Friday, January 17, 2025

Subject Indexes to the Entangling Vines Koan Collection


 Entangling Vines 272 Koans Collection (ENT)


Entangling Vines: A Classic Collection of Zen Koans. Translated and annotated by Thomas Yūhō Kirchner. Foreword by Nelson Foster. Introduction by Ueda Shizuteru. Boston, Wisdom Publications, 2013. Index, bibliography, charts, 338 pages. ISBN: 9781614290773. A collection of 272 koans by Japanese Rinzai Zen masters and scholars called the Shūmon kattōshŭ (Entangling Vines) dating from 1689. Invaluable and unique biographies of the Teacher/Authors of all the Koans in the Entangling Vines Collection. Extensive and detailed index on pages 312-338. Bibliography on pp. 304-312. Charts of the names or Teacher/Persons using Pinyin Romanization of Mandarin Chinese, Wade-Giles Romanization of Mandarin Chinese, and Romanization of Japanese, and Chinese characters for all indexes. Informative notes by Thomas Kircher for the 272 Koans. VSCL, Kindle E-Book and Paperback. All references to pages in the indexed documents are from this book.


Subject Index to Cases in the Entangling Vines Koan Collection. Indexed by Michael P. Garofalo. First Draft, June 15, 2023, PDF, 58 pages.

Alphabetical List of Cases in the Entangling Vines Koan Collection. Indexed by Michael P. Garofalo. First Draft, June 15, 2023, PDF, 10 pages.

Case Number Order - Entangling Vines Koan Collection. Indexed by Michael P. Garofalo. First Draft, June 15, 2023, PDF, 10 pages.

 

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans


Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.



Thursday, January 16, 2025

Pulling Onions Again and Again





When Death grins at you, grin back; when death beckons you, run away.
Thankfully, we can imagine nearly everything─ which helps prevent boredom. 
A garden is a Romantic's parádeisos.

It's over when it ends.
Act on your knowledge first, your common sense second, and your best guess third.
Wear a variety of masks; acting is essential to coping.
A garden is a feeling.
Acknowledging that you might die today has stopped few from trying to stay alive to 80.
Dreams are our imagination at play while we sleep. 

You can train yourself to eliminate bad habits and useless thoughts; for example, stop attending any more church services starting today.
Seventy percent of "good luck" is following reasonable plans and working diligently; the rest is often beneficial circumstances outside of your control.
No garden lasts for long - neither will you. 
Shade, in the summer, is as precious as a glass of water.  
Fear may keep some stupid people in line, but virtue for virtue's sake attracts the allegiance and support of most intelligent people. 
The most important Master to seek and follow is Self-Mastery.  
There is no 'i' in "team," but there is an 'm' in me, my, and mine.  

Sometimes it is best to walk away and never walk back. 
Exercise is a way of making the unconscious body very conscious. 
A wise gardener knows when to stop. 
Gardens are demanding pets. 
Unclench your fist to give a hand. 
The little choices day after day are the biggest issue. 

Gardening is but one battle against Chaos. 
When life gives you onions, it stinks and you ain't making lemonade. 
Many friendships are sustained by a mutual hatred of another person or group.
What you see depends on when you look. 
Beauty is the Mistress, the gardener her slave. 

Wishes are like seeds, few ever develop into something.  
My mind is a sea I cannot see into; I merely skim along its surface.
Absolutes squirm beneath realities. 
There is not much to say about "The Unknown." 
Objectivity is a product of our agreements, and an important feature of my imagination. 
Hearing the cat purr when we pet them gently matters far more to us than whether the cat's fur is black, white, or orange. 
If you think you are damned if you do or damned if you don't, your not thinking creatively enough. 
The ten thousand things are more enchanting than the Silent One. 
To lift the mind, move the body.  

Mother Nature is always pregnant. 
Time creeps, walks, runs and flies - it is all about moving things. 
Chaos breaks its own rules to allow Order to play. 
A flower needs roots; beauty a society of minds. 
A callused palm and dirty fingernails precede a Green Thumb. 
A working hypothesis is far better than a belief. 

One's "true self" is changing and elusive. 
Stupidity and shallowness are increasingly popular. 
The News Media feed our ravenous obsessions with shock, surprise, and slander.
A little of this and a little of that, and some exceptions - these are the facts. 
Does a plum tree with no fruit have Buddha Nature?  Whack! 

