Beginner’s Mind (February 2010)

One of the challenges for experienced practitioners and teachers of T’ai Chi Chih is to maintain Beginner’s Mind – the sense that every time you are doing TCC, you are doing it for the first time and are approaching the practice with the sense of eagerness, wonder and respect that a beginner would have. Beginner’s Mind is a Zen concept that Justin Stone speaks of often. Once you have learned TCC’s 19 movements and one pose, it is easy to forget that there was ever a time when you didn’t know how to do the practice. While it is a great feeling to do the practice without having to think about where to place your hands and feet, this achievement can lead to complacency and a sense of doing the movements by rote. When Justin admonishes us not to do “empty movements,” I believe he is reminding us to reengage our Beginner’s Mind.

Over the years as a TCC student and teacher, one way that I have found to reenter Beginner’s Mind is to seek out and continue to work with my teacher and my teacher’s teacher, and even my teacher’s teacher’s teacher (in my case, Justin Stone). Doing so reminds me that I am a life-long student of TCC and consciously reconnects me with the line of generous people who have passed the gift of TCC from Justin Stone to me.

My teacher is still an active teacher and has issued an open invitation for me to attend her classes whenever I am able. She also leads weekend TCC retreats a few times a year. When I am able to attend, I get the opportunity to enter Beginner’s Mind, both as a TCC student and as an instructor. Although I have been a committed student of TCC for almost two decades and an active teacher for a number of years, I am not ashamed to admit that every time I work with my teacher (honestly and openly seeking instruction and feedback), I return to my students with the gift of corrections to share. The last time I worked with my teacher, she was able to give me instruction that allowed me to loosen and flow as never before. The change (deepening) of my practice was astonishing to me, and was inspiring to my students.

And, best of all, we can all study directly with Justin Stone! Even though Justin is not actively teaching TCC anymore (per se), his instruction is available to all. No matter where we live, we can continue to refresh our practice directly from the source, thanks to Justin’s textbook and DVD (available through Good Karma) and video instructional clips (published for free on YouTube). I try to make it a point, at least once a year, to re-read the textbook and to watch Justin’s DVD. Doing so reinvigorates both my personal practice and my teaching methods. I also encourage all of my students to consider themselves students of my teacher (and of her teacher, and so on) and of the teacher of us all: Justin Stone. Let’s honor our TCC practice by finding ways to return to Beginner’s Mind as often as possible.