I HAVE learnt from a few (very few) close qigong colleagues that on very rare occasions when they are so engrossed in doing their exercise that there were brief moments when they are "lost in time".
These occasions are what I would describe as people "being touched by Zen". If I may be so humbled as to attempt an explanation.
Sometimes when you are dreaming, and a lovely dream it is, your mind's eye are totally engrossed in participating in the series of events that unfold. Your eyes are open but you do not see, at least not the objects or scenery in front of you.
Instead, you "see" a chain of happenings taking place in your mind. You do not sense the passing of time. You only realise what has transpired when you are out of the loop, so to speak.
People who have had experiencs with a touch of Zen tell of being one with their surroundings. It is an experience that escapes the human language. You have to be there, in there and part of it all, to know what it is all about. And if you are asked to describe what has happened to you, chances are you will be at a loss for words. Because no words or adjectives are adequate to to create the totality in a pictorial understanding for the human mind.
The human mind, in substance, is merely biological. The other "mind" wanders, exists, doesn't sleep and is a portal to the "other side". Lest, I be accused of engaging in a topic that slips from the grasp of human understanding, Zen is something that is being experienced, rather than described.
That is why, for centuries, Zen masters have taught lessons to their students by way of koans. Koan is a riddle or paradoxical anecdote employed by Zen masters to give logical reasoning a good jolt. This device is supposed to throw the normal thought process out of the Zen window, thereby creating a vacuum by which understanding enters from Nothingness.
If this is bewildering to you at this juncture, it's time to stop thinking about it and go out and have a cup of tea.
Where in this world is found Zen? No where, actually because Zen is intangible. It is formless and it simply and absolutely cannot be pegged or pinned down. You do not find Zen. It touches you when all that is right has taken place.
There is no winner or loser in the Zen game. It is not even a game. Eons ago, that famous Chinese sage by the name of Lao Tze attempted to describe it. The closest he came to describing it, was "not describing it".
Lao Tze called it the Tao. Tao or Zen, it means the same thing. It is not even a thing. It is nothing and yet something. It is not subjected to the laws of human language, nor to its physical laws.
To be touched by Zen is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Many people go through lifetimes experiencing nothing of it. Only a few have been touched. Those who can experienced being part of Zen are the great teachers you read about in books.
These are the people who have been there and back. They have elected to stay back and spread the word but many do not understand them. Nevertheless, they put the message in very simple terms so that at least a modicum of understanding can be achieved.
Meanwhile, the world continues to turn on its axis. Those who are chosen to feel the touch of Zen will become masters of time and captains of their fate. They know they are not anyone's champion or master. They just are, and they remain so at will.
That is the miracle and the Zen of it all.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Friday, July 07, 2006
The Wrong Approach to Good Health
It is common knowledge among many of us that we only value our health when we are about to lose it or when it is near state of disrepair. What's the use of overhauling a body that has no ready-made spare parts.
It is not as if our bodies are like cars where you can easily shop for a damaged part. The commonsense approach is to maintain it well while it is still in good running condition.
Granted that very few of us are built like a Ferrari, a Porsche or a Rolls-Royce. Still, even if our own body is just an ordinary "saloon" model, we have to pay some attention to it if we want to keep it on the route for an unspecified period of time.
If you don't step on to the accelerator pedal too hard and too often, the carburretor won't wear off that faster. The pistons won't have to handle the undue stresses that come with an accelerated engine in top gear all the time.
Hence, the internal parts of the engine will suffer less wear-and-tear and will serve its owner longer and more efficiently.
Exercising whether it be aerobics, martial arts, tai-chi or qigong are like adding premium additives into the relevant areas. It helps to lubricates the interior and give the wholeall engine a big boost.
So that when you are going uphill, you won't tired that easily and you can climb a steep incline much better than a worn-out body. When you are young, yout take for granted all that life has to offer you.
When you were young, just as when a car is new, you do not have jerky movements due to prolonged use. Your recovery time is swifter and you are better able to handle the bumps and pot-roads along the road.
A constant and moderate level of daily exercise routine is like giving your body the regular check-ups that it needs. So don't wait till smoke comes out of your radiator and causes the car to stall before you need the help of the mechanic.
If you look after your body as much and as well as you keep an eye on your car, you will go through a long trouble-free period.
Isn't that better than sourcing for spare parts when there is none on offer. Hey, mankind has not perfected the stem-cell technique yet. So you will have to make do with all the flaws and defects that form the entire structure which we call the body.
It is not as if our bodies are like cars where you can easily shop for a damaged part. The commonsense approach is to maintain it well while it is still in good running condition.
