Lee Berwick's Inanna on Resonance FM

 

The whole piece will air on Resonance FM on 24th September

Not Two

Last week Mark mentioned in class the piece of writing below, by the Third Chinese Zen (Ch'an) Patriarch. He sent me this link and I quote it all here for your interest. I have added bold type to the passage Mark discussed, the section which had inspired John Kells about 'not-two'.

The Great Way* is not difficult for those who have no preferences.  When love and hate are both absent, everything becomes clear and undisguised.  Make the smallest distinction, however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart. If you wish to see the truth, then hold no opinions for, or against, anything.  To set up what you like against what you dislike is the disease of the mind.  When the deep meaning of things is not understood, the mind's essential peace is disturbed to no avail.

The Way is perfect, like vast space where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.  Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject that we do not see the true nature of things.  Live neither in the entanglements of outer things, nor in inner feelings of emptiness.  Be serene in the oneness of things, and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves.  When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity, your very effort fills you with activity.  As long as you remain in one extreme or the other, you will never know Oneness.

Those who do not live in the single Way fail in both activity and passivity, assertion and denial.  To deny the reality of things is to miss their reality; to assert the emptiness of things is to miss their reality.  The more you talk and think about it, the further astray you wander from the truth.  Stop talking and thinking, and there is nothing you will not be able to know.

To return to the root is to find the meaning, but to pursue appearances is to miss the source.  At the moment of inner enlightenment, there is going beyond appearance and emptiness.  The changes that appear to occur in the empty world we call real only because of our ignorance.  Do not search for the truth; only cease to cherish opinions.

Do not remain in the dualistic state; avoid such pursuits carefully.  If there is even a trace of this and that, of right and wrong, the Mind-essence will be lost in confusion.  Although all dualities come from the One, do not be attached even to this One.  When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way, nothing in the world can offend, and when a thing can no longer offend, it ceases to exist in the old way.

When no discriminating thoughts arise, the old mind ceases to exist.  When thought-objects vanish, the thinking-subject vanishes, as when the mind vanishes, objects vanish.  Things are objects because of the subject (mind); the mind (subject) is such because of things (objects).  Understand the relativity of these two and the basic reality: the unity of emptiness.  In this Emptiness the two are indistinguishable and each contains, in itself, the whole world.  If you do not discriminate between coarse and fine, you will not be tempted to prejudice and opinion.

To live in the great Way is neither easy nor difficult, but those with limited views are fearful and irresolute; the faster they hurry, the slower they go.  And clinging (attachment) cannot be limited.  Even to be attached to the idea of enlightenment is to go astray.  Just let things be in their own way, and there will be neither coming nor going.  Obey the nature of things (your own nature) and you will walk freely and undisturbed.

When thought is in bondage, the truth is hidden, for everything is murky and unclear, and the burdensome practice of judging brings annoyance and weariness.  What benefit can be derived from distinctions and separation?

If you wish to move in the one Way, do not dislike even the world of senses and ideas.  Indeed, to accept them fully is identical with true enlightenment.  The wise man strives to no goals, but the foolish man fetters himself.  There is one Dharma, not many; distinctions arise from the clinging needs of the ignorant.  To seek Mind with the (discriminating) mind is the greatest of all mistakes.

Rest and unrest derive from illusion; with enlightenment there is no liking and disliking.  All dualities come from ignorant inference.  They are like dreams or flowers in air; foolish to try to grasp them.  Gain and loss, right and wrong; such thoughts must finally be abolished at once.

If the eye never sleeps, all dreams will naturally cease.  If the mind makes no discriminations, the ten thousand things are as they are, of single essence.  To understand the mystery of this One-essence is to be released from all entanglements.  When all things are seen equally, the timeless Self-essence is reached.  No comparisons or analogies are possible in this causeless, relationless state.

Consider movement stationary, and the stationary in motion; both movement and rest disappear.  When such dualities cease to exist, Oneness itself cannot exist.  To this ultimate finality no law or description applies.

