Yat_Chum: thanks very much for this quotation:
Student: What shall I train when my shift doesn't allow me to come to the class?
Sifu: Basics, basics, basics!
As I am unable to attend classes at the moment due to circumstances beyond my control, it is precisely
'basics, basics, basics' that are now preoccupying me more and more in my daily practise. I find that the possibilities for refinement on this basis of what I have learned so far, are inexhaustible, and I never get bored anymore with it. I would even go so far as to say that this period of enforced practice on my own without a teacher has been a blessing in disguise. Two quotations from the Tao Te Ching also seem to be relevant here:
'If you open yourself to loss,
You are at one with loss
And you can accept it completely.' (Poem 23)
'Ordinary men hate solitude.
But the Master makes use of it,
Embracing his aloneness, realising
He is at one with the whole universe.' (Poem 43)
In other words, if you can't attend classes, you can accept that loss and turn solitary practice to your advantage, concentrating on 'Basics, basics, basics', trying as far as possible to make your practice mirror the Tao.
Kind regards, T.
'Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions. Live the questions now. You will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.' Rainer Maria Rilke.