“Because of the concentration, if you can hold; that’s where the clarity comes. With the clarity you have that kind of peacefulness.”
~GM Sam Chin
Mindfulness = Direct: Knowing and Acting in the Present Moment
We have been here [at Mid-America Buddhist Association] for the past 6 days. So, what have you guys learned? [Looks around]. What is the most important part that you are here for, first of all? Yes, mindfulness. Another word for mindfulness is the purpose is to have DIRECT. Direct experience. Direct experiential knowing of the moment. Yes? So, the same thing as we do training (in ZXD); that’s what the reverend (Ji Ru) talked about. Practically, we don’t need to remember. When you ‘remember’ things, that means you try to get things from the past. If you want to use things you ‘remember’ on, that’s from the past. So we talk about the past and the present. The training of present is direct! Direct doesn’t need to remember.
Here is where we try to understand what is it that is direct, that there’s no need to remember and we still understand. What is there that you’re able to see and how can you know in that direct moment? How can you act with that direct moment without using the past experience? Here is the toughest thing. Because every moment if you can’t hold onto the direct moment–say you need to penetrate, you need to connect—if you can’t do that it will fall back to your memory, you will fall back to your past. That means according to your past and falling back to that kind of senses contact, the past experience, those are past senses and past experiences: what you like, don’t like or what you don’t know, the 3 types of feelings.
Stillness, Concentration, and the Power of Attention to Hold
It’s coming from stillness. Stillness is the concentration. It’s the present point and also the balance point. Because of the concentration, because of the power of attention that you can hold, you are not being stirred up by past feelings, past emotions, so you won’t be stirred up like that. So, you won’t be using the past experiences to judge. (When you use past experience to judge you always fall back to: What I like, I want more; what I don’t like, I reject, or what I don’t know). Because of the concentration, if you can hold, that’s where the clarity comes. With the clarity you have that kind of peacefulness. With clarity you get satisfaction and joy.
That’s why the next two [qualities] are joy and equanimity. With equanimity you have the balance: the peace of mind. This is only 2 of the kinds here. In our system we normally call it as past and present: present is direct.
In 2014 I called this the I Liq Chuan Path and now we name it as Zhong Xin Dao (ZXD). You guys understand? — you need to follow this path. The first topic we talk about the philosophy, concept, and principles, because you need theoretical things at first to guide the philosophy. The first part of the ZXD philosophy talks about how we are using the Zen and Tao philosophy. Because for every system, if they use a different base or different philosophy, their training will be different, and the outcome will be different. Because you’ve got to be aligned: know from what kind of concept and what kind of principles for how you train the philosophy—ask what is the philosophy that needs to come out? So every time you need to look back to the philosophy.
See the Nature to See the Truth
First of all, the Philosophy of Zen and Tao is talking back to the Nature itself; everything is going back to its nature to see the nature in order to see the truth. So we ask: what is the characteristic of the Nature itself in order to see? First, the characteristic of nature is change—that’s what Buddhism talks about impermanent. And no self: we don’t have one solid entity —it’s all by conditions that combine to form. You can’t be one; there must be two. That’s why the Tao Te Ching talks about: the Tao that born one, one that born two, two that born three, and then everything is formed. [From here is the way you approach and see things—to understand things. Lately, I try to talk about this because to understand things, you must always see from different angles. Recently, I heard one of the talks on a TedTalk called “The Danger of One Story.” When you see a danger of one story then you think “oh, this is what it is, it’s just this—you have to be able to see through different angles. So, a lot of the words we use will get you stuck, will block you, will jam you. When you listen, you must check it from different angles: sometimes words like center: a center is what? When we say center, a center must have 6 directions; 6 directions is a center. Because when you look at 6 directions there is a center. If a center doesn’t have 6 directions, it’s not a center. Or you say a circle must have circumference. Or, you do a circle without centers, then if the circle doesn’t have a concept or principle of a center, that is not a circle. They always have relationship to form this. So a center is a junction point. A junction point is because it’s a center: the junction point has the ability to go in all different directions. If it has that ability, I call that neutral. Yes?
