Being Fooled

"It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled."
-  Mark Twain

The Other Side of the Coin

Buddha's Charter of Free Inquiry

“Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing;
nor upon tradition;
nor upon rumor;
nor upon what is in a scripture:
nor upon surmise;
nor upon an axiom;
nor upon specious reasoning;
nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over:
nor upon another’s seeming ability;
nor upon the consideration, “The monk is our teacher.”
When you yourselves know:
“These things are good; these things are not blamable;
these things are praised by the wise; undertaken and observed,
these things lead to benefit and happiness,” enter on and abide in them.”"
-   Gautama Buddha
     Kalama Sutta, The Buddha’s Charter of Free Inquiry
     Translated by Soma Thera (The Wheel Publication, No. 8),
     Buddhist Publication Society, 1987  

Nine Temple Chi Kung Exercises

The Temple Qigong (Chi Kung) form consists of nine exercises.  It was popularized by Grand Master Marshall Ho'o (1910-1993) of Los Angeles, California.  It is also referred to as the Nine Temple Exercises, or the Marshall Ho'o Temple Exercises.  

My webpage on Temple Qigong provides a bibliography, links, the names of the movements, and an explanation of each movement.  

Standing Meditation, Resting Position: Wuji

1.   Turning the Prayer Wheel

2.   Rotating the Knees

3.   Crossed Arm Rotation

4.   Picking Fruit

5.   Swinging the Leg

6.   Leg Bounce

7.   Retreat and Advance   

8.   Grinding Corn

9.   Polishing the Mirror  

Closure: Collecting and Storing Energy 

Marshall Ho'o wrote a book 1968 which included an explanation with photographic illustrations of the Temple Qigong set.  The black and white photos in that book were of poor quality and the editing was unsatisfactory.  An instructional DVD also teaches this form.  

"Dr. Ho'o was instrumental in the certification of acupuncture in the State of California. He was the first Tai Chi Master to have been elected to the Black Belt Hall of Fame.  He was Dean of the Aspen Academy of Martial & Healing Arts, on the faculty of California Institute of the Arts, and taught Tai Chi and Acupressure at many educational institutions.  In 1973, he created a series for KCET public television, in Los Angeles, teaching Tai Chi.  He was a consultant to Prevention Magazine's The Doctor's Book of Home Remedies.  A Chinese American, Dr. Ho'o was America's first Tai Chi Chuan Grandmaster.  His influence is far-reaching in both the fields of healing and martial arts."
-  The Lineage, Teachers of Two Birds Tai Chi

Tai Chi Chuan  By Marshall Hoo.  Burbank, California, Ohara Publications, Inc., 1986, 1993.  111 pages.  ISBN: 0897501098.  VSCL.  The Nine Temple exercise set is briefly described in this book on pages 18-42.  Each movement is clearly illustrated by four to eight clear black and white photographs of a woman doing the form.  The Taijiquan is the Standard 24 Form in the Yang Style. 

Tai Chi Chuan: The 27 forms by Marshall Hoo .   Instructional DVD, released in 2005, by Marshall Ho'o.  Black Belt Videos, 90 minutes.  Includes the Nine Temple Qigong.   

Family Fun

Alicia, Sean, Katelyn, and Makenna all came down from Portland to visit Karen and I in Red Bluff.  They arrived on Friday afternoon.  We enjoyed our family time together.  Because of the fires in the local mountains, the air quality the whole weekend was very unhealthful.  We stayed at our home quite a bit and played games, gardened, talked, watched DVDs, rested.

A Single Gourd

 

"Blinding heat divides day from night,
Brands short shadows into fecund soil.
Green tendrils, heavy with beans,
Coil around rustic bamboo racks.
Violet flowers gape erotically among velvet leaves:
A single gourd contains the entire world's dream.

There is a great comfort in growing your own food. You are close to the soil. You use the basic elements -- water, sunlight, earth, air, and plants -- for your work, your sustenance, and your pleasure. You nurture your garden from seedlings to mature plants, tending, pruning, weeding.  Year after year, you see cycles come and go, from sprouting to harvest to withering, to seeding again.  You eat your plants to live.  You don't mind and they don't mind. Some day, you will fall back to this earth, back into the sun-baked dirt, and you will become food for the plants.  It's the way of all life, and it's all very agreeable.

