How Do TCC Teachers Impact the Vibration of Indra’s Net?

Ann’s Note: T’ai Chi Chih teachers affect so many lives. I like Molly’s remark on Justin’s Folsom Prison talk and how we are all worthy of respect, no matter our shadow side. Michael left the TCC community after he deemed himself “unworthy.”

In Mahayana Buddhism, Reality is seen as a vast web wherein each jewel on the net reflects all the others; a change in one jewel elicits a change, however slight, in every other jewel.

Recently, Michael O’Connor, a well-loved Albuquerque TCC teacher, died. No one had heard from him for a long time, but we knew he struggled with addiction. He was a loving jewel in our ABQ TCC community.

Bruce Childs recalls: “I shared the thrill of learning TCC with Michael. Michael and I had the special connection of addiction recovery, and we shared the love of calming Chi. We discovered the healing qualities of the practice, occasionally combining 12-step lessons with our learning experiences with TCC. I recall our early retreats in Albuquerque and at the Pecos Monastery. Michael was always present, soft in his mannerisms, in stark contrast to the South Boston tough kid image that he sometimes joked about.”

Sr. Antonia contemplates: “How blessed I am to have met Michael. Each of you reading this have been a gift to me and to one another. Thank you for your life.”

Molly Grady remembers: “Michael was a welcome, gentle presence. Eventually we would talk about his demons and the impact they had on his professional and personal life. All of us were concerned when we lost contact with him. I heard he was struggling, ashamed to come back to our community. This makes me so sad. The most powerful message for me from Justin was in his talk to inmates at Folsom Prison: Chi is there for everyone; it doesn’t judge. After being in the community for several years, I met an experienced teacher, and I told her I wasn’t coming regularly to practices anymore because I wasn’t comfortable with myself. She said that’s when it can be most helpful. Even so, we all know how hard that can be.”

Beth Cameron reflects: “I remember Michael’s willingness to get down on the floor after a practice to show me stretches to help with my limited movement. (It was the physical therapist side of him.) I consider that an act of true caring.”

Kathy Grassel shares: “Michael became a TCC teacher in the course of his drug and alcohol recovery and during that time helped many others stay strong in their recoveries. He was sober for quite some years until he relapsed. He would lead our walks during the Pecos Monastery retreats and we would talk and talk with every step. He was sincere, kind, and inspirational.”

Ann Rutherford sums up: “Michael’s kind, gentle manner and his understanding, as a physical therapist, of alignment, made him a natural for a future as a TCC teacher. Michael contributed this to the Seijaku publication: ‘I am finding myself doing Seijaku more softly now. At first, I imagined the resistance as rather hard, thinking I could break through quicker. My intuition tells me that my anger has diminished from a couple of years ago and that has allowed me to be gentler with myself, including with my Seijaku practice. This also tells me that whatever is going on in my life can be a part of my practice, part of a personal evolution and a part of the solution to many of life’s problems, i.e. suffering.’”