lifeforce

In this post I give a link to an article which warns of the dangers of lengthy San Ti practice. That whole site is an absolute gem of Chinese internal arts masters and their training techniques/history/lineages etc etc. I didn't pay for any correction in my ZZ practice. A good Taiji instructor should have good knowledge of posture, alignment, sung and will be able to correct any defects, if there are any. The six harmonies are indeed the focus of holding the San Ti posture. If these are adhered to and constantly worked on, then you are well on your way to a good solid practice. In days gone by, xingyi students were required to ONLY practice San Ti and nothing else for 3 years or more, in order to develop a strong foundation. The book is a gem, the exercises are a treasure. You only have to look at the front cover to see a near centenarian performing the set ! I have been practicing them daily for 8 years now, sometimes twice a day. I never suffer from colds, flu's or other viral infections like I used to. I have a light springiness to my movements and feel generally a lot stronger than when I was in my twenties, two decades ago. The San Ti that is described in the book is a little different to others I have seen. It has a 50/50 weight distribution and a slight forward lean from the waist. The hand position is also a lot lower than the more popular Hebei styles. This can take a little getting used to if you have practiced another form of San Ti, as I had. The double hand san ti is another unique posture which I've never seen in any other form of xingyi. The whole style is a lot more closely related to the mother art of Xin Yi Liu He Quan (awesome !), from which Xingyiquan was derived. As for general ZZ, you won't get better written material than Master Lam Kam Chuen. If your interested in developing lin kong jing (empty force), then Paul Dong's book is a must. You could use that in conjunction with the blog I linked. With a strong will, determination and diligence, I believe that you can learn this by yourself, but try and get someone to check your posture. As I mentioned earlier, I've re-started my regime of daily standing practices. Xingyi Nei Gong and San Ti in the mornings, and Empty Force training in the evenings. Best wishes

I let my standing practice go a while back but have the bug again. A very good blog site here. San Ti is discussed as well as the lin kong jing method. The books you have are the best out there as well as 'Empty Force' by Paul Dong, but I would advise some tuition, even if just to adjust your posture, every now and again. Best wishes

I would like one also.

Yeah you have a point here. I used to stand daily for 30 mins in wuji and 'holding the balloon' in the days before I practiced san ti. It's a practice that I lost touch with, and to be honest, I could do with getting back into it again. So, I'm going to set myself a challenge. To start standing regularly again. Starting with wuji, building it up over the weeks to the 20 minute mark. Then adding 'holding the balloon', and building that up to a decent time. Now where did I put that 'The Way Of Energy' book ?

It was nice to have a few people make positive remarks about Jeff Foster at the start of the thread....and then the Buddhists came along and basically slated him, probably because he didn't fit in to their way. Well. tough. I like the guy and his words resonate with me. Sorry to have bothered you all.

I really like the short path guide you linked, thanks for that.

I am not 'following' him. I find his words refreshing and a wake up call to all seekers. That the seeking and searching is pointless. Experience is all there is, not belief in future outcomes. Confused about Buddhism ? Well, where do I start ? The whole religion and it's hundreds of traditions, schools, sects and sub-sects, contradict each other in such a startling way, that it's impossible to make out what Buddhism actually is, or what it represents. I don't think I'll ever be able to understand it.

Carefully contemplating the words of Jeff Foster has opened my eyes afresh to the world. I had been stuck for a while, searching for a path, a system, a teaching, which would set me free and make me more spiritual or enlightened. I now realize that all this seeking and searching was in vain. It is this very seeking which is preventing me from Being. There are glaringly obvious connections to a whole host of religious and spiritual systems and what their teachers were pointing to. We tend to get stuck on the words or the lineage and tradition, and not what the words are pointing to. Krishnamurti springs to mind straight away. His anti-teaching, anti-guru stance always appealed to me. Choiceless awareness. Adyashanti, and his clarity of speech. Mooji, who blends humour with his words of wisdom. Eckhart Tolle's 'Unmanifested' Sufi masters and Christian mystics throughout the ages. Bankei's 'Unborn' Ramana Maharsi's self inquiry method, 'Who Am I' Chan Master Hsu Yun, and his hua tou, 'Who is mindful of the Buddha ?' Zazen and it's emphasis on 'just sitting' without any goal, allowing everything to be. Bodhidharma's 'special transmission outside the scriptures-not reliant on words and letters' And of course wu wei. There's obviously a lot more, but the gist of it is, that these teachers and their teachings all cause the concept of time to stop, and allow for the mind to turn within, fully aware of the moment, as it happens.

