great. It is the same with the great painter Picasso. If he did not know how to be creative, then after he learned all the painting techniques from his teacher, he would never have become such a genius. Therefore, you can see that arts are alive and not dead. However, if you do not learn enough techniques and have not reached a deep level of understanding, then when you start to create, you will have lost the correct path and the arts will be flawed. It is said in Chinese martial arts society: “Sifu leads you into the door; cultivation depends on oneself.”10
When you learn any art, you should understand the mentality of learning is to feel and to gain the essence of the art. Only if your heart can learn the essence of the arts, then will you have gained the root. With this root, you can grow and become creative.
My master told me a story. Once upon a time a boy came to see an old man and asked him: “Honorable old man, I have heard that you can change a piece of rock into gold. Is that true?” “Yes, young man. Like others, do you want a piece of gold? Let me change one for you.” The boy replied. “Oh no! I do not want a piece of gold. What I would like is to learn the trick you use to change rocks into gold.”
What do you think about this short story? When you learn anything, if you do not gain the essence of the learning, you will remain on the surface, just holding the branches and flowers. However, if you can feel the arts deeply, then you can create. Feeling deeply enables you to ponder and finally to understand the situation. Without this deep feeling, what you see and what you are will be only on the surface.
Once there was a wise king in Korea who had a fifteen-year-old son. This son had grown up comfortably in the palace, with all of the servants’ attention. This made the king very worried, and he believed that his son would never be a good king whose concern was for his people. Therefore, he summoned a well-known wise old man living in the deep woods.
In response to this call, the old man came to the palace. After he promised to teach the prince to be a wise, good king, he took the prince to the deep woods. After they arrived in the deep woods, the old man taught the young prince how to find food, how to cook, and how to survive in the woods. Then he left the prince alone in the woods. However, he promised that he would come back a year later.
A year later, when the old man came back, he asked the prince what he thought about the woods. The prince replied: “I am sick of them. I need a servant. I hate it here. Take me home.” However, the old man merely said: “Very good. That is good progress, but not enough. Please wait here for another year, and I will be back to see you again.” Then he left.
A year again passed, and the old man came back to the woods, asking the prince again the same question. This time the prince said: “I see birds, I see trees, I see flowers and animals.” His mind had started to accept the surrounding environment, and he recognized his role in the woods. The old man was satisfied and said: “This is great progress. However, it is not enough, and therefore you must stay here for another year.” This time, the prince was not even upset and said: “No problem.” Once again, the old man left.
Another year passed, and the old man came back again. This time, when the old man asked the prince what he thought, the prince said: “I feel birds, woods, fish, animals, and many things around me here.” This time, the old man was very happy and said: “Now I can take you home. If you can feel the things happening around you, then you can concern yourself with the people’s feelings, and you will be a good king.” Then the old man took him home.
This story is only to tell you that when you do anything, you must put your mind into it, feel it, taste it, and experience it. Only then may you say that you understand it. Without this deep feeling and comprehension, the arts you create will be shallow and lose their essence.
I would like to point out something important. Normally, after more than thirty years of learning, studying, pondering, and practicing, all masters have experienced most of the possible creations of their art, and their understanding of it has reached to a very deep level. It is common that the master will keep this personal secret to himself until he has found someone he can really trust. This is often called the secret of the art.
There is another story which was told to me by Master Liang, Shou-yu. About fifty years ago, there was a very famous clay doll maker in Beijing. Because he was so famous, he had many students. However, it did not matter how, when people purchased a doll, they could always tell which ones were made by the master and which ones were made by the students. It also did not matter how the students tried and pondered, they could not catch the secret of their master. They continued to believe that their master’s dolls were better because he had more years of experience.
One day, this master became very sick and was dying. After he realized that he would die soon, he decided to reveal his last secret to his most trustworthy student. He summoned his student to his bed, and said: “You are the student whom I can trust most. You have been loyal to me in the past. Here, I would like to tell you the last of my secrets. But remember, if you keep this secret to yourself, you will always enjoy wealth and glory. However, if you reveal it to everyone else, then you will be as poor as others.” Then he asked this student to make a doll in front of him.
Not long after, this student had completed his doll. Although the doll was well made, it looked like a student’s doll instead of the master’s. Then, the master looked at the student and said: “The difference between your doll and my doll is the expression on the face. The expression of the face must be natural and delightful. This is the final trick for you to remember.” Then, he placed his index finger under the chin of the wet clay doll and gently pushed the chin slightly upward. Immediately, the facial expression of the doll changed and became very natural. Now, the doll looked like the master’s.
From this, you can see that normally a secret is hidden in the obvious place. A practitioner can realize this secret suddenly when time passes by through continued pondering and practice. It is said in Chinese martial arts society, “The great Dao is no more than two or three sentences. Once spoken, it is worth less than three pennies.”11
From these stories, you may have understood that the creation of an in-depth art comes from continued learning, pondering, and practice. Only then will the spirit of the art be high and the art created be profound.
Conclusions:
1 Chinese martial arts were created mainly for defense and not for offense.
2 The best fight is “the fight of no fight.”
3 The meaning of learning arts is to find and to understand yourself. With this understanding, you can promote the meaning of your life to a higher spiritual level.
4 The arts are creative. It is the same in Chinese martial arts. After you have learned and practiced for a long time, then you should blend what you have learned with your own ideas to make the arts even greater.
5 A deeply touching art is created from deep spiritual feelings. It is not an outward form. Forms are only the manifestation of the internal feeling.
6 The greatest secret is hidden in the most obvious place and can be obtained only from continued pondering and practice.
The Real Meaning of Taijiquan
People practice taijiquan for different reasons. Some practice for health or to cure an illness, and others for defense, relaxation, or solely for fun. However, when you approach the highest level of taijiquan, you will probably feel that the above reasons are not really important anymore. At this time, you must seek the real meaning of the practice; otherwise you will soon become satisfied with your achievement and lose enthusiasm for further research. You must ponder what is really behind this highly meditative art. Many religious Daoists practice taijiquan in their striving to eliminate their baser elements and become immortal. Many non-religious people practice taijiquan to gain a peaceful mind and reinvigorate their lives.
You should understand that taijiquan emphasizes meditation both in movement and in stillness. Through this meditation a taijiquan practitioner, like a Buddhist priest, trains himself to be calm and concentrated. It is possible to achieve a state of peace and centeredness, which allows you to judge things