A child is absorbed in a toy. Would you call that attention?
The toy absorbs the interest of the child, it takes over his mind,
and he's quiet, no longer restless;
but take away the toy, and he again becomes restless, he cries, and so on.
Toys become important because they keep him quiet.
It is the same with grown-ups.
Take away their toys - activity, belief, ambition,
the desire for power,
the worshipping of gods or of the state,
the championing of a cause
- and they too become restless, lost, confused;
so the toys of the grown-ups also become important.
Is there attention when the toy absorbs the mind?
The toy is a distraction, is it not?
The toy becomes all-important,
and not the mind which is taken over by the toy.
To understand what attention is,
we must be concerned with the mind, not with the toys of the mind.
(Krishnamurti)
Trapped
Modern society is filled with situations that make you feel helpless and
annoyed.
Consider property/ownership:
You want something, so you buy it.
If you cannot afford it immediately, you save.
If you are too impatient to save or need it immediately, you go into debt.
Yet, buying the item is just the beginning.
Now you need to look after your property, safeguard it from others, from
theft or damage.
Fear
creates anxiety, so maybe you insure it.
Insurance sounds alright in principle, yet if you make a claim, you might be
penalised.
A whole chain of events has now occurred as a consequence of one purchase.
It is worth considering what is making you stressed and
frustrated; and whether or not you can do anything about it.
The
Book of Changes teaches that there are often many different ways to
consider one situation.
Making the best of it
Taoism looks at the world as a system of
relationships that we must find
harmony with rather than try and change.
Krishnamurti argues that if life seems
unfair, you cannot hope to change everyone else.
The change must come from within, from the individual.
Even if you succeed in solving one problem - removing one external barrier -
there will always be another.
Tai chi encourages you to roll with the punches, to make the best of any
situation.
Life will never be problem-free or
perfect, so accept it and do what you can.
Tai chi
Tai chi is frequently promoted as being
incredibly easy to learn yet the sheer complexity of tai chi is very
intimidating to a
beginner.
There is just no end to the
detail and the refinement.
Tai chi cannot be
learned and then put aside; it is a process
of continuous development and change.
As your sensibilities become more subtle and awareness grows, the exercise
becomes a greater and greater challenge.
When the challenge seems insurmountable; you may become frustrated at your
apparent lack of progress.
And that really is the whole point.
If you approach tai chi as a goal, or something to own or to have... it will
elude you.
There is always a further layer of detail and subtlety.
Becoming
angry or feeling powerless is pointless in tai chi; you just need
to be
patient and accept your situation.
You cannot
rush, hurry, buy or cheat your way through the
syllabus:
it makes everybody equal.
Only the dedicated, patient student will experience its benefit.
Tai chi is a journey that will take a lifetime to complete and even if you
feel to have
mastered the art, there is some further nuance within your
training just waiting to be uncovered.
Page created 2 October 1999