Chi
Kung Culture Society of TAIPEI
Sung and Ming dynasty philosophy contained much discussion of both the popular concept and the philosophic theory of the Tao (or ultimate concept for heaven or god). It stressed the importance of the unification of everything under the explanation of the Tao, which may be explained in terms such as our heart, conscience, mind, reason, human nature, nature, essence, Zen Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, chi, heaven and earth, universe, and "everything in one." In other words, the Tao is something linked with all philosophical and metaphysical and even theological concepts about nature and mankind because the Tao acts like the natural force which is the foundation for all religions, philosophy, discipline and practices. Only the Tao has such forces of penetration and merging because it has no subjective obstacles to stop the process of assimilation, transformation, and transcending our current understanding of life. This leads to the ultimate enlightenment and letting go of our mind, which is the only way to help us to understand ourself, the environment, nature, and the relationships between all these things. Therefore, the Tao is something Lao tse explained as a way functioning effectively at its best without using normal regulations and norms, something which is beyond the understanding of ordinary people because it is to some extent inexplicable using human language. In such a way, only the training in the practice of chikung or (the traditional type of) Zen Buddhism can help people to understand the force of the Tao and how it is linked with religious, philosophical, and psychological patterns of behavior. Additionally, we can see how the distortion of this behavior and the misinterpretation of the Tao, whether intentionally or unintentionally, has created a lot of well-packed so-called post modernistic concepts and practices which leave us with a more confused or obsessed feeling instead of clearing our mind and promoting our life. In this way, before we talk about the Tao or link it with other religious or philosophic practices, we have to understand the concept of heart, conscience, mind, reason, human nature, nature, essence, Zen Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, chi, heaven and earth, universe, and "everything in one." This understanding should not be limited to the theory but also include the practice so we can combine both theory and practice together and turn them into our own inner experience as well as our own patterns to deal with daily life. Having accomplished these thorough preparations, we may then be able to talk about the Tao a little bit more. If not, what we read from books will always be part of the memories that are stored but are irretrievable somewhere in our brain (like words of wisdom we have saved on the hard disk of our computer in a file whose name we can remember and can access.)
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