This thread is about non-duality, especially the experience of it, and not the beliefs of emptiness or Buddhism. Non-duality transcends all religions and spiritual belief systems. The link in my original post is about the experience as it happens, not a metaphysical belief of some future outcome. Read my signature for another clue.

Excellent ! Thanks for the info.

Ninja Scroll Akira Any Miyazaki film. They're all amazing. Lots of Shinto inspired stuff. Otogi Zoshi Afro Samurai to name a few

Lengthy periods of zz can have a detrimental effect on the body and mind. Beware ! Of course, zhan zhuang must be practiced; as the saying has it ‘practicing martial arts without holding postures is just but messing around’. San Ti, in particular, encapsulates the postural requirements of xingyi. ‘Of the myriad methods, none leaves San Ti’ ‘Mastering San Ti is halfway to success’. Whilst San Ti should not be held for long periods, it can be done several times a day. Each time you hold San Ti, you should only hold it for a maximum of 10 minutes, but this could be repeated two or three times a day. If you hold San Ti for an hour everytime you train, not only are you losing precious training time, it can also damage the nerves and capillaries in the legs. Overdoing zhan zhuang is one of the reasons why a lot of martial artists suffer leg and knee problems. Source

Neither am I, and I am definitely not into blind following. I prefer my own experiences over dogma. I just find it an extremely effective form of qigong as I do xingyi neigong. There are many excellent forms of qigong out there. You should try one or two, daily for months and even years like I have and then come back with your opinion.

I really like the Shaolin version of Baduanjin. Here is the one I practice. My link

I've just received a copy of 'Relaxing Into Being - The Water Method Of Taoist Meditation Vol 1' by BK Frantzis, and it looks really good after a quick flip through. Lots of practical information and a very well structured meditation system. This will hopefully compliment my neigong and standing practices and kick start my meditation which seems to have fallen away recently.

Empty Force (Lin Kong Jing) Training

About time too. Get it while you can folks.

Just going back again to the above sentence which I've been contemplating on since I read it. I think it may have swung the pendulum back to a solely Taoist meditation practice for me. Thanks.

Thank you.

Thanks for that. It does help. I think one of the things that put me off about certain aspects of Buddhism is the metaphysical. I'll certainly look into Batchelor. I've read some good things about him. What kind of Taoist meditation did you practice ?

I have been going through a bit of this recently. I feel that the Buddhist way is gnawing away at me, but I still have some reservations. For instance, how relevant are the teachings to me, as a father, husband, not willing to give up my lifestyle, but still seeking spiritual fulfillment. I'm basically trying to fit a Buddhist system around my life, if that is possible. I've mentioned elsewhere about the books I've read which seem to contradict each other with alarming regularity. Also about the giving up of desires and emotions, which, to me seems impossible. I'm not big on orthodoxy, sectarianism or guru worship, I feel I need to do this on my own, although I will ask for help and guidance from more experienced folks. You seem to have a good idea where you're at and where you're going. I only wish I was at that point. I seem a little confused right now, but I'm sure there is a Buddhist way for me, somewhere. I'd be interested as to how you found your Way. That is if you don't mind. It may, or may not help me. Thanks

I would also like a personal practice journal set up, if it's possible. Thanks

Maybe I've come to these conclusions too quickly then. I think part of the problem is that I have started to read a lot of Buddhist literature in a short space of time. I may be confusing things. I dearly would like to give it another go. Any suggestions ?