Gee (芷) – my partner – practising neidan meditation whilst life goes on around her. Thousands of years ago, her ancestors were servants of the
Tag: confucius
Xu Yun on Different Types of Monks
‘The Master Xu Yun replied, “The title ‘Monk’ is just a name, for there are holy monks and worldly monks. It is not fair to blame the whole Sangha because there are one or two bad monks. Can we blame Confucius because there are bad Confucian scholars?
Master Xu Yun – Ch’an and Co-operating Causes
Research by Adrian Chan-Wyles PhD ‘Confucius’ teaching was handed down until Mencius after whom it came to an end. In the Song Dynasty Confucian scholars
Hui Jian (慧剑) – the Sword that Clears the Mind
Therefore the characters ‘慧剑’ (hui jian) represent a distinctly ‘Buddhist’ method of clearing the mind that is as decisive as a blow from a sharp sword used in scholarly self-defence. Despite its obvious Buddhist origin and undertones – the ‘sword’ is a clear concession to the Confucian establishment as it strove to integrate foreign Indian Buddhist thought, with that of Chinese indigenous understanding and belief.
Taijiquan as Advanced Rationality
As a development of higher reason, Taijiquan is a distinct activity with a unique philosophy, which is indicative of an advanced rationality. This use of the human mind has developed a set of combat effective physical exercises that are designed to complement the anatomy and physiology of the human body. No movement exists within Taijiquan that has not evolved from the requirement of optimising the inner and outer physical structures of the body.
Master Xu Yun (1840-1959) – Present Awareness.
‘Buddhism was tolerated however, despite some historical ups and downs, but leaving home to become a monk has always been a difficult affair. It still was in 1858 when master Xu Yun decided to leave home and pursue the Buddhist monastic path. As his father was a government official, Xu Yun was expected to follow in his footsteps, get married and produce a son to keep the family name of Xiao going. Even though he had expressed spiritual inclinations to his father, his father would not give permission for him to leave. Instead his father arranged for a Daoist teacher to come to the family home and teach Xu Yun internal and external qigong – or ‘energy work’.’