For the unified mind in accord with the Way, all self-centered striving ceases.  Doubts and irresolutions vanish, and life in true faith is possible.  With a single stroke we are freed from bondage; nothing clings to us and we hold to nothing.  All is empty, clear, self-illuminating, with no exertion of the mind's power.  Here thought, feeling, knowledge and imagination are of no value.  In this world of Suchness, there is neither self nor other-than-self.

To come directly into harmony with this reality, just simply say when doubts arise, "Not two".  In this "not two", nothing is separate, nothing is excluded.  No matter when or where, enlightenment means entering this truth.  And this truth is beyond extension or diminution in time or space; in it, a single thought is ten thousand years.

Emptiness here, emptiness there, but the infinite universe stands always before your eyes.  Infinitely large and infinitely small; no difference, for definitions have vanished and no boundaries are seen.  So, too, with being and non-being.  Don't waste time in doubts and arguments that have nothing to do with this.  One thing, all things, move among and intermingle without distinction.  To live in this realization is to be without anxiety about non-perfection.  To live in this faith is the road to non-duality, because the non-dual is one with the trusting mind.

Words!  The Way is beyond language, for in it, there is no yesterday, no tomorrow, no today.

* NOTE:  The Chinese character translated as "Great Way" or "Way" is the character for "Tao."  --  Weinstein

Books for an introduction to Taosim

A Short Form student asked a great question last month as to whether I could recommend any books or other resources that I felt were a good introduction to Taoism. At first I thought, 'that's easy'. But the more I look through what I have, the harder it is. By definition, 'The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao'. My feeling after over twenty years on this path is that only by doing and non-doing do we 'know' Tao, and that the Taoist arts are the main practices in which to know Tao, (for instance T'ai Chi, certain forms of poetry, calligraphy, ikebana, butoh, some kinds of improvisational music, etc). Anyone with 10 years sincere practice yielding to real pushes in pushing hands will know more in their bones of Tao than someone who has spent 10 years studying books. That said, here's a few books I like, I will add more this week as some are hidden in the shed and must be re-found. Most Taoist writings I love are very old, or by Liu-I-Ming from 17C, translated into English from the original Chinese by Thomas Cleary and only 'make any sense' after you already know in your body what they mean! If you have books or online resources you would like to recommend, please leave a comment or get in touch. 

All the Thomas Cleary translations of Taoist Classics texts for Shambala Editions: especially the Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tzu and as a great general intro to Taoism, the introduction the 'The Taoist I Ching' is perfect. 

Lieh Tzu translated by Wong, Shambala Editions.

I seem to remember Al Chung-Liang Huang's book 'Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain' on Tao and T'ai Chi being very approachable and good. It was the first book on T'ai Chi I read, given to me by my second T'ai Chi teacher in 1988. It left an impression, though I have not had a copy for over 25 yrs.

Penguin edition of Chuang Tzu is very good.

'Daoism Explained' by Hans Georg Moeller is great, just in no way a beginner's book, but it is full of insights and avoids the usual inappropriate western theocentric definitions of 'Heaven' amongst other important concepts. It also shears the superimposition of early 20th century Euro-centric psychoanalytic terminology onto the famous Chuang Tzu butterfly tale, and the chapter about this is worth the entry price alone.  

The books of Ursula K LeGuin contain superb rethinkings of worlds with Tao as a living major component of her imagined civilisations, especially: 'Always Coming Home', 'The Word for World is Forest', and 'The Telling', most of all. Sadly, LeGuin's own version of the Tao Te Ching is best avoided. Her deep understanding of Tao is best found in her fiction.

For a real beginner's beginners guide then the famous 'Tao of Pooh' and 'Te of Piglet' by Benjamin Hoff are actually really lovely. Funny, surprisingly deep, and nicely concise, these are worth a read, and fun to pass on to others who are wondering what you have been up to for two decades...