Present, Formless, Neutral: the changing balance point, stillness point, present point
The neutral is not like standing on a fence: left, right, middle and middle is neutral. But neutral has a middle quality also, because it is a junction and a junction has the ability to go in any direction: not to get stuck in any direction. That means you can change. If they can change that mans what? They are formless, yes? So there are all these abilities to see things. Formless is what? You can say it’s also empty! Every word has certain particular meaning by itself, but they also have relationship to other words. So we talk about being present, formless, and neutral: these have a RELATIONSHIP but they have slightly different qualities. Because we need that in order to change. If the characteristic of nature is always changing, then you need to change with the change to be in the present. Tao also talks about how if everything is changing, it’s a balance point. So, when I say a ‘balance point,’ it’s also changing. Then what is a balance point that doesn’t change? So we say, “changing with the change to maintain not to change”—that’s the balance point! That balance point is also a stillness point. And that stillness point is also a present point. Until you can understand this, then here is what we’re training the concentration to hold: to change with the changes to
maintain not to change. Here is where you know the change. Here is also HOW you know…and WHAT you know from here. So training, if you can’t connect and hold over here, you will fall back to your memory, fall back to your past to judge the moment. Over here, if you can hold and link, we say that there’s nothing to remember, because you act in the moment of connecting and matching. That’s why we come up with the Meet and Match, from here.
Everything is from the Point of Contact
That means that everything is also from the point of contact. We know from the point of contact and act from the point of contact, but here is where the 2 things at the POC: are you present—to connect? —or, do you fall back to the past, memory to judge, or do you act on the point of contact. That’s why here, on the philosophy side we talk about the nature itself; the way things are. Then sometimes we talk about the characteristics of the nature itself is the way things are—things as it is: that means you can’t add anything, you cannot take away anything. If you add or take away anything you interfere, that means you are not with the nature, you aren’t understanding the nature. But that doesn’t mean you cannot change. So, by understanding the conditions you know how to approach. In the Zhong Xin Dao Path here I make it simple in a way, so that the concept, ‘there’s nothing to train’ is to remind you to see things as it is, not to ‘remember’ anything: it’s direct. The most important part is that the training is not to accumulate or imitate. Your training is through recognizing the moment: recognizing the moment and realizing what is.
Falling and Arising IS the Change
Recognizing: what is recognizing? Recognizing is seeing what is happening that happens—at that moment that’s called recognizing. It’s the change from seeing here to everything else: all these days this week we’ve been talking about this ‘falling and raising [arising], fall and rise is the change. So we say that the learning process is only to recognize and to realize. In principle, it’s only so you can understand what is the past and what is the present. The past, you’ll fall into the feeling of ‘you like, you don’t like.’ So, approaching the present is stillness and clarity—but it’s direct. Stillness and clarity that means it’s the connection of being direct, and being in the moment with the balance point. The balance point is the change with the change that doesn’t change. So when we come to action, then how can we recognize the balance points.
Physical Balance Point and Mental Balance Point
You see, the balance point on point of contact is on physical and on our mind. The balance on the mind is about the concentration, to hold. It’s mindfulness. And the balance point is about center! When we say center that means it must have 6 directions and 3 dimensions (3d6d) to be considered a center. We talk about center we have your center, opponent’s center, environment’s center, and a point of contact center. First, we talk about structurally, unification of your center. Structurally—unification of your center—we have structure center: sometimes we call it Unification of The Self. Unification of the movement (the balanced movement) and the Balanced point of contact: they all have a center with 6 directions-3 dimensions.
