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| Intention | ||
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What is intention?
By immersing yourself in the purpose of each
movement, you can cultivate shen.
Shen produces intention.
Intention unifies the mind and body into one
unit.
This is an essential skill in tai chi.
'Intention' means an aim that guides action, a determination. It is a
product of the mind.
Yet, it is based on one pre-requisite: purpose.
Purpose
Purpose in tai chi stems from the
martial; you need to have real skill. If you do not understand how to apply the
form, where does your intention lie?
Intention provides direction
to the movements, teaches you how and why to move the body a certain way and
codifies the sequence.
Without martial knowledge, where does
your intention lie?
What is the purpose of each movement?
If you do not know what you are aiming for or what
the purpose is, how can you possess intent?
Jing
Without intention you cannot jing.
Jing requires the entire framework of
your body to open and close along a specific vector without any
tension interfering.
You must deliver kinetic energy via your movement
along a very clear path.
That path is established by the mind. It is
intent.
Shen
When you and the tai chi become one, you experience 'sung'.
You no longer feel the body itself; only the
movements.
But this is not enough. Shen must be present.
To have shen, you must let go of self and
feel only the purpose.
You pass from a stage of consciously moving your arm, to a physical sense of
'it moves'.
Totally immersed in the doing, you are no
longer an observer in your actions; there is absolute presence at all times.
This can be seen in every movement and in your eyes.
Good intentions
Our intention determines outcome.
If you intend to harm your assailant and
possess the means and the opportunity, then you will
succeed.
Be careful what you wish for.
Concentration
Intention is not concentration. You are
not narrowing your field of focus.
It is quite different to that.
Your gaze must remain expansive and peripheral, with the
eyes receiving information rather than
seeking it.
Intention is the beginning of the movement, the middle and the end.
It is the way of the movement, the
process.
Do not mistake intention for planning.
You must remain adaptive, flexible,
changeable - preconceived
notions are not the Way.
Beyond intention
When a person attacks you unexpectedly, you
cannot have a plan in mind.
You must simply respond and move appropriately.
This is a condition that transcends intention.
Intention may be present insofar as you have no wish to be injured, but
beyond that there is no fixed plan.
The event happens and you are part of that happening.
When the shen is raised, there is no fault of stagnancy and heaviness.
This is called suspending the headtop.
Inwardly make the shen firm, and outwardly exhibit calmness and peace.
Throughout the body, the
intention relies on the shen, not on the qi.
If it relied on the qi, it would become stagnant.
(Wu Yu-hsiang)
Page
created 17 April 1996
Last updated
16 June 2023
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