Karen's beautiful music

Most of you will know our T'ai Chi friend and fellow boat dweller Karen Grace, but you may not know her wonderful music. She has asked me to share this with the blog readers here. Karen is singing and playing guitar on this song, and Mark features on banjo! Enjoy.

The Broccoli Seed Agreement

Hi friends,  I hope this finds you well, wherever you are. These are hard times for almost everyone, at least those of us not insulated from life by immense wealth and perfect health. I have been quiet here since the first lockdown, preferring just to keep you posted re classes, online resources and the like. That felt like the most helpful thing I could do. Meanwhile I have been studying, learning and practising in new ways. Something I came across very recently in a course I am taking I post below for your interest. It is from an excellent Indigenous-led collective called Gesturing Toward Decolonial Futures (GTDF). This is as good an introduction to the experience of advanced study of T'ai Chi in our tradition as I have ever found. Wish I'd had it 18 years ago, especially for when studying with John Kells... Anyway, here it is, full source at the end. 

BROCCOLI SEED AGREEMENT

In our current consumption-driven societies, where time and knowledge are perceived as commodities and education is becoming a transactional process between clients and service providers, we would like to create a different form of relationship with those interested in learning about the work of the collective.

In our experience, we have found frequently that people look for approaches with a very strong desire for something that fits their expectations of immediate consumption, convenience and autonomy/choice (we call this “candy”): they want something practical, fulfilling and pleasurable, and very frequently they feel disappointed, frustrated and sometimes angry when they do not have their demands met and desires fulfilled. Thus, we say that, while we understand that people may want “candy”, we can only offer “broccoli seeds” that will require soil, planting, watering and attending to for a possible harvest.

We request that people engaging with our work consider the following “broccoli seed agreement” that confirms that they understand what may happen during this engagement, particularly the experiential sessions.

The broccoli seed agreement invites you to consider the following statement:

I understand that …

1. the engagement with the work of the collective may not have any immediate practical application in my context and that is ok.
2. I do not have to agree with anything presented, but I am happy to see what happens.
3. I may feel uncomfortable, confused and frustrated through this process and I take responsibility for observing and learning from my conscious and unconscious responses/resistances/fragilities.
4. It is up to me to decide when to push myself further and when to stop and reflect/observe.

Source: https://decolonialfutures.net/broccoliseedagreement/ 

 

Finding your flow

An interesting episode of Life Cycle on Radio Scotland today, encouraging people to do less... Available to listen again here for a month.

Beautiful pots by Rosemary

Yesterday I bought two beautiful bowls from Rosemary van Miert (who used to be a Thursday night regular, and many years ago taught Mark Short Form). You may have had the pleasure of pushing hands with her before now. She makes stunning pots, bowls and gorgeous mugs and cups too. Her studio is in South London and she can be found at www.instagram.com/rosemarypots I have ordered a larger bowl in this style for a dear one.

Maybe you need some Christmas goods that are actually good. Message me if you want her other contact details.

Hillbilly Sutra

A great friend sent me this podcast and I very rarely listen to them, let alone click on links I have been sent. But it's two hours of the best, most succinct, funny, realisation that I have ever heard. Don't judge the host, the accents, the format, (I did, and then I laughed at my judgements and carried on anyway) if you can manage it, just listen, enjoy, laugh. Wei wu wei.

Exhibition

Joan has two pieces in this excellent-looking show coming up in London.
All are welcome to come along.

Making a mark, lightly.

If you have a cuppa and fancy seeing what I get up to when not doing T'ai Chi, then have a look at the great print and online environmental magazine Earth Island Journal, where I am the featured artist this autumn. The principles of wu-wei, non-interference, naturalness, spontaneity and holding to earth are as central to my art as to my T'ai Chi. I hope you enjoy it.

Yggdrasil, world tree, for a recent commission.

Home made iron gall and copper oxide inks.

