Complete Book Of Shaolin: Comprehensive Program … Dondrup Dorje...Shaolin Kungfu, one of the most...

THECOMPLETEBOOKOF

SHAOLINACOMPREHENSIVEPROGRAMFORPHYSICAL,

EMOTIONAL,MENTALANDSPIRITUALDEVELOPMENT

WONGKIEWKITAuthorofthebestsellingTheArtofChiKung

COSMOS

©WONGKIEWKIT2012ShaolinWahnamInstitute(Malaysia)

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Bythesameauthor

CompleteBookofZen

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ArtofShaolinKungFu

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CompleteBookofTaiChiChuan

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Spanish)

ChiKungforHealthandVitality

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ArtofChiKung

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IntroductiontoShaolinKungFu

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CompleteBookofChineseMedicine

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CompleteBookofShaolin


Sukhavati:WesternParadise


MasterAnswersSeries:TheShaolinArts


THEAUTHOR

Wong Kiew Kit, popularly known as Sifu Wong, is the fourth generationsuccessorofVenerableJiangNanfromthefamousShaolinMonasteryinChinaand Grandmaster of Shaolin Wahnam Institute of Kungfu and Qigong. Hereceived the "Qigong Master of the Year" Award during the Second WorldCongressonQigongheldinSanFranciscoin1997.

He is an internationally acclaimed author of books on the Shaolin arts andBuddhismincludingIntroductiontoShaolinKungFu(1981),TheArtofQigong(1993), The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu (1996), The Complete Book of Tai ChiChuan(1996),ChiKungforHealthandVitality(1997),TheCompleteBookofZen (1998), The Complete Book of ChineseMedicine (2002), The CompleteBook of Shaolin (2002), Sukhavati: The Western Paradise (2002) and TheShaolinArts(MasterAnswers)(2002).

Since 1987, Sifu Wong has spent more time teaching qigong than kungfu,becausehefeelsthatwhilekungfuservesasaninterestinghobby,qigongservesanurgentpublicneed,particularly inovercomingdegenerativeandpsychiatricillnesses.

SifuWongisoneofthefewmasterswhohavegenerouslyintroducedtheoncesecretiveShaolinQigong to thepublic, andhas helpedmanypeople to obtainrelieve or overcome so-called "incurable" diseases like hypertension, asthma,rheumatism, arthritis, diabetes, migraine, gastritis, gall stones, kidney failure,depression,anxietyandevencancer.

HestressestheShaolinphilosophyofsharinggoodnesswithallhumanity,andis

now dedicated to spreading the wonders and benefits of the Shaolin arts topeopleallovertheworldirrespectiveofrace,cultureandreligion.

SifuWong’swebsite:www.shaolin.org

http://www.shaolin.org

1:AHEAVENLYVISION(HowShaolinMonasteryGotItsName)

TheLegendofShaolinTheSacredSummitofSongShanEarthlyReflectionofHeavenlyMonastery

2:THEFABULOUSSHAOLINMONASTERY(LegendsandSignificanceoftheMonasteryHalls)

ForemostMonasteryBeneathHeavenHuiKeSeekingEnlightenmentTheHallofLohansPagodas,Temples,andtheShadow-RockTheDefenderofRighteousness

3:FITFOREMPERORSANDGENERALS(PreciousArtsofShaolin)

TheThreeLivingTreasuresBeautyinPoeticMotionAWaytoEnlightenmentThePracticalandtheSpiritualInter-RelationshipofKungfu,ChiKung,andMeditationQualitiesofaGoodTeacherBreakingthePatient’sArmtoCureItPoetryandOtherArts

4:MOVEMENTSOFHEALTH,VITALITY,ANDLONGEVITY(TheShaolinWaytoPhysicalandSpiritualHealth)

VariousConceptsofHealthPhysicalaswellasSpiritualHealthVariousArtsofEnergyLiftingSkyandLevellingEarthChiKungforHealth,Vitality,andLongevity

5:POETRYOFSTRENGTHANDCOURAGE(ThePhilosophyandDimensionofShaolinKungfu)

TheFascinationofKungfu

HistoricalDevelopmentTheFourDimensionsofKungfuGeneralAimsofKungfu

6:FORMANDFUNCTIONINMOTION(TheFundamentalsofShaolinKungfu)

GatewaytoShaolinForceTrainingBlackTigerandDrunkenManCombativeFunctionsofFloweryPatternsFormationandStructureofKungfuSetsDon’tbeDeceivedbySlow,GracefulMotionCross-RoadsatFourGates

7:FIGHTINGINBEAUTIFULMOVEMENTS(KungfuApplicationforCombat)

TheCombativeFunctionofKungfuPatterns,Variations,andSequencesSomeAmazingApplicationsCatchingTigersinMountainsDon’tDestroyHisManhood!FloweryMovementsandKungfuTradition

8:FROMKUNGFUFORMTOCOMBATAPPLICATION(SpecificTechniquestoHandleVariousSituations)

GettingReadyforCombatShaolinSpecificTechniquesCounteringVariousKicksGrippingandFellingAttacksMethodologyofPractice

9:FROMARRANGEDTOFREESPARRING(PractisingVariationinCombatSequences)

VariousFactorsofCombatShaolinPrinciplesofAttackandDefenceSomeMarvellousAdviceforCombatCombatSequencesDevelopmentalStagesinCombatApplication

10:FURTHERTRAININGFOREFFECTIVEFIGHTING

(DevelopingFundamentalSparringSkills)VariationinCombatSequenceTrainingFourGatesSparringSetFundamentalSkillsinCombatExamplesofCrucialPointsinSparring

11:CREATINGOPPORTUNITIESTOSECUREVICTORY(ApplyingTacticsandStrategiesinFighting)

SunTzu’sAdvicePrinciplestoGuideCombatTacticalandStrategicConsiderationsDefeatDuetoWrongChoiceChoosingtheRightStrategyandTacticsOvercomingThrowsandMultipleAttacksFrustratingLocksandFastPunches

12:THEFASCINATINGFORCEOFSHAOLINMASTERS(VariousKindsofForceinShaolinKungfu)

BasicForceandSpecializedForceThreeLevelsofForcePower,Energy,andLightnessAnInvaluableLessonIronPalmandCosmosPalm

13:PRINCIPLESANDMETHODSOFPOWERTRAINING(ShaolinIronPalmandIronArm)

ImportantFactorsforForceTrainingTrainingforIronPalmPreservingSensitivityandRelievingInjuryRollingBambooforThreeYearsHe’llBreakYourArms

14:SECRETSOFTHEENERGYMASTERS(DevelopingCosmosPalmandIronShirt)

TheGreatestMartialArtintheWorldThePalmThatCanKillorHealWithstandingAttackswithIronShirt

15:THEFAST,THEAGILE,ANDTHEMARVELLOUS

(MarvellousResponsesandtheArtsofLightness)Techniques,Force,andSpeedMarvelwithAweandAdmirationSomeConsiderationsinSpeedTrainingHowtoAttainSpeedPlumFlowerandThroughtheWoods

16:DRAGONS,PHOENIXES,TIGERSANDTHEMOON(ABriefSurveyofKungfuWeapons)

WhyClassicalWeaponsAreStillPractisedTodayClassificationofWeaponsFerociousTigersandNimblePhoenixesTheKingandtheMother

17:THESPIRITOFSHAOLIN(TeachingonMorality,Righteousness,andCompassion)

TheTenShaolinLawsRespectfortheMasterGreatBlessingstobeBornHumanCalmnessandCompassionRighteousnessandCompassion

18:WONDERSOFSHAOLINCHIKUNG(TheLinkbetweenPhysicalandSpiritualDevelopment)

Kungfu,ChiKung,andZenTheLegacyofBodhidharmaSinewMetamorphosisforInternalPowerAChancetoTestanIncredibleArtSelf-ManifestedChiMovement

19:CURING“INCURABLE”DISEASES(ShaolinChiKungandChineseMedicine)

ChiKungforCuringIllnessHarmonizingYin-YangClearingEnergyBlockageChiKungforCuringCancerThematicandHolisticApproachesHowDoesChiKungCureIllness

20:THEINTERNALCOSMOS(AMarvellousArtcalledtheSmallUniverse)

ManasMiniatureofCosmosTheSmallUniverseAchievingtheSmallUniversalFlowBreakthroughandTimeDifferenceSignsofRealBreakthrough

21:DONOTWORRYIFYOUHAVEBROKENYOURBONES(AnIntroductiontoShaolinTraumatology)

AUniqueSystemtoTreatInjuryVariousTypesofInjuriesTherapeuticPrinciplesinTraumatologyTreatingaBrokenBone

22:THESONGSANDPOETRYOFSHAOLIN(DescribingtheGrandeurinRhythmandRhyme)

Emperor’sPraiseandMaster’sAdviceBreadthofKungfuinaSongSongsofEnergyandCompassionExquisiteCharmofShaolinSymbolisminShaolinPoetryLegendsRecalledinPoeticBeautyAModernPoemonShaolin

23:THEDIVINEANDTHECOSMOS(TheMagnificenceandUniversalityofAllReligions)

AMeetingPlaceofManyReligionsUniversalityofWorld’sReligionsDivineManifestationsofSupremeRealityListeningtoSoundlessnessWisdomandEnlightenmentLookingAttheStilledMindTheSpiritualAspectofConfucianismEnteringGod’sKingdomReturningtoGod

24:VARIOUSVEHICLESOFENLIGHTENMENT

(TheBeautyandWisdomofBuddhism)AnAmazingandInspiringReligionTheHistoricalBuddhaMainFeaturesofBuddhismTheravada—BuddhismoftheEldersMahayana—BuddhismoftheGreatVehicleVajrayana—BuddhismoftheMystics

25:ANCIENTWISDOMONMODERNSCIENCE(ASurveyofVariousChineseSchoolsofBuddhism)

WasMahayanaBuddhismtaughtbytheBuddha?VariousSchoolsofBuddhismHeaven,Zen,andtheLotusReality,AppearanceandTrueWord

26:THEBEAUTYANDPROFUNDITYOFZEN(SomePhilosophicalConsiderationsforZenTraining)

WhatisZen?ChineseInventionandTaoistOrigin?MainDoctrinesofZenBuddhismTheEasiestortheMostDifficult

27:METHODSOFZENCULTIVATION(Sutras,Mantras,andMeditationforSpiritualTraining)

MeditationofNoMindPraisesandVowsinSpiritualCultivationTheHeartSutraofTranscendentalWisdomSpiritualDevelopmentthroughSutraRecitationChantingMantrasasSpiritualTrainingMeditationofOne-PointedMind

28:INSEARCHOFSHAOLINMASTERS(FromKungfuandChiKungtoZen)

KungfuforDemonstrationandFightingTheSearchforKungfuForceTheIncredibleEnergyFlowTheSearchforCompassionTheSearchforWisdom

TheSearchforEnlightenment

Introduction

Ifyouthinkthisisabookpurelyaboutafightingart,youwillbeinforapleasantsurprise.ShaolinKungfu,oneofthemostbeautifulmartialartsintheworldisneithertheonlynorthebestoftheShaolinarts,whichrangefrompoetryandmedicinetoZenandMahayanaphilosophy.

WongKiewKit, a Shaolin grandmaster of over thirty year’s experience, gives afascinatingandin-depthexplanationinaclearandenjoyablelanguage.Martialartistswillfind amazing fighting techniques and methods for internal force training. Shaolin ChiKungpromotesnotonlyhealthandvitality,butalsoprovideshopeforthosesufferingfrom“so-called incurable diseases” like hypertension diabetes, sexual inadequacy and evencancer.Meditation,thesupremeShaolinarttrainsthemindformoreefficientdailyworkandplay,andatthehighestlevel,leadstospiritualfulfilmentirrespectiveofracecultureandreligion.

In accordancewith Shaolin philosophy the readers are urged not to accept theseclaimsonfaithnoronreputationbutpracticetheseartsthataresystematicallyexplainedinthebook,andevaluate theclaimsbasedon theirexperiences.TrueShaolindisciples, theauthorsays,donottelllies.

1:AHEAVENLYVISION

(HowShaolinMonasteryGotItsName)

InheavenabovethereisZhulinMonastery;

onearthbelowthereisShaolinMonastery.

TheLegendofShaolin

The ShaolinMonastery. The name itself spells magic to many people. Throughout theages, it has been romantically linked to numerous sagas and parables involving greatkungfu masters, spiritual teachers, generals, and emperors, as well as ordinary people.Poetssangodestopraiseit,famouscalligraphersengravedtheirwritingsinitsmanystonetablets,hostilearmiesrazedthemonasterytotheground,appreciativegovernmentsrebuiltit to greater glory, martial artists considered its fighting skills the pinnacle ofachievements,andspiritualistsregardedthissacredtempleasfountainofinspiration,whileitsartsandphilosophyhaveinfluencedandbenefitedmillionsofpeopleintheirdailylives.

YettheShaolinMonasteryexistedlikealegendintheimaginationofthepopulace— well-known, highly-esteemed and fascinating, but mysterious and awe-inspiring,because since its founding in theNorthernWeiDynasty in the6th century, rulersof allsucceeding dynasties consecrated the Shaolin Monastery as the Temple of ImperialWorship,makingitinaccessibletocommonpeople.

In1928themonasterysuffereditsthirdandmostdestructivefireinitslonghistory;angry warlords burned the monastery for 45 days, resulting in the loss of invaluabletreasureandproperty.Thistransformedthemonasteryintofolklore.Forthegreaterpartofthis century,many peoplewonderedwhether the templewas real or just amyth!Onlyrecently,theChinesegovernmentspentmuchmoneyandefforttorestorethemonasterytoits original form, and classified it as protected historical heritage, thus rekindling theconcernforandexcitementoftheShaolintradition.

TheSacredSummitofSongShan

ThefabulousShaolinMonasteryissituatedattheCentralMountainsofSongShanintheHenanProvinceofChina.SongShanconsistsoftwomajorranges:theTaishiMountainintheeastandtheShaoshiMountaininthewest.Fromafar,SongShanlookslike“aprettydamselhavinganafternoonnapinspring”.

Song Shan itself is rich in legend and history. It was the tradition of Chineseemperors,knownasSonsofHeaven,toascendSacredSummitstopraytoHeaven.TherearefiveSacredSummitsinChina,locatedinthefivestrategicpositions:east,west,south,north,andcentral;SongShanistheCentralSacredSummit.

Ancient China was divided into nine provinces. Song Shan is located in theProvinceofHenan,whichwasknownastheCentralProvinceinancienttimes.Itwasthefocusofreligiousandculturalactivities,aswellasmilitaryandpoliticaladventures.ThetwoancientcapitalsofChina—Sian(laterknownasChangan)andLoyang—areinthisregion.Theheroicexpression,“RainsandwindsfromeightdirectionsmeetattheCentralProvince”,givesusanideaoftheromanceandexcitementofthisarea.

Taishi and Shaoshi, the twomountain ranges of Song Shan, derive their namesfrom an interesting legend.Although theChinese civilization is not the oldest, it is thelongestcontinuouscivilizationoftheworld.All theothergreatancientcivilizations, likethose of the Egyptian, the Mesopotamian, the Mayan, and the Indian, mysteriouslydisappearedfromthesurfaceoftheearth.Historianshavenotdiscoveredthecauseoftheirextinction,butmanybelievethattheywerewipedouteitherbyabigfireorabigflood.InChinese mythology, stories concerning the holocaust are not widespread, but there arenumerousmythsaboutthegreatdeluge.TheChinesecivilizationwasabletosurvivethebig flood because of their wise and dedicated Emperor Xia Yu, who was the ninthgeneration descendant of the famous Huang Di (or Hwang Ti), the Yellow Emperor,duringthelegendaryperiodofChineseprehistory.

EmperorXiaYuwassobusycombatingthefloodthatalthoughhepassedhisownhouseonthreedifferentoccasions,hehadnotimetoenterit.Ononeoccasionhiswifewasjustdeliveringtheirbaby.XiaYucouldonlypauseathisdoortolistentotheinfant’scry,thenhurryaway,notbecausehedidnotlovethemotherandthechild,butbecausehiscarefor his peoplewas greater. This legend of “passing the door thricewithout entering it”occurredatSongShan.

Xia Yu had two wives. If you are a supporter of monogamy (like I am), takeconsolationthathavingtwowives—foranemperor—wasanextremelymodestgesture,forChineseemperorseachhadmore than three thousandwives, all at the same time! Ifyou know Chinese, you must have come across the character “an” ( ), which means“peace”.Thischaracterismadeupofa“lady”( )undera“roof”( ),clearlywarningthatifyouwishtohavepeaceinthefamily,youcanhaveonlyonewifeunderoneroof.(Evenemperorshadtheirmanywivesunderdifferentroofs.)TheChinesecharactershad

not yet been standardized during Xia Yu’s time, but the wise emperor must haveunderstoodthisimportantprinciple.Soheplacedhistwowivesunderseparateroofs—his“taishi”orfirstwifeontheeasternrangeofSongShan,andhis“shaoshi”orsecondwifeon thewest.Thatwashow theTaishiMountainand theShaoshiMountainderived theirnames.

By the way, Shaolin monks at the Shaoshi Mountain were (and still are) notallowedtohaveanywives—notevenfirstwives.Butdon’tworryifyouwishtopractiseShaolinartsandstillwanttokeepyourwife(wives?);thiscelibacyruledidnot,anddoesnot,applytosecularShaolindisciples.

EarthlyReflectionofHeavenlyMonastery

Withitsmanypinnacles,theShaoshiMountainisoneofthemostpicturesqueregionsinChina.Throughout theages,poetsandscholarshavedescribed the spectacular scenesatthe Shaoshi Mountain with such beautiful expressions as “blossoming of the lotusflowers”, “hundredsof birds fluttering in thewind”, “gatheringof heroicwarriors”, and“auspiciousdancingof thedragonand thephoenix”.Hence, the saying“ascendShaoshiMountain,admirespectacularviews”,wasalreadypopularamongtravellers.

Accordingtoalegend,onthesixthdayofthesixthmonthinthe19thyearofTaiHeoftheNorthernWeiDynasty,whichcorrespondstotheyearC.E.495,threetravellersclimbed theShaoshiMountain fromdifferentdirections toadmire thespectacularviews.Ascending from the southwasaTaoistpriest,wearinga longgreygownwith thewell-known yin-yang symbol embroidered in front. From the north was a Buddhist monk,wearing a plain saffron robe; climbing from the western side was a rich landlord,elaboratelydressedinfinesilkdeckedwithexpensivejewels.

Asthethreetravellersreachedthesummit,theweathersuddenlychanged.Cloudsfrom the sky merged with mist rising from the earth, creating a hazy surrounding notunlikethegrandvoidsometimesexperiencedindeepmeditation.Butthehazewassothickthatthethreemenwereunawareofeachother’spresence.Theysatthemselvesonahuge,flatrockshapedlikeagiganticdrum.

Soon they heard some talking. As they looked up, the haze parted, showing agrandiose view of heaven, with a majestic monastery, nine sections deep, glittering insublimelight,withthreebold,goldencharacters,“ZHULINSI”,meaning“MonasteryoftheBambooForest”,writtenacrossthetopofthegrandentrance.

In front of this heavenlymonastery a young novicemonkwas talking to an oldmaster.

“Sifu,” theboyasked,“sinceZhulinMonasteryhasrisentoheaven,will therebeanymonasteryonearth?”

“Ofcourse!”themasteranswered.“InheavenabovethereisZhulinMonastery;onearthbelowthereisShaolinMonastery.”

“ButwhereisShaolinMonastery?”

“Overthere!”theoldmasterpointedtowardthesoutheast,“atthenorthernsideofthe Shaoshi foothill—with the nine-lotus pinnacles in front and the five-bosom peaksbehind,andwithamajesticwaterfallonthewestsupplyingacrystalclearstreamflowingtowardstheeast.”

Thisconversationinheavenwasclearlyheardbythethreemortalsonearth.Theylooked towards the direction pointed by the heavenlymaster. There itwas!Amidst thegreeneryoftheShaoshiforest,theycouldseeamagnificentmonastery,inredbricksand

jade-coloured tiles, seven sections deep,with three golden characters, “SHAOLINSI”,boldlycalligraphedonthetopacrossthegrandentrance.

Thethreemencouldnothelputteringacryofsheerwonder.Butastheirmundaneutterancedisturbedthecosmicvibrationoftheempyrean,thecelestialvisionblurredaway,leaving the three mortals suddenly realizing, rather awkwardly, each other’s presence.Theyhurriedlydescended their separateways,eachcarryingsomecherished thoughts intheirhearts.

Thelandlordsaidtohimself,“IfIbuildahouseonthispreciousspotindicatedbythecelestialvision,moneywillflowinlikewater,andsoonIwillbetherichestmanonearth.”

The priest, who was also an expert on geomancy, thought to himself, “Thispreciousspotisalongthedragon’sveinwithwonderfulenergy.IfImovemyfamilygravehere, my descendants will be assured of power and prosperity, andmany of themwillbecomehighofficialsintheimperialservice.”

Themonkreflectedpensively,“Whatamagnificent,sacredspot.IfIbuildatemplehere,Icanhelpmanypeopleachieveenlightenment.”Hewassoexcitedthathecouldnotsleep.Sointhenight,hesearchedforthatpreciousspotwherehehadseentheheavenlymonasteryincelestiallight,andhefounditbetweentwomajesticcypresstrees.

“I must put something here as a token of my claim for the land to build amonastery.”Sothemonk,whohardlyhadanyworldlypossessionswithhim,buriedoneofhistatteredshoesbetweenthegianttrees.

Atdawn theTaoistpriest came to the samespot. “Splendid,”he said tohimself.“Luckily,noonehasplacedanyclaimontheland.”Sohestakedapoleintothegroundtosignifyhisclaim.

Soon after sunrise the landlord arrived at the precious spot. He found the polewhichtheTaoistpriesthadstakedintotheground.

“Aha,”hesaid,“thiscomesinhandyformetohangmyhatasatokenofmyclaimtothisland.”

Threedays later the threemenmet againat theprecious spot.Eachof themhadbroughtalongtheirownteamofworkmentostartworkonthelandtheyhadclaimed.Theysoonquarrelledamongthemselvesonwhowasthefirsttolayclaimtotheland,andnonecouldemergewithaconvincingargument.

JustthenEmperorXiaoWenandhisimperialretinuepassedbyonroutetoadmirethe spectacular views of Shaoshi Mountain. After listening to their arguments andwitnessingtheirtokensofclaim,thewiseemperorannounced,

“Thehatisontopofthepole;thisshowsthatthepolewasstakedearlierthanthehat.Theshoe is in thegroundunder thepole; this shows that theshoewasplaced therebeforethepole.Hencethismonkhasfirstclaimtotheland.”

Themonk’sappearancewasextraordinary.Hisfacewaslikearedolivefruit,hiseyelashes like silkworms, and he had a lion’s nose, thick lips and basin-shapedmouth,bushybeardandskinofdarkcopperhue.HisnamewasBatuo,anIndianmonkwhohadbeeninChinaforthreeyearstospreadBuddhism.

TheEmperor,deeplyimpressedwithBatuo,orderedthegovernorofHenanandthelocalmagistratetoaidtheBuddhistmonktobuildthemonastery.WhenBatuorequestedtheEmperortonamethemonastery,HisMajestysaid,

“ThisisShaoShiMountain,andthetwocypresstreesformtheChinesecharacter“Lin”.ThemonasteryshallbecalledShaoLin.”

Although the above story is fanciful, it provides some poetic and philosophicalbackgroundtothefoundingofShaolinMonastery.Manyreadersmayfindthevisionoftheheavenlymonasteryunbelievableoroutlandish,but thosefamiliarwiththescientifically-controlled experiments investigating ESP, or with the new world view inspired by theaffinity between modern physics and ancient mysticism may not only find this visionacceptable, but may evenmarvel at how easily, yet deeply, legends can reflect easternwisdomonparapsychologicalandmetaphysicalmatters.

A more factual — but less poetic — account is provided by documents like“OfficialRecordsofDengfengDistrict”,“HistoryofFiveDynasties”,andinscriptionsonstonetabletsat theShaolinMonastery.ThesedocumentsrecordedthatBatuocamefromIndia toChina to spreadBuddhism.Hewaswell received byEmperorXiaoWen,whobuilttheShaolinMonasteryforhimtotranslateSanskritBuddhisttextsintoChinese.

The Shaolin Monastery is therefore not just an ordinary monastery. Its variousbuildings and their accompanying legends, tobedescribed in thenext chapter, are evenmoreextraordinary.

2:THEFABULOUSSHAOLINMONASTERY

(LegendsandSignificanceoftheMonasteryHalls)

Even just judging from thesheer sizeof themonasterycomplexand therole ithadplayedinchartingChinesehistory,itisnotsurprisingwhytheShaolinMonasteryhasbeencalledtheforemostmonasterybeneathheaven.

ForemostMonasteryBeneathHeaven

WhyistheShaolinMonasteryalsocalled“theforemostmonasterybeneathheaven”?OneofthemanyreasonsisthatitwastheimperialtemplewhereChineseemperorsprayedtoheaven on behalf of the Chinese people, as discussed in the previous chapter. Anotherreasonwillbecomeclearwhenyouhaveread thischapter,andother reasonswill revealthemselvesasthebookunfurls.

Situatedat thescenicCentralMountainsofSongShan,about15kilometresfromthe Henan provincial capital of Dengfeng, the extensivemonastery complex is actuallymade up of numerous buildings, namely theMonastery Proper, the Forest of Pagodas,Temple of First Patriarch, Temple of Second Patriarch, Temple of Third Patriarch, andCaveofBodhidharma.

TheMonastery Proper,which is usually called the ShaolinMonastery itself, consists ofseven sections, Fig 2.1. The first section is the Grand Entrance, which is known as“Mountain Gate” in Chinese. At the top of the Grand Entrance in bold, magnificentcalligraphy is thenameof theShaolinMonastery inChinese characters,SHAOLINSI,whichwerespeciallywrittenbytherenownedregalcalligrapher,theQingEmperorKangXi,andwhichmeansthe“MonasteryintheforestoftheShaoshiMountain”.

Inside the building of the Grand Entrance are found some famous Chinesecalligraphicworks.Oneof themostbeautiful, incalligraphyaswell as inmeaning, is a

pairofpoeticcoupletstranslatedbelow.Thoughmuchofitsbeautyisinevitablylostintheprocessoftranslation,thereisstillenoughleftbehindforourappreciation.Thedepthofitsphilosophy,incontrastwiththesimplicityofitsexpression,ismostcharming.

This earthly place in heaven, this is the foremost of famousmountains of the fourseas.

Transmittedbyheartbeyondwords,thisistheprimordialofreligiousteachingsofthetendirections.

Thesepoeticexpressions,withgentletouchesofChan(Zen),gracefullyremindusoftheimportantroletheShaolinMonasteryplayedintheMeditationSchoolofBuddhism.Youwillreadanexampleoftransmissionbyheartbeyondwordsinalaterpartofthischapter.

BehindtheGrandEntrance,onbothsidesofthecentralpathwayleadingtothenextbuilding,isfoundapermanenttreasureofChineseculture—theimposingForestofStoneTablets. On these huge stone tablets were engraved precious and lasting examples offamous different styles of Chinese calligraphy by some of the greatest calligraphers ofChina,suchasWangZiJingoftheTangDynasty,MiDioftheSongDynasty,ZhaoMangFuoftheYuanDynasty,DongQiZhangoftheMingDynasty,andEmperorQianLongoftheQingDynasty.ManypeoplecallthisForestofStoneTablets“theCompleteWorkofChineseCalligraphy”.Therewereeveninscriptionsengravedinforeignlanguages,suchasSanskrit,Japanese,andArabic.Itisarich,raresourceforhistoricalstudies,too,asmanyofthesestonetabletsalsorecordedimportantcontemporaryeventsoftheirtimes.

The second section of the Monastery Proper was the Hall of Heavenly Kings,whichisnowinruinsasaresultofthe1928fire.Therewasonceagiganticbellweighing11,000jin(Chinesepounds),whosesoundwhenhitcouldbeheard30li (Chinesemiles)away. This unique bell was damaged in the fire, but is now partially restored by theChinesegovernment.

Thenextsectionwas theMainHall,whichwasalsodestroyedby the fire,but isnowpartiallyrestored.OntheeasternsideoftheMainHallistheJinnaluoTemple,whichhouses a statue of Jinnaluo, a legendary figure regarded as the Saint of Shaolin stafftechniques.OnthewesternsideistheSixthPatriarchTempleinhonourofHuiNeng,whowassignificantlyresponsibleforthetransformationofBuddhismfromitsIndianorigintoadistinctivelyChinesestyle.

AftertheMainHallistheScriptureHallwheremonkslistenedtosermons,chantedsutras,andpractisedmeditation.ItisalsocalledtheLibraryaspricelessscriptures,kungfuclassics, and other invaluable textswere kept there. Some of the earliestBuddhist textsbroughtoverfromIndiabydevotedpilgrimsweretranslatedintoChineseatthisLibrary.TheShaolinMonasteryalsoaboundedwithstoriesofambitiousmartialartistsriskingtheirlivestryingtostealkungfusecretsfromthisLibrary.Ifyouarekeenonsuchsecrets,you

neednot have to risk your life nowadays to get them.Manyof these secrets have beenpublished(mainlyinChinese)andareavailableforonlyacoupleofdollarsingoodbookshops!Someofthesesecretswillbediscussedinlaterchaptersofthisbook.

The Abbot’s Chamber is behind the Scripture Hall. The Abbot of ShaolinMonastery is often called “Fang Zhang”, which literally means “a square of ten feet”,thoughheisneitherasquarenoroftenfeet.Thetermwasderivedfromthepracticethatbeing the headof amonastery, the abbotwas allowed the luxury ofmore space for hisslumber; other monks were provided with planks measuring about two by five feet—hardlyenougheven for theirphysicalbodies tobestretched.Buddhistmonks, therefore,sleep lyingsideways,withonearmunder theirheadasapillow, their legsbent,and theotherarmontopoftheirthigh—hence,theexpression“sleeplikeabow”intheShaolinMonastery.Thisposition,whichyoumayfindinstatuesoftherecliningBuddha,wastheusualpositionoftheBuddhawhenresting.

HuiKeSeekingEnlightenment

ThenextbuildingisknownastheBodhidharmaChamber,namedaftertheFirstPatriarchof the Shaolin arts, namely kungfu, chi kung, and Chan (or Zen) Buddhism. It is alsoknownas theStanding-in-the-SnowPavilion,which refers, however, not to thepavilionstandinginthesnow(thoughitactuallystoodthereintheopeneverytimeitsnowed),buttoHuiKe,theSecondPatriarch.

HuiKe,whohad been amonk in theShaolinMonastery for some time, beggedBodhidharmatoteachhimthewaytoenlightenment,buthewascontinuallyrejected.Oneday he waited outside this chamber, while Bodhidharma practised meditation inside.Heavysnowwasfalling,butHuiKepersisted.Hewaitedandwaiteduntiltheamountofsnow fallen on the ground reached his knee. Finally, Bodhidharma emerged from thechamber.

“Whatareyoudoinghere,HuiKe?”Bodhidharmaaskedinnocently.

“Sifu,I’mwaitingforyoutoteachmetheway,”HuiKeansweredpatiently.

“Youcankeepstandingthere,butI’mnotteachingyoutheway.”

“Butwhencanyouteachme,sothatIcanbeenlightened?”

“Onlywhenthesnowturnsred,”Bodhidharmarepliedcalmly.

Equallycalmly,HuiKeseveredhisleftarm!Bloodgushedoutanddroppedontotheground,makingthesnowred.YetHuiKestoodupright,andevensmiledserenely.

Bodhidharmasmiled,too.Asenseofjoyoustranquillityenvelopedthem.

“Whatistroublingyou?”Bodhidharmaasked.

“Mymind!”

“BringoutyourmindsothatIwillpacifyit.”

“It’sstrange,”HuiKereplied;“nowthatIsearchformymind,Icannotfindit.”

“You have attained enlightenment. And you are now my successor to spreadBuddhism.”

Thistouchingstoryhasadeepmeaningforme.WhenIfirstreadit,IwasangryatBodhidharma, and considered Hui Ke foolish. But as I grew in my development, Igradually understood and appreciated its significance, and Iwould have done the same,hadIbeenHuiKeorBodhidharma.This isalsoanexampleof“instant”enlightenment,wherethefinal,arcaneteachingwastransmittedintuitivelyfrommastertodisciplebywayoftheheartbeyondwords.

Itisnoteasytointellectuallyexplainthistypeofexperience,becauseitbelongstotherealmofintuitivewisdomandnotjustrationalknowledge.Nevertheless,itmaysufficetomentiontwosignificantpoints.

One,sacrificinganarmisnothingcomparedtoachievingspiritualenlightenment.Again, it isnot easy to appreciate this statementunlessonehasattainedcertain levelofspiritual development. Most people, understandably, will value their arm more thanenlightenment.

Two,Bodhidharmawas compassionate, not cruel.With his intuitivewisdom, heknewthatthatwasthebestwaytohelpHuiKeachieveenlightenment.Hadhetaughthisdisciple some meditation techniques to practise towards enlightenment, Hui Ke wouldhave just achieved that, i.e., knowing some techniques.At best, HuiKewould have topractisethesetechniquesforsometimebeforehecouldoneday,hopefully,beenlightened.But now, the enlightenmentwas instantaneous.What better gift could amaster givehisdisciple?

Meditation, enlightenment, and the process of heart-to-heart transmissionwill bediscussedinsomedetailinlaterchapters.Meanwhile,letusexamineamoredown-to-earthandperhapsbetter-knownaspectoftheShaolinarts—ShaolinKungfu—asweproceedtothenextandlastsectionoftheShaolinMonastery.

TheHallofLohans

The last section of themainmonastery complex is theHall ofThousandBuddhas, alsoknownasPiluHall.ArtstudentswhothinkthatChinesepaintingsarejustwatercoloursofmountainsandstreamsonpaperscrollswillbeinforsomesurpriseastheyenterthishall.Thehallhouses thefamousgiganticwallpaintingcovering300squaremetres,depicting500 Lohans (or Arahants) paying homage to the Pilu Buddha, the Chinese name forVairocanaBuddha.The sheer sizeof thepainting isdauntingenough,but that isnot itsmostamazingaspect.TheLohanswerenotonlyvividlypaintedafewhundredyearsago,buteachofthemexhibitedadifferenttypicalfacialexpression.Thishall,thebiggestinthewholemonasterycomplex, is thereforesometimescalledtheHallofLohans.ItwasherethatadvancedShaolinKungfuwastaught.

From the many kungfu students, some good disciples were chosen for furtherprivileged training in thisHallofLohans,whichwasoutofbound toordinary students.Fromtheseaveryfewdiscipleswereselected,basedontheirexcellentcharacteraswellashigh kungfu attainment, to receive very special training in the Bodhidharma Chambermentionedearlier,wheretheyweretaughttopShaolinsecrets.Theseveryspecialdiscipleswere called “inner-chamber disciples”. Nowadays, drawing from the Shaolin tradition,thosestudentsinanyfieldsofendeavourwhoarefavouredbytheirteachersandwhohavereachedaveryhighlevelofachievement,aresaidtohavereachedthelevelof“promotionintothehall,entranceintothechamber”.

AnotherremarkablefeaturethatstrikesmanymodernvisitorstotheHallofLohansistheforty-eightclearlydiscerniblefootimpressionsonthefloor.TheseimpressionsweremadebypastShaolinmonkswhilepractisingkungfu—byrepeatingtheirfoot-stampingactionsmillions of times! These foot impressions are a visible reminder of an essentialprincipleofkungfutraining,whichmanystudentsneglecttoobserve:thatis,theessenceofkungfutrainingisimprovingskillsandenhancingforce(notmerelylearningelaboratetechniques)—theprocessofwhichnecessitatespractisingsimpleactionsoverandoveragain,many,many,manytimes.

OnthewesternsideoftheHallofLohansistheHalldedicatedtotheBodhisattvaoftheNetherworld.ABodhisattvaisonewhohasbecomeaBuddha,theenlightenedonewho is free fromtheendlesscyclesofbirth,death,andrebirth.Butbecauseofhisgreatcompassion,aBodhisattvavoluntarilypostponesenteringBuddhahoodsothathecanhelpother beings to achieve enlightenment. This particular Bodhisattva, known as Di ZangWanginChinese,orKsitigarbhainSanskrit,choosestogototheNetherworldtohelplostsouls.

ThephilosophicalconceptrepresentedbythisHalloftheNetherworldBodhisattvamay brighten the spirit of many people. Some people have a morbid idea of death,especiallyofthenetherworld.AccordingtoBuddhistbelief,deathisnothingtobeafraidof—it is,fromanotherperspective,thebirthintoanotherplaneofexistence.AccordingtoBuddhism,lifeiseverywhere,andourworldisonlyoneofcountlesshabitableworldsin

countlessgalaxieswheretherearealsocountlessheavens.Eveninourownworldsystem,there are more than twenty realms of heavens, compared to only one realm each ofhumans, demi-gods, spirits, and hells. Even those who go to the netherworld need notdespair.DiZangWang andother compassionate teacherswill be there to helpwhoeverdesireshelp,irrespectiveofthereligiontheselostsoulsbelievein.

Wewillnowenteranotherverydifferentworld—theworldofmartialart.Thehallontheeasternsideisofparticularinteresttomartialartistsallovertheworld.ThisistheWhiteRobeHalldedicatedtothegreatcompassionateGuanYinBodhisattva,whoisoftentranslated into English as the Goddess of Mercy, although in Buddhist thought, aBodhisattvaismanylevelshigherthanagodorgoddess.ThishallisthereforealsoknownastheHallofGuanYin.

GuanYinBodhisattva,knownasKannoninJapanese,Chen-re-ziginTibetan,andAvalokitesvara in Sanskrit, is extremely popular amongMahayana Buddhists. She is aBodhisattva of boundless compassionwhowill see and listen to all sufferings, andwillgiveassistancetowhoeverasksforit.“Seekandyouwillbegiven”isasayingtaughtinBuddhist aswell as other religious philosophies.Most peoplemay think this is just toogood to be true, but its great philosophical truth can be explained by such Buddhistwisdom like karma being generated by thought, and the phenomenal world being acreationofmind.

Inthishallarefoundsomesplendidwallpaintingsofmartialart.Ifyouwonderattheseemingly incongruenceof findingrichmartialartmaterial inahalldedicated to theembodimentofmercy,youwillbepleasantlysurprisedatthedepthofShaolinphilosophy.Shaolinteachingshavealwaysstressedtheloveofhumanity,andShaolinKungfu,beingthemostwidespreadexpressionoftheShaolinteachings,isbuiltuponandmanifeststhisprincipleofcompassion.Thisprinciplewillbecomeobviousinlaterchapters.

Oneof the famouspaintings in this hall is the fresco showing “ThirteenShaolinMonksRescuingtheTangEmperor”,whichrecordedthegreatcontributionofShaolininthe establishment of theTangDynasty. Themodern popular internationalmovie on theShaolinMonastery,thefirstofitskindinShaolin’shistory,isbasedonthispainting.

The most fascinating paintings for martial artists are two huge frescoes on thesouthern and the northern walls of this hall, respectively, depicting Shaolin monks invarious unarmed kungfu patterns and practisingwith a great variety ofweapons. Thesepictures are a permanent, genuine record of the way Shaolin Kungfu was actuallyperformedduringtheMingDynasty,thetimethesefrescoeswerepainted;andhencetheycan serve as a reliable yardstick to judge how valid some modern martial arts are inclaiming to be Shaolin styles. This hall, therefore, is aptly called the Hall of ShaolinKungfu.

WehavejustexaminedthevariousmainbuildingsoftheMonasteryProper,somerelevant stories and related aspects ofShaolin philosophy.Don’tworry if you feel a bitdazzledby theabundantmaterial;anyonewould,whenfacedwith thespaceofprobablytheworld’slargestmonastery,andthetimeofoverathousandandfiftyyearscompressed

intoachapter.Wemayhaveabetterperspectiveifwelistoutthesebuildings,fromfronttoback,andtheirrelatedconcepts:

1.GrandEntrance—atouchofZenForestofStoneTablets—theCompleteWorkofChineseCalligraphy

2.HallofHeavenlyKings—inruins3.MainHall—inruins

JinnaluoTemple—ShaolinstafftechniquesSixPatriarchTemple—ChineseBuddhism

4.ScriptureHall—Buddhistandkungfutexts5.Abbot’sChamber—sleepinglikeabow6.BodhidharmaChamber—transmissionbyheart7.HallofThousandBuddhas—footimpressions

BodhisattvaofNetherworld—compassionWhiteRobeHall—mercyandShaolinKungfu

Pagodas,Temples,andtheShadow-Rock

BesidestheMonasteryProper,therearemanyotherauxiliarybuildingsspreadallovertheveryextensiveShaolinMonasterycomplex.

About 300 metres towards the west of the Monastery Proper is the Forest ofPagodas, oneof themost important historical relics ofChina.This is different from theForestofStoneTabletssituatedbehindtheMainEntranceoftheMonasteryProper.

Fromthelayman’sviewpoint,thisForestofPagodasisthefinalrestinggroundofgreatShaolinmonks,thoughfromahigherspiritualviewpoint(likethatoftheMahayanaBuddhist),theconsciousnessormindofthesemonks,orofanybody,doesnotdie.

Butwhatwasburiedwerenottheirbodies.AccordingtotraditionalBuddhistrites,thephysicalremainswerecremated,andinsidethebodiesofgreatmonkswereoftenfound“crystals”.Thesecrystals,whichareoftencalledrelics,resultedfromthecrystallizationofchi(orenergy)ofthegreatmonks;theywereprobablytheproductsofenergycentresorchakras.Thisisanareaofknowledgestillgenerallyunknowninthewest.Thesecrystals(real solidmaterial that you can see and feel)were regarded as treasure, andwere keptinsidethepagodas.ThisForesthasarichcollectionofabout220pagodasofeverydynastysincetheNorthernWei,butthemajoritywereoftheMingperiod,includingthoseofMingprinces and princesseswho had renounced their luxurious palace lives to seek spiritualfulfilment.

There are three temples in the Shaolin complex dedicated to the first threePatriarchsofZenBuddhism.ItisofinteresttonotethatalthoughBatuoisthefounderoftheShaolinMonastery,BodhidharmaishonouredastheFirstPatriarch.Thisisbecausethetype of Buddhism preached by Batuo was Hinayana Buddhism, which emphasizedpersonal enlightenment; whereas the type preached by Bodhidharma was MahayanaBuddhism,which includedhelpingothers toattainmentenlightenment. ItwasMahayanaBuddhism thatbecameestablished in theShaolinMonastery, aswell as in thewholeofChina.AsBodhidharmawas thefounderofChan(orZen)Buddhism,amajorschoolofMahayanaBuddhism,heisveneratedastheFirstPatriarch.ZenBuddhismisatthesametimetheeasiestandhardest typeofBuddhism.YouwillunderstandwhywhenyoureadaboutZenBuddhisminalaterchapter.

The Temple of the First Patriarch is an architectural wonder. It was almostexclusivelybuiltofwood,yet itsmoon-shapedbeamsandothersupportshave remainedintactfornearlyathousandyears.TheTempleoftheSecondPatriarchisdedicatedtoHuiKe,Bodhidharma’ssuccessor;andtheTempleoftheThirdPatriarchisdedicatedtoSengCan,thesuccessorofHuiKe.

There isnoTempleof theFourthPatriarchat theShaolincomplexbecauseSengCan’s successor,DaoXin,moved to theDongshanTemple in theHuangmeiDistrict ofHubeiProvince,where theFifthPatriarch,HongJen,also taught.HongJen’s successor,HuiNeng theSixthPatriarch,moved further south to theBaolinTemple in theCaoXi

DistrictofGuangdongProvince.HuiNengdidnotappointasolesuccessorastheSeventhPatriarch,becausehewantedmanyofhisdisciples to spreadZenBuddhism.Altogetherthere were six patriarchs in Chan or Zen Buddhism, and three of them taught ZenBuddhismattheShaolinMonastery,illustratinghowimportantShaolinisinZen—afactmanypeople,includingZenenthusiaststhemselves,maynotbeaware!

Behind the Monastery Proper at one of the five bosom peaks is the Cave ofBodhidharma.ThiswaswhereBodhidharmameditatedfornineyearsfacingacavewallsointensely that the rock surface was imprinted with his image! This rock, known as theRockwithBodhidharma’sShadow,isnowexhibitedintheHallofThousandBuddhas.Anotedscholar,XiaoYuanJi,inscribedonastonetabletthefollowinglineswithatouchofZenaboutthisrock:

ThereisarockinShaolin,whichisaperson.

Itisclearlyaperson;anditisclearlyarock.

Whatkindofrock?Aface-personrock.

Whatkindofperson?Aface-rockperson.

Heisaface-rockBuddha,

Aprince,meditatingfornineyears,

HebecomesaBuddha

BecomingaBuddha,hisbodybecomesvoid,

Andhisbodyentersthespiritoftherock,

Andtherockresembleshisbody,

AndallschoolsareunitedbyShaolin.

TheDefenderofRighteousness

TheShaolinMonasterycomplex,whichcoversalmostthewholeofShaoshiMountain,isprobably the biggest in the world. The numerous buildings, including those in theMonasteryProper,werenotbuiltallatthesametime,butwereaddedonduringdifferentdynasties.Atitsheight,thereweretwothousandmonksstayingintheShaolinMonastery.Themonkswereclassifiedintofourtypes:administrativemonks,researchmonks,servicemonks,andmartialartmonks.

WhilethelonghistoryoftheShaolinMonasterywasglorious,withmanyemperorsbestowing it with honours and gifts, there were also painful periods. In the year 574,EmperorZhouWuDiblamedtheeconomicunproductivityofBuddhistmonksandTaoistpriestsforthecountry’sdepression,anddecreedthatalltemplesintheempirebeclosed.However his successor, Emperor JingDi, reopened the temples six years later, and theShaolinMonasterywasrenamed“ZhiHuMonastery”,meaning“Climbing-up-a-MountainMonastery”.Thischangednamewasunpopular,andthenextyearwhentheNorthernZhouDynastywasreplacedbytheSuiDynasty,ShaolinMonasteryresumeditsoriginalnameaswellasreceivednewlandfromthenewemperor.

TheShaolinMonastery suffered threedisastrous fires.The first firewas towardstheendoftheSuiDynastyabouttheyear618,whenrebelsattackedtheMonastery.Thesecondfirewascausedbytherevolutionary“RedBandArmy”abouttheyear1368attheendof theYuanDynasty,whoseemperors alsobestowedmany favours toShaolin.Thethirdfirewascausedbywarlordsin1928duringtherepublicanperiod.

TherewerealsosubsidiarytemplesundertheShaolinMonastery.Someoftheseareextensiveandfamousintheirownright,suchastheLongtanTemple(meaningtheTempleofDragons’Lake)inShandongProvince,andtheSichanTemple(theWesternTempleofZen)inGuangdongProvince.

YoumaybesurprisedtoknowthatthereweretwoShaolinMonasteriesinChina.BesidestheonesituatedatSongShaninthenorth,theotherShaolinMonasterywasbuiltin Quanzhou in Fujian Province in south China by the Ming Dynasty. Though it wassmaller than the Song Shan ShaolinMonastery, the Fujian ShaolinMonastery played averyimportantroleintheteachingandspreadingofShaolinKungfuinthesouth.

During the succeeding Qing Dynasty, this Fujian Shaolin Monastery became acentreofrevolutionariesloyaltotheformerMingDynasty.HencetheQingarmy,withthehelpofmercenarymartialartexpertsfromTibet,surprisedandrazedtheMonasterytotheground.SomeShaolinmastersescapedandspreadtheShaolinartsandphilosophyinsouthChinaandoverseas.OneofthemwastheVenerableJiangNan,whopassedontheShaolinarts through threegenerations tome.MostShaolinschools invariouspartsof theworldtodayowetheirlineagefromthissouthernShaolinMonastery.

TheShaolinvaluesofrighteousnessandperseveranceultimatelyprevailed.Shaolindisciples’ descendants from this southern Monastery later helped Dr. Sun Yat Sen to

overthrowthedecadentQingDynastyandestablishthefirstChineserepublic.ThepresentChinese government has erected a stone tablet at the site of this former Fujian ShaolinMonastery.

At the present time, some people have the mistaken impression that Shaolindisciplesarerevolutionarybynature,orarefrequentlyengagedinsecretsocietyactivities.This is because of the closeness in time to the patriotic and sacrificial involvement ofShaolindisciplesinDr.SunYatSen’ssecretsocietiesinoverthrowingtheunpopularQingDynasty.IfweexaminethehistoryofShaolininitsproperperspective,wecanclearlyseethatShaolindiscipleswerealwayssupportiveofgoodgovernments,andhadoftenhelpedtoovercomeinternaloppressionandforeignaggression,suchashelpingtheTangEmperorto subdue oppressive rebels, and helping the Ming Emperor to repulse Japanese navalattacks.ThisisinlinewiththeShaolinphilosophyofupholdingrighteousness.

EvenjustjudgingfromthesheersizeofthemonasterycomplexandtheroleithadplayedinchartingChinesehistory,itisnotsurprisingwhytheShaolinMonasteryhasbeencalled“theforemostmonasterybeneathheaven”.Thereare,ofcourse,otherreasonsforitsimportanceandgreatness,andinthenextchapterweshallexaminegenerallythevariousShaolinartsthathaveinfluencedandbenefitedbotheasternandwesternsocietiesformanycenturies.

3:FITFOREMPERORSANDGENERALS

(PreciousArtsofShaolin)

Even if you can master only one of the three Shaolin treasures, you will haveachieved,inthewordsofapopularsaying,apreciousartthatismorevaluablethaneventheartofchangingstonestogoldbytouch!

TheThreeLivingTreasures

Of the numerous living treasures derived from the Shaolin Monastery, three stand outprominently.Theyarechikung,kungfu,andmeditation.InthepasttheseShaolintreasureswerekeptwithinthemonasterywalls,taughtonlytoprivilegeddiscipleswhohadproventhemselves worthy of these fascinating arts. Now you don’t have to become a Shaolinmonktolearnthem;theyareavailabletoyouinthisbook.Nevertheless,merelyreadingabout them is not enough, though it will give you interesting knowledge and readingpleasure;youneedtoinvestsometimeandefforttopractisethesefascinatingartsifyouwishtogetthebestbenefits.

WhatbenefitscanwegetfromtheseShaolinarts?Verybriefly,chikunggivesushealth and longevity; kungfu provides vitality and enables us to defend ourselveswhenneeded;andmeditationbringsustoourhighestandgreatestachievements!

Health is not merely being free from illness, but includes enjoying our food,sleepingsoundly,beingamiabletoallbeingsaroundus—eventhoughsomeofthemmaygetonournerves,havingmentalfreshnessandexperiencinginnerpeace.Longevity,tobedesirable, is not merely enduring old age, but a continuation of youthfulness into ourmellowyearsapproximatingourpotentiallifespan.

ShaolinChiKungprovidessomeexcellentwaystoachievehealthandlongevity.Itmay surprise some readers to find out that many of the Shaolin methods to achieveexcellent health are performed in elegant, gentle manners, quite unlike the vigorous,demanding activities of typical physical exercises like gymnastics, body building, andaerobics.

Moreover, unlike many sports and games where your performance starts to godownhillafteryourpeakattwenty-fiveorthirty,thehealthandotherbenefitsofShaolinChiKungincreaseswithage!Youwillfind,forexample,thatatfiftyyouarelesslikelytofallsick,sleepandeatbetter,andproducemoresatisfactoryworkthanyouwereattwenty-five. Why is this so? Because Shaolin Chi Kung develops you internally as well asexternally,sothatallyourbodysystems,mentalaswellasphysical,continuetofunctionnaturallyattheiroptimum.

Inthisway—maintainingandpromotingallthenaturalfunctionsofourbody(thepsyche and physique as one unity)— Shaolin Chi Kung enables us to live as fully aspossibletoourpotentiallifespan,whichmostscientistsagreetobeatleast120years.Ifyou practise Shaolin Chi Kung conscientiously (which, incidentally, is an enjoyableexperience), you can expect to live to a ripe old age, still with your body systemsfunctioningproperly.

BeautyinPoeticMotion

AimingforexcellenceisacardinalaspectofShaolinphilosophy.Shaolindisciplesaimformore than just living a healthy long life; they want their lives to be meaningful andrewardingforthemselvesaswellasforothers.

Inorder to leadamoremeaningfulandrewarding life,besideshavinghealthandlongevity,weneedvitality—theenergyandzestthatenableustogetthebestfromourworkandplayeverydayofourlives.PractisingShaolinKungfuwillgiveusthisvitality.Evenmore,ShaolinKungfuenablesustodefendourselvesorourlovedonesiftheneedunexpectedly arises, giving us tremendous confidence and security that comes from theawarenessthatwecanhandleanyeventualities.

ShaolinKungfuisthebestandmostbeautifulmartialart intheworld(pleaseseeChapter14forjustificationofthisclaim).Itisnotonlyveryeffectiveforself-defence,butit also provides an excellent system for developing such qualities as perseverance,tolerance, courage, discipline, and the ability tomake fast, sound decisions— qualitieswhich, in ourmodern law-abiding society, are probablymore useful thanmere fightingskills.

SeeingaperformanceofgoodShaolinKungfuisseeingbeautyinpoeticmotion.Itis poetry of artistic forms: courage, strength, agility, precision, and gracefulness inrhythmiccombination.ShaolinKungfuforceisbewildering.Howandwhy,forexample,canShaolinmastersbesopowerfulyetsocalmandgentle,orcansparforhours,yetdonotfeeltired?ShaolinKungfuprinciplesoftenrevealsomeprofoundwisdom.Whatwouldyou do, for example, if your arm is held by an opponent twice your size, or if you areattackedbynumerousaggressorsat thesametime?Suchabilitiesandknowledge,whichwereonceemployedforeffectivefighting,cannowbefruitfullytransferredtoourwork,play,anddailypeacefulliving.

Enjoying good health is the basis of Shaolin philosophy, and being able to lookafter ourselves no matter what happens is an important aim of the Shaolin arts. Theseaccomplishmentssymbolizetwofundamentalstagesinlife’sjourneytoattaintheultimategoal.Thefirststageofgoodhealth laysthefoundation; thesecondstageofcourageandperseverance resembles the intermediate growth.What, then, is the ultimate goal? It isnoneotherthanthesupremeachievementofeveryperson—unconscioustohim(orher)ifheisnotready,butinevitablewhenheissufficientlydevelopedtotranscendthephysical.

AWaytoEnlightenment

The ultimate goal is spiritual fulfilment, irrespective of whatever religion the seekerprofesses or claims not to profess. The highest of the Shaolin arts is to show away toenlightenmentbypractisingmeditation.Shaolinmeditationisnotritualisticnorreligious,butspiritual,transcendingthephysicalself.

Nevertheless,ifyouarenotreadyforthistranscendentalstage,thenpleaseignoreit, and you can still enjoy the other benefits perfectly. Youmay approach this spiritualaspectoftheShaolinartswhenyouareready,andonlyifyoudesireit.

Freedomofchoiceandadeeprespectforothers’preferencesareimportantaspectsof theShaolinphilosophy.But ifyouwish to experience the richest fruit of theShaolinarts, the beautiful, blissful state ofmind enjoyed bymasters and laymen alike, the laterchapters of this book will show the Shaolin way to enlightenment, which, it must bestressed,doesnot insist on anyparticular conceptsnor infringeon any religiousbeliefs.Andtheenlightenmentisbasedonexperience,notjustfaith.Inotherwords,onebecomesenlightened because he experiences enlightenment, not because he reads about it orbelievesincertaindoctrines.

These three Shaolin arts— chi kung, kungfu, and meditation— are the livingtreasuresofShaolin.Evenifyoucanmasteronlyoneofthem,youwillhaveachieved,inthewords of a popular saying, a precious art that ismore valuable than even the art ofchanging stones to gold by touch! To many of us, especially those who are morematerialistic,thissayingcertainlysoundsexaggerated,evenridiculous;buttootherswhovalueotherthingsbesidesmoney,thereismuchtruthinthesaying.

Youareinvited,asyoureadthebook,tosharethefascinatingbutrealexperiencesthatmany uninitiated readers previouslymight not have dreamed to be possible. TheseShaolin arts were once taught to emperors and generals. It may be inspiring for thoseintending to embark on these arts to know that many princes (and a few princesses),especiallyduringtheMingDynasty,werereadytosacrificetheirpalaceluxuriestoentertheShaolinMonasterytoseekspiritualfulfilment.

ThePracticalandtheSpiritual

ItisamistakeifyouimaginethattheShaolinartsareconcernedwiththingsorideasfaroutofthisworld.Infact,theShaolinarts,includingtheveryadvancedones,arepractical.Muchoftheseartsteachushowtolivebetterandmoremeaningfulliveshereandnow.

Actually, thematerialistically-inclinedcanbenefit tremendously fromtheShaolinarts.Forexample,ShaolinChiKungenablesthemtobehealthyandenergeticsothattheycanworkharderandlongertoacquiremorematerialwealth,iftheyprefer.ShaolinKungfugives them the courage and the endurance to persevere and to rise up after every fall.Shaolinmeditationprovidesthemwithafreshnessofmindandclarityofthoughtthattheycanseeandgraspopportunitieswhentheyarise,orevencreatethemif theopportunitiesarenotpresentlyavailable.

Yetinpractice,mostofthegreatestShaolinmastersneverexploittheirpowerstoamassmaterialriches.Theylead,intheeyesofcommonpeople,averysimplelife—notbecause they are incapable of earningmuchmoney nor enjoyingworldly pleasures, butbecause they prefer the bliss of simplicity. These masters find that the independent,carefreeinteractionwithsincerefriendsornatureisfarmorerewardingthanthestressfulcompetitionwith,oreventheultimatevictoryover,businessorpoliticalrivals.Atamuchhigherplane,themastersdiscoverthatthedeepcontemplationonintuitivewisdomandtherealization of one’s mind merging with the universe are far more blissful than all theworldlypleasurescanoffer.

Of course, only the masters can attain such high levels. Even among Shaolindisciples,themajorityofthemareconcernedwiththebenefitsofthemorephysicallevels,like good health, stress-free living, abundant energy, and awholesome attitude towardslife.Yetthemasters’examplescanprovideuswithmuchinspiration,especiallyattimesofeconomicoremotionaldepression.

Evenwhenwearedown,ifweknowthatgreatmastershavevoluntarilyforsakenthe very same possessions or reputations that we have so vainly fought to have, it cansuddenlydawnonusthatthesepossessionsorreputationsarenotsoimportantafterall.Ifwealreadypossessthem,itisnottheendoftheworldiftheyaresuddenlylost;orifwehavenotacquiredthembutwewishto,itisalsonottheendoftheworldifwefailinourendeavour.ItisnoteworthytomentionthattheVenerableBodhidharma,theFirstPatriarchof theShaolin arts,wasaprince,yet like thehistoricalBuddhabeforehim,hechose togiveupthegrandeurandluxuryofthepalacetolead,andhelpotherstolead,aricherlifeattheShaolinMonastery.

It is a greatmistake to think that Shaolin philosophy is fatalistic or nihilistic. Infact, it is the contrary.The purpose of theShaolin arts is to help us actualize our aims,worldlyorotherwise.AndafundamentalShaolinprincipleisthatwehavetoputinalotofeffortifwewantsuccess.IfaShaolindisciple,forexample,wishestoearnalotofmoney—aworldly aimwhich theShaolin philosophy has nothing against— theShaolin arts

providemuchhelpintheformofgoodhealth,energy,andclearthinkinginhisprocessofmoney earning. But he has to work hard to achieve success. It is an inevitable truthcherished in Shaolin philosophy that nothing worthwhile can be obtained withoutperseverance.Shaolin philosophy alsodemands that hismeansmust behonourable, andwhenhesucceedsinmakingmuchmoney,heshoulduseitwisely.

Inter-RelationshipofKungfu,ChiKung,andMeditation

Onewonderful feature of these threemost important Shaolin arts is thatwhile they areclosely related to form a continuous development, each can be followed independentlywithtremendousbenefits.Abriefintroductiontohowtheseartsdevelopedwillgivesomeinsightintotheirinter-relationshipaswellastheirseparatefunctions.

In CE 527, the great Buddhist monk from India, Bodhidharma, arrived at thefamousShaolinMonasteryinChinatoteachBuddhism.Hefoundthatmostofthemonksat the monastery were so weak that they often dozed off to sleep during meditation.Bodhidharmabelieved that physical and emotional health are essential tomental health,andallthreeareessentialtospiritualdevelopment.Aphysicallyoremotionallyunhealthypersonwill lack thefreshnessandcalmnessofmind toendure longhoursofmeditation,andmeditationistheessentialpathtoenlightenment.

Thisconceptoftheunityofmindandbodywasparticularlysignificantatthispointof history in the development of Buddhism. Many Buddhist masters neglected theirphysicalbodyandemphasizedonly themind.Theywent to theextentofregardingtheirbodiesasa“smellyskinreceptacle”,andweregladtodisposeofthissmellyprisonsothattherealbeing—thebeingbeforetheywereborn—couldbeliberated.ButBodhidharmataughtthataslongaswestillliveinourbodies,ourbodiesareimportant,thoughhealsoregardedthemindassupreme.

SoBodhidharmataughttheShaolinmonksaseriesofphysicalexercisescalledtheEighteenLohanHands.Theoriginalpurposewastostrengthenthemonks,andtoenablethemtostretchthemselvesandrelaxtheirmusclesaftersittingmotionlesslyforlonghoursinmeditation.BodhidharmaalsotaughtthemaseriesofinternalexercisesknownasSinewMetamorphosis.Theaimherewastostrengthenthemonksinternally,changingeventheirsinewsandtendons,sothattheycouldhavetheenergyaswellastranquillitytomeditateforlonghours.

Later,however, theEighteenLohanHandsdevelopedintoShaolinKungfu,whileSinewMetamorphosisbecamethebasisofShaolinChiKung.ThegrowthandspreadofShaolinKungfuwasphenomenal,affectingalmosteverytypeofmartialartsinChina,andgreatly influencing martial arts of other countries, such as Japanese karate, Koreantaekwondo,Thaiboxing,andMalaysilat.

Shaolin Chi Kung, on the other hand, was taught exclusively to a few selecteddisciples and was guarded as a top secret. The situation now, however, has changed.Shaolin Chi Kungmasters are sincere in wanting to spread this wonderful art to otherpeoplefor thebenefitofhumanity.Indeed,ShaolinChiKunghasmuchtooffermodernsocieties,irrespectiveofrace,religion,andculture.Numerouspatientssufferingfromso-called incurable diseases, for instance, have had their sickness relieved after practisingShaolinChiKungfromme.

Actually, from the historical perspective, both Shaolin Kungfu and Shaolin Chi

Kungwereoriginallynotendsthemselves,butweremeanstoanimportantpurpose.Manypeople, including kungfu and chi kungmasters,may be surprised at this statement, andmayvehementlydisputeit.ButitcannotbedeniedthatwhenBodhidharmafirstinitiatedkungfuandchikung(orwhatlaterturnedouttobekungfuandchikung)hedidnotintendthem tobeused for fightingorcuring illness; rather,hedevised themasaids to theall-importantmeditation,sothatthemonkscouldmoreeasilyattainenlightenment.

ItwasmuchlaterthatbothShaolinKungfuandShaolinChiKungdevelopedintovirtuallyindependentarts,oftenlosingtouchwiththeiroriginalpurposeattheirinception.Hence, it isnotuncommonnowadays thatmoststudentsofShaolinKungfuandShaolinChiKung,especiallythoseattheelementarylevel,arenotfamiliarwitheachothers’arts,andbothgroupsknowlittleaboutShaolinmeditation.

This also explains that ShaolinKungfu, chi kung, andmeditation or Zen can bepractised separately and exclusively. Indeed, many people are doing this, and haveachievedveryhighstandards,sincethethreeShaolinartsarebythemselvesveryadvancedarts in their own right.Yet, understanding their inter-relationshipwill be of tremendousadvantageevenifwechoosetopractiseonlyoneoftheartsindependently.

QualitiesofaGoodTeacher

It is obvious that merely reading about the Shaolin arts will not give you the fantasticbenefitsmentionedabove.Ifyouwantthebenefitsyoumustputintimeandefforttogetthem. This is a timeless, universal truth. You cannot buy them like one buys moderntechnologyoracorruptofficer,nomatterhowmuchyouarereadytopay.Youmaybuyadvice,instructions,orknowledgeonhowbesttopractisetheartstogetthebenefits,butyoumustworkforthemyourself.

Thisbookwillofferyousomeverygoodadviceandmethods. IfyouarealreadyfamiliarwiththeseShaolinarts,youwillfindthisbookexceedinglyuseful,butifyouareabeginner youmay have difficulty following the teachingmaterials, though some of thematerialsareactuallywrittenforbeginners.Itishighlyrecommendedthatstudentsshouldlearnfromamaster,oratleastaqualifiedinstructor.

Getting a good Shaolin master or instructor is not easy. As in many otherdisciplines, unsuspecting students often waste much time learning superficially frommediocreinstructors,orworsestill,learningsomethingelsethatbogusinstructorspassoffasShaolinarts.

What,then,arethequalitiesstudentsshouldlookforwhenseekingagoodteacher?Thefollowingaresomehelpfulguidelines.

AgoodteachermusthaveattainedareasonablyhighstandardintheShaolinartheteaches.Thecynicalsayingthat“thosewhoknow,do;thosewhodon’t,teach”,certainlydoesnotapplyhere.Akungfumastermaynotwineverymatchhefightsin,buthemustbeabletoputupsomereasonabledefenceevenifheloses.Nowadays,manyso-calledkungfuinstructors,includingsomewell-knownones,actuallydonotknowhowtofight!

Of course, intending students should not challenge the teacher to test if he canfight.Althoughchallengeswerenotuncommoninthepast,suchactionsareunbecomingand extremely rude today. Nevertheless, intending students can have a good idea byobservingwhethersparringandforcetrainingaresystematicallytaught.

Second, a good teacher should have some sound theoretical knowledge on hisdiscipline, and he should notmind if we politely ask him relevant questions. But if hestarts giving excuses like the answers are too complicated for us to comprehend or hewon’ttellbecausetheyaresecrets,thenwehavegoodreasonstosuspect.

However,theremaybemasterswhohaveattainedaveryhighlevelintheirart,butwho have little or no theoretical knowledge. In fact there are numerous stories ofmeditation teachers who insisted that their students follow their instructions withoutquestion.Bodhidharmahimselfisreputedtohaveaskedhisstudentstoburntheirbooks,forenlightenmentisanintuitive,notanintellectual,attainment.Theserare,greatmastersare an exception, and if we ever have the honour to meet them, it is not difficult torecognizethembecausetheyradiateaninvisiblebutperceptiblefieldofgreatness.

Third,agoodteachershouldbeabletoprescriberemedialtreatmentifhisstudentsunwittingly hurt themselves. Sustaining physical injuries is a common occurrence inShaolin Kungfu training, but it does not cause any problem because the master canovercomethiswithkungfumedicineorremedialexercise.Advancedchikungtrainingcancause serious internal injuries if it is not practised properly. A good master, besideswarning his students beforehand of the pitfalls to avoid, must also be able to provideremedy. In advanced meditation, injury to the psyche may occur if it is not practisedcorrectly.Agoodmasterwithknowledgeofremedyisnecessary.

Thefourthqualityofagoodteacher is thathemustbesystematic,generous,andinspiringinhisteaching.Anexpertmaybeverydeepinhisart,butifheisunwillingtoimpart knowledge or is haphazard in his teaching, students are not likely to learnmuchfromhim.Someonementioned thatmediocre teachers instruct, good teachers teach, butgreat teachers inspire. An inspiring teacher not only makes learning an enjoyableexperience,butmotivatesusunconsciouslysothatwearespurredtosoartheheights.

Butthemostimportantqualityofagoodteacher,thehallmarkofagreatmaster,isthathemustholdandpractisehighmoralvaluesinhisdailyliving.Withoutthisquality,nomatterhowcompetentheis inhisartorhoweffectiveinhis teaching,heforfeits thehonour to be called a great master, and remains a mere expert or instructor.Understandably,greatmastersareraregems;ifyoufindone,treasurehimdearly.

BreakingthePatient’sArmtoCureIt

Shaolin also excels in other fields. Besides kungfu and chi kung, which have greatlyenriched Chinese medical philosophy and practice, Shaolin’s contribution to Chinesemedicine in the field of traumatology is remarkable. More will be said about Shaolintraumatologylater;hereitsufficestogiveabriefintroduction.

Traumatology is auniquebranchofChinesemedicine,withno equivalent in thewest.Knowncolloquiallyas“die-ta”(pronouncedth’ietta)inRomanizedChinese,or“tit-ta” in Cantonese, which literally means “falls and hits”, this major branch of Chinesemedicinedealsspeciallywithinjuriescausedbyincision,contusion,dislocation,fracture,andviolentblows resulting in internaldamage. It is extremelypopularamong the lowerincomegroupswhereinjuriessustainedthroughfallsandhitsarecommon.

As kungfu practice and actual fighting often cause these types of injuries,traumatologyortit-taiscloselyassociatedwithChinesemartialarts.Traditionally,almosteverykungfumasterwasalsoatit-tatherapist.Allmyfourkungfumasters,forinstance,aretit-taexperts.

Forlackofabetterterm,traumatologyortit-tamaybecalled“kungfumedicine”.Indeed this important aspect of Chinese medicine frequently operates outside themainstream of Chinesemedical practice, with the interesting result thatmany orthodoxChinesemedicalpractitionersknowlittleabouttit-ta,andmanytit-taspecialistsknowlittleChinesemedicaltheory.

But thepracticalknowledgeandskillsof these tit-taspecialistsaresuperb.Manypeopleprefertit-taspecialiststoosteopathicsurgeons.Afewofthesetit-taspecialistsaresoskilfulandconfidentthatwhenpatientsconsultthembecausetheirfracturedlimbshavebeenpoorlysetbyconventionaltreatment,thesemastersbreakthepatients’limbssoastoset themproperlyagain!Onesuchspecialisthappens tobemyclose friend,SifuChow,who is also amaster of Shaolin “Iron Palm”. He re-fractures his patients’ armswith aquick,sharpknockofhisownarmagainsttheirs!

PoetryandOtherArts

As Shaolin Kungfu, chi kung, and meditation or Zen are so famous, they tend toovershadow other Shaolin arts, though these other arts by themselves are highlycommendable.Thisisnosurprise,becausemanyofthemonksoftheShaolinMonasterywerenoordinarypeopleseekingrefugefromthehustleofsociety,butdistinguishedpoets,scholars,artists,philosophers,scientists,andothermenoflearning,whowishedtoleadahigher spiritual life at the temple.Besidesmeditation and templeduties, theyhadmuchtime to pursue their interests or hobbies. Some examples of these extraordinaryShaolinmonksincludedtheworld-renownedChineseastronomer,YiXing;thefamouspilgrimandtranslator,XuanZang(HsuanTsang);theeminentpainterofplumflowers,BieShan;andthe“wondrous”physician,ZhanZhi.

Poetry was a popular pastime at the monastery. Much of the principles andphilosophyofShaolinKungfu,forinstance,iswritteninpoetry.Notonlywerethemonksremarkablepoets,otherpeopleoutsidethemonastery,includingemperors,empresses,andsome of China’s greatest poets, wrote beautiful poetry to praise. The following poemsuggesting thecomingofBodhidharmaand theShaolinmysticalartswaswrittenby thefamousromanticpoet,LiPo.

SeekerofElixiratSongShan

Thesage’sfaceislikeanancientcrop

Hisearstohisshouldersfirmlydrop

MeetsWuofHaninhisregaldream

Thesaintspeakswithagloriousgleam

SeekingelixirtohereIstrive

Toattainthejoyofeternallife

Truthandfancyinamystictwist

Hisshadowmergesgentlyintothemist

TheEmperorhavingenlightenmentfound

RestsatlastintheMaolingground

Itisindeedanamazing,yetinspiring,resultofmoderndevelopmentincommunicationandotherfieldsthattheseShaolinarts,whichwereoncepractisedanddevelopedbypeopleof

extremely high physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual attainments, are now madeavailableinthisbooktobesharedbyyou.Asweproceedtostudytheseartsindetail,wecandrawmuchinspirationfromthefact that thesearts,whichwerefit foremperorsandgenerals,wereoncetaughtexclusivelytoveryspecialpeople.

4: MOVEMENTS OF HEALTH, VITALITY, ANDLONGEVITY

(TheShaolinWaytoPhysicalandSpiritualHealth)

We cannot call a person healthy if, even when he is not clinically ill, he is easilypronetoangerornervousness,haspoormemoryordullnessofthought,andisbesetwithviceandwickedness.

VariousConceptsofHealth

Althoughmostpeopleagree,atleastverbally,thathealthisbetterthanwealth,notmanyreally take timeand trouble tokeep themselveshealthy!Mostpeople actuallypaymoreattentiontomedicinethantohealth:theyarequitecontentedgoingthroughlifetakinglittleornonoticeofhealthuntilsicknessoccurs,whentheywillresorttomedicine.Tomany,healthbecomessynonymouswithbeingfreefromdisease.

Whathealth is hasbeendebatedbydifferentpeoples at various times.ThegreatstatesmanofancientGreece,Pericles,definedhealthas“thatstateofmoral,mental,andphysicalwell-beingwhichenablesamantofaceanycrisisinlifewiththeutmostfacilityandgrace”.ChristopherMagarey,fromwhomtheabovequotationistaken,suggeststhatweshouldadd“humour”tothelist.

All known ancient peoples of the world’s great civilizations, like the ancientEgyptians,Mesopotamians,Mexicans, and Indians, referred to health holistically, takingcareofman’s spiritual aswell ashisphysicalwell-being. It isnohistorical coincidencethat ancientphysicianswerealsousuallypriests.The failure tounderstandor appreciatethis physical-spiritual unity ofman, probablymore than any other factor, has ledmanyscholars to comment that the medical practices of these great ancient peoples werepredominantlysuperstitious.

Thisholisticview is stillprevalent today.Forexample,Dr.VasantLadsays thatIndianmedicine“viewshealthanddiseaseinholisticterms,takingintoconsiderationtheinherent relationship between individual and cosmic spirit, individual and cosmicconsciousness,energyandmatter”.ShaykhHakimMoinuddinChishti,amodernMuslinhealer,saysthat“theremustbeaknowledgeandconsiderationofthephysical,mentalandspiritualplanesofexistencefortheretobetruehealth”.Thiswholesomeattitudetowardshealth is also sharedby theWorldHealthOrganization, though itunderstandably leavesoutthespiritualaspect,defininghealthas“astateofcompletephysical,mentalandsocialwell-beingandnotmerelytheabsenceofdiseaseorinfirmity”.

TheChinesehavealwaysviewedhealthholistically.Eveninmedicine,whichtheChinesehave traditionallygiven lessprominence thanhealth, andwhere shamanismhasneverbeenapracticeinitslongmedicalhistory,preventionisalwaysregardedassuperiortocure.Tobehealthy,besidesbeingfreefromillness,onemustalsobeemotionallystable,mentallyfresh,morallyupright,andexperienceasenseof innerpeace.Wecannotcallaperson healthy if, even when he is not clinically ill, he is easily prone to anger ornervousness, has poor memory or dullness of thought, and is beset with vice andwickedness.

PhysicalaswellasSpiritualHealth

Yettohavehealthisnotdifficult,ifwearepreparedtospendaboutfifteenminutesadayto practise someShaolinChiKung exercises, two ofwhich are described below.Theseexercises are time-tested, and they not only give you physical, emotional, mental, andspiritualhealth,butalsopromoteyourvitalityandlongevity!

It is understandable if some readers find this claim unbelievable.What! Just dothese simple exercises fifteen minutes a day, and you will get health, vitality, andlongevity?Yes,but inaccordancewithShaolinphilosophy,youareaskednot tobelievethisandotherclaimsbasedonfaithalone,but trytheexercises,andonlythengiveyourcomments.Infact,themethodstodevelopmanyfantasticShaolinfeats,likeIronPalmandGoldenBell,where the adept canbreakbricks and takepuncheswithout sustaining anyinjury, respectively, are quite simple— if we know how. The greatest difficulty is topractise—not just off and on, but every day for at least a fewmonths before you seeresults,andthencontinuouslyasyourdailyprogrammeaslongasyouvaluephysicalandspiritualhealthmorethanyouvaluelaziness.

Whatisspiritualhealth?Spiritualisnotthesameasreligious.Infact,theChinese,inmyopinion,arenotareligiouspeople,thoughtheyarespiritual!

Theconceptofreligion,asthewestknowsit,isquiteforeigntotheChinese.ItisnocoincidencethatifyouaskaChinesefromatypicallyChineseenvironmentlikeChina,Taiwan,HongKong,Singapore,orMalaysia,whatreligionheprofesses,thechancesaresevenoutoftentimesthathehasdifficultyansweringyou.TheChinesegenerallydonotlimittheirrespecttooneparticularreligiononly,becausetheybelievethatTruthorRealitycanberealizedbydifferentpeopleindifferentways.ThatexplainswhymanyChinesecanbeBuddhist,Taoist,andConfucianistatthesametime.

Chinesearegenerallyspiritual,believingintheexistenceofspirit.Spiritiscloselyrelated, but not necessarily the same asmind, though because of linguistic and culturaldifferencesbetweenEnglishandChinese,theterms“spirit”and“mind”maysometimesbeusedinterchangeably.

Spiritual health means the well-being of the spirit, and is independent of thespecificreligion,orlackofit,thepersonprofesses.Morewillbediscussedaboutspiritualdevelopment in laterchapters;meanwhile it suffices tonote thatmorality is thebasisofspirituality.Furthermore,apersonwhoappeasesghostsordemonsisspirituallyunhealthy,andonewho lacks any cosmic awareness is spiritually undeveloped.Chi kung cangiveyoubothphysicalandspiritualhealth.

VariousArtsofEnergy

Chikung,spelledas“qigong”inRomanizedChinese,istheumbrellatermChineseusetorefertovariousartsofdevelopingenergy—theenergythatkeepsyou,me,andallotherbeingsalive.Wenormallyderive thisvitalenergy,or life force, fromtheairwebreatheand the foodwe eat. Outside our bodies, this energy is generally referred to as cosmicenergy. Besides enhancing this life-sustaining function of energy, chi kung alsomethodically uses energy for promoting health, vitality, and longevity, as well as forgeneratinginternalstrength,mindtraining,andspiritualdevelopment.Spiritualhealthwillbediscussedinmoredetailinlaterchapters.

Vitalorcosmicenergyhasbeendevelopedandusedsinceancienttimebyvariouspeoplesofdifferentgreatcivilizations.Theseartsofenergyhavebeenknownbyvariousnames.TheancientEgyptians, Indians,andTibetanscalled theirarcanearts themysteryart, yoga, and the art ofwisdom, respectively,whilemore recently peoples have calledtheir applicationof vital or cosmic energy, or aspects it, by a variety of names, such ascalisthenics, Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan), channelling, radonics, biofeedback,parapsychology, and various studies of psi.Although the objectives and themethods ofthesedisciplinesmaybevastlydifferent, thefundamentalcommonfactoramongthemisenergy,whichtheChinesecallchi(qi).

Therearemanytypesofchikung:someareelementary,dealingwithhealingandgeneral well-being; while others are esoteric, concerning psychic training and mysticexperience. ShaolinChiKung is one of themost comprehensive and advanced, rangingfromhealthandmartialartstomindexpansionandspiritualfulfilment.Thefollowingtwochikungexercisesarecomparativelybasicamong theShaolinarts,andaredesignedforhealth,vitality,andlongevity.

LiftingSkyandLevellingEarth

Thefirstexerciseiscalled“LiftingtheSky”,whichisoneofthebestexercisesforhealth.Standuprightbut relaxed,with feet fairly close together.Straightenyour armsandholdyourpalmsfacingdownwardsinfrontnearyourgroinsothattheyareaboutrightanglestothearm,withfingerspointingeachother,Fig4.1(a).

Bringyour straight arms forwardandupward ina continuousarc till yourpalmsfacethesky.Simultaneouslybreatheingentlyandvisualizegoodcosmicenergyflowingintoyou.Holdboththepalmsandthebreath,andpushuptowardsthesky,Fig4.1(b).

Thenbringthehandsdownfromthesides,simultaneouslybreatheoutgentlyandvisualize all negative energy flowingoutwithyour breath,Fig4.1 (c).Negative energyrepresentsnegativethoughtsandemotions,anyillnessyoumayhave,andanyrubbishinyourbodydetrimentaltoyourhealth.Repeattheprocessabouttentotwentytimes.Thenstandstill,relax,closeyoureyes,andenjoytheflowofvitalenergyinyourbodyforafewminutes.

Fig4.1LiftingtheSky

(a)

(b)

(c)

ThisLiftingtheSkyexerciseisoneofthebestinchikung.Ifyoupractiseiteveryday,insixmonths’ timeyouwillprobablyhavesomeideawhyit issohighlyvalued.Youwillfind that this exercise is a basic requirement for many other advanced Shaolin artsdescribedinlaterchapters.

Thesecondexerciseiscalled“ThreeLevelstotheEarth”.Standrelaxedwithyourfeetaboutshoulders’widthapart.Holdyourstraightarmswithpalmsfacingdownwardsatyoursidesatshoulder’slevel,Fig4.2(a).

Squat down fully and simultaneously breathe out, Fig 4.2 (b), gently visualizingvital energy flowingupyour spine. It is important not to raiseyourheels; your feet arefullyonthegroundthroughouttheexercise.

Gradually stand up and breathe in simultaneously, visualizing cosmic energyflowingintoyouanddownthefrontpartofyourbodyintoyourabdomen.Yourstraightarmsare at shoulder’sheight all this time.Repeat about ten to twenty times.Thendropyourarmsandbringyourfeettogether.Closeyoureyes,standstillforafewminutes,andenjoytheflowofvitalenergydownyourarmsandlegs.

Fig4.2ThreeLevelstotheEarth

(a)

(b)

Youaregrosslymistakenifyouthinkthis“ThreeLevelstotheEarth”ismerelytoloosenthelegmuscles.Amongmanybenefits,itwillstrengthenyourheart.Indeedithashelpedmany of my students recover who had heart problems. Nevertheless, those with heartproblems must practise this exercise cautiously; they must not feel giddy, tired, or bepantingforbreathaftertheexercise.

Youmayperform“LiftingtheSky”and“ThreeLevelstotheEarth”separately,oronesetafteranother.Itisimportantthatyoushouldnotbedisturbedwhilestandingstillinameditativestate.Shouldtherebeanysuddenloudnoiseordisturbance,assureyourselfthat theinterferencecannotharmyouinanyway,andthinkofyourspiritandyourvital

energybeingintact.Thisisanutmostimportantprecautionagainstanyunfavourableside-effectsshouldyoubeunwittinglydisturbed.

The essence of these two and other chi kung exercises is not the physicalmovements,but theenergyflowandheightenedstateofconsciousnessbroughtaboutbycorrect breathing andmeditativevisualization. It is the realizationof this essential pointthatmakesthecrucialdifferencebetweenasetofsimplephysicalexercisesandanesotericart. In otherwords, if youmerely perform the physicalmovements, even perfectly, butmiss out the energy flow and meditative visualization, you are not likely to getextraordinaryresults.Thebreathingandthevisualizationmustbedonegently;theymustnever be forced. If you find it hard to visualize, then just a gentle relevant thought issufficient.

ChiKungforHealth,Vitality,andLongevity

HowdotheseShaolinChiKungexercisesgivehealth,vitality,andlongevity?Theansweris:bycleansingmeridiansandharmonizingyin-yang.

Chinese medical philosophy states that if you “cleanse your meridians andharmonize yin-yang, hundreds of illness will be eliminated”. Those not familiar withChinesemedical thought, andseeing it from thewesternmedicalperspective,may thinkthe statement ridiculous. But actually, it is a very concise statement of a greatmedicaltruth,andwillbeexplainedinsomedetailinChapter19.

Briefly, itmeans thatwhen themeridians—or pathways of energy flow—areclear,ourvitalenergycanflowharmoniously.Ourvitalenergynotonlybringsnutrientto,andtoxicwastefrom,everycellinourbody,butalsostabilizesouremotions,strengthensthe mind and nourishes the spirit. When yin and yang are in harmony, all our life-sustaining systems, like feedback, self-resistance, self-curing and regeneration, willfunctionoptimally. In thisway,goodphysical, emotional,mental, andspiritualhealth ismaintained.

