Introduction
Tai Chi is a beautiful art rooted in Eastern philosophy. Wisdom must be discovered through experience. What follows is intended only to confirm what you have already discovered.
The Philosophy: Taoism & Non-Action
"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao." — Lao Tzu
Tai Chi is based on the Tao Te Ching. Its essence is non-action (Wu Wei): accepting things as they are without desire to change them. This aligns with Siddhartha's insight that attachment leads to suffering.
"Yield and overcome. Bend and be straight. Empty and be full."
Lao Tzu, Chapter 22
Key Teachings from the Tao Te Ching
Chapter 8: The highest good is like water—reaching the lowest places men reject.Chapter 37: The Tao abides in non-action, yet nothing is left undone.
Chapter 40: Returning is the motion of the Tao; yielding is the way.
Chapter 76: The stiff and unbending are disciples of death; the gentle and yielding are disciples of life.
Philosophy of Tai Chi
Tai Chi is a method of physical and spiritual cultivation based on the philosophy of Taoism. The source of Taoism is from the book Tao Te Ching, written around sixth century B.C. by Lao Tzu. The Tao Te Ching is a collection of eighty-one short and profound poems, consisting of only about five thousand words. It is only with personal experience that one can grasp the profound wisdom hidden within these concise poems.
The teaching of Lao Tzu is not much different from the teaching of Siddhartha, for enlightened beings speak the same truth. Let us examine the essence of these two philosophies.
Siddhartha's key insight is that attachment leads to suffering, and there is a way to move beyond suffering. To understand this simple truth, it is helpful to look at a metaphor.
A gardener is planting a rose bush. As spring approaches, a rosebud begins to form. Within the span of several weeks time, the rosebud blooms with radiating beauty and intoxicating fragrance. As fall approaches, the rose begins to wither then dies, as with all things in nature. The gardener knows this truth of nature well, so he is not attached to the rose at any moment in time.
Impermanence is the nature of all things in the universe. Thus, attachment to anything at all means that one is attached to that particular object at that particular moment in time, which means that one is not able to accept change as the inherent nature of all things.
The essence of Lao Tzu's Taoism is in "non-action," which means to accept things as they are without wanting them to be different. To put it in a more cliché form, one is: "to go with the flow." The following poems, from the Tao Te Ching, exemplify this concept.
EightThe highest good is like water
It gives life to all things
and reaches for the lowest
It flows in places men reject
and so is the Tao
Twenty-two
Yield and overcome
Bend and be straight
Empty and be full
Wear out and be new
Have little and gain
Have much and be lost
Thirty-three
Knowing others is wisdom
But to know oneself is enlightenment
Mastering others requires force
But to master oneself requires courage
Thirty-seven
The Tao abides in non-action
Yet nothing is left undone
For without form
there is no desire
Without desire
there is tranquility
And all things would be at peace
Forty
Returning is the motion of the Tao
Yielding is the way of the Tao
Forty-three
The softest thing in the universe
Overcomes the hardest thing in the universe
For without substance
One can enter where there is no room
Thus, one should know the value of non-action
Teaching without words
and work without doing
are understood by very few
Forty-four
One who is attached to things will suffer much
One who saves will suffer heavy loss
A contented man is never disappointed
Forty-six
There is no greater sin than desire
No greater curse than discontent
No greater misfortune than wanting
Forty-eight
In the pursuit of learning
every day something is acquired
In the pursuit of the Tao
every day something is dropped
Less and less is done
Until non-action is achieved
When nothing is done
Nothing is left undone
The world is ruled by letting things take their course
It cannot be ruled by interfering
Seventy
My words are easy to understand
Yet no one practices them
My words have ancient beginnings
And my actions are disciplined
But few know me
Therefore a sage wears rough clothing
and holds the jewel in his heart
Seventy-six
A man is born gentle and soft
At death, he is hard and stiff
Green plants are tender
At death, they are withered and dry
Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death
The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life
An army without flexibility never wins a battle
A tree that is unbending is easily broken
The hard and strong will fall
The soft and weak will overcome
Seventy-eight
Nothing is more soft and yielding than water
But for attacking the solid and strong
nothing is better
It has no equal
The weak can overcome the strong
The supple can overcome the stiff
Everyone knows this
But no one puts it into practice
The Ten Principles of Practice
1. Substantial and Insubstantial: Distinguish between yang (weight-bearing) and yin (light) in feet and hands to establish rooting.2. Chi Moves Like a Thread: Energy flows through nine curves (joints) so the whole body moves as one.
