The Art and Science of
Observation
Why does Tai Chi offer relief from
our modern experience of discontinuity and anxiety?
The answer depends on the basic assumptions of its
development. The Tai Chi method provides a
complement to the activity of our work-a-day world.
It offers new inspiration and strategies for our
efforts, a more integrated experience of life and
greater promise of fulfillment. Its depth insures a
lifetime of lasting interest and enjoyment.
Tai Chi is the product of a holistic
culture in which mind and body, man and nature are
viewed as inseparable. The people who contributed
to the evolution of Tai Chi perceived all facets of
their world as bound in a unified totality that was
mutually supporting and balancing. Their beliefs
were rooted in their observation of natural
phenomena like the passage of seasons and the cycle
of life. Man's nature stood rooted in the nature of
the heavens and the nature of the earth. Heaven,
earth and man all shared the same essence. Life was
not merely the sum of discreet parts or a
progression of cause and effect but rather a
unified pattern in which each thread was
intertwined in the whole. This web of
interrelationship radiated out from every point in
every direction.
Chi (Qi)
The kind of scientific exploration
stemming from this model accepts that no part can
be examined independently of the whole or, in fact,
independent of the observer. Pieces of the whole
are not mere building blocks but rather smaller
reflections of the whole. Reason and spiritual
experience are not at odds. The experience of
oneness between man and the cosmos yielded by quiet
contemplation becomes the frame for rational
observations about the functioning of nature. The
mind-body is the universe writ small. The internal
experience of a fundamental motive force inside the
body is perceived to be the same motive force
observed behind all nature. This vital energy is
identified as breath--Chi in China, Ki in Japan,
Prana in India .
Much like light, Chi has qualities of
both essential substance and functional activity.
Matter and energy, product and process, compose
another inseparable duality. Chi is immanent,
residing in all things. It does not spring from a
spiritual being or realm apart. Chi is both actor
and acted upon, communicator and communication,
both the stuff and the function of the universal
web of interrelationship. In Tai Chi, it is felt as
both the motive of action and the result of the
action, the medium and the message. In fact,
communication of information is one of the
essential ways that Chi connects the fabric of the
body and the world.
Meditation
Conscious observation is the key to
understanding the world, and a person who seeks
understanding develops a keen eye for detail and
relationships in nature. However, because body and
mind reflect the nature of the world, answers can
be also be found by directing powers of observation
inward. Direct experimentation based on observation
takes place in an internal laboratory as part of a
science of mind and body.
This exploration depends on quieting
the mind to achieve insight: relinquishing busy
cogitation, preconceptions, memories, models and
everything which interferes with the direct
experience of the present moment. This subjective
approach to knowledge is very different from the
ideal of developing an objective perspective. As
one becomes quiet, he identifies with the essential
activity of the world. Knowing is sought through
becoming. Observation leads to the understanding
that the observer and the observed are one.
Quiet contemplation of oneself
affects one's relationship with the world. Any
situation can be understood by being open to it,
accepting and absorbing it. Once understanding is
achieved, responding is unforced and in careful
measure appropriate to the situation. The
alternative is blindly reacting to every stimulus.
Confronted with illness or opportunity, friend or
opponent, this strategy is the same. Ideally,
action is always taken to maintain or restore
harmony to the relationship between oneself and
one's environment. This kind of activity is
experienced as effortless, as if the action were
doing itself. Sometimes it feels as if your Tai Chi
is doing you. This identification of the do-er and
the do-ing is described by athletes and artists as
the experience of flow.
Cycle of Yin and
Yang
Tai Chi practitioners hold opinions
that may seem unusual. You might hear an instructor
say, "If you want to understand action contemplate
stillness," or "The best way to develop a strong,
well balanced force is to cultivate the yielding
that produces it." How do these ideas develop from
the kind of observation and practice discussed
above?
Students of nature observe that
cyclical patterns of growth and decay rule all
phenomena from the seasons and harvesting to the
constellations and tides. Process is eternal while
products are ephemeral. Even mountains are worn
away by the action of wind and gentle rain.
Enduring success relies upon acting in coordination
with these cycles.
The model of Yin and Yang is one of
the most enduring representation of this cycle. The
familiar diagram depicts the complementary dynamics
of growth and decay continuously creating,
overcoming, and residing within one another. The
axis of the cycle, the relationship that defines
its activity is called Tai Chi. In the art named
for this model, softness produces strength,
yielding overcomes aggression and the seed of
victory is discovered in defeat. The surest way to
overcome a strong force is not to contest it with
similar force but to absorb and erode its strength
with softness following the natural cycle the way
moving water erodes immovable stone.
The Tai Chi method attunes the
natural patterns of mind and body to our
environment. Goals emerge from natural stream of
activity rather than being imposed arbitrarily. In
defense, the opponent is allowed to entangle
himself in his own force while we remain receptive
to the natural balance of withdraw and advance. We
lead a quiet life immersed in the flow of the world
and avoid counterproductive strife and
struggle.
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