After attaining good health, the next logical stage is increasing vitality. There issomedifferencebetweenhealthandvitality,thoughthedifferenceisoneofdegreeratherthankind.Apersonmaybefreefromclinicaldiseases,emotionallystable,mentallyfresh,andspirituallysound,buthemaystilllacktheenergytoplayafewroundsofsquash,thinkcreatively over a demanding problem, take the family out after a hard day’s work, orcontinuetosavourthepleasuresofahealthysexlife(ifheorshewants)whenmostofhis(her)colleaguesarecomplainingofchronicbackpains.

The chi kung exercises promote your vitality in the following ways. First, bypayingattention toyourbreathing,yougradually increaseyour lungcapacity foramoreefficientexchangeofyourstaleairforfreshair.Moreimportantly,youlearntotapcosmicenergy, and with your cleansedmeridians and heightened state ofmind, you canmoreefficientlytransportthisenergytotherelevantpartsofyourbodyforbetterworkandplay.Thewasteproductsproducedbyyourbrainandbodycells in theprocessesof increasedactivitiesarealsomoreefficientlydisposedoff.Notonlyyourmusclesare lessfatigued,butyourmindismorealert.

ThebafflinglysimpleShaolinChiKungexercisesalsopromoteyourlongevity.Wehaveapotentiallifespanofatleast120years.Whycan’tmanypeoplelastevenhalfthattime?Therearetwoprincipalreasons—accidentsandillness,whichmaytakeawaylifeimmediatelyorreduceitsqualitysomuchthatitspotentiallengthisultimatelyshortened.

Accidents—atwork,play,orhome—arelikelytohappentotwoextremegroupsof people: those who are very quick-tempered, and those who are very slow in theirreaction. By promoting emotional stability (which will be discussed in Chapter 19),ShaolinChiKungmakesitspractitionerscalmandrelaxedevenintryingsituations.Chikung cleanses themeridians, promoting better flow of electric impulses to and from all

partsofourbody,therebyimprovingreflexesandreaction.Inthisway,ShaolinChiKungminimizesthetwoprincipalcauses,thusgreatlyreducingthepossibilitiesofaccidents.

ShaolinChiKungnotonlycures illness,butmore importantly, itprevents illnessfrom happening. It increases our self-resistance, and expands our mental and spiritualcapacities,hencepreventingcontagiousandpsychosomaticdiseases.As soonas there iswearandtear,stressandblockages,harmoniousenergyflowinsideourbodyimmediatelyrepairs or cleanses them, thereby preventing organic diseases and enabling all our cells,tissues,andorganstoapproximatetheirpotentiallifespans.Itisnosurprisethatchikungadeptslivetoaripeoldage,yetlook,feel,andactyoung.

In the ShaolinMonastery in the past— and also in today’s kungfu schools thatvalueandfollowShaolintraditions—onlywhenadisciplewashealthywasheallowedtopractiseShaolinKungfu.ThoughitisnotthebestgifttheShaolinMonasteryhasofferedtohumanity,ShaolinKungfuiscertainlythemostfamousandmostwidelypractisedofalltheShaolinarts.Inthenextchapter,youwillfindoutthatitsgreatnessliesnotsomuchinitsremarkableeffectivenessasafightingart,butinotherworthyqualities.

5:POETRYOFSTRENGTHANDCOURAGE

(ThePhilosophyandDimensionofShaolinKungfu)

Yet,thebestapplicationofkungfuisnotjusttofight.Thequalitiesofagoodfighterthat we develop in kungfu training — like courage, calmness, sound judgement,fluidity of movements, and mental freshness — can be applied to make life morerewardingandmeaningfulforourselvesandforotherpeople.

TheFascinationofKungfu

Wouldyouliketohavegoodhealth,excellentself-defence,speedandagility,freshnessofmind,internalstrength,courageandconfidence,aswellastheabilitytoperformbeautiful,poeticmovements that represent the crystallization of years of study and experiment ofgreatpastmasters?TheseandotherbenefitswillbeyoursifyouconscientiouslypractisegenuineShaolinKungfu.

Just like in anyworthy project, youmust be prepared to pay the price,which ishard,regularwork.Youmaybecomeknowledgeablebylearningfromamasteroragoodbook,butyouwillneverbeamasteryourselfunlessyouhaveput inyearsofconsistentpractice.OnedoesnotmerelylearnShaolinKungfu,whichiscomparativelyeasy;onehasto practise, practise, and practise to become proficient — and this can be extremelyexacting.Moreover,youneedtolearnandpractisegenuineShaolinKungfufromagood,generousmaster;ifyoulearnadebased,albeitpretty,formthatpretendstobeShaolin,youarewastingyourtime.

OnesurewayofknowinggenuineShaolinKungfufromthedebasedorpretentiousstuffistohaveasoundunderstandingofwhatShaolinKungfuactuallyis.

Kungfu means Chinese martial art. This term is popularly used in English, andcolloquially among overseas Chinese, though the present official term is “wushu”.Throughout its long history,manyChinese termswere used to refer tomartial art, andsomeofthemorecommononesincluded“jiaoli”,“xiangbo”,“quanfa”,and“wuyi”.

ShaolinKungfu refers to the styleofmartial art thatoriginated from theShaolinMonastery, and is themostwidely practised kungfu style today by peoples of differentreligions,cultures,andnationalities,sothatwhentheterm“kungfu”isusedunqualified,itgenerally refers toShaolinKungfu.The other very famous style of kungfu practised bymany people all over the world is Taiji kungfu, commonly called Taijiquan (T’ai ChiChuan),whichisashortformofTaijiQuanfa.

HistoricalDevelopment

Kungfuhasbeenpractisedsinceprehistorictime,butthefirsttimeitwasinstitutionalizedwas at the ShaolinMonastery in CE 527,when theVenerable Bodhidharma taught themonks “Eighteen Lohan Hands” and “SinewMetamorphosis”. Before that, kungfu waspractised individually, not as an institution. This institutionalization of kungfu was oftremendoushistoricsignificance,becauseitenabledkungfutobestudiedanddevelopedasanart,notjustforfightingaswaspreviouslydone;andtobeaccumulated,classified,andtransmittedasalegacy,notmerelyusedforadhoc,personalneeds.Later,ShaolinmonksspreadShaolinKungfutoseculardisciplesbeyondthetemplewalls.

BytheTangDynasty(7–10thcenturies),ShaolinKungfuhadsofarsurpassedotherstyles that thesaying“ShaolinKungfu is thebest in theworld”waspopular.During theSongDynasty(10–13thcenturies),a famousgeneral,YueFei, taughtShaolinKungfu tothearmies, fromwhichXingyi(HsingYi)kungfuandEagleClawkungfuwerederived.Xingyi kungfu, meaning “martial art of form and meaning”, uses twelve animal forms(dragon,tiger,monkey,horse,tortoise,cockerel,kite,swift,snake,hawk,eagle,bear)andfiveelementalprocesses(metal,water,wood,fire,earth).EagleClawkungfuisnotedfortheuseofitspowerfulfinger-griponanopponent’stendonsandenergypoints,effectivelynumbingorparalyzinghim,aspecializedartknownas“qin-na”inChinese.Figs5.1–5.2showatypicalpatternfromXingyiandEagleClawkungfu.

Fig5.1XingyiKungfu

Fig5.2EagleClawKungfu

TowardstheendoftheSongDynasty,aTaoistmaster,ZhangSanFeng,modifiedShaolinKungfu intoWudang (WuTang) kungfu,which later developed intoTaijiquan,Fig5.3.ThehallmarkofTaijiquanwhenaTaijisetisperformedisitsgentle,gracefulmovementsthat some people may mistake as Chinese ballet. But don’t be misled; these graceful,gentleTaijiquanmovementsareactuallydeadlyfightingpatterns.

Fig5.3APatternfromTaijiquan

In theYuanDynasty(13–14thcenturies),akungfugenius,BaiYiFeng, invitedShaolinmasters from all over the country back to Shaolin Monastery for demonstrations. Themasters of five styles were most prominent: Emperor’s style, Bodhidharma’s, Lohan’s,Crane, andMonkey. Thesemasters combined their arts into a single style calledWuzukungfu,whichmeans “martial art of five ancestors”.This style emphasizes chi training,internalforce,andnarrowstances,Fig5.4.

Fig5.4KungfuofFiveAncestors

In the Ming Dynasty (14–17th centuries), a secular disciple at the Shaolin Monastery,WangLang,foundthatbyusingsuitabletechniquesaprayingmantiscoulddefeatalarger-sized cicada.With the help of hismaster he invented PrayingMantis kungfu. Later hetravelled all over the country to incorporate other effective fighting techniques into hisstyle.PrayingMantiskungfu,Fig5.5,whichisacrystallizationofeighteenstyles,iswellknownforitskickingtechniques.

Fig5.5AKickofthePrayingMantis

Yet thegreatderivationofparentalShaolinKungfu intonumerousbrancheswas still tocome. In the Qing Dynasty (17–20th centuries), the imperial army razed the southernShaolinMonasteryatFujianasithadbecomeacentreofrevolutionaries.Shaolinmastersescaped underground to various parts of China, and to avoid the Qing armies, ShaolinKungfuwascalledbyvariousnames,usuallyafterthesurnamesofthemastersorafterthemost significant featuresofShaolinKungfu theparticularmasters emphasized.SomeofthesepopularderivativeShaolinstylesareHoongKa(Hongjia),Choy-Li-Fatt(Chai-li-fo),

WingChoon (YongChun),WhiteCrane,BlackTiger,Dragon style, andMonkey style.HoongKaKungfu is famous for its solid stances;Choy-Li-Fatt for long range fighting;WingChoonKungfu for economy ofmovements;WhiteCrane for long-reaching arms;BlackTigerforitstigerclaw;Dragonstyleforgracefulbody-work;andMonkeystylefordeceptiveagility.Figs5.6to5.12showatypicalpatternfromthesestyles.

Fig5.6SolidStanceofHoongKaKungfu

Fig5.7LongRangeofChoyLi-Fatt

Fig5.8ShortMovementsofWingChoon

Fig5.9Long-ReachingArmsofWhiteCrane

Fig5.10TigerClawofBlackTiger

Fig5.11GracefulnessofDragonStyle

Fig5.12AgilityoftheMonkey

TheFourDimensionsofKungfu

Therearefouraspectsordimensionsinkungfu:form,force,application,andtheory.

Form is the visible aspect; it refers to all the kungfu patterns and sets that abeginnernormallylearnswhenhestartskungfu.Throughthelearningofkungfuform,thestudentisexposedtothetechniquesthathecanuseforcombat.Askungfutechniquesarevastlydifferentfromordinarydailymovements,hehastoputinsufficientpracticesothatthesepreviouslyunfamiliarstancesandmovementsbecomefamiliartohim.Thenwhenhehastousethemincombatsituations,hecandosospontaneouslyandaccurately.

But form is only one aspect of kungfu. In many ways, it is the least importantaspect,thoughforabeginneritisessentialthatheknowssomekungfuform.Obviously,ifhelearnsonlykungfuformanddoesnotprogresstootherdimensionsofkungfu,hewillnotachievemuch,eventhoughhemayhavepractisedforalongtime.This,unfortunately,is the case with many students nowadays. They may perform kungfu form beautifully,evenwintitlesinkungfudemonstrations,buttheycannotfight,forthesimplereasonthattheyhaveneverlearnedtofight.

But before we can fight well, we must develop the necessary force to fight.“Force”,here, isapoorequivalentof theChinese term“gong” (pronouncedas“kung”),which also includes skills. Force is an invisible aspect. Perhaps this is one significantreasonwhymanystudentsneglectforcetraining.Kungfumastershavealwaysadvisedthat“if you only practise kungfu form, but never develop force, your trainingwill be futileevenifyoupractisealifetime.”

Forceisnotjustbrutalstrength.Infact,brutalstrengthisstronglydiscouragedinkungfu training. Force, or more appropriately “gong”, refers to how powerfully,accurately, and fast you execute techniques in combat, and also in your dailywork andplay.For convenience, forcemaybe classified into external and internal, and intobasicandspecialized.Forexample,appropriatebreathingmethodstoenhanceenergylevelandflowisinternalandbasicforcetraining;whiledevelopingIronPalmtoachieveapowerfulstrikeisexternalandspecialized.

The third dimension of kungfu is application, which is the functional aspect.Though actual fighting is not common in our law-abiding society today, an ability todefendourselvesiscertainlyaninvaluableasset.Perhapsmoremeaningfulisthefeelingofcourage and confidence that this self-defence ability provides and which can berewardinglymanifestedinourdailylives.

Kungfu application for combat has to be learned and practised. It is bothunreasonable and unrealistic to expect students to be able to defend themselves just byperformingkungfuformoreventrainingkungfuforce.YoumayhaveanIronPalm,butifyoucanonlyuseittobreakbricks,thenyourspecializedforceisnotverypractical.Andjustgivingstudentspairsofgloves to spar,withoutprovidingpropermethods to initiatethemfrompre-arrangedsparring tosimulatedfighting isasurewayofmaking themthe

laughingstockwhentheyfightlikesmallchildrenincompetitionrings.Studentsneedtobetaughthowtofightwell,andthereareexcellentmethodsinShaolinKungfutodoso,whichweshallstudyinChapters7to9.

Yetthebestapplicationofkungfuisnotjusttofight.Thequalitiesofagoodfighterthatwedevelopinkungfutraining—likecourage,calmness,soundjudgement,fluidityofmovements, and mental freshness— can be applied to make life more rewarding andmeaningfulforourselvesforandotherpeople.

Thefourthdimensionofkungfuistheory—thephilosophicalaspect.Thisincludesall the written and unwritten records of the histories, traditions, principles, methods,techniques,andphilosophyofkungfu.Someofthismaterialiswrittenorpasseddowninpoetry. The histories and traditions of various kungfu schools and masters provide thestudent with much inspiration and moral guidance. By studying the vast amount ofliteratureonkungfuprinciples,methods,andtechniques,weobtainaccesstoandgreatlyenrich ourselves with the results and discoveries of past masters in their studies andexperiments.We can benefit with the effort of a few days what took masters years todiscover.

The philosophy of kungfu involves not just fighting and health. Some of thematerialisamazinglyprofound,andconcernsmanandthecosmos,sometimesprecedingmodernscienceinwisdom.Shaolinmastershadprofoundknowledgeofcosmicandvitalenergylongbeforemodernphysicistsandmedicalscientistsusedsimilarconceptsintheirstudies of the sub-atomic particle and the inter-relationship of our body systems. Themasters deliberated on various concepts of mind long before ourmodern psychologistsrealized that there are different levels of consciousness. An understanding of suchphilosophynotonlyenhancesourkungfu,butalsoservesasagatewaytotheprofundityofeasternwisdom.

GeneralAimsofKungfu

Why do we practise kungfu? Surprisingly, many people practise kungfu without beingawareofitsaims.Eveniftheydo,theyseldomassesstheprogressoftheirkungfutraininginrelationtotheseaims,withtheunfortunateresultthattheyreceivelittleresultfromtheirundirectedandpurposelesstraining.

There are three main aims in practising Shaolin Kungfu: effective fighting,excellenthealth,andpersonalgrowth.Theseaimsalsoapplytoallstylesofkungfu.

Thefirstandprimaryaimofkungfuisforeffectivefighting,withoutwhichkungfu(anykungfu,includingthedeceptivelygentleTaijiquan)becomesmeaninglessasamartialart. Yet many instructors stress that their kungfu is not for fighting, and they wouldreprimandstudentswhosuggestincorporatingcombativeskillsintotheirpractice!Exceptfor specific,valid reasons—suchasbeingmodest, avoidingunnecessarychallenges,orpreventing aggressive students from abusing their art— these instructors do not knowwhat they are saying or do not mean what they say. Such mediocre instructors, whothemselvesdonotknowhowtoapplykungfuforfighting,contributetothepresentrapiddegradation of kungfu intowhatmasters have alwayswarned against, namely “floweryfistsandembroiderykicks”;thatis,adebasekungfuformthatisnicetolookatbututterlyuselessforcombat.

Ofcourse,tobeabletofightwellisdifferentfrombeingaggressiveorbrutal;nordoes it imply a desire to fight to prove one’s ability.But anypersonwhohas practisedkungfu for some time must be able to fight, otherwise he has failed to realize thefundamentalfunctionofkungfu.

However, we must also guard against the other extreme: actively encouragingkungfu students to fight and even taking sadistic pride in brutal combat efficiency.AlthoughaShaolinmasterisanexcellentfighter,hedoesnotliketofightifhecanhelpit;andifhehastofight,becauseheissomasterful,hecanshowhissuperiorfightingskillswithoutunnecessarilyhurtinghisopponent.Shouldhehavetokill,asinthepast,hewouldtryhisbesttodosoquickly,painlessly,andmercifully.AShaolinmasterwillnottorturehisopponent,evenifthelatterisamost-wantedcriminaloranarchenemy.

Thesecondaimofkungfuishealth—physical,emotional,mental,andspiritual.Itisinterestingtonotethatalthoughkungfuisanexcellentsystemforpromotinghealth,thehealth benefits are an incidental, not a primary, function of kungfu. In other words, astudent derives health benefits from practising kungfu, not because kungfu is speciallydesignedtopromotehealth,butbecausethesebenefitsareanincidentalbonus!Yetthesehealthbenefits are excellent, evenbetter thanwhathewouldget fromhealthpromotionexercises!Howdoesthisparadoxcomeabout?

This isbecauseof tworeasons: thebasicprerequisite forkungfu training isgoodhealth; and the requirement for efficient fighting is excellent health. Before any personeverthinksofstartingShaolinKungfu,heshouldfirstofallbehealthy.Ifnot,hehasto

strengthen himself first, like practising those chi kung exercises shown in the previouschapter.

Next,beingmerelyhealthylikeordinaryhealthypeopleisnotenough.AnefficientShaolinfighter,besidesotherthings,musthaveenoughstaminatosparforanhourortwowithoutfeelingtired,enoughpowertostrikedownanopponentwhomaybetwicehissize,enoughendurancetostandafewpunchesandkicksthathemayfailtodefend,speedandagilitysothathecanexecutereflexiveactions,andcalmnessandclarityofmindthathecanmakecorrectsplit-seconddecisions.Notmany,ifany,healthexercisesdevelopthesekinds of abilities as ShaolinKungfu does.Andwhenwe have developed these abilitiesthroughShaolinKungfutraining,wedon’thavetowastethemonpettyfighting;theycanbebetteremployedinourdailyworkandplay.

Hence,with thisunderstanding,wecanbetterappreciate that instructorswhosay“Mykungfuisonlyforhealth”(usuallyfollowedby“andnotforfighting”)arenotlikelytogiveusthebestbenefitsforhealth,evenifweignorethecombativeaspectofkungfu.Itis the training to become a good fighter that these qualities— like stamina, endurance,emotionalstability,andmentalfreshness,whicharesoinvaluabletohealth—arenurturedassecondnaturetotheShaolinKungfudisciple.

Furthermore,thehealthbenefitsyougetfromShaolinKungfuaresuperiortothoseyou get from ordinary physical exercises like jogging, swimming, games, and aerobics.Thereasonissimple.Thebenefitsyouderivefromphysicalexerciseswilldeteriorateonceyouhavepassedyourpeak,whereasthosefromgenuineShaolinKungfuwillbeenhanced,even as you age!Why?And how? Because in Shaolin Kungfu, the training is not justexternal,whichhasphysicallimits,butinternal,whichtranscendsthephysicalasittrainsenergyandmind.

The thirdaimofkungfu,whichelevatesShaolinKungfufrombeinganexcellentmartialarttoevengreaterheights,ispersonalgrowth.ShaolinKungfutrainingitselfisanintrinsicprocessofcharacterdevelopment.Astudentdevelopsspiritually,notjustbecauseofhis teachers’constantadviceandthestrictShaolinmoralcode,butmoresignificantlybecauseof thevariousdevelopmentalstageshehastogothroughinhis longdemandingjourneytobecomeamaster.

AgenuineShaolindisciplehasdisciplineandperseverancenotbecausehehasbeentoldbyhis teachersthat thesequalitiesarenecessaryforkungfutraining,butbecauseheexperiencesanddevelopsthesequalitieshimselfashe,forexample,wakesupdailyatfivein themorning,despite the luxuryofcosysleep, torepeatandrepeat thousandsof timessomemonotonoustechniquesnotforafewdaysormonths,butforyears.

Atanadvancedstage,hebecomescalmandcompassionate,notonlybecauseofthenurturinginfluenceof themonasticenvironmentandhiscaringseniors,butalsobecausehisharmoniousenergyflowfromconstantchikungpracticehasflushedoutallnegativeemotions, and his mental expansion from meditation enables him to open himself andsharecosmiclove.Andwhenhehasbecomeamaster,hefeelsspiritualblissnotbecausethescripturesmentionthatitisso,butbecausethroughhispracticeheactuallyexperiences

theboundlessjoyofhisspiritinunitywiththewholecosmos.

6:FORMANDFUNCTIONINMOTION

(TheFundamentalsofShaolinKungfu)

All patterns of all styles of kungfu (including Taijiquan) exist because of theircombative functions: thesepatterns, nomatterhow flowery theymayappear to theuninitiated,arenotputtheretopleasespectators.

GatewaytoShaolinForceTraining

Nowadays when a student learns kungfu, he usually starts with kungfu form, whichconsistsofpatternsandsets,andisthevisibleaspectofkungfu.Theotherthreeaspectsordimensionsofkungfuareforce,application,andtheory.

Inthepast,mastersnormallystartedwithforcetraining,andstudentshadtospendmonths repeating monotonous exercises to develop force or “gong” before they weretaught any fighting techniques. If you are game enough to try some force or “gong”training,thehorse-ridingstanceshowninFig6.1anddescribedbelowisagoodgatewaytoShaolinKungfu.

Fig6.1TheHorse-RidingStance

Forabeginner, it isbest to learn thestances fromaqualified instructor.Thedescriptionbelowonlymentionssomesalientpoints.Inthehorse-ridingstance,yourbodyshouldbeupright, and your thigh almost parallel to the ground. Relax, empty your mind of allthoughts,andbreathenaturally.Remainatthisstanceforaslongasyoucan,makingsurethat you do not raise higher as you become tired.Most beginnersmay last less than aminute,butpersistuntilyoucanstand(or“sit”)atthestanceforatleastfiveminutes.Thiswillprobablytakeafewmonthsofdailypractice.

Fig6.2Bow-ArrowStance

Fig6.3False-LegStance

Fig6.4UnicornStep

Fig6.5Single-LegStance

Practisetheotherstances:bow-arrow,false-leg,unicorn,andsingle-leg.SeeFig6.2to6.5abovefordetails.Thefollowingaresomecrucialpoints.

Inthebow-arrowstance,thebodyweightisdistributedequallybetweenbothlegs.Bothfeet(especiallytakenoteofthebackfoot)arefirmlyontheground.Thebendofthefrontkneeisforwardratherthansideway;thebackkneeisstraight.Boththefrontfootandtheback foot should“hook” inward, i.e., ifyou turn from thehorse-riding stance to theright to formtherightbow-arrowstance, turnyourright footabout forty-fivedegrees tothe right, and your left foot about sixty degrees to the right. Your body should facesquarelyinthedirectionofyoureyes.

Inthefalse-legstance,itisveryimportantnottosupportanybodyweightonyourfront“false”leg.Thetoesofyourfrontlegjusttouchtheground,withlessthantenpercentof the body weight. Both knees are bent. Make sure that you do not bend your bodybackward.Adjustyourselfsothatyoufeelyourcentreofgravityisatyour“dantian”,i.e.,aboutthreeinchesbelowyournavel.

The unicorn stance, sometimes called the unicorn step, is quite difficult forbeginners.Guardagainstthecommonmistakeofthrowingyourbodyforward,withmuchof thebodyweighton the front leg.Onebentknee shouldbeplaced in thenotchat theback of the other bent knee. This can be more readily achieved if your feet are wideenoughapart, yourbackheel raised, andyou sit “backward”onto the stance rather thanbending forward over your front leg.Your centre of gravity should be located betweenyourfeet(notdirectlyabovethefrontfootwhichisacommonmistakeamongbeginners),aboutathirdorhalfwayfromthefrontfoot.

Yourbodyshouldbefairlystraightwhenyoustandatthesingle-legstance.Yourstandinglegmaybestraightorslightlybentattheknee.Theraisedlegshouldbefullybentwith the toes pointing downwards (not in front) to protect your groin. Maintain your

balance.

Makesurethatyoucanperformthesestanceswellfortheyformthebasicfootworkof ShaolinKungfu, and the horse-riding stance is the foundation ofmost force trainingmethods.

After the stances, it is important to practise suitable leg stretching exercises topreventyourlegmusclesfrombecomingstiff,sothatyouwillnotonlyhavesolidstances,butyourlegsarealsosupple.Fig6.6showssomeexamplesoflegstretchingexercisesthatyoumayuse.

Fig6.6LegStretchingExercises

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

Whenyoucanstandat thehorse-ridingstancecomfortablyforat leastfiveminutes,youmay proceed to train the “Art of One-Finger Shooting Zen”, which is the fundamentalmethod of developing internal force in our Shaolin Wahnam School, briefly describedbelow:

Fig.6.7One-FingerShootingZen

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

Thewholetrainingisperformedonthehorse-ridingstance.HoldonehandinthetypicalShaolinOne-FingerZenformatbreastlevel,Fig6.7(a).MovetheOne-FingerZenformslowly forward, simultaneously breathing outwith a “shss ...” sound coming from yourkidneys,Fig6.7(b).BringtheOne-FingerZenformbacktothebreastlevel,breathingingently, Fig 6.7 (c). Repeat twice, then shoot out the One-Finger Zen, breathing outexplosivelywitha“her-it”soundcomingfromyourabdomen,Fig6.7(d).Makeasmallcircleinfrontofyouwitha“tiger-claw”,Fig6.7(e),thenbringthetiger-clawdownwardstobelowyourkneewitha“yaa...”soundvibratingatyourlungs,Fig6.7(f).Breatheoutwitha“ha...”sound,relaxingyourwholebody.Repeatwiththeotherhand.Thenrepeatthewholeprocessmanytimes.

Whenyouarefamiliarwiththemechanicsoftheexercise,channelinternalforcetoyourfingerwiththerelevantmovement.Thisaspectofinternalforcechannelling,aswellashowtomaketheappropriatesoundsfromtherespectiveorgans,havetobepersonallytaughtbyamasterorqualifiedinstructor.

Theterm“kungfu”isactuallyderivedfromtheprocessofforcetraining;learningtechniques isbetterexpressedby the term“quanfa”,whichmeans techniquesof the fist.Forcetrainingisextremelydemanding,withtheresultthatstudentslackingself-discipline—andmostbeginnerslackself-discipline—dropoffeasily.

Inthepast,mastersweregenerallynotworriedifstudentsdroppedoff,astheydidnot depend on their students for their livelihood. But the situation is quite differentnowadays when instructors live on students’ fees. Probably because of this, moderninstructorsarenotasdemanding,andmanyofthemevenhavedoneawaywithinitialforcetraining,startingoff theirstudentswithkungfupatternsrightat thebeginning,apracticewhichcanmakekungfupracticeeasierbutwhichisnotnecessarygoodforgenuinekungfutraining.

BlackTigerandDrunkenMan

Akungfupatternisakungfumovement,oraseriesofmovements.Ifyoustandata leftbow-arrow stance and strike out a straight right punch at heart level, Fig 6.8, this is apattern;andthispatternisverycommoninmanystylesofmartialart.InShaolinKungfu,everypatternhasaname,whichisoftenmeaningfulandpoetic.Thisparticularpatterniscalled“BlackTigerStealsHeart”.

Fig6.8BlackTigerStealsHeart

A particular pattern provides a student with some of the best ways to achieve certaincombative purposes. There are countless ways a person can strike his opponent with astraightpunch.Hemay,forinstance,standwithbothfeetfairlyclosetogetherinsteadofwideapartas in thebow-arrowstance,orhemay launchhisbodyforward togiveextraweightinsteadofholdingituprightasinthestanceabove.

Itwas probable that early fighters punched in thisway as this ismore “natural”thantheBlackTigerpattern.Butgraduallyfightersdiscoveredfromtheirexperiencethatthis “natural”way had numerous setbacks, and other “learned”waysmight give certainadvantages.Forexample,iftheystoodnaturallywithfeetfairlyclosetogether,theyonlyhadashortreach;andiftheylaunchedtheirbodyforward,theywouldlosetheirbalancemoreeasily.Hence,themoreenterprisingfightersmightexperimentwithplacingonelegforwardastheystruck,andkeepinganuprightposturetohavebettercontrolofbalance.

Throughyearsoftrialanderror,pastmastersimprovedtheirfightingtechniques.Itwasalong,tediousprocess,butgraduallytheydiscoveredthatattackinganddefendingincertainspecialwaysgavecertainadvantagesforspecificpurposes,andtheystylizedthesemovementsintokungfupatterns.“BlackTigerStealsHeart”representsacrystallizationofmanyyearsofsuchexperimentation:byusingthispatternwhenmakingastraightattack,theattackercanhavemanytechnicaladvantagesinmostsituations.

However, in more complex situations— like when you have to deflect a highattackfromoneopponent,avoida lowattackfromasecondopponent,andstrikea thirdopponent all at the same time— another pattern, like the one shown in Fig 6.9 and isknown as “DrunkenManOffersWine”,may give better advantages.Why, then, dowebother to learn simple patterns like the Black Tiger whenwe could start with complexpatterns straight away, even thoughwemay take a longer time to learn these complexpatterns?Wouldn’titbelogicaltolearnonlythebestpatterns?

Fig6.9DrunkenManOffersWine

Whenwe learnakungfuset,weareactually learning thebestpatternswithreference tosomespecialobjectives.Akungfusetisacollectionofkungfupatternslinkedtogetherinsomemeaningfulways.

While theDrunkenMan in the above example is preferred to theBlackTiger incertain situations, in other situations theBlackTiger can serve our purposes better. Forexample, it requires good balance to execute the Drunken Man well, and unless theexponenthasdevelopedinternalforce,theDrunkenMan’sstrike,evenifithits,maynotbedecisive.Hence,forabeginnerwhoisnotlikelytomeetcomplexsituationsoften,thesimplerBlackTigerisabetterpattern.

CombativeFunctionsofFloweryPatterns

Many students, and some instructors, say that most Shaolin Kungfu patterns are tooflowery to be practical for combat, thinking that themost effective techniques are fast,simplepunches,andkicks.Thismisconception is theresultof insufficientunderstandingof the profundity of Shaolin Kungfu. All patterns of all styles of kungfu (includingTaijiquan) exist because of their combative functions: these patterns, no matter howflowerytheymayappear to theuninitiated,arenotput there topleasespectators.If theyarebeautifultowatch(infacttheyare),thatisahappycoincidence.

Fast, simplepunchesandkicksareuseful for simplesituations.But ifa situationbecomesmorecomplex,likewhenanopponenthasgraspedyourpunchorkick,andhaspinnedyoutothegroundwithyourarmorlegentangled,youneedamorecomplexpatterntoovercomethissituation.InShaolinKungfu,therearetechniquestoovercomevirtuallyanysituation.Itisnaivetosuggestthatyouropponentisnotfastenoughtocatchyourarmorleg.Ifheisamaster,hewillnotonlybefastenough,hewillalsocreateopportunitieswherecatchingyourarmorlegbecomesacertainty.

Moststudentsdonotknowenoughkungfuprinciplesandtechniquestobeabletochoose from the vast kungfu repertoire, the appropriate patterns for practice and use.Beginnersdonotevenknowhowtostandandstrikeordefendinparticularwayssoastogaintechnicaladvantages.Amasterovercomestheseproblemsforhisstudentsbyteachingthemappropriatekungfusets.Akungfuset representsameaningfulselectionof thebestkungfu movements for some well-defined objectives, evolved by past masters overhundreds of years.When you learn a ShaolinKungfu set, for instance, you are not justlearningsomepersonalactionsofyour instructor,youare inheritinga legacyof fightingtechniquesofanestablishedinstitution.

MostShaolinKungfusetsarecomparativelyshort,consistingofabout36patterns;others are intermediate, about 72 patterns; while some are long, about 108 patterns.Kungfusetsareusuallygivenmeaningfulandsometimespoeticnames.SomeexamplesofShaolin sets are “Cross-Roads at the FourGates”, “Tiger andCrane”, “Plum Flowers”,“SevenStars”,and“Dragon’sStrength”.

FormationandStructureofKungfuSets

Whataretheimportantprinciplesunderlyingtheformationandstructureofkungfusets?The various patterns in a set are linked together for one, some, or all of the followingreasons.

Amaster discovered some favourite patterns that he founduseful for combat. Inordertofacilitatehispractice,helinkedthemintoasequence,sothathemightnothavetoscratchhisheadtryingtorecallwhichpatternshehadmissed.Theseusefulpatterns,whichmighthavetakenthemasteryearstodevelop,nowcometousinakungfuset.

From their experience in actual fighting or in sparring practice, past mastersdiscoveredthatparticularattackingpatternswerelikelytobefollowedbycertainpreferredpatterns, because these preferred patterns were best suited to meet these attacks. Forexample, if yougiveyour opponent a straight punch—unless he is amasterwhomayrespondinanextraordinarymanner,orafreshbeginnerwhomayjustbestunned—mostprobably your opponentwould block or dodge your attack, and theway he blocks anddodgesgenerallyfallswithinasmallrangeofafewalternativemovements.Themasters,therefore, could anticipate the likely counters their opponents wouldmake. In this waytheydevisedshortsequencesofcontinuouspatterns,andlinkedthesesequencesintoaset.Hence,whenyoulearnagoodkungfuset,youarenotjustlearningthephysicalform,butalsoallthestrategiesandprinciplesunderlyingthearrangementoftheconstituentpatterns.

Selectingtheappropriatepatternstoteachhisstudentsisanimportantfunctionofamaster.Fromhisreservoirofcountlesspatternshewouldchoosethosethatsuitthelevelofhis students (elementary, intermediate, or advanced), and the objectives of the training(specializingonthrows,meetingabigger-sizedopponent,counteringkicks,etc.).Thenhelinkstheseappropriatepatterns,preferablyinappropriatesequences,intoaset.Thistaskismadesomucheasierifpastmastershavedoneitforhim,asintheShaolintraditionwheretherearesomanysetstochoosefrom.

AdvancedstudentsoftenspecializeinspecifickindsofkungfuforcelikeIronPalm,TigerClaw,orNo-ShadowKicks.Obviously,ifastudenthasspentthreeyearseverydaystrikinghispalmintosomeironfilingtodevelophisIronPalm,itwouldbeunwiseofhimto practise patterns that involve a lot of rolling on the floor or jumping in the air —patternsthataresuitableforthosewhospecializeontheMonkeyandtheEaglestyles.Hismaster, or the advanced student himself,would select patterns thatmake full use of thepalms, and link them into a set consisting of techniques that can best implement hisspecializedforce.

Specialsetsarenotforadvancedstudentsonly.Manybeginners,becauseoftheirdifferentnaturesordifferentneeds,mayrequirespecialsets.Forexample,itwouldbebothimpracticalandunprofessionalforaninstructortoteachhighkickingtechniquestoyounggirlswholovewearingtightskirts,ortotellthemtohardentheirarmsagainstroughpolessothattheycouldblockapowerfulattackfromabrutewithequalforce.Aknowledgeable

masterwouldconstructsuitablepatternsintoaspecialsetthatcanenablethegirlstomakegooduseoftheirnaturalconditions,suchaslowkickingtechniquestotheopponent’sshin(wherebytheirtightskirtsbecomeanadvantageinbracingtheirthighssothatthekickingmomentum snaps from their knees); and deflecting (instead of blocking) the opponent’sattackso thatbrutal forcecanbeneutralizedwithminimumstrength.ShaolinKungfu isrichinsuchsets.

Some sets are devised for force training, not for fighting techniques. Often thepatternsinthesesetsareperformedwiththestudentremainingstationaryonahorse-ridingstance or a goat-stance (which is higher and narrower than a horse-riding stance).Sometimesthepatternsareperformedslowlyorseeminglywithoutusinganystrength.Soif you have laughed at Shaolin students performing kungfu patterns on a horse-ridingstance, saying that in actual fighting you don’t remain stationary like that, or the widestancewouldexposeyourgrointotheopponent’skick,youprobablyhaveananswernow.Shaolinstudentsalsonormallydon’tfight in thatmanner; thesehorse-ridingpatternsaremeant to develop kungfu force as a preparation for fighting, not meant as fightingtechniques themselves.And if amaster exposes his groin during fighting, beware! It islikelytobeatrap.

Don’tbeDeceivedbySlow,GracefulMotion

It is a mistake to think that if an exponent performs his patterns slowly or apparentlywithout strengthwhenhepractiseshiskungfu set, hewillbe equally slowor lacking inforce during combat. Imade thatmistakewhen I learnedWuzu kungfu inmy youngerdays.WithmyearlierexperienceinHoongKakungfu,wheremymasteralwaysaskedmetousestrengthduringtraining,IwasgreatlypuzzledwhenmyWuzuinstructorconstantlyreminded me not to use strength when practising my San-Zhan set. The San-Zhan,meaning “ThreeBattles”, is a fundamentalWuzu kungfu set to train internal force.Butalthough I hadpractised theSan-Zhan formore than ayear, I didnothave any internalforce.

Inhindsight,Inowrealizethatthefaultwasnotwiththeset,butwithme:Ididnotunderstand the inner aspect of the set sufficiently to derive the best benefit from mypractice.Ibegantohavedoubt.Iaskedmyself,“Howcouldsomeoneeverfighteffectivelyifhedidnotusestrength?”ButwhenIsparredwithmyseniors,whodidnotusestrength,they were so powerful that my arms were often swollen. There was no doubt that myseniorshadinternalforce.

“Howcomeyourarmsaresopowerful?”Iasked.

“PractiseSan-Zhan,”theysaid.

ManyyearslaterIhadsomeglimpsesof this intriguingquestion.Returningfromthepalace,myShaolinmaster,SifuHoFattNam,toldmehehadjusttaughttheSultantheShaolinPakuaset.Thishappenstobeoneofmyfavouritesets,andisperformedfastandvigorously.

“Wouldn’tthisPakuasetbetoovigorousforHisHighness?”Iasked.

“No,ifitispractisedslowlyandgracefully,andwithproperbreath-coordination,itisexcellentforHisHighness’health.”

Andmymaster explained some very significant points. “For us,we perform thePakuasetwithspeedandpowertobenefitfromitsexcellentcombataspect,forthatiswhatweneed.Wearenotworriedaboutitshealthaspect,becausewearealreadyveryhealthyandfit.HisHighnessdoesn’tneedthecombataspect,butthehealthaspectserveshimverywell.”

My master opened a fascinating new dimension of Shaolin Kungfu hithertounknowntomewhenheshowedmehowtheShaolinPakuasetcouldbeperformedslowlytogenerateinternalenergyflow.Hecontinued,“MostpeoplethinkthatShaolinKungfuishard.Thatisonlytheelementarystage.Allgoodmartialarthashardandsoftaspects.Anymartial art that has only one aspect is not complete, and hence inadequate. Shaolinproceedsfromhardtosoft,whileTaijiquanproceedsfromsofttohard.AdvancedShaolincanbeverysoft.”

I later discovered that inmany advancedkungfu sets, the patterns are performedslowly because, in conjunction with a meditative state of mind, this is a good way toinduceinternalenergyflow.Whenenergyisflowingsmoothly,themovements,whicharefirst initiatedslowly,canbeexceedinglyfast,sofast thatanonlookercanhardlyseethemovements. Many spectators were surprised when I employed this principle todemonstratetheDragon’sStrengthsetasaguest-artisteinapublicperformanceorganizedbytheScienceUniversityofMalaysiaKungfuClubsomeyearsago.Thiswaswhatgreatmasters in the past meant when they said, “Let mind lead energy, and let energy leadform.”ManyTaijimastersregardthisasthepinnacleofachievementinTaijiquan.

Cross-RoadsatFourGates

Usingmindandinternalenergytoperformakungfusetis,ofcourse,anadvancedstage;initially, muscles and mechanical strength are used. The first kungfu set taught to themonks at the southern ShaolinMonastery in Chinawas called the “Cross-Roads at theFourGates”,or“ShiZiSiMenQuan”inChinese.IamveryfortunatethatthishistoricsethasbeentransmitteddownmyShaolinlineageandwastaughttomebymymaster,SifuHoFattNam.Thethirty-sixpatternsofthecompletesetareshownindiagramsinthechartinFig6.10,and thedirectionsofmovements inFig6.11.Understandably, it isdifficult,especiallyforbeginners,tolearnfromdiagrams.

Fig6.10Cross-RoadsatFourGates

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Thenamesofthethirty-sixpatternsarelistedbelow:

1.DragonandTigerAppear

2.DoubleStarsOntotheEarth

3.ThriceThreadingofBridge

4.AmitabhaPalm

5.FlowerHiddeninSleeves

6.PoisonousSnakeEmergesfromPit

7.SingleDragonEmergesfromSea

8.BartheBigBoss

9.CarryingtheInsignia

10.Horse-RidingPunch

11.SingleTigerClaw

12.PhoenixFlapsWing

13.BeautyLooksatMirror

14.Tiger-TailHand-Sweep

15.BlackTigerStealsHeart




19.ThreadingtheBridgeatBow-Arrow


21.SingleWhipSavesEmperor




25.ThreadingtheBridgeatBow-Arrow


27.SharpKnifeTrimsBamboo

28.LohanHitsGong

29.CatchTigerinMountains(right)

30.CatchTigerinMountains(left)

31.CannonfromGround

32.Organ-SeekingKick


34.WhiteCraneFlapsWings

35.DragonandTigerMeetTogether

36.HidingTwoTigers

Becauseoflinguisticandculturaldifferences,thetranslatednamesofsomepatternsmayappearridiculous,thoughinChinesetheyaremeaningfulaswellaspoetic.Forexample,the literal translation of Pattern 25 is “Midnight Noon Thread Bridge”, which isnonsensical ifwedonotunderstandtheChineselanguage.“MidnightNoon”is theshortform of “midnight noon stance”, which is another name for the bow-arrow stance.“Thread” refers to aparticularkungfu techniquewhereby theexponent canuseminimalforce todeflect apowerful attack. “Bridge” is akungfu term for the forearm.Hence, in

more comprehensible but lengthy language, this pattern can be named “Standing at thebow-arrow stance to use a deflecting technique with minimal force at the opponent’sforearmtoneutralizehisattack”!

Thesalientpointsofkungfusetsarefrequentlysummarizedbypastmastersintheformofpoetry,oftenwithdeep,hiddenmeaningscomprehensibleonlytotheinitiated.ThefollowingpoemveilssomeinterestingsecretsoftheFourGatesset.

ShaolinFourGatestrainsbridgesandstances

Secretsarefoundinflowersinthesleeves

BlocktheBossandCarryInsigniawithpunches

PhoenixFlapitsWingstorustleleaves

ToHittheGonginunexpectedslantingmotion

ToSeektheOrgan,showtheshadowhand

ThemarvelofCatchingTigersintheMountains

Onlyfromthemastercanstudentsunderstand

Although this Cross-Roads at Four Gates is a basic set taught to beginning Shaolinstudents, itcanbeappreciatedatmany levels.At theelementary level, theset issimple,with themainobjectiveof training fundamentalarmmovementand footwork.Akungfuprincipleadvisesthatformostordinarycombatsituations,ifyour“bridges”arepowerfulandstancessolid,youhavewonthirtypercentevenbeforefightingbegins.

Attheintermediatelevel,thecombativeapplicationofitspatternsisfascinating.Itis amazing that these seemingly simple techniques can be so artistically and beautifullyusedtoneutralizemanycomplicatedattacks.Forexample,presumethatasyoustrikewithaBlackTiger,averycommonattack,youropponentgripsyourwrist,tripsyourfrontleg,andpressesdownatyourelbowwithhisotherhand,threateningtobreakordislocateyourelbowjoint,whileyousprawl forwardwithyourotherhandbarelypreventingyour facefromsmashingontotheground,Fig6.12.Orpresumethatyouropponentgripsbothyourwrists and executes a thrust kick at your chest, Fig 6.13.Howwould you counter suchattacks?

Fig6.12LohanTamesaTiger

Fig6.13WhiteHorsePresentsHoof

Ifyouthinkthatsuchattacksdonotoccurinarealfightbecausetheyaretoocomplicatedto execute, you aremistaken.When Iwas training under SifuHo, even senior studentsoftenusedsuchattacksonme.ForaShaolinmaster,applyingthese“complicated”attacksis quite easy. Read the next chapter and treat yourself to the fascination of Shaolinapplication.

7:FIGHTINGINBEAUTIFULMOVEMENTS

(KungfuApplicationforCombat)

A kungfu exponent moves the way he moves, not because he wants to pleasespectators,butbecausethatwaygiveshimthebest technicaladvantagesinspecificcombat situations. His kungfu form is the result of, and practised for, effectivefighting; not devised for attractive demonstration, though to the uninitiated manykungfupatternsmayappearflowery.

TheCombativeFunctionofKungfu

Theprimaryfunctionofkungfu,anytypeofkungfu,isforfighting,thoughinourpresentlaw-abidingsocietythismaynotbeitsmostimportantbenefit.Thiscombativefunctionofkungfu can never be over-emphasized, for without it kungfu as a martial art loses itsmeaning.

Yet it is simply shocking that nowadays so many people learn or teach kungfuwithoutever touchingon thiscombativefunction.Of the thousandsofkungfustudentsIhavemet,morethaneightypercenthavenevereversparred,evenamongtheirclassmates!With the present world situation where most kungfu competitions today are based ondemonstrationratherthansparring,thisunfortunatetrenchislikelytocontinue.Thisbringsforthapitifulsenseofwaste,forkungfuisactuallyawonderfulfightingart—ifweknowitscombativeapplication.

Ofcourse, stressing thecombative functionofkungfudoesnotnecessarily implyencouraging kungfu students to fight. In fact, I am of the opinion that some kungfustudents and instructors become aggressive because of their conscious or unconsciousattempttocoveruptheircombatinefficiency.Inmyexperience,kungfumasterswhocanfight well are generally humble and peaceful people, farmore serene and tolerant thanmasters of most other martial systems, probably because they are so confident of theirfightingabilitiesthattheyfeelnoneedtofightorsparforconfirmation.

Accordingtolegend,adisciplefromthesouthernShaolinMonasteryhadtofighthis way through a hundred and eight wooden robots before he could graduate. Thesewooden robots were so ingeniously constructed that they executed some tricky andadvancedattackingtechniquesbesidesallthecommonfightingmovements.SoaShaolingraduatewhosuccessfullypassedthroughthisfamous“Laneof108WoodenRobots”wasnecessarilyaformidablefighter.

Patterns,Variations,andSequences

OfthemanyexcellentmethodstoteachfightingskillsinShaolinKungfu,abasicapproachis to explain and demonstrate to students the combative functions of every pattern of akungfusetthattheyhavecompetentlylearned.Inmyteaching,Ioftenaskedmystudentswhat they thought were the applications of their kungfu patterns before I explained tothem.InthiswayIsetthemthinking,layingahelpfulfoundationwherebytheycouldlaterdiscovertheusesofotherpatternsthemselves.

Knowingtheusesisonlythebeginning;studentsmustpractiseusingthesepatternsincombat. Inotherwords, it isnotenough just toknow that thispatterncanbeused tododgeakick,andthatpatterntolockanopponent’sarm;studentsmustactuallypractisedodgingkicksandlockingarms,notjustonceortwice,buthundredsoftimes.

Unlessheisincompetent,whenanopponentkicksyouoryoutrytolockhisarm,he isnotgoing to remainstill to letyoucompleteyourmovesuninterrupted,as isoftenshowninmartialartmagazinesorevenlivedemonstrations.Intheoryhisnextmovesarelimitless;butinpractice,theyfallwithinarangeofpossibilitiesthatcanbeanticipatedbyanexperiencedmaster.

Thenextstageistolearnandpractisethe“variations”ofthekungfupatterns.Theterm “variations” as used here is translated fromChinese, and refers not to the variousways a particular pattern can be performed, but the various likely follow-up patterns akungfuexponentwoulduseimmediatelyafterhehasexecutedaparticularpattern.

For example, after I dodge an opponent’s kick, a likely pattern hewould use tofollowupwithisastraightpunch.Hencemyvariationisapatterncalled“LohanHittingaGong”,movingforwarddiagonallytomeetandpushawayhispunchingarm,andstrikinghimatthesametime.Itislikelyforhimto“float”myarmandstrikemysideribsthatare(purposely)exposed.Ifollowupwith“SavetheEmperorwithaSingleWhip”,strikinghiselboworextendedarm.Heis likely tomovehisarmawayandstrikemyface(which isprobablythebestpartofmybodyforhimtoattackinthissituation)withhisotherhand.Accordingly,Ifollowupwith“HidingFlowersintheSleeves”and“SingleDragon”inonesmoothcontinuousmovement,blockinghisattackandthenstrikinghim.PleaseseeFigs7.1to7.7.

Fig7.1–7.7AVariationfromHittingGong

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Theshortsequenceofpatternsmentionedaboveisavariationofmydodgingakick.AllthesepatternsarefoundintheShaolinset,“CrossRoadsatFourGates”.Noticethatinthisvariation,Iuseonlymyrighthandthroughout,whichisoneofthefundamentalprinciplesofarmuseinthisbasicset.Inthisexample,Icaneffectivelyuseonlyonearmtocountertheopponent’suseofbothhandsandakick.

Ofcourse,inarealfight,theopponentmaynotreactinthewayanticipatedabove,thoughthatwayisoneof themost logical ifhe is toexploit technicaladvantagesof theexistingsituations.Theopponent,forexample,mayfollowwithasecondkick,insteadofapunch;orhemayjustmovebackafterthefirstkick.Eitherway,Icanstillfollowupwith“LohanHittingaGong”.HemaydodgemyLohan fistorblock itwith force insteadof“floating”itup.Istillcancontinuewith“SingleWhip”;inthiscase,hittinghisribsinsteadofhiselbow,andmovingmybodyslightlyforwardinsteadofbackasinthepreviouscase.Theopponentmayblockmyarm,orgripitwithoneorbothhands,andyetIcancarryonwith“HidingFlowers”and“SingleDragon”.Ifthekungfuexponentisexpedient,hecanusethesamevariationeveniftheopponentreactsdifferently.PleaseseeFigs7.8to7.14.

Fig7.8-14AnotherApplicationofHittingGong

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Nevertheless,iftheopponent’sresponsesarevastlydifferent,suchasaftertheinitialkick

hejumpstoattackmyheadorsquatsdowntograspmyleg,thenIhavetoemployanothervariation. Generally if a kungfu exponent is familiar with some variations, it is oftenadequatetohandlemostcommoncombatsituationsthatissuefromthatparticularpattern.To simplify matters for students, past masters have arranged these variations intoappropriateshortsequencesconsistingofafewlikelypatterns.

Oneinterestingquestioniswhetherkungfuexponentsmustfightinstylisticform.Cantheyfight“naturally”,withoutgoingintosuchelaboratestancesandpatterns?Itmustbeemphasizedagain that ina fight,oreven in routineformpractice,akungfuexponentmovesthewayhemoves,notbecausehewantstopleasespectators,butbecausethatwaygiveshimthebesttechnicaladvantagesinspecificcombatsituations.Hiskungfuformistheresultof,andpractisedfor,effectivefighting,notdevisedforattractivedemonstration,thoughtotheuninitiated,manykungfupatternsmayappearflowery.

These combativekungfupatternshavebeendeveloped through the ages, andareusuallynotspontaneous to thosewhohavenotpractised them. Inotherwords, for thosepeople who have never practised kungfu, it is “unnatural” for them to fight the way akungfumasterwould fight.Unlessyouhavepractised thesekungfumovementswell forcombat,youwillfindyourselfveryclumsy,sometimescomical,whenyoutrytousetheminafight,evenifyoutheoreticallyknowtheircombatapplication.Mymasteradvisedmethat“youdon’tlearnkungfu;youpractiseit.”

SomeAmazingApplications

LetusexaminesomeofthecombatapplicationsofthekungfupatternsfoundinthebasicShaolin set, “Cross Roads at the Four Gates”. There is at least one useful function foreverykungfupattern;otherwisethatpatternwouldhavebeeneliminated.Usuallytherearemanyfunctionsforonepattern,but in thedescriptionbelow,spacepermits thatonly themainpointsofoneortwoapplicationsarementioned.

Shaolin disciples are very courteous; even in a fight they need not have to beimpolite.“DragonandTigerAppear” isaShaolingreeting,even to theopponent.But ifyouropponenttriestoholdyourtwoarms,youcanusethispatterntoreleasehishold,andatthesametimejabintohisneckwithyourleftpalm,punchhisjawwithyourrightfist,andstrikehisgroinwithyourleftknee.

If the opponent grabs you from your back, surrounding your bodywith his twoarms, you can release the hold with “Double Stars to the Earth”, followed by “ThriceThreadingofBridge”toseparatehishands.

The“AmitabhaPalm”isaneffectivewaytoreleaseagriponyourwrist.Youcaneffecttherelease“frominside”or“fromoutside”,Fig7.15.Followupwithastrikeathischestorface,pushingawayhisarmoutwardlyorinwardlyrespectivelyasyoustrikeout.Itis not easy for anyone to hold you, if you know Shaolin Kungfu application.Philosophically, this symbolizes that theShaolinarts canhelpyou to freeyourself fromanyconstrainingsituationsinlife.

Fig7.15ReleasingaGripwithAmitabhaPalm

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Just like many things in life can be very profound though they appear simple on thesurface, many deceptively simple looking Shaolin patterns are amazing in their uses.“FlowersHidden inSleeves” is an example.Let us look at two interesting applications.Supposesomeonegripsyourneckfrombehindwithbothhands.Turnabout,swingyourarmround,andlockbothhisarmswith“FlowersHiddenintheSleeves”,Fig7.16to7.18.Yousee,itisnoteasytostrangleaShaolindisciple,evenfrombehind.

Figs7.16–18FlowersintheSleeves

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Youropponenthasgrippedyourrightwristwithhisrighthandandtrippedyourfrontleg,sendingyousprawlingforward.Whenhehitsdownhardatyour leftelbowwithhis leftpalm, he may dislocate or break it. But don’t worry — if you know Shaolin Kungfuapplication.Moveyourleftfootslightlyforwardtoregainbalance,and“HideFlowersinyour Sleeves”. Notice how easily this simple movement neutralizes his seeminglyintractable attack. By moving your left foot slightly, you have changed the fulcrum ofattackonyourrightelbow,sothatwhenhepressesitwithhislefthandtodislocateit,itturnsout thatheisactuallyhelpingyoutoexecuteyourpattern,andifheisnotcareful,nowitbecomeshisturntolosebalance!Asyoujerkdownyourelbowandturnyourarminthe“HidingFlowers”pattern,youropponenthastoreleasehisholdonyourrightwrist,orelsehiswristwillbedislocatedorhesuffersexcruciatingpain.Presenthima“SingleDragon”(i.e.apunch)tohisface.Pleasesee7.19to7.22.

Fig7.19–22Neutralizingan“Intractable”Attack

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“PoisonousSnakeEmergesfromPit”and“SingleDragonEmergesfromSea”aresimpleattackingpatternswiththepalmandthefist.Butamastercanusethesesimplepatternsinsomeamazingways.Forexample,anoviceswingsaround-housekickatamaster.Insteadofblockingordodging,themasterjustswiftlymovesinwitha“SingleDragon”,strikingthenovice’sabdomen.Theround-housekick,whichisactuallyaclumsyattack,especiallybyanovice,willnothit themaster,becausebefore ithas travelledhalf itsdistance, themaster’sthrustpunchwillhavesentthenovicetumblingbackward.

“Bar theBigBoss” is a useful technique to deflect an opponent’s frontal attack,especially when your arm is already extended forward. It is also an amazingly simpletechniquetocounterseeminglyunmanageableattacks, likewhenyouropponent,holdingyourarmsapart,givesyouaright thrustkick toyourchest.Turnyourbody tositat thesidewayshorse-ridingstance,jerkingyourelbowdownsothatyourforearmdeflectsyouropponent’srightthigh.Theturningofyourarmsasyouloweryourselfintoyoursidewayshorse-riding stance will release your opponent’s hold on your arms. As he kicks, youpunch.Hiskickwillnotreachyoubecauseyouhavedeflectedhisthigh,andalsoyouhaveturnedyourbodysideways.Youcaneasilyhithisgenitals,butforcompassionatereasons,strikehisabdomeninstead,Fig7.23–25.

Fig7.23–25HittingYourOpponentasHeAttacks

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CatchingTigersinMountains

When you attackwith a “Horse-Riding Punch”, you opponentmay counter with a lowattack toyourexposedside ribs.Bringyourelbowbackwith“Carrying the Insignia” toblockhisattack,turningyourbodyslightlyforbettereffect,withoutmovingyourlegs.Ifsomeoneisclosebehindyou,aftermakingsureheisanenemyandnotalovedone,youcanusethispatternasanelbowstrike.

“SingleTigerClaw”isusedtogriptheopponent’swrist,andappliedbyamasterwithinternalforce,hecannumborparalysetheopponent’sarm.“PhoenixFlapsWing”isaclose-bodyelbowattack.

Asimpleway toblocka frontalstrike is touse“BeautyLooksatMirror”. If theopponentwithdraws his attacking hand, you can follow throughwith “Tiger-TailHand-Sweep”tostrikehim.Completethecoupdegracewithasimplebutpowerful“BlackTigerStealsHeart”.

Although it lookssimple,“Threading theBridgeatBow-Arrow”canbeadeadlypattern.After“threading”,ordeflecting,anopponent’sattack,followthroughwithastrikeatavitalpointnearhisarmpitwhilehisarmisstillextendedforward.

When your opponent executes a thrust kick, step backward slightly to avoid hiskick,butnottoofarthatyoulosecontact,andstrikehisshinwitha“SingleWhip”.“SharpKnifeTrimsBamboo” is a useful double palmattack to theopponent’s side. In “LohanHitsGong”,thegongisyouropponent’shead.

“Catch Tiger in Mountains” is one of the most beautiful patterns in ShaolinKungfu, and its beauty lies not somuch in its appearance but in its combat functions.Yearsago,afifthdankaratemasterfromJapanpaidaspecialvisittomymaster,SifuHoFattNam,totesthisShaolinKungfu.Withathunderingshoutandinlightningspeed,theJapaneseexpertexecutedadoubleflyingkickatmymaster,whorespondedwith“CatchTiger inMountains”.TheJapanesemasterflewover theheadofmySifu,HoFattNam.There was no contact between the masters. After he had steadily landed, the Japanesemaster turned round,gallantlybowed, thankedmymaster, andsaid thematchwasover.Spectatorswhohadcometoseeanexcitingmatchweremuchdisappointed,andtheydidnotunderstandwhatactuallyhadtranspired.

Later, over tea, the Japanese expert toldmymaster that in his travels round theworld,sofarnoonehadsuccessfullymethislightningflyingattacks.Mostpeople,takenby surprise,would retreat, but theywould still be hit, because he simply flew into andkickedthem.Somewouldmoveasidetotheleftorright,butthekaratemasterwassoagilethat he could twist his body in the air according to the directions his opponents haddodged,andkickathissurprisedopponents.Onlymymaster,hesaid,couldsuccessfullyneutralizehisevervictoriousattackwithamovementthathehadneverseenorimaginedbefore.Mymasterconfidedinmethatnooneelse,exceptthetwoofthem,knewthathehadbeatentheJapanesemasterwiththat“CatchaTiger”pattern,andhetoldmewhy.In

linewiththepoemdescribingthesalientpointsof the“FourGates”set,Iwill leaveyouwiththeexcitementofdiscoveringfromaShaolinmasterthemarvelsofthis“CatchTigerinMountains”pattern,andwhyorhowmymasterhaddefeatedthatJapaneseexpert.

Don’tDestroyHisManhood!

“Cannon fromGround” is adeadlyandeffective technique thatShaolindiscipleswouldnotuseunlessnecessary,forthiscannonwoulddestroytheopponent’sgenitals.Insteadofusing the fist, Shaolin disciples may use their legs in “Organ-Seeking Kick” at theopponent’s external reproductive organs. Even when the opponent is an arch enemy,Shaolindisciplesusuallyfinditnotnecessarytodestroythegenitals;sotheyhitorkickthethighorabdomeninstead.

“WhiteCraneFlapsWings”isaselegantinitsappearanceasinapplication.Therearemanywaysthispatterncanbeusedincombat,thoughmanybeginnerswillfindithardtoimaginehowthisseeminglydemonstrativemovementcanbeeffectiveinfighting.Onewayiswhentwoopponentsjustbegintoholdbothwristsatyoursides.Ifyouflapyourwings,movingyourpalmsfastagainsttheirwrists,theywillhavetoletgoofyourwriststo avoid the extricating pain your palms cause against their twisted wrists. In anotherapplication, this “White Crane” pattern is a devastating Organ-Seeking Kick, with theflappingwingsasdistraction.

“Dragon and Tiger Meet Together” is similar to “Dragon and Tiger Appear”.PossiblythedragonandthetigerweregoodfriendsofShaolinmonksinthepast;togetherwith the snake, the crane, and the leopard, they often appear in Shaolin Kungfu. Aftersetting two tigers (two fists) to roam about, Shaolin monks hide them at the end of akungfuset.Thecircularway the fistsare turned in,“HidingTwoTigers” iseffective inreleasingwristholds.

FloweryMovementsandKungfuTradition

EvenabriefdescriptionofthecombatapplicationofthesecomparativelysimpleShaolinKungfupatternsrevealstherichrangeofShaolinself-defencetechniques.Oneshouldnotethat theapplicationsexplainedaboveareonly thebasics;due to spaceconstraints,otherapplicationsofthesametechniquesarenotmentioned.

SometimeagowhenthepopularityofJapanesekarateandKoreantaekwondotookthe world by storm, many kungfu practitioners, including some old teachers who weremistaken tobemastersdue to their age rather than theirkungfuattainment,were rudelyawakenedtotheircombativeinadequacywhencomparedtothecombateffectivenessanddirectness of karate and taekwondo. These kungfu practitioners expounded that kungfuwasnotaseffectiveaskarateortaekwondoforcombatbecausekungfupatternsweretooelaborate and flowery. They suggested trimming the elaborate movements of kungfu,leaving behind only obvious fighting patterns like punches, blocks, and kicks. In otherwords, theysuggestedchangingkungfu intokarateor taekwondo.(This is thereverseofopportunistinstructorswhoarebasicallytrainedinkarateortaekwondo,butbecauseofthemagicalattractionoftheword“kungfu”,addafewkungfumovesintotheirmartialartandclaim to teach kungfu.) Some teachers even renamed their schools such-and-such “do”,andadoptedthecolour-beltgraduationsystem.

Apparently,thesepractitionerswereunawareofthedepthandtraditionofChinesekungfu.Therearenoextraneousmovementsinkungfu;everymovehasapurpose,andthispurposeisalmostalwaysmartialinnature.Ifanykungfumovementappearsextraneousorflowerytoanobserver,itisbecausehefailstounderstanditsdeepermartialsignificance;simplifying the movement would spoil the very purpose for which it is designed. Forexample,inthepattern“FlowersHiddenintheSleeves”,turningthewristinasmallcircle,keepingtheelbowsharplybentandplacingtheupperarmclosetothebody,mayappearextraneous; someoneadmiring the straight-forwardmovementsofkarate and taekwondomaysuggesttrimmingthoseelaboratemovementsintoasimpleblock.Thecrucialpointisthatthispatternisnotmerelyasimpleblock,andthetrimmingwilleliminatemanysubtleapplications,someofwhichhavebeendescribedearlierinthischapter.

Suffixing “do”, such as judo, kendo, karate-do, hapkido, huarongdo, andtaekwondo,isatypicallyJapaneseorKorean,butnotaChinese,tradition.“Do”,whichis“Tao”(spelledas“dao”inRomanizedChinese),means“theway”.IntheJapanesecontext,thissuffixingof“do”representsatransformationofthedeadlymartialartsoftheclassicalwarriors (often denoted by the term “jitsu”) to the recreational “martial sports” of ourmodern times. For example, the deadly techniques of jujitsu and kenjitsu, upon whichninjasandsamuraisowedtheirlifeanddeath,arereplacedbysafertechniquesofjudoandkendoformodernsport.

The term “do”, or “tao”, is comparatively insignificant in the Chinese tradition,becausethroughoutChinesehistory,kungfuhasalwaysbeenusedforfighting,andseldomasasport,thoughShaolinKungfuwasalsousedforspiritualdevelopment.(Interestingly,

themostcommonlyusedtermforkungfuintheChineselanguagetodayis“wushu”,whichinclinestowardssportratherthancombat,althoughthetermmeans“martialart”.)Hence,as a roughguide, if you come across any type of kungfu that carries the suffix “do”, itoftensuggeststhattheinstructorismuchinfluencedbytheJapaneseorKoreantradition.

Ingenuinekungfu tradition,beltgrading isabsent; theremaybegrading,but thelevelofattainmentisnotusuallyshownbycolouredbelts.Traditionally,thebeltorsashofa kungfu practitioner, which is very different in look from that found in karate ortaekwondo,andirrespectiveofwhetherthepractitionerisanoviceoramaster,isusuallyblack incolour,and ismeant toholdhis trousers,not to indicatehisattainment level. Itactuallydoesnotmakemuchsenseifsomeonetellsyouheisakungfublackbelt.Andifaninstructoradvertiseshimselfasakungfuredbelt8thdan,myfirstimpressionisthatheisprobablyunfamiliarwithkungfutradition.

Thereis,ofcourse,noimplicationthatbeltgradingisnotuseful.Ithasbeenusefulin many martial arts like judo, karate, and taekwondo, and some genuine kungfuinstructorshaveadopted it,but thepoint is thatbeltgrading,at leastatpresent, isnotakungfutradition.

8: FROM KUNGFU FORM TO COMBATAPPLICATION

(SpecificTechniquestoHandleVariousSituations)

Rememberthattheonepractisingwithyouisyourpartner,notyourenemy.Youraimthereforeistohelpeachothertoimproveyourcombatefficiency,andnottohiteachother.

GettingReadyforCombat

Haveyoueverwonderedhowkungfu students could fightby just learning routine sets?Theycouldn’t,nomatterhowmanysetsorhowlongtheymighthavelearned.Learningroutinesetsisjustthepreparation—toequipstudentswiththenecessarykungfupatterns.Iftheywanttoapplythesepatternstofightwell,theyhavetoundergodifferenttypesoftraining.ShaolinKungfuisrichinsuchtrainingmethods,thoughmanystudentsmaynotknowthem!

Someinstructorsprovide theirstudentswithpairsofgloves tosparon theirown.This is unmethodical, and usually in such spontaneous situations the studentswould beunable to applywhat theyhave learned earlier in their set practice.There are actually anumberofstepsbetweensetpracticeandfreesparring,andthestudentsshouldapproachthesestepsmethodically.

Therearetwoprincipalapproachesinlearningkungfuapplication.Oneapproachistoproceedfrompatternstosituations;foreachkungfupattern,wefindoutwhatitisusedforincombatsituations.Theotherapproachisfromsituationstopatterns;foreachtypicalcombat situation,we find outwhat patterns can be suitably employed to overcome thatsituation.

Forexample,wehavelearnedapattern,“BeautyLooksatMirror”.Wefindthatinfighting,wecanuseittoblockapalmstriketooureyesorapunchtoourheart.Itcanalsobeusedasadiagonalslashingattackagainstanopponent’sthroat.Thisapproachisfromapatterntosituations.

Alternatively,wecan thinkofsomepossiblewaysanopponentmayattackus.Avery common attack is a straight punch to our chest. We examine the various kungfupatternswehavelearnedandselect thosethatcaneffectivelycounter this typeofattack.From our “Four Gates” we can use patterns like “Beauty Looks at Mirror”, “FlowersHiddenintheSleeves”,and“BartheBigBoss”tomeetthisstraightpunch.Thisapproachisfromacombatsituationtokungfupatterns.

Kungfumastersgofurtherthanthisstage.Forexample,inthepatterns-to-situationsapproach, they ask themselves, if the attack to the eyes is a powerful kick instead of avicious palm strike, can they counter the attack as effectively with “Beauty Looks atMirror”? Probably not, because a blocking forearm is generally not as powerful as akicking leg. In thesameway theyreason thateven if theattack isapalmstrike,but theattacker is amassive brute and the defender a small-sized lady, the beautymay not beeffectivewithher“MirrorHand”.

Sothemastershavetothinkofotherwaystocountersuchacombatsituation.Thebeautymay,forexample,stepslightlyasidetoavoidthebrutalforceoftheattack,spreadherarmssothatherfrontpalmstrikesattheattackingforearmandsimultaneouslykicksatthe attacker’s genitals as in the pattern “White Crane SpreadsWings”. Nomatter howmassivetheattackermaybe,ifhisgenitalsarebeingkicked,evenbyasmall-sizedlady,he

willbeputoutofactionlongenoughtorunaway.

Theexamplestartswithpatterns-to-situationsbutconcludeswiththesituations-to-patterns, illustrating that the classification into the two approaches is arbitrary and forconvenienceof study.Suchstudywascommonat theShaolinMonasterywheremastersandmonkshadmuchtimeandopportunitytodiscussandexperimentwithvariouscombatsituationsandawiderangeofkungfutechniques.WebenefitfromtheirinvaluableeffortaswelearnandpractisetheShaolinarts.

In the previous chapterwe use the patterns-to-situations approach to learn someapplications of the patterns in the basic Shaolin “FourGates” set.Herewe select somecommoncombatsituationsandlearnthespecifictechniquestocounterthem.

ShaolinSpecificTechniques

Forconvenience, all attackscanbeclassified into fourmaincategories:hitting,kicking,felling, and gripping. Let us examine some specific techniques and their underlyingprinciplesindealingwiththecommonattacksofthefourcategories.

Suppose anopponentpierces at your eyesor throatwithhis fingers, in apatternknownas“PoisonousSnakeShootsoutVenom”.Stepbackintothebow-arrowstanceandblockhisattackwith“BeautyLooksatMirror”,Figure8.1.Becauseyouhavemovedbacka step, even if you failed to block his vicious attack, it will still not reach you. Thisillustratesan importantphilosophicalprincipleof life.Even ifyouare facedwithaverythreateningsituation,ifyouarereadytoretreatjustonestep,youcanfrequentlydefusethesituationwithouthavingtofightferociously.

Fig8.1BeautyLooksatMirror

Probably themost frequently used attacking pattern inmost styles of martial art is thestraightmiddlepunch, like“BlackTigerStealsHeart” inShaolinKungfu.Besidesusingthe “Mirror Hand” as in the previous example, you can counter with “Single TigerEmerges from Cave”, which is accomplished bymoving half a step backward into thefalse-legstanceandblockinghisattackwithacircularmovementofyourhandheldinatiger-claw formation, Figure 8.2. This type of blocking uses minimal force againstmaximal force,knownas“leaning” inShaolinKungfu:you“lean”yourarmagainsthisattack.Ifyouarecompetent,followupwithatiger-clawgripattheopponent’sarm.

Fig8.2SingleTigerEmergesfromCave

Nowyouropponentattacksyouwithalow“Horse-RidingPunch”.Youmovebackintoasidewayfalse-legstance,andhenceawayfromhisattackingarea,andchopyourpalmintohisattacking forearmorelbow, inapatterncalled“False-LegHand-Sweep”,Figure8.3.Notice that you are not blocking, but attacking him. This seemingly simple patterndemonstratesanadvancedlevelofcounteringanattack.Counteringcanbeclassifiedintothree types: firstdefend thencounter;defencecumcounter;andno-blockdirectcounter.This“no-blockdirectcounter”notonlyavoidshisattack,butstrikes theopponentat thetimewhenhisattackisfullyspent.

Fig8.3False-LegHand-Sweep

In the next attack, your opponent attempts to slap your face in an interesting-soundingpatterncalled“DevilKingWavesFan”.Thistimeyoumoveslightlyforwardintothebow-arrow stance, block his sideway-circular attackwith one arm, and strike himwith yourotherfist,inanequallycharmingpatternnamed“OldElephantDropsTusk”,Figure8.4.Afriendlookingatyounowmayimagineyoutobeanelephant,withyourattackingarmastheelephant’strunkandyourdefendingarmastheremainingtusk!Thisisanexampleof“defencecumcounter”.

Fig8.4OldElephantDropsTusk

Hitting attacks canbegeneralized into fourkinds: high,middle, low, and sideways.Wehavejustlearnedhowtocounterthem.Andifyouknowhowtocounteratypicalexampleofonekind,youcanusuallycounterotherexamplesofthesamekind.Forexample,ifyoucanapply“BeautyLooksatMirror”tocounter“PoisonousSnakeShootsoutVenom”,youcan usually apply the same specific technique against similar high hitting attacks,irrespectiveofwhethertheyarepalm,fist,knuckle,orfingerstrikestoyourthroat,eyes,mouth,ornose.

CounteringVariousKicks

Somepeoplemistakenly think thatkicks are superior tohitting attacksbecause they aremoredestructiveandmoredifficult todefendagainst.If thisweretrue, thenmost, ifnotall, of the hitting attacks in Shaolin Kungfu would have been replaced. In fact, it isgenerallyeasier todefendagainstkicks thanagainsthits, becauseahandattack ismoreversatileandtrickythanakick.Ahandattackbyanexponentwithinternalforceismoredeadly thanakickingattack, too.Letusnowlearnsomeefficientways tocounterhigh,middle,low,andsidewaykickingattacks.

An opponent gives you a high kick, a technique that is usually discouraged inShaolin Kungfu unless the situation warrants its application. High kicks bare the vitalreproductive organs, making it easy for the opponent to strike them. To think that theopponentisnotknowledgeableorfastenoughtoexploitthisweaknessisasignofshallowlearning.Neverunderestimateyouropponent;itisafundamentalShaolinprinciplethatwealways regard the opponent to be as good as, if not better, than ourselves. That iswhypractically every Shaolin attacking movement takes into account the possibility of theopponent’ssuddencounterattack.Moreover,highkicksmakebalancingawkward,aswellaslimitthefulluseoftheotherthreelimbs.

Actually, it is easy to counter high kicks. Justmove your body slantingly back,without even moving your legs, and without doing anything else, except, perhaps,watching his unsightly view. We could move in for the coup de grace, but we don’t,becausesinceweneverunderestimateouropponent,wemustbecarefulthatthistemptingexposuremay be a trap.Another important Shaolin principle advises that it is better tomissanopeningthantoriskrushingintoasnare.Theattackingpatternhereisknownas“Kicking the Sky”, which can often be interpreted as kicking wildly; and the defencepatternis“TamingaTigerwithaStringofBeads”,Figure8.5.

Fig8.5TamingaTigerwithaStringofBeads

Thenextkickingattack,amiddlesidekick,hasbetteraim;itistargetedattheheartortheliver.Despiteitsdestructiveobjective,thispatternhasagentle,evenpoeticname,“HappyBirdHopsupaBranch”.Sitbackonyoursidewayshorse-ridingstance—thismovement

willmoveyourbodyawayfromhisattack—andsimultaneously,justashehaskickedhisfullextent, lockhislegwithyourtwotigerclaws,withonearmsupportinghisextendedleg and the other hand gripping his foot, as shown in Figure 8.6. This pattern is called“TwoTigersSubdueaDragon”.Nowyouhavea fewalternatives. Ifyou twisthis foot,youcoulddislocatehisankle.Orstillholdinghisleg,youcouldmoveinandkicktheshinorkneeofhisotherleg.Thisisanexampleof“firstdefendthencounter”.

Fig8.6TwoTigersSubdueaDragon

What would you do if your opponent kicks your shin or knee, as in the pattern called“YellowOrioleTestsWater”?Justskipbackgently,sitonyourlowsidewayshorse-ridingstance,and“hang”yourfist(i.e.,hitwithyourbackknuckles)ontohisattackingfoot.This“no-blockdirectcounter”patterniscalled“HeavenlyPriestStampsInsignia”,Figure8.7.It is important thatyoushouldbelookingatyouropponent’sfaceandnotathisfoot,asmanystudentswoulddo,andbereadyforhislikelyfollow-upattackonyourface.

Fig8.7HeavenlyPriestStampsInsignia

Theopponent executes awhirlwindkick,whichmay look similar to, but in somewaysdifferentfrom,theround-housekickofothermartialarts.TheShaolinwhirlwindkickis

performed with the body comparatively vertical, unlike the more horizontally inclinedbody position of the round-house kick.Moreover the whirlwind kick is executedmorefromtheknee,unlike the round-housekickwhere thewhole leg is involved.Tocounterthiswhirlwindkick,slantyourbodybackwardsand“thread”awaytheopponent’slegwithyourhand following thedirectionandmomentumof thekick.This“thread” isa typicalShaolintechniquewheregentlemovementisusedagainstapowerfulattack.Itisexecutedasfollows:moveyourhandinasmallcircularandforwardmannerasifyouaresewingwith a needle and thread, except that instead of holding your thumb and index fingertogether like when you are holding a needle, you point your thumb and index fingerforward.Thisdefencepatterniscalled“ThreadtheCloudstoSeetheSun”,Figure8.8.

Fig8.8ThreadtheCloudstoSeetheSun

GrippingandFellingAttacks

Oneexpressionof thebeautyandrichnessofShaolinKungfu is itswiderangeofattackanddefendtechniques.Ifyouwanttosubdueyouropponentbutdonotwishtohurthimbadlybypunchingorkickinghim,youwillbefascinatedwiththegrippingtechniquesofShaolinKungfu.Butfirst,letuslearnhowtogetyourselfoutoftheopponent’sgrips.

The opponent grips your forearm with a tiger-claw technique. Relax and swingyour arm in a circle, completing your swingwith the back of your fist “hanging” (i.e.,hittingwith the back knuckles) onto your opponent’s face. The swing of your armwilltwisthiswristinsuchawaythathehastoreleasehisgrip.Thispatterniscalled“RollingThunder”,andisanexampleof“defencecumcounter”,Figure8.9. Italso illustrates theprincipleof“softagainsthard”,whereyouuseagracefulswinginsteadofbrutalstrengthtoreleaseyourselffromthegrip.

Fig8.9RollingThunder

(a)

(b)

Nowyouropponentgripsyourhair fromyour front, inapatternwithanunlikelyname,“SaintPullingHair”.Preventhimfrompullingbyholdinghishandwithyouroneortwohands. Then, still holding his hand to your head, bend slightly and turn your headcompletely around, twisting his hand in the process, in a pattern called “Lion TurningHead”,Figure8.10.

Fig8.10LionTurningHead

(a)

(b)

There are some weak points in this pattern that you must take care. The movement isrelatively long, and in the process of turning your head, your opponentmay attack youwithhisotherhand.Itisactuallynotagoodpatterntouseinactualcombat(unlessyouropponent is slow or unskilled), but a good pattern for practice because it illustrates theprinciple of releasing his grip by turning his wrist. When you are familiar with thephilosophyofthisprinciple,youcanuseotherlesslengthyandmoreeleganttechniquestoimplementthesameprinciple.

Figure8.11showsanexample.Youholdhishandasbefore,butinsteadofbendinghiswristby turningyourheadaroundcompletely,youbendhiswristbyasharp jerkofyour head downward and slightly forward, with your hands pressing hard at his palmagainstyourheadsothathiswristbendsbackwardunnaturally,andhereleaseshisgrip(hehas to, or else hiswristwill be dislocated).While still holding his handwith your twohands,turnhisarmsharplytoonesidesothathispalmfacesupward,gettinghimunderyourcontrol.Youmustbeverycarefulwhenyoupractisethistechniquewithapartnersoas not to dislocate his wrist. This pattern is called “Two Dragons Subdue a Serpent”.Figure8.12showstheclose-upsofthewrist-bendingtechnique.

Fig8.11TwoDragonsSubdueaSerpent

Fig8.12Close-UpsoftheWrist-BendingTechnique

Beside hitting, kicking, or gripping, an opponent may attack you by felling you to theground.TherearemanyfellingtechniquesinShaolinKungfu,includingsomewherethereisnoneedtousethehands.Theopponentusestwofellingtechniquesagainstyou,asweepandapush.Theexamplesshowhowtocounterthem.

Inthe“FrontalLegSweep”,theopponenttriestofellyoubypullingyouforwardand simultaneously using his leg to sweep your leg in front. Lift your attacked leg andplace it behindhis sweeping leg.Stretchbackand straighten this legofyours,bend theother leg to formabow-arrowstance, and simultaneously turnyourwaist sharplywhileyourhandssweepatyouropponent’schest;withyourstraightenedlegactingasafulcrum,youfellyouropponentbackward.Thispatternisknownas“FishermanCastsNet”.Noticethatyoureturnhislegsweepwithyourhandsweep.

Fig8.13FishermanCastsNet

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Nowyouropponenttriestofellyoubackward,usingapatterncalled“UprootingaTree”.He places one leg behind you, sits low on his horse-riding stance, and pushes at yourshoulders.Followingthedirectionofhispush,turnyourwaistandbodysoastoformtheunicornstance,andbrushoffhispushinghands.Thenswiftlyturnyourunicornstanceintoabow-arrowstance,byreversingtheturningofyourbodyandwideningyourlegs.Strikeyour opponentwith “DoubleButterflyPalms”, Figure 8.14.Alternatively, if you do not

wishtohurthimwithastrike,justpushhimaway.Here,althoughyoureturnapushwithapush, you are not responding tooth for tooth, becausewhile your push is comparativelyharmless,hispush,ifthevictimisunskilfulorunfortunateenoughtolandonthebackofhishead,maybefatal!

Fig8.14DoubleButterflyPalms

(a)

(b)

(c)

MethodologyofPractice

Practisingspecifictechniquesagainstparticularcombatsituationsisagoodintroductiontokungfuapplication.Yourresultwillbemultipliedifyoufollowsomesoundmethodologyofpractice.Thefollowingaresomegoodsuggestions.

First of all, remember that the one practisingwith you is your partner, not yourenemy.Youraimtherefore is tohelpeachother to improveyourcombatefficiency,andnot tohit eachother.Youmustcontrolyourattacks so thateven ifyourpartner fails todefend them, you will stop your attacks a few inches from his body. Even if youaccidentallyhithim,yourstrikesmerelytouchhim,withoutcausinghimmuchpain.

Ontheotherhand,ifyouareaccidentallyhitbyyourpartner,yourreactionshouldnever be: “Thatbastardhitme; I’ll get evenwithhim!You justwait and see,bastard!”Instead,youshouldsaytoyourself,ortohim:“Thankyoufordemonstratingmyweaknessinamostpracticalway.Luckilyitisfromapartner;ifitwerefromanenemyitcouldbeserious.Benefitingfromthislesson,I’llnotletthathappenagain.”Donotmakethegrossmistakeofthinkingthatsuchanattitudeistriteornaive;itmakesthedifferencebetweentakingyourmartialartasatrainingforviolence,orasapathforspiritualdevelopment.

Ifyouare toogood foryourpartner, foryourbenefitaswellashis,youhave toadjustyourself tohis level.Thismeansthatyoumayhavetopurposelyslowdownyourmovements or use less force so that he has a chance tomatch you. If you frustrate hismovementseverytime,itmeansthatbothofyoucanpractiseuptothisstageonly,withnoopportunitytogobeyond.

You can benefit a great deal by practising with someone below your standard.Becauseyouaresuperior tohimin techniquesor force,youneednothave toworry, forexample, about which kungfu patterns you should use next, or whether your block ispowerfulenoughtostophisattack.Thismeansyoucanfocusonotherimportantfactorsliketimingandspacing,orinmoreadvancedlevels,onimplementingcertainprinciplesorstrategies.Ifyouaresparringwithsomeoneequaltooraboveyourlevel,youareusuallytoobusyworryingaboutimmediatetechniquestothinkofsuchinvisiblefactorsthatoftendecidetheoutcomeofthecombat.