3. Relax ("Sung"): Remove muscular tension, especially in shoulders. Drop elbows. Move effortlessly.
4. Keep Alignment: Upright posture, tuck tailbone, chest relaxed.
5. Waist & Spine: Movements originate in the waist rotating like a wheel around an axle.
6. Stay at Same Height: Maintain level unless performing specific squatting movements.
7. Step Lightly: Step like a cat—heel first forward, ball first backward.
8. Peng Ching: Maintain potential energy (fullness) in arms, legs, and back.
9. Fa Jing (Striking): Root in feet, generate in legs, control in waist, express in fingers.
10. Spirit, Mind, Chi: Mind intent moves the chi; at the highest level, they arrive simultaneously.
Principles of Tai Chi
"Yield and overcome."-Lao Tzu
1. Substantial and Insubstantial: Substantial is yang and insubstantial is yin. In the beginning, it is critical to be aware of the shifting of the weight from one foot to the other. When the weight is on one foot, then that foot is yang and the other foot is yin. This is the foundation of establishing rooting. At a higher level, be aware of the substantial and insubstantial of the hands as well. Thus, when one hand is yang, then the other hand is yin. At the highest level, there is also substantial and insubstantial of the opposite hand and foot. For example, in "brush knee twist step," the forward striking hand is substantial or yang, and the same foot (rear) is therefore yang also.
2. Chi is moved like a curved thread through nine pearls: The body has nine curves (the fist joint, the wrist joint, the elbow joint, the shoulder joint, the spine, the waist, the hips, the knee joint, and the ankle joint). The chi is moved through these nine joints, so that when one part of the body moves, the entire body moves.
3. Relax "Sung": Tai Chi is known as movement meditation. Thus, the mind (awareness) and chi (breath) are united with movement (in the present moment). The movement is effortless because there is no self. One becomes a detached observer. The muscles are relaxed, and the chi is moved through the ligaments. Beginners need to pay particular attention to the shoulders since the muscular tension is most profound at this point. One needs to relax the shoulders, and drop the elbows while practicing the form. Sung is closely related to Peng Ching.
4. Keep Alignment: The body must be upright, keep the neck and the back straight. The tailbone is tucked in so that the buttocks are not sticking out. The chest is not sticking out, nor the upper back hunched forward.
5. The source of movements is in the waist and spine as in a wheel revolving around an axle: The waist is rotated around the spine like a wheel revolving around an axle. In this case, the axle is perpendicular to the ground. Thus in movement, the waist is moved horizontal to the ground and rotating around the spine.
6. Stay at the same height: Except for movements such as "Single Whip Squatting Down," stay at the same height while doing the form.
7. The step is light like a cat: When one is aware of substantial and insubstantial, the step will be empty and light. In Tai Chi footwork, the step forward is first with the heel then the whole foot. In the step backward, the ball of the foot then the whole foot.
8. Peng Ching: It is potential energy. The whole body must have peng ching at all times while doing the form. It has the sensation of fullness or extension through the joints. It is the culmination of correct postures of three parts: arms, legs, and back. The correct posture for the arms is to drop both shoulders and elbows, and the wrists are straightened. The correct posture for the legs is to keep the buttocks tucked in and the knees bent, the step is light with distinction between solidity and emptiness. The correct posture for the back is to keep the back straight, so that the rotation is around the spine, with the receiving points at the two shoulder joints and the two hip joints. Peng ching's eight gates or positions are as follows: Peng, Lu, Chi, An, Tsai, Lieh, Chou, Kao.
9. Fa Jing: "The root is at the feet, 'Jing' is generated from the legs, controlled by the waist, and expressed by the fingers." It is striking energy. This is preceded by collecting energy through the nine joints equally, with the spine as the main point of collecting and striking. The strike is through the hands, one solid and the other empty, and focus on the opponent's center. Collecting energy is like drawing a bow, and striking energy is like releasing an arrow.
10. Spirit, Mind, and Chi: The mind moves the chi, thus there has to be a mind intent before the chi arrives. At the highest level of the spirit, the mind intent and chi arrive at the same time.