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| The seeker | ||
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A tourist
Some people spend years doing
tai chi and never read a single book about the
art, learn any real skills or do any
practice at home between classes.
This is not the way to make progress in
tai chi.
Enthusiasm alone should drive the person to
learn more about the art.
A student
In order to learn karate, judo or
the piano you must become a
student. The same is true of
qigong & tai chi.
A student attends lessons every week, makes progress and
enjoys their training.
More than a student
Tai chi requires a lot more of the
student... The
art is based on ancient
insights, principles and
practices that require a
deeper level of study and exploration.
The student who wants to penetrate the mysteries
of this art and gain high-level skill needs to
become 'a seeker'.
The seeker wants another
level of mind
and strives for it without distraction
like a grandmother shopping at market.
(Loy Ching-Yuen)
The Silent Flute
Inspired by Krishnamurti's
teachings, Bruce Lee developed a story which eventually became a film called The
Silent Flute.
Although the final film bore little resemblance to Lee's original script, it
presented an intriguing message. If you enjoyed David Carradine in the 1970's TV
series Kung Fu, the film should be appealing.
Don't expect awesome martial arts scenes or great
acting. Instead, focus on the journey and what it
means.
The quest
In The Silent Flute, the seeker undertakes a perilous quest to find a 'book of
knowledge' which is said to contain truth. A series of
lessons help the seeker to realise that the journey is an
inward one:
Conformity can stifle the individual
The chattering of conscious thought is a distraction
Fear is unnecessary
Find your own rhythm
The tune
Throughout The Silent Flute the seeker would hear a tune that no one else
heard. Each time he followed the music, the seeker drifted further away from
the path he had believed necessary.
Instead of finding 'truth' he found himself.
Looking far
Do not get caught up in looking far for your answers.
Lao Tzu emphasised the importance of
awareness - you can know the
whole world without leaving your room.
If you want to get good at tai chi, pay
attention to your every thought,
feeling and
action. Experience it all intensely. No one else can tell you who you
are.
Inner rhythm
The 'silent flute' symbolised an inner rhythm; an inexpressible essence
within each of us. It is our own harmony with Tao.
Beyond words and thought,
there is something that makes you uniquely
you.
The film teaches us that the journey is
what matters; the journey within. Everyone is
different and we each must find our own way.
Insights
Contained with the movie were insights drawn from
Zen, Tao and
Krishnamurti's talks:
Each moment that
passes changes you. You do not, cannot possess even yourself.
How can you hope to possess anyone or anything else?
(The Silent Flute)
Tie two birds together and though they have four wings, they cannot fly.
(The Silent Flute)
The way of the monkey is to play the fool. While you laugh at
his antics, he bites you from behind. Unmask his ego and you expose a coward
disguised as a monkey.
(The Silent Flute)
One is taught in accordance to ones fitness to learn.
(The Silent Flute)
Each morning when I awake like a scholar at his first class I
prepare a blank mind for the day, to write upon.
(The Silent Flute)
Cord: Who are you?
Blind shepherd: Whoever you think I am or want me to be, I am.
(The Silent Flute)
Steal my art
A student needs to learn from a skilled
tutor for many years before heading off alone. It is necessary to learn
the technical skills of the art.
If your teacher offers a good curriculum, then it will encourage you to
explore,
discover and invent. When the time is right,
both you and the teacher know that it is time to
part.
Should you leave too early, you will possess
partial knowledge of the syllabus and harbour
many misconceptions.
But if you leave too late, you may have been unduly influenced by your
teacher and run the risk of being an 'acolyte' rather than an individual.
Eccentric
It is quite common for tai chi people to become rather eccentric. Taoism
and Zen appeal to the individual. The
quest for
self expression was a common theme in Bruce Lee's writings.
The potential danger with eccentricity and self
expression is that the tai chi may come to be about 'you'. This is the
trap facing every martial arts master:
conceit and vanity.
Humility must be maintained, no matter how
successful or popular you become. A teacher must make sure that their
lessons are for the students and that serving the
art remains their utmost priority.