Unfix Festival

This festival next weekend in Glasgow looks great. Dark Mountain friends Dougie Strang and Charlotte DuCann are performing. I have only just read about it, hence lack of notice...

Paul Michael Henry - Butoh Dance

T'ai Chi and health benefits

It is taking me ages to get these up on here, apologies. This is everything I have for now, I will add more as they arrive. Please send links to anything else you feel is relevant. I have also added links about haptic sense decline, the legacy of frictionless surfaces and screen time meaning people can't use real objects finely any more...

Thankyou to Michael, Janet R and Hamid especially for the links.

After reading, go practice!

General synopsis of Taichi health benefits So good I will quote it here directly.

'OBJECTIVE:

To summarize the evidence on the health benefits of tai chi.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

A literature review was conducted on the benefits of tai chi for 25 specific conditions, as well as for general health and fitness, to update a 2014 review of systematic reviews. Systematic reviews and recent clinical trials were assessed and organized into 5 different groups: evidence of benefit as excellent, good, fair, or preliminary, or evidence of no direct benefit.

MAIN MESSAGE:

During the past 45 years more than 500 trials and 120 systematic reviews have been published on the health benefits of tai chi. Systematic reviews of tai chi for specific conditions indicate excellent evidence of benefit for preventing falls, osteoarthritis, Parkinson disease, rehabilitation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and improving cognitive capacity in older adults. There is good evidence of benefit for depression, cardiac and stroke rehabilitation, and dementia. There is fair evidence of benefit for improving quality of life for cancer patients, fibromyalgia, hypertension, and osteoporosis. Current evidence indicates no direct benefit for diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, or chronic heart failure. Systematic reviews of general health and fitness benefits show excellent evidence of benefit for improving balance and aerobic capacity in those with poor fitness. There is good evidence for increased strength in the lower limbs. There is fair evidence for increased well-being and improved sleep. There were no studies that found tai chi worsened a condition. A recent systematic review on the safety of tai chi found adverse events were typically minor and primarily musculoskeletal; no intervention-related serious adverse events have been reported.

CONCLUSION:

There is abundant evidence on the health and fitness effects of tai chi. Based on this, physicians can now offer evidence-based recommendations to their patients, noting that tai chi is still an area of active research, and patients should continue to receive medical follow-up for any clinical conditions.

Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada.'

Postural stability in patients with Parkinson's

Fall reductions in older people

Taichi benefits and cognitive control in older people.

Benefits of QiGong and Taichi (scroll to bottom for comprehensive list of outcomes)

If so inclined, Janet Rickard suggest you can search published reports here for related papers.

Students of surgery lack basic dexterity for lack of touch.
I also have the report from the 'Thinking Hands' symposium about this from St Martins in 2014, for those who are interested, get in touch.

Raising the Spirit

Here we are, a few weeks later than I'd hoped, some notes from a wonderful conversation with everyone around the table last Aberdeenshire teaching trip, and also the bones of what I taught, beyond the physical T'ai Chi, last time. This is not a serious essay, nor a prescription to set the world to rights, but it may help if you are down, in the way chocolate, a beautiful sunset, or finding a fiver in your pocket also helps.


Winter comes, to the higher latitudes, and sometimes the spirit sinks.
This is entirely normal, and a certain slowing down must occur, if we are in any way in sync with the natural world. But the mood and can drop, the heart grow a little cold, and the spirit can be dampened. This is not so good. I could say: 'Just do daily T'ai Chi practice'. Aha, good idea, you answer, but it ain't gonna happen as I am already stuck on the sofa. So, what are the things that have been dampening our spirit? Looking at both traditional Taoist sources, and modern experience of life, here's a little list.