-  Mike Garofalo



Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo
Over 888 random quips, one-liners, sayings, and "insights" from an old gardener.






"An Onion Garden,"  a concrete poem by Mike Garofalo

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Balance for Seniors

 Balance

Maintaining and Improving Your Balance
Methods, Exercises, Concepts, Causes
Better Balance for Seniors and Avoiding Falls


By Michael P. Garofalo


Bibliography Links Resources Information

Quotations References Commentary

Instructor Qualifications of Michael P. Garofalo

 

 







Keeping Your Balance and Avoiding Falls 
Safety Tips for Around Your House
For Older Persons, Seniors, Elderly:

Avoid clutter. Don't leave things on the floor. Pick up after yourself.
Make sure you have good lighting for both night and day.
Keep furniture and tables to a minimum. Leave room for walking.
Keep areas beside the bed and into a toilet clear and uncluttered.
Use hand bars beside toilet and shower.
Have a strong small ladder for reaching up to higher shelves.
Wear good shoes indoors.
Make sure rugs and runners are secure on the floor.
Watch out if you have steps into your garage or rooms.
Be careful, slow down, be alert!
Use your cane or walker as needed.
Be aware if medicines you take make you feel lightheaded or dizzy.
If sitting for a long time, stand up slowly and carefully.
Move carefully on arthritic or injured limbs.
Use tips and techniques for standing up carefully and safely.
Exercise each day to improve strength, flexibility, and balance.
Make sure all chairs, seats, and tables are in good working order.
Use it, or slowly but surely loose it.
Keep all cabinet drawers or doors pushed and closed properly.
Let others help you or pay for services.
Know you own strengths, limitations, or weaknesses.
If you are obese, it will impair your balance skills. Loose weight!
Do exercises to improve the strength of your legs and hips.
See a physician for serious dizziness.
Practice Tai Chi Chuan to improve your balance skills.
- Michael P. Garofalo, Balance

Aging Well  Information, Bibliography, Quotes, Notes, Links


9 Practical Walking Principles
By Arieh Lev Breslow
"Tai Chi Falls Prevention Manual"

"1. Wear shoes that fit comfortably and promote balance. Look for shoes that are stable from side to side and are well-cushioned. They should enable you to walk smoothly and comfortably and provide you enough room to wiggle your toes while being snug in the heels. 

2. When you step forward, always step with the heel first. Then roll your weight onto the bottom of your foot. This is the natural way to walk. If you can’t do this, then you need to ask for a diagnosis from your physician or physical therapist. If you are stepping with the flat part of the foot or the ball of the foot first, you will be unbalanced with each step. 

3. Allow your weight to sink into your ankles and knees as if they were springs. This will impart a sense of buoyancy to your body as you walk. If your knee and ankle joints are held in a rigid or locked position, your gait will lose its fluidity and thus increase the probability of falling. 

4. As you walk, be aware of the shifting of weight - Tai Chi Walking 

5. Walk from your belly button. The Chinese call this area, Tan-Tien (pronounced “Dahn T-yen"). It is approximately the center of the body and the storage place of Chi energy. Imagine that you have a belt around your body with a piece of it extended out from your belly button. When you walk, allow yourself to be gently led as if someone was pulling the extended piece of belt. Remember that this is only an image. You should not walk with your belly sticking out. No one from the outside should know that you are using this image. 

6. Walk with an Upright Body. The idea of your headtop being lifted toward heaven by a string is an important image in Tai Chi Walking. It works against the tendency to lean. When you lean, you are likely to fall in that direction. 

7. Before you change direction, first turn your head and look in the direction you want to go. Then turn your body in that direction. Many falls occur when turning too fast. 

8. The arms should swing naturally at the sides of the body. This is important because the arms provide balance and momentum. If they are held in the pockets, they cannot be used to prevent or to cushion a fall. 

9. Breathe deeply in a natural way to relax the body. A stiff body is like a pole ready to topple over. Breathing deeply will also mitigate the mental fear factor." 

