People who like to dress up in Japanese robes, give themselves Japanese
titles, burn incense and sit in the lotus position are fully entitled to do
so. But that isn't zen.
(Robert
Allen)
Chess
Robert Allen points out how chess has been so completely absorbed by our
culture that no one sees it as being Indian in origin.
Compare this with tai chi.
As with chess, tai chi is not culturally-specific.
It may have been invented in China, but you do not need to be Chinese, speak
Chinese or dress Chinese to practice and understand the art.
Your own culture
Tai chi must be understood in the context of our
own culture.
The art must be understood in terms of now.
It needs to be relevant to modern
times, modern culture.
Nowadays, people train tai chi in order to become stronger, reduce stress and
improve their health.
Few have any interest in learning to speak Chinese.
If you are interested in self defence, look around you.
Most modern assailants use knives, guns and improvised weaponry.
You, on the other hand, will be unarmed.
Motive
It is important to avoid jargon.
Why are you using the oriental word rather than an English equivalent?
What is your motive?
Does the Chinese word improve your understanding of the art?
Our aim is to understand the art. Everything we do must be towards that end.
If an oriental word helps, that is good. If it does not, we must dig
deeper.
Untranslatable
In some cases an oriental word does not have an adequate English substitute.
It is appropriate to
use the original word.
Consider: 'sung'.
Sung may be translated to mean 'relax' but this
does not adequately capture the full nature of this neigong.
Sung feels like the limbs are moving by themselves; all doing is gone.
It is a composite skill which relies strongly upon yielding.
Sung requires the body to be naturally sunk at all times and for the joints to
open & close without conscious effort.
The groundpath permeates the body, creating elastic bow tension although no
conscious will is required to manifest or sustain it.
Resistance to force should now feel anatomically uncomfortable.
The waist should return to the centre by itself once rotated and the elbows
should be heavy.
Sung is not flaccid or inert - it is a cat-like readiness within the mobile
structure.
In this example, it is appropriate to keep the Chinese word. There are many
other
examples.
It is important to focus upon the essence. What key message is being conveyed?
Be discriminating.
If you can say it in English, do so.
Exotic
There is a danger in using exotic
words.
They can make it difficult for newcomers to understand what is being expressed.
Quoting a word is one thing.
Understanding the
underlying principle is something else
entirely.
Our school only uses Chinese/Japanese words when English fails us.
Page created 18 September 2007