Choiceless awareness
We do not have to seek truth. Truth is not something far away. It is the truth of the mind, truth of its activities from moment to moment. If we are aware of this moment-to-moment truth, of this whole process of time, this awareness releases consciousness or that energy to be. As long as the mind uses consciousness as the self-activity, time comes into being with all its miseries, with all its conflicts, with all its mischiefs, its purposive deceptions; and it is only when the mind, understanding this total process, ceases, that love will be. You may call it love or give it some other names; what name you give is of no consequence.
(Krishnamurti)
Not doing
Our lives are enmeshed in activity. We are relentlessly doing.
Incessantly active.
At every
moment we are caught up in cogitation. Choosing, judging, assessing,
predicting.
Yet, instead of selecting this or that option, we can simply be.
There is no need to look, to seek, to actively do anything. We can simply remain
calm and do
nothing.
We do not try to change the situation into something else, or accomplish
anything.
Instead of doing, we stop doing. We come to a
halt.
At this point, we are
relaxing.
The present
If we allow the mind to return to the here and now, we can find clarity.
The chattering of our ambitions, greed, anxieties, insecurities and pain will
cease.
We can simply be
here. Present. Alert. Aware.
There is so much around us in every given moment, but we just do not notice it.
We are too busy chasing our own tails.
Seeing the now
Imagine measuring the length of the UK coastline...
We use a mile-long ruler. The initial measurement is 7000 miles approximately.
However, the length of the ruler meant that a lot of the detail was missed.
So, we decide to use a smaller one.
We use a foot-long ruler. Now the coast is 7760 miles long.
By including the details, the in-between bits, the measurement has increased.
Clearly, if we used an inch-long ruler, the length would increase still further.
Can you see the point? The closer you look, the more detail you find.
Lao Tzu said that you can know the whole world without ever leaving your room.
If you want to truly come to terms with your tai chi, cease
form collecting, cease striving and
competing.
Searching far for what what you already have is futile.
Look at what is right in front of you. But do not force it. Be passive. Let the
information come to you. See it.
A clear path
Being present enables us to see more
clearly.
We notice what is
there, rather than be blinded by our chattering
mind.
It is easier to determine what to do. Or what not to do.
In any given situation your capacity to act mindfully and appropriately
improves.
You make fewer mistakes. You find that things are a little easier. Smoother.
Feeling
This quality of presence, of mindfulness, will enable you to use the
tai chi in self defence.
Instead of being tense and conflictive, you become open and receptive.
Rather than
anticipating, you wait for the right moment.
When you can use the tai chi skilfully, you will
move in
harmony with the assailant.
There will be no blocking. No opposing of force.
You will
instinctively feel the way to go, and you will adjust to the changes as
they occur.
Prince Wen Hui's cook
Was cutting up an ox.
Out went a hand,
Down went a shoulder,
He planted a foot,
He pressed with a knee
The ox fell apart
With a whisper,
The bright cleaver murmured
Like a gentle wind.
Rhythm! Timing!
Like a sacred dance,
Like "The Mulberry Grove"
Like ancient harmonies!
"Good work!" the Prince exclaimed,
"Your method is faultless!"
"Method?" said the cook
Laying aside his cleaver,
"What I follow is Tao
Beyond all methods!
"When I first began
To cut up oxen
I would see before me
The whole ox
All in one mass.
"After three years
I no longer saw this mass.
I saw the distinctions.
"But now, I see nothing
With the eye. My whole being
Apprehends.
My sense are idle. The spirit
Free to work without plan
Follows its own instinct
Guided by natural line,
By the secret opening,
The hidden space,
My cleaver finds its own way.
I cut through no joint, chop no bone.
"A great cook needs a new chopper
Once a year - he cuts.
A poor cook needs a new one
Every month - he hacks!
"I have used this same cleaver
Nineteen years.
It has cut up
A thousand oxen.
Its edge is as keen
As if newly sharpened.
"There are spaces in the joints;
The blade is thin and keen:
When this thinness
Finds that space
There is all the room you need!
It goes like a breeze!
Hence I have this cleaver
Nineteen years
As if newly sharpened!
"True, there are sometimes
Tough joints. I feel them coming,
I slow down, I watch closely,
Hold back, barely move the blade,
And whump! the part falls away
Landing like a clod of earth.
"Then I withdraw the blade,
I stand still
And let the joy of the work
Sink in.
I clean the blade
And put it away."
Prince Wen Hui said,
"This is it! My cook has shown me
How I ought to live
My own life!"
(Chuang Tzu)
Page created 27 December 1998