Taking oneself too seriously
Pain (physical or mental)
External influences (almost anything that is 'not self': culture, events, climate, disaster, war, constant bad news, politics, neighbours... life)
Too much or too little sleep
Addictions
Grief and loss
Too much, too little, or the wrong food
Too much or too little company or solitude.
Overthinking
Anxiety


You could probably add a million more, but these were the main ones we discussed. External influences are all lumped together for good reason, they'll be different for everyone, in every context, so can't be enumerated. For instance, one could list 'patriarchy', ''colonialism', 'mass extinction' or 'poverty', and these would all fit nicely, you get the idea. By the way, these are sometimes denied by the just 'think positive' brigade. Great! How's thinking positive making all of these real things any less oppressive for those on the actual sharp end of them? Not encouraging negative thoughts is indeed good mental hygiene. But saying everything is a mental creation is a delusion. Awful things do actually happen, in the real world, and sometimes correct anger at these things can lead us to right action, rather than wishful thinking, and the habit of always looking away from what we find difficult or distasteful.

There is a way through, to raise the spirit and to regain one's centre-line. Here are some enliveners:

Humour
Freedom from all of the above listed items!
Stretching or challenging oneself a bit, in activity, not too much, but significantly
Hobbies
The right company
Reaching beyond oneself, helping out, being charitable, volunteering
Daylight
Time in nature
T'ai Chi and Chi Kung
Physical activity: singing, dancing, walking, intimacy, etc
Being around beloved creatures, whether pets or wild beings
Conviviality and connection
Learning a new skill or developing an old one
Not dwelling on oneself
Noticing the good

Again, everyone will have their own list, but these came up with the group. Why do I have 'taking oneself too seriously' and 'humour' as top of their respective lists? I have noticed, after many years of teaching, that the very first sign of the blues, and a depressed spirit, is how very SERIOUS and IMPORTANT all one's thoughts are. There are many cures for this: having a laugh, especially at oneself, reading or watching something that always makes you chuckle, deliberately courting foolishness, taking the mick out of oneself, asking for a very big hug from a friend, time with swans / cygnets / kittens / puppies (delete as appropriate), playing games, yes actual board / card / or social games, singing loudly along with favourite music while dancing, even. All this will feel like pulling teeth to the serious person who is down because the world is so awful, and surely no one has any right to ever feel ok again... 'It's black, it's black, you throw me in the pit and feed me scraps...'

So the Fast Show used to sort me out, and the RAF airmen speaking modern slang from Armstrong and Miller. Or very good Sci Fi TV. Or writing to friends and sending little gifts. And have I mentioned swans?

Or going to T'ai Chi class.
Just saying...

Thanks to Davina for the prompt to get this written. I am off to drink a glass of cava. Have a good evening.

These cheeky faces always lift my spirit.

The local swans and cygnets.

New Year

New Year's resolutions are not my thing, but over the less-busy period between terms I often have time to re-affirm certain habits or practices that are nourishing. This year, like last year, that involves sitting meditation, but crafting and reading for pleasure have made a return. Extinction Rebellion have a good set of daily focuses this week, and the themes change each day, giving food for thought, action, creativity or quiet reflection. Have a look here.

Dorset rainbow September 2018

More good things

Bristol Cloth are crowdfunding to make the first natural dyed wool cloth, totally made in the UK for many years. Have a look here, I just supported them on Crowdfunder, there's only a day left.

Benjamen Walker's Theory of Everything just gets better. It's the only podcast I always enjoy.

More things to follow leading up to New Year, as I remember them!

Things

Heart Work with Mark runs today at the HC studio 2-5pm. All welcome.

I am still ill with colds and flu, and have not been able to come to classes, as well as having to cancel some teaching. I have missed seeing everyone as well as missing the T'ai Chi. Hope to be back to class Tuesday evening. I won't be at class today as I am still coughing a great deal. So I will stay in and mend things.

My friend Navjyoat Chhina writes a great blog about home-schooling her kids, and the latest post is about haptic perception. I still haven't written my post on that for here yet. We were both inspired, or rather depressed, by the news last month that surgeons are finding new students don't have the requisite hand-eye coordination needed to study surgery. The cause appears to be that they didn't have hand craft hobbies as kids, but spent time looking at screens. Too many frictionless surfaces are making us de-evolve!