With this philosophy in mind that the sparring practice should benefit bothmutually,andnotanoccasiontoboastofone’ssuperiorskills,letuslookatthepracticalaspect of the training. Initially, practise only one pre-selected situation with a partnermany,manytimesuntilyourmovementsaresmoothandspontaneous.Thenreverserolesso that you canhave some ideaofhowyouropponentwould feel andmove.Resist thetemptationofproceedingtonewtechniquesbeforeyouarecompetentinthepresentones.Remember that theonusof the training is to improveskill rather than to learnmoreandmoretechniques.

Onlywhenyouandyourpartner are familiarwith a few specific techniques andtheircombatsituations,onewillattack theotherwithoutpre-arrangedselection. Initially

limit therangetoonlytwoorthreecombatsituations, thengraduallywidentherangeasyouprogress.

Ifyouareabeginneryouwillfinditverydifficult,butnotimpossible,topractisekungfutechniquesfromabook,becausethesuccessfulimplementingofatechniqueoftendepends on finer points like the best position to place your legs and the right time toexecuteyourmove—pointsthatarebest learnedpersonallyfromamaster.Evenifyoucannot find a master, at least learn from a qualified instructor. If you do not have theadvantageoflearningfromamasteroraninstructor,donotfeeldiscouragedifyoudonotget the result described in the book. It is likely that you have not performed the formproperly,eventhoughyouthinkyouhavefollowedthedescriptioncorrectly.

In your practice, especially at the beginning stage, your partner acting as youropponentmerelyinitiatesthecombatsituations,thenallowsyoutoimplementtherelevantspecifictechniqueswithoutattemptingtofrustrateyouractions.It is importanttobearinmindthatthesesimulatedsituationsaredifferentfromrealfightingsituations,whereyouropponent is not likely to be so passive. But the simulated situations with co-operativepartnersconstituteausefulpractisingprocedure.

Later, if you are expert enough, real combat situations may actually resemblesimulated situations,not thatyour realopponentdoesnotwant to frustrateyou,but thatyouaresowellpractisedthathesimplyhasnochancetointerceptyourmovements.Butifyour opponent is well practised, too, then hewill be able tomake appropriate changeswhileyoutrytoovercomehim,orevenbeforeyoustartyourcountertechniques.This,ofcourse,leadstoasequenceofattackanddefence,withsomeprobablevariations.

Thenextlogicalstepintheapplicationofkungfuforcombatistolearnandpractiseshortattackanddefencesequences.Thisisexplainedinthenextchapter.

9:FROMARRANGEDTOFREESPARRING

(PractisingVariationinCombatSequences)

Sincelife,asmanyphilosophicallyinclinedhavesuggested,isoftenastruggle,manyoftheseprinciplescanbefruitfullyappliedtoourdailyliving.

VariousFactorsofCombat

Itisindeedamazingthatnowadaysthemajorityofpeoplewhopractisekungfu,includingTaijiquan, do not know how to apply it for combat, although they call it amartial art.Because of inadequate understanding,many kungfu practitioners jump straight into freesparringimmediatelyafterlearningkungfusets.Theresultisbothshamefulandcomical.If they have to fight, their effort is like children’s fighting, without any semblance ofkungfuformatall,eventhoughtheymayhavelearnedkungfuformanyyears!Ofcourseitisnotbecausekungfuisineffective,butbecausetheyhaveneverreallypractisedkungfu;theyhavemerelylearnedwhatpastmasterscalled“floweryfistsandembroiderykicks”,aformofkungfumovementsthatarepleasanttolookatbutuselessforfighting.

Thiscommentaboutfloweryfistsmaymakesomepeopleangry,butasaShaolindisciple,Ichoosetosaythetruthandampreparedtodefendmystatement.Somepeoplemaychallengeme,nottoadebateonthisview,buttoafight,whichIbelieveisirrelevantbecauseiftheybeatmeitjustshowsthattheyarebetterfightersbutdoesnotnecessarilydisprovethevalidityofmystatement.Itismorerewardingforkungfuenthusiasts,whethertheypractisegenuinekungfuorfloweryfists,toexamineeffectiveprinciplesandmethodsof combat application and help to restore the glory of kungfu,whatever its styles, as areputable living martial art. I am very privileged to have access to the knowledge andpracticeofcombatmethodspasseddownfromtheShaolinMonastery,andtheyaresharedin thisbook.Judgingfromthenumberofchampionships thatmanyofmystudentshavewon,itcanbereasonablysaidthatthesemethodsareeffective.

It must be stressed again that articulating the martial aspect of kungfu is verydifferent from suggestingviolenceor brutality. Indeed, amongdifferent typesofmartialartists,akungfufighter isbestknownforhisgraciousnessandcalmness indealingwithopponents. It shouldalsobe remembered thateffective fighting isonlyoneof themanyusefulfunctionsofkungfu.

Below are the basic steps in our Shaolin tradition from kungfu form to freesparring.

1.LearningandpractisingkungfupatternsandsetsMostkungfupractitionersdothis,butunfortunately,themajorityofthemremainonlyatthislevel.2. Understanding and practising the combat application of kungfu patternsindividuallyHerewestudyandpractiseeachofthekungfupatternsinakungfusetwithreferencetocombat,asexplainedinChapter7.3.ApplyingspecificpatternstocounterparticularcombatsituationsWeexaminetherangeofcommonattackpatterns,andpractisetherelevantcountersagainstthem.For example, from observation we know that most people commonly attack by

punching and kicking, and some by felling and gripping; we equip ourselves withcountersagainstthesetypicalattacks,asexplainedinChapter8.4.LinkingindividualcombatsituationsintoacombatsequenceInanactual fight, combatantsnormallydonot stopat justoneor twopatterns,butengageinashortsequenceofnumerouspatterns.Thepatternsinasequenceusuallyfollowalogicalorder.Thiswillbepresentlyexplainedinthischapter.5.PractisingvariationsofcombatsequencesThestudentmustfamiliarizehimselfwithnumerousvariationssothathecanchangefrom one sequence to another spontaneously. This will also be explained in thischapter.6.Practisingpre-arrangedsparringsetsThemovementsarepre-arranged, thus freeing thepractitioners from thinkingaboutwhat patterns to use next so that they can concentrate on other invisible factors ofcombatlikecorrectnessofform,spacing,timing,fluidityofmovements,andbalance.Thiswillbediscussedinthenextchapter.7.FreesparringIf the students have practised the above stages well, they will graduate into freesparringmethodically,andbeabletoapplykungfutechniquesspontaneously.

Eachstepabovemaybedividedintoafewsub-stepsforspecificpurposes.ForexampleinStep 5 above, studentsmay practise different sets of variations for surprise counters orfeignmoves.Allthestepsmentionedaboveareconcernedmainlywithonlyonefactorincombat, i.e., techniques. Other important factors include skill or force, and tactics orstrategies.

You may be very knowledgeable in techniques, but if you cannot execute thetechniques skilfully or with sufficient force, you are not likely to beat your opponent.Force trainingwillbeexplained inotherchapters.Youmaybe forcefulandknowmanytechniques,butifyoudonotunderstandtacticsandstrategies,youareunlikelytomakethebestuseofyourabilityandknowledge.

Whiletechniquesareapplicabletoindividualmovementsduringthecombat,tacticsandstrategiesrefertooverallsituations.Forexample,ifyoumeetaWesternboxerwhoisvery fastwithhispunches,youmayadoptanoverall tacticofavoidinghispunchesandconcentratingonattackinghislegs.Youwouldalsoimplementastrategywherebyhewillmoveforwardtoattackyou, thusexposinghis legsforyoursurprisecounterattack.TheSongofAttackandDefencebelow,besidesotherthings,providessomeusefultacticsandstrategies;morewillbeexplainedinChapter11.

ShaolinPrinciplesofAttackandDefence

Beforewepractisecombatsequences,itishelpfultoexaminesomerelevantprinciplesonattackanddefence.Sincelife,asmanyphilosophicallyinclinedhavesuggested,isoftenastruggle,manyof theseprinciples canbe fruitfully applied toourdaily living.YouwillmarvelattherichnessofsuchShaolinprinciples.IhavegatheredsomeoftheseprinciplesintoaChinesepoemforuseinmykungfuschool,ShaolinWahnamKungfuInstitute.ThefollowingistheEnglishtranslation.

ShaolinSongofAttackandDefence

TheShaolinprinciplesofattackanddefence

HavebeenpasseddowntotheWahnamSchool

Fourstepsareneededbeforeyouattack

Evaluate,ready,exploit,thenstrikethefool

Againstamassiveopponent,strikehissides

Ifweak,attackthefrontlikesmashingbricks

Neverchargeinrecklesslylikeabull

It’sunwisetostartcombatwithflyingkicks

Recklesscharginggivesyourbodyaway

Highkicksleaveyourorgansexposedandfrail

Asyouattackit’snecessarytoasktheway

Distracthimwithfalsemovesaswellasreal

“Threearrivals”areessentialinattack

Yourmovementsbeasfastaswind

Theopponent’sstrongpointsyouavoid

Andaimforhisweaknessinawink

Inattackingyoumustbeabletodefend

Opportunitiesyoumustexploitormake

Withmindandenergybefullyprepared

Both“hard”and“soft”youcangiveandtake

Theheartiscalmandclearlikewaterstill

Don’teverbeangryforthataffectsyourskill

Notonlybeskilfulinattacks

Butalsodefendwellinanyfight

Tellwhetherhisattacksarefeignedorreal

Noticewhetherhismovementsareheavyorlight

Neitherbeworriedbypowerfulmoves

Noroff-guardedifattacksaresoftandslow

Benotanxiousifopponent’sfierceandfast

Respondwithappropriatespeedandblow

Counterhighattackswith“threads”and“lifts”

“Flick”awayor“lean”againstmiddlestrikes

“Chop”or“slash”againstlowattacks

Forsideattacks,“block”or“intercept”withmight

Ifanattackerrushesinlikeahorse

Dodgetolethimthroughwithgee

Evenifhehasstrengthofathousandpounds

Oncehemissesfutilehisstrengthwillbe

Defencemustalwaysincorporateattack

Timingandspacingmustberight

Whentheopponent’smoveandstrengtharespent

That’sthegoldentimetocounterstrike

Wonderfulresultstheseprincipleswillbring

Ifyoukeeppractisingfromspringtospring

SomeMarvellousAdviceforCombat

Muchoftheabovepoemisselfevident,thoughtheremaybesecretshiddenbehindsurfacemeanings,andsomeconceptsgomuchdeeperthansimpleexplanation.Intheparagraphsbelow,onlythemorepuzzlingpointsareexplained.

I call my kungfu and chi kung school ShaolinWahnam, after the names ofmymasters,SifuLaiChinWahandSifuHoFattNam,toshowmyrespectandappreciationfortheirkindnessandgenerosityinteachingme.

Four stepsarenecessarybeforewemakeanymoves incombat.Weevaluate thestrongandtheweakpointsofouropponent.Atthesametime,wemustalwaysbereadyforhissuddenattack,or to initiateattackourselves.So,weseekorcreateopportunities.When opportunities occur, we exploit them and strike so fast and decisively that theopponent,despitebeingskilfulandknowledgeable,ismadetobeafool.

It is interesting tonote that thesameprincipleof fouressential steps isuseful ineverydayliving,likewhenweapplyforanewjoborstartourownbusiness.Weevaluatethe current situations; prepare ourselves adequately; seek or create opportunities; andexploitopportunitieswhentheyoccur.

At the timewecharge in toattackouropponent,hemaystrikeus suddenly,andsuch a strike is not easy to defend if we only concentrate on attacking. To avoid thisweakness, aswemove in speedilyweplaceonehand (usuallyour lefthand) in front toguardagainsthispossibleattack,ortopushasidehisraiseddefensivehandorhands.Thisisknownas“askingtheway”.Besidestheabovetwofunctions,this“opening”handalsoservestotesttheopponent’sstrengthandtodistracttheopponent.Asadistraction,thelefthandisafalsemove,butiftheopponentdoesnotrespondtothis“opening”hand,itmaybechangedintoarealattack.

The “three arrivals” refer to reachingwith the heart, reachingwith the feet, andreachingwiththehands.Beforewemakeanymove,wemustbeclearofwherewewanttoattackandwhatattackingpatterns touse.Forexample,afterassessing theopponent,wedecide toattackhisabdomen,butwewish todistracthimfirstwitha falseattack tohisthroat, and we also plan that should he successfully defend himself against these twomoves,wewillsenda“BlackTiger”tohissolarplexus.This isreachingwiththeheart.(SeeSequenceTwointheCombatSequencesbelow.)

Inotherwords,wehaveaclearpurposeanddirectionofmovement,evenbeforewemake the first move. This plan is a guideline, so that we will not be undecided orhesitantwhenwehavemovedwithinthecombativesphereoftheopponent.Ifthesituationwarrantsit,wemayhavetomakeexpedientchanges.

Whenwemoveinastheopportunityoffersitself,ourfalseattackmusttargetathisthroat,notathisnoseormouthoraimlesslyintheair—becauseourhearthasreachedthedecisiontoattackhisthroat.Ourfeetmustbeplacedinsuchawaythatwecaneffectively

strikehim—notthatwewouldmisshimbyinchesevenifhedoesnotmove.(Inpractice,however,wepurposelymissbyinches.)Thisisreachingwiththefeet.Ifhemovesback(as in Sequence Two), we must move forward accordingly if we wish to strike him,otherwisewewouldnotreachwithourfeet.Ourhands(oranypartsofourattackingbody)mustbeabletostrikehimeffectively—withouthavingtostretchourlimbsunnaturally,twistourbodyuncomfortably,orsacrificeourbalance.Thisisreachingwithourhands.

These“threearrivals”willbeusefulinlife.Weneedtobeclearofourpurposeanddirectionifwewishtomakeourlivesmoremeaningfulandrewardingforourselvesandforothers—reachingof theheart.Wemustplaceourselves favourablyat thesphereofaction—reachingofthefeet.Merewistfulthinkingisnotenough;wemustputineffectwhatweplantodo—reachingofthehands.

In any attacking move, we must always be ready for the opponent’s surprisedcounterattack.Hence, inShaolinKungfu,wealways“cover”ourvitalpartseven in themidstofaferventattack,andleaveroomforourownretreatshouldtheneedarise.Highkicks where the vital organs are exposed and where we stand gingerly on one leg arealmostneverusedinShaolinKungfu.Itisdifficult,thoughnotimpossible,toretreatifanopponentstrikesatthevitalorgansatthesametimeweliftourlegtokickatthesky.IfaShaolindisciplewishestokickattheopponent’shead,forexample,hewoulddosowhilejumpinghighsothattheothernon-attackinglegwillprotecthisownvitalorgans.

Wecantransferthiscombatprincipletoourdailylife.Whetherinworkorplay,itisunwisetobesowrappedupinattackthatweexposeourvitalweakness.Iftheopponentstrikesat thisvitalweakness,hewill reverseall theadvantageswemayhavepreviouslygained.

Anyefficientdefencemust include attack. Ifweonlydefend,whether inkungfusparringorinordinarylife,atthebestweachieveadraw.Ifwenevercounterattack,wemaybeforcedintotoacontinualpassive,receivingposition.Oneofthebestmomentstocounterattackiswhentheopponenthasjustcompletedonemoveandbeforeherecovershimselfforthenextmove.Inanargument,forexample,ifyouropponentisattackingyouwithastringofdemandingquestions,youcaneasilyreversethesituationbyapplyingthisShaolinprinciple:assoonashehascompletedaquestion,askhimwhetherherealizesthathis question ismisleading or irrelevant, followed by your string of factual or rhetoricalquestions.

CombatSequences

“Apictureisworthathousandwords,”saysaChineseproverb.ThepicturesinFig9.1toFig9.12illustratetwelvebasicShaolincombatsequences.Understandably,finerpointsaredifficulttobeshown.

A combat sequence is a short series of attack and defence patterns to preparestudents for free sparring and actual fighting. The patterns are selected and arrangedaccordingtosomespecificpurposesandprinciples.Besidespractisingtheform,spacing,and timing, students should also emphasize fluidity of movements and spontaneity ofresponse.

Following is a very brief description of these sequences, with accompanyingillustrations.

1.TriplePunches—BeautyLooksatMirror.Theattacker initiates three straightpunches continuously.Notice that in the secondpunch,theattackermustmoveasmallstepforwardwithhisleftlegsoasto“reachwithhisfeet”.

Fig9.1TriplePunches—BeautyLooksatMirror

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2.Three-LevelPunches—LowHorse-RidingPunch.

Theattacksareaimedatthetop,bottom,andmiddlelevels.Theattackermustmoveastepforwardforthesecondandthirdattack.

Fig9.2Three-LevelPunches—LowHorse-RidingPunch

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3.WhirlwindKick—BartheBigBoss.

Thelegattackisaimedatthedefender’sribs.Thedefenderappliesa“hard”counter,andhishorse-ridingstancemustbefirm.Heblockstheattackinglegatthethighorknee (the opponent’s weak point), not at the lower leg (his strong point in thissituation).

Fig9.3WhirlwindKick—BartheBigBoss

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4.FlowersintheSleeves—False-LegHand-Sweep.

Astheattackerstrikeswithalowhorse-ridingpunch,thedefendergripshiswristandstrikesathiselbow,dislocatingorbreakingit.Theattackerneutralizesthisbymovinghisleftlegdiagonallyforward,with“HidingFlowersintheSleeves”,andcounteringwithanotherlowhorse-ridingpunch.

Fig9.4FlowersintheSleeves—False-LegHand-Sweep

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5.WhiteCraneFlapsWings—Tiger-TailHand-Sweep.

After the defender has swept at the attacker’s arm as the latter attackswith a lowpunch(and thenwithdraws toavoid thesweep), thedefenderfollowsupwitha leftpalmchopat the attacker’s temple.Theattackerwithdraws into aFalse-Leg stance

and“threads”awaythechop,followedbyanorgan-seekingkick.

Fig9.5WhiteCraneFlapsWings—Tiger-TailHand-Sweep

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6.WhiteHorsePresentsHoof—SingleWhip.

Four vigorous attacks in one continuousmovement. The “SingleWhip” is used tostrikeatthekickingleg.

Fig9.6WhiteHorsePresentsHoof—SingleWhip

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7.FellingTreewithRoots—SlashtheBamboo.

Thedefender uses the unicorn step andButterflyPalms to neutralize the attacker’sfellingtechniques.TheattackercounterswithOrgankick,thenPoisonousSnake.Thedefendergrips theattackingarm,pressesat theattacker’selbow,andtrips thelatteronto theground.Theattacker stepshisback legdiagonally forwardandneutralizeswith“FlowersintheSleeves”.

Fig9.7FellingTreewithRoots—SlashtheBamboo

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8.PushMountains—WhiteHorsePresentsHoof.

Thedefendercounterstheattacker’s“PushMountain”withathrustkick.Theattackerretreatsintoaunicornstepandcounterswith“DarkDragonWagsTail”.

Fig9.8PushMountains—WhiteHorsePresentsHoof

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9.LeadHorsestoStable—HappyBirdonBranch.

To neutralize the attacker’s pull, the defender moves forward with the pullingmomentum,andexecutesasidekickattheattacker.

Fig9.9LeadHorsestoStable—HappyBirdonBranch

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10.EagleClawTechnique—ButterflyPalms.

TheattackerusestwoEagleClawstogripthedefender’sarm.Thedefendercounterswith “Butterfly Palms”. The circular movement of the defender’s arm releases theattacker’sgrip.

Fig9.10EagleClawTechnique—ButterflyPalms

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11.TamesaTiger—GoldenCockerelGripsThroat.

Ifsomeonetripsyouontothegroundandpressesyourelbow,onewaytocounterthisattack is “Flowers in the Sleeves”, as in Sequence Seven.Another “softer”way is“GoldenCockerelGripsThroat”,asinthissequence.

Fig9.11TamesaTiger—GoldenCockerelGripsThroat

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12.BaskinginMist—BendingWillow.

Whatwould you do if someone grips your palm and bends it backward?Respondwith“PoisonousSnakeBaskingintheMist”.

Fig9.12BaskinginMist—BendingWillow

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The specific techniques described in the previous chapter and the combat sequencessummarily mentioned above provide a good introduction to Shaolin application forcombat.Whensuch information isconvenientlypresented inabook, it iseasyformanymartialart students tomake thecommonmistakeofmerely reading itorgoingover themovementssuperficially.Ifyouwanttobeproficientinkungfufighting,youmustpractisethese(orother)combativetechniquesdevotedlyuntiltheyhavebecomesecondnaturetoyou. As a rough guide, you should practise these techniques and their variousdevelopmentalstagesasexplainedbelowforatleastoneyearsothatyoubecomefamiliarwiththem.

DevelopmentalStagesinCombatApplication

The following is a helpful programme for practising combat sequence in stages. In thedescription below, the one who starts the sequence, andwho is usually the attacker, iscalled the initiator; and the one who responds to the initiator’s first move, and who isusuallythedefender,iscalledtheresponder.

1.Atthefirststageknownas“Pre-Choice”,boththeinitiatorandtheresponderhavedecidedbeforehandwhich sequencewill beused forpractice.Be familiarwithonesequence before progressing to another sequence. The initiator and the respondershouldchangerolessothatbothhavetheexperienceofwhatanopponentwouldfeelanddoinsuchcombatsituations.

2.Inthesecondstageknownas“Self-Choice”,theinitiatorchoosesthesequencehewishestostartwith,withouttheresponderknowingbeforehand.Initiallytheyshouldlimit themselves to only two choices, then gradually increase the range of choices.Rememberthepurposeofthetraininghereisnottosurpriseyourpartnerwithatrickychoice or a cunning move, but to provide him with the opportunity to respondcorrectly, and later spontaneously, to your moves. You may, therefore, have topurposelyslowdownyourmovementstohelphimifheisnotasskilfulasyou.

3. The next stage is called “Surprised Counter”. Instead of responding to theinitiator’sfirstmoveaccordingtothepre-arrangedsequence,therespondersurprisesthe initiator with a counter-attack. The initiator, therefore, has to ward off thissurprisedcounterbeforecontinuingwithhisplannedattack.Suchsurprisedcountersshouldnotbetoooften;theyshouldbeemployedwhentheinitiatordoesnotexpectthem.

4. The fourth stage is called “Continuation”, whereby instead of completing asequence, any practitioner continues logically into another sequence without anybreakinbetween.Hencethelastmoveofthefirstsequencebecomesthefirstmoveofthesecondsequencewiththetwosequenceslinkingintoonecontinuoussequence.

5. In the next stage, instead of following the pre-arranged patterns of a certainsequencetoitscompletion,eitherpractitionermaybranchoutfromthatsequenceintoanother sequence. This stage, known as “External Change”, is similar to“Continuation”exceptthatthelinkingintoanothersequenceisnotattheendofthefirstsequence,butsomewherebetweenthemiddleandtheendofthefirstsequence.Sometimes, a modification or change of pattern may be necessary at the point oftransition.

6. Whenthepractitionersarefamiliarwiththe“ExternalChange”stage,whichisachange of one sequence into another, they may proceed to the “Internal Change”stage,whichisachangewithinthesequence.Inotherwords,atanypointofthefirstsequence, any practitioner may use a different pattern instead of the pre-arranged

patterninthatsequence,thusleadingtoachangeofthesequenceitself.Thisstageissimilarto“ExternalChange”exceptthatthechangeismadeintheearlierpartofthesequencewithoutwaitingforthesequencetorunevenhalfitspre-arrangedpatterns.

7.Whenthe“InternalChange”stageisusedfrequently,itbecomesfreesparring.Inthe stages described above, the practitioners, if they are ready, may continue intoother stages or combine appropriate sequences. For example, in the “Continuation”stage,thepractitionermaycontinuetothreeormoresequences,andtheymaymakeappropriateexternalor internalchangesineachofthesequences.Astheyintroducechangesormodificationstotheirmovements,theyalsouseotherpatternsnotfoundinthese twelve sequences. In this way, they are able to spar freely without beingparticularlyconsciousofthedevelopmentalprocessesinvolved.

10: FURTHER TRAINING FOR EFFECTIVEFIGHTING

(DevelopingFundamentalSparringSkills)

The decisive factor in combat is often not the extent of patterns or techniques thecombatantsknow,butthedepthofskill(includingforceandspeed)intheircommand.

VariationinCombatSequenceTraining

An effective way to learn kungfu application for actual fighting is through combatsequencetraining,asexplainedinthepreviouschapter.Anothereffectivewayisthroughpractising pre-arranged sparring sets.A sparring set is a routine of pre-arranged kungfupatternswheretwo,andsometimesmore,practitionersengageinsimulatedfighting.It islikealongcollectionofextendedcombatsequences.

Althoughbothpractisingcombatsequencesandpractisingsparringsetscontributetoproficiencyinfreesparring,therearesomefinedifferencesbetweenthesetwotypesofkungfutraining.Ascombatsequencesareshort,eachcomprisingonlyafewpatterns,theyare more easily managed by practitioners, and hence provide a useful vehicle for thepractitionersinlearninghowtomakeappropriatetechnicalchangesfromthepre-arrangedsequencestosuitthecurrentcombativesituations,andtolinksuitablesequencestogetherwherever necessary. Sparring sets, on the other hand, are long, each usually comprisingmore than thirty patterns, and are thus not so suitable for the purposes that combatsequences excellently provide, but sparring sets are very useful for developingfundamental skills like correctness of form, spacing, timing, fluidity of movement, andbalance,whichareessentialforeffectivecombat.

Beforeweexaminehowa sparring set canhelpus todevelop these fundamentalskills, let us briefly study how to make appropriate changes or linkage with combatsequences.

Let us look at Sequence 1 as shown in the previous chapter, and represent theattackingpatternsasA,B,A,C,whicharearightpunch,aleftpunch,arightpunchagain,and a leaning-block against the opponent’s punch.After completing these four patterns,insteadofwithdrawing to end the sequence, the initiator (or attacker) can continuewithSequence3,representedasA,D,F,G,whicharearightpunch,athreading-blockagainstthe opponent’s counter, a right whirlwind kick, and a vertical-arm-block (Bar the BigBoss)againsttheopponent’shorizontalhandsweep.Inthislinkageofthetwosequences,whichareperformedcontinuouslyasiftheyareonesequence,thelast“A”ofSequence1becomes the first “A” of Sequence 3, and the leaning-block (represented as “C”) ismodifiedtobecomethethreading-block(“D”),sothatthewholecontinuoussequencenowbecomes A, B, A, D, F, G. This variation of the combat sequence practice is called“Continuation”, which is the fourth step in theDevelopmental Stagesmentioned in thepreviouschapter.

Thisvariationof the initiator in thecombatsequencewilloffer theresponder theopportunity in learninghowtomakeappropriatechanges tomeetchangingsituations. Iftheattacksaremadeintwoseparatesequences,theseparateresponseswillbeasfollows.AgainstA,B,A,CinSequence1,theresponsewillbeM,N,G,O,whichrepresentarightmirror-hand block, a left mirror-hand block, a vertical-arm-block, and a low punch.AgainstA,D, F,G in Sequence 3, the responsewill beM, P,G,Q,which are a rightmirror-handblock,arightdragon-punch(after“threading”withthelefthand),avertical-

arm-block,andahorizontalhandsweep.IfthetwoattackingsequencesarecombinedasA,B,A,D,F,G, then thecombinedresponsewillbeM,N,G,O,G,Q,performedasonecontinuoussequence,wherethelowpunch(“O”)in theresponseofSequence1replacesthedragon-punch(“P”)ofSequence3.

The description of the above variation may look complicated, but the actualperformanceisquitesimple.Symbolically,thevariationcanberepresentedasfollows:

Initiator:ABAC+ADFG→ABADFG

Responder:MNGO+MPGQ→MNGOGQ

SupposeyouinitiateA,B,A,C(Sequence1),andyourpartnerrespondswithM,N,G,0.But as soon as he performs “G”, and before he can continue with “O”, you swiftlyintercept himwith a felling technique.Such a felling technique is found inSequence7,whichwecanrepresentbyA,H,I,J,K,P,where“H”isthefellingtechnique.(Toavoidcomplexity, here we need not worry about what other patterns are represented by theletters.)Thusyourcombinedsequence,withoutanybreakinbetween,isA,B,A,H,I,J,K,P,whereyoursecond“A”inSequence1becomesthefirst“A”inSequence7.Quitespontaneously your partner will respond with M, N, G, R, S, T, U, V. This is thedevelopmentalstageof“ExternalChange”,andcanbesymbolizedas:

ABAC+AHIJKP→ABAHIJKP

MNGO+MRSTUV→MNGRSTUV

Ifyourpartnerisoff-balancedthefirsttimeheblocksyourpunch,youneednotcontinuewith the intended Sequence 1, but change immediately to Sequence 7 to exploit hisweakness.Thefirst“A”inyourintendedsequencebecomesthefirst“A”ofyourchangedsequence. In otherwords, instead of performingABAC as planned, you immediatelychangetoAHIJKP.Thisdevelopmentalstageisknownas“InternalChange”.Similarly,atanypointinyourchangedsequence,youmaymakefurtherchangesifsuitable.

Because of their manageable lengths, combat sequences are very useful forpractisingvariationoftechniquesincombatapplication.However,knowingthetechniquesandtheirvariationincombatsequencesisnotsufficient.Thedecisivefactorincombatisoftennottheextentofpatternsortechniquesthecombatantsknow,butthedepthofskill(includingforceandspeed)intheircommand.

FourGatesSparringSet

Becauseof its substantial length, a sparring set,which is a longpre-arranged routineofsimulated combat, is a good vehicle for developing combative skills, as the engagingexponentsarerelievedofthementalburdenofdecidingwhatpatternsortechniquestousenext,sothattheycanconcentrateonskills.

TheFourGatesSparringSet,whichisderivedfromtheCross-RoadsatFourGatesSet, and is in four Sections, is illustrated below, with the respective foot positionsaccompanyingtheillustrations.Itisdifficultenoughtoshowthepatterns;toshowdetailedor subtle movements, or skills like spacing and timing is out of question. Therefore,readerswhowishtohaveadeeperappreciationofthisbeautifulsparringsetwouldhavetoconsultamaster.Nevertheless,theillustrations,despitetheirlimitations,givesomeideaofShaolinKungfuapplicationinaction.

Fig10.1FourGatesSparringSet—SectionA

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Fig10.2FourGatesSparringSet—SectionB

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Fig10.3FourGatesSparringSet—SectionC

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Fig10.4FourGatesSparringSet—SectionD

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The names of the patterns of the Sparring Set are given below. The two practitionersengaged in the sparringare conveniently termedAandB;dashes indicate thatAandBassesseachotherbeforemakinganymoves;arrowsshowtheflowofaction.ForexampleinPatterns4and5,AexecutesaSingleDragonPunchandBrespondswithBartheBigBoss. Immediately,BcounterswithaHorse-RidingPunchandA respondswithBar theBigBoss.

SectionA:

1.AmitabhaPalm—AmitabhaPalm2.LowHorse-RidingPunch→MirrorHand(right)3.SnakeEmergesfromPit→MirrorHand(left)4.SingleDragon→BartheBigBoss5.BartheBigBoss←Horse-RidingPunch6.CarrytheInsignia←BlackTiger(left)7.Horse-RidingPunch→SingleTigerClaw8.PhoenixFlapsWings→TigerTailKick9.SingleWhip→RollingGourd

SectionB:

10.ButterfliesFlying—Bow-ArrowAmitabhaPalm11.MirrorHand←BlackTiger12.HandSweep←Horse-RidingPunch(left)13.ChopMountain(left)→Thread,WhirlwindKick14.Block,Horse-RidingPunch→SnakeonGround15.FlowersinSleeves→MirrorHand16.PhoenixFlapWings→OrioleShowsToes17.SingleWhip→TigerCrossesHill18.TrimBamboo→TrimBamboo19.LohanHitsGong→LohanHitsGong

SectionC:

20.AmitabhaPalm—AmitabhaPalm21.BartheBigBoss←WhirlwindKick(right)22.BartheBigBoss←WhirlwindKick(left)23.Horse-RidingPunch→MirrorHand(right)24.BlackTiger→MirrorHand(left)25.SnakeEmergesfromPit→TigerClaw(right)26.FlowersinSleeves→TigerClaw(left)27.SnakeEmergesfromPit→SnakeBaskinginMist28.SingleTiger(left)→HittingVitalPoint

29.HandSweep,Punch(left)→TigerCrossesHill30.TigerCrossesHill←TrimBamboo31.SingleWhip←HorsePresentsHoof(left)32.CatchTigerinMountain←WhirlwindKick33.CannonfromGround→RollingGourd

SectionD:

34.ButterfliesFlying—AmitabhaPalm35.MirrorHand(left)←BlackTiger36.FlowersinSleeves←DragonPunch(left)37.FlowersinSleeves(cont)→BlockBigBoss38.Shift,Horse-RidingPunch→HandSweep39.GoldenDragon←ChoptheMountain(left)40.WhiteCrane→Bow-ArrowHandSweep41.TametheTiger←PiercePunchonGround42.GoldenDragon←HangingofLotus43.Thread,SingleDragon→KickShuttle44.CatchTigerinMountain→GoldenCockerel45.CannonfromGround→StandingCrane46.Kick,Punch→TigerClaw47.WhiteCrane—WhiteCrane48.Greeting—Greeting

FundamentalSkillsinCombat

Tosecurevictoryincombat,wemustpayattentiontothefollowingthreeareas:

1.Ensurethatourtechniquesareappropriateandflawlesssothattheopponentcannotderiveanytechnicaladvantageoverus;2.Seekweaknessesintheopponent’stechniquessoastoexploitthemtodefeathim;3. Create opportunities to enhance our own advantages and expose theopponent’sweaknesses.

Practisingasparringset,liketheFourGatesSparringSetdescribedabove,isausefulwaytoacquiretheknowledgeandabilityneededforthefirsttwoareas.Thethirdareaconcernstacticsandstrategy,andwillbediscussedinthenextchapter.

Acquiring flawless techniques in ourselves and seeking weaknesses in ouropponentscanberealized throughthedevelopmentof fundamentalcombativeskills likecorrectnessofform,rightspacing,correcttiming,fluidityofmovement,andgoodbalance.

Correctnessof form is themostbasicof the fundamentalcombative skills. If theformofourtechniquesorpatternsisfaulty,notonlyweforfeit theadvantagesthatthesepatterns speciallyprovide for theparticular combative situations,but alsoouropponentsmayexploitthefaultstodefeatus.Althoughcorrectnessofformisemphasizedinsolosetpractice,itisinsparringsetsthatthisfundamentalskillisputtoanacidtest.Forexample,inPattern2oftheFourGatesSparringSet,iftheopponentmoveshisblockingarmtoofarout,Fig10.5,Iexploithisfaultyformby“slipping”myhandroundhisarmandstrikehisfacewitha“hangingfist”,Fig10.6.

Fig10.5FaultyFormofMirrorHand

Fig10.6SlippingroundwithHangingFist

Poor spacing is a commonweakness amongmany combatants. For example, when theopponentattacksmeinPattern11,ImovebackastepwhileblockinghisattackwithmyMirrorHand. Thus he has tomove forward to bridge the gap if hewants to attackmeagain. In Pattern 12 hemoves his front leg a step forward as he inflict his lowHorse-RidingPunch.Ifhedoesnotmoveforward,i.e.,ifhisspacingisfaulty,IneednotbothertodefendagainstthisattackbecauseitwillnotreachmeevenifIdonothing,Fig10.7.So,ifIamwelltrainedtoexploithisweaknessinspacing,Ishallstrikehimthesplitsecondhehasstartedtostrikeme,suchaschoppinghisheadasinFig10.8.Inthisway,assoonashis non-effective attack is spent, my chop is already at his head. I must, however, notneglect the following two points: bridge the gap to improvemy spacing, and guard hisattackinghandeventhoughatthissituationhisattackisnon-effectiveforitmaybeafeintmovetotemptme.

Fig10.7Non-ReachingAttackduetoBadSpacing

Fig10.8ExploitingWeaknessofNon-ReachingAttack

Timingisoneofthemostdifficultcombativeskillstolearn.Itisobviousthatevenifyourdefencepatterniscorrect,butifyouareslow,youwillstillbehit.Butifyouaretooquick,itmay alsobe aweakness!For example, in theSparringSet I inflict a rightWhirlwindKickatmypartner,andhedefendswithBartheBigBoss,asinPattern20,asillustratedinFig10.9.ThenhejumpsroundtoperformthesecondBartheBigBossbeforeIexecutethesecondWhirlwindKick.Hehascommittedtheerrorofblindlyfollowingthepre-arrangedsequence,insteadofrespondingtomyinitiative.Exploitinghisweaknessofwrongtiming,Ichangemyintendedwhirlwindkickintoasidekick,thushittinghim,Fig10.10.Heishitnotbecausehedoesnotknowhowtodefend,butbecauseofincorrecttiming,whichisacommonoccurrenceamongmanycombatants.

Fig10.9BlockingaWhirlwindKick

Fig10.10ExploitingWeaknessofPoorTiming

One sureway to tell a novice from amaster is to observe themanner theymove. Themovementsofanovicearestaccatoandclumsy,whereas thoseofamasterarefluidandelegant,withrelatedpatternsflowingfromoneintoanotherincontinuousharmony—insolopracticeaswellasinsparring.Theharmoniousflowofamasterconcernsnotonlyhisownpatterns,butalsoincorporatesandoverwhelmsthoseofhisinferioropponent.Inotherwords, the master adjusts the momentum of his movements according to that of hisopponent so as to control him. For example,when an opponent executes a left DragonPunch atme, as in Pattern 35, I block and instantaneously counterwith Flowers in theSleeves,Figures10.11and10.12.Therearetwomovements—blockandcounter-punch—buttheyflowtogetherasonepattern.Ifthisisperformedskilfully,andiftheopponentishesitant,hewillbehitthemomenthisDragonPunchattackisjustover.However,iftheopponentisalsofluid,hefollowsmyattackingmomentumtobreakmyarm(ordislocatemyelbow),asinPattern36.Icansavemyarm(orelbow)byflowingwithhismomentum(instead of going against it),with anotherFlowers in theSleeves, followedby aHorse-RidingPunchasinPattern37.

Fig10.11BlockingMovementinFlowersinSleeves

Fig10.12PunchingMovementinFlowersinSleeves

Maintaining good balance is extremely important in kungfu.Without good balance it isdifficult,ifnotimpossible,toperformsomecrucialtechniques,especiallythoseinvolvingstandingononeleg.Forexample,whenIexecutealeftkneestrikeusingthepatternJadeGirlKicksShuttle atmyopponent as inPattern 42, Fig 10.13, he swiftly squats on thegroundwiththepatternCatchaTigerintheMountain,counter-attackingmygenitalsasinPattern43,Fig10.14.IfnotformygoodbalanceImighthavelostmygenitals,butIjumpto stand onmy left leg and raisemy right knee toward of his brutal attack, Fig 10.15.InstantlyIkickoutmyrightpointedtoesathisunder-chin,Fig10.16.Thiskickismeanttostrikethethroat,whichmaymaimhim,butalthoughheisbrutal,Ineednothavetobeabrutelikehimtocausemorethannecessaryinjury.

Fig10.13JadeGirlKicksShuttle

Fig10.14CatchaTigerintheMountain

Fig10.15GoldenCockerelStandsMagnificently

Fig10.16KickingathisUnder-Chin

As in many other aspects of Shaolin Kungfu, the principles behind these fundamentalcombative skills can also be applied to our daily living. If we carry ourselves well(correctnessofform),bepresentatwheretheactionis(correctspacing),dotherightthings

attherighttime(righttiming),beharmoniousandelegant(fluidityofmovement),andbeemotionally stable (good balance), we certainly have a better chance to succeed in ourworkandplaythanthosewhoareshabby,unavailable,unpunctual,clumsy,andunstable.

ExamplesofCrucialPointsinSparring

Thereareotherimportantpointswecanlearnfrompractisingsparringsets.ThefollowingarejustsomeexamplesfromtheFourGatesSparringSet.InPattern8,forinstance,whenImoveforwardtoattacktheopponentwithanelbowstrikeusingthepatterncalledPhoenixFlapsWings,Fig10.17,Imustnotneglectthefollowingtwopoints.One,Imustbecarefulofhispossibleelbowstrikeonmyface,asinFig10.18.Icanguardagainstthispossibilityby pulling his arm away frommeor placing the palmofmy striking elbow against hiselbow. Two, Imust placemy front leg in such away that I guard against his possibleHorseBack-Kickagainstmygroin.Fig10.19showstherightplacingofmyleg;Fig18.20showsthewrongposition,whichmayresultwithaHorseBack-Kick,Fig10.21.

Fig10.17PhoenixFlapsWings

Fig10.18ElbowStriketoFace

Fig10.19RightPlacingofLeg

Fig10.20WrongPlacingofLeg

Fig10.21HorseBack-Kick

Whatwould you do if your opponent strikes your facewith his elbow, as in Fig 10.18above?Onegoodcounter is tofollowhismomentum,bendhisarmbehind,andgrip thecarotidarteryatthesideofhisneck;butyoumustbeverycarefulnottogriptoohard,or

elseyoumaycause seriousdamageor evenkill him.Figures10.22and10.23 show theprocessofthisarm-cum-neckhold.

Fig10.22BendinghisArmforanArmLock

Fig10.23GrippinghisNeckfromBehind

The following is a useful counter against theHorseBack-Kick.As theopponentmovesforwardtokickbackwardandupwardwithhisrightheel,useyourfrontleftlegtoblockordeflecthiskick,Fig10.24.Atthesametimepushhimtofallforwardface-on.Steponhisleg,butbecarefulnot todislocatehisankle,holdhisarmawayfromyoutopreventhispossible backward elbow strike, and grip a vital point on his body, in a pattern calledEnteringtheSeatoCatchaDragon,Fig10.25.

Fig10.24DeflectinghisHorseBack-Kick

Fig10.25EnteringtheSeatoCatchaDragon

Letusnow reverse roles.Youropponentmoves forwardwith an elbowstrikeusing thepatternPhoenixFlapsWingstostrikeyou,asinFig10.17above.Tocounterthisattack,move forwardslightlywithyour lead leg, thusmovingyourbodyaway fromhisattack,bendyourrightelbowbehindandrotateyourbodyright-wardatthesametime,andthrustbackaTigerTailKickatyouropponent,Fig10.26.Immediatelyrollaway.Itisnecessaryfor you to bend your elbow and rotate your body, or else it is difficult to execute thispatterneffectively.

Fig10.26TigerTailKick

(a)

(b)

(c)

Combatsequencesandsparringsetsareveryusefulinourtrainingtobeeffectivefighters.Combat sequences provide opportunities for us to practise making variations in our

fighting techniques to suit the current combative situations. Sparring sets enable us todevelopthefundamentalcombativeskillstoexecutethesetechniquesefficiently.Whenwehavethesetechniquesandskills,wehaveagoodchancetowininmostordinarycombats.However,iftheopponentisamaster,he,too,willbefamiliarwithtechniquesandskills;heknowshow toneutralizeany techniquesappliedonhim,andhedoesnotexposeanyweaknesses that can be exploited. How, then, can we have an edge over an expertopponent?Iftheopportunitiesfordefeatinghimarenotpresentlyavailable,wewillhavetocreatethem,andthiscanberealizedthroughanunderstandingandapplicationoftacticsandstrategytobeexplainedinthenextchapter.

11: CREATING OPPORTUNITIES TO SECUREVICTORY

(ApplyingTacticsandStrategiesinFighting)

Wecanseetheparticulartechniqueemployedtosecurevictory,oftenwealsoknowthe tactical considerations behind the techniques used, but most of us may not beawareoftheunderlyingstrategyfromwhichthetacticsandtechniquesareevolved.

SunTzu’sAdvice

Whentalkingabouttacticsandstrategy,wewouldgetmuchbenefitfromreadingtheworkof Sun Tzu, the 6th century BCE Chinese general considered by many as the greatestmilitarystrategistofalltimes.Theprinciplesthatcontributetothesuccessofanarmy,SunTzuexplainsinhisArtofWar,arealsoapplicabletothesuccessofasinglecombatant.InthesectiononTactics,SunTzusays:

Theefficientwarriorsfirstputthemselvesbeyondthepossibilityofdefeat,thenseekthe opportunity to defeat the enemy. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in ourownhands;theopportunitytodefeattheenemylieswiththeenemy.

Sun Tzu’s teaching is the same as the Shaolin philosophy on combat explained in thepreviouschapter, i.e., firstwemakesure thatouractionsare flawless, thenweseekandexploitanyweaknessintheopponent’sactions.

Forourpurposehere,tacticsrefertoaplanneddispositionoftechniquestoachievesomedesirableobjectives.Strategyreferstoageneraldesigntomanoeuvretheopponenttorespondincertainmanners.Forexample,ifImeetanopponentwhoisveryskilfulinkicks,auseful tactics Imayadopt is tostayclose tohim tominimize theadvantagesofkicks,sothatifheuseskicksitwouldbedisadvantageoustohim,despitehisskill.Inthisway I putmyself beyond the possibility of defeat, which is the first part of Sun Tzu’sadviceabove.NextIdeviseastrategytotempthimtousekicksatthetimeIamreadytoexploitthemtosecuremyvictory.ThisisthesecondpartofSunTzu’sadvice,wheretheopponentprovides theopportunity forhisowndefeat.Theclassification into tactics andstrategies, however, is for the sake of convenience; the principles and Shaolin secretsdescribedbelowcanbeclassifiedastacticsorasstrategiesdependingontheirfunction.

In a combat, even amongmasters, the combatants have little time to consider atgreatlengththekindsoftacticsandstrategytoemploy.Eveniftimeisavailable,itisnotrecommendedtobeusedfordeepthought,becauseitwouldthendistractthecombatantsfromtheirfocusonthecombat.Kungfumasterswhoalsoexcelinmeditationoftenattainastate of non-thought in combatwhereby theirminds, free from thoughts, permeates thewholecombativeenvironmentandprocess. If theyhave tobeengaged in thoughts, theywoulddosoinameditativestate,quitedifferentfromthetypeofthinkingacandidatedoesinanexaminationorapoliticianinworkingoutapolicyspeech.SuchameditativestateofaShaolinKungfumasterelevateshimtoaspirituallevel,inaccordancewiththefactthatthehighestaimofkungfuisspiritualdevelopment.

PrinciplestoGuideCombat

Then, how does a master assess the current situations and decide on what tactics andstrategytobeused?Hedoesallthatbeforetheactualphysicalfightingbegins!Asinthecaseofthetechniquesandskillsthathavebeendiscussedinpreviouschapters,aShaolindisciplebenefits from theaccumulatedwisdomofpastShaolinmasters regarding tacticsand strategies through his Shaolin training, as such wisdom has been ingrained in theShaolin tradition.He is trained tounderstandandapplyvariousprinciplesand“songsofsecrets”(liketheexamplesinChapter6and9)whichsummarizeessentialinformationintopoeticexpressions.Someexamplesoftheseprinciples,whichcanbeusedastacticsorasstrategies,dependingonourpurpose,areasfollows:

1.Avoidthestrongpointsoftheopponent;attackhisweakpoints2.Ifheispowerful,enterfromthesides;ifheisweak,enterfromthefront3.Movethestance,changethestep;shiftanddodge,advanceandretreat4.Usetheorthodoxincombat;usetheunorthodoxtosecurevictory5. Trick the opponent to attack unsuccessfully; strike him when he isunprepared6.Ifthereisform,striketheform;ifthereisnoform,chasetheshadow

Avoiding the opponent’s strength and attacking hisweakness is so obvious that itmayseemtrite;yetmanyuninformedcombatantsdotheopposite.InmyexperienceInoticedthatinamatchagainstanopponentwhospecializedinkicks,suchastaekwondooraThaiboxing exponent, many combatants usually retreated or tried to block with their handswhenmeetingpowerfulkicks.Itisnosurprisethatthesecombatantswereforcedtobeonthedefensivemostof the time,and theyusually lost—oftenhelplessly,as theydidnotknow how to defend against powerful kicks effectively, and they had little chance tocounterattack.

Supposeyouareincombatwithataekwondoexponent.Ifyouretreatashekicks,youmay escape being hit, but youwill grant himboth the advantage of length and theinitiative of attack. By retreating and thusmaintaining some distance between you andhim,itisadvantageoustoyouropponentwhospecializesinkicksbecauseakick,asmanytaekwondoexponentsarefondofsaying,has longerreachthanapunch.Unlessyoucanovercomethissetback,youropponentwillbekickingyoumostofthetime.Assumingallotherfactorsbeingequal(whichisalmostnevervalidinrealsituations),ifheattacksyouten timesandyouattackhimonlyonce,hischanceofbeatingyou is10 to1.Youhavesuchahighchanceofdefeatbecauseyoufail inbothpointsadvisedbySunTzuabove:without some effective tactics you have failed to put yourself beyond the possibility ofdefeat; and by giving your opponent the convenience of attack, you have provided theopportunityforhimtodefeatyou.

Ifyoublockhiskickswithyourhands,youareusingyourweakpointsagainsthis

strength.Irecallafewfilmshowswheretheheroineusedtwohandstoblockthepowerfulround-house kicks of an aggressor. If this happens in a real situation, most likely thepowerfulround-housekickwillbounceawaythedaintyhandsandstrikeherhead;ifherarmsarestrongenoughtoprovidesomeresistance,theywillironicallybefracturedorherwristsdislocated.Similarlyshe failsSunTzu’s two tests: shedoesnothaveaneffectivecounter against thekick toputherselfbeyond thepossibilityofdefeat; sheprovides theopportunityfortheenemytodefeatherbyfailingtomoveawayherheadorplacingherhandsintheway.

TacticalandStrategicConsiderations

There aremany effective counters in ShaolinKungfu for you to reverse your defeat tovictory.First,letusexaminesomestrategicandtacticalconsiderations.Hisstrongpointsare thepowerofhiskicksand the lengthofhis reach.What, then,arehisweakpoints?Wheneverapersonkicks,especiallyifhehastoturnhisbodytoachievemomentumasinasidekickoraround-housekick,hisbalanceisaffected,whichmeansthatatthismomentheislessmobile.Second,therequirementsofeffectivekicksusuallyposithisbodyinsuchawaythattheflexibilityrangeofhisotherthreelimbsisaffected.Forexample,atthetimewhenapersonexecutesasidekickoraround-housekick,itisverydifficultforhimtousehisotherleg,andtheapplicationofhistwohandsisalsolimited.Forcomparison,whenheexecutesapunch,hecanuseanyoneof the four limbswithease.Third, ifhedoesnotguardhisgroinwhenhekicks,itwillbeagoodtarget;whenheguardsithefurtherlimitstheuseofhishands.

Agoodstrategy,therefore,istoavoidhisstrongpointsandattackhisweakpoints,andagoodtacticsistoenterfromthesides.“Avoid”doesnotmeanrunningaway,asisoftenthecasewithuninformedcombatants.Wemaydifferentiatetwotypesofavoidance:one, avoiding direct contact with his kicks, such as not blocking them with ourcomparatively weaker hands; and two, manoeuvring in such a way that he has fewopportunitiestousekicks.

Attackinghisweakpointsmeans thatwewillattackhimwhenhe is lessmobile,whenthefulluseofhislimbsislimited,andwhenheexposesanunguardedtarget.Asheis likely to have this weakness when he kicks, the first part of our strategy suggestsavoidinghiskicks,butweshallthereforehavetomakesomeadjustments.Ifwefindthathe is very skilful inkicking techniques, buthishand techniques arepoor,wemay stickclosetohimsothathehaslittleopportunitytousehiskicksandforcehimtousehispoorhandtechniquesmostof the timeso thatwecanreadilydefeathim.However, ifwecancounterhiskicksdespitehisskillandpower,wemayallowhimtousehiskicksoftensothathewillrevealthoseweaknesseswearelookingfortodefeathim.Youwillnoticethatthese strategic considerations fulfil both of Sun Tzu’s points: placing ourselves beyonddefeatandmanoeuvringtheopponenttoprovideopportunitiesforustodefeathim.

To implementour strategywecanuse the tacticsofentering from the sides, andavoidenteringfromthefront.Thismeansthatifwewanttocounterattacktheopponentashekicks,weshallnotblockthekickandmoverightinfrontally;instead,weavoidcontactwiththekickbydodgingandmovinginfromtheside.

Ifwewanttostayclosetotheopponenttopreventhimfromusingkicks,ausefultactics is “move the stance, change the step; shift and dodge, advance and retreat.”TranslatedintoEnglish,thistacticsmayappearcircumlocutory,butinitsChineseoriginalitisbothpoeticandconcise.Anexampleofitsapplicationisasfollows.Ashekicks,youdodge;andassoonasheplaceshiskickinglegontheground,youhavemovedclosetohim.Ifhetriestowidenthespacebetweenyoubyretreatingonestep,youmoveforward

onestepsimultaneouslywiththecorrespondingleg.Ifhemovesbackxsteps,youfollowcorrespondinglywithxsteps;ifhemovesasideysteps,you,too,movetothesamesideysteps. Ifhechargeshead-onatyou,youshiftyourstance insuchamanner thatyouarerightbehindhim.Meanwhileyouengagehiminhandcombat,andasheisweakinhandtechniques whereas you are prepared and have the initiative, you would defeat him.“Having the initiative”means that on the whole you decide and influence the types ofpatternstouseinthecombat.

The following are some examples of how we can implement our strategy andtactics.Astheopponentinflictsapowerfulround-housekick,Idodgetotheexposedside,movingdiagonallyforward,Fig11.1.Assoonasheplaceshiskickinglegontheground,Ihavemoved in according towhere he has placed his leg and strike himwith a leopardpunch(formedbybendingthefingersatthesecondjointsinsteadofatthethirdasisdoneinanormalfist),inapatternknownas“GoldenLeopardSpeedsThroughtheJungle”,Fig11.2.Imay,ifIwishtobenasty,immediatelyfollowupwithasecondleopardpunchwiththe other hand at the same spot, frequently before the opponent realizes what hashappened.

Fig11.1DodgingaRound-HouseKick

Fig11.2GoldenLeopardSpeedsThroughtheJungle

Butifhecandefendagainstthisdoubleattack,Ishallinstantlycontinuewithmyfamiliar

combatsequencesthatIhaveplannedbeforehand.Ishallstickclosetohimandmaintainmy initiative, but not forget to covermyself sufficiently amidstmy raining attacks. Forexample,assoonashedefendsoneattack,anotherplannedattackfollowsinstantly,givinghimnochancetorecover.Ifheisskilfulenoughtobreakthisplannedcontinuousattackand attempt a counter attack, I shall revert to my initiative immediately by taking hiscounter-attackasthestartofanotherofmyattacksequences.

Alternatively, I may tempt him to exercise his kicks so that I can exploit hisweaknessestodefeathim.Fig11.3illustratestheopponentexecutesapowerfulsidekick;Idodgebymovingdiagonallyforward.Assoonasheplaceshiskickinglegontheground,Ihavemovedinaccordinglyandplacedmyfrontlegbehindhisfrontleg,Fig11.4.Noticethatmyhandsguardagainsthispossibleattack.ImmediatelyIfellhimontothegroundbypushinghisbodybackwardandtrippinghisleg,usingapatterncalled“UprootingaTree”,Fig11.5. Ihavemyfinger-hookonhis throatandmykneeonavitalpointofhisbody,whichwillcausehimpainifhetriestomove.

Fig11.3DodgingaSideKick

Fig11.4MovinginforaFellingTechnique

Fig11.5UprootingaTree

Onemustrealizethatmerelyknowingstrategiesandtacticsisnotenough;thecombatantmust be skilful in his techniques. Indeed, one who can apply strategies and tactics incombatisusuallyofamaster’slevel.Forordinarycombatsituations,beingfamiliarwiththeprinciplesandpracticeofcombatsequencesandsparringsetsisgenerallyadequateforsecuringvictory.

DefeatDuetoWrongChoice

While thestrategyand tacticsdescribedabove thatadvocateclosebodyfightingmaybeeffectiveagainstsomeonelikeataekwondoexponent,whofrequentlyusessidekicksandround-house kicks, they may not be suitable against an opponent like a Thai boxingpractitioner,whousesothertypesofkickingtechniques,becausewithhiselbowandkneestrikes,aThaiboxingexponentisalsoversatileincloserangecombat.This,ofcourse,isno implication thatThaiboxing is superior to taekwondo: it just illustrates thatwemustselecttherightstrategyandtacticsaccordingtothefightingstylesofouropponents.

Thekindsofsidekicksandround-housekickstypicallyfoundintaekwondoarenotcommonly found in Thai boxing. Their close equivalents in Thai boxing are similar towhatwe callwhirlwind kicks and thrust kicks in ShaolinKungfu.We still can use oursametechniquesagainsttheseequivalents,butthenwemaynotgetthesameadvantagesasbefore,andwemustalsobecarefulthattheversatileThaiboxingopponenthaseffectivecountersagainstourmoves.Thefollowingshowsomeilluminatingexamples.

Astheopponentexecutesawhirlwindkick,Idodgebymovingdiagonallyforwardas before, Fig 11.6. Immediately I move in with a leopard punch, Fig 11.7. But theversatile opponent sweeps aside the leopard punch and simultaneously jumps upwith atypicalThaiboxingkneestrikeatmysideribsusingapatternsimilartowhatisknownas“JadeGirlKickingShuttle”inShaolinKungfu,Fig11.8.

Fig11.6DodgingaWhirlwindKick

Fig11.7LeopardPunchtotheOpponent’sRibs

Fig11.8KneeStriketoMySideRibs

InFig11.9,theopponentinflictsathrustkick;Idodgebymovingdiagonallyforward.Assoonashiskickinglegisbackontheground,Imovein,placemylegbehindhisleg,andIam about to fell him to the ground, Fig 11.10. However, he neutralizes my fellingtechniquewith a little jump and simultaneously strikes his elbow intomy face using apatternknowninShaolinKungfuas“FierceTigerEntersRock”,Fig11.11.

Fig11.9DodgingaThrustKick

Fig11.10GettingReadyforaFellingTechnique

Fig11.11FierceTigerEntersRock

MydefeatinbothcaseswasduetomyfailuretofollowSunTzu’sadvice:Ididnotensuremyselfagainst thepossibilityofdefeat;andIprovidedtheopportunityforhimtosecurevictory.Thefailurewastheresultofstrategic,tactical,andtechnicalerrors.

Iusedthewrongstrategy;Iattackedhisstrongpointsandwasignorantofhisweakones.KneestrikesandelbowstrikesaretheforteofThaiboxing,techniquesthatarebestappliedincloserangecombat.

Mytacticsofenteringfromthesidesandattackinghimwhenhehadnotrecoveredhisbalancewasalsomistakenbecausekneeandelbowstrikescanbeeffectivelyappliedtoboththesidesandthefront,andanimbleThaiboxingexponentcanrecoverhisbalanceeasily.Third,inmyattackIcommittedthetechnicalfaultofnotprovidingsufficientcoverorretreatformyself.TheoverallcauseofallthesemistakeswasthatIhadnotunderstoodmyopponentadequately.SunTzu’sfamousaxiom,“Knowthyselfandknowthyenemy;thouwillbevictoriousahundredtimesinahundredbattles”,isasimportantinwarfareasinindividualcombat.

Abasicrequirementofamasterwheneverheexecutesanyattackistheabilitytoneutralize any resultant counter-attack from theopponent.Applying this principle, I canreversemydefeattovictoryintheabovecombat.Therearemanywaystocounterthekneeandelbowstrike;followingarejusttwoexamples.

AsshowninFig11.12,whichisacontinuationofFig11.8,astheopponentinflictshis knee strike, Imovemy front leg backward and simultaneously deflect his attackingkneewithmylefthand.Continuingthemovement,Isquatdownandstrikehisotherkneeat its sidewithmy right leopardpunch inapatterncalled“AngryLeopardChargesataRock”. Itmust be noted that the counters shown in Fig 11.12 and Fig 11.13 should beperformedinasplitsecond.

Fig11.12AngryLeopardChargesatRock

Fig11.13showsmycounteragainst theopponent’selbowstrike. Imovemyback legasmall step backward and lowermyself into a horse-riding stance, thusmovingmy faceawayfromhisattack.SimultaneouslyI“float”hisattackingelbowandstrikehissideribsinapatterncalled“WhiteHorseTurnsAroundItsHead”.

Fig11.13WhiteHorseTurnsAroundItsHead

ChoosingtheRightStrategyandTactics

However,eventhoughIcouldreversedefeattovictory,Iwouldnottakethisrisk,becauseintheabovesequencesIwasindisadvantageoussituations.

AlthoughThaiboxingmayappearsimple,it isactuallyanextremelyeffectiveartfor fighting. Its simplicity is deceptive: Thai boxing attacks are brutally powerful, yetbafflingly subtle. Luckily, there are two invaluable factors helping me to equip myselfagainstThaiboxingopponents.One,virtuallyallThaiboxingtechniquescanbefoundinShaolinKungfu,thusenablingmetobefamiliarwiththeoperationofthisart.Two,beforehis commitment to ShaolinKungfu,my own Shaolinmaster, SifuHo FattNam,was aprofessionalMuayThaiboxer,earninghislivelihoodandanumberofchampionshipsfromtheThaiboxing ring.Thus fromhim I learnmany important secretsThaiboxersuse intheirfights.

Whenfacingapowerful,subtle,andagileopponent, Iwould trynot tomeethimdirectly.Iwouldtempthimtoattack,butmakesurethathisattacksarefutile,andstrikehim when he least expects it. A helpful strategy, therefore, is a combination of thefollowingtwoprinciples:“Tricktheopponenttoattackunsuccessfully;strikehimwhenisunprepared”and“Use theorthodox incombat;use theunorthodox tosecurevictory”.Atacticalapproachtorealizetheaimsofthestrategyis,“Ifthereisform,striketheform;ifthereisnoform,chasetheshadow”.

So when my Thai boxing practitioner initiates his attacks using kicks, whichhappenstobeacommonstrategyinThaiboxingtoassessorconfusetheopponent,aswellas toopen theway for subsequentkilling strikes, Ipretend toblockor to retreat.Theseblockingandretreatingmovesaredifferentfromthoseoftheuninformedcombatantfacinga skilful taekwondoexponentdescribedearlier,becausehere theyaremeant to trick theattacker. These moves appear to be orthodox to my Thai boxing opponent, as he hasprobablymet countless combatants reacting in theseways to his attacks.ThismaygivehimafalseimpressionthatIamincompetentandmaycausehimtobelessvigilant.

Thenwhentheopponentleastexpectsit,butwhenIhavebeenbuildinguptothisopportunity,Istrikehimdecisivelytodefeathim.Figs11.14to11.16provideexamplesofusing theunorthodox to securevictory.Whenheexecutes a right thrustkick, insteadofretreatingashemayhaveexpected,Iwithdrawmybodywithoutmovingbackmylegssoas to“swallow”oravoid the full impactofhismomentum,andsimultaneouslywithmyrightleopardpunchstrikehisknee(atitsside)orankle,whicharesoftspotsofhisleg,Fig11.14. (Striking his hard, trained shin may fracture my knuckles if they are not toughenough.)Thisisthetacticsofstrikingtheformifthereisform—theformherebeinghisextendedleg.

Irrespective of whether I hit his knee or ankle or nothing at all, he is likely towithdrawhisleg.Imoveforwardtosquatdown,changemyrightleopardpunchtoarightcupfistandfollowing themovementofhiswithdrawing leg,strikehis“dan tian”or the

vitalpointattheabdomen,withinternalforcechannelledfrommycupfist,Fig11.15.Thisdantianisthefocusofhischiorintrinsicenergy.Anappropriatestrikeathisdantiancanshatterhisinternalenergyfield,thusputtinghimoutofcombat.Thistacticsisknownaschasingtheshadowifthereisnoform—formbeinghiswithdrawingleg.Noticethatmyotherhandguardshiswithdrawingleg.Itdoesnotmatterifhedoesnotwithdrawhisleg;Iwouldstillfollowupwiththesamepattern,whichiscalled“HittingaTiger”.

Hemay,despitebeinghit, springuphisother legforakneestrikeatmyhead. Iwillbereadyforthisanticipatedmove;Ichangemyrightfisttoanopenpalmand“float”ordeflecthisleftknee,andsimultaneouslystrikethesamespot(i.e.,hisdantian)withmyleftcupfist.Fig11.16.

Fig11.14StrikingtheKnee

Fig11.15HittingtheTiger

Fig11.16StrikingtheDanTianAgain

OvercomingThrowsandMultipleAttacks

Mymaster,SifuHoFattNam,oncetoldmethatmanyyearsagoajudoexpertfromJapanpaidhimaspecialvisittotesthisShaolinKungfu.Astheywalkedalong,thejudoexpertputhisarmaroundmymasterlikeanoldfriend.

“Didheknowyoubefore?”Iaskedinnocently.

“No,”mymastersaid,“buthewas trying to throwmemanytimesaswewalkedalong.”

“Youcouldeasilyhavegivenhimanelbowjaborakicktohisshin,”Isaid.

“Ididn’t,becausehisgesturewasfriendly,andyoudon’tdosuchthingstoaguestwhohascomefromveryfarawaytoputhisarmaroundyou.”

“Didhesucceedinthrowingyou?”

“He didn’t. It is actually quite easy to neutralize throws. You just apply theprincipleof‘Movethestance,changethestep’.Thejudoexpertwassimplyamazed.”

Iwasverykeentotestthevalidityofmymaster’steachingonmyself,andfoundthat it works excellently. It is indeed amazing that just one principle, when appliedskilfully,canbeusedtoovercomecountlesscombativesituations.Basically,theprincipleof “Move the stance, change the step”, which sounds poetic in Chinese, means thatwheneveranopponentattemptstothrowyou,youcanfrustratehiseffortbyregainingyourbalanceassoonashe tries to throwoffyourbalance.Thiscanbeachievedbyadjustingyour foot position and sitting low on your stance. Figures 11.17 to 11.22 illustrate twoexamples.

InFig11.17theopponenttriestothrowmeoverhisshoulder,similartoaShaolinpatterncalled“FarmerDigstheGround”.Ipushmyfront legright intoandbetweenhistwolegs,sitonareversebow-arrowstance,andgriphishairfrombehind,Fig11.18,inapatterncalled“PullingaBull’sTail”.

Fig11.17FarmerDigstheGround

Fig11.18PullingaBull’sTail

InFig11.19theopponentattemptsabackwardthrowbytrippingmyleg,resemblingtheShaolinpattern“UprootingaTree”,whichwehavemetearlierexceptthatintheShaolinpattern the exponent uses the horse-riding stance or the bow-arrow stance for betterstability. I lift upmy attacked leg, Fig 11.20, swiftly bring it far back behindme, Fig11.21, simultaneouslypull theopponent to fall forward face-on, immobilizehispushingarm by squatting on it, and grip his neckwith one hand, Fig 11.22, in a pattern called“Catching a Snake on the Ground”. All these actions are done continuously in a splitsecond.

Fig11.19OpponentTrippingMetoFallBackward

Fig11.20LiftinguptheAttackedLeg

Fig11.21PullingtheOpponenttoFallForward

Fig11.22LockingArmandGrippingNeck

Thisprincipleof“Movethestance,changethestep;shiftanddodge,advanceandretreat”canbeusedasanexcellentstrategyagainstmultipleopponents.Thereisakungfusayingthat“itisdifficultfortwofiststomatchfourhands”,whichmeansthatevenifyouareagoodfighter,youmaynotmatchtwoopponentsattackingyouatthesametime,althoughyoucaneasilydefeatthemoneatatime.

Nowimagineyouaresurroundedbysixopponents.Ifthreeofthemattackyouatthesametime,whatareyougoingtodo?Youcanfightthemoneatatimeifyouswiftlymove away fromyour original position into anyoneof the six opponents.Becauseyouhavemovedaway,thethreesimultaneousattackscannotreachyou,soyouneednothavetouse“twofistsagainstsixhands”.Youwillhavetobeconstantlyonyourmove,makingfulluseof“shiftanddodge,advanceandretreat”,toavoidmorethantwohandsattackingyouatthesametime.

Ifyouhaveconfidenceindefeatingyouropponents,gofortheirleader(irrespectiveofwhetherhe is currently attackingyou) and strikehimbefore theothers closeonyou.Oncetheleaderisbeaten, theothersusuallychickenout.However, ifyouthinktheyareformidable,goferociouslyattheirmosttimidmember,notsomuchtostrikehimbuttogethimoutofyourwaysothatyoucanescapeimmediately.

FrustratingLocksandFastPunches

Ifyouknowhowtoapplyeffectivelyjustonetacticalprinciple,“Followhismomentum,breakhisflow”,youcanfrustratemostattemptstoholdorlockyou!Technicallyspeaking,executingalockismoreadvancedthanexecutingapunchorkick,becauseitnecessitatesmakingmanymovements, whereas punching and kicking need only one. This explainswhypunchesandkicksaremorefrequentinmostfighting,andalsowhyitishardertogetoutofalockthantodefendagainstapunchorkick.

Let us briefly examine an example of how to apply the above tactics to preventgettingintoahold,aswellasgettingoutfromone.Fig11.23showsanopponentpullingme to fall forward, trying to lock my arm with the pattern “Catching a Snake on theGround”, as inFigures 11.21 and 11.22 above. Instead of resisting, I followhis pullingmomentumandmoveonelegforwardtoregainbalance,Fig11.24.Then,Iswingmyheldarmupwardinanarctobreakhisholdonmyarm,simultaneouslystrikehisfacewithmyother fist,andmoveone legbackward into thebow-arrowstance (soas toeliminate theexposureofmygroin)inapatterncalled“OldElephantDropsTusk”,Fig11.25.

Fig11.23OpponentPullingMetoFallForward

Fig11.24FollowingHisMomentumtoRegainBalance

Fig11.25OldElephantDropsTusk

InFig11.26 theopponentholdsmyhead frombehind in apattern calledTwoDragonsCarryaPearl.Ifheforcefullyturnsmyhead,hecanbreakmyneckandthatwouldbetheendofme—physically.Thisisadeadlytechnique,andshouldneverbeusedbyShaolindisciples unless it is absolutely necessary. If I try to resist his turning, it is using theweaknessofmyneckagainstthestrengthofhistwoarms.(Althoughhishandsareholdingmyhead,ifhelockshiswrists,itisactuallythearmsthatprovidethestrength.)SoIfollowthemomentumofhisturn,thenbreakhisflowbyputtingmyfrontarmroundhistwoarmstolockthem,andplacingmyfrontlegbehindhislegstotriphimandstablingmystance,Ifellhimontothegroundwithapushandtwist,Fig11.27,inapatterncalledHoldingtheMoon Close to the Body.When he is caught unprepared on the floor, I could jab twofingers intohiseyes,butIstop justan inchaway,Fig11.28,demonstrating thatShaolindisciplesdonotreturnatoothforatooth.

Fig11.26TwoDragonsCarryaPearl

Fig11.27HoldingtheMoon

(a)

(b)

Fig11.28DoNotReturnaToothforaTooth

Like other kungfu principles, this tactics of following the enemy’s momentum, thenbreaking his flow, can be fruitfully applied to our daily lives. Suppose some enviouscolleaguesareschemingto trapyouintoaquagmire. Insteadofflaringout immediately,whichmayforcethemtoemploymoredrasticmeasures,youfollowtheirschemeashortwayonsafeground,andwhenyouarewiththeirmomentum,youbreaktheirflow(suchasby removing some essential intermediate steps). Your enemies would have to abandontheirscheme.

Whatwouldyoudoifyoumeetanexpertwhohasfast,powerfulpunches,suchasaskilfulboxer(usingWesternboxing)?Ifyoutry toblockhispunches,youcommit theerror of confronting his strong points.One useful strategy is to ignore his punches andconcentrateonattackinghislowerbody,asillustratedinFigures11.29and11.30.Youwillnotice that the strategyhere is “Avoidhis strongpoints, attackhisweakones”; and thetacticsis“Longagainstshort”.

Fig11.29SideKicktotheOpponent’sAbdomen

Fig11.30ClutchKicktotheOpponent’sKnee

WestartthischapterontacticsandstrategywithsomeinvaluableadvicefromSunTzu;itisalsofittingtoconcludewithanotherquotationfromthisgreatstrategist,whoprovidesuswiththeinsightthatwhenweobserveamasterdefeatingaformidableopponent,wecansee theparticular technique employed to securevictory;oftenwealsoknow the tacticalconsiderations behind the techniques used, but most of us may not be aware of theunderlyingstrategyfromwhichthetacticsandtechniquesareevolved.

PeopleknowthetacticsIemployforsecuringvictory,

butnooneknowsthestrategyfromwhichvictoryisevolved.

12: THE FASCINATING FORCE OF SHAOLINMASTERS

(VariousKindsofForceinShaolinKungfu)

ShaolinKungfuisnotmeantforhurtingothersbutforsavinglivesandhelpingpeopletowardsenlightenment.

BasicForceandSpecializedForce

Tobeagoodfighteritisnotenoughtoknowfightingtechniques,possesscombativeskillslikespacing, timing,andfluidmovement,andhaveasoundunderstandingof tacticsandstrategy.Thesuccessfulfightermustalsohavesufficientforcetobackuphis techniquesandskills,andgoodspeedtoexecutethemefficiently.

Skills, power, and speed are closely related, and are collectively known asgong(pronouncedas“kung”),aChineseconceptthathasnosuitableequivalentinEnglish,butforwantofabetterterm,istranslatedhereas“force”.Theimportanceofgonginkungfuisevidentfromthefactthattheterm“kungfu”(spelledas“gongfu”inRomanizedChinese)actually refers to the attainment of gong, rather than an accumulation of fightingtechniques.

Gongorforcemaybeclassifiedasbasicorspecialized;externalorinternal;andasarts of power, arts of energy or arts of lightness. These different classifications anddescriptionsofforcearemeantfor theconvenienceofstudy,andshouldnotbe takenasrigidcompartmentalization,assomepeopleusedtoexclusivedivisioninwesternsciencemaypresume.Moreover,becauseoftheculturalandlinguisticdifferencebetweenEnglishandChinese, terms or concepts that are perfectly logical inChinesemay appear odd inEnglish. As one of the objectives of this chapter is to present to western readers someimportant concepts of force originally expressed in the Chinese language, readers arerequestedtoexercisesomepatienceiftheycomeacrosstermsordescriptionsthatmaybeproblematic due to cultural and linguistic differences. But their patience will be amplyrewardedastheseconcepts,littleknowninthewest,areofasmuchphilosophicalaswellas practical value. The methods to develop some examples of this fantastic force areexplainedinthenextthreechapters.

Basicforceisholisticandtransferable;itmaybeappliedtoanypartofthebody,andfordifferentfunctions.Forexample,ifyouhaveagoodstorageofintrinsicenergyyoumay,ifyouknowthemethods,channelittoyourheadforclearthinking,toyourhandsforpowerful strikes, or round the ren and du meridians for stamina (see Chapter 20).Specializedforce,ontheotherhand,islocalizedandparticular;itisusuallyfocusedatonespecificpartofthebodyandforaparticularpurpose.Forexample,ifyouhavedevelopedspecializedforceatyourheadinanartcalledIronHead,itisspecificallyusedtobreakanopponent’s bones in combat or granite slabs in impressive demonstrations, but notnormally used for clear thinking or channelled to other parts of the body for otherfunctions.

Certain types of basic force are essential to kungfu training. In the Englishlanguage,theyaremoreappropriatelyreferredtoasbasicskills,indicatingthattheChineseconceptgongincorporatesbothforceandskills.Atthebeginningstageofkungfutraining,these skills include various stances and footwork, fundamental techniques and simplemethods todevelop theminimumpower to apply these techniques.At amoreadvancedstage where kungfu patterns are applied for combat, these basic skills include timing,

spacing, and fluid movement that we have learned in Chapter 10. “Basic” here means“forming the foundation” or “very important”. Hence, anyone who wishes to excel inkungfushouldpaymuchattentiontothesebasicskills,whicharereferredtoinChineseas“basicforce”inoneofthemainwaysinclassifyingforce.

ThreeLevelsofForce

Another main way is to classify force into external and internal. External force issometimescalled“gang”orhardforce;andinternalforcecalled“rou”orsoftforce.Thedivision isarbitrary,and thedescription isprovisional,becausesometimes itmaynotbeeasy toclassifycertain forceasexternalor internal,and internal forcecanbeveryhard,too.Besides,theEnglishequivalent“soft”doesnotadequatelyconveythemeaningoftheChineseconcept“rou”;thus,expressionslike“softforcecanbemorepowerfulthanhardforce”,whichisperfectlyacceptableinChinese,mayseemfunnyinEnglish.

In theShaolin teaching, the lowest level of force is hard, external force, such asIronLegsforwhirlwindkicks,developedafterhavingkickedatatreetrunkmorethanamilliontimes.Suchkicksareextremelypowerfulandfast,andveryeffectiveforfighting,yetthistypeofforceisnothighlyvaluedinShaolinKungfubecauseitstrainingisnotonlyroughandpainful,butmaycauseirreversibledamagetothelegs;itsapplicationislimited(unlessyouwanttobeaprofessionalkick-boxer)andisthereforenotcost-effective;andthenatureoftrainingtendstomakethepractitionerviolentandaggressive.

Theintermediatelevelissoftforce,whichmaybeexternalorinternal,suchasfast,agilemovement(whichisconsideredasexternal)orwell-coordinatedbreathingresultingingood stamina (considered as internal).This typeof force is superior tohard, externalforce like IronLegs because not only it is useful for fighting, it also contributes to ourworkandplay.Moreover,allthesetbacksofhardexternalforcementionedinthepreviousparagraphareabsent.SomeonewithIronLegsmaybreaktheopponent’shandsorheadiftheopponentisignorantenoughtoblockthemortooslowtomoveaway.Butifyouarefastandagile,andhavegoodstamina,youhaveagoodchancetodefeatMr.IronLegsifyou are trained in the various Shaolin techniques, skills, and strategies described in thepreviouschapters. Ifbothofyouare totallyuntrained,butyouarefastandagile,andheonly has iron legs, you are still in a superior situation— in combat aswell as in dailyliving.

The highest level of force is both hard and soft, external and internal, such asCosmosPalm,wheretheexponentcancauseseriousdamagewithoutleavinganyoutwardmark,andGoldenBellwheretheexponentcanwithstandstrikesandevenweaponattackswithout sustaining injury! This type of force usually begins as soft and internal, and isoftensodescribed,butitcanmanifestashardandexternalattheadvancestage.

Someone may ask, not without good reasons, what happens if a master withCosmosPalmstrikesanothermasterwithGoldenBell.Thisdependsontherelativeforceof the twomasters. If theCosmosPalmisverymuchmorepowerful, itwilldamage theGoldenBell.If it is thereverse, theGoldenBellwillbouncebacktheforceandhurt theCosmosPalm!Buttheinjuryofeitherone,ifany,willbefarmoreseriousifhehadnotbeentrainedintherespectiveadvanceforce.

Nevertheless, it isnot justbecauseof theirhighlydesirablemartial functions that

these arts are considered tobeof thehighest level of force.These arts are excellent forpromotinghealth,vitality,andlongevity,enablingtheexponentstoputmorelifeintotheiryears,andmoreyearsintotheirlives.Itisobviousthatthekindofforcethatisbothhardandsoft,externalandinternalissuperiortoforcethatisonlysoftexternallyorinternally,astheformerincludesandsurpassesthelatter.

Power,Energy,andLightness

Another useful practice is to classify force as the arts of power (ying gong), the arts ofenergy(qigongorchikung),andtheartsoflightness(qinggong).Inthisclassification,thetranslationoftheChinesetermgongintoEnglishas“force”ismostinadequate;thusIprefertousetheword“arts”insteadof“force”.

Theartsofpowerrefertohardforce,whichisusuallyexternalbutmaysometimesbeinternal.SomeexamplesofthesepowerfulartsincludeIronPalm,IronArm,IronHead,IronLeg,StoneLock,andEagleClaw. It iscommonlysaid thatShaolinKungfu iswellknown for its arts of power, which is true but whichmay bemisleading if understoodsuperficially, for itmaywrongly imply that softand internal force,and theotherartsofenergyandoflightness,arenotsignificant.

The arts of energy, sometimes called internal arts or nei gong, refer to theapplication of intrinsic energy to enhance combat efficiency. Some examples of famousShaolinenergyartsareIronShirt,GoldenBell,CosmosPalm,DiamondPalm,OneFingerZen, Golden Finger, Marvellous Fist, Cosmos Breathing, Small Universe, and BigUniverse. As mentioned earlier, Chinese terms and descriptions are often usedprovisionally;theyshouldnotbetakenasrigidscientificnamesmeantforexclusivesets.TheChinesetermforthisclassofenergyartsisreferredtoaschikung,sometimesashardchikung; the term“chikung” is alsousedcollectively forallkindsofartsdealingwithenergythatmaynotberelatedtokungfu.Infact,inlaterchaptersweshallreadaboutsomeaspectsofShaolinChiKung that are speciallymeant tocure illness,promote longevity,anddevelopspirituality,andhavenocombativefunctionsnormally.Asimilarexampleofsuch linguistic complication can also be found in the use of the term “Chinese” in theEnglishlanguage.WhenwerefertoacitizenofChinaasaChinese,hemaynotactuallybeChinese,i.e.,oftheChineserace(e.g.,hemaybeaManchurianoraMongolian);whereasaChinese(likeonestayinginAmericaorAustralia)maynotbeaChinese,i.e.,acitizenofChina.

The third class in this classification is the arts of lightness,which is a figurativetermtodescribeaclassofspeciallytrainedabilitiesthatmaybegenerallysummarizedasbeing exceptionally fast and agile. Some examples of these lightness-arts includeThousandSteps,RunningonGrass,RunningonWater,PlumFlowerFormation,ThroughtheWoods,WalkingonBaskets,andLightBodySkill.InChinese,thesetermsarepoeticand meaningful. In the history of kungfu, some Shaolin masters were known for theirabilitytorunextremelyfast,runforverylongdistances,andjumpveryhigh.

Mymasterlivednearariverwhenhewasasmallboy.Onedayhesawanoldmanliterally run across the river,which he knewwas deep.He toldme he actually pinchedhimself to ascertain he was not dreaming. Even at that early age, my master knew hewitnessedaveryadvancedkindofqinggong or the artof lightness called“RunningonWaterasifonLand”.Formanymonthshewaitedfortheoldmantoappearagain,buttono avail. Understandably,most peoplewould not believe it is possible to run onwater

unlesstheyseeitwiththeirowneyes.

AnInvaluableLesson

Mymasteralsotoldmealessonthathewouldneverforget.HestartedtolearnNorthernShaolinKungfu very early.Hiswas a traditionalwaywhereby the student followed themaster like an apprentice, serving themaster in all his personal needs, and getting twosquaremealsinreturn,besideslearningthemaster’sart.Everymorninghehadtowakeupearlytorunwiththemaster.Firsttheyranalongthesleepersofarailwaytrack,skippingoveroneandthenmoresleepersastheyprogressed,soastowidentheirsteps.

Laterhismastermarkedout ten trees inacircle inaforest.Theystartedrunningtogether,butsoonhismaster,despitehisage,wasfarahead.Thentheoldmasterwouldbeout of sight. Next the old master would come up from behind, and as his old masterovertookhim,hewouldbegivenawhackandbescoldedforbeingslow.Thiswentonformanymonths.

Onedaymymaster,whowas thenayoungstudent,decided thathehadenough.Whentheoldmasteraskedhimtotrain,hesaid,“No,Ihaveenoughofyourbeating!”

“You’vebeenmakinggoodprogress,”theoldmastersaid.

“Whatprogress?Yousaidyouwouldteachmekungfu,butallthatIhavelearnedwasrunningandbeinghit.”

“ButIhavebeenteachingyoukungfu.Ifyoustophalfway,you’llwasteallyourpreviouseffort.Areyougoingtotrain?”

Mymastercouldcatchawinkfromhismaster’swife,signallingtohimtocarryontraining.Buthehadmadeuphismind.Hetoldmethatatthattime,kungfutohimmeantpunchesandkicksandelaboratepatterns,justlikewhatmanystudentserroneouslybelievetoday.“No,I’mnotgoingtocontinue,”heinsisted.

Theoldmasterwasgettingangry.“I’maskingyouseriouslythethirdandlasttime.Areyougoingtotrainwithme?Iwanttoremindyouagainthatifyoustopnow,youaregoingtowasteallyourpreviouseffortinyourkungfutraining,whichisagreatpity.”

“Whatkungfu?It’sjustrunningandbeinghit.No,I’mnotgoingtotrain,evenifyouskinme!”

