An Interview with Daoist Lineage Master Bruce Frantzis by Matthew
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
TaiAn Interview with DaoistChi Lineage Master Classics Bruce Frantzis by Matthew Brewer What are the Taiji Classics and what is their 1RZ DV , ZHQW IXUWKHU , OHDUQHG IURP /LX KRZ relevance to Taiji practice? those same principles had their cognates within The Taiji Classics include the overarching Daoist meditation, which has more to do with principles of what is known today as Taijiquan. how the principles are applied in terms of spirit. Each principle is more like a book title, having an Again, principles are generalised and have many, H[WUDRUGLQDU\QXPEHURIUDPL¿FDWLRQV many layers of meaning. It isn’t just one thing. Today, most people who teach Taiji don’t really know the Classics. +RZ GLG \RX ¿UVW HQFRXQWHU WKH Classics and how were they taught? :KHQ,¿UVWOHDUQHG7DLMLLQ7DLZDQmy teachers It sounds as though traditional Taijiquan doesn’t would use phrases from the Taiji Classics that I have the mind or the spirit work of the Daoist didn’t understand. When I subsequently trained in tradition and that Liu showed you more about Tokyo with Wang Shu Jin’s most senior student the roots of the Classics. there, he too would throw out old classical /LXWDXJKWPHIURPWKHURRWVEHFDXVHWKDW¶VKRZ Chinese phrases in Japanese. Although I still he learned it, and because he understood Taiji didn’t understand the meaning, what was very as a martial art and the internal martial arts in clear is that when a teacher really wanted to make JHQHUDO+HFRXOGFOHDUO\VHHWKHWKUHDG7KHTaiji a point, they would quote something from the Classics go to this point, but then what are the Classics. implications of those statements? Many martial arts practitioners only know some of the chapters As the years went on, I found that some teachers in the book. They don’t know all the chapters in would commonly either state a principle from the the book and depending upon the tradition, it’s a Classics and then teach it, or teach you a lot of stuff question of how much is left out. You see if you and say, ”Well, this is where it is in the Classics,” have a body of knowledge, depending upon the DQGNHHSJRLQJWKURXJKWKHUDPL¿FDWLRQV applications you try to create, you may not use most of them. You may only use some parts of 7KHQLQZKHQ,ZDV¿UVWOHDUQLQJWKH2OG WKHERG\RINQRZOHGJHWKDWDUHQHHGHGIRUVSHFL¿F Yang Style I was taught Classics line by line. This applications, or you may use the whole thing. RFFXUUHG ¿UVW ZLWK %DL +XD /LX +XQJ &KLHK¶V RWKHUGLVFLSOHDQGWKHQP\WHDFKHU/LXKLPVHOI There is nothing written in the Taiji Classics that :LWK /LX LW ZHQW IXUWKHU EHFDXVH KH ZHQW LQWR says: If you do this, you will become spiritually where and how the Classics interrelate with the enlightened; if you do that, you will become a Daoist tradition. OLYLQJ %XGGKD RU LI \RX GR WKLV DQG WKDW \RX will become a Daoist immortal. Instead, the text The vast majority of the material that’s in the looks at how to practice martial and energetic Taiji Classics, most of the phrases that have to do techniques, or describes a generalised principle to with qi and spirit, come from a much older work embody. The implication is that, if you do, you WKDWZDVIURPIRXURU¿YHKXQGUHG\HDUVHDUOLHU, will be able to replicate what is talked about in the believe it’s called the Hua Ting Ning Jing. While following stanzas. the rest are taken from war manuals. Again, the Taiji Classics are more geared towards So, you have to know how to look at the Taiji martial arts. As I have repeatedly said, I once spent Classics in terms of what it’s doing for your qi time with Yang Shouzhong (Yang Zhenming) who RUKRZLWLVVSHFL¿FDOO\UHODWLQJWRZKDW\RXGR was the original Yang’s eldest great grandson. In with your qi and your mind to produce the internal my conversations with him, he said that his family SRZHUXVHGIRU¿JKWLQJEHFDXVHWKH\¶UHDOOPL[HG had never practiced meditation, “We do martial together. In the old Chinese way of doing things arts and qigong. That is what we have always these weren’t considered to be separate. The done.” So many of the implications about where internal martial arts were based upon applying practice might take you in terms of emotions, the the principles of qigong and the larger principle mind, karma and essence, what you might call of Daoist meditation to be effective in warfare. So serious spiritual subjects was not a part of Taiji. to say exactly where one started and the other one Yang was very clear that his family did not do ¿QLVKHGZDVDOLWWOHELWWULFN\ meditation, and he knew that this was going to be a shared statement. 