From the center, what kind of center we use—there are so many centers. First of all, we talk about our own center: where does our own enter come from? How is the center formed? First, it’s the gravity: we live in this world so the first thing is the gravity: everything has to related to gravity. How to build a building, how a tree grows, everything has to deal with this? Because of this gravity and then every object has a mass (the camera right there has a mass, the table, a car, our body has mass). Right? So, with this mass and gravity the relationship forms the alignment. Alignment is where the balance point is, it’s where the center point is. When we say balance point it means it has direction…and from the balance point only can you settle down and relax. And then all actions are from this balance point, this axis, this One point that goes out and returns! When we say One Point, one point is what goes out and returns—it doesn’t reverse. Return is a cycle; you need to do the complete cycle. When you talk about connecting, linking, you talk about direct, you need to connect to get the information: coming back and going out—it’s a cycle. So when the cycle is complete, then there’s no more beginning and ending: that means you are always there. Like paying attention to yourself, in the body: the cycle is complete. So, when you connect to others, the cycle is complete, too: you are always there. When we say present, you are always there. So, when you are present and always there, there are a lot of other qualities. In order to be present that means you must change with change, yes? To change with change, you must be able to flow. To be able to flow that means you can’t resist and can’t back off. If you resist or back off that means you can’t flow. So, you can say this is also a balance point: Example: put your hands together [move them around] this is changing, but on the point here (where they touch) they connect. This point that connects doesn’t change. The pressure doesn’t change, the point doesn’t change, but you are changing: this is what we call the balance point: it’s a flowing point that is changing with the moment.
Recognizing Difference Isn’t Judging
So, from here you know. From here you see the change. Another thing we say is Meet and Match: on holding the point, how can you know? Like we always ask: What is knowing? And knowing based on what reference? On point of contact, we always talk about a point is a center point; a center point means it has 6 directions. (up down left right forward back). We talk about using the cross first; when they cross there will be 3 points. (1,2, 3, points). A point must have 3 (1 born 2, 2 born 3: 1 must have 2—that means yin yang; 2 must have 3–the 3 is the neutral; the 3 is the one that separates the 2 and that binds the 2 together! So, this separation that has unification and separation: that means this one here that has 2—is to see the change. You must see everything that rises and falls—that relatively, it’s very hard to see the continuity—where’s the line that to see: where’s the line of rise, where’s the fall? But then why is there rise and fall? —that means they still have separation. Yes? In the moment here it’s rising, but where does it fall? There’s a separation that is reached. For me, I use it — because of the separation and unification there’s DIFFERENCE. But understand, there’s difference, but it’s not judging. You have not named it yet! If you name it, it’s different already (‘this is black, this is white,) Because if you’re matching one and one here—you don’t call it ‘two’-then that’s a difference; if you name it, then you’re using the past to name it. It’s not the same—it’s different. (points to table…) even if it’s the same here, there’s no difference…but even no difference has difference! Under the center, there’s gravity—so based on this gravity and alignment, there’s 3dim, xyz within the space: horizontal, frontal, sagittal: every center has this. This center is related to other centers. Like our center of gravity and the mass are our main centers, but there are all other centers, for example our shoulder joint, our hips, our crown that separates the front and the back has center, what separates left and right has a center. From the center here, you can see what is left and right, what is inside what is outside, what’s open and closed, what is yin yang. So in action, it will be only this: Open and Closed. So, one dimension has open close. Every one dimension has open close.
Alright. I’ve said this many times. Any questions?
The Present is Neutral! Train Balance Point through maintaining, changing, flowing
Q about Fear: Anxiety is from all the past fears. Why do you have all this? Because you are using the past to judge the moment. In the moment there’s no good or bad. The only you have to recognize in the moment is based on the condition of cause and effect. On the moment you come into point of contact there are separations, cause and effect. Seperation and unification have this relationship. And they have the relationship of cause and conditions here, have cause and effect: how you act in the moment. Because fear, in the martial arts we do use fear a lot. Fear is a good tool to trigger readiness and alertness. But when we talk about Present—the RIGHT Awareness, all these must have readiness and alertness in the present. If they don’t have readiness and alertness, they are not the right one: because otherwise how could they change? How could they see things? In fear, in martial arts—the problem is because they go through fear, then the viewpoint is wrong. If you go through fear, you look through ‘red glasses’: everything you see is red. Everything you see/perceive is different. It’s not pure. That’s why we say you must act in the present! The present is NEUTRAL! The hardest part is can you hold on the present. So the present to hold on is the balance point–that you can work on! How can you work on the present? As soon as you say ‘present’—present is gone; that’s why they say there’s no present. Present is for you to work on the Balance Point; that means it’s about maintaining, changing, flowing. Maintaining that means it’s change, yes. If you don’t change you can’t maintain. [gives example of how must change to maintain the same pressure whether incoming force is if you don’t change, the result is 10 or 8+2 is 10. Or 12-2 is 10 …anything you try to adjust, here doesn’t change.]