Those who follow Tao say that all reality is like a series of nesting circles: microcosms within macrocosms. What is close at hand is a microcosm of what is far away. Why search all over for Tao?  It is all contained in the seeds of the gourd growing in your garden."
-  Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao: Daily Meditations, Day 245, September 2nd

Gardening and Spirituality: Quotes, Poems, Sayings

Precious Water Flowing

Every morning I walk out in my back yard and check the irrigation ditch that runs through my property.  Every ten days or so in the dry months the ditch will be filled with flowing water.  The rancher to the southwest breeds horses and rancher to the northwest raises cattle.  They irrigate their large fields to raise wheat and other grains to feed their animals.  Some of the overflow runs through the ditch to a nearby creek.  

Numerous neighbors, including myself, have dug small ponds which capture this water and provide water for wildlife and for human enjoyment. 
 
I pump water out of this ditch and irrigate out trees and shrubs.  We will sometimes have six hoses running at the same time, and move them around every forty minutes or so.  Over the last fourteen years I have put in many white PVC pipes underground to bring this treasured water to where it is need. 

 "If there is magic on the planet, it is contained in the water."
-  Loren Eisley

"A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself."
- Laura Gilpin

The Spirit of Gardening

Water

The Wheel Rolls On

We are definitely feeling the coming of autumn.  Cooler days and nights - consistently.  We can accomplish more work in the garden in a afternoon without exhausting ourselves in the heat.  I don't expect any rain until November, so we must keeping watering in the garden. 

My apple bell wand has been rededicated and is ready to use.  

September: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore, Garden Chores

Autumnal Equinox, Mabon, Harvest Home, Feast of Avalon - Celebrations

“The Wheel rolls more, and Autumn returns.
Cooler the rain; the Sun lower burns.
The coloring leaves presage the Year:
All things move into harvest’s sphere.
I vow to savor fruits first picked;
nor into grief shall I be tricked.
I vow to offer what once I spurned,
and face the Turning reassured.
- Asleen O’Gaea, Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Beltane to Mabon, p. 116.  

"Lord, it is time. The summer was very big.  Lay thy shadow on the sundials, and on the meadows let the winds go loose. Command the last fruits that they shall be full; give them another two more southerly days, press them on to fulfillment and drive the last sweetness into the heavenly wine."
-   Rainer Maria Rilke 

 

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Chapter 51

Dao De Jing, Laozi

Chapter 51

"Tao gives life to all creatures; teh feeds them; materiality shapes them; energy completes them.
Therefore among all things there is none that does not honor Tao and esteem teh.
Honor for Tao and esteem for teh is never compelled, it is always spontaneous.
Therefore Tao gives life to them, but teh nurses them, raises them, nurtures, completes, matures, rears, protects them.
Tao gives life to them but makes no claim of ownership; teh forms them but makes no claim upon them, raises them but does not rule them.
This is profound vitality (teh)."
-   Translated by Dwight Goddard, Chapter 51 

"Tao gives life to all things.
Virtue nourishes them.
Material world gives them form.
Circumstances make them complete.
Therefore of the myriad things,
Each one reveres Tao
And each one pays tribute to virtue.
They do so without being ordered.
They do so of themselves.
Tao gives life to them.
Virtue nourishes and matures them.
It teaches them and protects them.
It rests them, supports them and guards them.
Tao gives life to them but it does not possess them.
It toils for them but expects no praise.
It guides them but does not dominate them.
This is the secret virtue."
-   Translated by Agnieszka Solska, Chapter 51  

"Tao creates all things,
Virtue nurtures them.
Matter gives them forms, and
Environment allows them to succeed.
Thus all things honour Tao and value Virtue.
Tao being honoured and Virtue being valued,
They always occurred naturally without being dictated by anyone.
Thus:
Tao creates all thing.
Virtue nurtures them:
They grow and develop;
Bear fruits and mature; and
Are cared for and protected.
To create, but not to possess;
To care for, but not to control;
To lead, but not to subjugate.
This is called the profound virtue."
-   Translated by Cheng, Chapter 51

The Way bears all things;
Harmony nurtures them;
Nature shapes them;
Use completes them.
Each follows the Way and honours harmony,
Not by law,
But by being.
The Way bears, nurtures, shapes, completes,
Shelters, comforts, and makes a home for them.
Bearing without possessing,
Nurturing without taming,
Shaping without forcing,
This is harmony.
-   Translated by Peter Merel, Chapter 51 

"A guide starts it,
virtuosity cultivates it,
Natural kinds model it
and circumstances complete it.
For this reason, among the ten-thousand natural kinds,
None fail to respect a guide and value virtuosity.
This respecting of guides
and valuing of virtuosity
is not, in general, commanded in words instead it treats self-so-ingas constant.
Hence a guide starts it,
virtuosity cultivates it,
Acts as its elder, educates it,
shades it, poisons it,
nourishes it and returns it.
Gives rise to and not 'exist,'
Deem:act and not rely on anything.
Acts as elder and does not rule.
This would be called 'profound virtuosity.'"
-   Translated by Chad Hansen, Chapter 51 

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Introduction, Bibliography, Commentary, Chapter Index  

Chapter 51 of the Dao De Jing by Laozi: Text and Commentaries  

Index of English Language Translators of the Tao Te Ching 

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices  

Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching

Longing for an Infinite Walk

Our firefighters have been struggling for three weeks to control and contain four fires in the mountains to the east, north, and west of us.  Due to the dense smoke from these four large fires, the air quality has been very poor during this period in our valley area. 