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth

 

William Wordsworth

Tintern Abbey
Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, on
Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13, 1798

Excerpt:

"The coarser pleasures of my boyish days,
And their glad animal movements all gone by,
To me was all in all. – I cannot paint
What then I was.
The sounding cataract
Haunted me like a passion: the tall rock,
The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood,
Their colors and their forms, were then to me
An appetite: a feeling and a love,
That had no need of a remoter charm,
By thought supplied, or any interest
Unborrowed from the eye. –  That time is past,
And all its aching joys are now no more,
And all its dizzy raptures. Not for this
Faint I, nor mourn nor murmur: other gifts
Have followed, for such loss, I would believe,
Abundant recompence.
For I have learned
To look on nature, not as in the hour
Of thoughtless youth, but hearing oftentimes
The still, sad music of humanity,
Not harsh nor grating, though of ample power
To chasten and subdue. And I have felt
A presence that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
And the round ocean, and the living air,
And the blue sky, and in the mind of man,
A motion and a spirit, that impels
All thinking things, all objects of all thought,
And rolls through all things. Therefore am I still
A lover of the meadows and the woods,
And mountains; and of all that we behold
From this green earth; of all the mighty world
Of eye and ear, both what they half-create,
And what perceive; well pleased to recognize
In nature and the language of the sense,
The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,
The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul
Of all my moral being.
Nor, perchance,
If I were not thus taught, should I the more
Suffer my genial spirits to decay:
For thou art with me, here, upon the banks
Of this fair river; thou, my dearest Friend,
My dear, dear Friend, and in thy voice I catch
The language of my former heart, and read
My former pleasures in the shooting lights
Of thy wild eyes."




Monday, January 13, 2025

Dao De Jing, Laozi, Chapter 16

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 16

"Attaining perfect emptiness
 Remain patient and sincere
 The myriad beings arise as one
 Through this we observe the return
 Of beings in numberless multitudes
 Each coming home to its root
 Return to the root means serenity
 It may be called a return to a higher order
 Return to higher order speaks of the enduring
 To comprehend the enduring speaks of clarity
 To not comprehend the enduring
 Is to recklessly create suffering
 To comprehend the enduring (is) tolerance
 Tolerance becomes justice
 Justice becomes sovereignty
 Sovereignty becomes celestial
 The celestial becomes the path
 The path is then continuous
 The death of self is nothing to fear"
 -  Translated by Bradford Hatcher, 2005, Chapter 16




"Bring about emptiness to the extreme.
Guard true stillness.
The ten-thousand things rise together.
I therefore observe their return:
Those ten-thousand plants—each plant—returns
Going back to its root.
Going back to the root is said to be stillness.
This is called returning to life.
Returning to life is called the Constant.
Understanding the Constant is called clarity.
Not understanding the Constant:
Reckless actions—misfortune.
Understanding the Constant, forgive.
Forgive, then be unbiased.
Be unbiased, then be whole.
Be whole, then be Heaven.
Be Heaven, then be Tao.
Be Tao, then be eternal.
Not having a body, there is no danger."
-  Translated by Aalar Fex, 2006, Chapter 16  



"Empty the self completely; Embrace perfect peace.
 Realize that all beings alike go through their processes of activity and life,
 and then they return to the original source.
 Returning to the source brings peacefulness and stillness.
 This stillness is the flow of nature, and signifies that the beings have lived their allotted span of life.
 Accepting this brings enlightenment and tranquility,
 ignoring this brings confusion and sorrow
 If one can accept this flow of nature; one can cherish all things.
 Being all-cherishing you become impartial;
 Being impartial you become magnanimous;
 Being magnanimous you become natural;
 Being natural you become one with The Way;
 Being one with The Way you become immortal:
 Though the body will decay, the Way will not."
 -  Translated by John Discus, 2002, Chapter 16   




致虛極.
守靜篤.
萬物並作.
吾以觀復.
夫物芸芸, 各復歸其根.
歸根曰靜.
是謂復命.
復命曰常.
知常曰明.
不知常, 妄作凶知常容.
容乃公.
公乃王.
王乃天.
天乃道.
道乃久.
沒身不殆.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 16


zhi xu ji.
shou jing du.
wan wu bing zuo.
wu yi guan fu.
fu wu yun yun, ge fu gui qi gen.  
gui gen yue jing.
shi yue fu ming.
fu ming yue chang.
zhi chang yue ming.
bu zhi chang, wang zuo xiong zhi chang rong.
rong nai gong.
gong nai quan.
quan nai tian.
tian nai dao.
dao nai jiu.
mo shen bu dai.
-  Pinyin translation, Daodejing, Chapter 16 
 
 
 
"Effect emptiness to the extreme.
 Keep stillness whole.
 Myriad things act in concert.
 I therefore watch their return.
 All things flourish and each returns to its root.
 Returning to the root is called quietude.
 Quietude is called returning to life.
 Return to life is called constant.
 Knowing this constant is called illumination.
 Acting arbitrarily without knowing the constant is harmful.
 Knowing the constant is receptivity, which is impartial.
 Impartiality is kingship.
 Kingship is Heaven.
 Heaven is Tao
 Tao is eternal.
 Though you lose the body, you do not die."
 -  Translated by Charles Muller, 1891, Chapter 16
  

"Vacía tu Ego completamente;
Abraza la paz perfecta.
El Mundo se mueve y gira;
Observale regresar a la quietud.
Todas las cosas que florecen
Regresarán a su origen.

