(energy and time). From the learning process, you learn to know yourself and to discipline yourself. Hopefully, you achieve the capability to use your wisdom mind to control your emotional mind and reach a high stage of spiritual understanding of your life. Often, whenever I listen to music composed by Beethoven, Mozart, or another great composer or musician, I am so touched and inspired. I always wonder how these people could create such a spiritually high level of music that has influenced the human race for hundreds of years. I deeply believe that in order for them to reach such a deep level of understanding, they must have gone through the same process of emotional and physical self-conquest. I believe that through music, these composers comprehended the meaning of their lives. Of course, the meaning may well be beyond our understanding; however, their spirit has inspired following generations.
Naturally, you may also learn painting or any art, which can cultivate your spirit to a higher level. It does not matter which way you choose; in order to reach a high level of spiritual growth, you must face your greatest enemy. This enemy is you. The only way to defeat this enemy is through self-discipline and an understanding of life.
Have you ever thought about why the highest levels of Chinese martial arts were always created either in Buddhist or Daoist monasteries? Why has it been monks who developed all these deadly martial arts? One of the main reasons, as explained earlier, was self-defense against bandits. The other reason is that through martial arts training, you learn how to use your wisdom mind to conquer or control your emotional mind. This is one of the most effective ways of reaching a high level of spiritual understanding of life.
I also remember a story told to me by my master about a very famous archer, Yang, You-ji, who lived during the Chinese Spring and Autumn period (722-481 B.C.). When Yang, You-ji was a teenager, he was already well-known for his superior skill in archery. Because of this, he was very proud of himself. One day, he was in his study when he heard the call of an oil peddler just outside his house. Curious, he went out of his house and saw an old man selling cooking oil on the street. He saw the old man place the oil jar, which had a tiny hole the size of a coin, on the ground and then use the ladle to scoop a full measure of oil and pour it from chest height into the jar without losing a single drop or even touching the sides of the hole. Yang, You-ji was amazed at this old man’s steady hand and the accuracy with which he was able to pour the oil into the jar. He asked the old man: “Old man, how did you do that?” (To call an aged person old man in China is not impolite, but a sign of respect.) The old man looked at him, the well-known teenaged archer of the village, and said: “Young man, would you like to see more?” Yang, You-ji nodded his head.
The old man then asked him to go into the house and bring out a bench. The old man placed a Chinese coin that had a very tiny hole in the center for threading purposes, on the hole in the jar. Then, the old man ladled a full scoop of oil and climbed onto the bench. Standing on the bench, he poured the oil all the way down from such a high place, through the hole in the coin and into the jar. This time, Yang, You-ji kept his eyes wide open and was shocked at the old man’s amazing skill. He asked the old man: “How did you do that? I have never seen such an amazing thing before.” The old man looked at him and smiled. He said: “There is nothing but practicing.”
Suddenly, Yang, You-ji understood that his archery was good because he practiced harder than others. There was nothing of which to be proud. Thereafter, he became very humble and practiced even harder. When he reached his thirties, he was considered the best archer in the entire country and was honored to serve the emperor as a bodyguard. But in his late fifties, he disappeared from the palace, and nobody ever knew where he went.
Twenty years later, one of his friends heard that Yang, You-ji was on Tian Mountain in Xinjiang Province and decided to find him. After months of traveling, he finally arrived at the mountain and located his friend. He stepped into Yang’s house and they recognized each other. However, when Yang saw his friend’s bow and arrow on his shoulder, he opened his eyes and said: “What are those funny things you are carrying on your back?” His friend looked at him and with mouth agape and said: “You must be the best archer existing today, since you have already gone through the entire experience of archery.”
When I heard this story, I could not understand its actual meaning. Now, I begin to understand. Everything we have experienced before is just one learning process in reaching the spirit of our life. Once this learning is completed, the process of learning is no longer necessary and ceases to exist. It is just like the Buddhists who believe that our physical body is used only to cultivate our spirit; once we have reached a high level of spirit, the physical body is no longer important.
Learning martial arts is the same. You are using the way of learning martial arts to understand the meaning of your life. The higher you have reached, the better you experience the spirit which is beyond other martial artists. One day, you will no longer be able to train or perform martial arts. However, your understanding and spirit will remain, and you will retain your knowledge and spirit.
You should understand that the arts are alive and are creative. To Chinese philosophy, if an art is not creative, then the art is dead. It is also because the art is creative that, after hundreds of years of development and creation, there can be many styles of the same art.
One afternoon, I went to visit my master and asked him why the same movement was applied differently by two of my classmates. He looked at me and asked: “Little Yang? How much is one plus one? Without hesitation, I said: “Two.” He smiled and shook his head and said: “No! Little Yang, it is not two.” I was confused and thought he was joking. He continued: “Your father and your mother together are two. After their marriage, they have five children. Now, it is not two but seven. You can see one plus one is not two but seven. The arts are alive and creative. If you treat them as dead, it is two. But if you make them alive, they can be many. This is the philosophy of developing Chinese martial arts. Now, I am forty-two; when you reach forty-two, if your understanding about the martial arts is the same as mine today, then I will have failed you, and also you will have failed me.”
This also reminds me of a story I heard from Master Liang, Shou-yu a few years ago. He said he knew a story of how Master Zhang, San-feng taught the taiji sword techniques to one of his students. After this student completed his three years of taiji sword learning from Master Zhang, he was so happy and could perform every movement in exactly the same way and feeling as Master Zhang had taught him.
Then Master Zhang asked him to leave and practice for three years and then come to see him. The student left. After three years of hard practice, the student came to see Master Zhang. However, he was sad and ashamed to meet Master Zhang. He bowed his head down and felt so sorry. He said: “Master Zhang, after three years of practice, I am now very sad. The more I have practiced, the more I have lost the feeling I had three years ago. Now, I feel about a third of the forms are different from what you taught me originally.”
Master Zhang looked at him and said: “No good! No good! Go home and practice another three years and then come to see me.” The student left in sorrow and sadness. He practiced harder and harder for the next three years. Then he came to see Master Zhang again. However, he felt even worse than the first time he came back. He looked at Master Zhang very disappointedly. He said: “Master Zhang! I don’t know why. The more I have practiced, the worse it has become. Now, two-thirds of the forms feel different from what you taught me.”
Master Zhang again looked at him and said: “No good! No good! Go home again and practice another three years and then come to see me.” The student left feeling very, very sad. This time, he practiced even harder than before. He put all his mind into understanding and feeling every movement of the forms he learned. After three years, again he returned to see Master Zhang. This time, his face turned pale and he dared not look at Master Zhang’s face directly. He said: “Master Zhang! I am sorry. I am a failure. I have failed you and myself. I feel now not even one form has the same feeling as you taught me.”
When Master heard of this, he laughed loudly and very happily. He looked at the student and said: “Great! You have done well. Now, the techniques you have learned are yours and not mine anymore.”
From this story, you can see that the mentality of the arts is creative. If the great musician Beethoven, after he learned all the techniques