The first thing we start to train within our body is alignment; there’s a center. Every time training must have 2 points—have that kind of relationship. First is the gravity: the gravity becomes our point of contact: our feet standing here, comes into contact with the floor. You must see where is the center of gravity that aligns up—to our top here, to our crown. So, training you want to have this balance point and the feet balance point and the crown balance point, why? That means these 2 balance points don’t change! When these 2 points don’t change, [a reference] it means they keep on changing. In order to be firm with the floor and steady with the floor, you must always be changing with the floor. You keep on changing to balance, to keep on changing with the floor to balance, to maintain. There’s 2 things to maintain: one is the Center and one is the Touch: that means the PRESSURE.
Another characteristic, in order to be balanced, must have 2. One point must have 2 energies: one must have 2. To have 1 to 2 is always through rotation, spiral with rotation; if you don’t, there won’t be 2, there’s no return. Rotation has a return. If you only go up and down like this, that means it’s a reverse. That’s why we came up with words like “rotate on the point, roll on the point, skim on the point, grind on the point”—is to produce 2 direction energy minimum. Because you need to hold a point, touching/holding here there’s 2 (up and down to hold the point, or forward backward to hold the point—6 directions). So, you can stretch to hold a point, or you can compress to hold a point…holding and stretching must be EQUAL force, but rotate to produce 2 equal forces to hold. On POC, it’s the same: must have 2 equal energies to hold in order for it to be balanced. (Q: Can you hold the point without rotation, with just pure empty mind?) No, this is ACTION/MOVEMENT—but you need the mind to be there. Because you cannot get away from mental/physical. It’s not ‘use your mind to ‘imagine’. You can’t imagine—it’s action! (Q: can you connect this to meditation practice?) Yes, this is the same as 5 Hindrances
When we talk about ‘fear’ (it falls under greed, hate, ignorance—you like, don’t like and don’t know-it’s the same. That’s why we put it into only Past and Present (You trigger the Past—you have fear, hate, anger, greed—you have all this, because you judge!) Present is direct, no judging. Make it simple. We come to train, you already need to understand this. Like Reverend Ji Ru said. You only need to understand this. If you want to go into all this, you will be a scholar; but when it comes to training, direct. From direct here, because of the concentrations… discipline, concentration, and wisdom. DIRECT KNOWING IS WISDOM, it’s not knowledge. Knowledge is the accumulation. Direct is the wisdom. So that’s why I brought you guys here [to MABA temple/meditation halls for retreat] because we need the environment here and also to have the professional like Rev. Ji Ru who can bring you step by step, and this environment to go in and develop that kind of attention. Understand here?
