A scientific view of Qigong?

[Shadao]

Started reading this book:

Chinese Qigong by The Publishing House of Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine

 

And am surprised to see how here they seem to write of Qigong as a scientific system and not so much focus on it in a spiritual(awakening/enlightment) kind of thing.Sometimes it even seems like they're being skeptical of Qigong itself(or at least, the Qigong that is linked to spirituality) and consider this more of an "alternative health system" of sorts.

 

For example, some of the chapters and sections:

Chapter One: General Survey

-Section Two: The theoretical basis of Qigong - Qigong and the Viscera

Chapter Two: Maneuvers of Qigong

-Section Two: Dynamic Qigong - Iron Crotch Qigong(not gonna lie...I laughed when I read that)

 

It is both strange and interesting seeing this kind of "pragmatic"(?) view of something that I'm just so used to seeing being constantly linked with Daoism and all the spirituality that comes with that.

 

 

[Master Logray]

6 hours ago, Shadao said:

And am surprised to see how here they seem to write of Qigong as a scientific system and not so much focus on it in a spiritual(awakening/enlightment) kind of thing.Sometimes it even seems like they're being skeptical of Qigong itself(or at least, the Qigong that is linked to spirituality) and consider this more of an "alternative health system" of sorts.

 

It is both strange and interesting seeing this kind of "pragmatic"(?) view of something that I'm just so used to seeing being constantly linked with Daoism and all the spirituality that comes with that.

 

 

 

 

Your impression is correct.  It is the norm. Nowadays In China (the book was 1990), it would still be disturbing to them if you mention Qigong with "Spirituality".   Qigong is usually treated as health system only.

 

In the traditional Daoism, the spiritual side is handled by the religious Daoism.  They are highly spiritual in the sense that they have extensive and regular interactions with the spiritual world.  Certainly the direct actual dealings with all sorts of spirits and deities are more spiritual than the current western idea on spirituality which would be kind of empty and hollow.

 

[Maddie]

12 hours ago, Shadao said:

Started reading this book:

Chinese Qigong by The Publishing House of Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine

 

And am surprised to see how here they seem to write of Qigong as a scientific system and not so much focus on it in a spiritual(awakening/enlightment) kind of thing.Sometimes it even seems like they're being skeptical of Qigong itself(or at least, the Qigong that is linked to spirituality) and consider this more of an "alternative health system" of sorts.

 

For example, some of the chapters and sections:

Chapter One: General Survey

-Section Two: The theoretical basis of Qigong - Qigong and the Viscera

Chapter Two: Maneuvers of Qigong

-Section Two: Dynamic Qigong - Iron Crotch Qigong(not gonna lie...I laughed when I read that)

 

It is both strange and interesting seeing this kind of "pragmatic"(?) view of something that I'm just so used to seeing being constantly linked with Daoism and all the spirituality that comes with that.

 

 

 

When I was in acupuncture school many if not most of our text books came from China. China is a communist country and as such has made an intentional and systematic approach to removing all things spiritual from its content. There was very little "mystical" content in our text books. 

[Shadao]

3 hours ago, dmattwads said:

 

When I was in acupuncture school many if not most of our text books came from China. China is a communist country and as such has made an intentional and systematic approach to removing all things spiritual from its content. There was very little "mystical" content in our text books. 

Yeah I got this point from seeing some of the discussions in this forum.

 

Personally I think I learn better through such a "pragmatic" system, but I also like the mystical aspect of it all(reason why I also started to learn about Daoism).I like how they thought and dealt with reality and "the self" in China, before Mao decided to destroy it all I mean...

Edited November 4, 2021 by Shadao
Correction

[Maddie]

14 hours ago, Shadao said:

Yeah I got this point from seeing some of the discussions in this forum.

 

Personally I think I learn better through such a "pragmatic" system, but I also like the mystical aspect of it all(reason why I also started to learn about Daoism).I like how they thought and dealt with reality and "the self" in China, before Mao decided to destroy it all I mean...

 

Yes I agree, I like learning both sides as well. I think it helps with balance. 

[Vajra Fist]

My shaolin teacher used to tell me that qi was the Chinese word for breath, and qigong was basically just movements for regulating the breathing, with a bit of light stretching. Think there's a danger of important things being lost in the process of dumbing down.

[Shadao]

1 hour ago, Vajra Fist said:

Think there's a danger of important things being lost in the process of dumbing down.

I think there is a difference, though, between "dumbing it down" and separating the spiritual from the practice

[TheGrayJediKnight]

I own an expensive book called "The Primo Vascular System: It's Role in Cancer and Regeneration" and it mentions of North Korea's discovery of the anatomical system for acupuncture meridians, or channels as they are called in Tibetan. Then South Korea re-discovered it and now it is part of Korean science as Primo-vessels. It is fascinating stuff to learn more about the channels that are all about Daoist and Buddhist practices. Science is just another method or system of practice, that's why it is called the Scientific Method.

Edited December 12, 2021 by TheGrayJediKnight