“Sinceyouhavemadeupyourmind, followmeand I’ll showyouwhatkindofkungfuI’mteachingyou.”

Theywenttoanopenspaceatthebackofthehouse.Therewasahighwallwithpieces of broken glasses on top of the wall purposely placed by the builder to preventburglary.

“Nowwatchcarefully.Don’tblinkyoureyes,”theoldmastersaid.Hewenttothebottomofthewall,foldedhislongrobeandtuckeditintohiswaistslash,benthisknees

slightly,andsprungupfromthespothighintotheairwithasweepofthelongsmokingpipe he habitually carried with him, brushed aside some pieces of glasses, and stoodmotionlesslyonthehighwallwithonelegandarmsspreadoutlikeanelegantcrane!Theoldmasterstoodmajesticallyonthewallforafewseconds,thenjumpeddownandlandedgracefullywithoutmakinganysound!

Immediately my master knew this was qing gong, the arts of lightness. Heprostrated before the oldmaster, apologized profusely for his rashness, and begged themastertoaccepthimagain.No,themastersaid.Itwasatraditionamongoldmastersthatiftheyaskedyouthreetimes,thusgivingyouanopportunitythrice,andyetyourefused,theyregardedthatyouwerenotdestinedtolearntheirart.

Mymastersaidthatwashisgreatestregretforfailingtolearnapricelessart,butitprovidedhimwithaninvaluablelesson:heresolvedthatiffoundagoodmasternexttime,hewould dowhatever themaster commanded. Hence, years later when hemet a goodmaster of Southern Shaolin Kungfu, at a time when he himself was already anaccomplishedfighter,hedidjustaseeminglysimplemovementwithafingeronthehorse-ridingstance(the“ArtofOne-FingerShootingZen”explainedinChapter5),andhardlyanythingelseforthreeyears,becausehismasteraskedhimtodoso.Hiseffortwasrichlyrewardedashesucceededintherare,advancedartofOneFingerZen,whichisappliedtothe technique of dian xue (or dim mark in Cantonese) where the exponent can causeseriousinjurywithonlyafingerandoftenwithouttheopponentknowing.

Healsohadanimmediateconsolation.Pityinghim,hissimu,theoldmaster’swifewho tried to help him by signallingwith awink, taught him a kungfu set called SevenStars. Indeed, it was while teaching me Seven Stars that my master told me this casehistory.Healsoaskedme,“Supposeafragile-lookingladymeetsanagile,powerfulkickboxerincombat.Howcouldshedefeat theopponent?”TheShaolinSevenStarsSet isagood answer because it is built upon techniques and tactics meant for a woman or acomparativelyweakerpersonagainstanexponentwithhard,externalforce.

IronPalmandCosmosPalm

Probably the best known example of hard, external force in ShaolinKungfu is the IronPalm.Itisclassifiedasexternalbecausethemainpartofitstrainingisbyexternalmeans,such as hitting sandbags and thrusting the palm into iron filings. It is classified as hardbecauseitsfunctionisvisiblydestructive,suchasbreakingbricksandsmashingbones.Yetin the hands of a master, Iron Palm can be manifested as soft and internal force. Forexample,meetingthechallengeofaRussianwhohadbroughtinatrainedhorsetoinsultthe feeblenessof theChinesepeople in this early twentieth century, the famousShaolinmaster, Gu Ru Zhang, used his Iron Palm to hit the horse only once. The poor horsedroppedanddied.Therewasnotatraceofinjuryonthesurfaceofthehorse,butwhenitwasoperatedon,itwasfoundthatitsinternalorganswerebadlydamaged.

Ordinarily,ifamasterstrikeshisIronPalmonahorse,itsfleshwillbesmashedup.AlthoughGuRuZhangusedIronPalm,whathedemonstratedwasactuallytheeffectofCosmosPalm.Someonehasgivenavivid,albeitexaggerated,descriptiontocontrast theIronPalmwiththeCosmosPalmasfollows.IfamasterstrikesanIronPalmonawall,thewallwillcollapse. Ifanothermaster strikes thesamewallwithaCosmosPalm,nothingwillhappentothewall,butthefurniturebehindthewallwillbedamaged.

TheCosmosPalmisinternalandsoft.Itisgenerallyclassifiedasinternalbecauseitsmaintrainingisbyinternalmeans,suchasbreathcontrolandmeditation.Itisclassifiedassoftbecausetheactualpalmsofamasterofthisartaresoftandgentle,withouttelltalesigns like disproportionate large size, callus, and toughness, which are commoncharacteristics of the IronPalm, and the effects of its application arewithout thepotentdestructivefeaturesofahardforce.

InSifuHoFattNam’sschool,IronPalmtrainingwasoneofthebasicrequirementsforhisadvancedstudents.IhadpractisedtheIronPalmforsometime,strikingmypalmsonabagofironfilingswhenonenighthesaidtome,“Youhavefinepalmslikealady’s.Don’tspoilyourpalmswiththishardtraining.”ForamomentIthoughtthatwouldbetheendofmyforcetraining.Butmymastercontinued,“I’llteachyouCosmosPalminstead.”

I betmany people would be very surprised if shown some training steps of theCosmosPalm;theyseemsounrelatedtodevelopingforce.Iwastaughttomovemyarmsin an apparently simple manner, coordinating my breathing and making appropriatesounds. There was no hitting of sandbags, thrusting palms into granules, or any hardconditioningat all. Iwasmore surprisedwhena fewmonths later I couldbreakabrickwithmylady’shands.ThenmymastertaughtmeCosmosBreathing,whichledmetothewondersofShaolinChiKung,andlaterhetaughtmemeditation,whichgavemeglimpsesof the greatest achievement any being could attain here or anywhere! This change oftrainingfromIronPalmtoCosmosPalmwascertainlyoneofthebestblessingsinallmyShaolinpractice.

Iamglad that Ihadnoneed touse theCosmosPalm incombat, although Iwas

involved in real fightinga few times.Nevertheless, therewere two interestingoccasionsthatconfirmformethepotentialdamagetheCosmosPalmcaninflict.

Therewasanold,unwantedpapayatreeinmygardentobeclearedaway.Forfun,Istruckthe tree trunkafewtimesusingmyCosmosPalm.Whenaworkmansawedthetrunk to discard the tree in parts, hewas surprised to find that the interior of a certainsectionwas blackened although its exteriorwas intact, and all other partswere normal.ThissectionwasexactlywhereIappliedtheCosmosPalmonthetrunk.

After kungfu training a few of my advanced disciples and I discussed theapplicationoftheCosmosPalminanincredibleartknownas“HittingaBuffaloBehindaHill”, where force could be passed through a person unhurt to injure another personbehind!Assomewerekeentoknowhowthefirstpersoncouldbeunhurt,Idemonstratedthistothem.Ihiteachoneofthemononearmneartheshoulderandaskedthemtofeeltheeffectontheotherarm.Butitwasveryimportantthattheyberelaxed,foriftheytensedtheirbodies,theirtensioncouldblocktheflowofinternalforce,therebyhurtingthem.Allof them felt the effect on the other arm; some even felt a flash of energy across theirbodies.WongYinTat,myseniordisciplewhospecializesintheartofIronShirtwherebyhecantakepunchesandkickswithoutsustaininginjury,tensedforamoment.

TwodayslaterYinTat,whohadneverbeensicksincepractisingShaolinKungfu,felt feverish with a cough and pain in his chest. At once he knew it was due to ourexperimentwithCosmosPalm.Iopenedsomerelevantvitalpointsandtransmittedchi(orenergy) intohim toclearawayhisenergyblockage. It is interesting toadd thatmyson,WongChunNga,whocouldseeintoorgans,sawacloudofdarkenergyinsidehischest,andwhenItransmittedchiintoYinTat,hesawabeamofgreenishgoldenenergyissuingfrommy fingers todisperse thedarkenergy.YinTatalsoperformedsome remedialchikungexercises,andafewdayslaterhewascompletelycured.Somepeoplemayfindthishardtobelieve,butitwasalltrue.

AsIhavespentmanyyearspractisingtheCosmosPalm,buthaveneveruseditforactual fighting, is it a waste of my time? Certainly not. The internal force that I havedeveloped inmyCosmos Palm has enabledme to help countless people. For example,childrenwithvarioustypesofpainoftenhadtheirpainrelievedafterIhadplacedmypalmover their troubled spots; many adults at my chi kung seminars had an immediateexperienceofchiafterIhadtransmittedchitothem;oldpeoplewithdegenerativeillnessesusuallyspeduptheirrecoveryremarkablyafterIhadimprovedtheirenergyflowusingtheenergyofmyCosmosPalm.Theseperformancesreducemyintrinsicenergy,thusmakingmy Cosmos Palm less potent for combat, but as many Shaolin masters have said indifferentwords,ShaolinKungfu isnotmeant forhurtingothersbut for saving livesandhelpingpeopletowardsenlightenment.

13: PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF POWERTRAINING

(ShaolinIronPalmandIronArm)

Havemercyonyouropponentifeveryouhavetouseyourkungfuonthem.

ImportantFactorsforForceTraining

After reading about the fantastic effects of kungfu force in the previous chapter, manyreaders would have the impression that the methods to develop kungfu force must beelaborated and kept as top secret. Theywould probably be very surprised if shown theonce-secretive methods, for except some internal arts, the training procedures of mosttypes of kungfu force are so bafflingly simple thatmany peoplemay questionwhetherthesemethodsreallyproducetheincredibleresultsclaimedforthevarioustypesofforce.Icanassurethemthatiftheypractisetherecommendedmethodscorrectlyandpersistentlyoverareasonableperiodoftime,theywillcertainlyderivetheeffectattributedtotheforce.Indeed, the “top secret”, without which no one who attempts force training will eversucceed even if he knows the method, is “training correctly and persistently over areasonableperiodoftime.”

The“correct”methodsofmanyinterestingtypesofkungfuforceareexplainedinsomedetail in thisand twosubsequentchapters.The“persistent” trainingwillofcoursehave to be done by you yourself. A good book may supply invaluable information, amastermayprovidethepersonalguidancethatwillenhanceyourdevelopment,butnoone(andnodrugs)candothetrainingforyou.Persistenttrainingmeanspractisingforabouthalfanhour(someforcetrainingmayneedalongertime)everymorningandeveningornightwithoutfail.Youmaypractisejustonceeveryday,buttheattainmentofyourforce,understandably,willtakealongerperiod.Itispermissibleifyoumissyourpracticeonceawhile, but your overall trainingmust be regular.On the other hand, it is not necessary,sometimeseveninjurious,totrainmorethanrequired.

Regardingareasonableperiodoftimeneededforattainingtheforce,mastersinthepastadvisedthat“threeyearsisrequiredforsmallsuccess;tenyearsforgreatsuccess.”IfyoutrainfortheIronPalm,“smallsuccess”issomethinglikemakingabigholeinabrickwallwithonestrike;“greatsuccess”willcausethewholewalltocollapse.Translatedintofightingsituations,anIronPalmofsmallsuccesscankillanordinarypersonwithjustonestrike.Thisexplainsthatinkungfuphilosophy,theexponentwouldtakegreatcarenottobe hit even once; exchanging blows generously, as is quite common among combatantsnowadays,wasunthinkableinkungfufightingofthepast.

Becauseof changed conditions, the standardsof kungfu then andnoware vastlydifferent.EvenanaveragestudentintheShaolinMonasterycouldeasilystrikeaholeinawall;amaster’spowerwouldbeunbelievabletoamodern,uninitiatedperson.Nowadaysjust breaking a brick with a palm strike is a remarkable achievement. Hence, for ourmodernpurpose,ifyoutraindailyforoneyear,youshouldattainsmallsuccess;andthreeyearsforgreatsuccess.

Acommonquestionmanystudentshaveinmind,butfeeluncomfortableasking,iswhether theycanhavesexduring theperiodof training. In thepast,mastersasked theirstudentstoabstainfromsexduringthetrainingperiod;ifthisprovedtoodemanding,theyshould at least abstain for the first hundreddays,whichconstitute the foundation-laying

stage.Asmentioned above, conditions aswell as standards aimed at are now different;nowadays masters generally advise their students to carry on their normal sex lives inmoderation.Withsexaddedtothetraining,theperiodrequiredtoattainthedesiredforcewill be longer, butmost agree that it iswiser tomaintain sanity (and sometimes familyharmony)thansacrificeitforrapidforcedevelopment.

Ofthethreekindsofclassificationofforcedescribedin thepreviouschapter, thetripledivisionofforceintotheartsofpower,theartsofenergy,andtheartsoflightnessismost comprehensive, as it also incorporates the principal features of the other twoclassifications,suchasbasicandspecialized,externalandinternal.Hence,weshalladoptthisclassificationforthepurposeofdescribingforcetraining.Twoexamplesoftheartsofpowerareexplainedinthischapter,andotherexamplesoftheartsofenergyandtheartsoflightnessareexplainedinthefollowingtwochapters.

TrainingforIronPalm

Themethodsforthetrainingofthevariousartsofpower,orhardforce,suchasIronPalm,IronArms,andIronLeg,areastonishinglysimple.Although therearesomefinerpointsthatmoststudentswouldnotknowunlessrevealedbyamaster,andwhichweshallstudypresently,generallyanyonewhomayknownothingaboutmartialartspersistentlystrikeshispalms,arms,orlegsonasandbag,pole,orsomesuitableobjectsahundredtimeseverydayforthreeyearswillinevitablydeveloptheIronPalm,Arm,orLeg.Ifheisawareofthefiner points, hewill not only attain his force in amuch shorter time, but also avoid theunfavourable side-effects that uninformed practice may bring. Why, then, do very fewpeople achieve suchpowerful arts as the IronPalmor IronLeg? It is becausevery fewpeoplehave thepatienceandself-discipline tosustain training for the required lengthoftime.

Preparearectangularstrikingbagmadeofcanvasaboutonefootbytwofeet.Itispreferableforthebagtobeoftwolayers,soastopreventitscontent,whichwillhavebeenrenderedtodustafterrepeatedhitting,fromfilteringthroughthebagintoyournose.Fillthebagwithamixtureofblackbeansandgreenbeansofaboutequalportions.Placethebagatasuitableheight(abouttwoand-a-halffeet)onafirmsupport.Placeapieceofcleancanvas over the bag, so as further prevent its dust fromgetting into your nose. Shaolinphilosophy insists thatnomatterwhatorhowwe train, it shouldcontribute toourwell-being,andmustneveraffectourhealthorphysiologicalfunctionunfavourably.Wedonotwantstudentstohave,forexample,powerfulpalmsbutsuffocatedlungs.

Gointothehorse-ridingstanceinfrontofthebag,whichshouldbeataboutyourwaist level.Takea fewdeepbreathsand focusyourmindatyourdantian,which is anenergyfieldaboutthreeinchesbelowyournavel.Bealertandrelaxed.

Thenraiseyourarmhighaboveyourhead,gentlybreathing inasyoudoso,Fig13.1.Focusyourchiorintrinsicenergyatthecentreofyourpalm,wherethereisavitalpointknownaslaogong.Dropyourarmsmoothlyandstrikethebeanbagfirmly,gentlybreathingoutasyoudoso,Fig13.2.It isveryimportant thatyoumustnotusestrength,andmust not tense your arm or any part of your body! This is a crucial secret of thetrainingmethod.Mostpeopleerroneouslythinkthatthemorestrengthyouuse,themoreforceyouwilldevelop.Itisnotso.Ifyouusestrengthortenseyourarm,youimpedetheflowofinternalforcefromyourdantiantoyourpalm.

Fig13.1RaisingthePalmHighBeforeStriking

Fig13.2StrikingtheBagFirmlyandSquarely

Letyourpalmstrikethebeanbagfirmlyandsquarely;lookatthepalmwithyoureyesandfocusyourchiatthecentreofthepalm.Leavethepalmincontactwiththebagforafewsecondsandrelax.Thenraisethesamearmaboveyourheadandrepeattheprocedureforabouttentimes.

Afterabouttenstrikeswithonepalm,repeattheroutinewiththeotherpalm.Thisconstitutesoneformofstrikingwiththepalmknownaspai,or“slap”inEnglish.

Repeat the same procedure, first with one palm and then with the other, usinganotherformofstrikingknownaspi,or“chop”.Here,thestrikingpointistheedgeofthepalm,Fig13.3.Thefocuswhen thearm is raisedabove thehead,andwhen thepalm ischoppedontothebeanbag,isatthestrikingpoint.

Fig13.3TheStrikingPointof“Pi”or“Chop”

Thenthe thirdformofstriking,knownasyinor“stamp”,where thestrikingpoint is thebaseof thepalm, issimilarlyperformed,Fig13.4.Thus, thewholesequenceconsistsofthreeparts—paiorslapwiththewholepalm,piorchopwithitsedge,andyinorstampwithitsbase—andeachpartconsistsoftenstrikeswitheachhand,makingatotalofsixtystrikes.

Fig13.4TheStrikingPointof“Yin”or“Stamp”

After thewhole sequence of sixty strikes, drop both palms at your sides, bend forwardslightlyfromyourhorse-ridingstance,Fig13.5(a),andjumptobringyourfeettogether,simultaneouslybreathingingentlywithyournoseandbringingyourhandsupinfronttoyourchestlevelwithbothpalmsfacingupward,Fig13.5(b).Then,asyougentlybreatheout throughyourmouth, turnyourpalms to facedownwardand slowly lower them toapositioninfrontofyourabdomen,Fig13.5(c).Dropyourhandsandletyourarmshangnaturallyatyoursides.Focusyourchiatyourdantianintheabdomen,Fig13.5(d).

Fig13.5BringingChitotheDanTian

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Next, wash your arms and palms in a basin of a warm medicinal concoction, theingredientsandpreparationofwhichwillbegiven later.Whileyourhandsare stillwet,perform another sequence of sixty strikes. Jump to bring your feet together, drop yourhands,andfocusyourchiatyourdantianasbefore.Thengentlycloseyoureyes,relaxandremain at thisStandingMeditationwith eyes closed for a fewminutes.Donot thinkofanythinginyourstandingmeditation;youwillprobablyfeelpowerswellingatyourpalms.

Attheconclusionofthetrainingsession,washyourarmsandpalmsinthewarmmedicinalconcoctionagain.Lettheconcoctiononyourhandsdrybyitself.Ifyourpalmisinjuredduringthetraining,rubsomemedicinalwineontotheinjuredpartsafterthearmsandpalmsareperfectlydry.Avoidcontactwithwaterontheinjuredpartforaboutanhour

afteryouhaveappliedthemedicinalwine.Itisnotnecessarytoapplythewineifthereisnoinjury.However,ifthemedicinalconcoctionisnotavailable,thenapplythemedicinalwineattheendofthetrainingirrespectiveofwhetherthereisanyinjuryornot,andkeepawayfromcontactwithwaterforanhour.

You must stand properly at the horse-riding stance throughout the process ofstriking thebeanbag sixty times;otherwiseyour training ismerelymechanical,missingthe internal part where force is developed at the dan tian and channelled to the palmsduring striking. Being able to stand at the horse-riding stance for some time is aprerequisite.However,ifyourstanceisunabletolastthewholesequence,youmaypauseaftereachpart.Inotherwords,afterstrikingwithoneformofthepalm,youmayjumpupto standwith feet together for awhilebeforeproceeding to thenext form.On theotherhand,asyouprogress,youshouldgraduallyincreasethenumberofstrikeswitheachpalmform,sothatyoumaybemakinghundredsofstrikesinonesession.

Afterpractisingforaboutthreemonths,youcanchangethecontentofthestrikingbagfrombeanstosand.Afteranotherthreemonths,changethesandtomarbles,pebbles,orballbearings.Ifthesearenotavailable,youcancontinuewithsand.Youshouldpractisetwicedailyforaboutayear.Inthepast,IronPalmtrainingincludedthrustingthepalmintoironfilings.Suchadrasticstepisnotrecommendednowadays.

PreservingSensitivityandRelievingInjury

Atleastonceaweekthroughoutthetraining,atanyconvenienttime,placeeightbeansorgrainsofsandonatableonyourside.Usingyourthumbandadifferentfingeratonetime,pickoutonegrainandtransferittotheotherside.Repeatwiththeotherhand.Later,usethreadsorhairsinsteadofbeansorsand.Thepurposeofthis“yin”aspectofthetrainingisto balance the “yang” aspect, so that the sensitivity and utility of the hands are notimpaired.

Application of medicine is necessary in hard, external training to serve twoimportant functions: to cure injuries sustained during the training, and to enhance theprogressbygenderingbetterbloodandchicirculation.TheChinesenamesandappropriateamountoftheingredientsofthemedicinalconcoction,whichiscalled“SoothingMusclesandLiveningBloodConcoctionforWashing”,areasfollows:

shenjingcao12grams

haitongbi12grams

zuoqinyuan12grams

daduhuo12grams

shangouteng12grams

chuanhonghua12grams

dadanggui8grams

ruxiang8grams

moyao8grams

This prescription is an herbal mixture, not a chemical compound; thus, if one or twoingredients are unavailable, the mixture can still be used. The ingredients are placedtogetherinabasinwithwaterandbrewedoverasmallfireuntiltheconcoctionboilsforafewminutes.Itisallowedtocooluntillukewarmforuseinbathingthearmsandpalmsorotherrelevantpartsofthebodyforforcetraining.

Immediatelyafteruse,addsomewater to theconcoctionandboil itagain.Covertheconcoctiontopreventdustandmicro-organismsfromgettingin,andkeepinasuitableplaceforuseinthenexttrainingsession,whenitisboiledagainandthenallowedtocooltill lukewarm for bathing. Eachmixturemay be used about ten times.Addwaterwhennecessary.

The following are the Chinese names of the ingredients of the medicinal wine,

generallyknownasmedicinalwindforinjuriessustainedfromfallingandbeinghit.Likeabove, this prescription is an herbalmixture, so it still can be used even if one or twoingredientsarenotavailable:

guiwei,ruxiang,moyao,chuanhonghua,zhike,muxiang,taoren,

chuangong,jinjie,chiyao,hugu,jigeng,chenxiang,zhizi,danpi.

Obtain12gramsofeachingredientandsoaktheminaboutthreepintsofwhitericewineforaroundtwomonths.Thenpouroutthemedicinalwine,whichisnowreadytobeused,tobekeptinsuitablebottles.Discardtheresidue.

TheabovekungfumedicinecanbeusednotonlyforIronPalmtraining,butalsofor other types of hard conditioning like Iron Fist, Iron Arm, and Iron Leg. If suchmedicineisnotavailable,aneffectiveandconvenientalternativeischikungtherapy,suchas the chi kung exercise known as “Lifting the Sky”, explained in Chapter 4. As asubstituteforthekungfumedicine,thechikungexerciseshouldbeperformedbeforeandafter thehardforce training,gentlyvisualizingduringstandingmeditation thatchi flowsharmoniouslydownthebodyanditsrelevantparts(suchasthepalms)tocleanseawayanyinjury. It isnotadvisable topractisehardconditioningwithoutkungfumedicationorchikung therapy, because if injuries sustained unwittingly during training are not relieved,theymaycauseseriousside-effectslateron.

RollingBambooforThreeYears

Having powerful arms is obviously a big advantage for effective fighting. One Shaolinmethod,whichisaseffectiveasitsnameisesoteric-sounding,iscalled“RollingBamboo”.Thismethodisincorporatedinthefollowingstory,whichalsorevealssomevitallessonsofkungfuingeneralandforcetraininginparticular.

A young man from a rich family was very interested in kungfu. His fatheremployedmanykungfuinstructorstoteachhim,hopingthatonedayhewouldbecomeakungfuexpert.But as expectedof richpampered sons, theyoungmanwasnot ready toendurethehardshipassociatedwithforcetraining,sohisinstructors,inordertojustifytheattractive salaries received fromhiswealthy father, taughthima lot ofbeautiful kungfusetsandpatterns.

“Son,howisyourkungfuprogressing?”thefatherwasfondofaskinghim.

“Very good, father; sifu has just taught me another new set.” (Sifu means“master”.)

Thefatherwasveryproudofhisson,andwhenevertherewasanysocialfunctionhe would ask his son to demonstrate, and all those present would say what beautifulkungfuhecouldperform.Soonthefatherandsonbecamearrogant.

Onedaythefatherandsonwereinvolvedinabrawlwithsomepeople.Thefatheraskedthesontoteachthemalesson,butinsteadtheywerebadlybeaten.Thefatherwasveryangrywithhissonforbeingsouselessinactualfighting,andtheyoungmanwassoashamed of himself that he ran away from home, vowing never to return until he hadbecomeanefficientfighter.

TheyoungmanwentupamountaintobegaShaolinmonk,theVenerableTiePi,to teachhimShaolinKungfu.“I’vepractiseduselesskungfuformanyyears,”hesaid tothemonk.

“Showmeyouruselesskungfu.”

Afterviewingtheyoungman’sperformance,themonksaid,“Itisyouandnotthekungfuthatisuseless!”

“Then,master,pleaseteachmesomekungfuthatcanbeusedforfighting.”

“Youarenotreadyforfighting;youareonlyfittorollbamboo!”

“Rollbamboo?”

“Yes.Gotothewoods,andbringmesomeroundbamboostems.”

Theyoungmanwasveryhappy,thinkingthatnowatlasthecouldlearnsomerealkungfu.Soonhecamebackwithroundbamboostems.

“Nowplaceabamboostemonatable.Standatthehorse-ridingstanceandrollthewhole lengthof your armover thebamboo.Do it everyday,” themonk told theyoungman.

Fig13.6RollingBambooonaTable

The young man had heard that great masters taught students only after testing theirpatience,soheresolvedtodowhateverthemasteraskedhimto.Herolledonearm,thentheother,thenbotharmsoverthebamboostem,causingittorollunderhisarmalongthetable.Hepersisted,androlledhisarmsthousandsoftimesoverthebamboostemthefirstday, but themaster paid no notice of him.The next day he did the same thing, yet themasterpaidnoattention.

After the third day, he gathered enough courage to ask themaster, “Sifu, I havebeenrollingmyarmsoverthebambooforthreedays.WhencanIstarttolearnkungfu?”

“Continuerolling!”themastercommanded.“Practiseyourownkungfuwheneveryouaretiredofrollingthebamboo.”

Sohekeptrollingthebambooeveryday.Afterthreemonths,heaskedthemasteragain,“Sifu,whencanIstarttolearnkungfu?”

Themastertoldhimangrily,“Continuerolling!Ifyoudon’twanttorollbamboo,youcangohome.”

Goinghomewithoutbecomingagoodfighterwasthelastthinghewoulddo.Hehadnochoicebut tokeep rollingbamboo.Soonhe found that thebamboobrokeeasily

whenherolledhisarmoverit.Butwhatimpressedhimmostwasthekungfuperformanceofhisshih-xiong(seniorclassmate),whoattendedtohismasterinthetemple.

He’llBreakYourArms

Afteroneyearheapproachedhismasteragain,“Sifu,I’vebeenrollingbambooeverydayforoneyearandI’vebrokenmanybamboostemsandalsoafewtables.CanIstartShaolinKungfu,oratleastcanIpractisesparringwithShih-xiong?”

“He’llbreakyourarms!Nowplacethebamboobelowthetablesurface,insteadofonit,supportedbyoneorbothofyourarms,andkeeponrolling.Youcanleaveanytimeifyouaredissatisfied.”

Fig13.7RollingBambooBelowaSurface

Anotheryearpassed,withmorebamboostemsandtablesbroken.Afterrollingbamboofortwoyears, theyoungman thoughthewouldat lastbeginShaolinKungfu.Butwhenheapproachedhismaster,themonkaskedhimtorollstonerollersonastonetableinsteadofrolling bamboo; nevertheless, the master allowed him to spar with his shih-xiong. Theyoungmanwassurprisedhisshih-xionghadsomuchinternalpower.

Thethirdyearpassed,andhehadalsobrokenafewstonerollers.Hegatheredallthecouragehehadandaskedhismaster,“Sifu,I’vebeenrollingbambooandthenstonerollersforthreeyears.Whencanyouteachmekungfu?”

“You can pack your things and go home,” themaster said.The youngmanwasastonished.Hekneltandapologized forhis rashness.“Sifu, I’msorry if Ihaveannoyedyou,butIreallywanttolearnShaolinKungfu.Pleasehavemercyonme.”

“I’ve taughtyouShaolinKungfu,andyouhavedoneremarkablywell.Gohome;yourparentsarewaiting foryou.Havemercyonyouropponent ifeveryouhave touseyourkungfuonthem.”

Onhiswayhome,theyoungmanencounteredfourrobbers.Findingnomoneyonhim,therobberswereangry.Oneofthemstartedtopunchhim.Spontaneouslytheyoungmanblockedthepunch.Therobberbentdowngroaningwithpain;hisarmwasfractured.Another robberexecutedakick.Theyoungmanblockedand fractured the robber’s leg.The third robber smashed his staff onto his head; he blocked and broke the staff. Thefourthrobberslashedhisbroadswordattheyoungman,whodeflecteditandbrokeitintotwopieces!Therobbersbeggedformercy.

Only then did the young man realize what wonderful Shaolin Kungfu he haddeveloped.The IronArm, like the IronPalm, is classified as specialized, hard, externalforce.Heprostratedinthedirectionofhismaster,andknockedhisforeheadthreetimesonthegroundasasignofgratitude.

Hiswealthyfatherthrewagrandpartytowelcomehimhome.PeoplewereeagertoknowwhathehadlearnedfromthefamousShaolinmaster,theVenerableTiePi.“Ionlylearned rolling bamboo and stone rollers,” he said solemnly. Someone commented, “IthoughtTiePiwasagreatkungfumaster;soheonlyknewrollingbamboo!”

“Howdareyouinsultmymaster!”theyoungmanretorted,automaticallybanginghisarmonthetable.Thesolidtablebrokeintoafewpieces.

14:SECRETSOFTHEENERGYMASTERS

(DevelopingCosmosPalmandIronShirt)

Consideringallthesefactors,itisnotunreasonabletosaythatShaolinKungfuisthegreatestmartialartintheworld.

TheGreatestMartialArtintheWorld

Manypeople, understandably,will vehemently oppose the claim that ShaolinKungfu isthe greatest martial art in the world, but if they are willing to listen rationally to theargumentssubstantiatingthisclaim,theymayconcedeitsvalidity.Firstofall,itneedstobeclarifiedthatclaimingShaolinKungfutobethegreatestmartialartdoesnotimplythatonewhopractisesShaolinKungfu is necessarily a better fighter thanonewhopractisesanotherstyleofmartialart.Ifsomeonepractisesevenasimpleartwell,hewillprobablybemoreefficientthananotherwhopractisesaprofoundartbadly.

Moreover, practising a profound artwell usually needsmore time; hence, at theearly stage, a person practising an art that is solelymeant for fighting usually can fightbetter thananotherpractisingamartialart thatalsopromisesothernon-fightingbenefits.Forexample,aThaiboxingstudentcanfightfairlywellonlyaftersixmonthsoftraining,andhemayeasilydefeatakungfustudentwhohasspentsixmonthslearningonlystancesandbasicpatterns.Butifyouarelookingforgreaterachievementsthanmerefighting,thenShaolinKungfucanoffermuchmorethanThaiboxingoranyothermartialart.

Below are the areas where Shaolin Kungfu comparesmore favourably than anyothermartialarts:

1. Shaolin Kungfu patterns are aesthetic to watch and of a great variety. Aperformance of Shaolin Kungfu is power, elegance, and beautiful form in poeticmovement.

2. ThefightingtechniquesinShaolinKungfuaremoreextensivethaninanyothermartialart.Whilemanymartialartsspecializeononlyonecategoryoffighting,suchasWesternboxingonpunching,taekwondoonkicking,judoonthrowing,andaikidoonholding,ShaolinKungfunotonlypossessesall these techniques, thereare someShaolintechniques(liketheHorseBack-Kick,theCrabHook,andthePhoenixFist)thatarenotfoundinanyoftheotherarts.

3. Therangeanddepthof“force”inShaolinKungfufarsurpassthoseofanyothermartial arts. The various types of force training in many other arts, like punchingsandbags, kicking at poles, and carrying weights, are comparatively simple; manytypes of Shaolin force, like Cosmos Palm, Golden Bell and One Finger Zen, areincredibletoothermartialartists.

4. TherichtheoriesforeffectivecombataccumulatedinShaolinKungfu, liketheprinciples and songs summarized in poetic expressions of effective techniques,tactics,andstrategiesexplainedinpreviouschapters,revealadepthandscopethatisnotfoundinothermartialarts.(EvenTaijiquan,withitsexceedinglyrichphilosophy,

cannotbecomparedwithShaolin.)

5.Whilethebeliefthattopperformanceinfightingabilityorsportdeterioratesafteragethirtymaybetrueinmanymartialarts,itisnottrueinShaolinKungfu.Shaolinmasters are youthful and energetic even after fifty, and their fighting competencyincreaseswithage!ThisisbecauseShaolintraininginvolvestheinternalbesidestheexternal,andinternaldevelopmentisnotlimitedbychronologicalage.

6. Whilepractisingsomemartialartsareactuallydetrimentaltohealth(sustaininginjuries that arenot treated, andbecomingaggressive andviolent),ShaolinKungfutraining contributes to health physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.Taijiquan is excellent in this respect, but Shaolin is even better because itsdevelopmentisbothexternalandinternal,whereasTaijiquanfocusesmoreoninternaldevelopment.

7. Besideshealth,ShaolinKungfucontributesgreatlytovitalityandlongevity.Thevitality of a Shaolin disciple is often revealed in the sparkle of his eyes. Incomparison,ifyouobservecarefullyyoumaynoticethattheeyesofmartialartistsofmany other styles are often dull and yellowish, indicating that they suffer fromuntreatedinsidiousinjuryenduredthroughsparring.ShaolinKungfuhasanadvantageinthisrespectoverothermartialartsbecauseitincorporateschikungandmedicine,bothofwhichcontributetovitalityandlongevity,whereasothermartialartsdonot.ChikungisalsoanimportantaspectofTaijiquan,thusenablingTaijiquantohavethisadvantagelikeShaolin,butthereiscomparativelylessemphasisonChinesemedicineinTaijiquan.

8. Mental freshnessaswellasmindexpansionaresignificantbenefitsofShaolinKungfu,derivedespecially frompractisingmeditation,whichformsan integralpartoftheShaolinarts.Taijiquan,whichalsoplacesmuchimportanceonmeditation,hasthesebenefits,too.Meditationisnotanintegralpartofothermartialarts;ifitiseverpractised,itisusuallytreatedassupplementary.

9.ThephilosophyoftheShaolinartsisextensiveandprofound,sometimestouchingon aspects that modern science is now rediscovering, such as the concepts of theinterchangeability of energy and matter mentioned in Shaolin Chi Kung, and thevarious levels of consciousness in Shaolinmeditation. Studying ShaolinKungfu atadvancedlevelsisopeningvistasofEasternwisdom.

10.ThehighestachievementofShaolinKungfuisspiritualfulfilment,irrespectiveofone’sreligion.Noothermartialarts,exceptTaijiquan,havesuchanobleaim.EveninTaijiquanthissupremeaimtowardsspiritualfulfilmentisnotasexplicitlystatedasinShaolinKungfu.

Considering all these factors, it is not unreasonable to say that Shaolin Kungfu is thegreatestmartialartintheworld.WeshallhaveabetterperspectiveifwerecallthatShaolinKungfu was first initiated by the great Bodhidharma as an aid to enlightenment in theShaolinMonastery, theforemost templeof theChineseEmpire,whichprobablyenjoyedthehighestlevelofcivilizationintheworldat thattime.Theabovetenfactorsshowthepotentialbenefitsonecanget frompractisingShaolinKungfu,butofcoursehemustbereadytoworkhardandbeblessedwithagenerousmaster.ItisaShaolintraditionthattheadvancedartsaretaughtonlytoselecteddisciples,sohemustalsoprovethatheisworthyofthearts.Ontheotherhand, ifsomeonelearnsonlykungfuformandmistakesit tobeShaolinKungfu,asmanypeopledo,hemaynotevenachievetheminimumrequirementofselfdefence.

Forcetrainingisaveryimportantaspectofanystyleofkungfu.Manypeoplehaveheardofthesaying:“Ifyouonlylearnkungfuformbutneverdevelopkungfuforce,yourkungfuwillbefutileevenifyoulearnalifetime”,butnotmanypeoplereallyunderstanditsmeaning, and less stillput it intopractice.Twoexamplesofhard force,or theartofpower, are explained in the previous chapter; in this chapter two examples of internalforce,ortheartofenergy,arediscussed.

ThePalmThatCanKillorHeal

An interesting feature of ShaolinKungfu is thatwhile it is a very effectivemartial art,fighting is not its only objective. The Cosmos Palm is a remarkable expression of thisfeature.While theCosmosPalmcancause seriousdamage toanopponent incombat, itcanalsobringmuchbenefitinhealing.TheCosmosPalmisanadvancedinternalart,andshouldbetrainedonlywiththesupervisionofamaster.Themethodsdescribedbelowaremeantforknowledgeratherthanselfpractice.

ThefoundationoftheCosmosPalmisthecontinuousflowofcosmicenergyinthebodyattainedthroughtheartoftheSmallUniverseormicro-cosmicflow.Iftheexponenthas not attained the Small Universe, he should at least be able to perform AbdominalBreathingorCosmicBreathing(seeChapter20).

After having acquired the Small Universe (or Abdominal Breathing, or CosmicBreathing), practise Forceful Windmill as follows. Standing upright with feet together,thrustonepalminfrontasinFig14.1(a),witha“her-it”soundcomingfromtheabdomen.Next raise thepalmupward, simultaneouslybreathing in through thenose,Fig14.1 (b).Then lower the palm in an arc, simultaneously breathing out with a continuous “shss”soundcomingfromthelungs,Fig14.1(c),andendingattheoriginalposition,Fig14.1(a),with an abrupt “sher” sound. The performing palm and arm should be tersewith forcethroughoutthecirculatingmovement,whiletherestofthebodyisrelaxed.Dropthepalmandarmafterthe“sher”soundandrelax.Focuschiorintrinsicenergyatthedantianintheabdomen.Repeat the process about ten timeswith the samehand.Then repeatwith theotherhand.Increasethenumberofrepetitionasyouprogress.CloseyoureyesandremainatStandingMeditationforafewminutes,feelinginternalforcedevelopingatthearmsandpalms.

Fig14.1ForcefulWindmill

(a)

(b)

(c)

Next practise PushingMountains. Stand upright with eyes closed and channel intrinsicenergytoflowroundthebodyintheSmallUniverseormicrocosmosafewtimes.Then,while the SmallUniversal flow is going on, place both palms, facing forward, at chestlevel, Fig 14.2 (a).Breathe in and visualize cosmic energy flowing into your abdomen.Pushbothpalmsout,Fig14.2(b),breathingoutatthesametime.Donotusestrength,butvisualizeintrinsicenergyflowingfromyourbackthroughyourarmstoyourpalms.Bringbackbothpalms,Fig14.2(b),breathingingentlyintotheabdomenandvisualizingcosmicenergyflowingintoyou.Repeatafewtimes.Thenvisualizeamountaininfront.Asyoupushoutyourpalms,visualizepushingawaythemountainsnotwithanystrengthbutwithyourchiorintrinsicenergy;andasyoubringbackyourpalms,drawthemountaintowardsyou. Repeat between twenty to a hundred times. The SmallUniverse is simultaneouslyflowing while you are pushing and withdrawing your palms. Increase the number ofrepetition as you progress. At the end of this procedure, drop the arms and stand atmeditationforafewminutes,feelingtheflowofcosmicenergytothepalms,Fig14.2(c).

Fig14.2PushingMountain

(a)

(b)

(c)

Afterafewmonthsofpushingmountains,donotdropthepalmsimmediatelyattheendofpushingat leastahundred times,buthold theextendedpalmsandarmsstationary,as inFig 14.2 (b) above, for about five to twentyminutes. The palms and arms are at rightangles, the elbows straight, and the shoulders relaxed. Imagine that your arms are verypowerful. Then turn your palms so that they face upward, and imagine that you arecarryingthesunandthemooninyourpalms,Fig14.3(a).Yourelbowsarestraightandshoulders relaxed.Stand at thisCarrying theSunandMoonposition for another five totwentyminutes.Nextbringthesunandmoontothesidesofyourbody,Fig14.3(b),andremainstationaryatthispoiseforafurtherfivetotwentyminutes.Yourelbowsshouldbebentsharplyandpointingbackward,andyourshouldersrelaxed.Thenturnyourpalmstoface downward, slowly lower them, and remain at StandingMeditation for about ten tothirtyminutes.Gentlyvisualize twoballsofenergyat thecentreofyour twopalms,Fig14.3(c).

Fig14.3CarryingtheSunandMoon

(a)

(b)

(c)

Atvariouspartsduringyourtraining,youmayfeelthatyouarehighlyenergized.Butyoumustnotfeelanypain,especiallyatyourchest.Ifyoufeelpain,whichisawarningsignoffaultypractise,youmuststopimmediately.Seriousinjurymayresultifyoudonotheedthewarningsignofpain.Remedialchikungexercises, likeLifting theSky (Chapter4)andSelfManifestedChiFlow(Chapter18),canrelievetheinjury.

After at least a year of daily practice of the above exercises, youmay test yourCosmosPalmonabrick.Supportthetwoedgesofabricklengthwise,andplaceanotherbrickoverit,asshowninFig14.4.Standatanysuitablestancenearthetwobricks.Focusyourchiorintrinsicenergyatyourabdomen,andthenatyourstrikingpalm.Lookatthemiddleofthelowerbrickandfocusyourmindthereforafewseconds.Thenstrikethetopbrick anywayyou likewithyourCosmosPalm,butvisualizeyour internal forcegoingthroughthetopbricktoreachthemiddleofthebottombricktobreakit.Youwillfindthebottombrickbrokenbutthetopbrickisintact!

Fig14.4BreakingtheBottomBrickwithCosmosPalm

Whenyouhavesucceeded inattaining theCosmosPalm,youareblessedwithapairofwonderful healing hands. Hence, although the Cosmos Palm is usually classified as aspecializedartforstriking,itsforcecanbeusedformanygeneralpurposes.Foryourownsake,donotbesounwiseastocreatebadkarmiceffectforyourselfbyhurtingotherswithyourCosmosPalm;rather,accumulateblessingswithyourCosmosPalmbyhelpingothersandsavinglives.

IfyouareworriedthatyoumayaccidentallyhurtyoursparringpartnerwithyourCosmosPalm, take comfort that themost important factor here is themind andnot thepalm.Evenifyoustrikeyourpartnerwithyourpalm,butifyoudonotuseyourmindtochannel intrinsic energy to hurt him, he will not be hurt. A Shaolin poetic expressionadvisesthatwhenyourpalmisincontactwithanopponent,

Focusenergyatdantian,relaxedandcalm,

Whenstriking,powerissuesfromyourpalm.

Similarly,ifyouwishtotransmitchiorenergytoanotherpersontohelphimrelievepainorcureillness,firstfocusyourchiatyourdantian(theenergyfieldatyourabdomen),berelaxedandcalm,thenthinkofchiflowingintohimfromyourpointedfinger(s)orpalm.Itisagreatblessingtodoso,asyoudonateyourchi,whichismorevaluablethanblood,butyoumustbeverycarefulnottodrainyourself.Youmustalsoavoidbackflowofnegativeenergyfromhim,especiallyifheisgravelysick.Thiscanbedonebywithdrawingyourhandimmediatelyaftertransmittingchi.Itisadvisabletocleanseyourself,especiallyaftertreating gravely sick patients, then replenish your chi. One effectiveway is to performLiftingtheSky;forthefirstfewtimes,thinkofnegativechiflowingoutofyourhandsas

youlowerthem;thenthinkofgoodcosmicenergyflowingintoyourabdomen.Youwillnoticethatinalltheseactivities,itisyourmindratherthanyourphysicalactionsthatbringaboutthedesiredeffects.

WithstandingAttackswithIronShirt

WhileitisnotdifficulttoclassifyCosmosPalmassoftandinternal,andIronPalmashardand external, it is not so easy to classify Iron Shirt, the art of energy that enables theexponenttowithstandattackswithoutsustaininginjury.Manypeopleconsiderit internalasitinvolveschiorintrinsicenergy;othersconsideritexternalasitinvolveshittingwithexternaltools.Butallagreethatitishardforce.Nevertheless,whileIronShirtisnormallycategorizedasaspecializedartforprotectivecover,itsforcecanbeusedforpurposesofgeneral health, thus reminding us that the various classifications of force is not rigidcompartmentalizationbutforthesakeofconvenience.

ThebasisofIronShirtistheSmallUniverse,whichisalsothefoundationformanytypesofadvancedarts.Somestudentspractise IronShirtwithout theSmallUniverse,orwithoutanychikungfoundationatall.Theyonlyusetheexternalmethodsofconditioningthrough hitting, as explained below. This is not accepted in Shaolin Kungfu, becausewithout the internal foundation, not only the exponent cannot advance far and thereforemay be hurt by an opponent using hard force, but also the training itself may causeunwitting injury, and if the injury is not relieved through the accompanying chi kungpractice, it will accumulate and result in serious consequences, which contradicts theShaolinphilosophythatanytrainingmustcontributetotheexponent’shealth.IronShirt,like Cosmos Palm, should be practised with a master’s supervision. The followingdescription,therefore,ismeantforknowledgeratherthanselfpractice.

TheintendingpractitionerthereforemustpractiseSmallUniverseforatleastafewmonths. If he does not have the Small Universe, he must at least practise AbdominalBreathingorCosmicBreathingtoenhancehisenergylevel,andSelfManifestedChiFlowtorelieveanyunwittinginjuryduringpractice.

Prepare about eight canes, each about an inch in diameter and fifteen inches inlength.Soakthecanesinmedicinalwine(liketheonegiveninthepreviouschapter)forabouttenminutes.Asmedicinalwinemaybecostly,aneconomicalalternativeistoholdeachcaneverticallyaboveabowl,pouracupofmedicinalwinedownthewholelengthofthecanelettingthewinetosoakintoit,andreusethewinecollectedatthebowl.Repeatafewtimes.Whenthecanesaredried,tiethemintoabundle.

Start the trainingwithSmallUniverse forabout five to tenminutes.Thenhit theinner side of thewhole length of your arm about thirty times from the shoulder to thefingerswiththebundleofcanes.Repeatwiththeouterside,upperside,andlowersideofthe samearm, so that everypartof thearmhasbeenhit.Repeat theprocedurewith theotherarm.

Fig14.5HittingtheArms

Youshouldbe relaxedandyourbreathingnaturalduring thehitting. Initially thehittingshouldbegentle,butlaterasyouprogress,youshouldincreasetheforceofthehitting.Theincreaseshouldbegradualsothatyoudonotsustainanyinjury.

Afterhittingbotharmsabout240 times,performSelfManifestedChiFlow, thenSmallUniverse.CompletewithStandingMeditation,gentlythinkingofyourdantian.

After about twoweeks of daily practice, add hitting your legs in the sameway.Thenaddhittingvariouspartsofyourbody,includingyourhead,withanintervalofabouttwoweeksforeachaddition.Theprocedureisasfollow:SmallUniverse,hittingvariousparts of the body, Self-Manifested Chi Flow, Small Universe and StandingMeditation.Afterafewmonths,youwillbehittingyourselfhundredsoftimespertrainingsession.

Fig14.6HittingtheFrontoftheBody

Fig14.7HittingaSideoftheBody

Fig14.8HittingtheBackoftheBody

Fig14.9HittingtheHead

Ifyouhavesomeonetohelpyouinyour training,askhimtohityouwith thebundleofcanes.Youmayfinditquitepleasant,especiallyifhehitsyouhard!This isnotbecauseyouhavebecomemasochistic,butbecausethehittinghelpstospreadchioveryourbody.

Afterpractisingdailyforsixmonths,insteadofhittingyourselfwiththelengthofthe cane-bundle, you can ram yourself using one end of the bundle, Fig 14.10. Later,changethebundleofcanestoabagofpebblesorironbearings.Useadouble-layerbagifpossibletopreventdustofthepebblesorevenironbearingsfilteringthroughthebagandgettingintoyourbody.Onceafortnight,soakthepebblesorironbearingsincoldwater,soastoremoveanydustthatmayresultfromconstantknockinginsidethebag.Dryinacoolplacebeforefillingbackintothebagforuse.Donotdryinthesun,becausetheheatofthesunabsorbedinthepebblesorironbearingsisnotconducivetoyourhealthwhenyouusethepebblesorironbearingsforhitting.

Fig14.10RammingwithOneEndoftheBundle

If you have no chi kung base in your Iron Shirt training, you must take an herbalconcoctiononceafortnighttorelieveanyinjurysustainedunwittinglyduringthetraining.IfyouincludeSmallUniverseorSelfManifestedChiFlowinyourtraining,theconcoctionis not necessary. The following herbal mixture, known as “Harmonizing Chi andEnliveningBloodConcoction”,ishelpful:

chuanhonghua12grams

sugeng12grams

jike12grams

saren12grams

touren12grams

xiangfu12grams

chiyao12grams

guiwei10grams

houbu10grams

sumu10grams

muxiang10grams

Brew themixture in threebowls ofwater over a small fire until about eight-tenths of abowloftheconcoctionisleft.Drinktheconcoctionwhenlukewarm.Keeptheresiduefor

thenextday andbrew it again in threebowlsofwateruntil about eight-tenths remains.Drinktheconcoctionwhenlukewarm,anddiscardtheresidue.

Totestyourforce,askafriendtopunchyougentlyatfirst,thengraduallyharderandharderuntilhepunchesyouwithallhismight.Nextaskhimtokickyou,againfromgentlytoallhismight.Ifyouareadventurous,strikeyourselfwithasharpweapon,suchasameatchopper;youwillbesurprisedthatyouarenothurt.

Thereareafewimportantpointstobearinmind.HavingIronShirtdoesnotmakeanexponentinvincible;althoughhecanwithstandattacksfromanordinaryopponent,hecanstillbeinjurediftheopponenthastremendousforce.Therearesomevitalpoints,likethe eyes, throat, and reproductive organs, where even an ordinary opponent can causeinjurytoanIronShirtexponent.Hence,itisfollytoletyouropponentknowthatyouhaveIron Shirt. Similarly, although itmay be impressive to demonstrate Iron Shirt publicly,wherestrangersareinvitedtostriketheexponent,itisnotawisethingtodo.

If thebenefitof the IronShirt is just foryou to takepunchesandkicks, it isnotworth the time spent on training it. Unless you harbour such wishes like becoming astuntman or a professional boxer, and apart from bolstering your ego in risky publicdemonstrations, there are notmany occasions to use this art in ourmodern law-abidingsociety. But the Iron Shirt has other invaluable functions. The spread of chi over yourwholebodygivesyouradianthealth,andyourprotectiveironshieldmakesyoutough—psychologicallyaswellasphysically.

15:THEFAST,THEAGILE,ANDTHEMARVELLOUS

(MarvellousResponsesandtheArtsofLightness)

The response is so superb, usually with an element of surprise, that the opponenthimselfcannothelpmarvellingwithaweandadmirationatit

Techniques,Force,andSpeed

Suppose you have four combatants: one is physically strong, another is skilful in usingtechniques,thethirdhastremendouskungfuforce,andthefourthisfast.Whodoyouthinkisthebestcombatant,andwhotheworst?

A Shaolin axiom says, “Strength cannot match techniques, techniques cannotmatchforce,forcecannotmatchspeed,andspeedcannotmatchthemarvellous.”Itmeansthatifyoucanapplytechniquesskilfully,youcandefeatanopponentwhodependsonlyonhismechanicalstrength.Ifhepushesyou,forexample,donotresist,butretreatastep,pullhimfollowinghisforwardmomentum,andtriphimtofallface-on.Ifhegivesyouapunch, do not block hismassive fist, but step aside andkick at his side ribs.Youmustneverlethimcatchyou.However,ifheevercatchesholdofyou,griponeofhisfingers,strikehisweakspotlikekickinghisshin,thenimmediatelybendhisfingeroutwardagainstitsnaturalleveragetoreleasethehold.AlltheseexamplesillustratingthefirstpartoftheaboveShaolinaxiominvolve theskilfulapplicationof techniques.However, ifyouonlyknowkungfu formbut are ignorantof its application,youwill have little chancewith astrongopponent.

The secondpart of the axiom states that youmayknowa lot of techniques, andmay be skilful in applying them, but in a real fight if your opponent has tremendouskungfu force such as Iron Fist or Iron Leg, he is likely to beat you.Youmay be veryelegantandstylisticinyourmovements,andhaveactuallyhithimmanytimes;hecanbeclumsyandunskilful,butifhesucceedsinramminghisIronFistorstrikinghisIronLegonlyonceintoyou,youwillbeoutofactionwithafewbrokenbones.Youwillnoticethatkungfuforcehereisdifferentfromthephysicalstrengthoftheearliercombatant.

Imagine a seven-year-old black belt fighting a massive brute who has noknowledgeofmartialart.Ifitisanon-contactfriendlymatch,thechildwilleasilywinonpoints; in real combat, the brute merely walks in, ignoring the opponent’s ineffectualstrikes, and fells the child with onemerciless blow. This resembles the situationmanyyears ago of so-called kungfu practitioners who had never sparred before, fightingprofessionalThai boxers in boxing rings.Onpaper, these so-called kungfu practitionersdescribedhoweffectivekungfupatternswereagainsttheseeminglysimplisticThaiboxingtechniques,butintheringtheycouldnotevensurviveonekickoftheThaiboxers’IronLeg.

Butifyouarefastandagile,theIronLegorIronFistcannothityou,andthereforeisineffectual.Obviously,Thaiboxingexponentsaregoodfightersnotmerelybecauseoftheirforcefulkicks,butalsobecausetheyareextremelyfast.ThethirdpartoftheShaolinaxiomsaysthateveniftheopponenthastremendousforce,ifyouarefastenoughtoavoidhisattackand strikehim in return,youareabetter combatant.Even ifyoudonothavetremendouskungfuforceliketheIronLeg,ifyouarefastenoughtostrikehisvitalspotslikehistemples,neck,orgroinwithsomeordinarystrength,youcanputhimoutofaction.

Mymaster,SifuHoFattNam,usedtoremindmethathardforcelikeIronLegandIronPalmis“deadkungfu”whereasspeedandagilityare“livekungfu”.Ofcoursehedidnot imply that hard force is not useful (otherwise Iron Palm training would not be anessentialpracticeforhisadvancedstudents);hemeantthatpossessinghardforcebyitselfdoes not necessarilymake a good fighter, because an opponent, unlike a granite slab indemonstrations,doesnotremainmotionlesstoallowyoutostrikehim.

ThereisanotherShaolinaxiomwhichsays,whenliterallytranslated,that“hundredtechniquesmightaswellbeonespeed”.Ithastworelatedinterpretations,accordingtothesituation.One,itmeansthatifyouintendtopractiseonehundredtechniques,youmightaswell practise one technique so well that you can execute it in great speed. Two, anopponentmaybefamiliarwithcountlesstechniques,butifyouarefastyoucandefeathimirrespectiveofthetechniqueyouusetostrike.

ThereisaninterestingstoryofaclassicalkungfuexpertnicknamedFastFist.Hespecializedinonlyonepattern—thesimplestraightpunch,buthecouldinflictitsofastthatitbecamean“ultimatepattern”.Itwas“ultimate”becauseifheeverusedit,hewouldsurely be victorious. His opponents might attack him in various ways, including somecomplexmovesthatwouldneedmuchskilltoescapefrom,suchasanine-stepcontinuousattackusingdifferentpartsoftheattacker’sbodytostrikedifferentpartsoftheopponent’sbody.IfFastFistweretocountereachofthesenineattacks,hewouldbedefeated.Butheunderstoodthetacticsofavoidingtheopponent’sstrongpoints,andofemployinghisownstrongestpointtostrikeattheopponent’sweakness.Sohedidnotbothertodefendagainstthenine-stepattack,butsimultaneouslyexecutedhis“ultimate”fastpunchatatimewhenhisopponentwasconcentratingonattackandthusmightslackenindefence.FastFistwononspeed,hispunchstrikingtheopponentandthereforehurtingandthrowingthelatteroffbalance before the first of the nine continuous attacks could reach its target. This split-second implementation of his “ultimate pattern” was the result of years of dedicatedtraining.Itwas“ultimate”notbecausetherewasnodefenceagainstit,butitwassofastthattheopponentcouldnotdefendagainstit,thoughheknewhow.

MarvelwithAweandAdmiration

Isitlogical,then,toforgetaboutforceandtechniques,andconcentrateonlyonspeed?No,mere speed, likemere force or techniques, is not enough to clinch victory. Unless youalwaysaimforhisvitalspotslikehiseyesandgroin,astrategywhichthecompassionateShaolinphilosophyprohibits,yourstrikeswillnotbeeffectualevenifyouarefast,unlessyour strikes are backed upwith some force. Even if onewere to be so inhumane as tomaimanopponentbyalwaysstrikingatvitalspots,hestillneedstechniquesfortheattack.The Shaolin axiom illuminates the relative importance of techniques, force, and speed,whichareoftencollectivelyknownasgong(orkung),butneversuggeststhatanyoneofthethreefactorscanreplaceanother.

Moreover,speedisnotthehighestfactorincombat.Thefourthpartoftheaxiomsaysthatspeedcannotmatchthemarvellous.By“marvellous”ismeantthattheresponseisso superb, usually with an element of surprise, that the opponent himself cannot helpmarvelling with awe and admiration at it, although this marvellous response may benaturalorspontaneoustoamaster.Themarvellousresponsegivesasenseofbeing“justright”inallaspects,thoughitmaybedirectlyrelatedtooneparticularaspect,likethatoftechniques,force,speedorotherfactors.

Let us examine some examples. Figure 15.1 illustrates a “hook punch” to anopponent’s temple. This is the first of a nine-step attack, and is often a feint move todistracttheopponent.Mysecondattack,atwo-fingerjabathissideribs,isreadytostriketheopponenttheinstantherespondstomyhookpunch.

Fig15.1FeintOpeningwithaHookPunch

Butmyopponent,Mr. Fast Fist, ignoresmyhookpunch, irrespective ofwhether it is afeintorrealattack,andstrikesouthislightningstraightpunchatanimportantenergyfieldknownas tanzhongat themiddleofmychest.Fig15.2showstheeffectofhissuperiorspeed:hispunchreachesmebeforeeithermyhookpunchormyfingerjabcouldcompleteitscourse.

Fig15.2VictoryDuetoSpeed

However, tohisgreatsurprise, thiseffectofspeeddoesnothappen,becauseIovercomespeedwith“themarvellous”.Insteadoffindinghispunchatmychest,hefindsmypalmjabathiscarotidartery,Figure15.3,andhecertainlyispleasedthat(thankstotheShaolinteachingoncompassion)mypalmmerelytoucheshisneckinsteadofjabbingrightintotheartery. I achieve“themarvellous”byslightly rotatingmywaist tomovemychestawayfromhispunchandsimultaneouslychangingthehookpunchathistempletoapalmjabathisneck,andchangingtheintendedtwo-fingerjabtoahandguardagainsthisarm,allinone smooth action without interrupting the original momentum. The onus of thismarvellousresponseisonskilfuluseoftechniques,thoughallotherfactorsarealso“justright”.Despiteitsspeed,theopponent’sfastpunchcouldnothitmebecauseIhavemovedthe target away, and this changed movement is not a new, fresh movement, but acontinuationofamovementthatisalreadyonitsway.Itsapplication,ofcourse,requiresmuchskill.

Fig15.3ExecutingtheMarvelloustoClinchVictory

Figures15.4and15.5illustrateanothermarvellousresponsebasedmainlyonforce.Inthemidst of executingmy hook punch, I find his straight punch coming at my tan zhong.Followingtheforwardmomentumofmyattack,Iraisemybackheelsothatmytanzhong

ismovedslightlyupwardandforward,Fig15.4.Inthiswayhispunchcrashesnotintomytanzhong,whichisavitalspotwithanimportantenergyfield,butintomyupperstomach,which,ifIhaveprotectiveforcelikeIronShirtorGoldenBell,cantakehispunchwithoutsustainingseriousinjury.

Fig15.4MovingtheTanZhongawayfromAttack

Ashispunchcomesintocontactwithmybody,Imovemyfrontlegaslightstepforward,bendmybodydiagonallydownward,changemyhookpunchathistempleintoatigerclawathisneck,andchangemytwo-fingerjabintoanothertigerclawathiselbow—alltheseactionsareperformedsimultaneously,Fig15.5.Attheverymomentmyopponentexpectshislightningpunchtohitme,hefindshisattackingwristdislocated,whileonetigerclawsgripscrucialvitalpointsathisneckpreventinghimfrommovingawayfreely,andanothertigerclawgripshiselbowpreventinghimfrombendinghisarmtonullifymybodyattackon his wrist. Of course, earlier Imustmake sure thatmy protective force can take hisstrikingforce.

Fig15.5DislocatingtheWristwiththeBody

Figure15.6illustrateswhythecombinedforwardmovementoftheopponent’sarmandthediagonallydownwardmovementofmybodydislocatetheopponent’swrist.

Fig15.6MechanicsoftheDislocation

Fig 15.7 also illustrates that speed cannotmatch themarvellous.As I find a fast punchrushing atmewhile I am executing a hook punch, I immediately discontinue the hookpunch,movemybodybackwardbyshiftingmybodyweighttomybackleg(thusmovingmychestawayfromtheopponent’spunch),andkickupwithmytoesattheelbowoftheopponent’sattackingarm,Fig15.7,dislocatingtheelbow.

Fig15.7AMarvellousResponseBasedonSpeed

Itmayappearthatthiskickingattheopponent’selbowtodislocateitistheeasiestofthethreeexamplesofmarvellousresponses.But ifyoutryout the threesequences,youwillprobably find it is the most difficult. The difficulty lies not in the technique, which iscomparativelysimplethoughunexpected,nordoesitneedspecializedforcetodislocateanelbowwithakick.Thedifficultyisinitsspeedyperformance.Unlessyouarewelltrained,

you are likely to be hit before you can shift your body backward, because this shiftinginvolvesstoppingyourforwardmovement,thenstartingareversemovementbackward.Asit involvestwooppositemomentums, itneedsmuchskillandmoretimetoperformthanthe other two examples of spontaneous responses where the action is continuing theoriginalmomentum.Hence,theonusofthemarvellousinthiscaseisspeed,whereasthatoftheothertwoistechniqueandforce,respectively.

SomeConsiderationsinSpeedTraining

Speed,ofcourse, isavery important factor inanymartialart.Even inTaijiquan,wherepractitionersnormallyperformTaijipatternsslowlyduringpractice,speed isessential incombat— a fact unfortunately and surprisinglymanyTaiji students themselves are notaware! InShaolinKungfu, the arts of lightness incorporate specializedmethods to trainspeedandagility.

Attainingspeedisnotsimplytryingtobefast.Ifyoutrytoperformyourkungfumovementsfastwithoutpropermethods,youarelikelytobepantingforbreath,inexactinform, and lacking in force. It is not uncommon to find that whenmartial artists try toexecute their techniqueswith power, they generally slow down theirmovements; whenthey try to be fast, they generally become short of breath. Properly trained Shaolindisciples,on theotherhand,comeoutof their fast, forcefulkungfuperformance insolopractice or sparring as if they have come back from a leisurely walk! A Shaolin tenetadvises:“Powerfulbutnottardy;fastbutnotbreathless.”

Before attempting a programme of speed training, consider some importantprinciples:

1.Thelungcapacitymustbeenlargedtoholdmoreairtomeettheextrarequirementofspeed;otherwisetheexponentwillbeshortofair.2. Thebreathing ratemust not quickenwhenmovements quicken; otherwise theexponentwillbepanting.3. Themeridiansystem,whichmaybetranslatedasthecirculatoryandrespiratorysystemsinthiscase,mustbeimprovedsothatnotonlymorechi,orextraoxygen,canbeeffectivelychannelled to the relevant tissues,butalso toxicwastecanbe readilydisposedoff;otherwisetheexponentbecomestiredeasily.4. Theremustbeadequatepreparatoryexercises tostretch thenecessarymuscles;otherwisetheexponentbecomesmuscle-boundandclumsy.5. There should bemeditative exercises to developmental freshness; otherwisebodilyspeedwillbehamperedbymentalindecision.6.Theremustbesufficientpracticesothatreactionisnotonlyfastbutspontaneous;otherwisetheexponentbecomeshesitant.7. Thetrainingshouldbegradualsothatthevariousbodysystemshavesufficienttimetoadjusttonewlevelsofspeedandpower;otherwisetheremaybeinsidiousilleffectontheexponent’shealthduetosuddenstressandtension.8. Theattainmentofspeedmustnotbeattheexpenseofothercombatfactors,likeform,force,balance,andflexibility;otherwisetheadvantagesgainedinspeedwillbeoffsetbytheresultingweaknessoftheseotherfactors.9. Breathingmust be regulated andwell-coordinatedwithmovements; otherwisebothspeedandforcewillbeaffected.

The first four above points are well-provided for by Shaolin Chi Kung. Point 4 alsosuggeststhatweighttrainingwhichdevelopsbigmusclesisnotsuitableforspeed.Butifemployedappropriately,weightscanbeofmuchhelptospeedandforcetraining.Thefifthpointisprovidedforbymeditation.Thelastfourpointsconcerntrainingmethodsandwillbediscussedbelow,whereastheotherpointsareexplainedinvariouspartsofthebook.

HowtoAttainSpeed

Canyourememberhowyouattiredyourselfwhenyouwereachild?Youmighthavetakenhalf an hour just to put on a shirt or a dress, but now you can do so in aminute. Theamazingthingisthatyouhaveneverconsciouslyattemptedtoincreasethespeed,yetyoucannowputonyourattiresomuchfaster.Thereasonisthatallthistimeyouhavebeenpractisingunconsciously,withtheresultthatputtingonyourattirehasbecomeahabitandisthereforerapid.Thisgivesanideathatifwepractiseourkungfupatternsuntilwehavebecomevery familiarwith them, thenwe can perform them rapidly.The following is ausefulmethodfortrainingspeed,withoutsacrificingformandforce,insolosetpractice;the same principles can be applied to combat sequences and sparring. Understandably,unlessyouarealreadyfamiliarwithkungfutraining,itisdifficult(butnotimpossible)tolearn such arts as correctness of form, force, and speed from a book; it is thereforeadvisabletoseekthehelpofaninstructor.

The basic Shaolin set, Cross-Roads at Four Gates (Chapter 6), is used as anexample.At thefirststage,performthesetwithspecialattention tocorrectnessof form.Thewholeperformancetakesaboutthreeminutes.Youneedtopractisethisstagedailyforabout three months, towards the end of which you should perform the whole set in arhythmicflowofbeautifulform.

At the second stage, which will also take about three months, practise the setcorrectlywith special emphasison force.For example inPattern3,ThriceThreadingofBridge,channelinnerforcetothetwofingers;inPattern7,SingleDragonEmergesfromSea,punchoutwithallyourmight.Youmustofcoursemaintaincorrectnessof forminyour set. Initially, you take one breath for each pattern, breathing in at the start andbreathing out at the completion of the pattern. You should also remember that force isdifferentfrombrutalstrength.

Asyouprogress,youwillfindthatyouronebreathmaybesufficienttolastyoufortwoorthreepatterns;butyoumustnotatanytimebeoutofbreath.Hence,wheneveryoufeel that you have used up about seventy percent of your current breath, gently takeanotherbreath.Generally,whenyoustrike,asinSingleDragonandBlackTiger,breatheoutexplosivelywitha“her-it” soundfromyourabdomen,and immediately letabout30percentofyourchisinkintoyourabdominaldantian(energyfield). It isveryimportantthatthissinkingofchiintoyourabdomenmustnotbeforced;feelingpaininyourgroinisawarningthatyouhaveforceddownthechi.

Youalsoneedaboutthreeminutestoperformthewholesetwithaccurateformandforce.Towardstheendofthethirdmonth(orthesixthmonthfromthebeginningstage),youwillbeabletoperformthesetcorrectlyandforcefully,yetyouwillnotbetiredattheconclusionoftheperformance.

Atthethirdstage,whichalsotakesaboutthreemonths,youconcentrateonspeed,of coursewithout neglecting correctness of formand force.Thegeneral procedure is as

follows.Performaseriesofrelatedpatternwhilecomfortablyholdingonebreath;explodewith a “her-it” sound as you strike; immediately let the remaining chi sink into yourabdomen(itisveryimportantnottoforcethesinking);breatheindeeplybutgentlyasyoubeginthenextseriesofrelatedpatterns.

IntheFourGatesSet,thegeneralproceduredescribedabovedoesnotapplytothefirst threepatterns,becausetheyaremeanttogenerateoverallchiflowforthewholesetand have special breathing techniques of their own.Briefly breathe into the dan tian inPattern1,breatheout,andsinkthebreathinPattern2,havethreebreathsinPattern3tocoordinatewithchannellingchitothetwofingers,andcompletethepatternwithfocusingchiatthedantian.

ThegeneralprocedurestartswithPattern4.TakethefirstdeepbreathatthestartofPattern4,andperformrightthroughtoPattern10with70percentofthisbreath,sinkingthe remaining 30 percent after the Horse-Riding Punch so as to store the chi at theabdominaldantian(energyfield).TaketheseconddeepbreathandperformtillPattern15,storing30percentofchiatthedantianasbefore.

TakethethirddeepbreathandperformtillPattern20.Patterns21to26aretobeperformedwiththefourthdeepbreath.PerformPatterns27and28withoutworryingaboutyour breathing, then breathe in fully, i.e., the fifth deep breath, as you jump back, andcontinue toPattern33with thesamebreath.PerformPattern34withoutworryingaboutthebreathing,breatheinatPattern35,andbreatheoutwithchifocusedattheabdominaldantianatthecompletionofthesetatPattern36.

Besidesthespecialbreathingtechniquesatthebeginningthreepatternstogeneratechiflow,andtheconcludingtwopatternstostorechiattheabdomen,thewholesetistobeperformedinfivebreaths.Thesequenceofpatternsbetweenthebreathsareexecutedasiftheyareeachone longcontinuouspattern. Inotherwords, thewholeset isperformedinfivebreathsasifitconsistsoffivepatterns.Ifyoupractisewell,youcanperformthesetcorrectlyandforcefully in less thanaminute,whichismorethanthreetimesfaster thanwhenyoufirststartedninemonthsago.

Althoughthismethod,whichIlearnedfromSifuHoFattNam,isveryeffectivefortrainingspeed,itisnotusuallyregardedasanartoflightness,andnotevenlabelledwithaspecial name,because it is abasicprocedure inourkungfu set practice.The expression“completioninonebreath”isfrequentlyusedinconnectionwiththismethod.Wemay,forthesakeofreference,callthisthe“one-breathtechnique”.

PlumFlowerandThroughtheWoods

PlumFlowerFormationisoneofthewell-knownShaolinspecializedartsoflightness.Itsspecialpurposeistotrainagility.

Drawfivecircles,aboutafootindiameter,onthegroundinthepatternofaplumflower,Fig15.8.Moveaboutinvariousstancesanddirectionsonthisplumflowerpattern,butyourfeetmustatnotimestepoutsidethecircles.Afteraboutamonthofdailypractice,drawmorecirclesandpractisesimilarly.

Fig15.8MovingAboutonDrawnCircles

After another two months, use five inverted bowls instead of circles, and move aboutfreelyon the invertedbowls.Your feetmust at no timebeoff thebowls.Remember towearsuitableshoessothatifyouaccidentallybreakabowl,itsbrokenpieceswillnotcutyourfoot.Afteronemonth,addmoreinvertedbowlstoyourpractice,Fig15.9.

Fig15.9MovingAboutonInvertedBowls

Afterthreemonthsofdailypracticeontheinvertedbowls,insertfiveshortpolesinaplumflowerpatternintothegroundaboutafoothigh,Fig15.10.Practisevariousfootworkonthepoles.Addmorepolesafteramonth,andpractiseforanothertwomonths.

Fig15.10MovingAboutonOne-footPoles

Next,practiseonfivepolesaboutfourfeethigh,Fig15.11.Addmorepolesafteramonth,andpracticevariouskungfumovements,includingkickingandjumping,onthepolesforanothertwomonths.

Fig15.11KungfuMovementsonFour-FootPoles

Then practise on five poles about seven feet high, Fig 15.12.After amonth, addmorepoles topractisekungfusetsorcombatsequencesforat least twomonths.IfyouhaveapartnerwhoalsopractisesPlumFlowerFormation,sparwithhimonthepoles.Needlesstosay,anyslipmaycauseinjury.

Fig15.12PlumFlowerFormation

Youcanalsousetheseseven-footpolesforanotherartoflightnessknownas“ThroughtheWoods”,whichisalsousefulfortrainingspeedandagility.Althoughitisbettertopractise“ThroughtheWoods”onlyafteryouhavesucceededin“PlumFlowerFormation”,orviceversa, so that you can concentrate in one art at a time, you may, for various reasons,practise them together. For this specialized art of “Through the Wood”, instead ofpractisingonthepoles,youpractiseonthegroundinthemidstofthepoles.

Therearethreepartsinthistraining,andyoushouldpractisedailyforatleastfourmonthsforeachpart.Youmay,ifyouareready,practisetwoorallthepartsatthesametime.

First, plan out a sequence of useful and varied foot movements. Go into the“woods”ofthesepolesandperformthesefootmovementswithouttouchinganypolesatall,Fig15.13.Ifyoutouchapole,youhavetostartalloveragain.Initiallymoveslowly,but increaseyou speed as youprogress so that eventually youmovevery rapidly.Also,lengthenthesequenceandmakethemovementsmoreelaborate.Practiseforatleastthreemonths. Later, incorporate appropriate hand movements as you go over your footworksequence.Youmay strike the poles as if theywere opponents, but any strikes, by your

hand,leg,oranypartofyourbodymustbeperformedwhileyouareonyourmove;youmustnotletanystrikingaffectyourcontinuous,fastmovementthroughthewoods.

Fig15.13MovingThroughtheWoods

Thenmoveabout freely in thewoodsofpolesperformingvariouskungfupatterns for aperiodoffiveminuteswithouttouchinganypoles,exceptyourpurposefulstrikesonthem,which must not affect your smooth movement. If you touch any pole (except yourstriking),startafresh.Inotherwords,youcanmoveaboutinanydirectioninthewoodsforasetperiodoftimewithouttouchinganypole.Graduallyincreasethespeedofmovementandtheperiodoftime.

Next,movefromoneendofthewoodstotheotherendwithouttouchinganypoles(exceptingstrikingthem),imaginingthatthesepolesarearmedenemiesandyouaregoingthrough them untouched. The arrangement of the poles should be fairly long for thispractice.Moveslowlyatfirst,payingattentionmoretoagileshiftinganddodgingthantospeed.Gradually increaseyourspeedso thatyoucanpass through thecolumnofarmedenemies swiftly. If you have wondered how kungfu experts can escape unhurt fromswarmsofarmedattackers,asissometimesdepictedinmovies,younowhaveamethodtodevelopsuchanability.

16: DRAGONS, PHOENIXES, TIGERS AND THEMOON

(ABriefSurveyofKungfuWeapons)

Besidesthehedonicprinciple topreservetradition, therearealsopracticalreasonswhyweaponsarepractisedinkungfutoday.

WhyClassicalWeaponsAreStillPractisedToday

When we mention martial arts in our present twentieth century, we usually think ofunarmed combat for sport, sometimes for self defence. In most martial arts today likekarate,judo,aikido,taekwondo,kickboxing,andTaijiquan,weaponsplayaminorroleintheir practice. This is not the case in Shaolin Kungfu, especially if it is taught in thetraditionalmanner,becauseweaponsformasignificantpartofthetraining.

InclassicalChina,martialartingeneral,knownatdifferenttimesaswuyi,wushu,orjiji,referrednotjusttounarmedandarmedcombatamongindividuals,butalsoincludedhorsebackfighting,archery,massattackanddefence,manoeuvresandtraps,andmilitarystrategy.Specializedmartialsports likewrestlingandboxing,whichwereperformedforentertainmentratherthanforactualfightingandwerealreadypopularasearlyasthetimeof Shih Huang Di in the 3rd century BCE, were known as “juedi” and “shoupo”respectively.

But after the invention of firearms in themodern period, classical weapons likespearsandswordshavelosttheirformerimportanceinmasswarfareorindividualfighting.WhythenareclassicalweaponsstillpractisedinShaolinKungfu?

Classical weapons have become an integral part of the kungfu tradition, so thateven if therewerenopractical functions,manymastersconsider itamoralobligation topreserve the tradition and teach kungfuweapons as an art form by itself. Indeed, somemasters consider one’s kungfu training is incomplete if he has not learned any kungfuweapons.A performance of kungfuweapons is also very spectacular towatch.Kungfuliteraturehasoftendescribedanartisticperformanceofaspearasawanderingdragon,ofaswordasanimblephoenix,andofa scimitar (oftencalledabroadsword)asa ferocioustiger.

Besidesthehedonicprincipletopreservetradition,therearealsopracticalreasonswhy weapons are practised in kungfu today. Training with weapons is a continueddevelopmentofunarmedtraining.Forexample,afterastudentisproficientinhisunarmedkungfusetpractice,hecanfurtherimprovehisforce,speed,andstaminaifheperformsthesamesetbyholdingsomeweights suchasdumbbells.Amore interestingandprofitableway is to practise a set holding short but heavy weapons, like “round hammers” and“double rods”, Fig 16.1.When he can perform suchweapon setswell, hewill even bebetterwhenheperformsunarmedsetswithouthavingtoholdtheseweightyweapons.Ifheuses a heavy long weapon instead of a short one, such as a “crescent-moon spear”, a“guan-dao”(aformofhalberd),oratrident,Fig16.2,hewillfurtherimprovehisstancesandfootwork,whichcanbeprofitablytransferredtounarmedcombat.

Fig16.1RoundHammersandDoubleRods

Fig16.2Crescent-MoonSpear,Guan-DaoandTrident

Third,eachtypeofthewiderangeofkungfuweaponsisconstructedforatleastone,butusuallymore combative functions. Daggers, for example, are usedmainly for stabbing,roundhammersforhitting,spearsforpiercing,andbattleaxesforchopping.Youmayuseadaggertochopyouropponent,orabattleaxetostabhim,butyouareunlikelytoachievedesirable results. As different weapons exhibit special features, training with weaponsdevelopsthoseskillsaswellasemphasizesthosetechniquesthatareparticularlyrelatedtotheweapons.Forexample, ifyouwishtouseadaggereffectively,youneedtomaintaincloserangewithyouropponentsothatyoucanstabhimeasily;butifyouuseaspear,youwouldkeepadistancefromhimsothatyoucantakeadvantageofthelengthofthespear.Thus,trainingwithadaggeroraspearwillprovideyouwiththeskillsandtechniquesthatyoucantransfertounarmedfightingforclose-orlong-rangefighting,respectively.

Some weapons require special skills, or gong, to use them efficaciously. Sharpeyesight is required for spears, agility for swords, and good horse stance for halberds.These skills are needed for other weapons and unarmed combat, too, but they areparticularlynecessaryfortheseweapons.Inagoodtrainingprogramme,besidespractisingaspearset,theexponentshouldalsopractisetherelevantskills;justasinanunarmedset,heshouldpractisesuchskillsasspeed,spacing,andfluiditybesidesmerelyperformingthepatternsoftheset.

Onehelpfulmethodtodevelopsharpeyesightinusingaspearistosuspendaringaboutsixinchesindiameterandpiercethespearheadintothisringusingvariouspatternsfromdifferentdirections.Whentheexponentcanbesuccessfuleverytimehepierceshisspear into the ring,heproceeds topiercing intoamovingring.Thenheuses three ringsinsteadofjustone,andlaterhemayusemoreringsarrangedindifferentpatterns.Ashebecomesproficient,hereduces thesizeof therings.Hemaysuspendtheswingingringsfromafixedpoint,hangthemfromaslowlymovingceilingfan,orarrangetheminfourdirections.Fig16.3illustratesacontinuouspiercingofthespearintopre-determinedringsusingdifferentpatterns.Whensuchaskillistransferredtounarmedcombat,theexponentwould be able to strike at predetermined spots on the opponent’s body accurately. Thistransferofskillsfromweapontrainingtounarmedcombatisanotherreasonwhyweaponsarestillpractisedtoday.

Fig16.3TraininginSharpEyesightwithaSpear

The fifth reason is thatmany common things can be improvised asweapons.A brokenbottle,forexample,canbeusedlikeadagger,aspikelikeaspear,abicyclechainlikea“soft-whip”,ahard stick likea“copper rod”,andameat-cutter likea scimitar.Trainingwith classical weapons therefore enables us to defend ourselves efficiently againstopponents using such improvised weapons, as well as enables us to use improvisedweaponsifnecessary.Althoughclassicalweaponsarenotnormallyfoundinpublic,someknowledgeofandpracticeintheirusearestillusefulforselfdefence.

ClassificationofWeapons

Therangeofkungfuweaponsisbothextensiveandbewildering.InadocumentarytextoftheShaolinMonastery,TheSecretBookofCompleteShaolinWeapons,hand-writtenandillustratedbyVenerableSuFaandVenerableTeQian,whodescribetheweaponsusedbywell-knownShaolinmasters,220differenttypesofweaponsarerecorded.Manyoftheseweaponsareexotic.Fig16.4illustratessomeofsuchexoticweapons:Mountain-ChasingWhip used by Venerable Fu Ju of the Song Dynasty, Eight-Branched Tree used byVenerableHuiJuoftheYuanDynasty,TortoiseRingusedbyVenerableXuanJinoftheMingDynasty,andSnake-ShapedKeyusedbyVenerableJingXiuoftheQingDynasty.

Fig16.4ExoticShaolinWeapons

Therehavebeenmanyattemptsinkungfuhistorytoclassifythediverserangeofweapons.The popular phrases “five weapons” and “eighteen weapons” represent some of theseattemptsatclassification.During theZhouDynasty(11th to5thcenturyBCE), the“fiveweapons”asmentionedintheBookofRitesreferredtoge(longweaponwithasickle-likebladeat theend),shu(longweaponwithahorn-likestructure), ji(crescent-moonspear),mao(lance),andgong-shi(bowandarrows).AsthereareoftennoEnglishequivalentsfortheChineseweapons,Chinesetermsareusedinthischaptertonametheweapons.

Fig16.5FiveWeaponsinAncientTimes

MuchlaterduringtheHanDynasty(3rdcenturyBCEto3rdcenturyCE),theBookofHanreferredtothe“fiveweapons”asmao(lance),ji(crescent-moonspear),gong-shi(bowandarrows),jian(sword),andge(longsickle-likeweapon).Theterm“fiveweapons”wasusedidiomaticallytosuggestavarietyofweapons,andshouldnotbetakentomeanthattherewereonlyfivetypesorgroupsofweapons.Forexample,jian(sword)waswidelyusedinprehistoric times; archaeological finds reveal a lot of copper swords, but jian wasmentioned as one of the “five weapons” only in the Han but not in the Zhou period.Weapons likeyue (battle-axe), chui (mace), anddang (spearwith a crescent blade),Fig16.6, were already popular in ancient China, but they were not mentioned in the “fiveweapons”.

Fig16.6Yue,ChuiandDang

The term “eighteen weapons” became widely used since the Song Dynasty. Differentauthorities designated the “eighteenweapons” differently.During the times of the Song

and Yuan Dynasties (10th to 14th centuries), the “eighteen weapons” referred to thefollowing,asillustratedinFig16.7:

1. mao (lance); 2. chui (mace); 3. gong (bow); 4. nu (mechanized bow); 5.chong(pipe-likeweapontoshootoutdarts);6.bian(whip);7.jian(rod);8.jian(sword);9.chan(spade);10.zhua(claw);11.fu(handaxe);12.yue(battleaxe);13.ge(longsickle);14.ji(crescent-moonspearwithhook);15.pai(shield);16.bang(cudgel);17.qiang(spear);18.pa(trident).

Fig16.7EighteenWeapons(SongandYuanDynasties)

During theMingDynasty (14th to 17th centuries), the “eighteenweapons” denoted thefollowing;

1. gong(bow);2.nu(mechanizedbow);3.qiang(spear);4.dao(scimitar);5.jian(sword);6.mao(lance);7.dun(shield);8.fu(handaxe);9.yue(battleaxe);10.ji(crescent-moonspear);11.bian(whip);12.jian(rod),13.gao(pole);14.shu(longweaponwithahorn-likestructure);15.cha (fork);16.pa-tou (rake);

17.mian-sheng(ropedweapons);18.bai-da(empty-handcombat).