So it comes down to attention. With this, you’re able to see the balance point: your job is to be continually adjusting. We are always unstable because of change. To be stable that means a balance point—that means you have to change with change to make it stable. To make it stable that means you can’t be only one side stable: that means you need 2 things together, minimum 2, to make it stable. Because you need a point to be stable in order to have direction. The balance point—the direction comes from the balance point. (I sometime try to explain with the example of the fish: how the fish moves its tail: it’s concave convex, or it’s open and close, and when it whacks its tail, it’s a pivot point, a pivot point is also a balance point. When you do this, and whack the tail in one direction, he goes this way; you hit the other way, he goes the other direction. When you give the direction, only then can the fish swim; if this point isn’t steady, the fish’s head will be shaking. Or if you whack the tail, the fish will keep on going around and around. When the tail gets injured he can’t swim—only go in circle. So every action has a balance point, sometimes we call it also a pivot point. A Balance point is slightly different but it’s on the pivot point. So when we classify it as a pivot, so when this pivot is on the very moment of ACTION, the point itself cannot move: it’s stable. If it moves, it’s not a pivot point. So every time we make a step, it has a pivot point. You hold on to the floor, there’s a pivot point: if the pivot point on that moment can’t hold you fall, slip, slip and fall down. So every action has that kind of pivot point on point of contact That’s why we talk about on point of contact; we have flow, fend, roll and pivot. Like a car, and its running tires. The wheel, it’s point of contact is 90 degrees on the floor. So this 90 degrees is a pivot point, so when it rolls, that moment of rolling, that point can’t slip. So when this pivot point doesn’t move, it changes: but there’s another pivot point, another pivot point, another pivot point. When it changes pivot point we call that roll; we call it a ROLLING changing pivot point. But that rolling point also has the quality of 90 degrees towards the center all the time. So, at the POC, you must produce this 90. on that 90 degree you pivot, you roll and change point.
“The ultimate move is who is more aware.”
~GM Sam Chin
Q: Sifu responds: we don’t talk about ‘memory’. In the moment of training we try to be conscious, to pay attention: the reference is different. If your reference is one of memory, it’s from the past. It’s a habit. Because you are training in the moment to be continually matching, continually changing the point. So that doesn’t need memory. But of course, when you come back to philosophy concept you fall back on knowledge. When it comes to training, throw that away: it’s only on point of contact. (At first, of course, it’s ‘knowledge’, but then you learn to train on the point. The past knowledge is just a pointer—but when you train, only DO the paying attention…if you use direct, it’s different. There’s a feedback energy (we talk about energy: like when you bounce a ball…90) For how you ‘know’ 90 to the point is a FEEL, that experiential feel of the moment to know. When you can capture understanding that—and only that as a center of reference—only then will you know the feel of up down, etc…the direct energy of feeling back (of 2 energies: you drop down it bounces back). You need to RECOGNIZE (not ‘learn’) the law of nature. What we are training, like Rev. said too about meditation, is direct observation with attention.
So (recap), the first thing we do is to balance these 2 points first: floor and crown to have these 2 points to bring these 2 in relationship.
We’ll work a little bit on these yourself to see if you can understand the 2 balance points for yourself. The Balance Point needs 2 things: yin and yang. Within our body we talk about the 4 elements: air is action and movement. Earth element is the hard objects: skeletons/bone, ligaments, tendons, and tissue up to the skin. The bone is the center of yin yang muscles. Because the muscles attach on all the ligaments and tendons and all movement is on the joints. That’s why lots of tai chi talk about 6 harmonies (on the joints), but why some talk about 7 (on the neck—the 7th star): Ankle, knee, hip; shoulder, elbow, wrist—and all the connections up to neck. You must understand that Tai Chi balance is not only this kind of balance (takes out his eye glasses to demonstrate 50-50 balance). Tai Chi is not 50-50; it’s the COMPLEMENTARY BALANCE. It can balance one heavy and one light; it talks about this kind of balance (one long one short). It’s not the same height or same weights being balanced. It’s the balance of black and white—how can you balance that?! That’s why the thing that separates these two must be very strong to hold, otherwise yin will interfere with yang and yang interfere. the neutral must be so strong to hold that they don’t interfere and then they cycle to have the complementary. Of course, they do have this kind of balance, but for example, our muscles do have yin and yang: yin muscles are contracting, yang muscles are expanding. (ever see someone who broke his hand? I broke my hand before—laughs…. There’s nothing to hold in the center—it just collapses. In the nature itself has its function. I call this hardware: you only can grab this way (from yin side), can’t grab from yang side. So you are born as such, as a human being: all the joints you can’t change; it has to work this way. And at action—on Point of contact—I call software: because it can change.