The fires to the east and north have been brought under control.  Yesterday evening, for the first time in nearly a month, the skies were clear to the east and we could again see the Southern Cascade hills and mountains. 

I look forward to long morning walks this coming Labor Day Holiday weekend.  Americans celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday in September, and workers in other countries celebrate Labor Day on May 1st.  A pat on the back to all the billions of women and men who work hard to make the world a better and safer place to live within. 

Walking at daybreak will be a delight again with better air to breathe and clear views of the local mountains.  Temperatures at dawn are now a cool 60F. 

"Walking I am unbound, and find that precious unity of life and imagination, that silent outgoing self, which is so easy to loose, but which a high moments seems to start up again from the deepest rhythms of my own body.  How often have I had this longing for an infinite walk - of going unimpeded, until the movement of my body as I walk fell into the flight of streets under my feet - until I in my body and the world in its skin of earth were blended into a single act of knowing."
-  Alfred Kazin, The Open Street

"It’s all still there in heart and soul. The walk, the hills, the sky, the solitary pain and pleasure–they will grow larger, sweeter, lovelier in the days and years to come."
-   Edward Abbey  

Ways of Walking: Quotations, Sayings, Poems, Lore 

As We Think, So We Become

"The thought manifests as the word;

The word manifests as the deed;

The deed develops into habit;

And the habit into character.

So, watch the thought and its ways with care

And let it spring from love

Born out of concern for all Beings.

As the shadow follows the body,

As we think, so we become."

From the Dhammapada Sutra

Sayings of the Buddha

Collected around 100 CE

Dayan Chi Kung

Dayan (Wild Goose) Qigong Exercises

Bibliography, Links, Quotes, Notes, List of Movements
Research by Mike Garofalo
This Qigong form is one long continuous sequence of movements, much like a Taiji form.  There are many aspects of the Wild Goose Qigong system as presented by Dr. Bingkun Hu of San Francisco.  
 
I was practicing this Dayan form one winter morning in my Sacred Circle Garden when a flock of Canadian Geese flew overhead.  The North Sacramento Valley is the winter home of birds from Canada.  Behold ... 'everything is holy now':

"A second Grandfather, he of the North, spoke again: 

"Take courage, younger brother," he said, "on earth a nation you shall make live, for yours shall be the power of the white giant's wing, the cleansing wing." 

Then he got up very tall and started running toward the north; and when he turned toward me, it was a white goose wheeling. I looked about me now, and the horses in the west were thunders and the horses of the north where geese. 

And the second Grandfather sang two songs that were like this:

"They are appearing, may you behold!
They are appearing , may you behold!
The thunder nation is appearing, behold!

They are appearing, may you behold!
They are appearing, may you behold!
The white geese nation is appearing, behold!"

- Black Elk Speaks, 1932, p. 22, as told to John G. Neihardt.

Mudra of the Three Jewels

Homages in Twenty One Verses to Arya Tara
A Tibetan Buddhist Scripture

Verse 9

"Homage to you beautifully adorned
By the Three Jewels' gesture at your heart.
Your wheel shines in all directions
With a whirling mass of light."
-  Translated by Thubten Chodron  

Hail you whose heart is beautiful
with hands in the Three-Jew'l gesture,
Their exquisite royal wheel-marks
Shining their light-rays everywhere!
-  Translated by Robert Thurman

"Homage, Lady holding her hand over her breast
with a gesture that symbolizes the Three Jewels,
her palms adorned with the universal wheel
radiating a turbulent host of its own beams."
-  Translated by Stephan Beyer

"Home to her whose fingers in the mudra symbol
Of the Three Jewels adorn the heart,
Who by radiating the rays of her own light,
Adorns the wheel of all directions."
-  Translated by Bokar Rinpoche

"Homage! She adorned with fingers,
   at Her heart, in Three-Jewel mudra!
Wheel of all quarters adorned,
   filled with masses of Her own light!"
-  Translated by Martin Wilson 

"Homage, Mother, her hand adorns her heart
In a mudra that symbolizes the Three Jewels.
Adorned with the universal wheel
She radiates turbulent light."
-  Translated by Anna Orlova
 