Fig16.8EighteenWeapons(MingDynasty)

Although the names ofmanyweapons are the same in both theSong-Yuan list and theMinglist,theirillustrationsmaybedifferent.Thisisbecausethereweredifferentformsofthesameweapon,orbecausetheweaponmighthaveevolvedintoanotherform.

In recent times during the Qing Dynasty (17th to 20th centuries), “eighteenweapons” were interpreted variously. One popular interpretation was to classify the“eighteenweapons”intoninelongweaponsandnineshortweaponsasfollows,Fig16.9:

1. qiang(spear);2.ji(crescent-moonspear);3.gun(staff);4.yue(battleaxe);

5.da-pa(trident);6.da-dao(halberd);7.chan(spade);8.mao(lance);9.sheng-biao (roped spear); 10.dao (scimitar), 11. jian (sword); 13.gou (hook-sword);14.jian(rod);15.bian(soft-whip);16.guai(clutch);17.chui(roundhammer);18.bi-shou(dagger).

Fig16.9EighteenWeapons(RecentTimes)

Besidestheseregularweapons,therearealso“extra-ordinaryweapons”,suchasbutterflyknives, three-sectional staff, big sweeper, wolf-teeth staff, iron-pen, and three-pointedspear, Fig 16.10. There is another class called secret weapons, such as darts, marblemissiles,protection-mirror(wornoverthechestunderclothing),andhiddenknives(suchasatthetipsofshoes),Fig16.11.

Fig16.10SomeExtraordinaryWeapons

Fig16.11SomeSecretWeapons

Everyday tools likeumbrellas, shortbenches, stools,andwalkingsticks,Fig16.12,mayalsobeusedeffectivelyasweapons,especiallyifweunderstandsomebasicprinciples.Ifyouuseanunopenedumbrellalikeasticktohitanassailant,asmanyuntrainedpeopledo,itisunlikelytoproduceefficaciousresults,becausethespringyribsandfoldedclothoftheunopenedumbrellawouldcushionofftheblowsevenifyoucouldhithim.Ifyouwishtohithim,youshouldusetheumbrellahandle,especiallyifitishard,andyoushouldaimatvulnerable spots like his head, neck, upper arms, elbow, fingers, knees, and shins. Themostdestructivepartofanumbrella,however,isitspointedtip.Ifyouuseittopokeatanassailant’sface,neck,solarplexus,orsideribs,youcanoftenhurthimsufficientlyforyoutoescape.

Fig16.12CommonToolsasWeapons

Anobviousweaknessofanumbrellapoke,unlikeaswordthrust,isthattheopponentcaneasilygrasptheumbrella.OneefficientwaytoovercomethisproblemisillustratedinFig16.13.Whenyouropponentgraspsyourumbrella,useyourfreehandtoholdthetipoftheumbrella,moveforwardslightly(butmakesurehisfronthandcouldnotstrikeyourface),simultaneouslypulltheumbrellatiptowardsyourselfandstriketheumbrellahandleattheopponent’stemple.Besidesstrikinghim,theturningmovementoftheumbrellaactsonaweaknessofhisgrip,therebyreleasinghisholdoftheumbrella.Kickhisgroinorshinasacoupdegrace.

Fig16.13UsinganUmbrellaasaWeapon

(a)

(b)

FerociousTigersandNimblePhoenixes

Among the great variety of kungfu weapons, the four most popular today are the dao(scimitar),thejian(sword),theqiang(spear),andthegun(staff).

The dao (pronounced as “t’ao”) is a generic name for a groupof different bladeweaponswithonlyone sharp edge.ThenearestEnglish equivalent is “knife”.Themostcommon type of dao or knives is the dan dao, meaning “single knife”, which may betranslatedas“scimitar”.Fig16.14showssomeexamplesofdao.

Fig16.14SomeExamplesofDaoorKungfuKnives

Whydoes thedaoorknifeuseonlyone sharpedge; isn’t itmoreadvantageous tohavebothedgesforcutting?Thedaousesonlyonecuttingedgeinsteadoftwobecauseboththeshape and structure of the weapon (i.e., its form) as well as the application of the daopatterns (its function) are such that using one cutting edge gives the exponent the besttechnical advantages. To realize the most destructive functions of the dao, such aschopping, cutting, slashing, and sweeping,Figures16.15and16.16, theblade shouldbesharp at one edge but thick and heavy on the other so that its destructive power isenhanced.The blade is asymmetrical and convex at the sharp edge so as to increase itscutting effectiveness. Because of these factors, a double-cutting edge would be ahindrance.

Fig16.15AChoppingTechniqueofaDao

Fig16.16ASweepingTechniqueofaDao

TheChinese languagemakesacleardistinctionbetweenadao,or akungfuknife likeascimitar, and a jian, or aChinese sword.A knife has only one cutting edge,whereas asword,intheChinesecontext,isalwaysdouble-edged.Hence,whatisoftencalledaswordbywesternreaders,suchastheJapaneseSamuraiSword,isregardedasaknifeinChinesebecauseitusesonlyonecuttingedge.Thetechniquesandskillsinusingaknife(suchasascimitar)andaswordarevastlydifferent;indeedtheirdifferencecaneasilybesuggestedinthedescriptionofaknifebytheChineseasaferocioustiger,andaswordasanimblephoenix.Thus, the translationof theChinese“dao”as“broadsword”,as isoftendoneinsomekungfubookswritteninEnglish,isinappropriateinthisrespect.

Ifweattachalonghandletoadao,wehaveada-dao(pronouncedas“t’at’ao”),whichliterallymeans“bigknife”.Fig16.17showssomeexamplesofda-dao.

Fig16.17SomeExamplesofDa-Dao

In classical China, da-dao or BigKniveswereweapons used by generals on horsebackfighting.ThefamouswarrioroftheThreeKingdomsperiod(3rdcentury),GuanYu,whois sometimes described in English as the Chinese God ofWar, but actually it is moreappropriatetocallhimtheGodofRighteousness,isperhapsthemostcelebratedexponentof theda-dao.His special da-dao is knownby a poetic name, “TheKnifewith aGreenDragon and theCrescentMoon”. This kind of da-dao is commonly called “Guan-dao”,meaningtheKnifeofGuan.

Thejianorswordisagoodcontrasttothedaoorknife.Aswordexponentseldomusestechniqueslikechopping,cutting,slashing,andsweeping,theprincipaltechniquesinusing a knife; the forte of the sword is thrusting and slicing, which are not suitabletechniquesforaknifesuchasascimitar.Figures16.18and16.19showthethrustingandslicingtechniquesofthesword.

Fig16.18TheThrustoftheSword

Fig16.19TheSliceoftheSword

Touseaswordlikeascimitar,suchasclashingtheswordwiththeopponent’sweaponorswingingtheswordaroundone’sbodyasisoftendonewithascimitar,isasureindicationofignoranceindifferentiatingtheprinciplesgoverningtheuseofaswordandaknife.AChinese sword is a light, daintyweapon; clashing itwith the opponent’s heavyweaponmayresultintheswordbeingbrokenintoafewpieces.

Whenusingascimitar,anexponentoftenswingsitaroundhisownbodybecausesuchmovementsgivehimcertaintechnicaladvantages.Suchcircularswinging,knowninkungfutermas“coveringtheheadandsurroundingthebody”,providestheexponentwithgood protective coverage, enables him to manoeuvre his comparatively heavy scimitarswiftly,andaddspower tohisattackingpatterns.However,such“covering theheadandsurroundingthebody”isalmostneverusedwithaChinesesword,becauseasithasdoublecutting edges, such movements would hurt the exponent himself, and because it iscomparativelylightitdoesnotneedthecircularswingtoaidmomentumandpower.

As the Chinese sword is light and dainty, how does the exponent block anopponent’sattack,especiallyifthelatterusesaheavyweapon?Imagine,forexample,thatyouareusingaswordandyouropponentchopsdownwithaheavyscimitar;orhesweepsatyourwaistwithasolidstaff.Ifyoublockthescimitarorthestaffwithyoursword,yourswordwillbebrokenintopieces.

Hence, a swordsman almost never blocks! As a good tactician, he avoids theweakness of his weapon and exploits its strong point. Clashing the light sword with aheavyweapon is aweakness; capitalizing its lightness for agilemanoeuvres is a strongpoint.Figures16.20to16.25illustrateanapplicationoftheswordagainsttheverticalchopofascimitarandthehorizontalsweepofastaff.

Fig16.20showsanopponentmoving in tochopmewithhisscimitar. Insteadofblocking or retreating, both ofwhichwould be disadvantageous tome, Imove forwardslightly,slantingmyswordtosliceattheopponent’swrist,Fig16.21.HisattackwouldbeunabletohitmebecauseIhavemovedawayfromthetarget,andmyswordinterceptshis

attackingwrist(notscimitar).Asheretreatshisarmandbody,Ifollowimmediatelywithaswordthrust,Fig16.22,butinlinewiththeShaolinphilosophyofcompassion,Istopjustinchesawayfromhisthroat.

Fig16.20to16.22ASwordagainstaScimitar

Fig16.20

Fig.16.21

Fig16.22

Anopponentsweepshisstaffatmywaist,Fig16.23.Ashisstaffapproaches,Imovemyback leg a small step backward and lowermy body to let his staff sweep pastme, Fig16.24.ImmediatelyImovemybodyforwardandthrustmyswordathisthroat,Fig16.25.Again,outofcompassion,Istopafewinchesfromhisbody.

Fig16.23to16.25ASwordagainstaStaff

Fig16.23

Fig.16.24

Fig.16.25

TheKingandtheMother

Whilethescimitarandtheswordareshortweapons,thespearandthestaffarelong.Justasthescimitarandtheswordoffersomeinterestingcontrast—theformerisferociouslikea tiger,whereas the latter is gentle like a phoenix; the spear and the staff also illustratesomedistinctivedifference.

The spear, or qiang in Chinese, is sometimes regarded as the king of weapons,because technically a pierce from a spear is the most difficult to defend against.ThroughoutChinesedynastichistory, thespearwasthechoiceweaponofmostgenerals.Figures16.26and16.27showtwotypicalspearpatterns.

Fig16.26SpearThrustatBow-ArrowStance

Fig16.27ReverseThrustatUnicornStance

Why is the spear pierce a superior technique?As a spear is comparatively light, and apiercingattacktravelsinastraightline,aspearpiercecanbeextremelyfast,almostlikean

arrow, with the advantage that the spear expert may change the direction of his pierceaccordingtohowhisopponentmoves,whereasanarrowoncereleasedmaintainsafixedcourse.Second,thedestructivepropertiesofaspearheadarenotjustitspoint,butalsoitssharpsideswhichactlikeanextendeddagger.So,evenwhenanopponenthasdodgedthesharp point of the spearhead, the exponentmay cut or slice the opponentwith its sharpedges.

Aspearpierceismadenotbyholdingthespearshaftfirmlywithbothhandsandmoving both hands forward, likewhat is done in thrustingwith a staff; rather the fronthandholdsthespearshaftforleverage,andthebackhandpushesthespearforward,Fig16.28.Hence,notonly is thepierceswift,but the recoveryof thespearafterpiercing isalsoveryfast.Assoonastheexponentpierceshisspear,hepullsitback.Inthiswayheovercomesthetwoprincipalcountersagainstapierceorthrustattack,namelygraspingtheshaft of the piercing or thrusting weapon, and getting past the attacking point into theexponent.Inotherwords,becausethepullingbackofthespearheadissofast,itisdifficultfortheopponenttogripthespearshaft,ortomovepastthespearhead.

Fig16.28ThrustingaStaffandPiercingaSpear

(a)

(b)

Fourth, even if the opponent can grasp the spear shaft, a skilful exponent can circle hisspearinsuchawaythatthesharppointorsidesofthespearheadcancuttheopponent’swrist or arm. Fifth, if the opponent succeeds inmoving close to the exponent, therebyovercomingtheadvantageofthespear’slength,theexponentcanoffsetthisweaknessbypulling thewhole spear shaft behind and use the spear like a dagger. Thus, if all otherthingsareequal—theonlydifferencebeingoneusesaspearandtheotherusesanotherweapon—thespearexponentwilldefeathisopponentbecauseoftechnicaladvantages.

Does thismean thata spear isalwaysbetter thanotherweapons?No,because inreallifethepresumptionthatallotherthingsareequal,isalmostnevervalid.Ifyouhavemuch strength, you may prefer to use a trident, which is a heavy, massive and longweapon. Bymanipulating the three throngs of the trident, youmay break the spear, ordislodge theweapon from theopponent. Ifyouareversatile,youmaypreferacrescent-moonspear,ortheji,insteadoftheorthodoxspear,ortheqiang.Theji,whichisclassifiedasa light, longweapon,has the functionsofaspear,abig-knife,a trident,a staffandahook-swordall inone!Bya skilful applicationof the ji, youmay“lock” the spear, andglidedownthespearshafttocuttheopponent’shands.

But traditionally, thedandaoorscimitaroffersan interestingcounteragainst theqiangorspear.Amatchbetweenthespearandthescimitarmaybedescribedasamatchbetweenadragonanda tiger,which isan idiomaticwayofsayingafiercebutbalancedfight.Beingashortandlightweapon(althoughitiscomparativelyheavierthanthesword),thescimitarisversatileenoughtomeetthefastandsubtletechniquesofthespear.Whilethespearpierceisdeadly,the“trimming”ofthescimitaralongthespearshaft tocutthespear exponent’s hands is a formidable challenge. Further, if the scimitar exponent canmaster the technique of “weaving flowers” — whereby the scimitar is spun round soswiftly likea fastmovingfan—he isablenotonly todeflect thepiercingattackof thespear,butalsotoslashtheopponentwithhisspinningblade.

While the scimitar, the sword, and the spear possess sharp edges to cut theopponent,withthreatofpossibledeath,thestafforgun(pronouncedas“goon”)doesnot.Thus,thestaffisconsideredtobeamercifulweapon,althoughifusedbyanexpertitcan

also be deadly. The staff, understandably, is the most popular weapon among Shaolindisciples,whosetrainingpaysmuchattentiontothecultivationofcompassion.Accordingtoa legend, themonksat theShaolinMonastery found itcruel to injure theiropponentswithpointedorbladeweapons;sotheyremovedthespearheadsoftheirqiang(spear)andji(crescent-moonspear),andthebladesoftheirdao(bigknives)andge(longsickles),toretainonlythelonghandles.

Whilethespearissometimesregardedasthekingofweapons,thestaffishonouredas themother, because the techniques ofmostweapons, including the spear pierce, theswordthrust,andthe“weavingflowers”ofthescimitarcanbefoundinthetechniquesofthestaff.Itisquiteamazingthatasimplelookingstick,ifappliedexpertly,cangiverisetoso many elaborate patterns. In the early 7th century, thirteen monks from the ShaolinMonastery,usingonlyplainstaffs,helpedLiShiMintosubdueoppressivewarlordsusingawiderangeofweaponstosetupthefamousTangDynasty.

Staffsareoftwomaintypes,longstaffsaboutsevenfeetinlengthandusuallytaperslightlyattheattackingend,andordinarystaffsaboutfivefeetandbothendsareusuallyofthe same size. Long staffs were formerly used for horseback fighting; they were latershortened for ground combat. Two staff techniques are illustrated in Figures 16.29 and16.30.

Fig16.29TheThrustofaLongStaff

Fig16.30TheDotTechniqueoftheOrdinaryStaff

Therearealsoothertypesofstaffs,suchastheshortstaffwhichislikeabaton,thesmallsweeper or small two-sectional staff, which spread to Japan as the nunchaku, the bigsweeperorbigtwo-sectionalstaff,andtheversatilethree-sectionalstaff,Fig16.31.

Fig16.31SomeOtherTypesofStaffs

According to the Shaolin tradition, the staffwas first introduced by Jinnaluo, an IndianBuddhistmonkservingasacookatthemonastery.Everydayheusedahuge,longsticktostiragiganticpotofriceinthemonasterykitchen.Once,abandofbrigandswantedtorobthe temple. Jinnaluodefeated themsingle-handedwithhis staff.After thathe taught thefighting art of the staff to themonks.A temple inhishonour still stands in theShaolinMonasterytoday.

NumerousgeneralsalsocontributedmuchtothedevelopmentoftheShaolinstaff.AfterhisarmywasdefeatedbytheTartars, theSonggeneralYangWuLangescapedtoWuTaiMountain to become amonk. Influenced by the compassionate teaching of theBuddha, YangWu Lang repented his earlier killing, and removed the spearhead of hisfamous“YangFamilySpear”,convertinghisspearintoalongstaff.ThecelebratedstaffsetofSouthernShaolinKungfu,knownas“WuLangPakuaStaff”isreputedtooriginatefromhim.

ThegreatgeneraloftheMingDynasty,ChengDaYou(alsoknownasChengZongDou), who repulsed numerous Japanese invasions, was another Shaolin disciple. His“Compendium of Shaolin Staff Techniques”written in 1616,which is one of hismanyworksonmilitarystrategyandmartialarts,hassinceremainedanauthorityonthesubject.His“ShaolinKnifeTechniques”greatlyinfluencedthedevelopmentoftheSamuraiSwordinJapan.

17:THESPIRITOFSHAOLIN

(TeachingonMorality,Righteousness,andCompassion)

Shaolindisciplesareobligedtospreadloveandhappinesstoallpeople,andShaolinmasters are obliged to nurture talents and pass on the Shaolin arts to deservingdisciples.

TheTenShaolinLaws

It isverycommonly saidamong thosewhopractisekungfu that thegreateraimof theirachievement isnot superior fightingbutmoralcultivation.Unfortunately, thisnobleaimmoreoftenhangsontheirlipsthanfindsexpressionintheiractions.Despitetheirclaimtomoralcultivation,manykungfuandothermartialartexponentsareegotistical,intolerant,aggressive, andarrogant.This is especially so among thosewhose training ismainlyonexternaltechniquesandcombativeskills,withlittleornoemphasisoninternalforceandmeditation.

Shaolinphilosophyhasalwaysstressedthemoralaspect in itskungfutraining.IfwerecalltheoriginofShaolinKungfu,weshallrememberthatitwasinitiatedbythegreatBodhidharmaforstrengtheningthemonksinpreparationforspiritualgrowth.Moralityisthebasisofallspirituality;ifoneisnotmorallypure,itisimpossibletoattainthehighestspiritualfulfilment.Thisisnotmerepolemics,butatimelessuniversaltruth,becausethemental imprints of immoral living on themind, thoughunconscious to that person,willmanifest as rebirth in a lower station of existence in his future life. A mind that ispredominatedbygreedor fear, for example, is likely to result ina rebirth in theanimalrealm.

A good indication of the moral cultivation as taught in the Shaolin tradition isfoundinthefollowingTenShaolinLawsthatweintheShaolinWahnamSchoolpledgetoupholdandpractise.TheseShaolinLawstranscendallculture,race,andreligion.

1. Requiredtorespectthemaster,honourtheMoralWay,andlovefellowdisciplesasbrothersandsisters2. Required to train theShaolinartsdiligently,overcomingallhardship,andasaprerequisitetobephysicallyandmentallyhealthy3. Requiredtobefilialtoparents,berespectfultotheelderly,andprotectiveoftheyoung4.Requiredtoupholdrighteousness,andtobebothwiseandcourageous5.Forbiddentobeungratefulandunscrupulous;forbiddentoignorethelawsofmanandheaven6.Forbiddentorape,molest,doevil,steal,rob,abduct,orcheat7. Forbidden to associate with wicked people; forbidden to do any sort ofwickedness8. Forbiddentoabusepower,beitofficialorphysical,ortooppressthegoodandbullythekind9.Obligedtobehumane,compassionate,andspreadlove,andtorealizeeverlastingpeaceandhappinessforallpeople10.Obligedtobechivalrousandgenerous,tonurturetalentsandpassontheShaolinartstodeservingdisciples

RespectfortheMaster

RespectingthemasterandhonouringtheMoralWay,knowninChineseaszunshizhongdao, is the first and foremostmoral principleofkungfu exponentsof all schools. In thepast,kungfustudentstreatedtheirmasterliketheirfather,whoseorderswouldbecarriedoutwithoutquestion,andwhoseauthorityacceptedwithprostration.Wouldstudentscarryoutorderswhichappearedunreasonable,suchaschoppingfirewoodwiththeirbarehands,or transporting water in containers with holes in the bottom? Shaolin disciples would,withoutanydoubt.TheywouldfaceadilemmaonlyiftheordersconflictedwiththeMoralWay,whichrepresentsallthewrittenandunwrittenmoralcodesgenerallyacceptedbyallsocieties. If Shaolin disciples were asked, for example, to steal somebody’s wife, or tocausegrievoushurttotheinnocent,thedilemmawasnotwhethertheyshouldcarryouttheorders,butwhethertheauthoritytheyhadpreviouslyrespectedhadalreadyceasedtobeamaster.

Understandably, many modern westerners may consider the students’ totalobedience to theirmasters as servile or foolish, and their prostration to their master asridiculous.Nevertheless,itwasbecauseofsuchcompletecompliancetoandreverencefortheir master that the students could derive the best benefits in their training. Theirobedience was not due to their dull intelligence or an oppressive culture, but to theircomplete trust thatwhatever theirmaster asked them todowas for their benefit, and totheirdeeplyfeltgratitudethattheirmasterwouldteachthemsecretsthathemightnoteventellhiswifeorchildren.Sucha trustandgratitudewouldbehard tocomebyin today’ssocieties,eastorwest.

Kungfu training is a very demanding and exacting process, calling for great selfdiscipline. Someone has said that if you can endure kungfu training, you can attemptanything.AShaolindisciplehastopractisesomekungfutechniquesnotjustmanytimesbut thousands of time, not just when he first learned the techniques but every day fornumerous years, until he has mastered those techniques. The onus is not to learntechniques after techniques, but to repeat, repeat, and repeat selected techniques untilaccuracy,force,andspeedintheirapplicationareattained.Ifyouwishtomasteracertainkicking technique, for example,youhave topractise this technique tensof thousandsoftimes. However, before a Shaolin student commences serious kungfu training, he mustensure thathe isphysicallyandmentallyhealthy.This canbeachieved throughShaolinChiKung,whichwillbeexplainedinsomedetailinthenextthreechapters.

Being filial to parents, and respectful to the elderly, known in Chinese as xiaochingjinglao,isawell-establishedvirtueineasternsocieties,andisatraditioncertainlyworthkeeping.Inmodernwesternsocietieswherepersonalfreedomisgreatlyvalued,andwheresomechildrencalltheirparentsbyfirstnames,theirconceptoffilialpietyorrespectto the elderly is understandably different from that of the east. In eastern societies it isoftenthenormthatwheneverthefatheroranelderlypersonspeaks,thesonsanddaughtersoradultsofayoungergeneration,eveniftheyarepubliccelebrities,merelylisten(butnotnecessarily agree). It is considered rude andunbecoming for them toopenlyoppose the

fatherorelder,althoughtheymayholddifferentopinions.

Onapersonalnote,wheneverIwaswithmymasterorwithanelder,Iwouldnotsitunlesshewasproperlyseated. Inmy life so far,whichhasgivenmemore than fiftyyearsofabundantjoy,Ihaveonlytworegrets:one,IregretthatIcouldhavebeenmorekindandlovingtomyfather;andtwo,IregretthatIcouldhavebeenmorekindandlovingtomymother.TheseregretsaremorepainfulasIrealizedabittoolate,aftermyparentshadleftthisworld,thatsuchkindnessandlovecanbereadilyexpressedinsimple,dailydeedsliketakingthemforawalkinthegarden,ortakingtimetolistenandtalktothemontheir fondmemories— simple deeds that all of us can easily do ifwewant to and areprobablymoremeaningfultoparentsthanextravagantgestureslikebuyingthemacastle.

Donotbegrosslymistaken thatbeing filial toparentsor respectful toelders isasignofweakcharacter.Donotjumptoconclusionsthatif,outofrespect,anorientalisnotoutspokenagainstanelder’sviewpointsitnecessarilymeansheacceptsthemgullibly.Hemayexpresshisdifferentopinions,butwhenhe is in frontof elders,healwaysdoes sopolitely,takingcarenottohurttheirfeelings.

Once, when the Buddha came across a pile of dried bones besides a road, heprostratedbeforeittopayrespect.Ananda,theBuddha’sattendingmonk,asked:

The Buddha is the greatest teacher in the three spheres of existence, and thecompassionate fatherofallbeingsof the fourmodesof rebirth.Hehas thedeepestrespectandreverenceoftheentireorderofmonks.Whydoeshenowprostratetoapileofdriedbones?

The Buddha said as he had led countless previous lives, and these bones belonged tobeingswhoalsohadledcountlesspreviouslives,itwasprobablethattheboneswerethoseofhisparentsandancestorsofhisformerlives.TheBuddhathendescribedtheboundlesskindnessparentshadfortheirchildren,andexplainedthatevenifapersonweretocarryhisparentsonhisshouldersforthousandsofaeons,orduringafaminecuthisownfleshtofeedhisparentsasmanytimesasthereweredustmotes,hestillcouldnothaverepaidhisparents’boundlesskindness.WhentheBuddha,regardedbymanyasthegreatestteacherofmen and gods, could humble himself to prostrate to the bones of his former parents,whattracesofvainglorycouldbelefttopreventustobefilialtoourparents?

GreatBlessingstobeBornHuman

Just as a Shaolin disciple is respectful to elders, he is protective of the young. Youngchildren,irrespectiveofwhotheirparentsare,shouldbegiveneveryopportunitytolaughandplay.Indeed,adultscanlearnaninvaluablephilosophical lessonfromchildren: theirjoyandlaughterarenotdependentonmaterialwealthatall!Buttheyneedtobefreefromfearandhunger,oppressionandadultinterference.

Long-standing feuds between well-known families or different kungfu schoolswerenotuncommoninthekungfuhistoryofoldChina.Sometimestheheadofonefamilyorschoolwouldleadhisside,usuallyreinforcedwithmercenarykungfuexperts,foranall-outattackonhisenemy.Iftheattackerswerevictorious,theoutcomewasalwaysbarbaricand gruesome, where even small children were not spared. The barbarians remindedthemselves of the ignoble saying that “when clearing grasses, eliminate their roots;otherwise,whenthewindblowsinspring,newgrasseswillgrow”,whichmeansthattheywouldnotpermitanysurvivorsoas toeliminatethepossibilityofrevenge.AnyShaolindisciplesinvolvedinsuchsenselesscrueltywouldbeexpelledwithoutquestion.

Ontheotherhand,mastersengagedindeadlyduelsoftenvoluntarilyadoptedashisownthechildrenoftheopponenthekilled.Thesechildrenwereverywell takencareof,usuallygivenpriorityoverhisownchildren,forthemasterregardedanysacrificeassomeformofrepentanceforhiskilling.Thedilemmaofthesechildrenwhentheyhadgrownupand discovered that their beloved “father” was actually their father’s killer forms arecurrentthemeinmanykungfustories.

It issignificant tonote thatat the timeofadoption, themasterhadnodoubt thatonedayhisadoptedchildrenmightbeaseriousthreattohim—hewasfamiliarwiththesayingaboutthespringwindandregeneratedgrasses;yethewouldhavenohesitationtogive the adopted children the best he could, including teaching them the secrets of hiskungfu,becausetohimthiswassimplytherightthingtodo.Whentheinevitablemomentcame,theoldmasteroftengallantlyaskedhisadoptedchildrentokillhimtoavengetheirfather’sdeath.Ofcourse,forthosewithadifferentphilosophicalperspective,themaster’sbelief and action may appear silly or ridiculous; but from the perspective of Chinesekungfu philosophy, such belief and action represent some of the highest expressions ofrighteousness.

Yet,ifthemasterorhisadoptedchildrenwerefamiliarwiththemoralteachingofShaolin,theywouldbesparedtheirmentalpainandemotionalsuffering.Inthefirstplace,accordingtotheShaolinteaching,engaginginadeadlyduelistobeavoided.ThereweremanyoccasionswhenkungfuexpertschallengedShaolinmasters,andthemastersmerelywalked away. This, interestingly, is a notable contrast with the thinking found in someother martial arts. For example, many martial artists of the Japanese tradition wouldconsideritagreatdisgraceiftheyfailedtostanduptoanopenchallenge.Shouldtheybedefeatedinthechallenge,theymaycommitritualsuicideasanhonour.

ItisapartofShaolinphilosophytorespecttheviewsofothers;hence,Iwouldnotcomment on the above Japanese tradition, which certainly has its own philosophicaljustification.ButifaShaolindisciplecommitssuicidebecausehehasbeendefeatedinachallenge,hewillbeconsiderednotonlystupidbutgrosslyimmature.Thereisnoshametobedefeatedbyaworthyopponent,especiallyifonehasputupanhonestfighttothebestofhisability;butifhewinsbydishonestmeans,itwouldbeadisgrace.ThereisaChinesesaying that“ifyoucomeacrossahighmountain,beremindedthatyoucancomeacrossanothermountain that ishigher; ifyoumeetanexpert fighter,bereminded thatyoucanmeetanotherfighterwhoisevenbetter.”

AccordingtotheBuddhistteaching,itisatremendousblessingtobebornahuman.We should thereforeuse thisvery rareopportunity tomake life rewarding forourselvesand for others. It is both silly and immature to take one’s own life because of somemisplacedprideorglory.

On the other hand, taking someone’s life is robbing him of his most preciouspossession,andthemurdererwillundolifetimesofhisownaccumulatedblessings.Iftheadoptedchildrenmentionedabovecouldappreciate this teaching,aswellas the teachingon the rareoccurrenceof theirhuman lives, theywould realize, if theycould reactwithcalmnessandcompassion,thatastheoldmasterwasinstrumentalinbringingthemup,hewasthesourcefromwhichtheirtremendousblessingsflow.Hence,killingtheoldmasterwascuttingofftheirownsourceofblessings,inexchangeforkarmicretributionpossiblyin the form of mental pain and emotional suffering. The first of the five fundamentalBuddhistpreceptsonmoralpurityisnottokill—othersorthemselves.Theotherfourarenottosteal,nottolie,nottoengageinlicentioussex,andnottobeintoxicated.

CalmnessandCompassion

Concerning the need or otherwise engaging in a duel, and the benefit of a calm andcompassionateresponse,myownexperiencemayserveasanilluminatingexample.Manyyearsago,whenchikung informationwasnotaspopularlyassessableas it is today,myschoolandIwereconcertedlyandpubliclychallengedandridiculedbysomewell-knownkungfuandchikungmastersbecause, according to them,weweremakingarrogant andmisleadingclaimslikechikungcouldbeusedtorelieveawiderangeofdiseases,chikungcouldenhancekungfuperformance,andchicouldbetransmittedovergreatdistance.Thevalidity of the above first two claims are now beyond doubt (they are also recorded inclassical chi kung and kungfu texts, though these texts were kept as secrets), and asubsequent month-long public experiment conducted by a national newspaper on meconfirmedthatdistancechitransmissionisreal.Butatthattime,Iwaspersonallyinsulted,suggesting that my claim to my Shaolin lineage was spurious, and that my students’demonstrationsofchikungandkungfuwerefaked.

MyinnerdisciplesandIdecidedtotakeupapublicchallengetoakungfucontest,issuedbyaninstructorfromafamouskungfuschool.Weintendedtosuggestathree-tierfight, with me as the grandmaster of my school meeting their grandmaster who wasundoubtedlyahighlyaccomplishedkungfuexpert,threemastersfromourschoolmeetingthreeof theirmasters, andour three studentsmeeting their three students.We fancied itwouldprobablybethefightofthedecade,maybeofthecentury,forourschoolandtheirswerethetwobestknownintheregionatthattime.

Lookingback,Iamgladthat thisfightof thecenturydidnot takeplace,becausemy master, Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, rushed from his retirement to instruct me to stop allpreparationforthefightimmediately.

“But,Sifu,”Itriedtoreason,“wesincerelybelievewehaveatleasta60percentofwinning.”

“That’spreciselywhyyoumuststop.It’llbebetterifyoulose,forthenthatwillbetheendofthematter.Youcanbesurethatifyouwin,andIhavenodoubtyoucan,therewillbenoend.”

“Wearenotfightingforanyselfglory.Infactweknowthatevenifwewin,wemaybeinjured,someevenbadly.Butwe’rereadytosacrificeforthenameandhonourofourschool.”

“Don’tbesillyandimmature,”mymastersaid.“Ifanactionbringsharmtoothersbutnottoourselves,wewillnotdoit.Nowwehaveanactionthatwillbringharmbothtoothersandtoourselves,yetyouwanttoproceed!”

“Butourhonourisatstake,”Isaid.

“Whathonour?”

“Wehavebeenaccusedofbeingfraudulent.Wehavebeeninsultedpublicly.”

“Wereyoureallyfraudulent?”

“Ofcoursenot!”

“Thenthequestionofdefendingyourhonourdoesnotarise.As theaccusation isfalse,thereisnoneedforyoutodefend.Whatyoucall‘honour’isjusta‘false-name’,anattachment tovainglory.Regardingwhatyoucall ‘insults’,you should, as taughtby theBuddha,respondwithcalmnessandcompassion,andnotwithanger.”

“Butwhataboutthechallenge?Shouldwejustignoreit?”

“Didtheirgrandmasterissueachallengeinblackandwhite?”

“No,itwasissuedorallybyoneofhisinstructorsinpublic.”

“Thereyouare.Ifyouhadrespondedwithandcompassioninsteadofwithanger,you would have realized that the instructor does not represent his grandmaster or hisschool.Besides,hemayhavemadeachallengeinafitofanger,whichyoushouldrightlyignore.Evenifachallengeisissued,itdoesnotmeanyouhavetoacceptit.”

Thenmymastergavemesomeinvaluableadvice,whichmayparadoxicallyappeartriteuntilwetaketimetoinvestigateitsprofundity.Hesaid,“Makefriends,notenemies.Itiseasytogetintoanimosity,butverydifficulttogetoutofit.Don’twasteyourpreciousShaolin arts on quarrelswhichmay loom large and important from a narrow spatial ortemporal dimension, but which are actually petty if we view them from a widerperspective. Use the Shaolin arts to help people, to relieve suffering, and save lives,worldwideandforalltime.”

RighteousnessandCompassion

WhileSifuHoFattNamiswellknownforhismoralconsciousness,myothermaster,SifuLai Chin Wah, is famous for his righteousness. He was actually better known by hisprestigious nickname, Yi Sook, which means “Uncle Righteousness”, than by his ownname.Mykungfuandchikungschool,ShaolinWahnam,isnamedafterthem,asasmalltokenof appreciation for their kindness andgenerosity inpassingon theShaolin arts tome.IalsolearnedShaolinWuzuKungfufromSifuCheeKimThong,andShaolinWingChoonKungfufromSifuChouHoongChoy.MylineagefromtheShaolinMonasteryisasfollows.

SifuLaiChinWahlearnedfromthreemasters,NgYewLoong,ChuKhuen,andLuChanWai.NgYewLoonglearnedfromChanFook,whowasreputedtohavepractisedkungfuatthesouthernShaolinMonasteryinFujian.SifuHoFattNamlearnedfromsevenmasters,oneofwhomwasYangFattKhuen,thesuccessoroftheVenerableJiangNan,theShaolin monk who escaped from the inferno when the Manchurian army razed thesouthernmonasterytotheground.Onlythemonasterygateremainstoday,andtheChinesegovernmenthaserectedastonetablettoindicatetheformersiteofthismonastery.

In the spirit of righteousness, many kungfu experts who descended from thesouthern Shaolin tradition willingly gave their lives to the noble cause of Dr. Sun YatSen’s revolutionarywork to overthrow theManchurianDynasty.Again, viewed from adifferent cultural background, deeds that were considered righteous by the kungfucommunitymayseemoddorevenfoolishbyotherpeoples.Ifakungfuexponentpromisedhismentorthathewoulddoanythingforhimtorepayhiskindness,thekungfuexponentliterallymeantwhathesaid.Forexample,ifthementor,forsomelegitimatereasons,askedthekungfuexponentforhislefthand,thelatterwouldjustchopitoffforthementor.Ifthementorwasintrouble, thekungfuexponentwouldsacrificeevenhisownfamilytosavethementor.TheChinesesaying,“onceaworddropsontotheground,evenagoodsteedcannotretrieveit”,meaningthat“onceapromiseismade,itmustbekeptnomatterwhathappens”,washighlyvaluedandpractisedinthekungfucommunity.

Nevertheless, unscrupulous peoplemay contort themeaning of righteousness fortheirselfishbenefit.Underthepretextofrighteousness,manygangleadersdemandedtheirfollowers to do their bidding, such as extortion, robbery, and murder, and to bear theconsequences on their behalf if these wicked schemes failed. Actually, the question ofrighteousness does not arise here, because the required actions are not right in the firstplace.Righteousness, including thewill and effort to honour one’swords, is applicableonlywhentherelevantthoughtsanddeedsconformtohighmoralvalues.Hence,Shaolinphilosophy teaches thatwhat isneeded inupholding righteousness innot sheerbravado,butwisdomandcourage,mellowedwithcompassion.

The life story of my master Uncle Righteousness also provides me with someinterestingexamplesofcompassion.UncleRighteousnesswasa traumatologist, i.e.,onewho is trained in “die da” (pronounced as “t’iet t’a”) or traumatology, that specialty of

Chinese medicine dealing with injuries sustained through “falls and hits” such asdislocation,fractures,muscularpains,andinternalinjuries.

The following represents a typical case.A poorman sustained a fracture from afall; incidentally, richpeople,becauseof theirwayof lifeandwork,seldomsuffer fromtraumatological injuries.After receiving treatment (includingmedicine) frommymasterforafewmonths(thetimeneededforhisfracturetohealproperly),thepatientwouldsay,“Sifu,I’mfromapoorfamily.Sincethefracture,Ihavenotbeenworking,butIstillhavetosupportmylargefamily.Pleasehavemercyonme.Chargeaslittleasyoucan.”

Whatthepatientsaidwasalmostalwaystrue.Thecommonprocedureofrequiringthepatienttopayasubstantialdepositbeforeamodernorthopaedicoranyspecialistwouldtreat him,wasnever thepracticeofmymaster,UncleRighteousness. Instead,hewouldgivethepatientakindlook,drawoutallhismoneyfromhispocket,andsay,“I’msorrythisiswhatlittlemoneyIhave,buttakeitandbuysomegoodfoodforyourselfandyourfamily.Rememberyouneedgoodfoodtoreplenishyourlostchiandblood.”Someofmymaster’sfriendsoftenteasedhim,sayingthathewouldneverbewealthy.Irecallhetoldmeafewtimes,“Ifyouwanttomakemoneyfrommedicalpractice,donotspecializeintraumatology.”

Judging from today’s standard, it is no surprise if some readers find it hard todifferentiate between righteousness and foolishness. It is lamentable that barely half acentury after Uncle Righteousness’s time, many people are already asking sneeringly,“How much does a ‘liang’ of righteousness cost?” (A ‘liang’ is a Chinese weightmeasurement of about 50 grams.) However, true Shaolin disciples are determined thatrighteousness,compassion,andotherworthyvaluesdonotgodowntothedogs.

Ofcourse,compassion ismore thanmerelygivingmoney toneedypatients.Theideal of compassion is best symbolized in the Bodhisattva, an enlightened being whovoluntarilypostponeshis(orher)entryintoBuddhahoodsoastoreturntothephenomenalworld to help others. In the ShaolinMonastery, the principal halls for worship are notdominatedbygodsorprophetspointingthewaytoheaven,butarededicatedtotwoofthemostpopularBodhisattvasinMahayanaBuddhism,GuanYin(orAvalokitesvara)andDiZang Huang (Ksitigarbha), who have vowed to save suffering humanity on earth andtormentedsoulsinhell.

Compassion in the Shaolin spirit is not limited to any race, culture, or religion.Shaolin disciples are obliged to spread love and happiness to all people, and ShaolinmastersareobligedtonurturetalentsandpassontheShaolinartstodeservingdisciples.

18:WONDERSOFSHAOLINCHIKUNG

(TheLinkbetweenPhysicalandSpiritualDevelopment)

Atahigherlevel,ithelpsthepractitionertobeintunewiththecosmos,harmonizinghis vital energywith cosmic energy, hence linking his physical development to hisspiritualdevelopment.

Kungfu,ChiKung,andZen

One of the harder problems I face in my many years of teaching is to convey to mystudents, includingsomeadvancedones, the tremendousscopeanddepthof theShaolinarts.Someofmystudentshadattainedhighlevelsinotherstylesofmartialartsbeforetheypractised Shaolin Kungfu from me. When they learn Shaolin techniques that they caneffectively, and often surprisingly, use to overcome combative situations that they hadpreviouslythoughttobeimpregnable,theyarecertainlyveryimpressed.Then,aftertheycan perform exotic kungfuweapons in poeticmotion, and have achieved fantastic forcelike “IronPalm” and “IronShirt”, theymight think they have learned all there is to belearned.TheyfinditsohardtobelieveifItellthemthatwhattheyhaveattainedisactuallythebeginningofthehigherShaolinarts.Thisstageoftheirdevelopmentmarksacrucialpoint:iftheyareproud,theywillprobablyremainatthislevelasaformidablefighter,andmissthegreatestgiftsShaolincanofferthem.

Iftheyarehumbleenoughtoseekfurther,theywillproceedtothenextlevel,thefascinatingworldofShaolinChiKung,wheretheymightachievefeatsthattheywouldnotevenhavedreamedpossible,suchaspassingenergythroughwalls,astraltravelling,seeinginto the past or future, and healing others froma great distance!There is no doubt thatthese feats, incredible though they may be, are true, for not only are they recorded inauthoritativetexts,buttheyhavealsoactuallybeenperformedbymydisciplesandme.

ThewondersofShaolinChiKungwillbedescribedinthisandthefollowingtwochapters.However, thosewhoareambitious toacquire theseabilities should realize thatexcept for the first skill in the examples above, i.e., passing energy throughwalls, andother skills that are comparatively easy to attain, advanced chi kung skills need to belearnedfromamasteroratleastaqualifiedinstructor.Readersareremindedtopayheedtothewarnings at appropriate places in this bookwhere techniques are described for theirinformation,andnotforselftraining.

Ontheotherhand,readersneednotbeundulyworriedaboutsuchwarnings,whichareusuallyconcernedwithfaultychikungpractice,andwhichareoftengivenbymastersorinbooks.Itiscertainlytruethatfaultypracticemayresultinharmfulsideeffects-inchikung aswell as in all formsof learning.But practising chi kung is generally safer thanpractisingmostsports,suchasfootball, jogging,andswimming.Thisofcoursedoesnotmeanwedonotpayattentiontothewarnings,whichoftenreflectthemasters’orauthors’senseofresponsibilitytowardstheirstudentsorreaders,butifstudentsfollowtherelevantinstructions and advice with reasonable care, they can be assured that their chi kungpracticewillbeaveryrewardingexperience.

ThedivisionofthemostimportantShaolinartsintokungfu,chikungandZenormeditation is for the sake of convenience. Although many people, including masters,specialize inoneof them, sometimeseven to the extentof losing sightof theother twooutside their specialization, these three arts actually form a continuum of personaldevelopmentfromthephysicalthroughtheenergetictothespiritual.Chikung,theartof

energydevelopment,isthereforethelinkbetweenthephysicaltrainingofkungfuandthespiritualtrainingofZen.

Whileanideal,butnotnecessarilytheonly,approachinthetrainingoftheShaolinarts is to progress from kungfu to chi kung, then to Zen, every one of the three arts isinfusedineveryother.Eveninthemostelementarykungfumovements,correctbreathingcoordinationwhichisanaspectofchikung,andafocusedmindwhichisanaspectofZen,are necessary. Chi kung and Zen are required in the training to acquire the threemostadvanced arts in Shaolin Kungfu, which are also considered as “the three ultimates ofmartialart”,namely“ShaolinMarvellousFist”(ShaoLinShenQuan),“PalmofStrikingAcrossSpace”(PiKongZhang),and“One-FingerZen”(YiZhiChan).Kungfuliteraturementions that a master with “Shaolin Marvellous Fist” can hurt an opponent within ahundredandeightstepswithoutphysicalcontact;with“PalmofStrikingAcrossSpace”hecanwithin seventy-two steps injure someone behind awallwithout damaging thewall;with“One-FingerZen”hecanstrikethevitalpointsofanopponentwithinthirty-sixsteps!By now, hopefully, readerswould be used to incredible feats of Shaolinmasters;moreamazingfeatsareinstoreasyoureadon.

Thesetofexercisesknownas“EighteenLohanHands”,whichwastheforerunnerofShaolinKungfu,formsthebasisofShaolinChiKung.Anothersetofexercisesknownas “SinewMetamorphosis”, which was the forerunner of Shaolin Chi Kung, forms thebasisofinternalforcetraininginShaolinKungfu.AlltheseexercisesmustbeperformedinameditativestateofmindorZen.Thefocusonbreathinginandoutasameanstoachieveaone-pointedmindinZenpractice,isanimportantaspectofchikung.Alltheseexamplesshowthatkungfu,chikungandZenareintegrated.

Zenisnotnecessarilyattainedinaformal,cross-leggedmeditationposture;itmaybe attained while the student is performing a kungfu form or a chi kung exercise. Forexample, in Spain my disciple Douglas had some interesting Zen experiences whilepractisingchikungalthoughhehadnot startedZen formally. Inachikungpractice,hefirst felt an intense separation of his inside and the outside, then, miraculously, thisseparationdisappearedcompletely.

ZenormeditationisthehighestoftheShaolinarts.Justasahighlyaccomplishedkungfu master would find it hard to believe that his accomplishment, in the holisticperspective of the Shaolin teaching, is only a stepping stone to the higher achievementfoundinthedevelopmentofenergyinchikung,achikungmasterwouldfindithardtobelievethathisfantasticachievementisactuallymarginalwhencomparedtothegreatestattainmentinZen!Ifwewishtocomparethegreatestattainmentsinkungfuandchikung,which are certainly remarkable and even incredible by themselves, with the greatestattainment in Zen, if it is ever attained, it is like comparing a drop of water with theboundlessocean!Whythisissowillbeexplainedinlaterchapters;meanwhile,letushavesomesoundunderstandingofShaolinChiKung.

TheLegacyofBodhidharma

Like Shaolin Kungfu and Zen, Shaolin Chi Kung was first initiated by the greatBodhidharma,an Indianprincewho renounced the throne to teachZenBuddhismat theShaolin Monastery in 527 CE. He taught the Eighteen Lohan Hands and the SinewMetamorphosis to the monks to aid their meditation. It is said that Bodhidharma alsotaught another set of chi kung exercises known as “CleansingMarrow”, but while theliteratureonEighteenLohanHandsandthe“ClassicofSinewMetamorphosis”hasbeenpasseddownthegenerationstous,the“ClassicofCleansingMarrow”isnowlost.Fromsecondary records purported to describe “Cleansing Marrow”, these exercises probablyresembleagenreofchikungexercisesknownas“SelfManifestedChiMovement”,whichwillbedescribedinmoredetailslater.

EighteenLohanHandsisasetofeighteendynamicchikungpatterns.“Lohan”istheChinesetermfortheSanskrit“Arahant”,whoisanenlightenedbeinginHinayanaorTheravadaBuddhism.BecauseofthelonghistoryofEighteenLohanHands,duringwhichtime it has undergone many modifications and innovations, the individual patternspractised by different schoolsmay differ. Inmy ShaolinWahnam School, the eighteenLohanpatternsareasfollows:

1.LiftingtheSky2.ShootingArrows3.PluckingStars4.TurningHead5.Merry-Go-Round6.Angry-EyedPunches7.CarryingtheMoon8.NourishingKidneys9.ThreeLevelstoEarth10.DancingCrane11.CarryingMountain12.DrawingKnife13.PushingMountain14.SeparatingWater15.PresentingClaws16.WindmillHand17.Lift-HeelSquatting18.RotatingKnees

The first eight exercises are similar to the set of exercises known as “Eight Pieces ofBrocade” (BaDuan Jin). The original objective of the Eighteen Lohan Hands was “toloosen muscles and bones” so that Shaolin monks could practise meditation for longerperiods.Buttheseexerciseshavedevelopedindepthandscope,andarenowexcellentfor

promotinghealth,vitality, and longevity, asdescribed inChapter4,whichalsoexplainsPattern1 (Lifting theSky)andPattern9 (ThreeLevels toEarth)of theEighteenLohanHands.AspirantskeentolearnShaolinKungfubutwhoaretooweakforvigoroustrainingwillbenefitmuchiftheystartwithEighteenLohanHands.

Fig18.1EighteenLohanHands

18.1.1

18.1.2

18.1.3

18.1.4

18.1.5

18.1.6

18.1.7

18.1.8

18.1.9

18.1.10

18.1.11

18.1.12

18.1.13

18.1.14

18.1.15

18.1.16

18.1.17

18.1.18

While the exercises of Eighteen Lohan Hands are mainly concerned with “external”movements, those of Sinew Metamorphosis are mainly “internal”. In SinewMetamorphosistraining,thepractitionerstandsstationaryattwelvepostures,andbymeansof subtle movements, such as of his fingers, toes, and wrists, he generates his internalenergy to flowharmoniously alongvariousmeridians aswell as strengthenshis internaltissuesandsinews.Thetwelveposturesandsubtlemovementsareasfollows:

1.Pressingpalms2.Liftingthumbs3.Claspingthumbs4.Claspingfists5.Liftingbody6.Jerkingelbows7.Liftingheels8.Liftingwrists9.Liftingelbows10.Liftingfists11.Claspingfingers12.Stretchingarms

Fig18.2SinewMetamorphosis

18.2.1

18.2.2

18.2.3

18.2.4

18.2.5

18.2.6

18.2.7

18.2.8

18.2.9

18.2.10

18.2.11

18.2.12

SinewMetamorphosisforInternalPower

ThefollowingisabriefdescriptionoftwooftheSinewMetamorphosisexercises.Standupright,berelaxedandalert.Closeyourmouthandclenchyourteethfirmly.Placethetipofyourtongueatyouruppergumabovethefrontteeth.(Donotworryifyouarewearingdentures;performtheexercisesthesamewayasifyouwerenot.)Fillyourselfwithchi,orenergy—thisisdonementally,notphysically.

For“LiftingThumbs”(Pattern2),dropyourtwoarms,withelbowsfairlystraight,infrontofyourthighs.Withthefingersclenchinginafist,moveboththumbsoutwardandupwardforty-ninetimes,Fig18.3.

Fig18.3LiftingThumbs

For “LiftingBody” (Pattern 5), raise your arms straight above your head,with the fistslooselyclenchedandthethumbsfacingtheback.Yourraisedarmsshouldbeafewinchesaway fromyour ears.Raiseyourheels slightly, about an inchor twoabove theground.Nextclenchbothfistsfirmly,loweryourelbowswithsomestrengthasifyouarepullingyourbodyup,andraiseyourfeetasmuchasyoucantostandonyourtoes.Thenreturntothestartingposition,witharmsstraightabove,andheelsslightlyabovetheground.Repeatforty-ninetimes.SeeFig18.4.

Fig18.4LiftingBody

Although these exercises appear simple, they are actually very powerful. If you findtensioninyourchestafterpractisingSinewMetamorphosis,performing“LiftingtheSky”of theLohanHands (seeChapter4)orSelf-ManifestedChiMovement (tobe explainedlater) will relieve the tension. If tension persists or pain results, stop practising theexercises;youprobablyhavebeenperformingtheexercisesincorrectly.

AsSinewMetamorphosisisprincipallyconcernedwithstrengthening,itformsthefoundationofmanytypesofforcetraininginShaolinKungfu,andlaterinotherstylesofmartialart.ShaolinChiKungforforcetraininghasbeenexplainedinChapter14.AstheseSinew Metamorphosis exercises had undergone various transformations, although itsfundamental principles remainedwhen theywere adapted bymartial artists through thecenturies for their various needs, many people may not recognize the prototype in thenumerous force trainingmethods found in differentmartial arts today.For example, the“GoldenBridge” (Fig 18.5) in ShaolinKungfu, the “Three-Circle Stance” (Fig 18.6) inTaijiquan, and the various “Zhan Zhuang” or Standing at Static Stances (Fig 18.7) inBagua (Pakua)kungfu—all ofwhich aremeant todevelop internal force—owe theiroriginstotheprincipleoftissuestrengtheninginSinewMetamorphosis.

Fig18.5GoldenBridgeinShaolinKungfu

Fig18.6Three-CircleStanceinTaijiquan

Fig18.7AZhanZhuangPatterninBaguaKungfu

Later these twelve SinewMetamorphosis exercises, with some modification, were alsoperformedwiththepractitionersittingcross-legged.Theyarethenknownasthe“TwelvePiecesofBrocadeofShaolin”.

WhilepracticallyallShaolinmastersandstudentswhohavededicatedtheirlivestothe Shaolin arts gratefully honour Bodhidharma as their First Patriarch, some scholars,Chinese as well as non-Chinese, most of whom have never practised any Shaolin artsbeforebutwhobasetheirconclusiononoftensecond-handsourcesintheirivorytowers,eloquently argue that Bodhidharma was only a myth, invented by interested parties toboost their standing— although overwhelming evidence including imperial documents,templehistoriesandarchitecturalrecordsindicatethatBodhidharmataughtattheShaolinMonastery in the 6th century.Many of these Shaolinmasters and studentswere highlyintelligent and distinguished, like great monks, emperors, generals, and state ministers.Hence, it is amazing, if not insulting, that many people tend to accept uncritically thescholars’claim,implyingthatgenerationsofShaolinmastersandstudentshadbeenduped.

These scholars say that SinewMetamorphosis aswell as EighteenLohanHandswere not taught byBodhidharma, butwere a later invention by theChinese themselveswhomight not even belong to the Shaolin tradition. Shaolin disciples are generally notbotheredwiththisargument;whattheyareinterestediswhethertheexercisesproducetheresultsasclaimed;thenamefortheexercises—SinewMetamorphosis,TwelvePiecesofBrocadeorotherwise—ismerelyaconvenientsymbolforreference. It isofcourse thereaders’privilegetochoosebetweenarguinguntiltheirchestaches,andpractisingthemtoattain health, vitality, and internal power. If you are doubtful whether such seeminglysimpleexercisescandevelopinternalpower,thebestistopractisethem,suchas“LiftingThumbs” and“LiftingBody”ofSinewMetamorphosis, twice aday for threemonths tojudgeforyourself.

AChancetoTestanIncredibleArt

Wouldyoubelieveitifyouaretoldthatbypractisingsomeappropriatechikungexercises,youmaymovewithoutyourvolition,suchasswayinglikeahappywillowtree,dancinggracefully and spontaneously, or even making funny noises? Again, in line with theShaolin philosophy that one should accept the teaching not on faith alone, but on hisunderstandingandexperience,youcantestthevalidityoftheabovestatementyourselfbypractisingthefollowingSelf-ManifestedChiMovementexercise.

Before going into the method of the exercise, it is good to understand itsphilosophy. Self-Manifested Chi Movement, also called Self-Induced Chi Flow, andknownasZiFaDongGonginChinese,isagenreofchikungexercises.Awholeschoolof chi kung can be built upon just these self-manifested exercises. Probably the mostfamous set of self-manifested exercises is the “Five-AnimalPlay” inventedby thegreatsecondcenturyChinesephysician,HuaTuo.

Themovementsspontaneouslyperformedbyapractitionerwhileheisinthemidstoftheexerciseare“involuntary”inthesensethattheyarenotcausedbyhimconsciously,butcausedbya“subconscious”,enhanced,andharmoniousflowofhisownvitalenergyinsidehisbody.Butatalltime,thepractitionerisfullyawareofhissituation,andhecaninfluence or stop his spontaneous movements if he wants. There is definitely nothingoccultorreligiousinthisexercise.

Becauseofvariousfactors—suchashisbodilyandmentalconditions,thenatureandsiteofhis illness ifany,and the typeofexercisesused to induce themovements—differentpeopleor the samepersonat different times,willmovedifferently.Somemayhardlymove,othersmaymovevigorously,butmostswaygracefully,sometimesmovingoff from their starting position. Sometimes the movements or sounds may be odd orcomical, but whatever they are, a beginning student should not be worried, as themovementsandsoundsarethenaturalwaysyourownbodyandmindreacttotheworkingofyourownvitalenergyflow,stimulatedby thechikungexercise, togiveyou thebestbenefits. Laughing or crying during the exercise, for example, is a form of emotionalcatharsis;rollingonthegroundorhittingyourselfisaformofselfhealing.

Thefollowingfourpointsareveryimportant:

1. You must not be disturbed during the exercise. If someone approaches, forexample,indicatetohimtowait.Shouldyoubedisturbedoraffectedinanywaythatcauses your chi or vital energy to be deviated in its flow, remedy the situation byperforming thewhole exercise again at your earliest convenience to bring your chiflowbacktoproperalignment.

2. Youmustnotresistyourenergyflow.Thismeanswhenyoufeelyourenergyismovingyoudonotattempt to stop themovement.However, at thebeginningstagebefore you have learned complete control, if your movement starts to becomevigorous, gently tell yourself to slow down. You will find that your body always

obeysyourmind.

3.Neverstopabruptly;alwaysbringyourmovementtoagracefulhaltwheneveryouwishtocompletetheexercise.Remainstillforatleastafewsecondsbeforemovingawayfromyourposition.

4. Practise in a safe place, preferably in an open outdoor space if the weatherpermits.Theremustnotbeanysharporpointedobjectsnearby.Donotpractisenearanysharpdrop,suchasabalconyoranopenwindowofahighbuilding.Thoughthisexercise is excellent, it cannotmake you fly should you accidentally drop over thebalconyorwindow.

Self-ManifestedChiMovement

The following is themethod to induceself-manifestedchimovement.Standuprightandrelaxed,withfeetslightlyapart.Useyourmiddlefinger,leftformenandrightforwomen(butifyouforget,itdoesnotmattermuch)topressgentlyonyournavelabouttentimes.Thendropthathand,andusethemiddlefingeroftheotherhandtomassagethecrownofyourheadaboutthreetimes.

Nextperformaseriesofexercisestoinducechiflow.Manydifferentexercisescanbeused;thefiveselectedbelowconstituteagoodcombination.Astheexercisesaremeansandnotendsthemselves,youneednotworryaboutperformingtheformoftheexercisesexactly.

First,perform“LiftingtheSky”abouttentimesasfollows.Straightenbotharmsinfront, with both palms facing the ground, Fig 18.9 (a). Bring the straightened armscontinuously forwardandupward,Fig18.9 (b), simultaneouslybreathing ingently; thenpressbothpalmsupward towards the sky,Fig18.9 (c),gentlyholding thebreath.Next,lowerthestraightenedarmstoyoursides,Fig18.9(d),gentlybreathingoutintheprocess.(RefertoChapter4fordetailofthisexercise.)

Fig18.8LiftingtheSky

Continuewith “WindmillHand” as follows.Bring your right arm continuously forwardand upward, Fig 18.10 (a), simultaneously breathing in gently. Continue the armmovementbackwardanddownward,Fig18.10(b),breathingoutgently.Repeatwiththesamehandabouttentimes.Thenrepeatwiththeotherhandabouttentimes.(Notethatthe

“WindmillHand”hereis“soft”;whereasthe“ForcefulWindmill”,aspartoftheCosmosPalmtrainingdescribedinChapter14,is“hard”.)

Fig18.10WindmillHand

(a)

(b)

Continuewith“KickingCrane”.Turntoyourrightside,spreadoutbotharms,andkickout

yourleftleg,pointingthetoesinfront,Fig18.11.Thenloweryourleftleg,turnleft-abouttoyour left side, spreadoutboth arms, andkickoutyour right leg, pointing the toes infront.Letyourbreathingbenatural.Repeattheprocedureabouttentimes.

Fig18.11KickingCrane

(a)

(b)

Continuewith“DoubleDragons”.Bringbothhandstobothsidesatbreastlevel,withyourpalms facing the ground. Move the palms, fingers pointing forward, out in front bystraightening your elbows, bending your body slightly forward and breathing outsimultaneously.Thenbringyourpalmsbacktoyoursidesatbreastlevel,stillwithfingerspointinginfront,bendingyourbodyslightlybackwardandbreathingin,Fig18.12.Repeattheprocedureabouttwentytimes.

Fig18.12DoubleDragons

(a)

(b)

Continuewith “Fish-Flip”.Dropyour hands at both sides anddonotworry about themthroughout this exercise. Continue bending your body forward about 45 degrees andbackwardabout45degrees,Fig18.13,abouttwentytimes.Letyourbreathingbenatural.

Fig18.13Fish-Flip

(a)

(b)

Aftercompletingthissequenceofexercises—LiftingtheSky,WindmillHand,KickingCrane,DoubleDragonsandFish-Flip—closeyoureyes(ifyouhavenotalreadyclosedthem),standuprightandbetotallyrelaxed.Followthemomentumasyoubegintoswayormoveinanyway;donotresistthemovement,buttellyourselftoslowdownshouldyourmovementbecometoovigorous.Makewhateversoundifyoufeellikeit.Enjoytheself-manifestedchimovementforaboutfivetotenminutes.(Later,whenyouareproficientinthisexercise,youmaycontinuefora longerperiod,butnever too long thatyoubecometired;andyoumayopenyoureyesduringyourpracticeifyouwish.)

However, ifafter thesequenceofexercisesyouarestillnotmovedbyyourvitalenergy,standuprightandrelaxedwithyoureyesclose.Gentlythinkofacascadeofenergyflowing down in all directions from your head to your feet. Repeat this thinking orvisualization gently for a few times, and when your body starts to move, follow itsmomentum and enjoy the self-manifested movement. If there is still no spontaneousmovementafterafewtimesofthinkingoforvisualizationtheenergycascade,itdoesnotmatter; just remain standing in themeditative state for a fewminutes, andcomplete theexerciseasdescribedbelow.

Afterenjoyingtheself-manifestedchimovementorinducedchiflow,gentlybringyour movement to a graceful stop. Remain still in the standing meditation for a fewminuteswithoutanythoughtorcareintheworld.Thengentlythinkofyourabdomenforafewseconds.Rubyourpalmstogethertowarmthem,andthenwarmyoureyeswithyourpalmsasyouopenyour eyes.Gentlymassageyour faceand thenwalkaboutbriskly tocomplete thewhole exercise.Youwill probably find it one of the best experiences youhaveeverhad.

ThisSelf-ManifestedChiMovement exercise is very effective for clearing awaytoxicwaste, opening energy blockages, and balancing energy levels, thus curing awiderange of illness and promoting physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. At ahigherlevel,ithelpsthepractitionertobeintunewiththecosmos,harmonizinghisvitalenergy with cosmic energy, hence linking his physical development to his spiritualdevelopment.

19:CURING“INCURABLE”DISEASES

(ShaolinChiKungandChineseMedicine)

In case some readers may feel that this hope of recovering from their so-calledincurable illness is too good to believe, let me remind them that true Shaolindisciples,inaccordancewithBuddhistprecepts—thoughtrueShaolindisciplesneednotbeBuddhists,andmanyaren’t—donottelllies.

ChiKungforCuringIllness

Would you believe that people suffering for many years from hypertension, asthma,diabetes, peptic and duodenum ulcers, arthritis, rheumatism, insomnia,migraine, sexualinadequacy,andevencancer,andhadbeentoldthatthesediseasewereincurable,couldbecuredbypractisingShaolinChiKung?

Imyself,whohadpractisedandtaughtShaolinChiKungformanyyears,foundithardtobelievethatpractisingthesamesetofchikungexercisescouldcuresuchawiderangeofdifferentillnesses.Ihadreadaboutthewonderfulhealingeffectsofchikungfromclassical chi kung literature, but at that time I was quite disinterested in these claimsbecause—thankstoShaolinKungfu—mystudentsandIwere(andstillare)veryhealthyandfit.WepractisedShaolinChiKungnotforhealthorcuringillness,butforenhancingkungfuabilities.Wedidnothavelivingexamplestoproveordisprovethechikungclaimsofcuringso-calledincurablediseases.

ThischangedwhenIbegan teachingShaolinChiKung to thepublic.AllalongIknewthatShaolinandotherkindsofchikungwereexcellentforpromotinghealth,thoughIwasnottoosureiftheywereequallyeffectiveforcuring“incurable”diseases,despitethefact that years ago Shaolin Chi Kung cured my migraine, sinus problem, andhaemorrhoids. I reasoned tomyself that if Iwere to reserveShaolinChiKungonly forselecteddisciples,whowerealreadyfitlikefiddles,thosewhowereweakbutforvariousreasonsdidnotpractisekungfu— inotherwords, thosewhoneededShaolinChiKungmost—wouldbedenied theopportunity.SoIselectedpatterns fromShaolinChiKungthatarenottooexactingtopractisebutareeffectiveforpromotinghealth,andtaughtthemtothepublicwithouttheirhavingtotraininShaolinKungfufirst.

The result was overwhelming. For the first time I actually saw for myself themarvellous effects of chi kung curing so-called incurable diseases, and it gave me theinspiration that one day I would convey this wonderful hope to countless sufferingpatients. By now there are literally hundreds of patients who have had their so-calledincurablediseasescuredafterpractisingchikungfromme.Incasesomereadersmayfeelthatthishopeofrecoveringfromtheirso-calledincurableillnessistoogoodtobelieve,letme remind them that true Shaolin disciples, in accordance with Buddhist precepts —thoughtrueShaolindisciplesneednotbeBuddhists,andmanyaren’t—donottelllies.

HarmonizingYin-Yang

Howchikungcancuretheseallegedincurablediseasescanbeexplainedbytwoimportantprinciples:harmonizingyin-yangandcleansingmeridians.GreatChinesephysicianshaveadvisedthat“ifyin-yangisharmoniousandtheflowofenergyinthemeridiansystemiscleansed,illnesswillnotoccur.”Tothosewhothinkthattheconventionalwesternmedicalparadigm is the only correct view, this advice may appear simplistic, if not downrightridiculous.Butiftheycare,fortheirownsake,tostudyitmoredeeply,theywillfindthatitis,likeamostprofoundmathematicalformula,asummationofatremendousamountofgreatmedicaltruthsexpressedintheshortestpossibleway.

Tounderstandtheconceptofyin-yangharmony,wemustfirsthaveaclearpictureofwhatyin-yangmeans.Yinandyangarenotthetwoprimordialforcesoftheuniverse,nor themaleand femaleprinciples in thecosmos,asmanywesternwritingsonChinesephilosophymisleadinglysuggest.Yinandyangaremerelysymbols,andassymbolstheycan refer to different things or concepts in different situations. Basically, yin and yangsymbolizetwoopposing—yetcomplementary—aspectsofreality.

InShaolinKungfu, forexample,wemay refer to formasyin,andapplicationasyang. Ifastudent learnsonly the formofkungfubutdoesnotknowhowtoapply it forcombat,helacksyin-yangharmonyinhiskungfutraining.

Inhealthandmedicine,thenaturalresistanceofapersonisreferredtoasyin,andall exo-pathogens as yang. If his resistance is inadequate to meet an attack of germs,expressedinChinesemedicalconceptasexcessiveyang,hisyin-yangisdisharmonious.

Ournaturalabilitytosecretethenecessaryhormonesorchemicalsattherighttimeandplaceissymbolizedasyin,andallthecholesterol,sugar,calcium,andotherpollutantsthatget intooursystemsaresymbolizedasyang.Evenwhenapersontakesfoodlowincholesterolorsugar,butifhisorgansorglands(manyofwhicharestillunknowntous)arenot functioning properly, expressed as insufficient yin, hewill be sick due to yin-yangdisharmony.

Weare, bynature, able to handle stress andother emotional hazards, and this isexpressedasyin-yangharmony.Butifapersonbecomesmentallyoremotionallyunstable,expressed as insufficient yin, or if the stress and hazards become too overbearing,excessiveyang,hemayhavepsychiatricproblems.

Hence,whether thedisease is contagious, organic, or psychiatric, it is causedbyyin-yangdisharmony.Harmonizingyin-yang,therefore,isthelogicalwayofovercomingillness at its root cause. The premise in Chinese medical thinking is that health is ournaturalbirthright.Wearebynaturehealthy;ifillnessoccurs,it isonlyatemporarystatewhencertainsystemsinourbodies(andminds,astheChineseneveralienatemindfrombody) fail to function as they should. According to Chinese medical philosophy, theultimate cause of illness is internal; therefore, illness can, and should, be relieved bycorrectinginternalfaults.

Whathappens,someonemayrightlyask,ifanimmediate,externalfactorcausingillness is unreasonably excessive? If, for instance, a person drinks an overwhelmingamountofliquor,orisexposedtoanoverwhelmingamountofradioactivewastedumpedby an inconsiderate manufacturer, would his natural life-sustaining systems be able toneutralize the harmful alcohol or radiation? In such cases, the problem is no longermedical;itbecomesaquestionofsuicideormurder.

Incontrast,westernmedicalphilosophytacitlypresumesthattheultimatecauseofillnessisexternal.Inwesternmedicinetheonusistodefinetheexternalcause—suchasbacteria,cholesterol,orstress; then toprovideanexternalmeans toovercomethecause.This crucial philosophical difference between Chinese and western medicine has far-reachingsignificance,aswillbediscussedlater.

ClearingEnergyBlockage

The Chinese go further than curing illness; their greater aim is to prevent illness fromoccurringinthefirstplace.FromtheChineseperspective,preventionandcurebelongtothesamecontinuumofhealthcare,andbothcanberealizedbyclearingthemeridiansofblockagesothatchiorvitalenergycanflowharmoniously.Ifapersonisalreadyhealthy,ensuringharmoniousenergyflowwillpreventillnessfromoccurring;ifheissick,itwillcurehimofhis illness.Harmoniousenergyflowcanbeachievedinmanyways,suchasphysical exercise, taking appropriate herbs,massage, and acupuncture, but the best andmostdirectwayispractisingchikung.

How does harmonious energy flow prevent and cure illness? Every part of ourbodiesare intimately linkedbyourelaboratemeridiansystem, throughwhichourchiorvitalenergyflows.Inwesternmedicalterms,thismeridiansystemincorporatesourfeed-backsystem,immunesystem,transportsystem,disposalsystem,self-defencesystem,andself-regenerativesystem.

If disease-causing agents enter our body, such as through a cut into our blood,through breathing into our lungs, or through eating into our digestive tract, our body isalertedbyourmeridian system to thisnewsituationof temporaryyin-yangdisharmony.Our whole bodies’ resources are then mobilized to meet this new challenge, likechannelling “defence energy”, known as wei chi in Chinese medical terminology, andwhich probably corresponds to antibodies in western terms, to overcome the foreigninvaders,and thedisposal systemactivated toclearawayany resultantdeadcells. If theforeign invaders are substantial, our body will call up reserve energy from the “greatspleencollaterals”,andifneeded,fromthe“eightwondrousmeridians”.

Allthesenecessaryactivitiestoovercometheforeigninvaders,suchasalertingthewhole body and mobilizing the required forces, are possible if our chi is flowingharmoniously. If there is someblockage, for example, between the invaded site and the“greatspleencollaterals”,reservedforcesmaynotbeadequatelychannelledtorestoretheyin-yangbalance.

If you think that all this description is merely speculation, be assured that suchovercomingofforeigninvadersbyourbodysystemsishappeningallthetimeineveryoneof us, usuallywithout our conscious knowing. If you think onemust take antibiotics toovercome contagious diseases, you will be amazed that the number of diseases all theantibiotics in theworld todaycancure ismiserablysmall.Somewesternexpertsbelievethatifnotforourownwonderfuldefenceandothersystems,noonecanbealiveformorethantenminutes!

Not only are we invaded daily by countless deadly micro-organisms, many ofwhicharestillunknowntomedicalscientists,wearealsoconstantlypollutedbyharmfulsubstancesandbombardedbylethalradiation.Yet,weremainaliveandhealthy—thankstoouryin-yangbalanceandharmoniousenergyflow.

All the time, cholesterol is clogging our blood vessels, sugar is flowing into ourbloodstream,acidispouringintoourstomach,pollutantsarechokingourlungs,calciumissolidifying in our kidneys, and other harmful substances are blocking cells, tissues, andotherorgans.Yetwearenotsick,becauseassoonas theaccumulationof theseharmfulsubstancesreachesacriticallevel,assoonasexcessiveyangisregisteredbyourmeridiansystem,chiintheformofelectricimpulseswillinstructtherespectivepartsofourbodiesto produce the right chemicals in the right amounts at the right places to neutralize theharmfulsubstancessoastorestoreouryin-yangharmony.Onlywhenchiflowisblocked,whenyin-yangisdisharmonious, illness likehighbloodpressure,diabetes,pepticulcers,asthma,kidneystones,andotherorganicdiseasesoccur.

Similarly,ourwonderfulbodysystemspreventandcureusofcancer,thousandsoftimeswithoutourknowing,despitethelethalradiationandseaofcarcinogensallaroundus. In fact, curing degenerative diseases, including cancer, is the hallmark of chi kungtherapy;Ihavehundredsofcasestosubstantiatemyclaim.

Anotherremarkableachievementofchikungispreventingandcuringpsychiatricdisorders,whicharereferredtoas“illnessoftheheart”inChineseterminology.Accordingto Chinese medical philosophy, the cause of psychiatric disorders, like that of somaticdiseases,isultimatelyinternal;thatiswhythesameexternalsituation,likeanxietyinworkordisappointmentinfailure,maybepsychotictoonepersonbutnottoanother.

The yin-yang disharmony in emotional healthwhich causes psychiatric illness isrelated to various zang chi, or energy of the various organ systems, which also causesorganic diseases. If the chi at the lungmeridian system is disharmonious, that person’sabilitytobeargriefisaffected;ifitisatthekidneymeridiansystem,heispronetofear;atthelivermeridiansystem,pronetoanger;attheheartmeridiansystem,hemaybeunabletoacceptjoy;andatthespleenmeridiansystem,hetendstoworryexcessively.Apersonwhoselungenergyisblocked,forexample,feelsdepressedeasily,whereasonewholackskidneyenergywouldbe in a stateof shockandnervousness.Chinesemedical scientistssummarizedsuchknowledgefromtheiryearsofempiricalstudiesintotheprinciplesofthefive elementary processes of metal, water, wood, fire, and earth, which some scholarsmerely reading these terms at their surface meaning, ignorantly but arrogantly say aremetaphysicalorsuperstitious.

Instead of persuading a patient who suffers from depression to believe that theworldisalaughingstage,orreasoningwithanervouspatient thathisfearisunfounded,wecan teach themchikungexercises topromote smooth flowof their lungenergyandkidney energy respectively.When they have achieved harmonious energy flow at theirrespectiveorgansystems, theywill improve theiremotionalbalance,with the result thatthey can, on their own, become more cheerful and realize their fears are actuallyunwarranted.

Ifyouhavewonderedwhyachikungmastercanbesorelaxedevenwhenhefacesasituationwhichwillbestressfultomostotherpeople,youcanhaveagoodguessattheanswernow.As themeridian systemof themaster is clear,whatever stressful emotionslike grief, fear, anger, and worry that most other people with energy blockage would

succumbinto,willbeflushedoutbyhisharmoniousenergyflow.Thisalsoexplainswhyaperson who is anxious, worried, or angry will feel better after letting out his pent-upemotions on a dummy, or after some vigorous sport; and a grief-stricken person willexperience some relief after agoodcry.Vigorous sports, crying, laughing, and shoutingareindirectwaysofgeneratingenergyflow;practisingchikungisdirectandmethodical.

ChiKungforCuringCancer

The first time I sawMaria, she looked old, haggard, and depressed; she suffered frombreastcancer,andalreadyhadthreesurgicaloperationstoremovehertumour.Despiteheroperations,whichwere “technically successful”, her cancer kept coming back. Shewasalsoonapowerfulcourseofchemotherapy,whichmadeherweak,nauseous,andbald.

Iopenedsomerelevantvitalpointsonherbody,transmittedsomechiintoher,andhelpedher toexperienceself-manifestedchimovement.At first sheswayedgently, thensheperformedsomespontaneousdance-likemovements.ButthemostmemorablepartwaswhenIaskedher tosmile fromherheart. Isaid,“Don’tworryhowyoudo it,butdo it.Smilefromyourheart.”Shedidthat.Douglas,mydisciplewhowaswithmethroughoutthetherapysession,andIwereamazedtofindthesmilefromherhearttransformedMariafromanold-looking,depressedpatient to theyoung,beautifulwomanshereallywas.Attheendofthattherapysession,IaskedMariatogiveablessingtoanyonesheliked.

Mariapractisedathometheself-manifestedchimovementexerciseItaughther.Afewdayslatershecameforhersecondtherapysession.AtfirstDouglasandIalmostcouldnotrecognizeher.Shehadchangedsomuchjustoverafewdays:shewasnolongerthehaggard,depressedMariawefirstsaw;shewasyoung,cheerful,andevenbouncingwithenergy!

She did her self-manifested chimovement exercise beautifully.Her spontaneousmovementresembledagracefuldance,andsheworeasmileonherfacemostofthetime.Halfwaythroughthetherapysession,sheaskedmeifitwasalrightforhertosingwhileinher self-manifestedchimovement, for she simply felt like singing. I feltveryhappy forher, for I knewverywell that shewas on the sure path of recovery. She concluded thesessionwithablessingforsomeonesheliked.

After the practice she told Douglas and me that the chi kung experience wasfantastic.Sheconfessedshewas scepticalat first,but soondiscovered thebenefitswerejustunbelievable.Shesaidthatevenafterthefirstsession,thepaininherheadandupperbodythatshehadsufferedforsometimedisappearedasifbymagic.

All these happened only two weeks ago. At the time of writing,Maria has notrecovered,butfromherresponseandfrommyexperiencewithcancerpatients,Icansafelypredictthatherrecoveryisamatteroftime.Probablysixmonthslaterwhenshegoesforamedicaltestforcancer,theresultwillbenegative.

I chose her case for illustration here, instead of otherswhohave been proven tohaverecoveredfromcancer,partlybecausehersisveryremarkable,andmainlybecauseitreadilycomestomindasIwrite.Cancercanbecured,andmanyhavebeencured.Thisisaseriousclaim,madeearnestly,foritpainsmyhearttoknowthat,forsomereasons,whilemillionsaresufferingindehumanizingagony,aprovencureforcancerthatischeapandshouldbeeasilyavailableisstillunknowntothosewhoneedit.Iwillbehappyandreadytoworkwithsincereorganizationsdesiroustotestmyclaim,andtosharetheknowledge

andskillofcuringcancerwithothers.

Cancerisonlyfrighteningifweviewitfromthewesternmedicalperspective.Therenownedoncologist,Dr.D.W.Smithers,explainsthatcanceris“justashortenedwayofsayingsomethingthatcannotbesimplydefined.”Becausewesternexpertsfailtopinpointthecauseorcausesofcancer,theyarequitehelplessinprovidingacure.

However, if we view what the west calls cancer from the Chinese perspective,immediately its morbidity vanishes, because according to Chinese medical philosophythere is no such thing as an incurable disease. In fact cancer is unknown in traditionalChinesemedicalliterature;thenearesttermtoitis“poisonousgrowth”,whichtheChinesehasneverconsideredtobefatalor incurable.Thetermai,whichmodernChineseuse torefer to cancer, is a translation from English, and is not a traditional Chinese medicalconcept.

How, then,would a traditionalChinese physician describe a patientwho suffersfrom a condition (or conditions) which the west would conveniently call cancer? TheChinesephysicianwillnotcallit“cancer”,orbyanywordwithasimilarmeaning,simplybecausetheconceptofcancerdoesnotexistinChinesemedicine.Hewill,asinallotherdiseases,describetheconditionofthepatient,nottheconditionofthedisease.Hemay,forinstance, describe the patient as “having poisonous heat at the livermeridian”.Anotherpatient,whomawesterndoctorwouldsimilarlydescribeassufferingfromcancer,maybedescribed differently by the Chinese physician, according to the patient’s pathologicalcondition,like“havingfalse-fireattheintermediatelevel”.Interestinglythisphenomenonof the same “stuff” appearing as different “reality” falls perfectly in linewithBuddhistphilosophy.Whatappearsaswatertous,forexample,isfiretoghostsandspirits,andascrystals to gods. (Please ignore the previous sentence if you do not believe that beingsotherthanwhatwecansee,existinotherdimensionsonourpunyearth,orinotherpartsofourboundlessuniverse.)

Thisdifferenceofperspectivemeansthedifferencebetweenlifeanddeathforthepatient.Ifheisdescribedassufferingfromcancer,itistantamounttosayingheisgoingtodie,usuallypainfully.Accordingtothewesternmedicalparadigm,asthecauseofillnessisunknown, the cure is unknown, too. Cancer is “incurable” not because there is no cureavailable,butbecauseitisnotknownwhatactuallyistobecured.

Ifthesamepatientisdescribedas“havingpoisonousheatatthelivermeridian”,or“havingfalse-fireattheintermediatelevel”,itistellinghimthatthecauseofhistemporarystateofill-healthhasbeendefined,andthelogicalstepinrestoringhimtohisnaturalstateofgoodhealthistoovercomethecauseofhisill-health.AccordingtotheChinesemedicalparadigm, all illness can be cured because it is natural and normal to be healthy. If thepatient’s“poisonousheatatthelivermeridian”or“false-fireattheintermediatelevel”iseliminated,thenhisdisease,irrespectiveofwhatlabelitmaybecalled,willberelieved.

ThematicandHolisticApproaches

If the patient can remedy the temporary faults in his own body systems, thus restoringthemto theirnatural functions,canceroranydiseasecanbecured. InChinesemedicinemany approaches can be used to restore the patient’s natural functions, such asacupuncture,massagetherapy,physiotherapy,externalmedicine,herbalism,andchikungtherapy.Fordiseaseslikecancerwheretheexternalcausesareunknownandtheinternalcauseshardtodefine,practisingchikungisthebestapproach.Thisisbecausewhiletheotherapproachesaregenerally thematic, i.e.,diagnosing thecauses, thenprescribing theappropriate therapeutics to correct them, chi kung is generally holistic, i.e., treating thepatientasawholeperson,without theneed toaddress theparticularcauseof the illnessdirectly.

Forexample, ifanacupuncturistdiagnosesapatientashaving“poisonousheatatthe livermeridian”, hewillmanipulate appropriate acu-points to release the “poisonousheat”atthelivermeridian.Hewillalsomanipulateotheracu-pointstodetoxifyandflushoutthe“poison”thathasspreadtootherpartsofthebody,tostrengthenthekidneysystemsothatitseffectcanbenefittheliver,andtostimulatethegallbladdermeridianandclearthe lung meridian so that energy at the liver meridian can flow smoothly. Should thecausesofthediseasebedifferent,hewillusedifferenttherapeuticprinciplesandmethods.Hisapproachisthereforethematic.

Anherbalisttreatingthispatientwillemploythesametherapeuticprinciples,suchaseliminatingthe“poisonousheat”atthelivermeridian,detoxifyingandflushingoutthe“poison”, strengthening the kidney system, and promoting smooth energy flow.But hismethodwill be different. Instead of needles, the herbalist will use appropriate herbs toachieve thesame therapeuticobjectives.Hisapproach isalso thematic;heprescribes thetherapeuticsaccordingtothecausesofillness.

Chikungtherapyisgenerallyholistic,althoughthematictreatmentisalsopossible.Indeed, many cancer patients have their so-called incurable disease cured by practisingfrommethesamechikungcoursewhichalsocuresothersofawiderangeofdisorders,like asthma, diabetes, gall stone, high blood pressure, heart problems, kidney failure,peptic ulcers, rheumatism, insomnia, depression, nervousness, sexual inadequacy, andinfertility.

HowDoesChiKungCureIllness

Howisitpossiblethatthesamechikungexercisescancuredifferentdiseases?Ifweviewit from the western medical paradigm, such as from chemotherapy, probably the mostrepresentativeofwesternmedicalpractice today,whichdictates that aparticulardrug isprescribed for a particular disease, or from surgery, considered by many as the mostadvancedofwesternmedical technology,whichconvenientlycutsoff thediseasedparts,this concept of chi kung as a panacea for all ills would appear ludicrous as well asprimitive.Butifwerememberthatthewesternmedicalparadigmisnottheonlywaywecan use to view health and medicine, and if we examine the topic from a differentperspective using the Chinese medical paradigm, which actually has successfully andcontinuously served theworld’s largest population for the longest period of history,weshallfindthisholisticeffectofchikungincuringillnesslogicalandscientific.