Now, first of all I want you guys to do these 2 point—up down, hold the crown to go down, hold the floor to go up. Hold the crown, stretch it down. Drop to stretch it down. That means you must have 2 energies: it’s a cycle. To go through the body you must understand we go through what part of the body? Go down the front come up the back. But when you go down the front, it goes down through 2 different groups—first through the yin then the yang. And coming up the back, also through 2 groups. It comes to the function and follow the nature of the muscles: yin muscles contract, yang muscles expand. Why is that?
GM Sam Chin poses in front of Manjushri Hall with Ven. Jiru
Relaxation is the balance, according to gravity.
Let the breath flow naturally first.
Absorb and Project—the most common one. Always have to go to the bone. 2 energies:
- Yin is drawing to the dan tien and condensing to (not through) the bone. Use the bone as a reference
- Yang is project from ming-men and expanding from the bone out With these movement we call this the macrocosmic energy flow.
Training is the Constant Adjusting
Attention on the touch. When you are mindful there’s a kind of constant watch on the point, so that from the point you are able to link in. Constant adjusting, constant over there; constant changing, constant in the process. There’s no gap, constant maintaining over there. That’s how you know you are aware over there: attention. It’s not just that you ‘act.’ No, the training is the constant adjusting—the same balance, the same feel. First it’s a constant on the center point. Then the constant of the touch—of the pressure. (you go down, maintain the same pressure on the feet never increase. You come up, never increase the pressure on the feet). That’s why we say you go down it must come from the front. Try it and see – if you go down from the yang/back the pressure drops and you get heavy, you get stuck. Now use the yang muscle and expand fist. Sometime we talk about what comes first. It’s only a matter of WHAT INITIATES first (whatever goes ahead first, the other will back it up!) So you have to balance these two muscles at the same time in order to maintain: That is the constancy of maintaining, of balancing. When you keep on balancing, the attention must be there. Then, if anything distracts or interrupts, or comes to change, you know. That’s why if anything/force increases, then you know. For instance, at the point of contact, if I want 4 ounces of force, but this guy increases 100 pounds, then I know he’s increased force, but I only take 4 ounces. Then the other 100 pounds doesn’t affect me, because I’ve only used 4 ounces: I maintain. This is how you do the balance point. This is why we call this ‘no resistance, no backing off’—what we call FLOW. If you can’t do this flow, you can’t be present. If you can flow to be HERE, only then can you merge, link, connect, get the right information through the balance point. Of course, when I touch I also know, but that knowing is also different. Maintain the same pressure on the changing—that means you’re flowing (sometimes you need pivot or roll to maintain)…sometimes you can’t (if you’re blocked), then you may need to pivot to get the same line or direction.
Narrates PROCESS: You want to work so that everything goes out and comes back: rely first on crown and floor (up and down), and dan tien and ming-men (front and back)—with these groups of muscle you have the macrocosmic energy flow. [relax your face first, then your body: keep checking your crown—does your crown lose the pressure or not? If it loses, then your yang’s not maintaining). Relax face, relax shoulder, relax front of body down to dan tien. Stop. Then, form here expand your back. Feel the ming-men to the front (thighs), and relax, drop it to the feet: expand it down to the floor. Feel the hollow—go down to the big toe, wrap around to little toe and draw the hollow up to dan tien…up. expand it to the ming-men and expand it up to the crown. Maintain the alignment and skeleton first.
You can see confidence and readiness. (crouching of the cat) – must have the stretching from crown to perineum (to get the return to come up).
The Mindfulness Touch
Training mindfully: to keep the adjusting and maintaining, and the holding! Mindfulness action is always THERE holding—constant changing and maintaining and holding over there. The mindfulness of constant maintaining to flow in, in the process to adjust. Mindfully in the process means you’re constantly adjusting means you’ll be able to know. With constant adjusting of yourself, then, if you’re constant then you’ll slowly be able to connect with others. You can’t just act habitually. No doubt many martial arts teach you train til you have habitual reflex. That is not the highest kind of training. With Zen and Tao philosophy, it’s more about mindful
The crown here—this exercise here: You can keep on training for many, many years; because of this balance point until so steady strong, so precise anything touches you, it can’t affect you (if anyone touches you, they bounce back) because so constant adjusting.
