Yi Jin Jing (Qi Gung): muscle and tendon washing forms originate with the Buddhist Da Mo in 527 A.D., when Emperor Liang Wu Di invited him.
Before Da Ma and Shaolin, many sects would strive for spiritual and/or high levels of consciousness by denial of the body; in order to be free of life’s mortal limitations.
Bodhidharma (Da Mo), and Shaolin found that one could be free from the attachments of the body on the dependencies of the world, by being fit, healthy and responsive. Then one could survive with the least effort or distraction.
A Buddhist meditative concept of practice, for me, would be to not concentrate on the practical application of the move to offense or defense, but to become one with the flow and energy. The move being more than it's use to the practitioner.
A posture that focuses on one's own energy flow, and the feeling of another's Chi through one's center or hand contact, would be more universal and whole. Contrast this to responding, via cause and effect to another's move, which is based on reactions, and have specific limited paths. Better to be there before the move, seeing the Yi and Chi.
In a fighting situation, movements should not be committed to, but should be dynamic and perceptive. Sometimes non-movement is the better than the response. Feints are useless on this level, for the opponent. For the attacker, a feint is not truly dynamic, since it should have the capability to become a full powered blow, depending on the state of the opponent.
When gazing at a candle, there are other angles to be seen, than from the position of the viewer. There are also many things that are missed by the eyes limited of what is around the burning part of the wick, the most obvious being the heat above the flame, and the onion effect of the areas around the center of the flame. Similarly, there is more to the candle, than how we use the candle, or how it directly influences us. Modern physics is starting to see the geomagnetic properties as well.
There is more to the moon than what we see. The classic example is the Dark Side of the Moon, that we never see, yet is part of the whole moon.
Perhaps the energy around life, is similar to the halo around a candle, some would say this is the aura.
There is more to the whole than the sum of the parts.
Doing Push Hands slowly, non-competitively, and blindfolded: will help sensitize one to these energies, as well as meditation and Chi Sao drills.
MEDITATION
I was studying with a Martial Arts Master Kenny Yuen, we were practicing, and while he was walking among us, a bumble bee flew by. The instructor grabbed it by the tip of its wing. He held it there momentarily, and then released it unharmed, and the bumble bee flew off.
A bumble bee's wings are fragile yet move at over 100 miles per hour and are beating in a very small wing space pattern; that moves with flight. We asked, how did he do it, and the master replied that he did not ‘do it’; he was just there. He did not try; it was not so much being quick, as being one with the timing. One normally cannot do this without meditation.
Some will say this is a Daoist approach also. I do not see that Buddhism and Daoism are mutually exclusive, however these are from the Buddhist perspective.
Four Noble Truths
#2) the origin of suffering is attachment.
The concept of non-attachment runs through all of the presented topics: as does introspection of ones mind/body relationships; both Buddhism tenets.
Specifically presented on not being set:
on how one steps;
on one particular application of the move; or
defending a particular position.
In the last example; Kenny did not separate himself from the bee or the move; he was one with it. He did not strive; he was there. The silent observation of all that arises and passes away in one’s body and mind in an open spirit of ‘letting go’. The gentle calming and silencing of the mind is encouraged so as to create a space in which to observe the conditions of the body and mind. In particular, meditation on the body is done with a sweeping awareness of all the various sensations that arise throughout the body, for example the pressure of one’s clothes on the body or the subtle vibrations on the hands and feet. This awareness can also be concentrated in a gentle and peaceful way on any particular area of the body for further investigation. The mind, consisting of perceptions (sanna), sensations (vedana), mental formations (sankhara), and consciousness (vinnana), is also observed with a silent awareness.
Mindfulness is the observing mind, but it does not stand outside of the object of observation. It goes right into the object and becomes one with it. Because the nature of the observing mind is mindfulness, the observing mind does not lose itself in the object but transforms it by illuminating it, just as the penetrating light of the sun transforms trees and plants.
To digress somewhat; there are many concepts that are arrived at independently through different methods.
A dynamic and open minded scientist will use light theory as an example. There are experiments where it can be show that light act like a wave; and experiments that will show that light acts like a particle. One learns to use both or either theory(ies); depending on the benefits; not judging which is the best.
Plato used universal, as a concept that runs through all things that have the same essence. What makes a chair a chair; that all chairs have. All chairs have four legs for example; but I would not say a chair is four legs.
More at:
http://www.jadedragonalaska.com/buddhis ... ncepts.php