The Way To Fulfillment

“Abandon Hope, all ye who enter here!” *

I grew up believing that if I had nothing to hope for, then life was not worth living.As I hoped for better things to happen, for more dreams to be fulfilled, I became more unhappy and discontented.

“How we cling to the very things that cause our suffering!They are what is closest to us, and we are afraid that, if we let go, we will have nothing!” *

The moment I started to let go of my traumatic experiences and released my worries of the future – to dump an accumulated lifetime of garbage – I started to have freedom.I started to uncover the beauty and wisdom springing from within.I found that the treasure I had been seeking outside was actually at the center of my being.True love was inside me all along.

“Abandon Hope…it is the way to wake up and come to life.” *

From the first moment that I practiced T’ai Chi Chih (with my teacher Carmen Brocklehurst’s PBS video), I knew I had found the most precious gift.Finally, I had found what I had been searching for – the passion and purpose for the rest of my life.To learn, practice, and finally to live and teach TCC to everyone I come across.

“Abandon Hope…to live the beauty of the present and to know, with gratitude, the Joy of Being.” *

I have been transformed immensely with TCC, Seijaku, and the Nei Kung.I was a medical doctor with countless degrees, yet I was unfulfilled.I was sickly, weak, depressed, full of anxiety, worry, anger, fear, resentment; I was carrying the burdens of the past, present, and future.Then, I learned to empty myself, to start with nothing, to release and let go of everything.Like a caterpillar cocooned until it becomes a butterfly, I am becoming joyful, peaceful, calm, loving, courageous, and healthy.I used to always want to run, hide, escape.But walling myself off and being numb, neither did I feel love.Now, I am rooted in the soles of my feet.I am becoming centered and eager to discover more of my true self within.I never knew that I had so much life and beauty inside.It’s wonderful to see myself blossom with this flowing fountain ofJoy. Not because I have everything, but because I desire nothing.

“Only by abandoning hope for the future can we know life in the present.” *

Each time I let go of wants, I realize that the present moment is wonderful. Leading with the T’an Tien (flowing from the center, with softness, circularity and continuity) has spilled into daily life.What a joy to have no regrets of the past, no worries of the future.

In my life, I have discovered and continue to unfold the truth that, “From the state of emptiness, each man’s [my] body is a body pervading the universe.His [my] voice is a voice filling the universe.His [my] life is a life which is without limit.” (from the Lotus Sutra, as quoted in Justin Stone Speaks on T’ai Chi Chih)

* from ABANDON HOPE! The Way to Fulfillment, by Justin F. Stone

The Audacity Of (Abandoning) Hope

By Pete Gregory, Crown Point, IN

I often hear T’ai Chi Chih teachers allude to an approaching threshold in our history that will bring explosive growth and demand for beginner’s classes. Perhaps it will come from a promising study, or some upgraded GKP materials, or from projections made by Justin. Sometimes a teacher may come away from a TCC event so exhilarated they can’t refrain from building castles in the air.

I’m no different. I’ve had visions of KG driving a forklift around a GKP warehouse while Carmen Brockleshurst’s TV series is broadcast on PBS everywhere (again and again). I’ve imagined a wall-size map with pushpins indicating TCC studios across the landscape. My daydreaming has not materialized. More importantly, it hasn’t yielded any new classes. 

One day, the momentum shifted away from high-falutin’ to practical when I put together a really good brochure. I distributed over 100 of them locally, and mailed some to Justin and a short list of teachers. The response was extreme. At home: extreme silence, no classes, few demos. Crickets. With teachers: extreme enthusiasm, so much so that many felt the bochure should be packaged and sold to teachers at the conference.

I want to be a busy and sought after teacher. Getting involved in a brochure project, or any other distraction of power, authority, or profit outside the classroom will only take me back to the land of pushpins and forklifts. Therefore, I’m letting it go. Margaret Mead perhaps said it best: “Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens could change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”