You do the work
Formal tai chi tuition is akin to being taught at University; the teacher
introduces each topic and the student goes away
and fills in the blanks. The teacher can only
do so much in a 2 hour class.
Becoming a seeker has always been encouraged. After all, we value what
we discover for ourselves.
Unorthodox
Taoism has never advocated following the example of other people. It
suggests instead that you
examine
the nature of things and learn from that. Rather than
do what others do, you find your own way.
Freedom
People have difficulty coping with the reality of freedom. They want
reassurance, support and guidance. Freedom is not a reaction or response to
something.
It is not a rejection of the rules, it is not rebellion. It is a
realisation.
Freedom is knowing that you are a part of everything
else; it is an understanding that all of
the conditioning and barriers built
throughout your life mean nothing.
Grace
'Wu tze' means to be 'without law and yet orderly'. It is how the Taoist
sages regarded nature. A wayward person has
their own moral code.
They are unpredictable and different,
yet inwardly balanced and comfortable with themselves.
This is how a seeker must be - finding their own way.
Wayward
Water follows its own course; without management or assistance. It just
wanders. It is wayward and spontaneous. Taoism
adopts a similar attitude; you can find your own way through life.
Eccentricities, character and humour are common
amongst Taoists. When you see the world with different eyes... culture and
convention seem amusing.
Money, politics, prestige, fame, reputation,
tradition, success, acquisition and relationship
are all put in perspective. The seeker walks
through life with a grin; unbound and mischievous.
Somebody else's shoes
Every tai chi form out there was invented by
somebody else. Not by you. The
form(s) represent the sensibilities,
preferences and insights of another person.
It is important to remember that the
tai chi will not come to life for you until it feels to be your own.
This does not mean changing the sequence
of the form, but it does entail a change in how you
perform the material.
Your expression
Unless your tai chi becomes an
expression of you, how can
you possibly hope to employ it in combat?
It is essential to practice to a point where form
has been lost in the merging of tai chi and you, and the
freeform expression is
natural and comfortable.
The goal?
By definition a seeker has a goal in mind. This goal reflects their
initial perspective and is likely to change many
times as the journey develops and unfolds.
What once seemed important ceases to matter and a
growing humility emerges with the passing of
time.
Become a seeker...
The silent flute plays for us all. At any given moment we can choose to
follow our own intuition or remain on the orthodox path.
It takes courage to wander away from the known
and the familiar. Nobody will help you. You
are quite alone. Only you can decide what happens next...
The freedom that comes from shrugging off external influences, traditions
and beliefs is quite liberating. Just starting a
tai chi class is your first
step, for you must leave a lot of baggage at the door.
Soon the child's clear eye is
clouded over by ideas and opinions, preconceptions and abstractions. Simple
free being becomes encrusted with the burdensome armour of the ego. Not
until years later does an instinct come that a vital sense of mystery has
been withdrawn. The sun glints through the pines, and the heart is pierced
in a moment of beauty and strange pain, like a memory of paradise. After
that day... we become seekers.
(Peter Matthiessen)
Seekers
The people who attend class with you have something in common. Something that
you cannot explain to your friends, your family, your spouse or your colleagues.
At some point you may become 'a seeker of the
way'... This is not hokey,
imaginary or religious (in the contemporary sense).
But it is a wonderful experience.
Others around you may find their lives flat, disappointing,
frustrating and
empty. But not you. For you have
something more.
Self-discovery
The rare student becomes introspective,
physically aware and
emotionally attuned to
themselves.
They take an active interest in their own
development.
Instead of being self-indulgent and gratification-seeking, they
recognise their
own shortcomings and undertake the challenging task of working on these.
An adventure...
You get out of the art what you put into it.
For the earnest student, tai chi is a lifelong
journey: a fascinating adventure of discovery,
insight, fitness,
longevity and
martial
power.
Worth reading
Awakening
The floating world
The journey
A life less ordinary
The Old Ways
The road less travelled
Page created
21 May 2002
Last updated
16 June 2023
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