Seijaku, An Oral Tradition

PULL QUOTE: purity and power in an oral tradition

Seijaku is a very special discipline. It goes beyond surface teaching, which is something that can be easily conveyed. And because it is an oral tradition (true because Justin chose not to write it down), it carries within it great gifts to share. I say “chose” because many of us who put Justin’s work into book and pamphlets asked him to write a book with specific instructions about the movements and the entire discipline. His answer was always the same, “Seijaku is to remain an oral tradition.”

Justin did make a video showing us the movements, but this honors oral tradition as he never wrote movements for us to follow. It is not for us to write the movements for others either. It was meant to be passed-on orally, from person to person. His instructions to us were very specific, “Of course, you will only teach Seijaku to your best students.”

Great Masters have always known how important oral tradition is – as it could be open to misinterpretation. Once that starts to happen, the power and the gift that the teaching carries begins to dissipate. For the sake of generations to come (and for the teaching itself), we who have received Seijaku should not tamper with it. This does not mean that we can’t share the benefits that we (and our students) have received. But it does mean that the form is to be kept in our hearts and only shared orally with our best students.

There is a purity and power in an oral tradition. How did Justin share Seijaku with you? There are several parts to this wonderful discipline. Did we receive all of them? What has our experience been since we learned the discipline? Did it touch our hearts in such a way that we wish to keep it the way he shared it with us? Keep in mind that it was not given to us to change, but to share completely, from the deepest part of our being.

Several of us were at a teacher conference when Justin first offered a small experience of what we would look forward to with Seijaku. One teacher sat down after the introduction and went into a very deep state of meditation. Justin would not allow anyone to disturb her, even though he had clapped his hands to bring us out of meditation. When she finally came out, she was in a very simple and sincere state-of-mind. Her behavior demonstrated that her experience had been deep. This profound experience is not to be taken lightly.

Many of us are very fortunate to have learned Seijaku directly from Justin. Some of us will have to rely on the integrity of the teacher to share this wonderful discipline. If we are fortunate enough to begin this journey, let us remember that we are here to love and share the Chi.