Este regreso es pacífico;
Es el camino de la Naturaleza,
Eternamente decayendo y renovandose.
Comprender ésto trae la iluminación,
Ignorar esto lleva a la miseria.

Aquel que comprende el camino de la Naturaleza llega a apreciarlo todo;
Apreciandolo todo, se convierte en imparcial;
Siendo imparcial, se convierte en magnánimo;
Siendo magnánimo, se convierte en parte de la Naturaleza;
Siendo parte de la Naturaleza, se hace uno con el Tao;
Siendo uno con el Tao, se alcanza la inmortalidad:
Piensa que el cuerpo perecerá, el Tao no."
-  Translated by Antonio Rivas Gonzálvez, 1998, Tao Te Ching, Capítulo 16



"To arrive at ultimate quietness
Steadfastly maintain repose.
All creatures together have form;
I see them return again to their root.
The Master creatures come to perfect form,
Continuously they return to their root.
Continuous return to the root is called repose,
Repose is called the law of return,
The law of return is called eternity.
To know eternity is called illumination.
To ignore eternity is to draw misfortune on oneself,
To know eternity is to be great of Soul,
To be great of soul is to be a ruler,
To be a ruler is to be greater than all,
To be greater than all is to be conscious of Life,
To be conscious of Life is to endure.
The body shall disappear but not decay."
-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 16  






Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching



Taoism: A Selected Reading List



A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes 20 different English translations or interpolations of each Chapter, 3 Spanish translations for each Chapter, the Chinese characters for each Chapter, and the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin Romanization of the Mandarin Chinese words for each Chapter; extensive indexing by key words and terms for each Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization is provided; recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, and other resources for each Chapter are included.  





Sunday, January 12, 2025

Taijiquan Treatise


The Taijiquan Lun (Treatise, Theory, Discussion, Thesis)

"English Translation of "The Taijiquan Lun," with extensive and good commentary, by Yonatan Vexler, Qufu Teacher's University, Shandong, China

Published in "Qi: The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness," Volume 27, No. 1, Spring 2017, pp. 38-51.


This Treatise is sometimes attributed to Wang Zongyue.


"Taiji (complementary duality) originates from wuji (non-polarity).  It is the process of motion and stillness, also known as the creator of contrast (the yin and yang).  Motion causes separation, while stillness leads to unity.  I allow opponents to advance, and I advance when they recoil.  When my opponents are hard and I am soft it is to flow, successfully following their motions is to stick.  When they move fast, I quickly react, and when they move slowly, I slowly follow.  There can be a thousand scenarios, but the one principle applies to all.  Engrain this principle in practice to understand force, understanding force will lead to higher levels of advancement.  Without a long time of serious practice, one cannot advance.

Emptiness leads power up, while breath sinks down the dantian.  Don't lean, and don't bend.  Able to become shadow and suddenly materialize, if opponents go left, nothing will be there, of opponents go right, let them be led to the right.  If opponents look up, let them go up, and if opponents lean down, let them go lower.  If they go forward, let them have to go more forward, and if they go back, let them have to go even further back.  A feather's weight can't be added, sensitive even to a fly landing on one's skin.  They cannot follow me, only I can follow them.  To be a hero that encounters now opposition, this is what one must do.

Many schools try to mimic this.  There are many different methods, but most emphasize the strong defeating the weak and the slow yielding to the quick.  When the strong beat the weak and the slow yield to the quick, it is only natural ability, and has no relation to the power that comes from learning and wisdom.  Consider the phrase, "four ounces overcoming a thousand pounds", and it obviously cannot be done with brute strength.  Consider the old man who can fend off a gang of attackers; is this outcome determined by sheer speed?