Granted that very few of us are built like a Ferrari, a Porsche or a Rolls-Royce. Still, even if our own body is just an ordinary "saloon" model, we have to pay some attention to it if we want to keep it on the route for an unspecified period of time.
If you don't step on to the accelerator pedal too hard and too often, the carburretor won't wear off that faster. The pistons won't have to handle the undue stresses that come with an accelerated engine in top gear all the time.
Hence, the internal parts of the engine will suffer less wear-and-tear and will serve its owner longer and more efficiently.
Exercising whether it be aerobics, martial arts, tai-chi or qigong are like adding premium additives into the relevant areas. It helps to lubricates the interior and give the wholeall engine a big boost.
So that when you are going uphill, you won't tired that easily and you can climb a steep incline much better than a worn-out body. When you are young, yout take for granted all that life has to offer you.
When you were young, just as when a car is new, you do not have jerky movements due to prolonged use. Your recovery time is swifter and you are better able to handle the bumps and pot-roads along the road.
A constant and moderate level of daily exercise routine is like giving your body the regular check-ups that it needs. So don't wait till smoke comes out of your radiator and causes the car to stall before you need the help of the mechanic.
If you look after your body as much and as well as you keep an eye on your car, you will go through a long trouble-free period.
Isn't that better than sourcing for spare parts when there is none on offer. Hey, mankind has not perfected the stem-cell technique yet. So you will have to make do with all the flaws and defects that form the entire structure which we call the body.
The Wrong Approach to Good Health
It is common knowledge among many of us that we only value our health when we are about to lose it or when it is near state of disrepair. What's the use of overhauling a body that has no ready-made spare parts.
It is not as if our bodies are like cars where you can easily shop for a damaged part. The commonsense approach is to maintain it well while it is still in good running condition.
Granted that very few of us are built like a Ferrari, a Porsche or a Rolls-Royce. Still, even if our own body is just an ordinary "saloon" model, we have to pay some attention to it if we want to keep it on the route for an unspecified period of time.
If you don't step on to the accelerator pedal too hard and too often, the carburretor won't wear off that faster. The pistons won't have to handle the undue stresses that come with an accelerated engine in top gear all the time.
Hence, the internal parts of the engine will suffer less wear-and-tear and will serve its owner longer and more efficiently.
Exercising whether it be aerobics, martial arts, tai-chi or qigong are like adding premium additives into the relevant areas. It helps to lubricates the interior and give the wholeall engine a big boost.
So that when you are going uphill, you won't tired that easily and you can climb a steep incline much better than a worn-out body. When you are young, yout take for granted all that life has to offer you.
When you were young, just as when a car is new, you do not have jerky movements due to prolonged use. Your recovery time is swifter and you are better able to handle the bumps and pot-roads along the road.
A constant and moderate level of daily exercise routine is like giving your body the regular check-ups that it needs. So don't wait till smoke comes out of your radiator and causes the car to stall before you need the help of the mechanic.
If you look after your body as much and as well as you keep an eye on your car, you will go through a long trouble-free period.
Isn't that better than sourcing for spare parts when there is none on offer. Hey, mankind has not perfected the stem-cell technique yet. So you will have to make do with all the flaws and defects that form the entire structure which we call the body.
It is not as if our bodies are like cars where you can easily shop for a damaged part. The commonsense approach is to maintain it well while it is still in good running condition.
Granted that very few of us are built like a Ferrari, a Porsche or a Rolls-Royce. Still, even if our own body is just an ordinary "saloon" model, we have to pay some attention to it if we want to keep it on the route for an unspecified period of time.
If you don't step on to the accelerator pedal too hard and too often, the carburretor won't wear off that faster. The pistons won't have to handle the undue stresses that come with an accelerated engine in top gear all the time.
Hence, the internal parts of the engine will suffer less wear-and-tear and will serve its owner longer and more efficiently.
Exercising whether it be aerobics, martial arts, tai-chi or qigong are like adding premium additives into the relevant areas. It helps to lubricates the interior and give the wholeall engine a big boost.
So that when you are going uphill, you won't tired that easily and you can climb a steep incline much better than a worn-out body. When you are young, yout take for granted all that life has to offer you.
When you were young, just as when a car is new, you do not have jerky movements due to prolonged use. Your recovery time is swifter and you are better able to handle the bumps and pot-roads along the road.
A constant and moderate level of daily exercise routine is like giving your body the regular check-ups that it needs. So don't wait till smoke comes out of your radiator and causes the car to stall before you need the help of the mechanic.
If you look after your body as much and as well as you keep an eye on your car, you will go through a long trouble-free period.
Isn't that better than sourcing for spare parts when there is none on offer. Hey, mankind has not perfected the stem-cell technique yet. So you will have to make do with all the flaws and defects that form the entire structure which we call the body.
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