Put in a nutshell, chi kung therapy can achieve holistic healing of the patientbecause its principal function is cleansing meridians and harmonizing yin-yang. It canachieve this purpose excellently because of the natural characteristic of chi to flow towhereitisneededmost.Chiflowsfromhighenergylevelstolowenergylevels,justlikewaterflowsfromhigh to lowplaces.Whereenergylevelsare lowestaresitesof illness,irrespectiveofwhether the illness is contagious,organic, orpsychiatric.For example, ifthereisinsufficientenergytoovercomepathogensataninfectedsite,acontagiousdiseaselikeinfluenzadevelops;ifanorgandoesnothavesufficientenergytofunctionnaturally,anorganicdisorderlikekidneyfailureoccurs;ifthe“heart”,whichisgenerallytranslatedasthemindinEnglish,lackstheenergytoaccommodatestressfulsituations,apsychiatricproblemlikeintrapersonallonelinessresults.

Oftenthelowenergyleveloccursatasitenotbecausethereisinsufficientoverallenergyinthebody,butbecauseofenergyblockagethathamperssmoothflowofenergytowhereitisneeded.Theblockagemayoccuratdifferentscales,suchasatthecellularscaleat certain nerves which may cause hormonal imbalance, or at an organic scale at thecoronary artery which may cause a heart attack. Almost always the root cause of ablockage at the organic scale, which eventually results in a structural defect such asarteriosclerosis (hardening of arteries), has its origin as a functional disorder caused byenergyblockageatthecellularlevel.

Practising chi kung clears energy blockage, especially at the cellular and sub-atomic levels, with the beneficial effects gradually spreading to the levels of tissues,organs, and thewhole body including themind.When vital energy is increased and itsflowharmonious,yin-yangbalanceisachieved.Thus,ifthereisaninfection,symbolizedas excessive yang, reserved energy, symbolized as yin, will overcome it. If there isinsufficient energy at a particular organ for its normal functioning, or inadequate yang,energy tapped from the cosmos and transformed into vital energy of the body will bechannelledthroughabettersystemofenergyflowtothatorgantoovercomeitslack.Ifthemindisinadequateinhandlingstress,whichmaybeexpressedasmentalyininsufficiency,themind is expanded, expressed as increasingmental yin, so that now it can copewith

stresseffectively.

Similarly, cleansing meridians and harmonizing yin-yang can cure cancer. It issickeningbuttruethatcancerhasmadesomepeopleveryrich,andthesepeople,wittinglyor unwittingly, have vested interest to ridicule any claim to cancer cure, while cancerpatientsand their families sufferhelplessly,oftenunnecessarily!On theotherhand, it ishearteningtonotethateveryoneliterallyhascancerthousandsoftimesinhislifetime,butthe equal thousands of times cancer is cured by his own body systems without himknowing.Generally,allpeopleareexposedtothesamecancer-causingagents,butonlyinacomparativelysmallproportionofpeople,whoseyin-yangisdisharmoniousandenergyflowimpeded,doescancersurfaceasaclinicallyrecognizabledisease.

Of themany schools of chi kung that can overcome cancer and other so-namedincurablediseases,ShaolinChiKung,inmyopinion,isthebestbecauseofthefollowingfive reasons.While some schoolsmake use of only one or two categories of chi kungexercises, Shaolin Chi Kung uses all; its comprehensive repertoire therefore provides awider scope tomeet the different needs of patients. Second, Shaolin Chi Kung is verypowerful;itproduceseffectsinfifteenminuteswhatmaytakeanhourinothertypesofchikung.Often the benefit is immediate; although it needs a fewmonths of daily practicebeforecancerorotherdiseasescanbecured,afteraShaolinChiKungsessionthepatientcanimmediatelyfeelbeneficialeffectslikedeeprelaxation,joy,andeliminationofpain.Itiscertainthathis(orher)qualityoflifewillimprove.

Fourth,ShaolinChiKunginvolvesthemind,whereasmanyothertypesofchikungareonlyphysical; thisallowsthepatienttoreachheightenedstatesofconsciousnessthatcanberewardinglyemployedtospeeduphisrecovery.Finally,ShaolinChiKungtouchesonthespiritual,irrespectiveofone’sreligion;manyofmypatientswhoweredejectedandlostbecauseoftheirsufferingfoundnewhopeandmeaninginliving.

What are the suitable chi kung exercises for curing cancer and other so-calledincurablediseases?AppropriatelyselectedexercisesfromEighteenLohanHandsandSelf-ManifestedChiMovement, likethosedescribedinthepreviouschapter,aresuitable;butexercises fromSinewMetamorphosis andmost othermartial art chi kungor “hard” chikungarenot.Quiescentbreathingandmeditation,tobeexplainedinthenextchapter,arealsosuitableforpatientswithsomechikungexperience,butnotforbeginners.

20:THEINTERNALCOSMOS

(AMarvellousArtcalledtheSmallUniverse)

An exponent of the Small Universe is a living example of radiant health: he isphysicallyfit,emotionallystable,mentallyalert,andspirituallypeaceful.

ManasMiniatureofCosmos

ManypeoplehaveheardoftheChineseconcept,whichisalsofoundinmanyothergreatcivilizations,thatman(includingwoman,ofcourse)isaminiatureofthecosmos,butnotmany knowwhy this is so. This conceptmay be explained at three levels— physical,energetic,andspiritual—whichareactuallycloselyrelated.

Atthephysicallevel,thestuffthatmakesusisthesameasthestuffthatmakestheuniverse.Centuriesbeforeourscientists,greatchikungmasterssinceancienttimeshavementioned that both we and the universe are made of the same chi or energy. Thefollowing story of Chuang Tzu (Zhuang Zi), the great fourth century Taoist master, isillustrativeofthephysicalunitybetweenmanandthecosmos.

HuiZivisitedChuangTzutopayhislastrespectstothelatter’swifewhohadjustdied.HefoundChuangTzudrummingonabasinandsinging.

“Yourwifehadlivedwithyouandrearedyourchildren.Nowthatshehaspassedaway, it is not enough you do notweep but you even beatmusic and sing! Isn’t it toomuch?”

Chuang Tzu replied, “Of course I feel for my wife. But then I thought: manoriginally had no life; not only that, he had no form or spirit. From the midst offormlessness, spirit is born, then form and then life.Nowmywife is transformed backfromlifetoformtospiritandtoformlessness,likethepassingofspring,summer,autumn,andwinter,andsheisnowthesameasthecosmos.IfIwailandweep,itonlyshowsthatIamignorantofthisgreatcosmictruth.”

Attheenergeticlevel,ancientChinesescientistsandphilosophersdiscoveredthattherearedifferenttypesofenergyintheuniverse,andtheyusedvariouswaystoclassifythem. Irrespective of themanner of classification, there is a direct relationship betweencosmicenergyintheuniverseandvitalenergyinman.Numeroustermshavebeenusedtodescribe this cosmos-man correspondence, such as “cosmos-manunity” (tian renheyi),“onebodyofformlessness”(hunranyiti),“myriadthingsareone”(wanwuweiyi),and“oneenergythroughouttheuniverse”(tongtianxiayiqi).

Thevariousdifferenttypesofcosmicenergymaybedividedintotwomaingroupsknownaszenithenergy(sutian)andnadirenergy(zaiquan),whichcorrespondtoman’svitalenergyflowingintheconceptualandthegoverningmeridians,orrenmaianddumai.Inotherwords,theflowandinteractionofzenithenergyandnadirenergyinthecosmosaresimilartothoseofthegoverningenergyandconceptualenergyinman.Thefamousartofchikung thatconnects theenergy flow in these twomeridians isknownas theSmallUniverse,ortheMicro-CosmicFlow.

Cosmic energy is often classified into five types according to their characteristicbehaviour,andtheyaresymbolizedbythefiveelementalprocessesofmetal,water,wood,fire, and earth. These five types of cosmic energy correspond to the five types of vital

energyfoundinman’sinternalyinorgans,namelylungs,kidney,liver,heart,andspleen,andtheirrelatedyangorgans,namelycolon,urinarybladder,gallbladder,intestines,andstomach.Ifanalignmentofheavenlybodies,forexample,generatesgoodmetalenergyinthe cosmos, it will also be propitious for water energy. Similarly, an increase of lungenergyinmanwillalsonurturehiskidneyenergy.

Chinesescientistshavealsoclassified thedifferentnaturesofcosmicenergy intosixtypes,knownfigurativelyascoldenergy,hotenergy,dryenergy,dampenergy,windyenergyandfieryenergy.Chinesephysicianshavefoundthatwhilethepositiveeffectsoftheseenergytypesaregoodforman,theirnegativeeffectscorrespondtothesixexternalcausesofillness,whicharefigurativelytermedascold,heat,dryness,dampness,wind,andfire.

At the mind or spiritual level, man is not just a miniature of the cosmos; if heattainsenlightenment,which is thehighestattainmentanybeingcanachieve,herealizesanddirectlyexperiencesthatheISthecosmos!Inhiscultivationtoachievethissupremeachievement,hemayhaveglimpsesofthisultimatereality,andherealizesinhismomentofbeautyandinspirationthattheskinwhichpresumablyseparateshimfromtherestofthecosmosisactuallyillusory,thatthereisinultimaterealitynodifferencebetweenhimandtheuniverse!

Theactualizationofcosmicrealityistaughtinalltheworld’sgreatreligions,andisspeciallyemphasized inBuddhism.TheHeartSutra,which isoneof themost importantscripturesinMahayanaandVajrayanaBuddhism,says:

Formisnotdifferentfromemptiness;andemptinessisnotdifferentfromform.

Formisemptiness;andemptinessisform.

These famous lines, more often quoted than understood, teaches that in his spiritualcultivation, when an aspirant expands or transcends what he previously and ignorantlythoughtwashispersonalmind,heattainsUniversalMindwhereheandthecosmosISone.

TheSmallUniverse

If youwish to experience the internal cosmos in you, practising an advanced art of chikungcalledtheSmallUniverse,ortheMicro-CosmicFlow,isagoodmove.Itisprefixed“small”fortworeasons:todifferentiatefromtherealuniverse,andtodifferentiatefromamoreadvancedartofchikungcalledtheBigUniverse,ortheMacro-CosmicFlow,wherevital energy is cultivated to flow continuously through all the twelve primarymeridiansdirectlyrelatedtotheinternalorgans.Donotbemisledbytheadjective“small”;theSmallUniverseisactuallyoneofthegreatestartsofenergyknowntohumanity.

TheSmallUniversewasoriginallydevelopedbyTaoistslongbeforeBodhidharmaintroduced chi kung in the Shaolin Monastery. Because it is a marvellous art, Shaolinmonks, who are Buddhist, learned it from the Taoists and have valued it very highly.Hence, inShaolinChiKung there are alsomany typicalTaoist terms and concepts likecosmos (hun yuan), spirit (shen), andwill (yi); inBuddhist terms these conceptswouldnormally be called void (kong), mind (xin), and consciousness (shi), although there issomedifferenceinconnotation.

The Small Universe is highly appreciated by all the three groups of chi kungpractitioners: those who practise chi kung for health, for martial art, and for spiritualtraining.Summingup thebeneficialeffectsderivedfrompractising thisart,pastmastershave said, without exaggeration, that “if one attains the breakthrough of the SmallUniverse,hewill eliminateall illness.”The truthof this statementhasbeen time-tested,andhasbeenamplysubstantiatedbymystudentswhohaveachievedtheSmallUniverse.RadianthealthisachievedwiththeSmallUniversebecauseitisacomprehensiveandin-depthwayofcleansingmeridiansandharmonizingyin-yang,asexplainedinthepreviouschapter.

In the pastwhen a kungfumaster achieved the SmallUniverse, he often gave abanquettocelebratehissuccess.Theabilitytomaintainacontinuousflowofvitalenergythroughout theconceptual (ren)andgoverning (du)meridianswhen thebreakthroughofthe Small Universe is attained enables the practitioner to have tremendous power andstamina.Moreover,theSmallUniversenotonlyactsasasafetyprecautionagainstpossibleharmful effects due to faulty training, but also speeds up the developmental process inadvancedmartialartchikungsuchasIronShirt,GoldenBell,andDiamondPalm.

In spiritual cultivation, the Small Universe enables the aspirant to merge hispersonal spirit with the Cosmic Spirit, or in Buddhist terms to transcend his individualmindtorealizetheUniversalMind.TaoistmastersusetheSmallUniverseasoneoftheirchief methods of cultivation. Chi or vital energy is first circulated round the “smalluniverse”,thenaccumulatedasapearlofelixirinthe“dantian”,orfieldofelixir,attheabdomen.Thispearlofelixir,figurativelycalledthe“divinefoetus”inTaoism,isimbuedwiththeaspirant’sspirit,graduallynurturedandeventuallyreleasedfromthecrownofhisheadasanimmortal.InZenBuddhism,thispearlofelixir,knownas“innerillumination”,is cultivated until it expands beyond the illusory boundary of the skin so that inner and

outerilluminationbecomesoneorthevoidinultimatereality.

AchievingtheSmallUniversalFlow

Obviously suchanadvancedand fantastic art as theSmallUniverse shouldbepractisedwith the personal supervision of a master. Self practice without proper guidance oftenresultsinseriousharmfuleffects.

DuringonestageofmySmallUniversetraining,Ifeltsolidandstablelikearock.Eagertotestmyattainment,Iaskedmywifetopushme.Shedidsoatawrongtime,andmychideviated.Exceptforsomeyellowishtintinmyotherwisebrighteyes,therewerenovisiblesignsatalltoindicateanythingwaswrong,butIfeltfeverishandunsettled.Ittookmeafewmonthsofremedialexerciseandmedicationtorecover.Theimportantpoint isthat if an informed person likeme, trainingwith amaster’s supervision, could developsuch serious harmful effect due to a comparativelyminormistake, it is not difficult toimaginewhatriskabeginnerwouldfaceifheisstubbornenoughtoattemptself-trainingdespite clear-cutwarning. Thus, the description below ismeant for knowledge,not forself-practice.

There are differentmethods employed by different schools to achieve the SmallUniverse.ThemethodusedbyusinourShaolinWahnamSchoolisasfollows.

There are five stages: Abdominal Breathing, Submerged Breathing, LongBreathing,ForcefulSmallUniverseBreathing,andGentleSmallUniverseBreathing.Eachstagemustbeattainedbeforeprogressingtothenextone.

Standuprightand relaxed.Smile from theheart andkeep themouthslightlyandcomfortablyopen.Placebothpalmsgentlyabovetheabdominaldantianorfieldofelixir.Use the palms to deflate the abdomen, and breathe out gently through the mouth,simultaneouslyvisualizing(orthinking)thatnegativeenergyorstaleairflowupfromthebody and out through themouth, Fig 20.1. Pause for a short while. Then release yourpalmson your abdomen, breathe in gently through the nose, and visualize good cosmicenergy flowing into you. Pause for a short while. Repeat the breathing out, pause,breathingin,pauseforasuitablenumberoftimes,thenumberdependingonthenatureandprogressofthepractitioner.

At theendof theAbdominalBreathingexercise, closeyoureyes (if theyarenotalreadyclosed)andstandrelaxedatStandingMediation.Gentlythinkofapearlofenergyatthe“qihai”energyfieldatyourabdomen.“Qihai”means“seaofenergy”.

Fig20.1AbdominalBreathing

AtthesecondstageofSubmergedBreathing,theoutwardformissimilartothatatthefirststage.But as you deflate your abdomen to breathe out through yourmouth, visualize astreamofvitalenergyflowingfromtheqihaienergyfieldattheabdomentothe“huiying”energyfieldbetweentheanusandtheendofthespinalcolumn,Fig20.2.“Huiying”means“meetingoftwoyings”.Asyoubreatheingentlythroughyournose,visualizeastreamofcosmicenergyflowingintoyourqihaienergyfield.Repeatforasuitablenumberoftimes.AttheendoftheSubmergedBreathingexercise,standatStandingMeditation,closeyoureyesandgentlythinkofapearlofenergylikeasilverymoonatyourhuiyingenergyfield.

Fig20.2SubmergedBreathing

Atthethirdstage,standrelaxedasbefore,butasyoubreatheingentlythroughyournose,visualizeastreamofcosmicenergyflowingdownrighttoyourhuiyingenergyfield.Asyoubreatheoutthroughyourmouth,visualizeastreamofyourvitalenergyflowingfromthehuiyingenergyfieldnearthecoccyxupthewholespinetothe“baihui”energyfieldatthe crown of the head, Fig 20.3. “Baihui” means “meeting of hundreds of meridians”.Repeat for a suitable number of times. After the Long Breathing exercise, remain atStandingMeditationandvisualizeapearlofenergylikeagoldensunatthecrownofyour

head.

Fig20.3LongBreathing

InthefourthstageofForcefulSmallUniverse,breatheinusingyourchestinsteadofusingyourabdomenasintheearlierbreathingmethods.Asyoubreatheincosmicenergygentlythroughyournose,yourchestrisesandyourabdomenfalls,Fig20.4.Placethetipofyourtongueatyouruppergumjustaboveyourfrontteeth.Simultaneouslyvisualizeastreamofvitalenergyflowingfromyourhuiyingenergyfieldnearyouranusup thespine toyour

baihuienergyfieldatthetopofyourhead.

Then breathe out about 70 percent of your chi (or breath) gently through yourmouth,placingthetipofyourtongueatyourlowergumjustbelowyourfrontteeth;yourchest falls and your abdomen rises. Simultaneously visualize a stream of vital energyflowingfromyourbaihuienergyfielddownthefrontpartofyourheadandbodytoyourqihaienergyatyourabdomen.Thengentlyswallowtheremaining30percentofyourchiwithyoursaliva intoyourabdomen,andvisualizeastreamofvitalenergyflowingfromyourabdomentoyourhuiyinenergyfield,thuscompletingthecontinuousstreamofvitalenergy round your body in the ren mai and du mai, or the conceptual and governingmeridians.Repeatforasuitablenumberof times.After this,closeyoureyesatStandingMeditation,andvisualizeyourvitalenergyflowingcontinuouslyintheSmallUniverse.

Fig20.4ForcefulSmallUniverseatStandingUpright

When you can perform the Forceful Small Universe fairlywell while standing upright,progresstopractisingtheartattheCosmosStance,Fig20.5.Theprocedureisthesame,exceptthestanceisdifferent.ButatStandingMeditationattheendofthepractice,thefeetaretogetherasbefore.

Fig20.5ForcefulSmallUniverseatCosmosStance

In thefinalstageofGentleSmallUniverse, revert toabdominalbreathing,butremainattheCosmosStance.Asyoubreatheingentlythroughyournose,yourabdomenrises;placethetipofyourtongueatyouruppergumandvisualizeastreamofcosmicenergyflowinginto your qihai energy field at your abdomen. As you breathe out gently through yourmouth,yourabdomenfalls;placethetipofyourtongueatyourlowergumandvisualizeastreamofvitalenergyflowfromyourqihaidowntoyourhuiyinatyouranus,upthespinetobaihuiat thehead, thendownagaintoyourmouth, thuscompletingthemicro-cosmicflowof theSmallUniverse.Repeatforasuitablenumberof times.ThenbringyourfeettogethertostanduprightatStandingMeditation,andvisualizethecontinuousflowoftheSmallUniverse.

Fig20.6GentleSmallUniverse

BreakthroughandTimeDifference

TheaimoftheSmallUniverseistoattainwhatiscalleda“real”breakthroughoftherenanddumeridians,incontrasttoa“false”breakthrough.Ina“real”breakthrough,therenanddumeridiansarecontinuouslyfilledwithchiflowinginanever-endingcircuit;therearenogapsinthestreamofenergythroughthetwoprincipalmeridiansroundthebody.Ina “false” breakthrough, the two meridians are not continuously filled; there is only a“bubble”orsome“bubbles”ofenergygoing through the twomeridians round thebody,and there arewidegaps inbetweenwhere there is no energy flow.Thebreakthrough istermed“false”becausetheenergyflowisnotanever-endingstream,andthe“bubbles”ofenergymaybediffusedtootherpartsofthebodyresultinginenergyblockageagain.

Fig20.7RealandFalseBreakthroughs

Afalsebreakthrough,whichisalsobeneficialalthoughitsbenefitsarefar,farbehindthoseofarealbreakthrough,maybeattainedinafewdayswithappropriatechikungexercises,suchasthosefromSelf-ManifestedChiMovement.Amasterwithrelevanttechniquesmayinduceafalsebreakthroughinapractitionerinamatterofminutes.

Arealbreakthroughobviouslyneedsmuchlongertimetoachieve.Inthepastwhenconditions were different and the standard demanded of chi kung was very high,practitionersmighttakemorethantenyearstoachievearealbreakthrough.Nowinmychikungschoolifallthethreefactorsofmethodology,teacher,andstudentareideal,studentstakeonlyaboutsixmonthstoaccomplisharealbreakthroughintheSmallUniverse!

WhyistheresuchabigdifferenceinthetimeneededtoattaintheSmallUniverse?It isduetothebigdifferenceinthethreefactorsofmethodology,teacher,andstudent.Imyself took three years to accomplish the Small Universe, and in my times it wasconsideredaveryremarkableachievement.

Inthepastwhenchikunginformationwasscarce(asitwasthenormformasterstokeep their secrets), the methods used bymany past practitioners might not be the bestavailableforachievingtheSmallUniverse.Naturally,ifthemethodswereinferior,eveniftheyledtotheSmallUniverse,itwouldtakeamuchlongertime.

Asevidentfromchikungliterature,twocommonlyusedmethodsinthepastwere“AbdominalBreathing”and“VisualizationatSilentSitting”.ThepractitionerperformedAbdominalBreathing for such an extended time that his vital energy “overflowed” andultimatelycompletedtheSmallUniverse.InVisualizationatSilentSitting,thepractitionersat cross-legged in meditation and used his mind power to will his vital energy toaccomplishthesmalluniversalchiflow.

The setbacks of these classical methods when compared to the modern onedescribedearlierareeasilydiscernible. If thepractitionerhadnotclearedthatpartofhisrenmeridianbetweenhisnavelandhisanus,prolongedabdominalbreathingmightresultina“bloated”abdomen.IftheotherpractitionerintheVisualizationatSilentSittingdidnothavesufficientvitalenergytostartwith,anddidnotknowhowtotapcosmicenergytoincrease his energy volume, his visualization alone was unlikely to produce the smalluniversalchiflow.

Thesecondfactorinthetrainingofanyartinvolvestheteacher.Inthepastmasterspurposely tested the patience and suitability of students, especially in learning such anadvancedartastheSmallUniverse.WhenmymastertaughtmetheSmallUniverse,hedidnottellmeitwastheSmallUniverse;hemerelyshowedmeaseeminglysimplepostureand toldme topractise itdailywithout furtherexplanation.He leftmeat that fora fewweeks—thoughhesecretlysupervisedme—untilhe foundIhaddevelopedsufficientfoundation for thenext stageof the training.Manyofmyclassmatescouldnotcontinuesimplybecausetheyhadnotpractisedenoughfortherequiredfoundation,andtheymissedthisfantasticartwithoutevenbeingawareofit.

Butthemostimportantfactorinthetrainingofanyartisthestudenthimself.Evenifhehasthebestmethodandthebestteacher,butifhehimselfisnotwillingornotreadytopractise,therewillbelittleornoaccomplishment.Themodernstudentcomparesveryfavourablywithhisoldencounterpartinthisrespect.Astudentwhohaseasyaccesstochikung knowledge, knows exactly what he is aiming at, has his training programmemethodologicallysetupbyasympatheticteacher,isinspiredbytheprovensuccessofhis

fellow classmates, ismorewilling and ready to put in daily effort to acquire the SmallUniverse than his counterpart in the past who might not even know what art he wastraining.

Butthereisdefinitelyasignificantdifferenceinthestandardoftheartbetweenapractitionerinthepastwhohadspenttenyearsonit,andamodernstudentwhohastrainedforonlysixmonths.AlthoughthebreakthroughoftheSmallUniverseinbothpersonsisreal, the energy flow of the past practitioner was a huge column, whereas that of themodern student is only a tiny stream. What we gain in time, we have to sacrifice instandard, but if the modern student continues to practise, he, too, can acquire a hugecolumnofenergyflow.Yetforourmodernpurposes,evenatinystreamofenergyflowingnever-endingly in therenanddumeridiansprovidesuswith tremendousbenefits,whichcanbeconfirmedbysignsindicativeoftheSmallUniverse.

SignsofRealBreakthrough

What are the signs to tell us that we have attained a real breakthrough of the SmallUniverse?

First,ifyouhaveattainedtheSmallUniverse,youwillhaveeliminatedallillnessifyou have any, and will be spared all illness in your future life! This is guaranteed bygenerations of pastmasters. An exponent of the SmallUniverse is a living example ofradiant health: he is physically fit, emotionally stable, mentally alert, and spirituallypeaceful. So if you still suffer from any pain or disease, you have not achieved a realbreakthroughoftheSmallUniverse; ifyouhavepractisedtheartbeforeyetyouarestillnothealthy,youhavemerelylearnedthetechniquesbutnotacquiredthe“force”.

Second, attaining a real breakthrough in theSmallUniverse provides youwith anever-endingsupplyofenergy.Assoonassomeenergyfromyoursmalluniversalflowisusedup,itcanbereadilyreplenishedfromthecosmos.Henceyouhavetremendouspowerandstaminaformartialart,sports,andwork.Shaolinmasterscouldsparforhourswithoutbecoming tired because theymade use of their Small Universe. For LaoKerYew,mystudent of about seventy-years-old, the Small Universe not only cured him of about adozen diseases including kidney problem, arthritis, rheumatism, and hernia, but alsoenableshimtoout-lastopponentsthreetimesyoungeringameslikebadminton!

There are also many signs that frequently show up during the Small Universepractice. Some students actually feel a streamof energy flowing round their conceptualand governing meridians; others experience sensations of electric sparks or warmth.Feelingsofdullpain,soursensations,andneedlespricklingatdiseasedsitesarecommon;theseareindicationsthattheirvitalenergyisworkingtorelievethepractitionersoftheirillness.Analmostcertainsignisapulsationattheanus,andlateraquiveringeffectatthelipswhenthelowerandthentheuppergapsbetweentherenanddumeridiansarebridged.Pulsation at the crown of their head and a sensation like shampooing the hair are alsofrequent.

During meditation in the Small Universe, many students have interesting andextraordinaryexperiences,suchasfeelingasifpartorwholeoftheirbodyismissing,andpsychicallyseeingtheirpearlofenergyin theirabdomenor theirenergyflowinvariousparts of their body. As their mind has expanded, many practitioners are surprised thatmany problems which puzzled them before now appear to be very clear. The physicalworldalsolooksmorebeautiful.Somefeelthattheyhavebeenmergedwiththevoid.Allthesebeautifulexperiencesareexpressionoftheirspiritualdevelopment.

YetalltheseachievementsoftheSmallUniverse,andallotherartsofShaolinChiKung including the more advanced Big Universe, as well as all the fantasticaccomplishments in Shaolin Kungfu like Cosmos Palm, Golden Bell, and the arts oflightness are like a drop of water in a boundless ocean when compared to the highestattainment inZen, if it iseverattained!This isbecausehowevergreatormarvellousthe

achievementsinchikungorkungfumaybe,theyareconcernedwithourpresentonelife,whereasthehighestachievementinZensolvesforushereandnowthemyriadproblemsoflifeanddeath,liberatingusfromtheendlesscycleofcountlessbirthsandrebirthstoattaineverlastingbliss.

Thatwaswhy theBuddha, Bodhidharma, andmany other greatmindswillinglygaveuptheirthronetoseek,andhelpotherstoseek,thisgreatestachievement.Ofcourse,forthosewhoarenotready,thisendeavourdoesnotmakesense.Nevertheless,thelastsixchapters,whicharetomethemostimportantchaptersofthisbook,providethephilosophyandmethodsfor thisspiritualquest, irrespectiveofone’sreligion.Butbefore that, letusstudyin thenext twochapters, twootherworldlyShaolinarts,namelytraumatologyandpoetry.

21:DONOTWORRY IFYOUHAVEBROKENYOURBONES

(AnIntroductiontoShaolinTraumatology)

InChinesetraumatology,ofwhichtheShaolintraditionisthemostfamous,treatingapatientinjuredwithafractureisnotmerelysettingthebone,dressingitinaplastercast,andleavingGoddothehealing.

AUniqueSystemtoTreatInjury

What would you do if you accidentally sustain a powerful punch or kick from yoursparring partner? I was appalled to learn that many instructors routinely ignore suchinjuries sustained from sparring or similar injuries from sports like football andgymnastics.This isprobablyonereasonwhymanystudentsandeven instructorsarenothealthyasevident from theirdulleyesandcomplexion,although theyarephysically fit,because the untreated injuries accumulated in their sparring have insidiously weakenedtheirbodysystems.

Astudentoncetoldmethatwhenhehadtroublebreathingaftersustainingakick,hisinstructormerelyaskedhimtobendhisbodyafewtimes, thenjumpabouttolethisbloodflow!Ifaninjuryisserious,thevictimisrushedtoahospital,butoftendoctorsareunsureofhowtotreattheinjuryexceptcheckingandensuringthatthevictim’sheartandotheressentialsystemsarefunctioningproperly.

Such injuries, however, are always treated competently by kungfumasters. It isusual for kungfu masters to know traumatology, that branch of Chinese medicinespecializing in the treatmentof injury.Shaolin traumatologyis thebestknowninChina,andprobablythebestsystemfortreatinginjuryintheworld,aswillbesubstantiatedinthischapter.Allfourofmykungfumastersweretraumatologyexperts.TraumatologybelongstokungfuaswellastoChinesemedicine,andisuniqueintheworld.AsfarasIknow,innoothermartialartsormedicalsystemsdowefindaspecializeddisciplinedealingwithinjury.

The Chinese make a distinction between sickness (bing) and injury (shang):sicknessiscausedbytheinternalfailureofthebodytoharmonizewiththeenvironment,whereasan injury is inflictedexternally.Forexample, ifgermsenteryourbodyandyoufailtoovercomethembecauseofcertaininternalfailureofyourbodysystems,yousufferasickness.Ifyoufallandhaveacut,despiteyourhealthybodilyfunctions,yousustainaninjury. Normally your body is able to harmonize with the new environment of excessgermsenteringthroughthecut,butifitfailstodosothenasicknessmayfollow.

TheformaltermfortraumatologyinChinesemedicineisshangke,whichliterallymeanstheknowledgeofinjury;butitisbetterknownbyitscolloquialkungfutermof“dieda”(pronouncedas“t’iet t’a”) inMandarin,or“tit ta”inCantonese.“Dieda”or“tit ta”literally means “falls and hits”, which are two principal causes for the types of injurytreated in traumatology, such as bruises, sprains, cuts, dislocations, fractures, internalbloodclots, energyblockage, anddamage to internalorgans.As traumatology is awideanddeepsubject,itsdescriptioninthischapterisnecessarilyabriefintroduction.

VariousTypesofInjuries

Injuriesmaybeconvenientlydivided into twoclasses: external injuriesof skin,musclesandbones;andinternalinjuriesofblood,energy,andinternalorgans.

Skininjuriesmaybeopensuchasacutwheretheskinisbroken,orclosedsuchasabruisewheretheskinisintact.Anopenskininjurymaybesimple,likeawoundcausedbyasharpweapon,orcomplex,liketheskinandfleshbeingsmashedupbyanIronPalmstrikeoramotoraccident.Similarly,aclosedskininjurymaybesimple,likeabloodclotintheflesh,orcomplex,likeaseriousinternalhaemorrhageaffectinginternalorgans.Anopen, simple skin injury may not necessarily be less serious or urgent than a closed,complex one. For example, if an open, simple cut is deep enough, the resultant loss ofbloodcanbeimmediatelylifethreatening.

Injurytomusclesisverycommonamongadults,whetherduringmartialarttrainingor in daily life. Most patients who consult traumatologists today complain of muscleinjuriesliketwistednecks,sprainedangles,orbackpainoftencausedbybloodblockageduetodamagedmuscles.Muscleinjuriesmaybecausedbyadirect,impactforce,orbyaspiral, turning force. Simple muscle injuries restrict bodily movements, while seriousmuscleinjuriesinterruptenergyflowandaffectinternalorgans.

Boneinjuriesareclassifiedasexternalbecausebonesareoutsidebodytissues, incontrasttoinjuriestoblood,energy,andinternalorgans,whicharewithinthebodytissues.If an injury affects only the bone surface, it is classified as minor; if it involves jointdislocationorfracture,itisregardedasmajor.Simpledislocationandfractureusuallydonotpresentmuchproblem,but complexbone injuries like adislocationhas affected thenervous system or a fracture has pierced an internal organ must always be left to acompetentspecialist.

While injuries to theskin,muscles,andbonesareconsideredexternal, injuries toblood, vital energy, and internal organs are internal. It must be born in mind that theclassificationismeantforconvenience.Bloodflowandenergyflowarealwaysaffected,or“injured”inChinesemedicalterms,inanyformofinjuries.

Therearetwomainkindsofinternalbloodinjury,namelyirregularbloodfloodandinternalbloodblockage.Irregularbloodfloor,figurativelycalled“angryblood”,referstobloodflowingoutside itsproperplaces, i.e.,bloodvessels. Itcanbecausedbyaviolentimpact, such as from a powerful blow of amartial artist, a fall from a high place, or amotoraccident,withsymptomslikethepatientvomitingbloodorbloodoozingoutfromvariousorifices.Theinjurycouldbemoreserious,thoughlessfrighteningoutwardly,ifthe“injured” blood does not flow out “irregularly” but is lodged in the patient’s body asinternal blood blockage. Although such injuries pose a great problem to conventionaldoctors,theycanbereadilytreatedinShaolintraumatology.

Another area where the west can learn much from Shaolin traumatology andChinese medicine involves injury of chi or vital energy. In fact, according to Chinese

medical philosophy all sickness is ultimately caused by disharmonious energy flow, or“energy injury”,which can result in a breakdown of the body’s natural defence systemagainstcontagiousdiseases,disruptionofthefunctionsofinternalorganscausingorganicillness, and blockage of emotional energy bringing about psychiatric problems. Intraumatology,theterm“energyinjury”generallyreferstodeviatedflowandblockageofvitalenergyinthebody.

Deviated energy flow can be caused by intense negative emotion or a suddendistraction tomental concentration.An intense fright, for example,maycauseenergy toflowwildly,resultinginlossofurinaryorexcretorycontrol.Prolongdeviatedenergyflowmakes the patient fidgety and nervous. Taking tranquilizers, as is common in westernmedicine,ismerelyattendingtothesymptoms,butnotthecauseofthedisorder.

Blockedenergycanbeinflictedbyakungfumasterusing“soft”orinternalforcetostrikeanopponentwithoutleavinganyexternalmark.Itcanalsobecausedbythepersonhimself in faulty training of advanced kungfu. Such injuries of vital energy can lead toseriouscomplications,suchasdisorientationofmotornerves,weakeningofthefeedbacksystem,ordysfunctionofinternalorgans.Unlessthephysicianortherapistiswellversedin Chinese medical philosophy or a medical system with rich knowledge of energyconnections,itmaybedifficulttodiscerntherelationshipbetweentheseseriousdisordersand energy blockage.Doctors trained in conventionalmedicine are quite helplesswhenfacedwithsuchdisorders,becausechiorvitalenergyisnotintheirmedicalvocabulary.

When patients with serious energy injury submit themselves to elaborate andexpensive medical tests, the machines often say there is nothing clinically wrong withthem. I have hadmany patientswith such experiences; this is becausewesternmedicalinstrumentsatpresentdonotmeasurevitalenergy.ButifthesamepatientsconsultkungfumastersorChinesephysicians,justbylookingatthepatients’facesorlisteningtothewaythey speak, evenbefore feeling theirpulse andattemptingothermeansofdiagnosis, themastersandphysicianscaneasilytellthatthepatients’energyflowisseriouslyblockedordeviated.

Injury to internalorganscanbedirectlycaused,suchasbyakickto the liver,orindirectlycausedlikeastriketoavitalpointbyakungfumasterwhoknows“dianxue”(“dim mak” in Cantonese”) whereby the energy blockage at the vital point affects itsrelatedinternalorgan.Adirectinjuryisusuallystructuraldamage,whereasthedamageofanindirectinjuryisusuallyfunctional.

By “dotting” or striking the “qimen” vital point below the opponent’s ribs, forexample, amaster can interrupt the functionof theopponent’s liver, resulting in seriousbut insidious injury. If a western specialist examines the liver, he will find nothingstructurallywrongwithit;ifhetriestoincreasethefunctionofthemalfunctioningliverbyinjectinghormonesorbyothermedicalmeans,hewouldaggravatetheinjury,becausethefaultliesnotintheliverbutattheqimenvitalpoint.Asaroughanalogy,thespecialist’sactionislikechargingmoreelectricitydirectlytoabulb(andthusmaydamageit)whenthefaultisaninterruptionoftheflowofelectriccurrentatamajorintersection.AShaolinmastercouldrestorehisliverfunctionbyreleasingtheenergyblockageattheqimenvital

point.

Faultytrainingofkungfuforceorasuddeninfluxoftremendousnegativeemotioncan also injure an organ. For example, striking a palm on a sandbag unremittingly andwithoutpropermedicationorchikungcleansingexercisesmayharmmeridiansthataffecttheheartortheeyes.Tremendousgriefinjuresaperson’slungs,makinghimvulnerabletopulmonary diseases. Taking vitamins to strengthen the injured organ or its system, ortakingantibioticstokillthemicro-organismsthatattacktheorgan,isonlyanadhocmeanstreating the symptoms.A traumatologistwould first eliminate the cause that injured theorgans, thenuse appropriatemeans to restore thedamaged function and structureof theorgans.

TherapeuticPrinciplesinTraumatology

After a brief survey of various types of injuries commonlymet in traumatology, let usexamine some essential therapeutic principles before studying the therapeutic methods.Thefollowingthreeprinciplesareveryimportant.

1.Balancebetweenlocalandholistictreatment

2.Attentiontobothexternalandinternalinjury

3.Coordinationbetweenstaticanddynamicapproaches

Supposeastudentbrokehisarminasparringpractice.Settingthefractureproperly,whichisthelocaltreatment,isonlypartofthetraumatologist’stask.Hemustbearinmindthatthe local fracturewillhave repercussionover thewholebody; thus,holistic treatment isalso necessary. The traumatologist should ensure, for example, that the patient’s bloodflowandenergy flowareback tonormal,hisdefence system is strengthened topreventpossibleexploitationbyexternalaswellasinternaldiseasecausingagents,andallorganscarry on their normal functions. In other words, he must ensure balance of local andholistictreatment,andhemustrememberthatheistreatingnotafracturebutapatient.

Afractureisconsideredanexternalinjury,butthetraumatologistmustrememberthe internaldamagecausedby thisexternal injury.The fracture results inblood flowingoutofitsbloodvessels,andastheskinisnotbroken,thedisorderlybloodflowwillcauseaninternalbloodclot.Thebloodclot,togetherwithtinybonefragmentsnotonlyaffectapropersettingof the fracturedbone,butalso interrupt smooth flowofbloodandenergyurgentlyneededattheinjuredsite.Thusappropriatemeasures,likeexternalapplicationofherbs and internal taking of medicinal concoction, must be taken to clear the internalblockage.

Moreover, the traumatologistmust strengthen thepatient’s liver andkidneys, thetwoorgansparticularlyaffectedbyafracture,astheyhavetoworkextrahardtoregulateand strengthen the blood and bones respectively. The traumatologist does not like hispatienttorecoverfromhisfracturedarmattheexpenseofhisweakenedkidneyorliver.Allthisrepresentspayingattentiontobothexternalandinternalinjury.

Whileitisimportanttoimmobilizeafracturedboneafteritisproperlyset,itisalsoessential to maintain its normal dynamism as a living organ, and not relegate it as asuperfluouslimbtemporarycastasideduringtheperiodofitshealing.Thisistheprincipleofcoordinationbetweenstaticanddynamicapproaches.

Comparing the standard approaches between western orthopaedists and Chinesetraumatologistsisilluminating.AwesternorthopaedistusuallycaststhearminplasterofParis to immobilize it.Thecast isbrokenonlyaftera fewmonthswhen thefracturehas

beenhealed.Thisbreakingopenoftheplastercastisoftenofmuchtrepidation,withthepatientandoftentheorthopaedisthopingthatthearmtheyhavenotseenforafewmonthswould turn out satisfactorily. The orthopaedist routinely accepts a small margin ofdisplacementsolongasthefunctionofthearmisrestored.

On the other hand, a Chinese traumatologist uses splints and bandages toimmobilizethefracturedarm.Somepeoplemaythinkthismethodprimitive,buttheyareunaware that the traumatologistprefers this to theplastercast (whichhecoulduse ifhewants to), because of its many advantages. First, it spares the patient the agony ofstretchingthesurfaceoftheplasterofPariswhentherealitchisthearmbelowit.Second,thesplintsandbandagescanbereplacedeasily,thuspermittingthetraumatologisttoapplyandchangeappropriatemedicationon the fracturedbone forvarious importantpurposeslike easing pain and itch, clearing blockage, draining away dead cells, and promotingenergyandbloodflowtospeeduprecovery.Third,withinreasonablelimits,this‘sprintsandbandages’methodenablesthepatienttomovehisarmclosetonormalconditionssothathisarmwouldnotbeshrivelledafterafewmonthsofun-use,andhewouldnothavetoperformfollow-upphysiotherapyexercisestousehisarmagain.

Butthemostimportantadvantageofusingsplintsandbandagesinsteadofplasterof Paris for immobilization is that it allows the traumatologist the ability to check thealignment of the fractured arm at all times and to correct the slightest dis-alignment assoonasitoccurs,sothatperfectalignmentisexpected,insteadofbeinglefttochanceasoften is thecase inwestern treatment.Chinese traumatologists regard immobilizationbymeansofplasterofParis asunsatisfactorybecause although the arm is fixed externally,internalmovementslikebloodflow,muscletwitching,andtendonjerkingdoaffectbonealignment.

TreatingaBrokenBone

With an understanding of its therapeutic principles, we are now ready to study how atraumatologisttreatsapatientwithasimplefracturedarm.Forconvenience,thetreatmentmaybedividedintothreestages:initial,middle,andconcluding.

Firstthetraumatologisttellsthepatientnottoworryandassureshimthathisinjuryisundercontrol,whichisthetruth,forifthetraumatologistfeelsthatanycaseisbeyondhisabilityhemustnottreatit.Itisabasicethicalprinciplethatahealertreatshispatientsonly within his confidence and ability. Of course, if a case beyond his ability isimmediately life-threatening,he shouldprovide first aid asbest ashecan to sustain lifeandredirectthecasetoproperprofessionals.

Ifthereisswellingatthefracturesite,thetraumatologistwillreduceswellingandstop pain before treating the broken bone.As patients are usually anxious to have theirbroken bonesmended immediately, the traumatologist should explain that it is better toreducepainandswellingfirst,andthatfracturedbonescanbeleftunattendedevenforafewdaysiftheyareproperlyimmobilizedbybandages.

Reducingswellingandpain,aswellasclearingblockageandpromotingbloodandenergy flood can be easily achieved by applying stuck-on medication of appropriatemedicalmixtureswithherbslikepuhuang(Typhalatifolia),dahuang(Rheumofficinale),moyao(Commiphoriamyriha),andruxiang(Pistacialentiscus).

Whenswellinghassubsided, theaffectedpart isgentlymassagedwithmedicinalwine,deliveringalocalanaestheticeffect,andthenthefracturedboneiscarefullysetusingappropriatemanipulativemethods.InShaolintraumatology,thesemanipulativemethodstosetdislocationsandfracturesaregivenpoeticnameslike“AcrossthePlainintotheCave”(for dislocation of a spinal vertebra), “Playingwith theUnicorn” (for dislocation of thefemur),and“DrawingthePreciousSword”(forfractureoftheulna).

This setting of the fractured bone is the most crucial part in the treatment offractures, and it demands great manipulative skills and experience. If the bone is notproperly set, the armwill be deformedwhen healed.Healing a fracturewith deformity,suchasthearmisslightlyshorteroritsfunctionisrestricted,isprobablytheworstthingthathappenstoaconscientioustraumatologist,forthepatientwillcarrythedeformityforlife.Anyethicaltraumatologistwillthereforemakedoublysurethatboththefunctionandthenormalappearanceofthefracturedlimbarerestored.

Thetraumatologistalsoprescribesmedicalrecipesforinternalconsumptionsuchas“TouRen(SemenPerisae)Decoction”and“XiJiaoDiHuang(CornuRhinoceriandRadixRehmanniae) Decoction” to clear internal haemorrhage and correct disorderly flow ofblood.Clearinginternalhaemorrhageandcorrecting“disordered”blood,twoaspectsoftenneglectedinwesterntreatment,areveryimportant;otherwisetheproductionofnewbloodanditsharmoniousflowwillbeaffected,thushinderingspeedyrecovery.

At the middle stage of treatment, the main objective is to restore the naturalfunctionsandabilitiesofthepatient.InChinesemedicalterms,thisisknownas“restoringgood”, as compared to the initial stage of “eliminating evil”, i.e., eliminating allpathologicalfactorslikeswelling,pain,bloodandenergyblockage,andthefractureitself.

In“restoringgood”thetraumatologistisguidedbythefollowingthreetechniques:“harmonizing nutrients and stopping pain”, “joining bones, muscles and tendons”, and“looseningmusclesandcleansingmeridians”.

In “harmonizing nutrients and stopping pain”, the traumatologist restores thenatural self-curative and self-regenerative abilities of the patient, and at the same timeremoveswhateverpainhisinjurymaycausehim.Thepainmaybelocalorgeneral,atthefracturesiteorelsewhere.Localizedpain,forexample,maybeexperiencedinthearmdueto a resultant energy blockage, or spread over the whole body in the form of anxiety.Restoringthepatient’snaturalabilitiesandeliminatingpaincanbeachievedbymeansofexternalorinternalmedication,orboth.

The principle of “joining bones, muscles, and tendons” is to ensure that the setbones are properly aligned, dead cells are cleared away, blood and energy flow isharmonized,boneproductionisincreased,andmuscleandtendonfunctionsareimproved.Medicinalrecipeslike“DecoctionforCorrectingBonesandCreatingBlood”and“PowderforComfortingMusclesandActivatingMeridians”areprescribed.Ifthetraumatologistisalsowellversedinchikung,hecantransmitvitalenergytothepatienttostimulatebetterbloodandchiflow.Ifneeded,appropriatephysiotherapyexercisesmayberecommended.

The principle of “looseningmuscles and cleansingmeridians” is for overcomingpathologicalconditionslikeenergyandbloodstagnation,residueofbloodclot,stiffnessofmuscles and joints, and rheumatic pain. “Bolus for Comforting and StrengtheningTendons”and“DecoctionforJoiningBonesandActivatingBlood”arehelpfulmedicinalrecipes.Anychitransmittedtothepatientwillbeagreathelp.

At the concluding stage, the main objective is to nourish the patient so that hebecomesashealthyandfit,orevenhealthierandfitter,ashewasbeforehisinjury.Fourfundamental principles to achieve this objective are “invigorating energy and nurturingblood”,“nourishingspleenandstomach”,“nourishing liverandkidneys”,and“warmingandclearingmeridians”.

Asthepatienthasusedupmuchofhisvitalenergyandbloodforhisrecuperation,andhasnotbeendoingregularexercises,itisnecessarytoreplenishhisenergyandbloodto restorehisnatural resistance todiseases.The“EightPreciousHerbsDecoction” isanexcellentrecommendation.Itisalsonecessarytorestorehisappetitebystrengtheninghisspleenandstomachsystems.The“StrengtheningSpleenNurturingStomachDecoction”isagoodchoice.

Duringrecuperation,theliverandthekidneysystemsworkextrahardtoreplenishinjuredmuscles andbones.Nourishing the liver andkidneys, like taking the“SixHerbswithDaHuangPills”,ishelpful.

Apatientundergoingalongperiodoftreatmentoftensufferedfromstagnationofvital energy and blood, as well as from external pathogenic causes like “wind”,“dampness” and “cold”. These problems can be overcome by “warming and clearingmeridians” with suchmedicinal recipes like “Ginseng Purple Gold Pills” and “MaGuiWarmingMeridiansDecoction”.Remedialchikungexercises,likeappropriateselectionsfromtheEighteenLohanHands,areveryhelpful.

In Chinese traumatology, of which the Shaolin tradition is the most famous,treating a patient injuredwith a fracture is notmerely setting the bone, dressing it in aplaster cast, and leaving God to do the healing. The traumatologist, equipped with acomprehensive framework of therapeutic principles and making use of all the mainapproachesinChinesemedicine,includingmassagetherapy,herbalism,externalmedicine,andchikungtherapy,treatsthepatientholistically,andnotjusttheinjury.

22:THESONGSANDPOETRYOFSHAOLIN

(DescribingtheGrandeurinRhythmandRhyme)

Jademountainsandfragrantcloudsstartthespiritualrealm.

PearlforestsandrainsofflowersstilltheheartofZen.

Emperor’sPraiseandMaster’sAdvice

The above poetic couplet was written by the famous Emperor Qian Long of the QingDynasty for the Bodhidharma Chamber of Shaolin Monastery. Poetic couplets, whichfollow certain literary rules like tonal values and mutually matching meanings, are aunique formofChinese literature.The two linesofapoeticcouplet are frequentlyhungonelineateachsideofanimportantportal.

“Jademountains”inthetoplineoftheabovepoeticcoupletharmonizeswith“pearlforests”inthebottomlineinbothtonalvaluesandmatchingmeanings.ThetwoChinesewordsyuxiufor“jademountains”spokeninan“falling”tone,harmonizewithzhulinfor“pearlforests”spokeninan“even”tone;“jade”and“mountains”harmonizewith“pearl”and“forests”inmeaningrespectively.Otherexpressionslike“silverstreams”or“goldenpavilions” will be inappropriate because they are not congruous in tone or meaning.Similarly, “fragrant clouds”, “start” and “spiritual realm” harmonize with “rains offlowers” (written as “flower rains” inChinese), “still” and “heart ofZen” (“Zenheart”)respectively.“And”and“the” in theEnglish translationarenotnecessary in theoriginalChinese.The poetic couplet in theChinese language reads elegantly yetmajestically asfollows:

Yuxiuxiangyunkaifajie

zhulinhuayujingchanxin

Thebeautyof the couplet, however, lies notmerely in its harmoniousmusic createdbycertainliteraryrules,oritsbeingcomposedbyanemperor,butinthesubtlenessanddepthofmeaning.Jademountainsandpearlforestsaptlydescribethemarvellousenvironmentofthe Shaolin Monastery, with five summits known as “Five Bosom Peaks” in thebackground,andsurroundingtreeswhichblossomasifwithpearls.

“Fragrantclouds” isa familiar term in theopeningpraises inBuddhist scriptureswhicharechanteddaily in themonastery.“Spiritual realm” isagentle reminder that theaimoftheShaolinMonasteryisfordedicatedaspirantstoseekspiritualfulfilment.“Rainsof flowers”, besides portraying the blossoming scene in spring, is another familiarBuddhisttermindicativeofthecomingofenlightenment.“StilltheheartofZen”suggeststhat Zen, or the highest spiritual fulfilment, is transmitted from heart to heart, and itsattainmentrevealstheundifferentiatedtranquillityofcosmicreality.

Another interestingandprofoundpoeticcoupletofShaolin isas follows,with itsEnglishtranslationbelowit:

Miaofafazhongshengmiaofa

Qigonggongshangjianqigong

Inwonderfultechniquesarecreatedmorewonderfultechniques

Uponmarvellousforceisrevealedfurthermarvellousforce

Thispoeticcouplet,writtennotondoorwaysorwallsbut in theheartsofmanyShaolindisciples, is a guiding principle in my Shaolin Wahnam School. Its teaching has beenillustratedmany times in this book. For example, in the chapters on kungfu techniques,there aremany situationswhere it appears as if the exponent simply has noway to gethimselfoutof theopponent’swonderful technique, suchasbeing locked ina seeminglyunbreakablemanner,orbeingkickedatwhilebothhandsareheld.Yet,inthenickoftime,theShaolinexponentnotonlyneutralizestheopponent’swonderfultechnique,butreversesthesituationmorewonderfullythattheopponenteveninhisdefeatcannothelpafeelingofaweandrespect.

Tomanypeoplebreakingabrickwithapalmstrikeisamarvellousfeat.Itismoremarvellouswhentheyfindthatthepalmisnotroughandtough,butsoftandgentle.Ifthemaster puts one brick on top of another, and by striking the top brickwith the ShaolinCosmos Palm he breaks the bottom brickwhile the top brick is intact, it is evenmoremarvellous.Upon suchmarvellous force, furthermarvellous force is revealedwhen themasteruseshisCosmosPalmtohealpeople,inanincrediblebutseeminglysimpleway,ofso-calledincurablediseases.

TheabovepoeticcoupletwassaidbyagreatmasterofSouthernShaolinKungfuintheQingDynasty,theVenerableXingYin,whowasthemostseniordiscipleoftheFirstPatriarch of Southern Shaolin Kungfu, the Venerable Zhi Shan. Their names, like thenamesofallgreatmonks,aremeaningfulandpoetic,too,showingthattheChinesechoosenameswith deep thought and care. “Zhi Shan”means “ExtremeKindness”, and “XingYin” means “Retreat to Cultivate Amidst the Almond Grove”. “Almond grove” is afigurative term in Chinese meaning “circles of scholars”, indicating that the VenerableXingYin, likemanyotherShaolinmasters, areexpert inboth themartialaswellas thescholarlyarts.Beingwellversedinbothliteratureandkungfu,knownaswenwushuangquan,istheidealofaculturedperson.

BreadthofKungfuinaSong

ShaolinMonasteryisrichinpoetry.Notonlyemperors,poets,andscholarshavewrittenbeautifulpoetry topraise inmuchof theShaolinarts is also recorded inpoeticwritingscalled“songsofsecrets”,orgeque.ItisquiteamazingthatvirtuallyallthemainpointsofsuchanextensivefieldlikeShaolinKungfuaresummarizedinthefollowingpoeticsong.

ShaolinKungfuincludeseighteendifferentarts

Thefististhesourceoffightingtechniques

Unarmedcombatlaysthefoundationforweaponsets

Forcetrainingissuperiortopunchesandkicks

Vitalenergytobechannelled,appliedandtapped

Trainthehands,legs,body,footwork,andeyes

Strengthenbonesandmusclesandotherbodyparts

Tellrealfromfalse,separatefrontfrombehind

Employthepalm,thefingers,andthepunch

Comprehendprinciplesbesidesdevelopingskills

Letthemindbefreshandtheheartrelaxed

Theartofbreathingcanbedynamicorstill

Whenaloneitissuitabletodevelopforce

Withpartnerstrainhowtosparandfight

Thesecretofsuccessisdiligentpractice

Masteringtheartsusebothbrainandmight

Themeaningoftheabovekequeorsongofsecretsisselfexplanatory,yetthefollowingcommentsarehelpful.ShaolinKungfuisextensive,andincludesalltheeighteenclassesofkungfuweapons.Anypersonwhowishestouseanyweaponwellmustfirstputinsometimeandeffortinunarmedcombat,asitprovidesthefoundationforallweaponsets.

It is important to develop force and skills, not just learn kungfu form; otherwisewhatisaccomplishedisnotrealkungfubutsomeformofdemonstrativeartdisparaginglycalled“floweryfistsandembroiderykicks”.Chikungprovidesthebasisenergyforforce

training,andincludestheartofchannellingenergytowhereverwewant,applyingenergyforeffectivecombat,andtappingenergyfromthecosmos.

InShaolinKungfu, not just the hands or legs are trained; it includes training allparts of the body, footwork, and eyesight. Not only the external body parts arestrengthened, but also thebones,muscles, and internal cells, tissues, andorgans. In thistraining, aswell as in all other aspects of the Shaolin arts, the studentmust be able todifferentiaterealbenefitsfromapparentones,andprogresssystematicallyfromelementarytoadvanced levels.Forexample,merelystriking thefistorkicking the legbrutallyontosome hard trainingmaterial gives only false or apparent benefits, because not only thepower developed is limited as it ismechanical, but such superficial trainingmay causeirreversibledamagetotheform,function,andotheraspectsofthehandorleg.Incontrast,training that brings real benefits involves strengthening thehandor leg intrinsically andenhancingtheirnaturalfunctions.

Incombat,allaspectsofthefactorinquestionshouldbefullyused.Forexample,in using the hand, the Shaolin exponent does not limit himself to only one particularmannersuchaspunching,butincludesotherhandformssuchasvarioustypesofpalmandfingerattacks.Whenheemployspunching,hedoesnotlimithimselftoonlyoneformofpunching, such as the level punch, but includes other forms of punching like the cup-punch,phoenix-eyepunch,leopardpunchandelephantpunch.

TheShaolinexponentdoesnotonlydevelopforceandskills,butalsounderstandsthe underlying principles of the techniques he uses as well as over-all combativeprinciples. For example, he does notmerely learn a certain defensive technique againstsomeattacksituations,buthealsounderstandswhythisparticulartechniqueispreferredtoother techniques,whatnecessaryforceorskillheshouldhavetoexecute itcompetently,and inwhat situations this techniquewouldnotbe suitable.Mental freshness,emotionalstability,andbreathcontrolarealsostudied.

ShaolinKungfutrainingcanbecarriedoutaloneorwithpartners,andbothwaysshouldbepractised.Yetthemostimportantsinglefactorofbecomingamasterisdiligentpractice,withoutwhichallthesepricelessguidelinesbecomeuseless.AShaolinmasterisnotonewhomerelyhasmight;healsohasbrain.

SongsofEnergyandCompassion

The following verse, or song of secrets, highlights the crucial points in chi or energytraining, which as mentioned in the preceding verse is the basis of force development,whichinturnissuperiortopractisingkungfuform.

Circulationofchiisgracefulandgentle

Applicationofchiisforcefulandfast

Movingforwardthebreathshootsout

Movingbackincomesthebreathatlast

Inrollingmomentumthebodymoves

Inthemidstofmovementscomethestrikes

Beingsofasttheirformsunseen

Hittingtheopponentwithoutrespite

What’sthesecretofthismarvellousskill

Correctbreathingandbeinginwardlystill

The above song advises that if the aim in chi kung training is to circulate chi or vitalenergy, thebreathingandbodilymovementsaregracefulandgentle.But if theaimis toapplyvitalenergy,asincombat,thebreathingandbodilymovementsareforcefulandfast.Forexample,inthepractiseofCosmosPalm,theexponentbreathesinandoutgently,andmoveshisarmsgracefully tobuildup internal force.But ifheuses theCosmosPalmtostrike an opponent during combat, he would do so forcefully and fast, breathing outexplosivelyatthesametime.

Generally,whenmovementsareforward,suchas inexecutingapunchorakick,theexponentbreathesout,butwhenthemovementsareinward,likepullingbackapunchorretreatinghisbodyto“swallow”anattack,hebreathesin.Duringcombat,breathingiscoordinatedwithmomentumsothatbodilymovementsarelikehugewavesoverwhelmingtheopponent.InthemidstoftheseoverwhelmingmovementstheShaolinexponentshootsouthisattackssofastthattheopponentcannotevenseetheirformsproperly,andthustheopponent is hit before he even realizes what has happened!What is the secret of thismarvellousskill?Itliesincorrectbreathingandinbeinginwardlystill.

Sometimesaverseorsongofsecretscanbeveryconcise.ThewholeartofShaolinqin-na, or holding and gripping the opponent’s vital points, can be crystallized into thefollowingstanzaofonlytwenty-eightwords!Thissongofsecretsismyowncomposition,

drawinginspirationfromtheteachingsofpastShaolinmasters tohelpmehaveaclearerperspectiveofqin-na,which happens to be one ofmy favourite arts. The song is listedbelowinRomanizedChinese,firstinitsoriginalsoundinCantonese(mynativetongue),then inMandarin (which is used for all other verses and poems in this book), to givereaders a feel of its rhyme and rhythm, which unfortunately are lost in its Englishtranslationthatfollows.

Chetsapyipakamnasau

Simlamwaihsinpachenglau

Fenkhenchorjitnayuitfatt

Shenheifaichukkengkongyau

Qishierbaqinnashou

Shaolinhuaishanbaqingliu

Fenjincuojienaxuefa

Shenqikuaisujingkangrou

Seventytwotechniquesofholdsandgrips

CompassionisshowninthisShaolinart

Tearmuscles,dislodgejoints,gripvitalpoints

Spiritandenergy,speed,force,softandhard.

Most people, including those who practise kungfu and understand Chinese, may notunderstand the verse, because it is purposelywritten in such away that even if readersknowallthewordsintheverse,theystillwillnotknowitsmeaningunlesstheyhavebeeninitiated.

The first line of the verse reminds the initiated, i.e., one who has practised andunderstoodtheart,ofalltheseventy-twotechniquesoftheShaolinartofqin-nawhichhehas learned. The second line reminds him of the Shaolin philosophical teaching oncompassion,whichdictatesthattheartofqin-naisspeciallymeanttosubdueanopponentwithoutmaiming or killing him.How this can be done is summarized in the third line,listing the threemainareasofapplyingqin-na tocombat,namely tearing theopponent’smuscles,dislocatinghisjoints,orgrippinghisvitalpoints.

Allthesetacticseffectivelyputtheopponentoutofaction,butwithouthurtinghimseriously so that he can later seek a traumatologist to relieve the temporary inhibitinginjury.Ifyoustrikeanopponent’sheartorkickhisliver,youmaymaimorkillhim.Ifyou

lockhisarmsandlegs,orthrowhimontotheground(unlessthisbreakshisbones),hewillfight again once you release the lock, or he gets up from the fall. But if you tear hismuscles,dislocatehis joints(butnotbreakhisbones),orgriphisvitalpoints,hewillbetemporarilyinactivated.

Thefourthlineindicatesthat toachievethisobjectiveofeffectivelysubduingtheopponentwithout hurting himpermanently, the exponentmust bementally alert, full ofenergy, fast and able to usebothhard and soft force competently. In otherwords, if hemerelyknowsthegrippingtechniquesandmayevenbesuccessfulinapplyingthem,butifhe lacks themental freshness, intrinsic energy, speed and internal force, hewill still beunabletosubduetheopponenteffectively.

Thissongofsecretsthereforedescribesallthefouraspectsofqin-na,namely:

1.Form—theseventytwotechniques

2.Philosophy—compassionatefighting;effectivelysubduinganopponentwithoutpermanentlyhurtinghim

3.Application—tearingmuscles,dislocatingjoints,grippingvitalpoints

4.Force—mentalfreshness,abundantenergy,speed,hardandsoftforce

ExquisiteCharmofShaolin

ThereisnolackofpoetryaboutShaolin.AmongthemanypoetsandscholarswhohavesungpoemstopraiseShaolinMonasteryineverydynastyaresomeofChina’sbest.Duetospace constraints, only three poems from the classical period and one poem from ourmoderntimeareillustratedbelow.

All the poems and verses in this chapter, aswell as elsewhere in this book, aretaken fromChinese originals, and are translated byme, always keeping to the originalmeaningandspirit. Ifreadersdonotfindanypoeticbeautyin them,thefault lies inmytranslation.Theearlier“songsofsecrets”inthischapteraretermed“verses”,ratherthan“poems”becausealthough,atleastintheirChineseoriginal,theyhavemetreandrhyme,and often insight (into kungfu), they are usually devoid of personal emotion, which isconsideredbymanyliterarycriticsasanessentialfeatureofpoetry.

The following poem is by ShenQuanQi (656–714),who greatly influenced theformanddevelopmentofthefamouslushiofTangpoetry.Wuyenlushi,apoemoffouror eight lineswith fivewords to each line,was themost popular poetic genre from theTangDynasty.

AVisittoShaolinMonastery

Thisaccompanyingsongtovisittheprecioussite

Strollingmanytimesalongtheforestsofpearls

Thefrostonthepagodaofflyingducksisold

Thedragons’ponddeepwithmanyyearsunfurled

Ohthemagnificenceofthetempleafterrain

Withthegreathallglowingintheautumnshade

Thereturningroadshroudedineveningmist

Withmountaincicadaschantinginleafycascade

Thebeautyof thispoem,as typicalof theromanticismofTangpoetry, lies in itssayinglittle yet saying a lot. Unlike the verses quoted earlier that supply invaluable adviceconcerning the Shaolin arts, ShenQuanQi’s poem says nothing substantial on physicalmatters.ItsdescriptionofthepicturesqueShaolinMonasteryenvironmentwithits“forestofpearls”,magnificent temple, glowinghall, autumnmist, andchantingcicadas, thoughelegantbyitself,doesnotaddmuchtofactualknowledge.The“pagodaofflyingducks”

andthe“dragons’pond”werepastlandmarksonthemountain,buthadnotbeenpreservedtothepresentdays.

Butitsbeautyliesinitspoeticmusicandthedelicateoutflowofemotionsarousedby theexquisitecharmof the rusticscene,andconveyed tousby thepoet toenrichouremotional experience.ForShenQuanQi, usually preoccupiedwith imperial duties, likemanyofusbusywithhecticmodernliving,thedelicatebalanceofcalmandgrandeuroftheShaolinenvironmentasrevealedinthepoemwouldbebothsoothingandexhilarating.

SymbolisminShaolinPoetry

OneofthemostfamouspoetsofChineseliteratureisBaiJuYi(PoChu-i,772–846),alsoof the TangDynasty, which is regarded bymany people as the golden age of Chinesepoetry.DespitehisdemandingjobastheMinisterofInternalSecurity,heoftenvisitedtheShaolinMonasteryandleftmanypoemsinitspraise.BaiJuYiwasakeenstudentofZen,butwasalsomuchinfluencedbyTaoistphilosophy.Inhisretirementhededicatedhislifeto poetry and wine, and was known to his friends as the “Recluse of the FragrantMountain”.The followingpoempraising theShaolinMonasterywaswritten in a poeticgenreknownasqiyenlushi.TheoriginalChinesecompositionismadeupofeightlinesconsistingofsevencharactersoneachline,andisalsoaverypopularformofTangpoetry.

Visit to Shaolin Monastery from Longtan Monastery, dedicated to fellowtravellers

Sixorsevenfellowtravellerswearingpeasantclothsandshoes

Flowersinhand,steppingovergreengrasstowardsaripplingstream

ThemoonatNineDragons’Lakesisreflectedinaglassofwine

Threedraftsofcypressbreezevibratemusicalstringsofdreams

Whilestrongandhealthyoneshouldvisitthisscenicandsacredplace

Thefreshnessandcoolnessmakeusforgettheheatofthesummerair

PreviouslyIknewonlyofridingacranetoflybeyondtheclouds

ButnowIknowofbecomingasaintherefreefromworldlycares

The romanticismofTang poetry is evident here as in the previous poem, butwhile theformer is purely hedonic, with Shen Quan Qi pouring out his exquisite emotionspontaneously, this poem is also symbolic, suggesting that Bai Ju Yi here is a mastercraftsman besides being an artist. His craftsmanship is seen in his subtle, perhapsunconscious,expositionofZenandTaoistphilosophy.

“Longtan” (pronounced as “loong th’an”) means “Dragons’ Lakes”. LongtanMonasteryinShanxiProvincewasrelatedtoShaolinMonastery.Situatednearninelakes,whereaccordingtolegendsdragonscamedowntofrolic,itwasafavouriteretreatofthefamous Empress Wu Ze Tian and her daughter Princess Peace. (In Chinese culture,dragonsaremajesticdivinecreaturesbringingpeaceandprosperity.)

AlthoughBaiJuYiwasanimperialminister,hepreferredwearingpeasantclothing

likehisfellowtravellerswhenhevisitedShaolinMonastery,suggestingthesimplicityofZen.Ontheotherhand,hislikingforwineisindicativeofhisTaoistinfluence,asdrinkingwineincheerfulcompanyisatypicalTaoistpractice.ThreedraftsofbreezecomingfromacypresstreeisasymbolicwayofsayingthreeexperiencesofZenastaughtintheShaolintradition,andtheseexperiencesawakeninhimaspirationstowardsspiritualdevelopment.

“Freshnessandcoolness”,whiledescribingtheactualpleasantweatherconditionsatShaolin, is a symbol forBuddhistwisdom;hence it canbe interpreted thatBai JuYifound his attainment of Buddhist wisdom helped him to copewith the demands of hisministerial duties.Previouslyhe aspired to ride a crane to fly beyond the clouds,whichmeanstopractiseTaoistcultivationtobecomeanimmortal.ButhavingpractisedZenandfoundrefugeat theShaolinMonastery,hediscoveredhecouldattainenlightenmenthereandnow.

LegendsRecalledinPoeticBeauty

Thenext poem is byLiYunZhong, a professor of the ImperialUniversity in theSongDynasty.Besidesitspoeticvalue,itcontainshistoricalinterestasitmentionssomefamouslegendsinZenBuddhism.

StayingaNightinShaolinMonastery

MeetingAmbassadorSongYunatPamirHeights

Holdingoneshoegoingwest,withoutknowingwhy

Inthemountainattaintheartofcalmingheart

Heseveredhisarmwhilesnowfellfromthesky

Strikingtheground,cloudsreflectedinstreams

Floweroffivepetalsblossomsfromthisplace

Noneedtostareatimageoftheshadowrock

Spiritualbodyisalloverthemountainface

Thispoem,likeBaiJuYi’spoemabove,iswritteninthepoeticgenrecalledqiyenlushi,meaning “poetry of sevenwords to a line composed according to some special rules ofmetre and rhyme patterns”. But unlike Bai Ju Yi’s poem, which can be understood byreaders at least at the surface meaning, even without being aware of their underlyingsymbols, Li Yun Zhong’s poemwould be incomprehensive if readers do not know thesignificanceofthelegendsinvolved.Bothpoemsare,ofcourse,acontrasttoShenQuanJi’spoem,whichcaptivatesusnotbyitscontextualmeaningbutbyitsexquisitefeeling.

StayinginShaolinMonasterystimulatedinLiYunZhongnostalgicreflectionsonsome important Shaolin legends aboutBodhidharma spreadingZenBuddhism inChina.First the poet recalls themiracle about the ambassador ofNorthernWeiDynasty, SongYun,meetingBodhidharmaatthePamirHeights,holdingonlyoneshoeinhishand,andgoingwestward.

“Whereareyougoing,Master?”theambassadorasked.

“I’mgoinghome.”

“Butwhyareyouholdingonlyoneshoe?”

“You’llknowwhenyougettoShaolinMonastery,”Bodhidharmareplied.

WhenSongYunarrivedatShaolinMonastery,helearnedtohisgreatsurprisethatBodhidharmahadpassedaway.ThemonksweremoresurprisedwhenSongYuntoldthemthathehadmetBodhidharmaatthePamirHeightsgoingwestward.“That’simpossible,”theyexclaimed.“Infactweburiedhisbodyinthehillbehindthemonastery.”

Whentheydugup thecoffinandopened it, theyfoundnothing insideexcept theothershoe.“Ourmasterhasgonehome,”theysaid,“andhehasleftoneshoeasevidenceofthisseeminglyimpossiblehappening.”TheyallprostratedthreetimesinthedirectionofthewestinhonourofBodhidharma,theFirstPatriarchoftheShaolinarts.

Then thepoet reflects onhowHuiKe, theSecondPatriarch, attained “the art ofcalming heart” from Bodhidharma, as described earlier in Chapter 2. To show hisdetermination in Zen cultivation, Hui Ke severed his arm in the snow. Later whenBodhidharma visited Hui Ke recuperating in a cave behind the Monastery, the masterfound that therewas nowater supply nearby. So he struck the groundwith hismonk’sstaff, and presto, water flowed out forming four streams, eachwith a different taste ofsweetness,sourness,bitterness,andtartness!

Bodhidharmatransmittedthe“heartofZen”toHuiKe,whotransmitteditthroughthreegenerationsofpatriarchstoHuiNeng,theSixthPatriarch.FromHuiNeng,regardedbymanyastheChineseBuddha,Zenlaterdevelopedintofiveschools.

Inthelasttwolinesofthepoem,LiYunZhongsaysthatZenisfoundnotjustbystaringattheBodhidharma’simageimprintedinthe“shadowrock”(pleaseseeChapter2);hesaysthatwhereveronelooks,hecanseeZenbecausetheSpiritualBodyoftheBuddha,whichistheBuddhisttermfortheSupremeReality,iseverywhere.Thislastlineshowsthepoet’s profound understanding of Buddhism. He suggests that spiritual fulfilment isrealized not just by orthodoxmethods like worshipping a divine presence, or faithfullyacceptingtheteachingofapastmaster,althoughthesemethodsmaybesuitableformanypeople,butthehighestspiritualfulfilmentcanberealizeddirectlynowandhereifwearespirituallyawakened.

AModernPoemonShaolin

ThemodernpoembelowisbyYanChen(b.1911),whoisoneofthebestknownpoetsofmodern China. His poetic works have been translated into English, Russian, Japanese,Persian,andKorean.

TheRoadtoShaolin

TheroadtoShaolinislong,verylong,

Rubbingshouldersandcontinuingheelsalong

theway,withdustflyinghigh.

Forwhatreasonsdoyougothere?

Withwhatcuriosity,andwhatdreams?

ThefamousPagodaForestisnowtranquil.

Eternallifedoesnotnecessarilycome

tothosewhoyearnforit.

OnlySongshanremainsevergreen,

Andthemountainstreamstillflowsclear.

TheroadtoShaolinistortuousandsteep.

Alongthewayarefoundmenandwomen

whohavecomefromfourdirections.

Whatdoyouseekbygoingthere?

Doyougowithfaithorgowithdoubt?

Greatmastersaresparselikemorningstars.

Toaccomplishgreatattainments

necessitatesgreatsacrifice.

Lookatthefootimpressionsatthetraininghall,

Adeepimprinteverystephasmade.

Thereturningroadisverylongandalsoshort.

ThereturningroadfromShaolinistortuousandalsoeven.

Whatareyouthinkingallalongtheway?

Thebreezeissogentle,theskysoblue.

Adropofwaterwillnotdryinariver.

Creativityandsuccess,allstartwithyourfirststep.

Cleansethedirtfromyourheart,thewhole

bodybecomeslightandhappy,

Onlyinthehappinessofotherpeoplecan

youfindyourgreatesthappiness.

Amodernpoemisoftenopentodifferentinterpretations,andreadersmayliketoattempttheirown.Explainingsometerms,andprovidingsomeguidingquestionsmaybehelpful.

Pagoda Forest refers to the large collection of pagodas or stupas a few hundredmetresfromthemonasteryproper,wherethe“crystals”orrelicsofpastgreatmonkswerekept.SongshanisthemountainsystemthatincludestheShaoshiMountainwhereShaolinMonastery issituated.Deepfoot impressionsare left in theShaolinKungfu traininghalltodayasaresultofcontinuousstampingofmonks’feetinthepast.

Thegeneral themeof thepoemthatdifferentpeoplehavedifferentaspirationsaswellasdifferentapproachesandresults in theirpursuitof theShaolinarts isquiteclear.What is the significance of mentioning that the famous Pagoda Forest is now tranquil,Songshanremainsevergreen,andthemountainstreamstillflowsclear?Whydoesthepoetsaythatthebreezeissogentleandtheskysoblue?Whatistheintentionofsayingadropofwaterwillnotdryinariver?Perhapsmostimportantly,howwouldyoucleansethedirtfromyourheart?Whatstrongemotionsorhopeshasthepoetarousedinyou?

Forme,thefourconcludinglinesofthepoemaremostinspiring,andtheShaolinarts have providedme both the philosophy andmethods to findmy greatest happiness.Differentpeople,understandably,willinterpretthedirtintheirheartdifferently,according

totheirownlevelofpersonalunderstandinganddevelopment.

The Shaolin arts provide the principles and practice for our physical, emotional,mental,andspiritualdevelopment,irrespectiveofourreligiousprofessionoreventhelackof it. Describing the same progress in different terms, the Shaolin arts enable us toactualize fully our physical body, energy body and spiritual body, through kungfu, chikung,andZen.Hence,fromtheShaolinperspective,atthehighestlevelcleansingthedirtfromourheart isclearing thephenomenal illusion thathasbeenshroudingourmind, sothatwecan,asmentionedinanearlierpoem,seetranscendentalrealityeverywhere.InZenterms,itis“goinghome”or“seeingouroriginalface”.

The attainment of this highest spiritual fulfilment, known as Zen in the highestShaolinarts,canbeachievedbypeopleofanyrace,culture,orreligion.Tohaveaclearunderstandingoftranscendentalreality,calledvariouslybydifferentpeoplessuchasGod,Allah, Brahman, Tao, and the Tathagata, is an intelligent step towards this highestattainment,andwillbeexplainedinthenextfewchapters.

23:THEDIVINEANDTHECOSMOS

(TheMagnificenceandUniversalityofAllReligions)

Despiteoursuperficialdifferences,weareallfellowtravellersalongsimilarspiritualpathsaspiringtothesamecosmicreality.

AMeetingPlaceofManyReligions

Many readers must be surprised to discover that throughout history people of differentreligions—Taoists, Confucianists, Christians,Muslims, and others— have voluntarilystayedandpractisedtheShaolinartsintheShaolinMonastery,thoughitisregardedasaBuddhistmonastery.Therearethreegoodreasonsforthishappysituation.

BuddhistshaveneverregardedBuddhismasareligionasthewestknowsit; theyregardBuddhismasthehighestteachingopentoallpeople.Inotherwords,Buddhismisnotexclusiveonlytoprofessedfollowers,northefollowerspreventedfromacceptingotherreligious teachings. Also, there is nothing whatsoever in the Buddhist teaching thatbelittlesthebeliefsofotherreligions.

Second,Shaolinmastersneverattempttoconvertanystudents intoBuddhism.Infact, those who wished to be ordained as Buddhist monks literally had to beg to beadmitted.Many Buddhists believe that converting a pious believer in any religion intoBuddhismmayslowdownhispathtospiritualfulfilmentbecauseheisalreadyonhiswayinhischosenreligion.

The third reason is most heart-warming. Despite their outward differences inritualistic practice by the populace, all the major world religions, as revealed by thegreatestoftheirrespectivemastersandscriptures,aresimilarintheiraimsandaspirations.Eventhemethodsthehighpriestsandtheadeptsemployinseekingspiritualfulfilment,aswellasthespiritualecstasytheyexperienceduringthefulfilment,aresimilar.Perhapsthishastobeso,ifRealityorTruthisone,thoughitcanbeinterpretedindifferentlanguagesandcultures,andatdifferentlevels.

UniversalityofWorld’sReligions

Thisfundamentaluniversalityof theworld’sgreatreligionscanbereadilyverifiedifweexaminetheirhighestteachings.InHinduism,thesupremeaimistouniteAtman,thespiritinman,withBrahman, theUniversalReality.Theway toachieve thisunity,oryoga, isthroughmeditation.TheUpanishads,theholybooksoftheHindus,teachthat:

Brahmanisall.FromBrahmancomeappearances,sensations,desires,deeds.Butallthesearemerelynameandform.ToknowBrahmanonemustexperiencetheidentitybetweenhimandtheSelf,orBrahmandwellingwithinthelotusoftheheart.Onlybyso doing canman escape from sorrow and death and become one with the subtleessencebeyondallknowledge.

TaoismisamazinglysimilartoHinduism.Infact,intheabovequotationifwereplacetheterm“Brahman”with“Tao”,itcanreadilyexpresstheessenceofTaoistphilosophy.ThesupremeaimofTaoists is tobeunitedwith thecosmosorTao.Thewayisalsothroughmeditation.WhatisTao?LaoTzu,thePatriarchofTaoism,said:

Itisnebulous

Beforetheexistenceofheavenandearth

Soundless,formless,independentandeternal

Foreverevolving,forevertransforming

Canbesaidtobethemotherofeverything

Idon’tknowitsname,thereforecallitTao

Ifforcedtodescribe,willsayit’sgreat

Greatuntilthere’snolimit

Limitlessuntilit’sinfinite

Infiniteuntilitreturnstoitsoriginalpoint

The supremeaimofBuddhism is attainingnirvana, and theessentialpath ismeditation.Nirvana is a state of enlightenmentwhenwe experience reality as it really is,when, asillusion has been dispersed, we become one with Reality. The great second centuryBuddhistmaster,Nagarjuna,whosewritingformsthecoreofMahayanaBuddhism,saysinhisclassicMadhyamakaKarika(TreatiseoftheMean):

Coordinatedhereorcausedareseparatethings,

Wecallthisworldphenomenal.

ButjustthesameiscalledNirvana,

WhenviewwithoutCausality,withoutCoordination.

WhatNagarjunameans is that inournormalwakingconsciousness,wesee theworldofphenomenaexistingasseparateentities,whicharedependentuponacomplexityofcausesandcoordinates.Weregardathingoreventasrealbecauseitiscausedbyanotherthingorevent, or because it is compared to amanmade coordinate.However,whenourmind ispurifiedso thatwecanseeReality,when thereareneithercausalityorcoordination, thesameworldasundifferentiatedandeternaliscallednirvana.

JaidevaSinghsummarizestheessenceofNagarjuna’sphilosophysuccinctly:

TheAbsoluteandtheworldarenottwodifferentsetsofrealitypositedagainsteachother.Phenomenaviewedasrelative,asgovernedbycausesandconditionsconstitutethe world, and viewed as free of all conditions are the Absolute. The Absolute isalwaysofuniformnature.NirvanaortheAbsoluteRealityisnotsomethingproducedorachieved.Nirvanaonlymeans thedisappearanceof thefabricationsofdiscursivethought.

In different words, Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism expound the same spiritualfulfilment:goingbeyondtheillusionaryphenomenalworldtobemergedwiththeAbsoluteReality,wheredualityhasdisappeared,where there isnodifferencebetween the subjectandtheobject,betweentheknowerandtheknown.Whenthisisattained,thepersonalselfdissolves itself into the timeless, spaceless Absolute, breaking away from its countlesscyclesofbirthsandrebirths,risingfromitsmundanehumanleveltothatofthedivine,andaccomplishingeternallife.JohnBlofeld,whoisaBuddhist,describesthisaimbeautifully.Although he was referring to the Taoists’ quest for immortality, his description can beappliedtoanyreligion:

Theaim is to return to theSourcebyundergoinganapotheosis thatcanbebestbehintedat inwords.Theillusoryegofallsaway,yetnothingreal is lost.Spirit,freedfromitsbonds,returnstoSpirit,notasadew-dropdestinedtoformaninsignificantparticleofavastocean,butastheboundlessreturningtotheboundless.Theliberatedconsciousnessexpandstocontaintobetheentireuniverse!Couldthereever,everbeamoregloriousendeavour?

DivineManifestationsofSupremeReality

Notallpeople,understandably,canreachastageofmentalandspiritualdevelopment tocomprehendandappreciatefullythisreturningtooureternalSource,thisrealizationofourinnate immortality. Great teachers of the respective religions have to present to thecommon people this profound universal Truth in simpler, picturesque form, or eveninitiallytoteachthemmoralvaluesintheformofparablesasapreparationfortheirlaterspiritualdevelopment.

A universal approach is to personify the abstractAbsoluteReality into aDivineBeing or Beings, such as Lord Vishnu, Lord Krishna and Lord Ganesa in Hinduism;Primordial Lord of Heaven, God of the Earth, and the Eight Immortals in Taoism;Amitabha Buddha, Manjusri Bodhisattva, and Guan Yin Bod Satt (AvalokitesvaraBodhisattva) in Mahayana Buddhism. It is a gross mistake to think that these DivineBeingsaremereconceptsorsymbols.TheseDivineBeingsaremorerealandmeaningfultotheirfollowersthanthephilosophicalabstractionofAbsoluteReality;andhavehelpedthefollowersincountless,concreteways.

However, evenwith divine help, onemust put in personal effort if he wants toachieve thehighest spiritual fulfilment.TheDivineBeings,whoarenecessary for thosedevoteeswhomaynotyethaveattained the requireddevelopment forunderstanding theprofound truth, are manifestations of the Supreme Reality. In the Bhagavad-Gita, theSupremeRealityspeaksthroughSriKrishna:

Menwhosediscriminationhasbeenbluntedbyworldlydesires,establishthisorthatritualorcultandresorttovariousdeities,accordingtotheimpulsesoftheirinbornnatures. But it does notmatterwhat deity a devotee chooses toworship. If he hasfaith, Imakehis faith unwavering.Endowedwith the faith I givehim, heworshipsthatdeity,andgetsfromiteverythinghepraysfor.InrealityIaloneamthegiver.