Alignment and the skeleton is different. Skeleton and gravity alignment is different. Alignment is form the mass (including flesh and everything). So mass alignment is slightly different, but you need skeleton in order to support it.
Triangle energy (two feet up to dan tien) 2 triangles: 2 from feet up to dt. One from ming-men that comes to the front and points from hips going down to balance beam line (wraps around to knee and goes down). These 2 triangles interlock; then, this supports to hold the crown (up and down hold the crown). Find the hip center (where the kua is) and do the condense expand (in all direction). Yin kua is center of the hip; yang kua is the whole pelvis.
Hold on hip centers, should centers is rotation. It’s all rotation: holding on to rotate—clockwise counterclockwise (forward backward). 2 actions—one is drawing a circle, one is circle with rotation. Circle with rotation is always completing (spins: yin change, yang change;)
Your experience or the past can interfere if you’re ‘trying’ to do something. If you try to ‘do’ something, then you’re using your past viewpoint instead of listening to instructions! If your attention is not there, that means you try to do something else. Your body will get into the habitual; that means you’re not training mindfully. That means you don’t know your habit already took over you. Because there’s no way to get out from your old viewpoint unless you listen carefully; listen to the instructions and follow the instructions. If you think, that means you can never get away from your own viewpoint. When you follow instructions, you’re trying to be mindful of the action of how to do it. Following instructions on how to do it is so you can learn to meet on the point.
The ultimate move is who is more aware. There’s no such thing as ‘ultimate move.’ So what I want you guys to be aware of is to FEEL (so that slowly you’ll be aware that on touch there is a CONNECTING of joints; if you’re not aware of this, then on one touch, you’ll be gone!) It seems so fast, when it’s about ATTENTION.
Is my body connected already, then when I meet the point and it’s a fullness point. If my body is already linked, then when you touch me, I’ve already got a fullness point. You have no chance to pull or push because I’m already connected. I’m DIRECT. (what is ‘defense’—direct is just a defense, like a shield, fend off. Shielding energy is fending / defense energy: I meet to this point and I’m like a ball—any part you touch is a ball, the furthest point to the center, the highest point to the center (6 direction). You want to push me, I rotate first… you won’t be able to push; your point won’t have any power. Pull push at the tip. Meet the tip of the force…bring the opponent’s force along. If you don’t have the fullness quality within, you’ll collapse. Meet first!
Concluding Thoughts
The Zhong Xin Dao system uses the 4 Mindfulnesses in our training. When I was in the Buddhist temple I incorporated this philosophy and concept and process of how it should be trained. So, as you know, my system works tightly with these principles. So, as you go higher you can’t get away from insight meditation. Before I engage in this, I was already quite good in martial arts; but when I listened to this philosophy only then did I open up. I get insight. A lot of times, in olden days, marital artists couldn’t understand the habitual and the awareness or the reflex – those kinds of things we weren’t clear. You always think you have that kind of power; but sometimes we don’t. Sometimes habitually, the reflex was in action. And sometimes we were aware. But we couldn’t distinguish it. Only when we understand the philosophy deep enough could we understand the special kind of quality. That’s why my teaching here is very specific and direct. It’s also within the system, when you go higher, we’ll require you to understand the right mindfulness. Because there are so many mindfulnesses out there; it’s very hard to differentiate.
Feel the body. When emotion changes, the breath changes. Everything will affect the breath—how your feeling changes. You have anxiety you breath changes. You feel calm, your breath changes. Keep attention on attention. Keep on feeling and balancing things. Meet the flow. Practically speaking, everything is about balancing. Don’t listen to only one thing. Balancing is the present, balancing is the center, balancing is formless, neutral, empty. A lot of qualities within. How do you see what is balance?
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