Intuitive
The yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut. But Marlow was not typical… and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze.
(Joseph Conrad)
Buddha's flower sermon
Zen began with a simple lesson from Buddha.
He held a flower before his students and spoke no
words of explanation.
This profound and infinitely subtle lesson said far more than words ever
could.
Not everything can be articulated verbally.
Words have severe limitations.
The inexpressible must be felt rather than thought.
Tao
Tao Te Ching starts with Lao Tzu saying that 'tao' is just a word
he uses for convenience when referring to something that is not a thing,
object or a word.
This presents an immediate difficulty - how is it possible to understand
that which cannot be thought?
Lao Tzu ponders a variety of topics which do not directly explain 'tao'
but help in gaining a sense of what he is referring to.
He says: He who knows cannot say, and he who says does not
know - in other words: if you 'get-it' there is no way that you can
actually explain your understanding to somebody else.
Tai chi offers an equivalent problem.
Intuition
Learning tai chi is not simply a matter of copying
somebody else.
Logic and reasoning may help a beginner understand the basics of body
movement, but little more.
Intuition and direct physical sensation are the ways in which we gain a
feeling for tai chi.
Nobody can tell you what tai chi really is - you must feel it for
yourself.
Consider: you cannot eat the word 'bread'.
Students of tai chi gain a growing sense of what it is about - like a
thought at the back of the mind.
Yet, it cannot be thought or said.
Page created 11 October 2001