The main methods to achieve the highest spiritual fulfilment are similar in all thesereligions.Thus,atypicalmethodinoneparticularreligionmaybeeasilymistakenforthatinanotherreligion.Asyoureadthemethodstaughtbysomeoftheirgreatestteachers,seewhetheryoucantellwhichoneisHindu,Taoist,orBuddhist.Sometechnicalnamesthatmaygivetheclueawayhavebeenreplacedbymoregeneralterms.

ListeningtoSoundlessness

When youmeditate, yourmindmay be in your body,may be outside your body. Youcannottouchthemindtoopenit.Youcouldonlycultivateitpatientlyandsincerely.

Place your mind at your third eye. Gradually, an internal light will shine forth.Then,yourphysicalbodymaydisappear.Youwillfeelthatthereisanotherbodybesidesyourphysicalbody.Youwillfindanotherworldbesidesthisworld.Themostmarvellouspartiswhentheinternallightcoalescestoformyourspiritualbody.Thisisthesecretthathasbeenkeptformillennia.

Yourmindmustbestillandalert.Ifthoughtsarise,yourmindwillbescattered.Ifyouare sleepy,yourmindwillbecomeunclear.How topreventdullness andkeepyourmind still?Regulateyourbreathing,whichmustbegentle and soft.Placeyourmindonyourbreath,andreflectonandlistentoit.

How to reflect? This is using your eyes to view your breath internally. How tolisten? This is listening to your breath internally. When you listen, you hear thesoundlessnessofyourbreath.Whenyoureflect,youviewtheformlessnessofyourbreath.

WisdomandEnlightenment

Beseatedinapositionthatisfirmandcomfortable.Themostfamouspostureisthelotusposture. The aim is to achieve an effortless alertness, which may be accomplished bythinkingofthelimitlessexpanseofthesky.

Aftermastering posture, the next step is to regulate cosmic energy bymeans ofbreathcontrol.Thiscanbedoneinnumerousways:bystoppingthebreathexternally,orinternally,orplacingitatappropriateenergycentresinourbody.

Whenbreathcontrolisaccomplished,thebreathmaystoponitsownaccordatanytimethemeditatorconcentratesuponanexternaloraninternalobject,likeafloweroranenergycentre inhisbody.Then thecoveringof the InnerLight is removed, resulting indispersingignoranceandgainingcontroloverthesenses.Themindbecomespurifiedandaccomplishesthepowerofconcentration.

Concentrationisholdingthemindwithinacentreofspiritualconsciousnessinthebody,suchasthenavel,theheartorthemiddleoftheforehead,orfixingthemindonyourchosen Divine Ideal within your body or outside it. Prolonged concentration leads tomeditation,whichwill result inwisdom.When, inmeditation, the true nature of realityshines forth, undistortedby themind, that is enlightenment.All thesemust bepractisedregularlyandgradually,andstagebystage.

LookingAttheStilledMind

Whenyoumeditate,youmustmakesurethatyourpostureiscorrectandcomfortable.Youmay adopt the double lotus or single lotus position.Make sure that your nose and yournavelareinline.Sitmotionlessly.Thisisregulatingthebody.

Countyourbreathsinsetsoften.Yourbreathingmaybecontrolledorspontaneous.Placeyourmindonyourbreathingasyoucount.

Whenyourbreathinghasbecomeverysoft,orwhenyourmindcannotfocusonthecounting, thenchange to following thebreath.Again, thebreathingcanbecontrolledorspontaneous.Gentlyfocusthemindonbreathinginandbreathingout.Thisisregulatingthebreath.

Whenthebodyandthebreathingarewellregulated,thenextstageisregulatingthemind. This is attained by keeping the mind still, and you may experience vital energyinsideyourbodyandcosmicenergyoutsideminglingfreelythroughyourskin.

Tostillthemindisaccomplishedintwoways:subduinganythoughtfromarisingand overcoming the four common problems in meditation; namely sinking, floating,slacking,andhurryingmind.

Whenthemindbecomessleepy,thatisthesinkingsymptom.Toovercomeit,focusatthetipofyournose.Whenextraneousthoughtsariseinyourmind,thatisthefloatingsymptom. It canbeovercomeby focusingyourmindatyournavel.Whenyourmind isneithersinkingnorfloating,thatisregulatingthemind.

Regulatingthemindmaybeaccomplishedtoofastortooslowly.Whenthemindwasfullofthoughtsbeforeitwasstilled,thisisthehurryingsymptom,andthestillingofthemindissaidtobetoofast.Thiscanberemediedbylettinggoofthethoughtssothatthemental energy flows downward. The slacking symptom is when the will is lazy ormentalreactionistooslow.Thiscanberemediedbyquicklyplacingthemindoncountingorfollowingthebreath.Thisiscontrollingthemind.

Whatyouhavejustreadarethreeofthemostfamousmethods,thoughmoreoftenheardthanknown,intherespectivereligionsinseekingspiritualfulfilment.Thesemethodsareadvanced, and are not meant for beginners unless they are supervised by masters orcompetentinstructors.

Thefirstmethod is fromasacred text,“Teachingsof thePristineGoldenFlowerfromSaintLu”,reprintedfromthesecretcollectionsoftheDragonGateSchoolofTaoism,and explaining a Taoist approach to immortality. The second method is from theauthoritative“YogaSutra”ofPatanjali,thefatherofyoga,teachingtheunionofthehumanspiritwith theUniversal Spirit.The thirdmethod is from“SixWondrousGateways” ofVenerable Zhi Yi, the founder of Tiantai school of Buddhism, expounding six steps to

tranquillityandinsightmeditationforattainingnirvana.

TheSpiritualAspectofConfucianism

Readers expecting Confucianism to be a way of virtuous living instead of a religionworshiping somedivinitieswill be surprised that its spiritual aspect is similar to that ofHinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism! Besides ancestor-worship and Confucius-worship,whichare traditional ritesperformedbecauseof respect,notbecauseof any shamanisticbenefits, Confucianists are generally unconcerned about the after-life. (This does notnecessarilyimplytheydonotbelieveinanafter-life.)

AlthoughConfucianismrefers tooneof the threemajor religionsof theChinese,manypeopleofotherracesandcultureareactuallyConfucianisticintheirbeliefsandwayoflife.Ifyouhappentobewelleducated, interestedinsportsandgames,wellversedinculture and arts, conscientious in community welfare, concerned about a comfortable,righteouslifeinthepresent,andnotbotheredaboutlivesinthepastorfuture,ifany,thenyou, irrespectiveof the religionyoumayprofessor evenclaimnot toprofess, are aptlyqualifiedtobecalledaConfucianist.

ThesupremeaimofaConfucianististobecomean“idealperson”,orjunzi,whoiswell versed in both the scholastic as well as the martial arts. Nevertheless, manyConfucianists today have neglected the martial aspect of a cultured man, concentratingonlyonintellectualpursuit.Toenhancetheirmentalfaculties,Confucianmastersadvocatemeditation. The Confucian master Chu Hsi (Zhu Xi in romanized Chinese) advised,“Spendhalfthedayonmeditation,andtheotherhalfonstudy.”

The intellectual achievements of the Confucianists are outstanding. If you thinkthat their achievements are only in arts and literature, youwill be in for some surprise.Expressingtheintuitivewisdomthathegatheredfrommeditation,ZhangDaiexplained:

Thecosmosisabodyofchi.Chihasyinandyang.Whenitdispersesitpermeatesallthings; when it unites it becomes nebulous.When this settles into form it becomesmatter.Whenitdisintegratesitreturnstoitsoriginalstate.

We cannot help wondering that had ourmodern physicists and astronomers read aboutsuch ancient writings, their rediscoveries might have happened decades earlier. ZhangDai’s intuitive wisdom was not a rare exception; it was quite common among manyancient masters, Confucian or otherwise. The records of Confucian masters describedbelowillustratethatalthoughtheyseldomdeliberatedonmetaphysicsormysticism,theirintuitive experience of the cosmos is transcendental and spiritual, similar to those ofHindu,Taoist,andBuddhistmasters.

Hu Zhi: One day, suddenly my mind was enlightened; there are no irrelevantthoughts.Isawallthemyriadthingsintheworldinsideme,makingmeexclaimthatthewholecosmosisme.

JiangXin:SincemeditatingattheDaolinTemple,Ihavelostmyfearofdeathandmygrief for my dead mother. Suddenly one day I experienced the great Nature. ThewholecosmosandIbecameone.Thereisnodifferencebetweentheoutsideandtheinsideofme.Thewholephenomenalworldandmybodybecameundifferentiated.

LuKun:Instillness,mymindisasbigastheuniverse.Itisvoidandsilent:thereisnothinginside.ButwhenIaskmymind,itisfulloflife;everythingisthere.

These experiences verify the profound truth emphasized by the greatConfucianmaster,Mencius:“Everythinginthecosmosisme;Iameverythinginthecosmos.”

EnteringGod’sKingdom

It is heartening—or disheartening, depending on one’s attitude— thatwhile there aregreatdifferencesat theritualistic levelof thepopulace,at thephilosophicalandspirituallevel, Christianity and Islam are similar to Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, andConfucianism.Becauseofculturalandlinguisticdifferences,theSupremeBeingisknownby different names, such as God, Allah, Brahman, Primordial Lord, or Buddha; and isfrequently personified as a Provider and Saviour, who will reward pious followers inheaven.Butfortheadeptsatthehighestlevel,salvationorenlightenmentisattainablehereandnow,withtheabsorptionofworldinmind,andthefusionofsubjectandobject,whentheadeptsmergeintotheimmanent,omnipotent,omnipresentSupremeReality.

InChristianity,theimmanence,omnipotence,andomnipresenceofGodisclearlystatedintheBible:

Forall thingswerecreatedbyHim,andall thingsexist throughHimand forHim.(Romans11:36)

ThereisoneGodandFatherofallmankind,whoisLordofall,worksthroughall,andisinall.(Ephesians4:6)

TheaimofChristianity is to return toGod’skingdom, tobeunitedwithHim.Where isGod’skingdom?Jesushimselfexplained:

SomePhariseesaskedJesuswhentheKingdomofGodwouldcome.Hisanswerwas,“TheKingdomofGoddoesnotcomeinsuchawayastobeseen.Noonewillsay,‘Look,hereitis!’or,‘Thereitis’;becausetheKingdomofGodiswithinyou.”(Luke,17.20)

Let us findout fromChristianmasters how they realized this highest spiritual aim.Thegreat fourteenth-century Christian theologian, Meister Eckhart, emphasized that God isBeing,andthatthistrueBeingbecomesmanifestinmaninaninwardjourney.

WilliamJames,thefatherofAmericanpsychology,said:

The basis of the (Christianmystic) system is orison or meditation, themethodicalelevationof thesoul towardsGod. ...The first thing tobeaimedat inorison is themind’s detachment from outer sensations, for these interferewith its concentrationuponidealthings.SuchmanualsasSaintIgnatius’sSpiritualExercisesrecommendedthediscipletoexpelsensationbyagradualseriesofefforts toimagineholyscenes.

Theacmeofthiskindofdisciplinewouldbeasemi-hallucinatorymono-ideism—animaginaryfigureofChrist,forexample,comingtooccupythemind.

NotonlyarethemethodsoftheChristiansmasterssimilartothoseofothermasters,theirexperiencesduringtheirspiritualecstasyarealsosimilar.

Saint Teresa: In the orison of union, the soul is fully awake as regards God, butwholly asleep as regards things of theworld and in respect of herself.During theshorttimetheorisonlasts,sheis,asitwere.deprivedofeveryfeeling,andevenifshewould, she could not think of any single thing. ... God establishes himself in theinterior of this soul in such a way, that when she returns to herself, it is whollyimpossible forher todoubt that shehasbeen inGod,andGod inher. ...All that Iknow is that I tell the truth; and I shall never believe that any soul who does notpossessthiscertaintyhaseverbeenreallyunitedtoGod.

SaintBenedict:Hesawalightwhichbanishedawaythedarknessofthenightuponthis sight a marvellous strange thing followed. The whole world gathered— as itwere under one beam of the sun, was presented before his eyes. For by thatsupernaturallight,thecapacityoftheinwardsoulwasenlarged.Butalbeittheworldwasgatheredbeforehiseyes,yetwerenottheheavenandearthdrawnintoanylesserformthantheybeofthemselves,butthesoulorthebeholderwasmoreenlarged.

As the knowledge reported here is not commonly available to ordinary people, manyreadersmayfindtheinformationrevealedonthesepagesstartlingorevendisagreeable.Itisworthwhiletobearinmindthatsuchinformationisneithermyinventionnoropinion;itis a report of the teachings and experiences of established masters in their respectivereligions.

ReturningtoGod

Fundamentally, Islam is similar toChristianityand Judaism,except thatMuslims regardMohammed, not Jesus orMoses, as the final prophet. Some readersmay be pleasantlysurprised that Islamic sciences, especially medicine, astronomy, and mathematics, havecontributedgreatlytothewelfareofallhumanity.

InIslam,GodorAllahisbeneficentandmerciful,aswellasimminent,omnipotent,andomnipresent.Theirholybook,Koran,beginswithsingingpraisestoGod:

PraisebetoAllah,LordoftheWorlds,

TheBeneficent,theMerciful,

OwneroftheDayofJudgement,

Theeweworship;Theeweaskforhelp.

Showusthestraightpath,

ThepathofthosewhomThouhastfavoured,

NotofthosewhoearnThineangernorofthosewhogoastray.

Asinmost,ifnotall,religions,thefaithfularerewardedintheeverlastingafter-life.TheaimofIslamisthereturntoGod.AnIslamicmaster,ShaykhHakimMoinuddinChishti,says:

Everyscriptureandeveryprophetfromthefirsthavesaidthesamething:thatwearecreatedbyawiseandlovingCreator,andthatthespecialpurposeofourexistenceistoendeavour toworkourwaybacktoHim.Ourobjective in life is toregainunionwithGod.

How do Muslims regain union with God? Let us learn from their masters. Dr. MirValiuddinsaysthatthisisachievedby“muraqaba”orcontemplation:

Muraqaba is to fix firmly in themind thatGod everwatches over you.Muraqabaoperates at two levels: external and internal. External contemplation means “theturningawayof the five emotional senses from theworld andall its creatures; anddisengaging from them both in society, and from vainglorious and meaninglessthoughtswhenalone.”...Andinternalcontemplationisnothingbutthe“guardingoftheheart”(muraatal-qalb).“Itisthepreventingtheheartfromthinkingofanythingwhatsoever,keepingitfreefromallvainthoughts,whilesittingorreclininginpublic

or in private, and disengaging from it cogitating on the past or the future. Whileengagedincontemplationifthethoughtofevenprayerorworshipcomes,itshouldbenegatedatonce,becausethiswillbringcontemplationfromahighertoalowerlevel.”

Whilethecommondevoteeswaitforthenextlife,themasterscanattainunionwithGodhere andnow.The similarity between Islamand theother religionsdiscussed earlier—both regarding thebeliefsof thepopulace aswell as the aspirations andmethodsof thehighestadepts—isremarkable.

TheMuslimmastergivesusanilluminatingaccountofspiritualfulfilment:

Tajliya-i-Ruhorthe“illuminationoftheSpirit”impliesthefillingofthehumanspiritwith the effulgence of the Vision of God, and the fervour of His love. ... In allindividualhumansouls thesameUniversalSpirithasmanifestedItselfaccording tothe aptitudes of the individual essences. ... For the illumination of the spirit it isnecessary that every relationship that the spirithas formed, after entering thebody,with this world through sense of perception and knowledge, should be graduallysevered,forit istheirrelationsandattachmentswiththisworldthatformaveilandkeep the spirit remote from God. Anything to which the spirit is attached, and inwhoseloveitisimprisonedmakesititsbondsman.

As inany religion, shallowunderstandingcanbedangerous.Dr.MirValiuddinclarifiesthefollowingcrucialpoint.Ofcourse,“love”,below,referstospirituallove.

According to theSharia,ittihador “onenesswithGod”, if understood in the literalsense, issheerunbeliefandblasphemy...For thosewholookbehindtheveil,otherthanGoddoesnotexist.GodistheonlyBeing,andnoneexistsbesidesHim....IntheterminologyoftheSufis,whatismeantbyittihadisthestateoftheloverinwhichheisabsorbedcompletelyinthecontemplationofhisbeloved,andinthatstatehedoesnotbeholdanybodyexcepthisbeloved(halat-i-istighraq).Thisisthehighestreachoflove’sjourney.

Thisimportantpointhasbeenexplainedbythefamous12thcenturymaster,MuhyyuddinMohammedIbnal-Arabi,whoalsoemphasizedtheuniversalityofGod.NajibUllahsays:

Thefundamentalprincipleofhissystemisthe“unityofbeing.”HesaysthatthereisnorealdifferencebetweentheEssenceanditsattributes,or,inotherwords,betweenGodandtheuniversecreatedbyHim....Al-Arabibelievedthattheprimaryfunctionofmenistorevealhisdivinenature,andthoseamongmenwhoreachperfectionarethe prophets and saints.Muhammed, the Seal of Prophet, was themost perfect ofmen. But, Ibn al-Arabi recognized the divine manifestation in other men, and thedivinetruthinotherreligions.

DescribinghisunionwithGod,anothermaster,Mansural-Hallaj,ecstaticallyexclaimed:

IamHewhomIloveandHewhomIloveisI.

Althoughmany followers of the religionsmay be surprised at the conclusion,whenwecarefullyexaminetheteachingsoftheirhighestmasters,wecanclearlyfindthatnotonlythe aims, but also the principal methods and spiritual fulfilment of the world’s majorreligions—Hinduism,Taoism,Buddhism,Confucianism,Christianity,andIslam—arebasically similar. This does not merely explain why disciples from different religiousbackgroundcouldtraintogetherhappilyintheShaolinMonastery,butmoresignificantlyitrightly reminds us that, despite our superficial differences, we are all fellow travellersalongsimilarspiritualpathsaspiringtothesamecosmicreality.

24:VARIOUSVEHICLESOFENLIGHTENMENT

(TheBeautyandWisdomofBuddhism)

Whenheattainsliberation,itisnotbecausehisteachersayssooritisdescribedinthescriptures,butbecausehereallyknowsandpersonallyexperiencesit.

AnAmazingandInspiringReligion

If we ask people what theywould like to become, should they be given a wish,manywouldwanttobeaprinceoraking,especiallyinclassicaltimes.What,then,doyouthinkofrealprincesandkingsvoluntarilyforgoingtheirluxuryandpowertobecomemonkssoastolead,andhelpotherstolead,morerewardingandmeaningfullives?Thereweremanysuch cases in the history of Buddhism. These princes and kings were not deranged inthoughtsnorforcedbycircumstances;theywereinfactsomeofthefinestmindstheworldhaseverproduced,makinghistoricdecisionsat theprimeof their lives thathavegreatlybenefitedhumanity.

Besides Gautama Buddha and Bodhidharma, other great royal personages inBuddhist history include An Shih Kao, a Parthian prince who declined the throne;Kumarajiva,sonofaKucheaanprincess;andSubhakarasinha,kingofOrissa—allthesewereBuddhistmonkswhohadsacrificedluxuriouslivesinthepalacetobravedesertsandsnowymountains to bringBuddhism from India toChina.What is sogreat or beautifulabout Buddhism, for which the ShaolinMonastery was built, and which inspired thesegreatmonks,andotherimportantpeople,likeEmperorLiangWuDiofChinawhoenteredamonasterythreeseparatetimesduringhisreignasamenialworker,orEmperorHarshaofIndiawhopubliclyandproudlykissedthefeetofXuanZang(HsuanTsang)asaformofhighestrespectwhenthisChinesepilgrimwasinIndiainquestofBuddhistscriptures?Many people, includingBuddhistswho have not yet studied the philosophy adequately,willbeamazedatthedepthandwealthoftheBuddhistteaching.

TheHistoricalBuddha

Millionsofyearsago,apoormanandhismotherwerecrossing theseawhen theirshipsank.Ashewasdying,hewishedsomedaytobeabletoferrysafelycountlessbeingsontheperilousjourneysfromlifetolife.Thiswasbornthethought,whichgrewstrongerandstrongerwitheachsucceedinglife,untilDipankaraBuddhadeclared,forthefirsttime,thattheextraordinaryasceticthenlivingasSumedhawouldbebornasGautamaBuddha,ourhistoricalBuddha,thetwenty-fourthinthelonglineofBuddhasfromDipankara.

SiddharthaGautamaSakyamuni(623–543BC)wasbornastheonlyprincetoKingSuddhodanaandQueenMayaofKapilavastu in today’sNepal.Hewasaprinceofgreatcourage,strengthandbeauty,andlivedhisearlylifeinabundantluxury.Attwenty-nine,afterthebirthofhisonlyson,Rahula,byhiswife,PrincessYasodhara,Siddharthamadethe Great Renunciation, leaving his family and worldly pleasures to seek salvation forsufferinghumanity.

He first learned from the most renowned ascetic teachers of that time, such asArada Kalama and Udraka Ramaputra. But after six years of the most austere practicewhich weakened him physically, he still could not find the answers he sought. Afterrecovering his strength from taking milk provided by a female cowherd, Sujata, andrealizing thefutilityof the twoextremes,asceticismandworldlypleasures,hechose themiddle path, and meditated under a bodhi tree. On the forty-ninth day, he vowed thatunless he attained complete perfect enlightenment, he would not come out of hismeditation.

He meditated throughout the night, and attained four dhyana, or levels ofconsciousness. At the first level, he witnessed the whole of his previous lives; at thesecond,heunderstoodtherebirthcyclesofallsentientbeings;at thethird,heeliminatedall sensualdesiresandachieved thehighestwisdom;andat the fourth levelatdawn,hesaw the “original face of reality”. Gautama, therefore, attained samma samadhi, orsupremeenlightenment,andwashenceforthknownastheBuddha,ortheEnlightenedOne.

Soon after Gautama Buddha’s enlightenment, Brahma leading a host of gods,devas,dragonkingsandotherheavenlybeingsrequestedtheBuddhatoteachthedharma,orthespiritual law.TheBuddhapreachedtheAvatamsakaSutra(theFlowerAdornmentSutra),butitwassoprofoundthatveryfewunderstoodit.Hence,fortheearlypartofhisteaching, theBuddha taught a simplified formof the scriptures, theAgamas, to preparecommonpeopleforthelateradvanceddharma.Twomerchants,TrapusaandBhallika,whoprovidedtheBuddhawithfood,andSujata thecowherdbecametheBuddha’sfirstmaleandfemalelaydisciples,orupasakasandupasikasrespectively.

Three weeks later, the Buddha went to Sarnath where he gave his first publicsermonontheMiddlePathandtheFourNobleTruths,andestablishedthesangha,ortheorderofmonks.Hisearlierteachersbecamehisfirstclericaldisciples,orbhiksus.SomeoftheinfluentialpeopleofthetimewhobecametheBuddha’searlybhiksuswereSariputra,

Maudgalyayana,Upali,andAnanda.Later,theBuddhaacceptedfemaleclericaldisciples,orbhiksunis.

For thenext forty-fiveyears, theBuddhaspreadhisdharma tohelppeople tobeliberated from suffering. Records show that he had never uttered a harshword, and hetreated all people, kings or paupers, equally and respectfully. He practised what hepreached,andnoonecouldfindafaultwithwhichtocondemnhim.Hishallmarkswerecompassionandwisdom.Hetaughtnotonlyhumans,butalsogods;infactthenumberofheavenly beings who attained deliverance from his teaching was larger than that ofhumans!

One day at Vaisali, at eighty, a devotee unknowingly offered him somecontaminatedfood.TheBuddhaknewthefoodwaspoisonous,butratherthanhurtingtheunwitting devotee, he ate it. Then he went into meditation, and passed away serenely,enteringparinirvana,orthefinalnirvana.Manykingsattendedhiscremationandbroughtbackhisrelicstotheirkingdomsasnationaltreasures.TheBuddha’spartingwordstohisdiscipleswere:“Lifeistransient;workhardforliberation.”

MainFeaturesofBuddhism

TheBuddha’s teachingwas initially transmittedbyword-of-mouth; itwaswrittendownonly a few hundred years later. The huge body of Buddhist religious and philosophicliteratureiscollectivelyknownastheTripitaka,ortheThreeBasketsofsutras(scriptures),vinaya(monasticrules),andsastras(treatises),which,morethansevenhundredtimesthesizeoftheBible,isthemostextensivecollectionofreligiousworksintheworld.ItisnosurprisethateventhemajorityofBuddhistshaveonlyasuperficialknowledgeofBuddhistphilosophy.

IfyouaskconscientiousBuddhistshowdotheyworkforliberation,somemaysaythey follow a highly virtuousway of living, as prescribed in theNoble Eightfold Path;somebecomelost to theoutsideworld in theirdailyrecitationofscriptures infrontofastatueof aBuddha; some totally immerse themselves in answering an illogical questionknownasgong-an(koan in Japanese), likewhat is the soundof clappingwithonlyonehand;whileothersfocustheirmindonanelaborate,esotericdesignofcirclesandtrianglesknownasamandala.AlltheseareestablishedBuddhistmethods,andifthedevoteesworkhardenough,theywillonedayattainliberation.Yet,theyaresodifferentfromoneanotherthatthosedevoteeswhoarefamiliaronlywiththeirownchosenmethod,mayvehementlyprotestthattheothersarenon-Buddhist!

This apparent confusion can be cleared up when we realize that there are threetraditions of Buddhism, namely Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana; and in eachtraditiontherearedifferentsectsorschoolswhichmayappeartocontradictoneanother—adding to the richness and depth of Buddhist philosophy. All the sects of Buddhism,however, follow the same common basic precepts and doctrines, which arecharacteristicallyBuddhistandaimtoattainnirvana.Thevariationsareactuallytheresultofhistorical,geographical,cultural,anddevelopmentaldifferences.

Before we study the three traditions of Buddhism, let us look at their commonfactors.AllofthemhonourSiddharthaGautamaSakyamuniasthehistoricalBuddha,andaccept his teaching as the foundation of their philosophy and practice. The Buddha’steachingisbeautifullysummarizedinhisownwords:

Avoiddoingevil,

Dogood,

Andpurifythemind.

ThemostoutstandingfeaturesofBuddhism,exemplifiedinthelifeoftheBuddhahimself,arecompassionandwisdom.AtrueBuddhist isalways lovingandkind tootherpeople,respective of their culture, race, or religion. In the spread of Buddhism throughout theages,notadropofbloodhasbeenshednoraharshwordsaidagainstanotherreligion.

Manifesting wisdom, a Buddhist disciple is frequently asked not to acceptBuddhism on faith alone, but evaluate it according to the best of his knowledge andexperience. This does not necessarily mean that faith is irrelevant in Buddhism, nordecisionbasedonone’sknowledgeandexperienceisalwayscorrect.Butitmeans,atthehighest level, thatwhenheattains liberation, it isnotbecausehis teachersayssoor it isdescribed in the scriptures, but because he really knows and personally experiences it.Purifyingthemindisthepathwaytosuchattainment.

Two fundamental concepts in Buddhism are karma and the illusion of thephenomenalworld.Bykarmaismeantthatwhateverwearenowistheresultofourpastthoughts,speech,andactions.Weare,therefore,responsibleforourowndestiny.Ifwedogood, wewill be rewarded in the future, not by God or any external power, but as aninevitable unfolding of forces or happenings issuing from our good effort. Buddhism,therefore,doesnotbelieveinfatalismordeterminism.

Buddhism does not depend onGrace.ABuddhist achieves liberation due to hisown effort, not because of divine charity. This principle is particularly important inTheravada Buddhism; while in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Bodhisattvas andotherenlightenedbeingsmayhelpthedevoteeinhiseffort.

Buddhists believe that our phenomenal world is illusory, and we are deludedbecauseofourignorance.Thisdoesnotmeanthatoureverydaythingsandeventsarenotreal.ThechairIamsittingonissolid,andthebeingIcallmehasbeenmesinceIwasborn—thatis,ifweexperiencethephenomenalworldatourordinaryconsciousness.Butwhenweareenlightened,weknowthatthereisvastexpanseof“emptyspace”amidsttheatomicparticlesthatmakeupthechair,andthatliterallymillionsofindividualcellsinourbodyaredestroyedandcreatedeachtimewebreatheinandout.Weappreciatethesetruthsnotbecausemodernsciencetellsusso,butbecausewerealizetheminourdeepmeditation.

Buddhism is often divided into two main approaches, Hinayana andMahayana,fromwhichVajrayana is derived.AsHinayana,meaning theSmallVehicle,may sounddisrespectful,amorepolite term,Theravada,whichmeanstheCouncilofElders, isnowcommonlyused,althoughhistoricallyTheravadawasoneoftheHinayanaschools.

At the second Grand Buddhist Council at Vaisali, about a hundred years afterGautamaBuddhaenteredparinirvana,philosophicaldifferencesbetweentheSthaviras,ortheElders,andtheMahasanghikas,whoreflectedthemajorityopinion,ledtoasplitintotwobranchesofBuddhism.TheMahasanghikascoinedthetermMahayana,meaningtheGreatVehicle,torepresenttheirsystem;andcalledtheSthaviras,Hinayana.

Today, TheravadaBuddhism is prominent in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos,andCambodia;MahayanaBuddhisminChina,Japan,Korea,andVietnam;andVajrayanaBuddhisminTibetandMongolia.TheravadaBuddhismissometimescalledBuddhismoftheSouthernTransmission;whereasMahayanaBuddhism,theNorthernTransmission.

Theravada—BuddhismoftheElders

The principles and practice of TheravadaBuddhism can be expressed through the FourNobleTruthsandtheEightfoldPath.TheFourNobleTruthspropoundthatlifeisfullofsuffering; the cause of suffering is craving; to eliminate suffering,we have to eliminatecraving;andthewaytoaccomplishthisistofollowtheNobleEightfoldPath.

TheNobleEightfoldPathincludesthefollowingeightprecepts:rightspeech,rightaction, right livelihood, right views, right intention, right concentration, right effort, andrightmindfulness.Theeightstepscanbeclassed into threegroups,knowninTheravadascripturewritteninPaliasTividhaSikha,orThreefoldTraining:rightspeech,action,andlivelihoodasSila,ormoralpurity;rightviewsandintentionasPanna,orfullknowledge;andrightconcentration,effort,andmindfulnessasSamadhi,orenlightenment.

SilaandPannaarepreparationforSamadhi,whichisrealizedthroughmeditation.Thismeansthatunlessapersonpractisesmeditation,whichmaybeinvariousforms,hecannotattainthespiritualgoalinBuddhism.ItisindeedastonishingthatmanyBuddhistsarenotawareofthisimportantfact.TheVenerableParavaheraexplicitlysays:

Inalltimeandatallplacesit(meditation)istheonlymeanstotheattainmentoffinaldeliverance,theeternalhappinesstaughtbytheBuddhaasNirvana.

Some people who understand the Theravada teaching superficially, especially the firstnoble truth, often commend thatBuddhism is pessimistic.Deeper understanding readilyshowsotherwise.Tosaythatlifeisfullofsufferingiscourageouslyandsuccinctlystatingauniversaltruth.Veryfewpeoplethroughoutthehistoryofhumanitycanevendreamofalife more luxurious and glamorous than Gautama’s. His father, King Suddhodana,forewarned by a prophecy that his only sonwould one day leave the palace to seek ananswer to mankind’s suffering, went to the extent of prohibiting anyone mentioning asorrowfulwordordisplayingasorrowfulgestureinfrontoftheprince.

Gautamawassowelllookedafterthathehardlyhadanyworldlyneedwhichcouldnotbefulfilled.Yetwhenhesecretlywentoutofthepalacetomeethispeople,thesightofbirth,oldage, sickness, anddeathmanifested tohimhumansuffering thatnoonecouldavoid.Butsuchsufferingwasnothing,ashewas to learn laterwhenhe inflicted tortureuponhimself inhisasceticpractice, ifcomparedto thesufferingofsamsara, theendlesscycleofbirthsanddeaths.

Buddhism does not merely reveal life’s suffering; it is mainly concerned withproviding a practical way to overcome suffering and attain everlasting joy in nirvana.Nirvanaisnotannihilation,assomepeopleerroneouslybelieve;nirvanaisapristinestatewhen the mind, free from mundane desires and attachment, experiences the SupremeReality.

Ifyouaskpeoplewhattheyconsiderasthemostpleasurableexperienceinlife,iftheyarenormalandhonest,manywillsayitissexualfulfilment.Yetmanygreatspiritualteachers, who undoubtedly had experienced sexual fulfilment before, explicitly stressedthatsexualpleasuresaresimplyincomparabletospiritualbliss,whichis—hundreds,eventhousands of times, more joyous than carnal delights. Of course, such bliss cannot bedescribed;ifyouwishtoexperienceit,workhardalongtheprovenmethodssuggestedinthisbook,oralongthereligiouspathsofyourchoice.

Mahayana—BuddhismoftheGreatVehicle

MahayanaBuddhistsacceptalltheteachingofTheravadaBuddhism,whichtheyregardaspreparation formore profound knowledge andwisdom. The knowledge andwisdom ofMahayana Buddhism, as recorded in their voluminous literature, are startling, and theyconcernnotonlyartsandreligion,butalsophilosophyandscience.

OneofthegreatestBuddhistmastersofalltimewasNagarjuna,wholivedinIndiain the second century, andwhose earthly appearance and contribution toBuddhismhadbeenpredictedbytheBuddhahimself.Amonghismanyworks,Madhyamaka-Karika,orTreatise on the Mean, which provided much foundation for Mahayana philosophy,illustrates some crucial, though little known, differences with Theravada philosophy.Modern scientists who care to study his work, will be amazed that this great masterexpoundedthevoidandrelativity—twoofthegreatestdiscoveriesofmodernscience—morethaneighteencenturiesago.

BythetimeofNagarjuna,boththeTheravadinsandtheMahayanistshadanalyzedallphysical,emotional,andmentalphenomenaintheuniverseintodharmas,orsubatomicparticlesorforces;andtheyclassifiedthesedharmasinwaysmoreprofoundthanwhatourchemistsandphysicistsdotodaytoelementsorparticles!TheTheravadinsexplainedthataccordingtotheprincipleofpratityasamutpada,ortheprincipleofdependentorigination,there is a causal relation between the temporal sequences of real entities.However, theMahayanists said that theverynatureofpratityasamutpadaexplains thatalldharmasarerelative;henceallphenomena,whichowetheirapparentrealitytodharmas,aredevoidofobjectiveexistence.Nagarjunasaid:

Since there is no element of existence (dharma) which comes into manifestationwithoutconditions, therefore there isnodharmawhich isnotsunya(devoidofrealindependentexistence).

Another delicate differencebetweenMahayana andTheravada expoundedbyNagarjunaconcernsnirvana.BothTheravadinsandMahayanistshavequestionedwhethernirvanaisatransformedstateofmindoranotherdimensionofbeing.Althoughtherearestatementstoshow that nirvana has a metaphysical basis, the emphasis in Buddhist literature is onnirvanaasatransformedmentalstate.

Theravadinssaythatnirvanaiseternal(nitya),blissful(sukha),andtheoppositeofphenomena(samsara).Ontheotherhand,Nagarjunasays:

Nirvana is that which is neither abandoned nor acquired, it is neither a thingannihilated,nora thingeternal; it isneitherdestroyednorproduced. ...Nothingofphenomenal existence (samsara) is different from nirvana, nothing of nirvana isdifferentfromphenomenalexistence.

MahayanaBuddhistsbelievethatattainingnirvanadoesnotinvolveachangeofobjectiveorder, but is a subjective transformation. If defilements and phenomenal existencewereultimately real,nothingcouldchange them.Thechange, therefore, is inouroutlook: thetransformation is psychological, not ontological. When we understand the Buddhistconcept of nirvana — either from the Mahayanist or the Theravadin viewpoint — itbecomesobviousthatthosewhothinkBuddhismisnihilisticaregrosslymistaken.

AnotherphilosophicaldifferencebetweenMahayanaandTheravadaBuddhism istheir spiritual ideal. A Theravadin aspires to be an Arahant, a worthy being who hasperfected himself and won enlightenment. However, an Arahant does not feel anyresponsibility to help others to gain enlightenment, because he believes that sinceliberationisapersonalaffair,everyonehastoworkforithimself.

A Mahayanist’s ideal is a Bodhisattva, one who has attained bodhi, or perfectwisdom,andbecomeaBuddha,buthepostponesenteringBuddhahoodsoastohelpothersentient beings to achieve enlightenment. To a Bodhisattva, liberation is a universalaspiration, not just a personal accomplishment. Themost outstanding characteristic of aBodhisattvaisbodhicitta,oruniversalloveresultingfromtranscendentalwisdom.Hence,whiletheattainmentofnirvanaisthesupremeaiminTheravadaBuddhism,inMahayanait is the realization of Buddhahood for all humanity, as everyone hasBuddha-nature inhim.

Perhaps the most decisive difference between Theravada andMahayana is theirconceptofBuddha.Contrarytopopularbelief,evenTheravadinsdonotaccepttheconceptthat the Buddha is all that Siddhartha Gautama represents. Hence, the statement thatSiddhartha Gautama is the founder of Buddhism is incorrect, as there have beenmanyBuddhasbeforehim.

According to Buddhist philosophy, the Buddha has three bodies, namely thetransformation body (nirmanakaya), the reward body (sambhogakaya), and the spiritualbody (dharmakaya). Both Theravada and Mahayana hold similar views regarding thetransformationbody,likethevisiblehumanbodyofGautama,andtherewardbody,whichthe Buddha may use to appear in different forms and at different times in differentdimensions.Butthereisavitaldifferenceintheirviewsregardingthespiritualbody.

In TheravadaBuddhism, the dharmakaya or spiritual body ofBuddha representsthesumofallqualitiesandteachingsofallBuddhas.WhenadevoteetakesrefugeintheBuddha,forexample,hetakesrefugeinthedharmakaya,notinthepersonofGautama.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the dharmakaya of the Buddha is the omniscient,omnipotent, and omnipresent Supreme Reality, of which Siddhartha Gautama is amanifestationinourhistoricaltimetosavesufferinghumanity.IntheLotusSutra,oneofthemostimportantscripturesinMahayanaBuddhism,theEternalBuddha,personifiedforthecomprehensionofordinarypeople,explainsthat:

AllBuddhastaketheonevow:

“TheBuddha-waywhichIwalk,

Iwilluniversallycausealltheliving

ToattainthissameWaywithme.”

ThoughBuddhasinfutureages

Proclaimhundreds,thousands,kotis,

Countlesswaysintothedoctrine,

InrealitythereisbuttheOne-Vehicle.

HuiNeng,theSixthPatriarchofChan(Zen)Buddhism,mentionedthispointexplicitly:

ThepurenatureofSupremeRealityistherealBuddha.

There are many schools of Mahayana Buddhism. Though their practical approaches toachieve enlightenment may be different, even seemingly contradictory at times, theirphilosophyissimilar.ThemajorMahayanaschools,theirphilosophyandmethodswillbediscussedinthenextchapter,withspecialreferencetoChan(orZen)Buddhism,ofwhichtheShaolinMonasterywasthefountainhead.

Vajrayana—BuddhismoftheMystics

ItisinspiringtonotethatthegreatmissionariesinstrumentalinspreadingBuddhismwereprinces and princesses.WhileMahinda and Sanghamitta, the prince and the princess ofAsoka theGreat, brought Theravada Buddhism to Sri Lanka in the third century BCE,from where it blossomed to other places, Padmasambhava, the prince of Udyana whodeclined the throne to become amonk,wasmainly responsible for the development ofVajrayana Buddhism in Tibet in the eighth century, and later spread to Mongolia. AninterestingpredictionbyPadmasambhavathathascometrueisthat“Whenironbirdsflyinthesky,TibetanswillbringBuddhismtothelandofthewhitepeople.”

EarlieraboutCE640MahayanaBuddhismwasbroughttoTibetwiththemarriageofPrincessKhricanofNepalandPrincessWenChengoftheChineseTangDynastytothefamousTibetankingSong-Btsang-Sgam-Po.However, therewas strongopposition fromother nobles who followed Bon-po, the native religion. In CE 741 epidemic and flooddevastatedTibet,andlightningandthunderstruckthepalace.Accordingtolegend,thesewerecausedbyhostilespiritsoftheBonreligion.

Thekinginvitedthescholar-warriorPadmasambhavatoTibettosubduetheseBonspirits. The compassionate Padmasambhava,who possessed tremendousTantricmagicalpowers,didnotdestroy thesespirits,butconverted themintoBuddhism.Hence,TibetanBuddhism became a blend of Mahayana Buddhism, Tantrism and Bon religion, to beknown as Vajrayana Buddhism. “Vajra” means diamond, and also the void. VajrayanameanstheDiamondVehicle,suggestingthemanyfacetsoftheVoidinBuddhism.

FromMahayanaBuddhism,theVajrayanistsderivetheconceptsofsunyata(void),karma,impermanence,andtherareopportunityofbeinghuman.Theuniverseisvoid;weregardphenomenaasabsoluterealitybecauseofourignorance,whichresultsinsamsara,the endless suffering of births and rebirths. The cause of samsara is karma, whichmanifeststheeffectofpastthought.Ourpastkarmaleadsustoourpresentlife,whichisimpermanent,asplitsecondinthelongpainfulcycleofbirthsandrebirths.Buttobebornahumanisanextremelyrareopportunity,aneffectofmeritoriousdeedsdoneinpastlives.Sowe,ashumans,mustmakeprecioususeof this rareopportunity to liberateourselvesfromkarmaandsamsara,toattainnirvana,whichiseverlastingbliss.

FromTantrism, theVajrayanist inherits some practical tools, likemudra,mantraandmandala, to help him attain nirvana. Amudra is a particular position of the body,especiallythewayofholdingthefingers,andismysticallyrelatedtoone’sconsciousnessin meditation. A mantra is a special way of intonating, silently or aloud, a particularcombination of sounds with mystical powers. The most famous mantra is “Om manipadmehum”,whichmeans“Hailtothejewelinthelotus.”Amandalaisamysticdesign,usuallyofgeometricalshapes,symbolizingcertaincosmicforces.Themudra,mantra,andmandala correspond to the bodily, pranic (or breathing), and visualizing aspects ofmeditation. Skilful application of mudra, mantra, or mandala may produce psychicabilities; a true Buddhist, for his own sake as well as others’, will never abuse these

abilitiesforunethicalpurposes.

TantrismalsoprovidestheVajrayanistthetechniqueofvisualizingspiritualbeingsfor redirecting his emotional energies. These mental images may be beautiful orhorrendous,dependingontheemotions.ThisexplainswhyyoumayseewrathfuldeitiesinTibetanreligiousart.AcontroversialinfluenceofIndianTantrismonVajrayanaBuddhismis sex. In Tantric belief, sexual copulation symbolizes the union of male and femaleenergies of the cosmos.While celibacy is strictly followed bymonks ofTheravada andMahayanaBuddhism,somesectsofVajrayanaBuddhismallowtheirmonkstohavewivesandpossessproperties.

The third important influence that gives Vajrayana Buddhism a typical TibetancolourandoutlookisthenativeBonreligion.InBonbelief,thereareheavenlyandearthlyspirits that guard the treasures of the cosmos. Shamans andBon priests are required tomediatewith these spirits concerning various human affairs, like birth, death,marriage,sickness, agriculture,warfare, andany importantnational activities.Elaborate rituals areinvolved. These spirits, however, were subdued by Padmasambhava, and together withBonritualswereincorporatedintoTibetanBuddhism.Thegreatliberationthroughhearingin theBardo, popularly butmisleadingly known in thewest as recitation of theTibetanBookoftheDead—whichisaseriesofattemptstoremindtheconsciousness(orsoul)ofthe dead that he is actually an integral part of Reality, thereby helping him to attainimmediateliberationismuchinfluencedbytheBonreligion.

ThepathtoenlightenmentinVajrayanaBuddhism,asinTheravadaandMahayanaBuddhism,canbedivided into threestages:ethics,meditativestabilization,andwisdom.The following is abriefdescriptionofVajrayanist cultivation as explainedby theDalaiLamaTenzinGyatso.

The Vajrayana ethics consists of avoiding non-virtues — like killing, stealing,sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, senseless talk, covetousness,harmful intent, and wrong view; and fulfilling vows — such as vows of personalliberation,ofBodhisattvahoodorofSecretMantra.

Meditativestabilizationisabidingthemindone-pointedly,withoutdistraction,onany virtuous object. The meditator must initially create calm abiding in the mentalcontinuum,andthencreatespecialinsight.Tocultivatecalmabiding,hemustabandonthefive faults of laziness, forgetfulness, laxity, or excitement, failure to apply “the eightantidotes”whenneeded, and failure to concentrate evenwhen laxity andexcitement areabsent.Theeightantidotesarefaith,aspiration,effort,pliancy,mindfulness,introspection,intentionofapplication,andequanimity.

When calm abiding is achieved, the meditator cultivates insight by progressingfrom the Desire Realm through the Form Realm to the Formless Realm, and from theDesire Level through seven other levels to the Peak of Cyclic Existence Level. Whenmeditating progressively on these nine levels, the meditator passes through fourconcentration stages, and then contemplates on limitless space, limitless consciousness,nothingness, and the peak of cyclic existence. The effect of this attainment is that the

meditator,ifhewishes,mayberebornasagodintheformorformlessrealms.

Rebirthasagod,however,isonlyanintermediatestageofspiritualdevelopment.Thehighest stage is to attainBuddhahood,which is accomplishedby training in specialwisdom. The meditator, in his human form, investigates and analyses the suchness ofselflessnessofpersonsandofphenomena.Inotherwords,hecultivatesthespecialwisdomofrealizingthatinultimaterealitybothheandphenomenaarevoid.AprincipalmethodtoaccomplishthisistheesotericpracticeofSecretMantra,taughtonlytospeciallyinitiateddisciples.TheDalaiLamasummarizestheapproachasfollows:

Through becoming skilled in the techniques of putting concentrative emphasis oninternalwindsorenergies(rlung,prana),channels(rtsa,nadi),essentialconstituents(khams,dhatu),andsoforth,themindentersintothesphereoftheGreatSeal(phyagrgya chen po,mahamudra)of clear light devoid of dualistic elaborations.Throughbeing absorbed in this yoga, the resultant Wisdom Truth Body of a Buddha isachieved.

Hence,thepracticeofSecretMantraisaformofchikung,similartotheShaolinartofBigUniverse.Itisquiteclearthat“concentrativeemphasis”,“energies”and“channels”intheabovequotationcorrespondto“meditation”,“chi”and“meridians”intheShaolinarts,and“essentialconstituents”probablyrefersto“dantian”orenergyfields.

In bothTheravada andVajrayanaBuddhism, aswell as inMahayanaBuddhism,which will be further described in the next chapter, meditation is the essential path toenlightenment. Meditation is called “Dhyana” in Sanskrit, transcribed into Chinese as“Chana”, which is usually shortened to “Chan”, from which the Japanese term “Zen”derives.TheschoolofBuddhismthatemphasizesmeditationisChanorZenBuddhism,ofwhichtheShaolinMonasteryisthefountainhead.

25:ANCIENTWISDOMONMODERNSCIENCE

(ASurveyofVariousChineseSchoolsofBuddhism)

YouwillbeamazedattheBuddhistwisdomwhichthelatestphysicists,astronomers,biologists,psychologists,andothermodernexpertsareonlynowrediscovering.

WasMahayanaBuddhismtaughtbytheBuddha?

IfyouthinkthatpractisingBuddhismismerelyprayingtotheBuddha,youwillbeinforabig surprise. If you read Buddhist scriptures, provided you understand their deepermeanings,itislikereadinganencyclopaediaofmodernscience.YouwillbeamazedattheBuddhistwisdom,which the latestphysicists,astronomers,biologists,psychologists,andothermodernexpertsareonlynowrediscovering.

Some peoplewho think thatBuddhism is only amoralway of living claim thatMahayanaBuddhismisnot theoriginal teachingof theBuddha,buta laterdevelopmentbasedonNagarjuna’steaching.Consequently,theysaythatallMahayanasutras,includingfamousonesliketheAmitabhaSutraandtheHeartSutrathatarereciteddailybyliterallymillionsofBuddhiststhroughouttheworld,areforgeries!

One of the most admirable statements countering this claim is made by theVenerable Hsuan Hua, the famous Buddhist master in America, who says that if theMahayanasutrasheistranslatingandspreadingarenotthetrueteachingsoftheBuddha,heiswillingtogotohelltoatoneforfalseteaching.ThecourageandconfidenceshownbytheVenerableHsuanHuaareofthehighestorder,foranymasterathislevelknowsthatthoughtsandwordsare reality,aconceptmodernscientistsarebeginning to investigate.TheVenerableHsuanHuaclarifiesthathisstatementisnotmaderashly,butasaresultofdeepunderstandingandexperience.

Virtually all the important teachings characteristic of Mahayana Buddhism arefound in Theravada sutras, which record the earliest teachings of Gautama Buddha.Typical Mahayanist concepts such as numerous Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, variousheavenswherepiousfollowersmaygoto,creationoftheuniverseandlifeinotherworldsystems, and nirvana as the direct experience of transcendental cosmic reality, arementionedinvariousTheravadatexts,althoughTheravadaBuddhismgenerallyputslittleemphasis on them. Because of space constraints, only a few examples, all taken fromTheravadasources,areillustratedbelow.

TheBuddhasays in theUdanaSutta that“There isanUnborn,anUnbecome,anUnmade, an Uncompounded. If there were not this Unborn, Unbecome, Unmade,Uncompounded, there would be no escape from the born, the become, the made, thecompounded.”Thisisadescriptionofwhatscientistswouldcalltheunifiedenergyfield.Buddhists call the realization of this Unborn nirvana, i.e., the direct experience oftranscendentalcosmicreality.

TheBuddhavamsaPali,ortheHistoryoftheBuddhas,givesahistoricalaccountofGautamaBuddhaandmanyBuddhasbeforehim.AtthestartofthisimportantTheravadawork, theBuddha explains that hewas SumedhaBodhisattva in a previous life, and hewentthroughthenecessaryparamitas,whichformatypicalfeatureofMahayanatraining,inhiscultivationtoattainBuddhahood.GautamaBuddhaalsosaysthatAjutaBodhisattva,whoisnowresidinginTusitaHeaven,willappearasthenextBuddha.

ProfessorEdwardThomasreportsthat“itisinthese(Sarvastivada)documentsthatwefind theearliest formof thebodhisattvadoctrine.”Sarvastivada isanearlyschoolofHinayana Buddhism, from which Theravada evolved. The Bodhisattva doctrine is aMahayana teaching that characteristically differentiates Mahayana from present dayTheravadaBuddhism.

Another common misconception that many people think is a later Mahayanainvention,isthatmetaphysicsandcosmologyareabsentinoriginalBuddhism.Theymustbe very surprised to find thatTheravadaworks describe the twenty-four heavens of ourworldsystem,knownastheSahaworld,indetails.Astro-physicistsinvestigatingintothemulti-dimensional universe theory may get some helpful ideas from these Buddhistscriptures,whichdescribe,amongmanyotherthings, thatjustaboveourhumanrealmisthe Catumaharajika Heaven, or Heaven of the Four Great Kings, who are Dhataratha,Virupakkha,Virulhaka,andVessavana.Thenexttimeyouseehugestatuesorimagesofthesefourheavenlykings,liketheonesfoundintheHallofHeavenlyKingsintheShaolinMonasteryandinotherlargeMahayanatemples,remembertheywereoriginallytaughtbytheBuddhainTheravadascriptures,althoughTheravadinstodayaregenerallyunawareofthem.TheBuddhaalsomentionedinTheravadasuttasthatinhispreviousliveshewastheall-powerfulBrahma,theGodoftheBrahmaheavens,aswellasSakka,therulerofgods.

Somereaders,havingbeenconditionedby theso-calledobjectivityandempiricalfactsofNewtonianscienceforthelastthreecenturies,maythinksuchBuddhistteachingas illusory and superstitious. They must be surprised to find out that according to theBuddha’s teachingwhat theyconsiderasobjectsand factsareequally illusory.But theywillprobablybemoresurprised thatmany leadingscientists today lament“theecholess,emptycavernsofNewtonianspace.”Anassociateprofessorofphysics,RogerJones,says:

Bareemptyspaceisarelativenewconception—onethatwouldbealien,unfamiliar,and incomprehensible topeopleofprimalandancientcultures. Ifwe thinkof theseearlierviewsofspaceandtimeasnaive,misinformed,andanthropomorphic,wemustatleastrecognizethesenseofhome,security,andsupporttheearlierconceptionsofspace gave to those who believed and dwelt in them. We have given up thisnourishingqualityofspace—ofourabode—atourperil.

Healsosays:

There are indications that we may be filling space once again with meaning andsubstance, as in earlier times. In Einstein’s general theory of relativity, space-timebecomes equated with matter and energy themselves, and even with gravity. Inmodern quantum theory it is the empty vacuum of space itself that is seen as thesourceofallmatterandenergyinthephysicaluniverse.

Theravada scriptures describeBuddhist cosmology in some detail,with accounts on theuniverseexpanding,andthousandsandthousandsofgalacticsystemswiththousandsand

thousands of suns andmoons. In theDighaNikaya,written fifteen centuries before ourastro-physicists suggest that lifeonearthmightbe seeded fromouter space, theBuddhagaveaninterestingdescriptionofhowlifeoriginatedinourworld:

Theretheydwell,madeofmind,feedingonjoy,self-luminous,movingthroughtheairandglorious,andtheretheyabideforalong,longtime.Duringthatperiodtheworldwasonemassofwaterandallwasutterdarkness.Nomoon,nosun,noconstellationsorstarscouldbeseen,therewerenomonthsorfortnights,noyearsorseasons,norwastheremaleorfemale—beingswerejustbeings.Andafteralong, longtime,asavoury scum formed over the surface of the waters where those beings were. Itlookedliketheskinthatformsonhotmilkasitcools.Ithadthecolourofqualitygheeorbutter,anditwassweetlikethetasteofpurewhitehoney.Thensomebeingofagreedy nature said: ‘I say,what can this be?’ and tasted the scumwith its finger.When it did this, it liked the taste, and a craving arose. Then other beings did thesamething,andcravingaroseinthemtoo.Sotheybegantobreakoffpiecesandeatthem.Andasaresultofthis,theirself-luminositydisappeared,andasaresultofthat,themoonand the sun,nightandday,monthsand fortnights, yearsand seasonsallcameintobeing.

Alltheseteachings,whicharenowconsideredtobecharacteristicallyMahayanist,areofcourse familiar to Mahayana Buddhists and are common in Mahayana literature. Theimportant point is that although they are not normally taught in Theravada Buddhism,claimed by some as the originalBuddhism, they are found inTheravada scriptures stillextanttoday.

Nevertheless,MahayanistsaregenerallynottooworriedoverwhetherMahayanaorTheravadaor anyother form is theoriginalBuddhism.This isprobably the reasonwhythatdespitesomanypoints—historical,philosophical,psychological,andcanonical—intheirfavour,Mahayanamastershavenotcomeforwardinanyorganizedmannertosettlesuchscholarlydisputes,whichtheywouldreckonassquabblingoverwhothearcherwasinstead of attending to the victim shot with the arrow. In other words, they are moreconcerned with whether the methods they practise help them and others to attainenlightenment, rather thanwhether themethodswere really taughtbyGautamaBuddha.Basedonrecords,thenumberofadeptsachievingenlightenmentthroughZenfarexceedsthatinanyotherschool.

TheBuddhaisofcoursehonouredasthegreatestteacherinallBuddhistschools,but if there are other teachers who can also contribute to the enlightenment process, itwould be sheer arrogance if not folly for neglecting them. Thus, in Zen Buddhism forexample, there are twomain categories ofmeditation to attain enlightenment, knownasTathagataZenandPatriarchZen.TathagataZenreferstothetypeofmeditationtaughtbythe Buddha, and Patriarch Zen by Bodhidharma. Most Zen disciples in the ShaolinMonasteryaswellasinotherZenmonasteriesusePatriarchZenbecauseitismostdirectand,fromexperience,moreeffective.

ThisdoesnotmeanthatPatriarchZenissuperior.Becauseoftheirdifferentnatureandneeds,otherpeoplemay findTathagataZenbetter; stillothersmayneedalternativemethods.Ofalltheworld’sgreatreligions,Buddhismhasthewidestrangeofcultivationmethods, and of the three Buddhist traditions Mahayana Buddhism offers the greatestnumber of approaches.Mahayana literature says there are 84,000 gates to the spiritualrealm,whichisafigurativewayofsayingtherearedifferentmethodsorexpedientmeanstomeetthevariedneedsanddevelopmentstagesofaspirants.

VariousSchoolsofBuddhism

Because of differences in interpretation, emphasis, local needs, and other factors, therewerealreadynumerousschoolsofBuddhisminIndiabeforetheBuddha’steachingswerefirstwrittenassutrasaroundthebeginningoftheCommonEra.Traditionallytherewereeighteen schools, but different authorities list these eighteen schools differently. Thefollowinglist,adaptedfromProfessorEdwardConze,isuseful.ThetenMahayanaschoolswereMahasanghika,Ekaryavaharika,Lokottaravada,Bahusrutiya,Prajnaptivada,Caitriya,Purvasaila, Aparasaila, Rajagirika, and Siddharthika. The eight Hinayana schools wereSthavira, Pudgalavada, Sammitiya, Dharmottariya, Bhadrayaniya, Sannagarika,Vibhajyavada,andSarvastivada.Theravada,which isnow themostprominent ifnot theonlyexistingHinayanaschool,isderivedfromtheVibhajyavada.

WhenBuddhism spread toChina in the first few centuries of theCommonEra,bothMahayanaandHinayanawerewellrepresented.Therewereatfirsttenmajorschools,six of which were Mahayana — San Lun (Madhyamika), Nie Pan (Nirvana), Di Lun(Dasabhumi),JingTu(Sukhavati),ChanorZen(Dhyana),andSheLun(Samparigraha);andtheotherfourwereHinayana—PiTan(Abhidharma),ChengShi(Satyasiddhi),LuZong (Vinaya), and Ju She (Abhidharmakosa). But by the 7th century when ChineseBuddhismexperienceditsgoldenageduringtheTangDynasty, thereremainedonlyoneHinayana school, the Lu Zong or Vinaya School, among the eight famous ChineseBuddhistschoolsexistingthen.TheothersevenMahayanaschoolswereSanLun,JingTu,Zen, Tian Tai (Lotus School, developed fromNie Pan School),HuaYen (Avatamsaka,developedfromDiLunSchool),FaXiang(Vijaptimatrata,developedfromSheLunandJuSheSchools),andZhenYenSchool(whichwastransmittedfromIndia).

TheLuZongorVinayaSchoolwasfoundedbythefamousmonkTaoHsuan(DaoXuan, 596–667), and is based on the strict vinaya ormonastery code developed by theBuddha.Thereareabout250rulesformonksand350fornuns.(Theactualnumbersmayvary among different schools.) This vinaya code is also followed byMahayanamonks,who,nevertheless,madesomeminormodificationsliketakinganothermealintheeveningbesidetheonlyoneinthemorning,andgrowingtheirownfoodinsteadofbeggingfromthepublic.TheBuddhadidsaythatchangescouldbemadetominorrulesaccordingtotheneedsofthesituation.

Of course, major rules have to be obeyed strictly. The most important are thefollowing four Parajika Rules, failing which the offender would be expelled from themonastic order: no sexual intercourse (evenwith an animal, and even if it is asked), nostealing,nokillingofahuman,andno falseclaim toabilitynot reallypossessed.Otherrulesforbidamonktobealonewithawomaninasecludedplace,tohavemorematerialpossessions than are permitted, or to behave in any unbecomingmanner in public or inprivate.Lesser rules forbidamonk towearmakeup, tosleepona luxuriousbed,and toindulgeinpublicentertainment.Itisworthwhiletonotethattheaimoftherulesisnottorestrictthemonks’freedombuttohelpthemintheirspiritualcultivation.

IfyouwishtopractiseBuddhism,donotbeflabbergastedbythesestrictrules,fortheyapplytomonksonlyandnottolayfollowers.This,ofcourse,doesnotimplydoublestandardofdiscipline;unlike laypersons,monkshaverenouncedallworldlymatters forspiritualdevelopment.Soifyoumeetanymonkswhoindulgeinsex,possessflashycars,orhoardgold,youhavegoodreasonstosuspect.

There is no excuse for amonk to have sexual activity; theBuddhamade it veryclear that sexual abstinence is the foremost vinaya rule.Why is abstinence from sex soimportantinthemonasticorder?Certainlynotbecauseofanymisguidedconnotationthatsex is“bad”,butbecause it is themostdifficultdesire tobesubdued,andasdesirewillgeneratekarmiceffect(intheformofmentalvibrations)leadingtorebirth,themonkwillbeunabletobreakofffromhissamsariccycletoachievenirvana.

Readerswishingtoknowwhytheworldisneitherfalsenorreal,butrelativewouldbeinterestedintheSanLunorThreeTreatisesSchool,whichisbasedontwotreatisesofNagarjuna, Madhyamika-karika (Treatise on the Mean) and Dvadasa-dvara (TwelveGates),andSataSastra(TreatiseonHundredVerses),atreatiseofhisdisciple,Aryadeva.These three treatiseswere translatedbythegreatKumarajivafromSanskrit intoChineseabout400CE,markingthebeginningofthisschoolinChina.Ofhisnumerousdisciples,SengZhao(374–414)wasinstrumentalinformulatingthedoctrines.

Themainphilosophyofthisschoolisthatthenihilisticviewofreality,i.e.,viewingreality as absolute nothingness, and the objective view of reality, i.e., thinking that theexternalworld is real, arebothperverse;ultimate reality is themeanbetween these twoextremes, and can only be comprehended relatively. In otherwords, the externalworld,thoughnotultimatelyreal,isrelativelyreal,andisnecessaryforourworldlyexistenceaswellasforachievingactualizationofultimaterealityornirvana.

Heaven,Zen,andtheLotus

Ifyouwanttobeassuredofgoingtoheaven,youmayliketofindoutabouttheJingTuorPure Land School, which is the most popular school of Buddhism today. The Jing TuSchool is based on the Amitabha Sutra, Amitayus Sutra, and Meditation on AmitayusSutra, and its main cultivation method is reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha. It isthereforealsocalledtheAmitabhaSchool.

It is estimated that in Japan alone,where thePureLandSchool is known as theJodoSchoolfromwhichisbranchedouttheShinSchoolandtheJiSchool,morethanhalfher population are followers. Its popularity amongst Chinese Buddhists in China andelsewhere is reflected in theircustomof their saying,“Ami-Tuo-Fo”whenotherswouldsay“howareyou”,“thankyou”,or“Godblessyou”.

“Ami-Tuo-Fo” means Amitabha Buddha, who is another Buddha different fromGautamaBuddha,andwhohasvowedthatwhoeverfollowshisteachingsincerelywillbereborninSukhavatiortheWesternParadisebillionsoflightyearsfromourworld.Somereadersmay think this promise byAmitabhaBuddha too good or too ludicrous, but itsphilosophycanbeexplained“scientifically”anditsvaliditysubstantiatedbysomeofthebestmindsinhumanhistory.Itistoocomplextogointodetailshere,butitmaysufficetosaythatsinceallphenomenalworlds,includingheavensandhells,areinrealityacreationof mind, the methodological and devoted cultivation of the Pure Land School subtlypreparesthedevoteestoexperiencewhattheirmindscreate.Donotbegrosslymistakenlythat thisWesternParadise isonly imaginary; it isas real to thedevoteesas thephysicalworldisnowrealtoyou.Afterall,yourso-calledexternalworldisalsoacreationofyourmind a fundamental Buddhist teaching, interestingly, being seriously investigated andconfirmedbythelatestscience.

ZenBuddhism,theschoolofBuddhismpractisedintheShaolinMonastery,andisprobablythenextmostpopularBuddhistschoolafterthePureLandSchool,issometimesdescribedasthecultivationmethodmeantforthebestminds.Forthosewhoareready,itisthefastestmethodbecauseitpointsdirectlyatBuddhanature,attainingenlightenmentinaninstant.ThismeansthatinsteadofemphasizingthestudyofscripturesasinTheravadaBuddhism,orinvestigatingintowhetherultimaterealityis“empty”,“real”or“relative”,orwhether it is mutually arising or merely ideation as in other Mahayana schools, Zenpractitionersseektoperceiveultimaterealitydirectly.

This does not mean that Zen Buddhism pays no attention to scripture study orinvestigation into reality; but it means that Zen practitioners do not want to be overinvolvedinsuchactivitiesthattheymistakescripturestudyormeditativeinvestigationasdirectexperienceofultimatereality.InZenterms,theydonotwanttomistakethefingerthatpointstothemoonasthemoonitself.Theparamountwaytoexperiencecosmicrealityisthroughmeditation.ThroughoutthecenturiesZenmastershaveemployedextraordinarymethods to test and sometimes to stimulate such a direct cosmic experience, and theseoccasions have been recorded as gong-ans, or koans in Japanese. The philosophy and

practiceofZenwillbeexplainedinmoredetailinthenexttwochapters.

TheTianTaiSchool,namedaftertheTianTaiMountaininChina,wasfoundedbythegreatmonkZhiYi(538–597),whosechildhoodwasfilledwithmiraculousevents.Forexample,atbirthacelestiallightilluminatedthewholesky,andatsevenhecouldreciteawholesutraafterlisteningtoitonce.ZhiYi’sgreatestcontributionwashisclassificationandsystematizationofthetremendousamountoftheBuddha’steaching,whichsometimesappear contradictory to uninformed people, into “Five Periods and Eight Doctrines” asfollows.

FiveChronologicalPeriods:

1.Avatamsaka(FlowerAdornment)Period—firstsevendays,emphasisoncosmicreality2. Agama(Transmission)Period—firsttenyears,emphasisonmoralpurityandeliminationofsuffering3. TheVaipulya (Development)Period—nexteightyears,emphasisoncompassionandthedevelopmentoftheBodhisattvadoctrine4.ThePrajna(Wisdom)Period—nexttwentyyears,emphasisonemptiness5. ThePundarika(Lotus)Period—lastsevenyears,emphasisonattainingBuddhahood

TheBuddha’s teachingsarealsoclassified into fourgroupsaccording tomethodologicalapproach, and another four groups according to philosophical content, making eightdoctrinestogether.

FourMethodologicalApproaches:

1.InstantaneousApproach—forthebestminds,whereenlightenmentcanbeinstantaneous,asintheAvatamsakateachingandZen2. GradualApproach—thefollowersareledtoprogressfromelementarytoadvancedlevels,asintheAgama,Vaipulya,andWisdomteachings3. MysticalApproach—whentheteachingistransmittedinamannernoteasilyexplicable,asthetransmissionofZen,ortheteachingofmantras4.IndeterminateApproach—whenmanyfollowersmaylistentotheBuddhaatthesametime,butinterprethisteachingdifferently

FourPhilosophicalDoctrines:

1. PitakaDoctrine—theelementary teachingfound in theAgamasutras,taughtinHinayanaBuddhism2. CommonDoctrine—the teachingcommoninHinayanaandMahayana

Buddhism3.SpecialDoctrine—taughttoadvancedfollowersliketheBodhisattvas4.RoundDoctrine—theall-permeating,all-fulfilling,perfectdoctrinefortheattainmentofBuddhahood,asfoundintheLotusSutra

TheSuddharmaPundarikaSutra,ortheLotusSutra,isthemostimportantintheTianTaiSchool.Hence,theTianTaiSchoolissometimesknowninEnglishastheLotusSchool.IntheChineselanguage,however,theLotusSchoolreferstothePureLandSchool,becausedevoteesarereborninWesternParadisethroughalotus.

The basic philosophy of theTianTai School, considered bymany as one of thefinest Chinese contributions to Buddhism, is that all phenomena are devoid of realexistence,andowetheirappearancestothemind.Thisphilosophyispoeticallyexpressedasyiniansanqian,whichmeansallthephenomenalworldsinthecountlessgalaxiesaredue to a single thought. It is indeed amazing that modern science comes to a similarconclusiononlynow.MoreamazingisthatTianTaiadeptslearnedaboutsuchwisdomnotfromspeculation,butfromdirectexperiencethroughmeditation.Theirfamousmeditation,alsodevelopedbyZhiYi, iscalledthe“TheSixWondrousGates”,wherebythemindisfirststilled,thenusedtoinvestigateintowhatultimaterealityis.

Reality,AppearanceandTrueWord

ManypeoplehaveenjoyedWilliamBlake’sfamouslines:

Toseeaworldinagrainofsand

Andaheaveninawildflower.

Holdinfinityinthepalmofyourhand

Andeternityinanhour.

Butnotmanypeoplecanunderstandhowonecanseeaworldinagrainofsandorholdeternity in an hour. As a student of literature I used to interpret this beautiful poemfiguratively or symbolically, but now after my study of Zen I believe that the poet isdescribing his mystical experience literally. Hua Yen philosophy explains why aBodhisattvacanseeawholecosmosatthetipofhishair.Thismaybeappreciatedattwolevels.Atthephenomenallevel,thetipofthehair,whileminuteatourhumanscale,canactuallybeacosmostoevensmallerbeingsatthesub-atomicscale.Atthetranscendentallevel,thehairtipisthewholecosmos,becausethereisinrealitynoboundaryseparatingthe hair from anything else. SimilarlyHuaYen philosophy explains that time is only ahumanconstruct:inultimaterealityanhouriseternity.

TheHuaYenSchool,foundedbyDuShun(557–640),isbasedontheHuaYenorAvatamsaka Sutra, meaning Flower Adornment Sutra, which is an expression of theenlightenment experience of the Buddha himself. Within the first week of hisenlightenment and still sitting in his meditation position, the Buddha gave a majesticsermon on cosmic reality to heavenly beings who had gathered around him, but theteachingwastooprofoundevenforthegodstounderstand.

TheBuddhaexplainsthatanenlightenedbeingrealizesthathisso-calledindividualselfisactuallythevast,unlimiteduniverse,wherethereisnodualitybetweentheknowerand the known. This transcendental cosmic reality may also manifest as countlessphenomena, which are illusory and relative, brought about by a matrix of causes andconditions.Modern science calls the transcendental and the phenomenal dimensions theimplicateandtheexplicateordersrespectively.

Ordinary persons, who are deluded by their gross senses, see phenomena asseparatedanddifferentiated;inreality,phenomenaareonlyappearances,broughtaboutbydharmas that are independently arising andmutually penetrating.This concept becomesmeaningfultousonlyaftermodernsciencehasexplainedthatphenomenaaremadeupofsub-atomicparticlesthatareconstantlyarisingandpenetrating.Butalltheseareadream;in the realmofenlightenment,everything iseternally tranquil;allphenomena, themind,andtheBuddhaarenotthreeentitiesbutoneundifferentiatedwhole.

If the Ultimate Truth, called by various names like the Tathagata, Brahman,Cosmos, God, and Allah, is undifferentiated and eternally tranquil, why do we in ourordinaryconsciousnessperceive thisSpiritualBodyof theSupremeRealityas separatedand differentiated entities? In scientific terms, if the universe is ultimately an unbrokenspreadofenergy, ifanelementaryparticleactuallyhasnodefinedboundary,whydoweseeaparticularcollectionofparticlesasatreeoranelephant,whereasalivingcellinthetree or elephant may see the same collection as its own universe? Of all the Buddhistschools,theFaXiangSchoolprobablyexplainsthisphenomenonmostthoroughly.

TheFaXiangorMereIdeationSchool,foundedinChinabythegreatmonkoftheTangDynasty,XuanZang (HsuanTsang, 596–664), and his discipleKui Ji (632–682),was a continuation of theYogacara School ofAsanga andVasubandhu in India.WhenXuanZangreturnedfromIndiaafterhisfamouspilgrimageofsixteenyears,hestayedforsome timeat theShaolinMonastery to translate intoChinese theSanskritworkshehadbroughtback.

ThebasicFaXiangphilosophyisthattheworldisideationonly,whichmeanstheexternalworlddoesnotexistindependentlybyitself,buttheinternalideationpresentsanappearanceofitasanexternalworld.ThisBuddhistconceptisnowexpressedbyscientistsasthemulti-dimensionalhologram.

The mind, which is the most important principle in the Fa Xiang School, isclassified into the following eight kinds of consciousness: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, mano-consciousness or sense-centre, manas-consciousness or thought-centre, and alaya-consciousnessorstorage-centre.Whatahumanseesasanelephant,abacteriummayseeas a universe,whereas a fairymay see nothing.This is because, amongother factors, ahuman, a bacterium, and a fairy possess different alaya-consciousness, which Jungianpsychologistswouldcallcollectivemind.Modernscientistswhoarepuzzledwhyweallseeatableasatable,andnotasacoworachair,althoughthattableisactuallyacreationofourindividualminds,wouldbegladtolearnthatourminds,thoughdifferent,sharethesamealaya-consciousnesscommontohumans.

ZhenYenorMantrameans“TrueWord”.TheZhenYenSchoolwastransmittedtoChinafromIndiabySubhakarasinha(637–735),Vajrabodhi(663–723),andAmoghavajra(705–774). It is representative of the third and final (until now) developmental stage ofBuddhism, and is known as Mantrayana, Tantrayana, or Vajrayana; the earlier twodevelopmental stages being Hinayana and Mahayana. Thus, the Mantra School is alsocalled theTantraSchool,orMiZong inChinese,meaning theSecretSchool.VajrayanaBuddhismisnowwidelypractisedinTibetandMongolia.

TherearethreetypicaldifferencesbetweenHinayanaorTheravadaandMahayanaon one hand and Vajrayana on the other. Even the highest Theravada and Mahayanateachings are public properties, but Vajrayana is taught only to initiated students.TheravadaandMahayanamonksarestrictlycelibate,andtheirlayfollowersareforbiddento have immoral sexual activities,whereas someVajrayana sects use sex as ameans ofspiritual cultivation.EvenBuddhas andBodhisattvas are suppliedwith female consorts!

Third,TheravadinsandMahayanistsregardGautamaBuddha,orSakyamuniBuddhaasheis more widely known in Mahayana, as their paramount teacher, whereas Vajrayanistsplacemore importance onVairocanaBuddha,who is regarded as the SpiritualBody ofGautama.

Besides,mantras,mudras,andmandalasareextensivelyemployedintheZhenYenSchool.Amudraisaparticularwayofholdingthefingersduringmeditation;amandalaisasymbolicdiagramconsistingmainlyofcircles,squaresandtrianglesrepresentingvariouscosmicsphereswhereBuddhasandBodhisattvasreside.

Amantra,representingthetruewordsoftheBuddha’sSpiritualBody,isamysticalcombination of sounds, usually in a phrase and oftenwith supernatural effects. A longmantra,runningtomanysentences,iscalledadharani.Mantrasareemployedforenteringinto meditation, praising Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or other deities, protection against evilforces, exorcism, escaping from calamities, identification with a particular Bodhisattva,developingpsychicpowers,andothersimilaruses.MantrasarealsousedinTheravadaandMahayanaBuddhism,thoughitsuseisnotasextensiveasinVajrayana.MantrasarefoundinotherreligionslikeTaoism,Hinduism,andJainismtoo.ThefollowingisanexampleofaBuddhistmantraforsoothinglocaldeities:

NamosamantuomutuonamOm

Tiwaitiwaisaboha

WhilemantrasareusuallyinSanskrit,thefollowingpraiseinChinesetotheBuddhaandBodhisattvasatthegatheringofthewisdomsutras,chanteddailyintheShaolinMonasterybeforetherecitationoftheHeartSutra,isregardedbymanyasamantra:

Namobanruohuishangfopusa

Hence, Shaolin monks and secular disciples not only practise kungfu and chi kung,appreciatepoetryandchantmantras,buthaveaccess toBuddhistwisdomthatonlynowthelatestsciencesarebeginningtostudy.Yet therarestopportunityis tohavenot justadeep understanding of profound philosophy but a direct experience of the greatestachievementanybeingcaneverattain.Thiswillbeexplainedinthenextchapter.

26:THEBEAUTYANDPROFUNDITYOFZEN

(SomePhilosophicalConsiderationsforZenTraining)

This cosmic glimpse is always inspiring and exhilarating,where the adept directlyexperiences thebeauty,grandeurandmagnificenceof transcendentalreality,whereherealizesforhimselfthatwhatmastershavesaidliketranscendingspaceandtime,breakingdowntheillusorybarrierbetweentheknowerandtheknown,istrue.

WhatisZen?

“WhatisZen?”

“Abrick.”

“WhatisTao?”

“Apieceofwood.”

The above is a celebrated conversation between aZenmonk andShiTou (700–790), agreatZenmasterof theTangDynasty, recordedas agong-an (orkoan in Japanese) forposterity. Most people have difficulty understanding a gong-an because of at least thefollowingtworeasons.One,theydonotknowthepurposeofagong-an;andtwo,theydonotknowthatZenhasafewrelatedmeanings.

A gong-an is a Zen story that actually took place (and recorded by speciallyassigned monks) whereby a Zen master used often extraordinary verbal or non-verbalmeanstoawakenhisstudentspiritually,ortotestifhehadsuchanawakening,knownaswu,orsatoriinJapanese.Intheabovegong-an,itwasnotShiTou’sintentiontoexplainwhatZenwas;hispurposewastoawakenthemonktoZen,sometimescalledTao.

“Zen”istheJapanesewordfortheChinese“Chan”,whichinturnisderivedfromthe Sanskrit “Dhyana”. At its lowest or basic level, Zen means meditation. It is notrestricted to Buddhist meditation: thus yogis, whomay be Hindu or of other religions,practiseDhyana,too;TaoistsandConfuciansalsopractiseChan.

ThemeaningofZenat theintermediatelevel isaglimpseofcosmicreality.Thiscosmicglimpseisalwaysinspiringandexhilarating,wheretheadeptdirectlyexperiencesthe beauty, grandeur, and magnificence of transcendental reality, where he realizes forhimselfthatwhatmastershavesaidliketranscendingspaceandtime,breakingdowntheillusorybarrierbetweentheknowerandtheknown,istrue.Thisiswu,anexperiencethathe can never forget, an awakening that will transform his life from the physical to thedivine.

The supreme meaning of Zen is Ultimate Reality itself, called variously bydifferent peoples as the Buddha, Tathagata, Cosmos, Brahman, Allah, or God, or bymundanenamesassunyata,orvoid,andenergyfield.AttainingZenatthissupremelevelisthefulfilmentofallreligions,andisknownasnirvanaorenlightenmentinBuddhism.Itcanbeattainedhereandnow.

ZenissometimesusedasashortformforZenBuddhism,thatschoolofMahayanaBuddhism with special emphasis on attaining enlightenment instantaneously usingmeditationas theparamount approach.Zenwas transmittedbyBodhidharma in527CEfromIndiatoChina,whereZenBuddhism,orChanBuddhismasitisknowninChinese,originatedasaninstitutionalizedteachingattheShaolinMonastery.Itreacheditsgolden

age inChinaduring theTangDynasty from the7th to the10thcenturies, and spread toJapanduringtheSongDynastyinthe13thcentury.

Inthegong-anabove,howcouldShiTouhelptoawakenthemonkbytellinghimthatZenwasabrick,orTaoapieceofwood?Itshouldberememberedthatthisgong-anwasnotanisolatedoccurrence;themonkstayedinthemonasterywiththemaster,andhadbeenundergoingZentraining,especiallymeditation,formanyyears.Inthisencounter,themasterhopedtouseaverbalmeanstoachieveanon-verbaleffect.Inotherwords,insteadof giving an intellectual answer, which would set the monk thinking, Shi Tou gave aseeminglyillogicalanswerwhich,hehoped,wouldstopthemonk’sthought,jerkinghimintoanawakening.Shouldthemonkbeawakenedandhaveaglimpseofultimatereality,hewould, in his wonderment, discover that Zenwas really a brick and Tao a piece ofwood,becauseinultimaterealitythereisnoseparatenessandnodifferentiation.

ChineseInventionandTaoistOrigin?

Somescholarshavesaid thatZenwasaChinese invention;others that itwasdevelopedfromTaoism!BoththesestatementsarerejectedbyvirtuallyallChineseZenmasters,anditisnotdifficulttoseewhy,ifwestudyitshistory,philosophy,andpracticefromtheZenperspective, and not from the perspective of scholars, who are mainly Confucianist inattitude.

PracticallyallChineseZenmasterstracedtheirlineagetoBodhidharma,whowasthetwenty-eighthPatriarchinIndiaandbecametheFirstPatriarchinChina.TheBuddhatransmitted Zen directly to Mahakasyapa, the Indian First Patriarch, who in turntransmitted“themarvellousmindofenlightenment”throughtwenty-sixIndianpatriarchs— includingAsvaghosha (11th Patriarch), Nagarjuna (13th Patriarch), andVasubandhu(20thPatriarch)—toBodhidharma.

The evidence of Bodhidharma teaching Zen in the Shaolin Monastery is sooverwhelmingthatunlessscholarsare ignorantof theevidence, it is incrediblehowtheycould say Bodhidharma was only a myth. Temple records, imperial histories, officialdiaries,personalwritings,andotherdocumentsclearlyshowBodhidharma’sactivities inChina. The cave where Bodhidharma meditated for nine years, the pavilion where hetransmittedZentotheSecondPatriarch,andtheFirstPatriarchTemplebuiltinhishonourarestillfoundintheShaolinMonasterytoday.

To say that Zen Buddhism developed from Taoism is equally untenable. Thismistakeprobablystartedwhensomescholars,whowereexpert inChinese literatureandphilosophybutknew littleaboutZen, speculated that thegreatmonkTaoAn(313–385)and his distinguished disciple Hui Yuan (344–416) initiated Chan (Zen) Buddhism,becausetheypractisedmeditation,whichinChineseisoftenwrittenas“Chan”.Whatthesescholarsmightnotrealizeisthatherethename“Tao”andtheterm“Chan”arenotrelatedtoTaoismandChanBuddhismrespectively;justaswhenthemonkasked“WhatisTao”inthe quotation at the head of this chapter, “Tao” means the Ultimate Reality orenlightenment,anddoesnotrefertoTaoism.

Ifthescholarshadinvestigateddeeper,theywouldhavefoundthatthe“Chan”ormeditationTaoAnandHuiYuanpractisedwasAnapanasati(pleaseseethenextchapter),the meditation of the Sarvastivada School, which is similar to Theravada meditationpractised today,butdifferent fromZenmeditation.More importantly,althoughbothTaoAn andHuiYuan, like other greatmonks,were familiarwith Confucianism aswell asTaoism,therewaslittleTaoist(orConfucian)philosophyorpracticeintheBuddhismtheypreached.TaoAn,forexample,wasdissatisfiedwiththemethodofearlytranslatorsusingTaoist terms forBuddhist concepts;HuiYuan said thatBuddhist thoughtwas far aheadandmoreprofoundthanthatofConfucianismandTaoism.ThereisalsonorecordofanyZen Buddhism in China in the interim hundred years between them and the arrival ofBodhidharma.

InthedevelopmentofZenBuddhisminChina,notasingleoneofthesixChinesePatriarchs had any significant Taoist influence. All the first three Patriarchs —Bodhidharma,HuiKe,andSengCan—taughtattheShaolinMonastery;theotherthree—DaoXin,HongJen,andHuiNeng—taughtattheDongshanTempleandtheBaoLinTemple,whichweretypicallyBuddhisttemplesdirectlyrelatedtoShaolin.

Zen masters talked about no mind, Buddha-nature, Bodhisattvas and return tosociety to help others— all these are characteristically different from the Taoists’ yin-yang, cosmos, immortals, and retreat tomountains to avoidworldly affairs. Zenmonksshaved their heads bald, abstained frommeat andwine, and practised celibacy strictly;whereasTaoistpriestsvaluedtheirtypicalhead-buns,oftendrankwine,andplayedchessinmerriment,andwerepermitted tohavewivesandchildren.Zenmonksreferredto theHeart Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, and other Buddhist scriptures, which are distinctlydifferentfromtheTaoTeChing,theChuangTzu,andotherTaoisttextsinbothstyleandsubstance.

