16 treasures | ||
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Treasure
What is a treasure?
A quantity of precious metals, gems, or other valuable objects
A very valuable object
Keep carefully (a valuable or valued item)
Value highly
A collection of precious things
From Greek θησαυρος; thesaurus, meaning "a treasure of the chest"
A concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered
A term of endearment
To consider to be precious
To store or stow in a safe place
The 16 treasures are key skills
that underpin the entire system.
Neigong
The 16 treasures are all neigong; habitual skills that transcend consciousness.
But they are very particular skills.
Secrets
In Wolf Lowenthal's book There Are No Secrets, the author presented a situation
in which Cheng Man Ching had asked the students to push hands without using the
arms.
The students were using tension.
They were forcing a result.
Cheng Man Ching wanted the students to push hands in a different way.
However, he was not prepared to explicitly tell the students what to do.
Chinese tradition
Years of fruitless practice bore no result.
After Cheng Man Ching's death, the author was watching a video of the master
pushing hands when he suddenly saw how to push hands correctly.
In hindsight it seemed obvious.
Cheng Man Ching was not keeping secrets. In fact, he was showing the very skill
all the time. But his students were just not ready to see it.
Think of the treasures as being like this example.
What are the 16 treasures?
No, we are not simply going to give you the answer. Finding out for yourself
will be vastly more rewarding.
Any instructor is capable of telling you.
They are the 16 key facets that underpin everything else you do. 16 things that
make tai chi work.
There are no secrets
All of our students are taught the 16 treasures.
But only the thoughtful, sensitive students sees them.
Without an understanding of their worth, the student may just walk straight
past.
Then, what has been learned?
One of the purposes of taoist literature is to help to develop this special sensitivity and responsiveness to master living situations.
(Thomas Cleary)
Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023
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