Stand like a balanced level, and be as dynamic as a cartwheel can spin.  Shift weight as needed to be lively, for being uncoordinated stagnates the flow.  If you see one practicing for years without advancing, being controlled by the opponent, it's because one has not heard of the fault of being uncoordinated.  To avoid this fault, one must know about yin and yang.  To stick is to flow, to flow is to stick, yang is within the yin, and yin is within the yang.  They (the passive and the active) compliment each other, so one can understand force.  Identify different forces to advance your training.  Carefully study this knowledge, put it to practice, and you will be able to do anything.

The most basic idea is to follow your opponent.  Many make the mistake of planning ahead.  As the saying goes, "off by an inch, off by a mile", so a student must be able to clearly distinguish!  Hence, there is this treatise."

English Translation of The Tijiquan Lun by Yonatan Vexler, 2017



Tai Chi Chuan Classics 


Cloud Hands Taijiquan   


Chang San Feng

Thirteen Postures of Tai Chi Chuan

The above four webpages were prepared by Mike Garofalo






Saturday, January 11, 2025

Birds at the Coast

This week, January 6-9, 2025, I yurt camped at Cape Disappointment State Park. The forested Park is near the towns of Ilwaco, Seaview, and Long Beach, Washington.

I saw many seagulls at the Seaview, 38th Street, beach access road shoreline.

The photographs below, not mine,  are available on the Internet:






























Friday, January 10, 2025

Sun Style Taijiquan 73 Competition Form


Here are a number of my posts from 2020, 2017, and 2006 regarding my practice of this Tai Chi Chuan Form beginning nearly two decades ago.  

I have read a number of books about and looked at videos of people doing the Sun Style of Tai Chi Chuan.  The history of Grand Master Sun Lu Tang (1861-1933) is important to the development of the internal martial arts.  The Sun Style Taijiquan 73 Competition Form has many followers.  


Starting in February, 2020, I intended to begin classes in Vancouver led by Jill Ross on the Sun Taijiquan.  She teaches at the Cascade Athletic Club on Thursdays in Vancouver, Washington.  However, this class was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  She has studied and learned a number of Sun Style forms developed by Dr. Paul Lam.  

I attended the Tai Chi for Arthritis Level I and II weekend workshop in Pleasant Hill, California, in 2006. The workshop leader was Master Trainer Troyce Thome. She was assisted by Robin Malby.


Here is a post of mine from 2017:

"Recently, a couple of people have written to me regarding the Sun Style of Tai Chi Chuan.  In particular, they wanted information to help them in their regular practice of the Sun Style 73 Taijiquan Competition Form.  

All I could do to help them was to refer them to my incomplete webpage on the subject, which I first published in 2003.  That webpage provides information on the many books, and instructional DVD and VHS resources about this Sun Tai Chi form.  

One person, David Dight, expressed interest in finishing this former Sun 73 webpage project of mine.  Fine.  Onward.  Best wishes, David.  

As for me, I have not practiced the Sun 73 form since 2013, and I only learned to do a good solo performance up to Movement 40.  I enjoyed playing those 40 movements at home alone for a decade.  

This led me to reflect on the many Tai Chi and Qigong forms I have learned, practiced, and played since 1985.  I have learned many and have forgotten many.  Typical for a dilettante, some would say; and, rightly so.  Nevertheless, I dabble and enjoy. Better half of a new good boysenberry pie for a change, rather than just eating peach cobbler all the time.    

I taught the first 40 movements of the Sun 73 Competition Form to my Tai Chi students at the Tehama Family Fitness Center in Red Bluff, CA, from 2006-2010; and Yang style from 2002-2016.  I prefer variety: Yang 24, Chen 18, Sun 40, Yang 108, sword form, cane form, Qigong forms, and yoga vinyasa forms, etc. 

Many people do not have ready geographical access to, or the financial resources for paying for studying person-to-person with a current master of the Sun Style of Tai Chi Chuan.  Yet, they are eager to learn and practice the Sun Taijiquan Competition 73 form.  Using books and instructional media, you too can learn from the Masters.  
"With the development of information technology, the learners should further enhance their knowledge and perfect their skills through reading books and using the multimedia resources, such as video tapes and VCDs.  Sometimes, to some extent, you can master the competition routines even without a coach in person.  Quite a number of people are known to have learned and practice Tai Ji Quan by using the multimedia teaching materials and some even won places in competitions besides keeping fit.  But of course, if given a chance, it is always more beneficial to learn personally from masters."
The Competition Routine of Sun Style Tai Ji Quan, Edited by Zhong Shan, p. 138. 