ThetypicalmeditationmethodofZenpractitionersistokeepthemindvoid,withthe mind abiding at nothing. This is characteristically different from the typical Taoistmethod of meditation where visualization is used extensively. Meditation techniquesfrequentlyemployedbyTaoistadepts,likenurturingvitalenergyinto“divinefoetus”,andvisualizing specific deities residing at particular energy fields inside their bodies, areconsidered“perverse”byZenmastersasthesetechniquescausethoughtstoarise,thereforeconflictingwiththeZentechniqueofaimingforthestateofnon-thought.

Thus,whetheritisfromtheperspectiveofhistory,canonicalworks,dailymodeofliving, philosophy, or spiritual cultivation, Zen and Taoism are distinctively different.Anyonewho has actually gone through either Zen or Taoist training, instead ofmerelyreadingfromsomesecond-handmaterial,willfindithardtoseehowZenBuddhismcouldhavedevelopedfromTaoism.InthisrespectIamluckytohavesomefirsthandexperience:mymaster,SifuHoFattNam,waswell-trainedinTaoismbeforehisZencultivation.

MainDoctrinesofZenBuddhism

Notrecordedinlanguageandwords,

Transmissionbeyondthetradition,

Directlypointingatthemind.

EnteringBuddhahoodinaninstant.

The above lines originally spoken by the Buddha to Mahakasyapa when the World-Honoured One transmitted Zen to the Indian First Patriarch, and later propagated byBodhisattva,summarizethemainfeaturesofZenBuddhism.TheyalsoshowtheprincipaldoctrinesinZenBuddhism,illustratinghowdifferenttheyarefromTaoism.

The first doctrine, “Not recorded in language and words”, indicates that in ZenBuddhismtheessentialteachingispassedonfromhearttoheart,orfromthemindofthemasterdirectly to themindofhisdisciple, andnot in the formof learning fromwrittenrecordsofpastmasters.InBuddhist terminology,it is thedirecttransmissionof“cosmicwisdom”frommaster todisciple,withoutdependingon“languagewisdom”.Thismeansthe disciple has a direct experience of cosmic reality as a result of the master’stransmission,andnotastheresultofhisdescriptioninwords.ThisisdifferentfromTaoistinstructionwhichoftendependsonwords,writtenorspoken.

Indeed, all the advanced arts of Shaolin are transmitted from heart to heart. Forexample,whenIteachShaolinCosmosBreathingtoastudent,Ipersonallyshowhimthetechniques and guide him in his practice, often channellingmyvital energy into him tostimulatehisenergyflow.Thus,hiscosmicchiflowhassomeofmychi,passedontohimduringtraining.Inthisway,Itransmitted,notmerelytaught,ShaolinCosmosChiKungtohim. Had I written or tape-recorded the same teaching instructions in words and hefollowed thewrittenor spoken instructionsexactly, insteadof learning frommedirectlytheresultwouldbeverydifferent.

“Transmissionbeyond the tradition”means that theZen teachingwas taught inawaydifferentfromthetraditionalwayofotherBuddhistschools.ForexampletheBuddhatransmittedZen,orenlightenment,toMahakasyapabymeansofagoldenkumbhalaflowerwithout uttering a word. This was different from his normal way of preaching to hisdisciples.MahakasyapatransmittedZentoAnandawhenhetoldAnandatotakedownthebannerhangingat their temple.Thissuddenorder,whichseemedunrelated towhat theyweredoingthen,joltedAnanda’smind,resultinginhisenlightenmentinstantly.

SuchtransmissionbeyondthetraditionisuniqueinZen;itisnotfoundinTaoismoranyothersystemsofspiritualcultivation.ThisisanotherreasonwhyIsaythatanyonewho has practisedZenwill find it difficult to see howZen could have developed fromTaoism.Thethirddoctrine,“Directlypointingatthemind”,showsthatZenispracticaland

direct. When asked what Zen or Tao was, instead of giving a lengthy, philosophicaldiscussion or a profound answer clothed in symbolic language as many Taoist masterswould do, the Zen master Shi Tou simply said it was a brick or a piece of wood!Superficially the replyappeared ridiculous,but actually itwasanastonishinglypracticalanddirectwaytohelptheseekerexperienceZenorTao.

A Taoist master would never have replied in this way: in the long history ofTaoism,notasingleTaoistworthhisnamehadsaidTaowasa toad,a lumpofclay,orsomething as “outlandish” as a Zen master would say. Perhaps the farthest any Taoistmasterhadventuredwas that romanticand lovableChuangTzu (4thcenturyBCE)whosaid,inhisstrikingrhetorictoshowTaoiseverywhere,thatitisfoundinanant,aweed,broken pieces of pottery, and a heap of dung! It illustrates a crucial difference betweenTaoistandZenteachings.ChuangTzuandotherTaoistmastersdescribeTao;fromthemwegetanintellectualdescription.ShiTouandotherZenmastersdirectustoTao;ifweareready,wegetanintuitiveexperience.

A typical answer to thequestion“What isTao?” is something like the followingpoetic lines from the great Taoist master of the Song Dynasty, Zhang Bo Duan (984–1082),whoexplainedwhatmodernsciencewoulddescribeasthecreationofmatterfromneutrons,protons,andelectrons:

Taofromthevoidisbornanenergywhole

Fromenergywholeyinandyangunfold

Yinandyangcombinetobecomethreerings

Threeringsregeneratetoformmyriadthings

“EnteringBuddhahoodinaninstant”illustratesacharacteristicfeatureofZenBuddhism,whichexpoundsthateverypersonhasBuddha-nature.Buddhistmasters,perhapsmoreinZenBuddhismthaninanyotherschools,teachthateveryoneisoriginallyenlightened,i.e.,everyoneisoriginallytheEternalBuddha!Butduetoignoranceheisdeludedintothinkingof himself as an individual imprisoned in his body, and also thinking of countlessphenomena as realitywhen thesephenomena are actually appearancesbrought about byvariouscausesandconditions.

This,again,isacrucialphilosophicaldifferencebetweenZenandTaoismaswellas all other great religions. Except their greatest masters whose realization that at thehighestspiritualattainment theyand thecosmos(alsocalledGodbysomereligions)areone is similar to the Buddhist enlightenment, as discussed in Chapter 23, Taoists andaspirants of other religions in general aim to liberate their imprisoned souls from theirphysicalbodiessoastobecomeimmortalsorgotoheavenintheirpresentlifeorthenext.They also regard all phenomena in heaven as real. In Zen and all other schools ofBuddhism,becominganimmortalandgoingtoheavenareonlyintermediategoals,andallphenomenawhether on earth or in heavens and hells are illusory. The ultimate goal of

Buddhism,especiallyZenBuddhism, is to transcend thephenomenalandattainultimatereality,i.e.,nirvana.

WhenaZenadeptattainsenlightenment,herealizesthatselvesandphenomenaareillusion;inultimaterealitythereisnoseparatenessandnodifferentiation.Hisdelusionisduetothoughtsarising.Theverymomentheattainsastateofnon-thoughtornomindinmeditation,heregainshisoriginalenlightenment instantly, i.e.,heentersBuddhahoodinan instant. The Zen school, which considers this meditation of no mind as the directapproach toenlightenment, iscalledCaoDong(ChaoTsung)Zen,which laterspread toJapanasSotoZen,andwhichisagoodcontrasttoLinJi(orRinzai)Zenthatusesgong-ans(orkoans)extensivelyasanaid toenlightenment.AlthoughdifferentschoolsofZenhadbeenpractisedintheShaolinMonastery,themostimportantisCaoDongZen.

Zen wisdom accepts and surpasses Taoist thought. The Taoist teaching of themutual transformationofenergyandmatter,as suggested in theabovequotation, isalsotaughtinBuddhism,butwhiletheTaoists,likemodernscientists,regarditasanabsolutetruth, theBuddhists regard it as relative. In otherwords,Taoists and scientists (perhapswith theexceptionof thosewhonormallyuse relativityandquantummechanicsas theirreference frames) regard “the interaction of three rings to form myriad things”, or theinteractionofneutrons,protons,andelectrons toformatoms,asultimatereality,and thelawsgoverningthemasapplicableeverywhereintheuniverse.Buddhistsregardallthisas“real”only relative toourpresent setofconditions, and toour local realmofexistence.Shouldourconditionsorlocalitybechanged,thephenomenamayappeardifferently.Ifwehadthewisdom-eyeofaBodhisattva,forexample,wemightseenotjust“threeringsandmyriad things”, but much more, like what scientists refer to as “dark matter” that we(ordinarymortals)haveneverseenevenwiththemostsophisticatedscientificinstruments,butwhichscientistsbelieveconstitutes99percentofourknownuniverse.Ifwehappenedtobeinanothergalaxy,suchasinAmitabha’sWesternParadise,whatwecalledneutrons,protons,andelectronsonourpunyearthmightnotexistthere,oreveniftheyexistedtheymightnotformatoms.

SuchBuddhistwisdomwas,andhasbeen,acrucialaspectofZenphilosophy—evenwhenZenBuddhismfirststartedinChina.Withoutsuchwisdom,gong-anslikeZenbeingabrick,orclappingwithonehand,wouldbemeaningless.ItisthereforenotlogicaltosaythatZenBuddhismdrewitsphilosophyfromTaoism,whichdidnothavethekindofcosmic wisdom characteristic of Zen. Indeed, many masters already well-versed inConfucianism and Taoism changed to Buddhism because they found the Buddhistphilosophyandgoalsamazinglymorebeautifulandprofound.

TheEasiestortheMostDifficult

PractisingZenistheeasiestapproachtoenlightenment,orthemostdifficult—dependingonone’sperspectiveandreadiness.ThewholedisciplineofZentrainingcanbeputinoneword—meditation.Allthatisrequiredinthetrainingcanbesaidinonesentence—sitcomfortably ina lotusposition,closeyoureyesgently,andkeepyourmindblank! Isn’tthateasy?Youneednothave toknowanydoctrines,studyscriptures, listen tosermons,sayprayers,recitemantras,worshiptheBuddha,GodoranyDivinity,orworryaboutyoursoulortheafter-life.

In theory, Zen is the easiest. If you are ready, and just do this correctly— sitcomfortably in a lotus position, closeyour eyes, andkeepyourmindblank—youwillachieveenlightenment,i.e.,thegreatestachievementanybeingcanachieve,inaninstant!

Butinactualpractice,thisapproachmaybethemostdifficult.Itmaysoundodd,butsittingcomfortablyitselfmaynotbeeasy!Somepeoplecannotevensitcomfortablyonachair;theyfeelrestlessafteronlyafewminutes.Sittinginalotusposition,eveniftheyarepreparedtoputupwithsomediscomfort,isdifficultformostuntrainedadults.Keepingthemindblankisworse;somepeoplehavetoldmeitwasthemostdifficultthingtheyhadeverattempted.

WhileZeniseasyforthosewhoareready,physically,emotionally,mentally,andspiritually, it is the most difficult for the unready. That is why many aspirants havepractisedmeditation,Buddhistorotherwise,formorethantenyears,yettheyreceivelittleeffect.

Howdoesoneknowwhetherheisready?Asausefulguide,ifyouaresickorhavepaininyourbody,youarenotreadyphysically.Goodhealthisaprerequisiteforspiritualdevelopment.For aperson suffering fromapepticulcerorbackache, for example, longhoursofmeditationwillnotonlybeunlikelytohelphimprogressspirituallybutalsomayaggravate his illness or pain. He should therefore overcome his illness and bodily painbeforeembarkingonspiritualtraining.ShaolinChiKungisexcellentforrelievingillnessandpain,andShaolinKungfuforprovidingradianthealthandvitality.

Apersonisemotionallyunreadyforspiritualtrainingifhecannotrelaxoriflacksemotional stability. If he is nervous, easily frightened, prone to anger, or worriesunnecessarily, he should overcome his emotional problem before attempting Zencultivation. From the experience of many students with such emotional problems,conventionalpsychiatrictreatmentwasnotveryhelpful;theyhadtheiremotionalproblemsovercomebypractisingShaolinKungfuorShaolinChiKung,whicharealsoexcellentforteachingpeopletorelaxatwill.

Ifyouhavedifficultyfocusingyourmindinmeditationorinyourdailyactivities,oftenfindyourmindwanderingaimlessly,areeasilyfatiguedinmentalwork,ormuddledin thinking,youarementallyunreadyforspiritual training. It shouldbeknown thatZenmeditationdemandsmuchmentaleffortandenergy; if themind isweak, it isunsuitable

forspiritualcultivation.Again,ShaolinKungfuandShaolinChiKungareveryhelpfulforstrengtheningmind.Inthenextchapter,weshalllearntwomeditationmethodstohelpthemindtofocus.

What is spiritual readiness? If a person has no urge to seek beyond his physicalneeds, to findoutwhathisoriginwas andhisdestinywill be, he is spirituallyunready.Morality is the basic requirement of all spiritual training, and should be cultivatedaccording to his own religious teaching. In Buddhism the basic moral cultivation is topractise the five precepts of not killing, not stealing, not telling lies, not involving inlicentioussex,andnottakingintoxicatingdrinks.

Some readers, imbued with the western concept of “positive thinking”, maycomplain that these moral rules are negative, emphasizing don’ts rather than dos. Thisattitudeisanexampleofdualistic thinking,amistakenrationalizationthat“don’tkill” istheoppositeof“savelives”.Thesefivepreceptsaretheminimumrequirementofthefirstofthethree-foldteachingofBuddhism:

Avoidallevil

Dogood

Purifythemind

Logically,ifonecannotevenfulfilthemostelementaryrequirement,i.e.,avoidingallevil,it is premature to talk of doing good. Hence, from the Buddhist perspective, it isincongruousforamillionairewhoearnshisfortunethroughcheating(whichisaformof“stealing”inthefiveprecepts)toactlikeacharitableman.

PerformingcharityisoneofthewaysaBuddhistcandogood.Charitableactscanbegeneralizedintothreeclasses.Atthelowestlevelisthecharityofgivingmaterialaids,like food and money, to the needy. The middle level of charity is giving service, liketending the sick and saving lives. The highest charity is in giving teachings, especiallyspiritual teachings, like distributing religious texts and reciting scriptures whereby lostsoulswhohappentobearoundmayhear,learn,andbesaved.

Thespiritualaspirantmustclearlyknowtheaimofhiscultivation.Ifheisunclearofwhathewillachieve,whenheeventuallyachieves,heislikelytowastemuchtime.Heshould therefore be familiar with the teaching of the highest teachers of his chosenreligion,or,ifheprofessesnottohaveareligion,ofhisidealphilosophyoflife.

IntheShaolinMonastery,mostspiritualaspirantsaimforthehighestachievement,i.e., attaining nirvana or enlightenment. It is also called attaining Zen, Tao, Bodhi,Buddhahood,orseeingtheoriginalface.Whenthissupremegoalisattained,theadeptisnomorehis personal self,which actually is an illusion, but literally becomes thewholeuniverseortheEternalBuddha!

Others, who have taken the great compassionate Bodhisattva Vow, voluntarily

postpone their own Buddhahood, so that they can come back to our world or to otherworldsashighlyspiritualbeingstohelpothers.TheycultivatetobecomeBodhisattvas,intheirpresentlivesorsubsequentones.

Lesser minds aim to go to heaven. It is relatively easy to go to heaven: in theBuddhistteachingtherearemorethantwentyheavensinourSahaworld,whichprobablycorresponds to our solar system, and literally billions of heavens in other stars andgalaxies.Spirituallyadvancedcultivatorscandecidewhichheaventheywishtogoto!

AllthesespiritualaimscanberealizedthroughZentraining.Thebasicmeditationisquitesimilar,exceptthatthevowtheaspirantsmakeandtheparticularwaytheydirecttheirmindarequitedifferent.PracticalZentrainingwillbeexplainedinthenextchapter.

27:METHODSOFZENCULTIVATION

(Sutras,Mantras,andMeditationforSpiritualTraining)

Acquiring blessings through reciting sutras to develop compassion is one way ofspiritualtraining;acquiringmeritsthroughmeditationtodevelopwisdomisanother.Hence,recitingsutrasandpractisingmeditationarethetwoessentialdailytasksinallZenmonasteries.

MeditationofNoMind

Whenmymaster,SifuHoFattNam,taughtmeZenmeditationhesaid,“Sitcomfortablyinalotusposition,closeyoureyesgently,andkeepyourmindblank.”

Itssimplicityanddirectness,andwithhindsightIwouldaddeffectiveness,caughtmebysurprise.IthoughtthatthetechniqueofZenmeditationwouldbevery“deep”andcomplicated.Nevertheless,likeagoodstudent,Ididwhatmyteachertaught.

Because my legs were stiff from my early training of the Horse-Riding stancewithout performing the complementary leg stretching exercises, I could onlymanage across-leggedsittingposition.SoIaskedmyteacher,“CanIusethecross-leggedpositioninstead,oreventhesimplesittinguprightpositiononastool?”

“No,”mymaster replied, “youmust use at least the single lotus position.Manypeoplehaveachievedhighlevels,includingpsychicpowers,usingthecross-leggedorthesimple sitting upright position, but if you aim for the highest youmust use the doublelotus,oratleastthesinglelotus.”

“Butmylegsaretoostiff.”

“Thenpractiselegstretchingexercises,”mymastersaid.

Aftertwoyearsmylegswereflexibleenoughtoattemptthesinglelotusposition,Fig27.1.

Fig27.1SingleLotusPosition—BuddhaPose

Ialsoaskedmymaster,“CanIfocusmymindatmyabdomen,oratmythirdeye?”

“Wedothat inTaoistmeditation,andalso inShaolinKungfuandchikung,”mymaster explained. “Focusing themind at thedan tian (the energy field at the abdomen)developsatremendousamountofjingchi(vitalenergy).Itisverygoodforkungfu.SomeZen practitioners also use thismethod, andwhen this pearl of energy expands, fills thewholebodyandmergeswiththecosmos,enlightenmentisattained.Thisiscalledsilent-

illuminatingZen.Welookintothisilluminatingpearlsilently.Then,whenthetimeisripe,thisinternalilluminationmergeswiththeexternalilluminationofthecosmos,andnirvanaisachieved.

“Focusingthemindattheyintang(thethirdeye)oratthebaihui(thecrownofthehead)developsshenchi(spiritualenergy).Whentheyintang isopened,psychicpowersareaccomplished.When thebaihui isopened, the soulmaybe liberated from thebodyandbecomesaheavenlysaint.Taoistsusethisopeningofthebaihui,knownaskaiqiao,toattainimmortality.”

“Achievingimmortality!Isn’tthatwonderful?”Iexclaimed.

“InBuddhism,attainingimmortalityisnotthehighestgoal,”mymasterexplained.“Tobea saintor an immortal inheaven is still existence in thephenomenal realm.Thesupreme aim of Zen is ‘to jump beyond the three realms’; that is, to transcend allphenomenalrealmsandrealizetheUltimateTruth.ThisisattainingBuddhahood.”

Much later I realized that thismeditation of non-thought or nomindmymastertaughtmewas the samemeditation taught by theSixthPatriarchHuiNeng,whichwastransmitted down the generations by the First Patriarch Bodhidharma at the ShaolinMonastery!Keeping thoughtsaway,or the stateofnon-thought,which isquitedifferentfromeliminatingthoughtsalreadyinthemind,iscomparativelyeasyformebecauseIwasadequately prepared after my years of kungfu and chi kung training where both one-pointedmeditationandvisualizationwerepractised.

Thisnon-thoughtorno-mindmeditationisknownasPatriarchZen.InTanJing,orPlatformSutra,oneof themost important scriptures inZenBuddhism, theSixPatriarchexplains:

Whatismeantbyzuochanorsittingmeditation?Inourteaching,whenthereisnoobstructionwhatsoever—externallytoallentitiesandspace,internallynothoughtsarise in themind—that iszuo(sitting).Perceivingtheoriginalnaturewithoutanyperturbation is chan (meditation). What is chan ding (dhyana-samadhi, or cosmicstillness)? Externally being free from all characteristics is chan (dhyana), andinternallybeingunperturbedisding(samadhi).

Intheabovequotation,theSixPatriarchexplainsthatintheZenmeditationtaughtbyhim,themeditatorsitsstillwithoutanyexternalandinternalinterference.Externallythereisnoobstruction;i.e.,inhismeditativestate,hehastranscendedspace.Allexternalobjectshaveceased tohaveany reality tohim(althoughotherpeople in theirordinaryconsciousnessstillseehimasanindividualpersondifferentiatedfromotherobjects).Internallythereisnothoughtinhismind;i.e.,hehastranscendedtime.HismindandtheUniversalMindisthe same infinity. This direct experience of ultimate reality, which is tranquil andundifferentiated,isChanorZen.

PraisesandVowsinSpiritualCultivation

Forthosewhoareready,themeditationofnominddescribedaboveissufficientforthemto attainment a Zen awakening or even enlightenment in an instant. But it must beremembered that even if an aspirant is ready he still has to practise diligently formanyyearsbeforethatcosmicinstantmayhappen.

For otherswhowish to havemore preparation or some variety in their spiritualcultivation,thefollowingmethods,whicharepractisedintheShaolinMonasteryandotherZenmonasteries,arehelpful.Studentsneednotfollowthesequencelistedbelow,andtheymaychoosewhichevermethodstheyfindsuitable.

It is worth emphasizing that if they are not ready physically, emotional, ormentally, they should practise Shaolin Kungfu and Shaolin Chi Kung or any otherappropriateartstoequipthemselves.Theinformationsuppliedinthisbookissufficientforspiritual preparation, but of course it is recommendable to read more from authenticsources.Itmustbestressedagainthatmoralityistheprerequisiteofallspiritualtraining.An immoral person practising methods meant for spiritual development, such asmeditationandmantrarecitation,mayacquiresomepsychicabilities,buthewillinevitablyruinhimself.Thisisacosmictruth.

It ishelpful,butnotessential, toplaceanimageoranyvisualrepresentationofaBuddha,Bodhisattva,orDeityofyourchosenreligiononanaltarforyourdaily“service”or devotion. Different cultures and religions perform religious services differently. ThefollowingisperformedinBuddhism,asintheShaolinMonastery.

Afteryouhavecleansedyourself,offerajossstick,flowers,waterorlightedcandletotheBuddhaortheBodhisattva.Iftheseexternalofferingsarenotavailable,placeyourpalmstogetherinprayerandbowsincerely.ThensingorchantthepraisetotheBuddhaorBodhisattva three times. The following is the praise in Chinese to Sakyamuni Buddha,followedbyitsEnglishtranslation:

NamoBenShiShiJiaMouNiFo

HomagetoourteacherSakyamuniBuddha

ThepraisetoAvalokitesvaraBodhisattvaorGuanShiYinPuSa(pronouncedlike“KuanShiYinBodhSatt”)inChinese,anditsEnglishtranslationareasfollows:

NamoDaBeiGuanShiYinPuSa

HomagetotheGreatCompassionateGuanShiYinBodhisattva

YoumaychantthepraisesinEnglishorinanylanguageyouwish.

Afterchantingthepraisethreetimes,prostrateonceorthriceasfollows.Startwithpalms together in the prayer position, Fig 27.2. Kneel down, place both palms facingdownwardonthegroundinfront,gentlyknocktheheadontheground,turnbothpalmstoface skyward with the arms still on the ground, Fig 27.3, then stand up with palms inprayerposition.

Fig27.2PalmsinPrayer

Fig27.3ProstratingtoBuddhaorBodhisattva

(a)

(b)

Some peoplemay feel uneasy prostrating to aBuddha, aBodhisattva, or their teachers,thinkingitisdegrading.Ihadsimilarfeelingsbefore,butwhenIbecamemoredevelopedIrealizedthatmyearlierarroganceandegoismwereduetomyspiritualimmaturity.Evenemperors, generals, and great monks prostrated to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and theirteachers,notoutofcompulsionbutofgratitudeandreverence.

It is illuminating to know that the purpose of prostration to Buddhas andBodhisattvasistotallyforthebenefitofthedevotees.Itmakesnottheslightestdifferenceto these enlightened beingswhether any person prostrates to them, but itmakes a greatdifferencetotheaspirant.Ifhestillharboursasenseofegoandvanity,heisunlikelytoprogressmuch at the highest levels of spiritual training. Prostration is one of themosteffectivewaystohelphimovercomehisvanityandego.

Theaspirantwouldhavetomodifyhispraiseaccordingtothedeitiesheplacesonhisaltar forhisdevotion. If theaspirantdoesnothaveanaltaror imageofaBuddhaorBodhisattva,hecanchanttheappropriatepraisetowardsthesky.Ifhedoesnothaveanyparticular Buddha or Bodhisattva in mind, he may chant the following praise to allBuddhasandBodhisattvas:

NamoShiFangFoPuSa

HomagetoBuddhasandBodhisattvasoftendirections

After paying the appropriate homage, the aspirant reconfirms his vow in front of theBuddhaorBodhisattva,saidsilentlyinhisheart,spokensoftlyoraloud.Hecancomposehisownvow;belowaresomeexamples.

Thefollowingvow,taughtbytheSixPatriarchhimself,ismadebymanyZencultivators:

InfinitesentientbeingsIvowtosave

InfinitedefilementsIvowtoabolish

TheinfinitedharmaIvowtopractise

ThesupremeBuddhahoodIvowtoaccomplish

ThosewhoarecompassionatemaytaketheBodhisattvaVow;anexamplefollows:

AlldefilementsIvowtoterminate

ThehighestwisdomIvowtoattain

Tohelpallbeingsovercomesuffering

TheBodhisattvawayIreturntomaintain

Thevowbelowisanexampleforthosewhowishtobereborninheaven:

ThismarvellousteachingIvowtoshare

Withallwhowishtobenefitfromit

Maywecultivatewithunfailingheart

Andbereborninthelandofbliss

Makingavowisimportant:itcompelstheaspiranttobeseriouslycommitted,anditgiveshimdirectionforhisspiritualtraining.

TheHeartSutraofTranscendentalWisdom

Afterreconfirminghisvow,theaspirantmaychantorreciteasutra.Hemaystand,kneel,orsitinalotusorcross-leggedpositioninfrontofanaltarorinanysuitableplace.Ifthesutraislong,hemayreciteapartofitandcontinueinanothersession.

ThemostpopularsutraforrecitationamongZenpractitionersaswellasfollowersofmanyotherBuddhist schools is the “GreatHeartSutraofTranscendentalWisdom toReachtheOtherShore”,usuallyshortenedtotheHeartSutra.Itisanincrediblyamazingmasterpiece; consisting of only 260 words in Chinese, the Heart Sutra presents all theimportant doctrines ofBuddhism!Understandably, in such an exceedingly concise formtheHeartSutraisincomprehensibletomostpeople,includingmanydevoteeswhoreciteitdaily. Ifyou think it isaboutgodsandmorality,prayersanddevotion,youwillbemostmistaken.TheHeartSutraexplainswhatsunyataor thevoid is,andrevealswisdomthatour scientists are investigating into, as in cosmology, explicate and implicate order,consciousness,relativity,andquantummechanics!TheHeartSutratranslatedintoEnglishispresentedbelow.Don’tworryifyoufinditdifficult:mostpeopledo.

AvalokitesvaraBodhisattva,coursingdeeplythroughprajna-paramita,perceivesthefiveskandhasareallempty,andovercomesallsufferingandcalamity.

Sariputra, form isnodifferent fromemptiness;emptiness isnodifferent from form.Form is emptiness; emptiness is form.Feeling, thought, activity, consciousness arealsothus.

Sariputra, all phenomena are emptied of characteristics: non-arising, non-ceasing;non-defiled, non-pure; non-adding, non-subtracting. Thus in emptiness, there is noform,nofeeling,thought,activity,consciousness.Thereisnoeye,ear,nose,tongue,body, and intellect consciousness. There is no form, sound, smell, taste, touch andphenomena. There is no realm of eye consciousness till no realm of intellectconsciousness.

Thereisnoignoranceandnoterminationofignorance,tillnoageanddeathandnoterminationofageanddeath.Thereisnosuffering,nocause,noextinction,andnopath.Thereisnowisdomandnomerits.Thusthereisnoattainmentwhatsoever.Dueto prajna-paramita,Bodhisattvas have no obstruction ofmind.Because there is noobstruction,thereisnofear.Beingfarfromdelusionanddreams,perfectnirvanaisattained.

Due to prajna-paramita, Buddhas of the past, present, and future attain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.

Thus know that prajna-paramita is a great divine mantra, a great mantra ofenlightenment, an unsurpassed mantra, a mantra that has no equal. It is able toeliminateallsuffering.Thisisreallytrue,withoutfalsehood.Ifyourecitetheprajna-paramitamantra;saygate,gate,paragate,parasamgate,bodhisvaha.

At the completion of a sutra recitation, it is usual to chant the name of the Buddha orBodhisattva related to the sutra. The Heart Sutra is a description of the enlightenmentexperienceofAvalokitesvaraBodhisattva,orGuanShiYinPuSainChinese.Hence,thefollowingpraiseinChineseischantedthrice.TheEnglishversion,whichyoumayuseinplaceoftheChinese,isalsogivenbelow.

NamoDaBeiGuanShiYinPuSa

HomagetotheGreatCompassionateGuanShiYinPuSa

Aftersingingorchantingthepraisethreetimes,payhomagetotheBuddhaorBodhisattvabyprostrationonceorthrice.

SpiritualDevelopmentthroughSutraRecitation

TheinevitablequestionmanypeopleaskiswhyrecitetheHeartSutrawhenitsprofoundmeaningisnotunderstood.Differentanswersapplytodifferentgroupsofreciters.Monksin Zen monasteries recite the Heart Sutra because it is an essential part of their dailyservice.ThisinturnisbecauserecitingtheHeartSutrahasbeenatraditionpasseddownfromthepast,whenrecitingsutras,not reading them,was (andstill is) themainwayofpreserving theBuddha’s teaching.Asmanymonkswere illiterate,only theelitehad theopportunitytostudytheprofoundwisdomoftheHeartSutra.ButallmonkshadachancetolistentotheexplanationontheHeartSutraandothersutrasduringdailysermonsintheirmonasteries.

Similarly, layBuddhist followers recite theHeartSutrabecause it ispartof theirdaily serviceperformed at home. It ismeritorious to recite sutras, andmany choose theHeartSutrabecauseitisshortandpopular.Forvariousreasons,whichrangefromlackofgood teachers or books to explain the sutra, to sheer laziness to find out, most layBuddhists do not understand the sutras they recite, especiallywhen the language in thesutras was written fifteen centuries ago, and particularly the Heart Sutra expoundingprofoundconcepts inveryconciselanguage.It isunbelievablebut truethat thousandsofpeoplearechantingsutrasdailywithoutunderstandingtheirmeanings,justlikethousandsofpeopleareperformingkungfuwithoutknowingtheirapplication.

ThegistoftheHeartSutrathatformisemptinessandemptinessisformhasbeenbrieflyexplainedin thisbookconcerningsunyataorultimate reality. Ifyouwish to findoutmoreabouttheHeartSutra,whichwillbeaveryrewardingexperience,pleasereadmybookTheWisdomoftheHeartSutra.

At the completion of the sutra recitation, the devotee transfers the blessings justgained through the recitation to others,whomay be human or otherwise, still living orhavedepartedfromthisworld.Hemay,forexample,transfertheblessingstohisspouse,his parents, his children, a friend who needs help, strangers he has never met, hungryghosts wandering aimlessly around, or all sentient beings. This “transfer of blessings”,carried out by Mahayanists virtually every time after have they recited a sutra is anexample of the beautiful doctrine of “saving others” in Mahayana Buddhism, for thepromotion of which the ShaolinMonastery was built. The following is an example of“transferofblessings”,whichcanbesaidsilently,softly,oraloud:

Maythemeritsaccreditedinthisrecitation

Betransferredtobeingsinalldirections

Andtomyfriends,parentsandfamily

Maytheyallbesafe,peaceful,andhappy

Howdoesoneearnblessingsbyrecitingasutra?AsutraistheteachingoftheBuddha,orsometimesofaBodhisattva sanctionedby theBuddhaas in thecaseof theHeartSutra.Whenyouchantorreciteasutra,youaccomplishthreemeritoriousacts.One,youincreaseyour own wisdom; even though you may not understand the sutra initially, the mentalvibrationsimprintedinyourmindwillalwaysremain,andthewisdomwillmanifestwhenthetimeisripeinyourlaterlifeorfuturelives.Two,yourrecitationhelpstopreserveandtransmitthesacredteachingforsucceedinggenerations.Three,whenyoureciteasutrayouactasamediumfortheBuddhaorBodhisattva,sothatotherbeings,likeghostsandgodswhoarearoundthoughyouareunawareofthem,mayhaveachancetobenefitfromthesupremeteaching.Somegodsmayattainenlightenmentasaresultofyoursutrarecitation!Giving spiritual knowledge is the highest form of charity — higher than buildingorphanages and saving lives.You can imagine the tremendous amount of blessings youacquire,andthereforetheprogressyoumakeinyourspiritualtraining,whenyoureciteasutra.

In the Shaolin spiritual training, which is based on Mahayana Buddhism, theaspirant isasmuchconcernedwithothers’welfareashisown.Hisspiritualquest isnotjustpersonalsalvation,butuniversalenlightenment.Inaccordancewiththisdoctrine,hisspiritual training therefore involves the development of both compassion and wisdom.Acquiringblessingsthroughrecitingsutrastodevelopcompassionisonewayofspiritualtraining; acquiring merits through meditation to develop wisdom is another. Hence,reciting sutras and practising meditation are the two essential daily tasks in all Zenmonasteries.

ChantingMantrasasSpiritualTraining

Instead of reciting a sutra, some devoteesmay sing or chant the name of a Buddha orBodhisattva continuously for tens, hundreds, or even thousands of times, usually in arhythmic or musical manner. For example, the name of the Bodhisattva of GreatCompassionisfrequentlychanted:

NamoGuanShiYinPuSa,NamoGuanShiYin

PuSa,NamoGuanShiYinPuSa...

Homage to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Homage to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva,HomagetoAvalokitesvaraBodhisattva...

TheBuddhawhoisfrequentlychanted,especiallybythosewhowishtogainrebirthintheWesternParadise,isAmitabhaBuddha:

NamoAmiTuoFo,NamoAmiTuoFo,

NamoAmiTuoFo...

HomagetoAmitabhaBuddha,HomagetoAmitabha

Buddha,HomagetoAmitabhaBuddha...

The chanting of a Buddha’s or Bodhisattva’s name, like the two examples above, is amantra,althoughmanypeopleconsiderthatamantrashouldbewordedinSanskrit.

Chantingamantra,likethenameofaBuddhaorBodhisattva,isonewaytoprotectourselves from calamities and evil spirits. If you areworried about a natural disaster, adreadful accident, or somemalevolent devils lurking around you, and you do not knowwhattodo,youmayattemptchantingamantra.Ifyouthinkthisistooludicrous,youare,according to Shaolin philosophy, entitled to your opinion; but you would have deniedyourself a spiritualmethod thatmight protect you, and at least give you some peace ofmind.

Howdoesamantrawork togiveprotection?Thereare three levelsofoperation.First,amantraisapowerfulconcentrationofspiritualenergythathasbeenconditionedbythementalvibrationsofcountlesschantings.Next,therearemanyguardiandeitiesaroundwhohadpreviouslybenefitedfromtheBuddhaorBodhisattva,andwhowouldprotectthepersonchantingtheBuddha’sorBodhisattva’smantra.Third,chantingamantratocallforhelpsendsasignaltotheBuddhaorBodhisattvawhowouldrespondinsomemarvellous

ways.

But can spiritual energy change physical events like a landslide or a motoraccident? These events are physical to us at our human level; at the level of highlydevelopedspiritualbeings,alandslide,amotoraccident,aswellasmalevolentdevilsarejustpatternsofdharmasorsub-atomicforcesandparticles,whichcanbemanipulatedbymind. Nevertheless, it is usually easier and ethically more appropriate for the mysticaloperationofthemantratogetthechanteroutofthewayofaphysicaldisasterthantostopthedisasterfromhappening.Allthesesoundstrangetomanypeople,butactuallytheyarenomorestrangethansomeofourmoderngadgets, likepressingafewkeysandafriendthousandsofmilesawaygetsourletterinhisfaxmachine.

Amantracanalsobeusedtoleadusintodeepmeditation.Sitinalotusposition,close your eyes gently, and continuously chant the name of a Buddha or Bodhisattvasilently, softly, or aloud. Put yourmind into your chanting; feel every syllable of yourchant, andhearevery syllable inyourmind. Initiallypractise forabout fiveminutespersession, but gradually increase the time for as long as you feel comfortable. Youmustpractiseatleastonceaday.Afterafewmonthsyourmindwillbecomeone-pointed.

Thismantra-chantingmeditation is a very goodway to train yourmind.As youprogress in thismeditation,youwill find thatyoucan focusyourmindeasily.Youwillalso find your thinking has become clear, and you can concentrate onmentalwork forlongerperiods.

Youwillalsoprogressspiritually—inwaysthatareeasierfeltthandescribed.Youmay,forexample,havenomorefearfornaturaldisastersoraccidents,andyoumayevenfeelthatmalevolentdevilsnowareafraidofyou,althoughyouhavenointentionatalltocausethemanytrouble.Youcertainlywillhaveinnerpeace,andperhapsalsoexperiencesorabilitiesthatpreviouslyyouhaveneverdreamedtobepossible.

IfyouchantthenameofAmitabhaBuddha,suchasNamoAmiTuoFo,orjustAmiTuoFo, in your meditation, you practise what is known as “Zen – Pure Land DoubleCultivation”,orchan jingshuangxiu inChinese.Youmaychant theBuddha’sname inEnglish,suchasNamoAmitabhaBuddha,orjustAmitabhaBuddha;or inany language.ChantingAmitabha’sname is theprincipalmethodofcultivation in the JingTuorPureLandSchoolofBuddhism,and theaim is tobe reborn inAmitabha’sWesternParadise,whichisalsocalledthePureLand.

ThemainaiminZenBuddhism,however,istoattainenlightenmenthereandnow,rather than to go to theWestern Paradise in the after-life. But despite their seeminglyopposingaims,ZencultivationandPureLandcultivationcanbecombined rewardingly.PureLandpractitionersuseZenormeditation tohelp themrecite theAmitabhaBuddhamantra,ortovisualizethePureLandwithaone-pointedmind,astheirmethodofwinningrebirthinheaven.ZenpractitionersusetheAmitabhaBuddhamantratotametheirmindsothat theymay laterprogress tono-mindmeditation toattainnirvana in theirpresent life.Zen–PureLandDoubleCultivationpractitionerscombinebothaims—toattainthePureLandhereandnowinsteadofintheirafter-life.Thiscanbeinterpretedintwoways:their

meditationissoadvancedthat theyexperiencetheWesternParadisewhiletheirphysicalbodyisstillonthisearth;ortheyattainnirvanawhichisalsocalled,figuratively,thePureLand.

MeditationofOne-PointedMind

Another apparently simple but efficaciousmethod ofmeditation to attain a one-pointedmindinvolvesfocusingthemindonbreathing.Thismethod,knownasAnapanasati,wastaught by the Buddha himself, and is the chief meditation technique in TheravadaBuddhismaswellaswidelypractisedinmanyMahayanaschools.InZenBuddhism,itiscalledTathagataZen,butgenerallyZenpractitionersuseitasasupportivemethodtotametheirmind,afterwhichtheyprogresstoPatriarchZenusingthemeditationofnomind.

Thefollowingisabriefdescriptionofthismeditationofone-pointedmind.Sitinthesinglelotusordoublelotusposition.Closetheeyesgently,orleavethemhalf-closed,gazingabsent-mindedlyatthetipofyournose.Youmayusethe“closeeye”technique,orthe “gazing at nose” technique, but not both at different times in the same meditationsession.

Asinallsittingmeditation,yourspinemustbeuprightbutrelaxed,andyourheadtilted slightly.You can place your palms comfortably on your knees inwhatwe call inShaolinastheLohanpose,Fig27.4,orclaspyourpalmsandrestthembelowyournavelonyourlegsintheBuddhaposeasinFig27.1earlier.

Fig27.4SingleLotusPosition—LohanPose

Keep your mind free from all thoughts, breathe naturally, then gently focus on yourbreathing.Begentlyawareofyourbreathingouteverytimeyoubreatheout,andbegentlyawareofyourbreathingineverytimeyoubreathein.Itdoesnotmatterifyourbreathingisirregular,butitisimportantthatyourmindmustbewithyourbreathingallthetime.Aftersometimeyouwill find thatyourmindandyourenergy,expressedhereasyourbreath,havebecomeoneunity.Asyouprogress,youmaybecomeunawareofyourbodyatall;youarejustmind-energy.

Inallmeditation,youmustnotbedisturbedduringyourpractice.Ifyouaredeepinmeditation, a sudden disturbance may cause your mind to scatter, which can be veryuncomfortable and sometimes injurious.But there is a very simpleway to prevent this.Shouldanydisturbanceoccurs,immediatelytellyourselfthatitwillnotharmyou.Then,

byasheerbutgentleactofwill,keepyourmindintact,andcontinueyourmeditation.

If yourmind is scattered, your chi flow is usually also affected. Self-ManifestedChiMovementorselectionfromEighteenLohanHands,followedbyStandingMeditation(seeChapter18)willhelptoremedythedeviation.Whenyoufeelbetter,practisemantra-chanting meditation or breath-focusing meditation to strengthen your mind beforeattemptinganyno-mindmeditation.

InourShaolinWahnamSchool,webelievemoreinqualitythaninquantity.Thus,for beginners, we recommend that five minutes of meditation when the mind is wellcontrolledisbetterthanthirtyminuteswhenthemindrunswildlikemonkeysandhorses.Asyouprogressyoucangraduallyincreaseyourmeditationtime.Ifyoucanmeditatewellfor fifteen minutes you would have achieved fairly high levels. Only later, after manyyears of diligent daily practice, or when you participate in a special meditation coursetaughtbyZenmasters,shouldyouattemptmeditatingtenormorehoursadayinanall-outefforttobreakthroughthephenomenalrealmtoseesunyataorultimatereality.

Zen or sittingmeditation in a lotus position is the highest of the Shaolin arts. Itshould be practised with the supervision of a master or at least a qualified instructor.However, ifyoucannot findamasteroran instructor,andyouare tooeager topractise,youmustproceedcarefullyandprudently,andyoushouldnotmeditateforlongerthanfiveminutesat thebeginningstage.Laterasyouprogressandaremoresureofyourself,youmayverygraduallyincreaseyourmeditationtime.

WhileZenformsthecoreofShaolinspiritualtraining,Shaolinisalsorichinmanyothermethodsforspiritualdevelopment, likerecitingsutrasandchantingmantras.Somereaders, especially thosewhopractise kungfuor chi kung,mayprotest that all the sutrarecitingandmantrachantingdescribedinthischapterarenotpartsoftheShaolinarts.LetthembeassuredthatallShaolinmastersanddisciplesperformthesesutrarecitings,mantrachantings,aswellasprostrationandZenmeditationeverydayattheShaolinMonasteryasanintegralpartoftheirspiritualtraining.Indeed,asmanyreadersmaybesurprisedtofindout,throughoutthelonghistoryoftheShaolinMonasterymostShaolinmonksspentmoretimerecitingsutrasandchantingmantrasthanpractisingchikungandkungfu.

28:INSEARCHOFSHAOLINMASTERS

(FromKungfuandChiKungtoZen)

You’ll find that what you in your delusion called your own nature is actually theBuddha-nature,what you called your individual self is actually the infinite, eternalUniversalMind!

KungfuforDemonstrationandFighting

Once a young man who was very keen on martial arts witnessed an impressivedemonstrationof kungfu.Hewas amazed; henever thought anymartial art couldbe soaesthetic towatch.Thekungfudemonstrationwasstrength, speed,andbeautiful form inpoeticmotion.

“What’sthat?”heaskedthedemonstrator.

“It’sShaolinKungfu.”

“Canyouteachme?”

“MyShaolinKungfuisnothing,”saidthedemonstrator,whowasaroundtwenty-years-old,about thesameageof theinquiringyoungman.“Ifyouwant to learnShaolinKungfu,I’llbegladtobringyoutomyinstructor.”

Sotheymettheinstructor,whowasaboutthirtyyearsofage.“Master,”theyoungmanaskedpolitely,“canyouplease teachmeShaolinKungfu?Isaw themostbeautifulmartialartdemonstrationbyyourstudent,yethesaiditwasnothing.”

“AlthoughIamaninstructor,Ican’tcallmyselfamaster.Butyouarequiterighttosay my student’s art is nothing. Strictly speaking, his is not Shaolin Kungfu; it’s onlyfloweryfistsandembroiderykicks.”

“I’msorry,what’sthat?”

“Itmeans a demonstrative art beautiful to look at, but useless for fighting,” theinstructor explained. “The basic purpose of kungfu is for fighting, not for pleasingspectators,”hecontinued.“ButifyouwanttolearnShaolinKungfu,I’llrecommendyoutomyteacher.He’llcertainlydoabetterjob.”

“Whydoyousayhe’lldoabetterjob?”theyoungmanwassharptoask.

“Icanonlyteachyoufightingtechniques;myteachercanteachyoukungfuforce.He always says that the essence of kungfu is developing force, not just learningtechniques.”

Theinstructor’steacherwasaboutforty,yethemovedlikeayouthoftwenty-five,though he was tough and massive. But the most remarkable thing about him were hishands,whichwereenormousandrough.

“Master,” the young man asked, “how important is force training is ShaolinKungfu?”

TheSearchforKungfuForce

“Very important! There is a saying that if you only practise kungfu techniqueswithoutdevelopingkungfu force,willbe futileeven thoughyoumaypractiseawhole lifetime,”themastersaid.“Indeed,ifyoudonottrainforce,youarenotdoingkungfu,anystyleofkungfu,notnecessarilyShaolin.”

“Canyoupleaseshowmesomekungfuforce?”theyoungmanrequested.

“I’llshowyouatypeofforcecalledIronShirt.Punchme.”

Theyoungmanhesitated.

“Come on. Punch me,” the master commanded. “Punch me hard, with all yourmight.”

Theyoungmanpunchedthemaster.

“Comeon,harder,harder,withallyourmight.”

Theyoungmanpunchedwithallhismight, andalmostdislocatedhiswrist.Themaster beamedwith satisfaction. “Now I’ll show you another kungfu force, the famousShaolinIronPalm.”

Themasterpiledthreebricks,oneontopofanother.Withseeminglylittleefforthesmashedthethreebrickswithasinglestrokeofhisleftpalm.

Theyoungmanwasspellbound.Therewasnotrick,andthebricksweregenuine.“Iwouldnotbelieveit ifIhavenotseenwithmyowneyes.ThemethodtoachievethisIronPalmmustbeverydifficult.”

“Themethodisverysimple,”themastersaidcasually;“itistheperseverancethatismostdifficult.”

“I’msorryIdon’tquiteunderstand.”

“Youcanlearnthemethodinfiveminutes.Getasandbagandstrikeyoupalmsonitforhalfanhour.Ifyoudothateverydayfortenyears,you’llbeabletosmashbricksaseasilyasIdo.”

“Tenyears!”

“That’swhat Ihavedone.But ifyoupersevereeven forayear,youwouldhaveachievedsomething.Yetmineisonlyaroughart,asmyteacherusedtosay.WaittillyouhaveseenhisShaolinarts;he’sarealmaster,whereasI’monlyhalfamaster.”

“Youcanbreakbrickssoeasily,yetyoucallyourselfhalfamaster.”

“MymastertoldmeIhadaccomplishedtoomuchinthehardforce,buttoolittleinthe soft. Some people call me IronMan, and they always do so with due respect.Mymaster also callsme IronMan, alwayswith a twinkle in his eyes; hemocksme, but ingoodjest.”

“Mockyou?Youmeanhecanbreaksixbricks?”

“Hemaynotbeabletobreakonewithhisbarehand.IronPalmisnothisspecialty.Oncehetoldme,inhisusualmockingway,thatifhewantedtobreaktenbricksheusedahammer,nothispalm.He’sajovialperson;Irespectandlovehim.”

“Canhefight?”

“Certainly!NobodywouldcallhimaShaolinmaster ifhecouldn’t fight. I’mnomatchforhim,althoughheismucholderthanme.”

“Howcan thisoldmasterbe able tomatchyour IronShirt and IronPalm? Ifhestrikesyou,hebreakshiswrist;ifyoustrikehim,youbreakhisbones.”

“Oldmaster?He’snotold,onlyabout fifty.Whenhestruckme the last timewesparred,Ibentdownwithpain.ProbablyIshallbreakhisbonesifIstrikehimhard,i.e.,withoutcontrol.ThetroubleisIcan’ttouchhim;he’stooagile.”

“Didhestrikeyouwithahammer?”

“No,withonlyonefinger.”

“Onefinger!Wheredidhestrikeyou?Youreyes?”

“Hewill never strikeme or anyone else in the eyes.Our Shaolin philosophy ofcompassion does not allow that. I’m sorry I can’t tell you exactlywhere he struckme;that’sourShaolinsecret.Hestruckmeatoneofthe“gates”,whichareactuallypoints—pointsthatcanpenetratetheIronShirt.”

“HisfingermustbestrongerthanirontopenetratetheIronShirt.”

“Hisfingerthatstruckmeissoftandgentle.Strictlyspeaking,itwasnothisfingerthatstruckme;itwashisinternalforcechannelledthroughhisfinger.”

“Itmusthavetakenyoualongtimetorecoverfromthat ...what’dyoucall that?Internalforcetouch?”

“We call that the art of One-Finger Zen. It took me less than five minutes torecover.Mymaster opened the blocked vital point, channelled some of his chi, or vitalenergy, to stimulate my own chi to flow, and in less than five minutes I was back tonormal.He’sachikungmaster,andheusedhispowerfulchitocuremeoftheinjury.”

“Whatmaster?”

“Chikung.Theartofenergy.”

“Thecureissosimple?”

“Simple,ifyouknowhowtoreleasetheinternalenergyblockage,andpossesstheinternalforcetodoso.Ifyoulackeithertheknowledgeortheforce,thepatientwillsufferforlife,ormaydieafterashorttime.”

“Simplyincredible!ButmayImeetyourcompassionatemaster?”

TheIncredibleEnergyFlow

Althoughthecompassionatemasterwasfifty,helookedthesameageasIronMan.

“Master,”theyoungmansaid,“canyoushowmetheartofOne-FingerZen?”

“Yes.Ifyoudon’tmind,Ithinkyouhavesomeproblemwithyourliver,andyoureyesightisfailingyou,despiteyouryoungage.”

“Fantastic!Howdoyouknowaboutmyhealthproblems;wehavehardlymet! Ifeel someoccasionalpainatmy liver, thoughmydoctorscouldnot tellwhy.Myvisionsometimesgetsblur;myeyespecialisttoldmetogetapairofglasses,butwearingthemhasnothelped.”

“I can tell your problems from your face and your eyes. Your livermeridian isblocked, thus causing you pain occasionally. As the liver and the eyes are intimatelyconnected, the energy blockage also causes your blurred vision.Wearing glasseswon’thelp because the site of the problem is not at the eyes, but at the livermeridian.Yourdoctorscan’ttellwhat’swrongwithyourliverbecauseenergyblockageandthemeridiansystemarenotpartoftheirmedicalparadigm.”

“Canyouhelpmetoberelievedofthesehealthproblems?”

“I suppose so; I’ve helped many people with similar problems. Now you standhere.Closeyoureyes.That’sright.Justrelax.Don’tthinkofanything.”

Withhiseyesclosed,theyoungmandidnotknowwhatthechikungmasterwasdoing.Butsoonhefeltasifastreamofwarmwaterwasflowingintohim,thenitbranchedintoafewstreamsflowingalloverhisbody.Thestreamsofwarmwatermovedhisbody!Hetensedhismuscles,preventinghisbodymovement.

“Relax,” he heard the master said kindly but firmly. “Don’t resist your bodymovement.It’syourownchimovingyou.Followthemomentum,andenjoytheswayingmovement.”

Herelaxed,asinstructedbytheShaolinmaster.Soonhisbodystartedtosway,firstgently,thenquitenoticeably.Themovementwaswithouthisvolition.Hefeltstrange,butheenjoyedhisswayingmovement.Hefeltasifheweredriftinginclouds.

Aftersometimeheheardthemaster’svoice.“Nowslowlygetyourmovementtoagentle stop.Stay still for awhile.Rubyour palms together anduse them towarmyoureyes.Openyoureyes.Walkaboutbriskly.”

The first impression the youngman had when he opened his eyes was that theworld actually appeared clearer and more beautiful. “Thank you for this wonderfulexperience.ButcanyoushowmeyourOne-FingerZen,theartthatkillswithafinger?”

“I’ve just done that.But I’m concernedwith curing illness and saving lives, notinjuringandkilling.I’vejustusedmyOne-FingerZentoshootsomechiintoyoutocleartheenergyblockageofyourlivermeridian.”

“It’s fantastic.When I first sawMr. IronMan smashing brickswith his palms IthoughtthatwasthemostfantasticthingIhaveeverseen.ButitwasnothingcomparedtoyourOne-Finger Zen shootingwarmwater intomy body. Themost fantastic, however,wasmyownswayingwithoutmyvolition.Icouldn’thavebelievedit.”

“It’samatterofperspective.It’sunbelievabletoyoubecauseyouhaven’tseenorheardanythinglikeitbefore,anditappearstobebeyondreason.Buttomeit’scommon;Idothateverydaytotensofpatientstohelpthembecuredofso-calledincurablediseases.ButthereareevenmorefantasticthingsinShaolin.”

“Oh yes,why did Imovewithoutmy own volition? Itwas also a very pleasantexperience.”

“That’s because your chimoved your body, and your self-manifestedmovementhelpedtoclearenergyblockage.”

TheShaolinmasterthentaughttheyoungmansomesimplechikungexercises.“Ifyoupractise theseexercises forabout fifteenminutesdaily,your liverandeyeproblemsshoulddisappearinaweek.Isthatfantastic?”

“I’llalwaysrememberyourcompassion.”

“Compassion is one part of the Shaolin teaching; the other part iswisdom,” themasterexplained.

“Wisdom?Canyoutellmemoreaboutwisdom?”

“Forthatyoushouldseemymaster,theoldZenmonkupthemountain.”

TheSearchforCompassion

Theyoungmanclimbedthemountain,withsomedifficulty,andfinallyfoundtheoldZenmonkinhislittletemple.Hewasindeedold,withalongwhitebeard,yethehadachild’scomplexion. Themost noticeable feature about him, however, was the look of joy andserenityonhisface.

TheZenmonkwasprostratingbeforeanaltar.Thisprostrationwasabigsurpriseto the young man, who thought to himself, “Here is the teacher of the most fantasticShaolinmasterIhaveeverseenorimagined,yetheprostratedmeeklylikeachild.”

Theoldmonkdidnotrisetohisfeetafterhisprostration,butkneltbeforethealtarand started to chant. The young man could not understand the chanting but he felt aninexplicableyetunmistakablefeelingofpeaceintheatmosphere.Itwasfunny,hethought,butheevenfelttheywerenotaloneinthetemple!Afraidthathemightdisturbthegreatmasterinhischanting,theyoungmanstoodsilentlyatthedoorway,awedbythemysticalsurroundingwhichseemedtobechargedwithenergy.

Atlastthechantingwasover.TheoldShaolinmasterprostratedthrice,afterwhichhe knelt again and recited what sounded like a short poem. The young man heardsomethinglike‘allbeingsbepeacefulandhappy’.Againthemasterprostratedthrice.Thenhewalkedtowardsanearbytable,lookedtowardstheyoungmanandsaid,“Pleasecomeinandsharesometeawithme.”

“Howdidheknow Iwashere?” theyoungman thought tohimself. “Perhapsheheardmyfootsteps;kungfumastersareverysharp.”

“Isensedyourenergy,”themonksaid,astheyoungmanwalkednervouslytowardsthemaster.“Pleasebeseatedandfeelathome.”

Astheyoungmansatdown,thefragranceofhotteadriftedintohisnostrils.Itmustbeverygoodtea,hethought.

“It’sthebestteaIhave,”themonksaid.“I’msorrytohavekeptyouwaiting,butIwishtocompletemyeveningservice.”

“YourVenerable,”theyoungmanasked,“isthataBuddhaonthealtar?”

“ShewasaBuddhabefore,manyaeonsbeforeourpresentSakyamuniBuddha,butshe comes back as a Bodhisattva. She is Guan Yin Pu Sa, the Bodhisattva of GreatCompassion.”

“Whywon’tyou,yourVenerable,haveaBuddhaatyouraltar?”

“TheBuddha is everywhere;He is in the sky, in the tree, in you andme and ineveryminutedharma.”

“Whatwereyouchantingjustnow?”

“TheAmitabhaSutra,thesutrainwhichourBuddha,SakyamuniBuddha,teachessentientbeingshowtogotoheaven.”

“WhydidtheBodhisattvaneedtolistentothesutra?”

“The chanting of the Amitabha Sutra just now was meant for other beings likeghostsandnaturespirits.IchanteditinfrontoftheBodhisattvasothatherdivinepresencecanbeanunfailingsourceofinspirationforallofus.”

“Ghostsandspirits?Doyoureallybelieveinthem?”

“WhenIwasyoungIused to laughatpeoplewhobelievedinghostsandspirits,butnowIhavesufficientunderstandingandexperiencetojustifymybelief.Butyoumustnot believe in them just because some people mention their existence, otherwise yourbelief would degrade into superstition. You must always base your beliefs onunderstandingandexperience.”

“Arethereanyghostsandnaturespiritsaroundhere?”

“Notnow,theyhavedispersed.Butjustbefore,manygatheredaroundtolistentomychantingoftheAmitabhaSutra.”

Theyoungmanfeltashiverdownhisspine.

“Youneednotbeafraidatall,”themonksaidassuredly.“Theyarequiteharmless.Infact, theyaremoreafraidofhumansthanhumansofthem.Ourattitudetowardsthemshouldbeoneofcareandcompassion.Becauseofourgoodkarma,wehaveaveryrareopportunitytobehumans;wehavemanybenefitswhichghostsandnaturespiritsdonothave.Forexample,wehavethetremendousblessingtounderstandcosmicrealityfromtheBuddha’s teaching,whereastheyaregenerally lost.Recitingsutrassothat they, too,canbenefitfromtheBuddha’steachingisthereforeagreatservicetodo.Andyoudon’thavetoworryabouttheintricaciesofhumanlanguage:theseghostsandspiritscanpickoutthemeaningfromyourmentalvibration.”

Theyoungmanwastouched.ItdawnedonhimforcefullythattheShaolinteachingofcompassion involvednotonlyhumansbutalsootherbeings,and thatShaolinmastersdidnotmerelytalkaboutcompassionbutactuallypractisedit,likethechikungmasterforhumans,andthiskindlyoldmonkforghostsandspirits.

TheSearchforWisdom

TheoldShaolinmonktookoutascrollfromhispocketandrolleditopenonthetable.ItcontainedapoemwrittenwithaChinesebrushinboldChinesecharacters.TheyoungmandidnotpayattentiontothemeaningofthepoembecausehewasattractedbythelivelinessoftheChinesecharacters;theyseemedtocomealive,vibratingwithenergy.

Whatbeautiful,powerfulcalligraphy!theyoungmanthoughttohimself.

“I’mgladyoulikethecalligraphy,butyoushouldpayattentionto themeaning,”theShaolinmonksaidkindly.“Thecalligraphyismine,butthemeaning,manytimesmorebeautiful than the calligraphy, is from the Venerable Bodhidharma, our Shaolin FirstPatriarch.”Theyoungmanreadthepoemaloud:

Ihadmymindwhendeludedinformerdays

NowIhavenomindinultimatereality

Withoutmind,mymindstillservesmyways

Usingitinsuchnessastranquileternity

“Ican’tmakeanysenseatallfromthispoem,”theyoungmanconfessed.

“Notmanycanunderstanditsprofoundwisdom.Youhavetofindityourselflateron, not so much from intellectual study, but from Zen meditation. Nevertheless, thefollowingfewhintswillbeahelpfulstart.Onceyouhaveyourmind,thoughtsarise,whichwill tieyoudown to thephenomenalworld.Havingnomindmeansbeing free fromthephenomenaldimensionandactualizingultimatereality.NomindisthesameasAllMind,orSuchness,which is tranquil eternity.AlthoughaZenmasterhasattainednomind,hestill returns to society to help others, and therefore he also operates in the phenomenalworld.”

Theyoungmanwasstillpuzzled.

“Keepthisscrollasapresentfromme.Youhavecometoaskforwisdom.Thisismyanswer.”

Thiswasbeyondtheyoungman’sexpectations.Besidesmurmuring“thankyou”afewtimes,moretohimselfthantothemonk,hedidnotknowwhatelsetosay.Then,anuncannyfeelingpervadedoverhim:theoldShaolinmonkhadbeenreadinghismind!

“Idon’tmeantoeavesdropintoyourthoughts,oranybody’sthoughts,butIcanseeyourmind as easily as I see your face. In Buddhism, special extraordinary powers areclassifiedintosixgroups,andtelepathyisoneofthem.”

“Howdidyoudevelopyourpoweroftelepathy?”

“Ididn’taimforitparticularly;itcamenaturallywithmyZenmeditation.Differentpeoplemaydevelopdifferentpowers,butthesepowers,thoughuseful,arenotessentialforspiritualattainment.”

“Aresuchpowersaformofwisdom?”

“Ofcoursenot.Wisdom isnecessary for spiritualdevelopment; thesepowersarenot.Withoutwisdom,youcannotachievenirvana.”

Almostwithoutknowingwhathewasdoing,theyoungmanintuitivelykneltdownbeforetheShaolinmaster,prostratedthreetimes,thensaid,

“YourVenerable. I amdull and lost, and Ihavehumblycome to seekguidance.Pleasehavecompassiononme;showmethewaysothatI,too,mayhaveachancetoseetheBuddha’swisdom.”

“Firstofallyoumustknowthatthewisdomwearetalkingaboutisnotthesameasthe ordinary wisdom people have in mind. That’s why we call it higher wisdom ortranscendental wisdom. It is prajna in Sanskrit, transcribed as ban ruo in Chinese.Ordinarywisdom,whichincludesalltheknowledgegatheredbyscholarsandscientists,isphenomenal wisdom, i.e., wisdom pertaining to the phenomenal world, which peoplebecause of ignorance,mistake as reality. Transcendental wisdom, on the other hand, isaboutultimatereality.”

“YourVenerable,whatisthephenomenalworld?”

TheSearchforEnlightenment

“Thephenomenalwordistheworldweexperienceinourordinaryconsciousness,”theoldmaster explained. “Phenomena include things and people we see that we think areultimatelyreal,butareactuallyacreationofmind.”

“YourVenerable,asIhavesaidearlier,Iamdull-minded.IthoughtthechairI’msittingonwasreal.You,yourvenerable,arecertainlyreal.”

“All phenomena, including the chair, you and I, are relative and illusory, notultimatelyreal!”

“Whatdoesthatactuallymean?”theyoungmanaskedinbewilderment.

“Theyare“real”relativetous.Thatisachair toyou,achair tome,andtootherpeople.Buttoanant,itisnotachair;itmaybeasmallhill.Asentientbeingfromanotherrealmofexistence,suchasaghost,maynotseeyouorme,justaspeoplenormallydonotsee ghosts. Now this space in front is empty to us, but to devas or gods it is a solidmountain.Theybuildtheirpalacesinourair,whichtothemisamountain.Weareliterallylivinginsidetheirmountainsjustashellbeingsarelivinginsideourearth.”

“I’mafraidIstillcannotfollow.”

“It’snoteasytounderstandhigherwisdom.ItneedsalotofZenmeditationbeforeprajnamanifests.Butletmegiveyouasimplerexample.Lookatthosefishoverthereinthepond.Toustheyswiminthewater.Buttothefishthewaterisnon-existent;theydonotseewaterandtheymoveaboutinitwithoutobstruction.Whathappensiftheygetoutofwaterintoair?That,ofcourse,isourwayoflookingatthephenomenon.Tothefishthesame phenomenon appears differently; to them it is getting into some solidmaterial inwhichtheycouldn’tmove,somethinglikeahumangettingintoarock.”

“Ihaveneverperceivedafishinthiswaybefore!Cometothinkofit,afish,withonly its fish-intelligence, can never understand howwe canmove about freely in their‘rock’.ButIstillcannotunderstandwhywearenotreal.IfIpinchmyself,thepainassuresmethatIamreal.”

“That’strueinourordinaryconsciousness.Butifyouareawakened,whatwecallwu inZen,youwill find thatyourbody,whichyou think is solidanddifferentiatesyoufrom the so-called external surroundings, is actually not solid, and there is really noboundarybetweenyouandtheso-calledexternalsurroundings!Youwillfindthatyouareacollectionofdharmas,orelementaryparticles,witha lotof ‘emptyspace’ inbetween.Thesedharmasareneverstatic:atoneinstancetheyaredharmas,atanotherinstancetheybecomekriya,orenergy.There isalsono linewherebyyoucansay this ismy“inside”,andthatismy“outside”.Thereissimplynowhereyoucantellwhereyour‘body’beginsorends.”

TheShaolinmonkpausedforawhiletolettheyoungmanreflectonthisprofound

wisdom.

“Withduerespect toyou,YourVenerable,and tobehonestmyself, ImustsayIfindithardtoacceptthatthisistrue.”

“InBuddhismweneveraskyoutoacceptanythingonfaithalone.EventheBuddhadidnotdothat.Outofgreatcompassion,theBuddhasharedhisgreatestachievementwithothers,butheneverinsistedthatothersmustfollowhim,norbelittledotherreligionseveniftheydifferedsubstantially.Heonlyshowedtheway,thewayhehimselfhadtravelled,andheadvisedhisfollowerstoassesshisteachingtothebestoftheirunderstandingandexperience.”

Theyoungmanremainedsilent,gratefullysilent.

“ButwhatIhavejusttoldyouisstillnotthehighestattainment.InourShaolinarts,aZen awakeningorwu is a confirmation and inspiration for even greater attainment tocome.Thehighestattainment,thesupremeaimofZen,theapexofShaolintraining,istoattainanuttara-samyak-sambodhi, or the supreme perfect wisdom,where even dharmasand kriya disappear, and ultimate reality which is tranquil and undifferentiated isexperienced.You’llfindthatwhatyouinyourdelusioncalledyourownnatureisactuallythe Buddha-nature, what you called your individual self is actually the infinite, eternalUniversal Mind! This is enlightenment or jie, the highest accomplishment any beinganywherecaneverattain.”

USEFULADDRESSES

SifuWong’swebsite:www.shaolin.org

Australia

SifuJeffreySegal

ChiefInstructor,ShaolinWahnamAustralia

POBox713

Northcote3070

Victoria

Australia

E-mail:[email protected]

Website:http://www.wahnamaustralia.com/contact/SifuJeffreySegal.htm

SifuNeilKelson

DrNeilKelson

Brisbane,Qld

Australia

Tel:61-7-33667280


Website:http://www.wahnamaustralia.com/contact/SifuNeilKelson.htm

SifuSteveClarke

24Towrycrs,Vincentia,N.S.W.2540

http://www.shaolin.org

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.wahnamaustralia.com/contact/SifuJeffreySegal.htm


http://www.wahnamaustralia.com/contact/SifuNeilKelson.htm

Australia

Tel:61-244417708,61-0431279521

Website:http://www.shaolinwahnamjervisbay.com

SifuMichaelAgar

6CreekParade,Northcote,Victoria

Australia3070

Tel:61394192893,61411328142


Website:http://threetreasuresshaolinarts.wordpress.com/

Austria

SifuSylvesterLohninger

MaitreyaInstitute,

Blaettertal9,

A-2770Gutenstein,

Austria.

Tel:43-2634-7417

Fax:43-2634-74174


Website: http://www.maitreya.at/SHAOLIN-CHI-GONG-JUNI-2011-mit-Grossmeister-Wong-Kiew-Kit/

SifuIreneHewarth

Linz

Austria


http://www.shaolinwahnamjervisbay.com


http://threetreasuresshaolinarts.wordpress.com/


http://www.maitreya.at/SHAOLIN-CHI-GONG-JUNI-2011-mit-Grossmeister-Wong-Kiew-Kit/


Website:http://www.shaolinqigong.at

SifuMariangelaAime

Bennogasse23/38,1080Vienna

Austria


Canada

SifuJeanKay

ChiefInstructor(ChiKung),ShaolinWahnamCanada

Tel:1-416-9790238

Fax:1-416-9790238


SifuAntonSkafar

13HermiePl.

Kitchener,OntarioN2H4X9

Canada.

Home:1-519-576-5780

Cell:1-519-635-6253


SifuJohnCrispin

Georgetown

Ontario

http://www.shaolinqigong.at




Canada

Tel:1-905-8738769


SifuGordonPfeffer

Toronto,Ontario

Canada.

Tel:1-416-220-5831


SifuCharlesChalmersBox217Winlaw,B.C,V0G2J0Canada

Tel:1-250-226-7116


SifuJoeCommisso

Tel:1-647-3931650


Colombia

SifuRamaRobertoLamberti

ChiefInstructor,ShaolinWahnamLatinAmerica

Tel:57-310-2651463


Website:http://www.shaolin-wahnam-center.org






http://www.shaolin-wahnam-center.org

SifuPitiParraDuque

ShaolinWahnamColombia

Cra78#128-90apt.601

Bogotá-Colombia

Tel:573102817922


SifuJuanPabloParraDuque(Papalo)

Penta-ParraDuque&Asociados

Colombia.

Tel:57-1-6242680


CostaRica

SifuRamaRobertoLamberti

ChiefInstructor,ShaolinWahnamCostaRica

GardenofTimelessness,

BlueMountain,

CostaRica.

Tel:506-2742-5278



SifuSimonRodriguez

ShaolinWahnamCostaRica

MontañaAzul,PerezZeledon,CostaRica





Tel:+50688931797and+50627425278



Denmark

SifuPragataJeanBlaise


Ecuador

SifuJoseAntonioTorres

Quito

Ecuador

Tel:(593)22896130


Website:http://www.shaolin.ec/frontEnd/main.php

SifuKenyaAraujo

Quito

Ecuador

Tel:(593)22896130


Website:http://www.shaolin.ec/frontEnd/main.php

England

SifuRonanSexton





http://www.shaolin.ec/frontEnd/main.php


http://www.shaolin.ec/frontEnd/main.php

England

Tel:44-790-6184047


SifuMichaelDurkin

Manchester,

England


SifuJordanFrancis

4MelchesterClose

Gillingham,Dorset

SP84FB,England

Tel:44-1747-821375


Website:http://www.wahnam.blog.com

SifuTimFranklin

Tel:07950365879

Fax:07950365879


Website:http://www.wingchoon.com/

Website:

www.fullyalive-chiflow.co.uk

http://fullyalive1.blogspot.co.uk/p/tim.html

SifuInnesMaran

Manchester,England




http://www.wahnam.blog.com


http://www.wingchoon.com/

http://www.fullyalive-chiflow.co.uk

http://fullyalive1.blogspot.co.uk/p/tim.html


SifuBarrySmale

BarrySmaleMBACP(Accred)

11GrevilleParkAvenue

Ashtead,Surrey

KT212QS

UK

Tel:+44(0)1372279658

Mobile:+44(0)7900243509

ClinicsavailableinLondonandSurrey


Website:

www.fullyalive-chiflow.co.uk

http://fullyalive1.blogspot.co.uk/p/barry.html

SifuNicholasJones

Tel:+44(0)7793142221


Website:www.wahnam.blogspot.com

SifuFleurChapman

Tel:+44(0)2077354940

Mobile:+44(0)7745900344


Finland



http://www.fullyalive-chiflow.co.uk

http://fullyalive1.blogspot.co.uk/p/barry.html


http://www.wahnam.blogspot.com


SifuMarkusKahila

Tel:+358405365314


Website:www.shaolin-nordic.com

France

SifuMaximeCiterne

Lyon

France


Website:

http://www.wahnam.fr

http://www.institut-anicca.com/

Germany

SifuKaiUweJettkandt

ChiefInstructor,ShaolinWahnamGermany

Kruppstr.114

60388Frankfurt

Germany

Tel:+496990431954


Websites:

http://www.shaolin-wahnam.de


http://www.shaolin-nordic.com


http://www.wahnam.fr

http://www.institut-anicca.com/



http://www.cosmos-chikung.de

SifuAntonSchmick

ShaolinWahnamGermany

Wakenitzstraße34f,23564Lübeck

Germany

Tel:49-179-9177072


Websites:

http://www.shaolinwahnam-nord.de

http://www.kungfu-luebeck.de

SifuIrinaJanicke



Website:http://www.shaolin-wahnam.de

SifuBenediktVennen



Website:http://www.shaolin-wahnam.de

Indonesia

SifuJokoRiyanto

ShaolinWahnamIndonesia

JalanDipatiUkur3Bandung40132

Indonesia

http://www.cosmos-chikung.de


http://www.shaolinwahnam-nord.de

http://www.kungfu-luebeck.de





Tel.62-22-2506088

Mobile:+62-81-22044977


Ireland

SifuJoanBrowne

ChiefInstructor,ShaolinWahnamIreland

Gortluachera,

Kilgarvan,

CountyKerry,Ireland.

Home:00353(0)646685877

Mobile:00353(0)871212249


Websites:

http://www.smilefromtheheart.ie

http://www.qigongprivateclinic.com

http://www.specialistcancerhealing.com

SifuMarkHartnett

Caum,Macroom

CountyCork,Ireland

Tel:353-85-1109353


Website:http://www.smilefromtheheart.ie

SifuPadraigShanahan




http://www.qigongprivateclinic.com

http://www.specialistcancerhealing.com



Caum,Macroom

Newtown,Clarina,

Co.Limerick,Ireland

Tel:353-61-353777and353-87-7543020


Website:http://www.smilefromtheheart.ie

Italy

SifuAttilioPodesta

ViaAurelia1,

17024FinaleLigure,

Italy

Tel:39-019-600611,39-335-6622193

Fax:39-019-600611


Website:http://www.puntaest.com

SifuRiccardoPuleo

ViaDonGnocchi4

20148Milano

Italy

Tel:39-02-4072787,39-335-6072100


SifuDianaRegazzoni

Casciago-Varese




http://www.puntaest.com


Italy

Tel:39-339-8620128,39-0332-824896


SifuAndreaG.Lombardi

Italy

Tel:0039-347-8663007


Luxembourg

SifuHendrikDennemeyer

143,CeintureumSchlass

L-5880Hesperange

Luxembourg,EU

Malaysia

SifuWongChunNga

81TamanIntanB/5,

08000SungaiPetani,

Kedah,

Malaysia.

Tel:60-12-4926618

Fax:60-4-4222353





SifuLeeWeiJoo

ShaolinWahnamInstituteKualaLumpur

No4-2,JalanDamaiPerdana1/8B,

BandarDamaiPerdana,

Cheras,KualaLumpur56000.

Malaysia.

Tel:60-(0)16-9144685


Website:http://shaolinwahnammalaysia.com/

Mexico

SifuPitiParraDuque


Cra78#128-90apt.601

Bogotá-Colombia

Tel:573102817922


TheNetherlands

SifuDarrylCollett

Amsterdam

Tel:+31-6-3441-0774


Website:www.shaolinwahnam.nl


http://shaolinwahnammalaysia.com/



http://www.shaolinwahnam.nl

SifuRoelandDijkema

Oostzaan

TheNetherlands

Telephone:0642746389


Norway

SifuOmarIversen

Oslo,Norway

Tel:+4795234471


Website:www.shaolin-wahnam.fi/no

Portugal

SifuRiccardoSalvatore

ChiefInstructor,ShaolinWahnamPortugal

Tel:351-21-8478713

Fax:351-21-8478713


Website:http://www.shaolin-wahnam-portugal.com/contactos.htm

SifuLuisMorgado

Lisbon,

Portugal.


http://www.shaolin-wahnam.fi/no


http://www.shaolin-wahnam-portugal.com/contactos.htm


Website:http://shaolin-wahnam.planetaclix.pt/index_por.htm

PuertoRico

SifuAngelG.PérezOliveras

ShaolinWahnamInstitutePuertoRico

Urb.SantaTeresita

#63CalleTenienteMatta

SanJuan,PR00913

Mobile:(787)515-9545


Russia

SifuJuliaVolunskaya

Moscow,

Russia.


Website:http://chiflow.ru

Scotland

SifuMarkAppleford

ChiefInstructor,ShaolinWahnamUK

Edinburgh


http://shaolin-wahnam.planetaclix.pt/index_por.htm



http://chiflow.ru

Scotland

Tel:+447875074646


Websites:

http://www.zentreasures.com

http://fullyalive1.blogspot.co.uk/p/mark.html

SifuAndrewGerardCusick

Glasgow

Scotland

Tel:++44(0)7954406219


Website:http://www.qigongparadigm.com

Singapore

SifuZhangWuji(Christopher)

Website:http://www.wahnamsg.com

Spain

SifuJavierGalve

C/Villamanin19,5-2

28011Madrid,

Spain.

Tel:34-91-4644016,34-656-669790



http://www.zentreasures.com

http://fullyalive1.blogspot.co.uk/p/mark.html


http://www.qigongparadigm.com

http://www.wahnamsg.com


Website:http://www.wahnammadrid.org

SifuAdaliaIglesias

CalleCometa3atico,

08002Barcelona,

Spain.

Tel:34-93-3104956,34-654-155864


Website:http://www.chikung-bcn.com/

SifuJoseDiazMarques

C/delTeatro13,

41927MairenadelAljarafe,Servilla,

Spain.

Tel:34-954-183917and34-656-756214

Fax:34-955-609354


SifuInakiRiveroUrdiain

AguirreMiramon6-4dch,

20002SanSebastian,

Spain.

Tel:34-943-360213,34-656-756214


Website:http://www.euskalnet.net/psicosalud/andorra.htm

SifuTrinidadParreño

http://www.wahnammadrid.org


http://www.chikung-bcn.com/



http://www.euskalnet.net/psicosalud/andorra.htm

Alicante-Spain

Tel:+34-609441170


Website:www.chikungalicante.es

SifuLauraFernaindezGarrido

C/RafaelHerrera,3-1C

Madrid28036,

Spain.

Tel:34-91-6386270and34-914-038002


Website:http://www.wahnammadrid.org

SifuDanielPerez

C/Castillejos4332o1a

08024Barcelona

Spain

Tel:34-650-389120


Website:http://www.shaolinbcn.com

SifuJorgeLeon

C/JaumeFabre,2,1-6

08019-Barcelona,

Spain.

Tel:34-669-871141



http://www.chikungalicante.es


http://www.wahnammadrid.org


http://www.shaolinbcn.com


SifuManuelTiradoLopez

Address:Madrid,Spain

Tel:34626575973


Website:http://wahnam-taichichuan.es

Switzerland

SifuAndrewBarnett

ChiefInstructor,ShaolinWahnamSwitzerland

Landstrasse118

7250Klosters

Switzerland

Tel:41-81-420-2250

Fax:41-81-420-2251


Website:http://www.shaolin-wahnam.ch

SifuRolandMastel

ShaolinWahnamBern-Zürich

Switzerland

Mobile:0041/794695360


Websites:

www.enerqi.ch

www.praying-mantis.org


http://wahnam-taichichuan.es


http://www.shaolin-wahnam.ch


http://www.enerqi.ch

http://www.praying-mantis.org

SifuRonnySinger

Alisbachweg5,

CH-6315Oberägeri,

Switzerland

Tel:+41764240396


SifuAndreaZilio

Ausserdorfstrasse16

8918Unterlunkhofen(Zurich/Aargau)

Tel:+41793176181


Website:www.taichichuan-wahnam.ch

SifuAdrianZingg

Seftigenstrasse68

3007Bern

Switzerland


SifuMauroBuccarella

Zuerich,Switzerland

Mobile:+41794362904




http://www.taichichuan-wahnam.ch



Taiwan

SifuMarkBlohm


Website:www.shaolinhealing.com

ShaolinWahnamInstituteTaiwan67Sui-TangStreetXinyingDistrict,TainanCity730Taiwan(R.O.C.)

Thailand

SifuRobinGamble

Hatyai,

Songkhla,

Thailand.


Website:www.taichichuanthailand.com

UnitedArabEmirates

SifuYazdiDaruwalla

P.O.Box6034

Sharjah

UnitedArabEmirates

Tel:+971506263058


http://www.shaolinhealing.com


http://www.taichichuanthailand.com

UnitedStatesofAmerica

SifuAnthonyKorahais

ChiefInstructor,ShaolinWahnamUSA

Gainesville,Florida

USA

Tel:352-672-7613

E-mail:

Website:http://www.flowingzen.com

SifuAnthonySpinicchia


702-672-956372WHorizonRidgeParkway120-191Henderson,NV89012Website:http://www.elitechikung.com

SifuEugeneSiterman

299CarrollStreet

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USA

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1769CarrollAve.#6

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St.Paul,MN55104

Tel:763-412-7296


SifuMarkBlohm


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ShaolinWahnamInstituteTaiwan67Sui-TangStreetXinyingDistrict,TainanCity730Taiwan(R.O.C.)

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NewHampshire,

USA

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Venezuela

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TableofContentscopyrightOtherBooksABOUTTHEAUTHORIntroduction1:AHEAVENLYVISION(HowShaolinMonasteryGotItsName)2: THE FABULOUS SHAOLIN MONASTERY (Legends and Significance of the

MonasteryHalls)3:FITFOREMPERORSANDGENERALS(PreciousArtsofShaolin)4:MOVEMENTSOFHEALTH,VITALITY,ANDLONGEVITY(TheShaolinWayto

PhysicalandSpiritualHealth)5: POETRY OF STRENGTH AND COURAGE (The Philosophy and Dimension of

ShaolinKungfu)6:FORMANDFUNCTIONINMOTION(TheFundamentalsofShaolinKungfu)7:FIGHTINGINBEAUTIFULMOVEMENTS(KungfuApplicationforCombat)8: FROM KUNGFU FORM TO COMBAT APPLICATION (Specific Techniques to

HandleVariousSituations)9: FROM ARRANGED TO FREE SPARRING (Practising Variation in Combat

Sequences)10: FURTHER TRAINING FOR EFFECTIVE FIGHTING (Developing Fundamental

SparringSkills)11: CREATING OPPORTUNITIES TO SECURE VICTORY (Applying Tactics and

StrategiesinFighting)12:THEFASCINATINGFORCEOFSHAOLINMASTERS(VariousKindsofForcein

ShaolinKungfu)13:PRINCIPLESANDMETHODSOFPOWERTRAINING(ShaolinIronPalmandIron

Arm)14:SECRETSOFTHEENERGYMASTERS(DevelopingCosmosPalmandIronShirt)15:THEFAST,THEAGILE,ANDTHEMARVELLOUS(MarvellousResponsesandthe

ArtsofLightness)16:DRAGONS,PHOENIXES,TIGERSANDTHEMOON(ABriefSurveyofKungfu

Weapons)17:THESPIRITOFSHAOLIN(TeachingonMorality,Righteousness,andCompassion)18:WONDERS OF SHAOLIN CHI KUNG (The Link between Physical and Spiritual

Development)19:CURING“INCURABLE”DISEASES(ShaolinChiKungandChineseMedicine)20:THEINTERNALCOSMOS(AMarvellousArtcalledtheSmallUniverse)21:DONOTWORRY IFYOUHAVEBROKENYOURBONES (An Introduction to

ShaolinTraumatology)22:THESONGSANDPOETRYOFSHAOLIN(DescribingtheGrandeurinRhythmand

Rhyme)23: THE DIVINE AND THE COSMOS (The Magnificence and Universality of All

Religions)

24: VARIOUS VEHICLES OF ENLIGHTENMENT (The Beauty and Wisdom ofBuddhism)

25: ANCIENT WISDOM ON MODERN SCIENCE (A Survey of Various ChineseSchoolsofBuddhism)

26:THEBEAUTYANDPROFUNDITYOFZEN (SomePhilosophicalConsiderationsforZenTraining)

27:METHODSOFZENCULTIVATION(Sutras,Mantras,andMeditationforSpiritualTraining)

28:INSEARCHOFSHAOLINMASTERS(FromKungfuandChiKungtoZen)USEFULADDRESSES

Complete Book Of Shaolin: Comprehensive Program … Dondrup Dorje...Shaolin Kungfu, one of the most...

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