The student has nothing to offer but an absolute willingness to follow the
teacher's instructions and direction without question or comments or
personal improvisation.
(Dave
Lowry)
Seeing rather than looking
When the mind is calm and you are here and now, the brain passively
acquires information.
This is the opposite of
concentration, where you consider one thing at the exclusion of
everything else.
The eyes receive data
passively. So do the other senses. We do not
need to try, or use
force.
Everything is processed by the brain.
We experience reality in our minds.
With 'passive learning' we do not try to
memorise things. Instead, we pay attention to
what is
happening right now.
The brain becomes like a sponge.
By ceasing to try, you no longer stand in your own way. Instead of looking, you
see.
Context
Our
syllabus has been designed to train a wide
variety of skills from the very first lesson.
As you progress, the
context and
meaning of the training methods take shape.
Until that point, the exercises are simply an end in themselves.
Consider 'pushing hands'.
Exercises such as 'pushing hands' must be seen in the wider context of the tai
chi.
They are not an end in themselves.
They are a learning tool for teaching skills that must eventually be utilised in
self defence.
Some beginnerss seek to be pushing hands experts, which is absurd.
It is like becoming an expert at 'indicating' when driving a car.
Everything you learn in tai chi only has meaning in the context of
freeform
application, and
life itself.
Involuntary learning
Students in our school
learn
without
realising that they are learning.
Whilst considering one topic they are also
training countless other skills simultaneously.
Most partner drills involve the use of multiple
jing.
We do not
label the jing or explain them to a beginner.
That comes later. For now, the
onus is upon the drill itself, not the jing
being employed.
Later, all that will matter is the
jing, and not the drill.
Concentration
Concentration is the enemy of
meditation.
Instead of being here and now, you fracture reality by isolating one singular
part and ignoring the rest.
This is not what we encourage.
It is like juggling.
If you try to keep the balls in the air by concentrating upon one single ball,
you will fail.
If you just juggle, your awareness encompasses all of the balls.
Reality is too complex to take all the separate pieces into account. Instead of
trying to keep it all together, we just relax and flow.
We use intuition, peripheral vision, awareness and sensitivity.
Nothing is forced.
Not knowing
Not knowing is nearest. Until you can admit
that you do not know, there is little scope for real progress.
Admitting your ignorance is not an excuse. It is a realisation of truth.
Existence is too vast to be comprehended.
Everyone is limited by their fractional knowledge, their incomplete
understanding.
This is just the way of things.
When you
remove the pressure of 'knowing', the mind can
relax and see.
Indirect
Instead of approaching things head on, we address them obliquely. This
occurs in both self defence and when learning the syllabus.
A circuitous approach catches the person
unawares. They do not resist.
Students find themselves capable of doing things they never imagined possible.
If we explained in advance what was
going to happen, the student might become self-conscious and fail.
Instead, they find themselves in the midst of an activity, without any warning.
They cope without realising it.
This is why all of our drills are
playful.
By playing, any potential pressure is absent and the
emotions remain calm.
Immediacy
'Active learning' involves using the problem-solving
mind,
the so-called conscious mind.
We are not interested in discursive (verbal) thought.
Internal verbalisation is the echo of real
thought. We want the subconscious mind to
bypass
the conscious mind.
Zen is designed to encourage
immediacy. We cultivate
simultaneity, spontaneous
responses,
instantaneous action.
Attachment
Zen/tao advocates an attitude of
not
doing. Instead of learning, we
unlearn. Instead of forcing, we
allow.
The aim is not to acquire new information, but to
remove what impedes us.
Typically,
holding and fixity are the problem. We
cling
to things for security.
Our
attachments to people, places, memories and
ideas prevent freedom of movement.
If you want to discover something new, it is necessary to shed the
old.
Although we do teach new
skills, much of the syllabus is concerned with
unlearning what you think you
know.
Page created 4 December 1998