Only YOU can actually make the effort, learn, practice, do the work, do the lessons, memorize the movements, imitate, persist, exercise, play, practice, TRY, embody the skills, practice ... Gongfu (Kung Fu) "Mastery due to hard work!"




The following text was written by Mike Garofalo in 2006:

"Lately, I have been studying and practicing the Sun Style Tai Chi Chuan 73 Competition Form. I have been using instructional videotapes by Paul Lam, Liang Shou-Yu, Jesse Tsao, Men Hui-Feng, Li Cheng-Xiang, and Jiang Jian-Ye to learn the form.

Sun Style Taijiquan is done at a "lively step" pace. The average time for the performance of the form is around 6 minutes for 73 movements.

Complete Performance of Sun Taijiquan International Competition 73 Form

Time Performer Source

5:31 Liang, Shou-Yu Sun Style Taijiquan with Applications, VHS, 1996
5:17 Tsao, Jesse Tai Chi Sun Style Competition Form 73, VHS, 2002
9:22 Jiang, Jian-Ye Sun Sytle Tai Chi Competition Form 73, VHS, 1997
7:30 Lam, Paul Sun Style Tai Chi - 73 Forms, The Competition Form, VHS, 2000
5:42 Men, Hui-Feng Sun Style Tai Chi - 73 Forms, The Competition Form, VHS, 2000
3:52 Li, Cheng-Xiang Sun Style Long Competition Form 73, VCD


My favorite instructional videotape is Sun Style Tai Chi - 73 Forms. The Competition Forms. An instructional videotape by Dr. Paul Lam. Narwee, Australia, East Action Video, 2000. A competition form created by Professor Men Hui Feng of Beijing University based on the Sun style. "This detailed instructional video includes a demonstration of the set by its creator, Professor Men Hui-Feng. Sun style is characterised by its powerful qigong elements, agile steps and flowing movements." VHS, 103 minutes. Contents: Introduction to Tai Chi and the Sun style. Comprehensive instructions. Demonstrations of the complete set by Dr. Paul Lam from front and back views. A demonstration by the creator of the set, Professor Men Hu-Feng. ASIN: B000066G1T."

My webpage on the subject of Sun Style Tai Chi Chuan provides a list of the movements in the Sun Style 73 competition form.

Sun Lu Tang's original Taijiquan form was longer, 98 movements.  The 73 version includes a few new kick moves, but is otherwise 80% the same as the original.  Both of these two forms, and other shorter Sun Tai Chi versions (e.g., Dr. Paul Lam's 'Tai Chi for Arthritis' forms), are all the same style ... lively steps, feet close together, erect posture, turning-spins, and the "open and close" qigong move." 















Grandmaster Sun Lu Tang says, 


"There is great emphasis on the method of cultivating the body. All people - men, women, the old, the young - may practice in order to replace temerity with bravery, and stiffness with pliability. Those who are extremely weak, who suffer from fatigue and injury or illness, or who have weakened your qi from the practice of other martial arts to the point that you no longer have the strength to train, all of you may practice Tai Ji Quan. With practice, the qi will quickly come to a balanced state and will become strong, while the spirit naturally returns to a state of wholeness. Disease will be eliminated, and the length of life increased."
-  Grand Master Sun Lu Tang, A Study of Taijiquan, 1921, p. 60. 





Thursday, January 09, 2025

Cape Disappointment State Park, Southwestern Washington, Yurt Camping, Day 4

 Cape Disappointment State Park, Southwestern Washington, Yurt Camping, Day 4


I will add new photos and notes on January 9, 2024.


Home for four days, Yurt Y88, Cape Disappointment State Park.



It is dark from 5 pm to 7:30 am = 14.5 hours.
It was cold outside: 35F to 42F, 26 mph wind, intermittent rain.

Inside, dry, locked tight, warmed by a small electric heater.
I bring my own 2'x3' desk, chair, books, Jackery power, toys, games, crafts.
I bring plenty of extra lighting.
For food I eat oranges, apples, dried apricots, nuts, crackers, coffee, dried beef, cookies.
Cozy Yurt Camping.
Y88 had a sturdy small 3'x3' table and two woods chairs. 
Sofabed OK.  Used bunk bed to store all my gear.  No wastebasket.



I drove and walked the road
along the North Jetty.  Very windy.















