Tai Chi, Qigong, and Daoist Alchemy

Tai Chi and Qigong are internal Chinese meditative practices for Mind-and-Body health which use slow graceful movements and controlled breathing techniques that strengthen your mind-body connection, reduce stress, promote serenity and improve circulation, thereby enhancing the practitioner’s overall health.

• Qigong is a practice of cultivating the Qi (Chi) – or “intrinsic life energy” – through rhythmic breathing coordinated with slow repetition of fluid movement, a calm mindful state, and visualization of guiding Qi through the body.
• Tai Chi – the “supreme ultimate” is the internal martial art of cultivating balance and harmony, and harmonizing Yin/Yang, practiced for its health and longevity benefits.

“Life Energy Cultivation” disciplines, Tai Chi and Qigong are practices of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, self-healing, and meditation – promoting peace and serenity, balance and harmony, rediscovering our connection with Nature, and undergoing a profound inner transformation. We access the universe’s vital energy – the Qi (Chi) that is within and around us, we cultivate the Qi and awaken “the healer within”. We finally learn to create (or re-discover) our “inner elixir” – the “Golden Elixir” – the most highly refined essence of self, the “elixir of eternal life” – expressing  the profound truth of eternal being.

“Golden Elixir is another name for one’s fundamental nature… There is no other Golden Elixir outside one’s fundamental nature. All human beings have this Golden Elixir complete in themselves: it is entirely realized in everybody. It is neither more in a sage, nor less in an ordinary person. It is the seed of the Immortals and the Buddhas, the root of the worthies and the sages.”  (Liu Yiming (1734-1821))

We ultimately aim to awaken our True Nature, Eternal Self, to find our way back to the Source, Emptiness Oneness, to return to the Dao.

“If you want to know your true nature, follow the manifestation back to the source, the mother, and when you find the mother, you will be free from suffering and sorrow.”  (Lao Tze)

“Martial Morality” – the Martial Arts and the Ethics

Traditional Chinese schools of martial arts, such as the Shaolin monks, often dealt with the study of martial arts not just as a means of self-defense or mental training, but as a system of Ethics. Wude can be translated as “martial morality”. Wude deals with two aspects:“morality of deed” and “morality of mind”. Morality of deed concerns social relations; morality of mind is meant to cultivate the inner harmony between the emotional mind (Xin) and the wisdom mind (Hui).  The ultimate goal is reaching “no extremity” (Wuji) – closely related to the Taoist concept of wu wei – where both wisdom and emotions are in harmony with each other.

Virtues:

• Morality of Deed: Humility, Virtue, Respect, Morality, Trust.
• Morality of Mind: Courage, Patience, Endurance, Perseverance, Will.

“The great man grows the many myriad things . . .

Breaking away from the military arts,

He promotes fully the cultural mandates.”

(Translation from: “Echoes of the Past” by Yan Yanzhi (384–456))

“Water is the softest thing, yet it can penetrate mountains and earth. This shows clearly the principle of softness overcoming hardness.”  (Lao Tze)

 Power, Peace and Compassion to all!

Compassion over Power!  

Qi Love!