The Goddess Arya Tara (Green Tara or White Tara) holds the long stem of a lotus flower.  The lotus flower (Padma) has been used since ancient times as a key symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism and other religions.  The lotus is most often held in the left hand of Arya Tara.  Her left hand is held near her heart.  The huge bloom of the lotus typically appears above her left shoulder.  Tara is often seated on a lotus.  She typically holds the stem of the lotus flower between her left thumb and left ring finger, and the other three fingers are gently held open.  This particular ritual hand position or symbolic hand gesture (mudra) is referred to as the Prithivi Mudra which recharges the root chakra (Muladhara) aligning it with earth energies (Gertrud Hirschi, Mudras, p.84).  "Her left hand is in the gesture of the Three Jewels, with the thumb and ring finger touching and the other three fingers stretched upward.  These three fingers represent the Three Jewels [Buddha, Dharma, Sanga].  They indicate that by entrusting ourselves to these three objects of refuge and practicing their teachings, we can actualize the unity of compassion, bliss, and wisdom, which is symbolized by the joining of her ring finger and thumb." (Ven. Thuben Chodron, How to Free Your Mind, p. 21)  The Hindu Goddess Lakshmi also holds a lotus flower or is standing on a lotus.  

Goddess Tara: Bibliography, Quotations, Notes, 21 Praises

  

So, what are your Three Jewels?  Your three essential principles of faith?  Your three core values? 

Medicine Ball Training

Martial Arts, physical culture, and Qigong enthusiasts can benefit from using a medicine ball when doing exercises.  There are many routines developed by Taijiquan and Qigong masters using a medicine ball.  In addition, upper body strength is also improved by using Taijiquan weapons like the saber, sword, and staff. 

Medicine Ball Training and Exercises: Bibliography, Links, Resources .  Prepared by Mike Garofalo.  A general introduction to the use of medicine balls in exercise programs. 

I developed my own medicine ball routine called: Magic Pearl Qigong.

Magic Pearl Qigong, Part I, Movements 1-8 .   Instructions, Bibliography, Links, Handouts, Resources, Mythological Associations, Lore.  Prepared by Mike Garofalo. 

Magic Pearl Qigong, Part II, Movements 9-16 .   Instructions, Bibliography, Links, Handouts, Resources, Mythological Associations, Lore.  Prepared by Mike Garofalo.

The Magic Pearl Qigong can be a very vigorous physical culture routine if you increase the weight of the ball and the number of repetitions of each movement. 

 

Chen Taijiquan: 18 Movement Short Form

Chen Style Taijiquan Short Hand Form, 18 Movements
Created by Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei

Bibliography, Resources, List of Movements, Resources, Links, Instructions, Comments
Webpage by Michael Garofalo

 

Chen Style Taijiquan
Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei's Short 18 Movements Tai Chi Hand Form
List of 18 Movements

1.     Beginning Posture of Taiji 

2.     Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds the Mortar

3.     Lazily Tying One's Coat  

4.     Six Sealing and Four Closing  

5.     Single Whip 

6.     White Crane Spreads Its Wings

7.     Walk Diagonally  

8.     Brush Knee

9.     Stepping to Both Sides   

10.   Cover Hands and Strike with Fist  

11.   High Pat on the Horse  

12.   Kick with the Left Heel  

13.   Jade Maiden Working Her Loom  

14.   Cloud Hands  

15.   Turn Body with Double Lotus Kick 

16.   Cannon Fist Over the Head  

17.   Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds the Mortar  

18.   Closing Posture of Taiji    

List of Movements in Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei's Short 18 Form  (1 Page, PDF)  English Only  

List of Movements in Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei's Short 18 Form  (1Page, PDF)  English and Chinese   

List of Movements in Chen Taijiquan, Old Frame, First Form, Laojia Yilu   (2 pages, PDF)  English and Chinese 

Chen Style Taijiquan

Tai Chi for Health by Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei

Dao De Jing, Laozi, Chapter 52

Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu

Chapter 52

"The beginning of the universe, when materialized, is considered to be a mother.
When a man finds the mother, he will know the children, accordingly.
Even though he knows the children, he still clings to the mother:
Therefore, although his body wanes, he never perishes.
The person who shuts his mouth and closes his doors
Will never perish.
If he opens his mouth and increases his affairs,
He will never be saved.
The person who sees the tiniest thing possesses clear vision,
The person who adheres to the weak possesses strength.
Use your light, but dim your brightness,
In this way you will not do yourself any harm.
This is called following the eternal Tao."
-   Translated by Chou-Wing Chohan, Chapter 52 

