This Very Breath

In this very breath that we take now lies the secret that all great teachers try to tell us.

          --Peter Matthiessen
          From: The Little Zen Companion, p. 114

Our life is frittered away by detail ... Simplify, simplify.

          --Thoreau
          From: The Little Zen Companion, p. 49

Some words for thought.... This is a good day for thinking ... napping and thinking. As the afternoon progressed drops of rain began to fall. Now there's a constant tapping against the windows and metal rooftop.

Frances and I are preparing to host a group movie session tonight. We're set to watch, "Orwell Rolls in His Grave," a documentary about the political bias and huge, unimagined power of the media. Hopefully, it will lead to a lively discussion.

I practiced T'ai Chi Chih after the day turned gloomy and the rain began. Even though it was grey outside I felt tremendously comforted as I flowed through the soft, gentle movements of the form. It felt delightful to slow down, breathe, and r-e-l-a-x. I look forward to a nurturing evening with neighbors and friends....

The Being of Nothingness

Among the great things which are to be found among us, the Being of Nothingness is the greatest.
          --Leonardo Da Vinci
          From: The Little Zen Companion, p. 181

Even a good thing isn't as good as nothing.
          --Zen Saying
          From: The Little Zen Companion, p. 180

I just listened to an interview on Wisconsin Public Radio with Glen Greenwald, the author of With Liberty and Justice for Some. His thesis: The rise of a lawless elite in this country has led to public acceptance of that elite group--political officials, corporate heads, and the like--not being held accountable for their corrupt, self-serving behaviors. Greenwald and the host of the program speculated that perhaps that ability to function above the law--the practice of a select few--is now causing concerned citizens to Occupy Wallstreet and beyond.

I admit, when I feel discouraged by the people or events around me or the wacky ways of the world, I am deeply grateful for my T'ai Chi Chih practice. Those all-too-brief minutes spent in practice bring me back to the wisdom of the above quotations and help me to remember the value of nothing.

During tonight's T'ai Chi Chih class I asked the group to practice Push/Pull with me as we focused on leading from T'an Tien. I strongly believe that when we remember to lead from our centers, nothing else matters; the rest of the movement takes care of itself. All too often we try to create a movement based on what we think it should be. When we relax into the moment, let T'an Tien lead, and trust our bodies and our senses to guide us, though, we begin to experience the effort of no effort (per Justin Stone). 

For all intents and purposes, that effortlessness guides us (eventually) into the Being of Nothingness where everything is as it should be. Nothing to change. Nowhere to go. No one to be. Nothing to do. What freedom ... to BE nothing and everything. You can't explain it. But you can experience it. Just ... keep practicing.

The Power Within

Oh, it's much more fun to practice T'ai Chi Chih when I feel good! Today's practice zoomed by as I listened to music and focused, as usual, on softness and flow.

It was a cold day today. To be honest, I didn't venture outside once. Instead I worked in the kitchen from dawn to dusk. I spent the day cooking vegetable stock, barley-seitan-kale stew, carrot-orange salad, black-eyed peas and collard greens, and squash stuffed with cranberry-orange filling. Mmmm. Delicious.

The weather report on the radio focused on sub-zero windchills (25-30 degrees below zero). When I checked weather.com I saw a prediction for 4-6 inches of snow. It's cold enough outside that the geese won't emerge from their little house and Frances keeps their heat lamp turned on full time.

It's wonderful to have time and space to stay home and not have to go out or drive anywhere. I don't feel like I'm missing anything as I have unending projects to complete at home.

In search of thought-provoking and inspiring reading I turned to The Little Zen Companion today and happened upon a piece by Gary Snyder entitled "Without":

the silence
of nature
within

the power within.
the power

without.

the path is whatever passes--no
end in itself.

the end is,
grace--ease--

healing,
not saving.

singing
the proof

the proof of the power within.

Ah, yes....

The T'ai Chi Chih Tune-up

So the thing to do when working on a motorcycle, as in any other task, is to cultivate the peace of mind which does not separate one's self from one's surroundings. When that is done successfully, then everything else follows naturally. Peace of mind produces right values, right values produce right thoughts. Right thoughts produce right actions and right actions produce work which will be a material reflection for others to see of the serenity at the center of it all.
                    Robert M. Pirsig
                    From: The Little Zen Companion, p. 304

It's my guess that the above quote is exerpted from Pirsig's book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. His description of how to work on a motorcycle is akin to the way in which one engages in a regular T'ai Chi Chih practice.

Surely one of the major reasons TCC practitioners continue with their practices--at least this is what my students tell me--is because they feel so good afterwards. That good feeling comes out of their ability to become one with their surroundings and consequently flow into a relaxed and peaceful state of mind. To carry that outcome further and realize, as Pirsig proposes, that peace of mind leads to right values, right thoughts, and right actions provides an even greater motivation to continue to practice, practice, practice.

Today has dripped from dawn to dusk; on-again, off-again rain throughout. Funny. Everyone, cat and dog included, seems to want to stay inside. I practiced with the TCC teachers on Justin's DVD again this afternoon. It's helpful to be able to examine the subtle do's and don'ts of TCC practice while watching 4-in-1 (four teachers in one practice session).

It's  incredibly easy to unintentionally modify the form when you're engaged in your own private practice. Without realizing it you may start devising short-cuts or running movements and Resting Positions together. I appreciate Justin's instructional DVD along with regular retreats, trainings, and the annual teachers' conference for the opportunities they provide to refine, revise, reiterate, and renew my TCC practice.

Call it a tune-up, if you will. Human beings--like motorcycles--need regular maintenance to keep the Chi flowing....

Everything is based on mind ...

Today reminded me of days in late July/early August before the cooling mornings lead the way toward fall. It was hot, muggy, dare I use the word oppressive? In the evening we drove to Little Sand Bay to experience some of Lake Superior's refrigerated air. What a relief!

Something is still not right with my body. I want someone to tell me what it is and what I can do to fix it and ... that's not going to happen. In the meantime, I sleep a lot, have high blood sugars, cough and feel pressure in my chest.

During my TCC practice this evening my heart rate was up again. I used whatever available strength I had to simply make it through the movements. Yet it was good to engage myself in my practice because it's so easy to get caught in the clutches of an overactive mind and then one knows they are lost.

I'm reminded of a quote by the Buddha from The Little Zen Companion (p. 346):

Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a polluted mind, suffering will follow you, as the wheels of the oxcart follow the footsteps of the ox. Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a pure mind, happiness will follow you, as a shadow clings to a form.