24 Tai Chi Chuan & Oriental Arts Autumn 2010 25 You have highlighted the phrase “From ultimately dealing with how all the energies +RZHYHU WKH VSLULWXDO DVSHFW IRXQG LQ WKH SRLQWZHOO2QHWRXFKHVWKHHOHSKDQW¶VWDLODQG level of awareness and the posture to posture the internal energy is a human being can bring into play have to Wu Style is not present in the Yang Style. It he thinks it’s a snake. Another one touches the impetus to do something, unbroken,” (Shi shi shang chung jin bu manifest through the body, or you can’t call may have been adapted in some other Daoist elephant’s body and says it’s a wall. Another but emotions have a duan) as being one of the most important and it a martial art. You could be a spiritually meditation lineages, but I was never exposed one touches its leg and thinks it’s a pillar. natural lifespan. you’ve spoken of it as a spiritual principle. Is enlightened being, but still could get knocked to it. I was taught the whole process of It’s one elephant, but at each angle certain it also as an energetic and even physical one? on your butt if you didn’t know how to use shengong within the Wu Style, and have the features are dramatically more noticeable than Such emotions are a very Yes \RXU ERG\ %HLQJ WRWDOO\ FOHDU GRHVQ¶W PHDQ knowledge and the capacity to pass it on to a others. The elephant may even appear to be powerful motivating that you couldn’t have your head cracked future generation. an entirely different object. Whichever part factor. You rise up and you Could you tell us about this one thread that open. you focus on seems to be the whole thing, become more normal and runs through the jing, qi and shen (body, qi The other equally important phrase that you but it’s only a part of it. You can’t say any more happy, because now and spirit) phases of practice? There is an old Zen story that tries to make a have highlighted is: “When one part moves, part is something different from the elephant is the time to go and do First, you must grasp “From posture to parallel with that idea, which is, I think, false. all parts move; one part stops, all parts stop” because the elephant moves as one piece. It something about it. If you posture,” which implies from action to It talks about a Zen priest who was in a town (Yi dong wu you bu dong; yi jing wu you doesn’t move as forty pieces going in different were to stay in a depressed action: from physical movement to physical when a crazy guy arrives. The priest makes bu jing). Would you tell us more about directions. state, you’d empathise movement the internal power is unbroken. the mistake of saying something that annoys this phrase and how it relates to the three with the child, but you’d /LNH D OLJKW EXOE ZKHWKHU WKH OLJKW VKLQHV WKHFUD]\JX\VRKHVD\V³2ND\,¶OOPHHW\RX treasures? How does sinking the qi work as a physical probably sit there while bright or goes low with the dimmer switch, the three days hence and we’ll have it out.” The main point is that it’s absolutely required principle, energetic principle and so on? the child died in front of electricity is always connected. WRLPSOHPHQWWKH¿UVWSKUDVH´)URPSRVWXUH Physically there is a basic principle in Chinese you. 7KH SULHVW VD\V ³, FDQ¶W ¿JKW´ VR KH JHWV D to posture the internal energy is unbroken.” medicine that energy the body cannot use, My last question is about application. What With Daoist meditation you come to the master swordsman to come and teach him ”Unbroken” implies that something could waste products, blocked energy, is most easily It’s the same thing if you’re happy. Where’s training methods would be most effective for question of: from mental space to mental KRZWR¿JKW7KHPDVWHUVD\V³<RXPXVWEH EH EURNHQ RU QRW EURNHQ ´2QH SDUW PRYHV disposed of by moving it downwards. It will the line between being really happy and being implementing “sinking the qi to the dantian”? space, whether active or quiescent, are your completely one-pointed in what you do.” So all parts move” implies not broken and exit into the ground. All your body’s waste manic? Where’s the line between really being Would standing practices be the place to start? emotions connected? Are your emotions well the priest demonstrates that he can be one- FRQQHFWHG´2QHSDUWVWRSVDOOSDUWVVWRS´LI products, such as, faeces, urine and sweat, happy and not being able to recognise what balanced, functioning, doing what they’re pointed in his meditation. So the master says, one part stops and the others keep moving, that QDWXUDOO\ÀRZGRZQZDUGV needs to be done? If you talk about a person who’s just starting, supposed to do? The same thing goes for “You’ll go out and beat him.” And the story again implies that the connection is broken.