"The world has an origin.
The origin is the mother.
Knowing the mother, we know the son.
Knowing the son, we deduce the mother.
This way, we can be successful.
Plugging leakages,
Closing openings,
We can never be depleted.
Opening leakages,
Making too many commitments,
We can be hopeless.
Those who pay attention to details are wise.
Those who exercise flexibility are strong.
Use the light,
Things are illuminated.
Thus we can avoid mistakes.
This is called normal behavior."
-   Translated by Thomas Zhang, Chapter 52  

"If you trace problems in your relationship
back to the beginning
you will find their seeds
were sown and then ignored.
They grew unnoticed until their fruit
ripened and surprised you.
But if you can find
where the seeds were sown,
there you will find the roots as well.
And if you remove the roots
your problems will wither."
-   Translated by William Martin, Chapter 52

"That which was the beginning of all things under heaven
We may speak of as the “mother” of all things.
He who apprehends the mother
Thereby knows the sons.
And he who has known the sons,
Will hold all the tighter to the mother,
And to the end of his days suffer no harm;
“Block the passages, shut the doors,
And till the end your strength shall not fail.
Open up the passages, increase your doings,
And till your last day no help shall come to you.”
As good sight means seeing what is very small
So strength means holding on to what is weak.
He who having used the outer-light can return to the innerlight
Is thereby preserved from all harm.
This is called resorting to the always-so."
-   Translated by Arthur Waley, Chapter 52 

"This world must have begun in certain way;
We may thenceforth consider it the origin (mother) of our world;
Once we manage to ascertain the origin, we could [apply it] to study its offsprings;
After we learn more about the offsprings, we may reciprocally eke out our knowledge about the mother (the origin);
This is my never-ending life-long quest.
If paths and openings of one's connections [to the outside world] are blocked, he will never be aroused to do anything in life;
If paths and openings of one's connections [to the outside world] are unlocked and he is properly motivated, he will never cease [from the quest described above].
One who perceives subtleties is brilliant;
One who maintains humility is strong.
One who would use [the light of Tao] to illuminate his [potential] brilliance will thus leave behind nothing that could cause misfortune to later generations.
A person, who achieves all of the above described fulfillment, is what I called the person with embodiment of the perpetual [Te]."
-   Translated by Lee Org, Chapter 52 

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Introduction, Bibliography, Commentary, Chapter Index  

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Introduction, Bibliography, Commentary, Chapter Index  

Chapter 52 of the Dao De Jing by Laozi: Text and Commentaries  

Index of English Language Translators of the Tao Te Ching 

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices  

Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching

The Other Side of the Coin

Many times I have read or listened to some unjustified or outlandish claims about the value or benefits of yoga or qigong.  Some claim one can obtain amazing, otherworldly, special or magical powers (siddhis) from the practice of these arts.  Some claim that all kinds of ailments, diseases, and illnesses, both physical and mental, can be cured or overcome with diligent "correct" practice. These arts are also connected with religious viewpoints (e.g., Taoist, Hindu, Tantric, Buddhist) that also make some questionable claims about the benefits of various spiritual practices. Some extraordinary anecdotes are very suspicious and should be doubted. 

There are definitely benefits from the correct and sensible practice of various mind-body arts and spiritual practices; and, there are definitely limits to these benefits.  Keep an open mind, be somewhat skeptical, courteously question, and test claims against reality.  Look at the other side of the coin.  Don't believe all that you hear or read.  Weight anecdotal claims against common sense, averages, and personal differences.  Be careful of an over reliance on magic.  Avoid being gullible.  Respectfully listen to "authorities," but do not always accept their recommendations and claims on blind faith.  Watch out for fakes, phonies, and hucksters.  Keep a clear understanding of the limitations of your own body and mind and how certain practices might not be beneficial to you and even detrimental to your health and well being.  Do some research, listen to other experts, read widely, get a second or third opinion, and think clearly and wisely. 

Willpower and faith have a place in beneficial body-mind practices, but cannot force or control the flow of the Tao just as you desire.  Accept some defeat, loss, failure, errors, misinformation, and falsehood as part of the reality of the life and mind.  Uncertainty and chaos also share in the spotlight on the stage of life. 

Two books that I have read might help you in keeping a more level perspective on these topics with respect to the practice of Yoga:


The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards  By William J. Broad.  New York, Simon and Schuster, 2012.  Index, bibliography, notes, 298 pages.  ISBN;  9781451641424.  VSCL. 

The Hindus: An Alternative History  By Wendy Doniger.  New York, Penguin Books, 2009.  Index, bibliography, notes, 779 pages.  ISBN: 9780143116691.  VSCL.