Justin Stone Speaks on T’ai Chi Chih: Untitled Thoughts (November 2024)

Editor’s Note: These excerpts are from Spiritual Odyssey, available on .

Let Go!

The idea of attaining enlightenment by trying harder has always seemed to me to be ludicrous. Realizing enlightenment is not a matter of making a breakthrough, after great effort, and finding something new; it’s simply a matter of recognizing what is. Yet Zen teachers continually implore their monks or students to “try harder.” My teacher told me to “take this more seriously,” though the objective is to banish the vasanas (habit energies), not make new ones — in Buddhist terms, to clean out the Eighth Consciousness, the alaya–vijnana (receptacle of consciousness).

Similarly, in T’ai Chi Chih (TCC), the most important thing is softness, the effort of no effort. This isn’t accomplished by trying hard but by letting go. Trying hard implies effort, great effort, but we are not exercising in doing TCC; we are swimming through very heavy air without effort.

Enlightenment is not the product of dualistic thinking; its very nature is unity. This is beyond the power of ordinary conceptual thinking. It means letting go of habitual patterns of thought; if necessary, stopping thinking. Patanjali, called the Father of Yoga, gave as his first aphorism the “suppression of mental modifications.” This can hardly be accomplished by forming new modifications.

In conclusion, to achieve enlightenment, to practice TCC (these can be the same), LET GO!

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True T’ai Chi Chih Practice

Zuigan was a Zen Master who was famous for the admonitions he gave himself each day, ending with “Don’t be misled by others,” to which he answered, “Yes sir! Yes sir!” More interesting to me is his comment that, upon experiencing his great enlightenment, he was astonished to find that he was completely dead to himself. That is, he no longer had any interest in the personality called Zuigan. He might have added that he now saw all others as himself. This reminds one of Hakuin’s statement that, “After this, seeing the things of the world is like seeing the back of my own hand.”

This is a tremendous realization. In truth, no one has experienced realization; there is simply enlightenment, our original status. This also reminds us of the TCC experience that “No one is doing T’ai Chi Chih; T’ai Chi Chih is doing T’ai Chi Chih.” Do you see the resemblance, and, if so, does it point out the potential for enlightenment in true TCC practice?

It is said that, when Ramakrishna was riding in a horse and buggy, the driver cruelly whipped the horse, and bleeding scars appeared on Ramakrishna’s back. To one who is taken with his or her own suffering and with a total preoccupation with self, this is hard to understand. But John Donne said, “Do not ask for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” Here was a man far along the way in Evolution.

Think about Zuigan’s statement. Had he lost something? Or had he gained something of inestimable merit? You be the judge.

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Flowing Freely

In the Prajnaparamita Sutra, the Buddha speaks of the “Perfection of Wisdom” and the admirable traits of the Bodhisattva.

This wisdom is, of course, the prajna, the inherent wisdom that is within all of us. When we let this Wisdom act through us, we are flowing with the Tao, going with the Cosmic Rhythm. The best way I know for doing this is through TCC, not through words, doctrine, or rituals. When the Chi flows freely and is balanced, the Cosmic Rhythm begins to move us, the metabolism tends to change and we become reborn, with great effects on longevity of life.

As to the admirable traits of a bodhisattva, it is almost impossible to fully express them in modern life. It would mean giving up the “I” and “mine,” moving away from the “pleasure-pain” continuum and ceasing to be selfish individuals, no matter how right that selfishness seems to be. There are few bodhisattvas in the modern world.

Are we willing to put aside the unimportant to reach this Wisdom, or are we simply interested in entertaining ourselves and being lived by our vasanas, the habit energies we are unwilling to change or give up?

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How We Live

People do their thinking with their emotions. This is a sure path to suffering. They manifest hate while speaking abstractly of love. Then they wonder why they have unfulfilled lives. The Buddhist Abidhamma (Buddhist psychology) says there are sixty-odd joyous states of consciousness and only three miserable ones. Yet people rush blindly toward the three negative ways. Why? If we know that craving, anger, and delusion cause us suffering, why do we entertain these three? Are we compulsive and compelled to think and act in this manner?

In order to hide the truth from ourselves, we cultivate neuroses. “He went to his mahasamadhi” we say, when the truth is, “He died.” Aren’t we all going to die?

Spiritual practice causes us to accord with death, not to fear it. We know excess attachment and aversion (I love this, I hate that) cause us suffering, yet we allow sentiment and deluded emotion to lead us down that path. Impermanence is a fact of life; why fear it? Tantra says that every cell in the body can be brought to a point of ecstasy. Inside we have the treasure we are searching for. Why not follow this joyous way?

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Wisdom & Consciousness

To differentiate wisdom (prajna) and consciousness (vijnana or chit) is difficult. When the mind is obscured by habitual thoughts, it may be referred to as consciousness. When the obscuring habitual notions are dispersed, it can be called prajna or inherent wisdom.

Acting from prajna is natural and constructive. Because Zen teachers want students and monks to react spontaneously, they stress prajna. Acting from ordinary obscured consciousness can bring suffering.

When prajna (inherent wisdom) operates, we can understand:

From the State of Emptiness

Man’s body is a body pervading the Universe,

Man’s voice is a voice filling the Universe, Man’s life is a life without limit.

— Lotus Sutra

When one lies, tells half-truths, or rationalizes for self-enhancement, this completely obscures the prajna. Such a person cannot expect to act from prajna or live a spiritual life. Particularly is this so when one lies to oneself about motives and actions. Huineng stressed that one must have a “straightforward mind,” and this is not easy when it conflicts with ambition or desire. Self-discipline demands that we see things as they are, not the way we want them to be or the way they appear to deluded thinking.

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About Breathing Techniques

Special breathing techniques should not be applied to T’ai Chi Chih (TCC). I have often answered the question about this matter and have written about it. If you, the teacher, urge special breathing techniques (not natural breathing), you are running the risk of one day facing a lawsuit. They can alter the rhythm of the heart, as I have found out from experience.

It is natural to breathe out as you push forward in “Push Pull,” and it is natural to breathe in as you raise the arms in “Rocking Motion,” breathing out as you lower them. This is natural and is not what I’m talking about. Again, I repeat, there are no special breathing techniques for TCC. I am not interested in what goes on in martial arts. I am writing this for protection of the teachers. I want to add that only Master Yogis, who know the dangers, should teach breathing techniques.

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Sinking Into the Essence

It is hard for students, and even teachers, to understand that T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) is not just a beneficial exercise. It is so obvious that it has great physical benefits, that it helps control weight, and that, without effort or perspiration, it greatly enhances the energy level. The tendency is to feel that these are the major benefits of TCC practice. If the one practicing persists, however, the deeper levels — the Essence of TCC, if you will — begin to dawn on the practitioner and it is realized that TCC is unique in design and that one begins to sense, and flow with, the great Cosmic Rhythm. TCC is not designed for self-defense or any form of violence; rather it is an inner discipline (Nei Kung in Chinese) that brings to life the dormant Vital Force (Intrinsic Energy) and balances it as it circulates it, breaking down blockages that may have existed for a long time, in a sense offering a rebirth if the student is sincere enough.

Words play no part, nor do concepts. The Prana (Chi) knows well enough what to do without an intellectual road map. All the practitioner has to do is enjoy it and reap the benefits of renewed Life Force.