao Tzu described his three treasures of humility, compassion, and frugality, which are seen in the underlying principles of T'ai Chi. No one can learn to lose, yield, or abide by the tan-t'ien without humility. 'The idea behind nonaggressive actions is compassion, as the very intent of T'ai Chi in practical use is not to injure opponents but to ward off and neutralize their aggressive actions. 'The idea of frugality is seen in the expedient use of movement, to use as little physical energy (li) as possible, replying on mind-intent (i) and the mobilization of ch'i and shen (spirit) to activate the motions of the body. 'T'ai Chi can be equated, both physically and mentally, with Lao Tzu's three treasures of humility, compassion, and frugality through its principles of yielding, nonaggession, and expediency....' -T'ai Chi According to the I Ching: Embodying the Principles of the Book of Changes by Stuart Alve Olson |
Scenes from Sozin's Comet, Part Two: The Old Masters
The Old MastersHis destiny to defeat Firelord Ozai conflicting with his feeling to harm no one, Avatar Aang consults in meditation with his own previous lifetimes as Avatars. They give him essentially the same message, that he must end Ozai's life. While in a trance, he came to the island he is on, a place between the worlds. In the meantime, the balance of 'Team Avatar' searches for Aang only to be told he doesn't exist. Their search for Iroh, the uncle of Prince Zuko, leads to a meeting with old masters who escort them to their base camp and to Iroh, where the old master and the young prince reconcile. Aang continues his quest to reconcile the conflicting feelings inside himself, not able to accept that he has to perform an action that goes against his heart intelligence. Then it enters his awareness that he is not on an ordinary island, and discovers it is instead the ancient Lion Turtle, who gives him his answer: The true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can touch the poison of hatred without being harmed. Since beginningless time, darkness thrives in the void, but always yields to purifying light. About masters, I align in essence with this from 'The Impersonal Life,' 'Now the time has come for you to know that such beings are not Masters, also that Divine Beings do not call themselves Masters; that I, and I alone, your own Real Self, AM the only Master for you now, and until you are able to know Me also in your brother;— 'That any being, either in human or spirit form, that presents himself to your consciousness and claims to be a Master, or who permits you to call him Master, is nothing more nor less than a personality, the same as yours, and therefore is not Divine, as your human mind understands that term, despite the many wonderful “truths” he may utter, and the “marvelous” things he may do. ... 'You can rise in your human personality only to the ideal your human mind is capable of conceiving.... 'You, who have risen above Desire, you who no longer seek a Master or a Teacher, or even Me, but are abiding alone in the faith of My Eternal Presence and Promise, — for you I have in store a meeting and a communion, which will bring to your Soul such joy and blessings as your human mind is incapable of conceiving. .... 'Why seek in human or spirit teacher, guide, master or angel, for the necessarily limited manifestation of My Perfection, when you can come directly to Me, God within you, the Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, the Inspiring Idea back of and within All manifestations? 'As I AM in You, even as I AM in any you seek, and as all the Wisdom, all the Power and all the Love they possess come only from Me, why not now come to Me, and let Me prepare you also so I can express My All through You? 'You are a human personality, yet You are Divine and therefore Perfect. ... '...For I AM your real Teacher, the only real one you will ever know, and the only MASTER; 'I, your Divine SELF.... The Divine SELF is to me the One Being, pure consciousness, the Tao, the True Self of all that is. Until O.B. is accessed more directly, humans will continue to be guided from time to time by spiritual masters of various sorts. May the intuition and heart intelligence of each individual, attuned to O.B., be the guide of the guides. |
Scenes from Sozin's Comet, Part Three: Into the Inferno
'Within this work are wonderful aphorisms that directly related to the very premise and heart of T'ai Chi practice. The Tao Te Ching at its very root is a model for leading a life void of aggression — valuing yielding over forcefulness and, most importantly, viewing virtue as the highest power of human and spiritual beings.
'In regard to the practice of T'ai Chi, the most influential concept of the Tao Te Ching is Wei Wu Wei — Active Noncontention or Nonaggressive Activity. As we can surmise from its principles, T'ai Chi is completely based on this idea: yielding as a means of overcoming the unyielding, learning to lose as a means of winning without aggressive intents, using intrinsic energy (chin) rather than external muscular force (li), and abiding by the tan-t'ien rather than by the reactions of the mind.
'.... Another very important concept Lao Tzu presented in relation to the development of T'ai Chi is found in his question, 'Can you obtain the pliability of a child?' The bones of a child are soft and pliable, and the internal processes of T'a Chi, the circulation of ch'i, are meant to increase and reestablish marrow to the bones, making them more pliable.
'A child's mind and spirit are not hindered by constraints of logic and rationalism, as implied in the Christian Bible — 'have childlike faith.'
'To have the clear and unhindered mind of a child is the ideal in Taoism. Everything in Taoism, generally speaking, related to the idea of returning to and regenerating youthfulness, both physically and mentally.
'The difference is in the conscious awareness of being youthful, something the child does not have. Will Roger's statement that 'it's too bad youth is wasted on the young' seems very Taoist. The motive of T'ai Chi is identical with this Taoist thinking, to bring the body and mind back to the pliability of a child.
'To live naturally in the Tao, Lao Tzu described his three treasures of humility, compassion, and frugality, which are seen in the underlying principles of T'ai Chi. No one can learn to lose, yield, or abide by the tan-t'ien without humility.
'The idea behind nonaggressive actions is compassion, as the very intent of T'ai Chi in practical use is not to injure opponents but to ward off and neutralize their aggressive actions.
'The idea of frugality is seen in the expedient use of movement, to use as little physical energy (li) as possible, replying on mind-intent (i) and the mobilization of ch'i and shen (spirit) to activate the motions of the body.
'T'ai Chi can be equated, both physically and mentally, with Lao Tzu's three treasures of humility, compassion, and frugality through its principles of yielding, nonaggession, and expediency....'
- 'I Ching: Embodying the Principles of the Book of Changes' by Stuart Alve Olson
Images credit - Avatar: The Last Airbender - Nickelodeon A re-cap of blog posts on the Avatar series |
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