Marks' classes continue next week on Tuesday and Thursday, and resume on 15th and 17th January.

Best wishes to you all, hoping you don't have this bug.

Deep secular community

I have been invited to speak about the possibility of deep secular community at this event in Islington, North London, about belonging and community without religion. You are welcome to come along, tickets are only £20 for the day and it includes lunch. I am really looking forward to sharing some of what makes our T'ai Chi family so profoundly nourishing, in the hope that it will be useful to others.

Importantly, it rests upon physical practice together, rather than ideas or words, and this is what I hope to get across. If I can get away with it, I will speak little and get everyone out of their seats and trying sticking asap.

Tickets and more good info are here.

anastomosing

My new word of the day, used in botany, meaning 'forming cross-connections', but surely this can apply to certain people too, who love to put people in touch with one-another...

Good things

Living on the river, and fishing out plastic every day as I walk the bank, marine plastic pollution is very visible. However, much is invisible, and comes from our laundry, every day. There is good research into how we can reduce or stop this at home ourselves, and I have been following this, as have some of my T'ai Chi friends. I have just ordered this Guppyfriend bag, which catches a huge proportion of the synthetic fibres shed in a wash. There are also these Coraballs, which I read about in the BBC news last month, which I have not yet ordered. Have a look. I am also wearing and washing synthetics far less, not buying any more, checking labels very carefully, and moving back over to wool, silk, cotton, linen, natural skins, and so on. Many people despair at how little one can do oneself to help, but there is much that can be done by changing our habits right now, with a few tweaks. Many of us tend to keep clothes and shoes for many years, and mend them rather than trash them, these are habits of any thrifty person. And I'd much rather wear the beautiful woollen jumpers Davina has knitted me over the years anyway... (I don't often put products on this blog, and only ones I use or am about to use, and I think plastic in the oceans is important enough to merit this little bit of a plug, if you'll forgive the pun.)

Positive news is needed, so that folks do not slide into despair and (the wrong kind of) inaction. So you may also like Positive News which is on line and in print, and is good journalism about good things. Their recent revamp and redesign has made this much less 'fluffy' and a really good read.

A peace as fierce as war

I feel that I understand some of the many reasons why we fight.

The visceral thrill of getting your way, somehow forging your will 'direct trough the bones of the living'.

Midlife and 21 years T'ai Chi make me ask myself; can I make a peace as fierce as war? Hand-make a peace as transformational and dynamic as a fight.

The energy in fighting is not 'wrong', you may as well say a tiger is 'wrong'.

Here's some lines that came to heart in me today, which is Remembrance Day, from John Kells, from the last paragraphs of his writing: 'The fighting eye of life is death'.

'For want of a better word, this powerful beginning of the natural process is called yielding - the start of enheartening: filling the deprived heart of the fearful one with connexion driving away self, sorrow & thoughts.

Finding a method here is useful because then with this method you can give others your insight into freedom from fear & into connexion.

So the essence of the warrior is to never forget the technique that brought him through death & the overweening useless fear of it, & into life.

One who has not made this journey will inevitably talk of suffering.

But the fighting eye of life is death, & one experience to the warrior is no more or less important than any other, & therefore will not be indulged.

Thus the rush of love has its own character, the rush of reaction in a self-defence situation has another, the rush of pain due to injury or disease is yet another.

But all are equal so there is no point in talking about suffering.

The warrior’s fighting eye blesses what it delights on because it neither detracts nor adds anything.

What is brought into your being through your senses is what is there.

The rest of nature understands this & harmony is bound to exist with it.

Mankind generally does not understand this so harmony is lessened.

Connecting through the heart, ever forwards, open, hooking, embracing, along the connecting natural process, is all you can do.

Transform.

Nothing can escape, so it is important that each warrior does his best to sharpen his fighting eye & reach as far & as deep as he can for all our sakes.'

John Kells - Blakeney - 29^th May 2004