200 yards west of my Yurt Campsite
is a couple of miles of sandy beach.
Lots of driftwood from King High Tides.

 




There is a long drive from the Visitor Center
to the Yurt Campsite.  Many sloughs, lagoons, lowlands, trees, shrubs,
mosses, and grasses along the roadway





Black Lake north of Ilwaco
Many trails around the lake.










Cape Disappointment State Park  CR  Camping, Yurts, Fishing, Trails     Images

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse  In operation since 1856. 

Cape Disappointment Weather

Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center   History     Wikipedia

Discovery Bicycling and Walking Trail

Fort Canby State Park is the old name for Cape Disappointment State Park   

Travel Adventure and Ghost Tales and History  

North Head Lighthouse     Images

U.S. Coast Guard Station  

"Cape Disappointment State Park (formerly Fort Canby State Park) is a public recreation area on Cape Disappointment, located southwest of Ilwaco, Washington, on the bottom end of Long Beach Peninsula, the northern headlands where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. The state park's 2,023 acres (819 ha) encompass a diverse landscape of old-growth forest, freshwater lakes, freshwater and saltwater marshes, and oceanside tidelands. Park sites include Fort Canby, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, North Head Lighthouse, and Cape Disappointment Lighthouse.[2] Cape Disappointment is one of several state parks and sites in Washington and Oregon that are included in Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.[3]"

   I have camped here twice. 

 



ntment State Park Trip, Southwestern Washington, Yurt Camping, Day 2

Wednesday, January 08, 2025

Eye to Eye Memories from Cape Disappointment

 Eye to Eye Memories

Raccoon in a tree:
me looking at him
him looking at me

Deer at a mailbox:
me looking at her
her looking at me

Two eyes looked at two eyes—
Four eyes make memories
for a curious raccoon and me
or a white-tailed doe and me.

Animals in the forests, swamps, clearings
at Cape Disappointment, in January—
Memories of Seeing:
others as they seem to be,
Beachcombers searching carefully
focused clearly and true
Looking around by my shoes
right 
before my very eyes
A happy dog runs to my side
seeing is believing some believe
Many clouds and wind, rain will come
"I saw it" is a claim to truth
A Seaview Cafe sign says "closed"
seeing gives birth to memories
A stray cat begs for food from me
memories give context to what I see
The Big Picture is my biggest scheme
    the gestalt I see
    sets the stage background for me
I invent what is seen
Did I imagine or did I see?
He testified "I saw..."
what I saw is a memory
A seagull searched the sand
    the new glasses helped me see
    my memories more clearly
I forget most of It—
sleep caused me not to see
Not talking increased what I saw
watching someone talking
children yelled, we looked
I remembered, I forgot
memories weaken, pictures fade
I remembered to look, fortunately
remember, two eyes is all you need
    Seeing the 101 North sign
    my memories aligned geographically
Did I see a tree or a memory?
without memories it is
    just a blur to see—

The Raccoon and I met on North Jetty Road,
he between two spruce trees on a branch,
and I, sitting in the shade, entranced;
For our quick and passing Glance,
    assessing dangers with four eyes—

Reading opens up my open eyes
memorizing a poem brings it to life
naming what you see builds memories
watching someone talking
Seeing and Looking and Saying What—

Did I really see that or just imagined it all?
For the reader, writer, speaker, audience;
Who makes the call?
Real or imagined, fiction or fact—

Dali's drooping melted clock
Pollack's abstract overdubbed sprays
Van Gogh's perfect rolling clouds
Memories hanging paintings in my mind

That Racoon's mask and eyes
    are still looking back in my head.
    The Raccoon was real,
    Not so sure that I
        was very real
        in my head
        anyway.

[Is that Real or real? God or god?
A painting or a photograph?]



 

 


25 Steps and Beyond Anthology
by Michael Peter Garofalo


Highway 101 and Hwy 1

Stepping Over Epiphanies

Haiku - North Sacramento Valley

A Fork in the Crypto Road

Exhibits at the Cyber Garden Gazebo: TextArt

At the Edges of the West

A Wreck Ahead Comes Into View

Cloud Hands Blog

Stuck in Some Concrete Poetry

Pulling Onions: 1,000 One Liners

Four Days at Grayland Beach

Meetings with Master Chang San Feng

25 Steps and Beyond Anthology

More Poetry by Mike Garofalo

Poetry Research

Five Senses

Fireplace Records Koan Collection

the scissors of my decisions

more to come ...