Grounding in the Soles of the Feet

Justin Stone Speaks

By Justin F. Stone

From Justin Stone Speaks on T’ai Chi Chih, a transcription of a taped lecture, excerpted and reprinted with permission from Good Karma Publishing.

GROUNDING

Why it’s necessary to keep the concentration in the soles of the feet while doing T’ai Chi Chih?

Actually there are three reasons. First, having a point of concentration keeps the mind from wandering and from having extraneous thoughts.

Second, the t’an tien, the spot two inches below the navel, is the all-important place Chi is stored. It is the seed of intuition and the most important spot from the Chinese standpoint. In T’ai Chi Ch’uan the student is asked to keep his concentration in the t’an tien, but this is very difficult and often interferes with breathing. The Tu Mu meridian channel that comes down the front goes thru the t’an tien and reaches the soles of the feet, called the Chu or bubbling spring.

Therefore by concentrating in the soles of the feet, we serve the same purpose – bringing the Chi down to the t’an tien by bringing it down to the soles of the feet. The Buddha once said that, “He who keeps his concentration in the soles of his feet while walking, while sitting, and while lying down can heal a thousand illnesses.”

Third and most important from a health standpoint, we want to bring the heart fire, that is the Yang of the heart down, instead of letting the Yin of the kidneys rise. The great Japanese Zen Master Hakuin Zenji commented on this when he said, “The essential of the molding of the outer form consists in allowing the inward spirit and vital force, that is the Chi, to penetrate into the space below the navel.

Where the inward spirit is concentrated, that is when the elixir of life is made. When this elixir is thus made the outer form becomes firm, and when the outer form becomes firm, the inner spirit becomes perfected. When the inward spirit is perfected long life ensues. This is the secret. It is entirely a matter of the heart fire descending into the space below the navel.”

This gives us a pretty good idea of the importance to health of this practice. And it also graphically demonstrates that T’ai Chi Chih goes much deeper than merely helping us to be healthy. Incidentally, Hakuin made his own breakthrough to enlightenment and totally cured his ailing health by following these principles. After his enlightenment he said, “After this, seeing the things of the world was like observing the back of my own hand.”

What is the karma I hear so much about?

The Sanskrit word Karma means action, but we generally use it in the sense of the fruits of Karma, the results of action. When we say, “As you make your bed, so shall you lie in it.” We are giving an accurate description of Karma. From the Indian standpoint your deeds will bring about a like reaction. Though it may be over the course of many lives, you will be paid back every farthing for what you have done. And this is in accord with science, which says, “That every action must have an equal reaction.” You cannot fire a gun without having a recoil. So we are governed by the fruits of our actions, and that is Karma.