Pointless Mental Gymanstics

[wudangquan]

So as the topic suggests, this is totally pointless, other than my Chinese is not good enough to have a deep conversation about this stuff, and most of the people who can speak English pretty well just aren't interested.

 

Also - Assume even the basic idea as just a work in progress. I'm not saying that it was or is this or that way. Just . . . Today I was climbing a mountain and started thinking about this.

 

In all honesty it was because I was thinking about the thread about Kunlun bliss (which I won't reply in, because it's not really my business. Sort of like me not being Chinese or Tibetan and not getting sucked into conversations about that business).

 

Just as an outline of the tangent ninja process that brought this up, it went something like this:

 

Shaking Qigong>Shamanism>I wonder what Chinese pre-history was like?>Shamanism>The congruent nature of Shaman practices throughout the world>Ken Wilbur>Why is Andrew Cohen such a dick?>Integration>Fusion>Synthesis>Transcendence . . .

 

And then a whole bunch of other down home country goodness that I won't bore you with.

 

So here is the basic idea (which I am looking for feedback on), and then the question:

 

I'm going to talk about China, but that's just as a reference point.

 

1. During pre-agrarian, hunter/gatherer societies, you see a lot of shaman practices.

2. After Shamanism, you see energy cultivation (growing, cultivating like a farmer) in agriculture China (and also xinxing cultivation and social relationships stuff for a more centralized way of living)

3. After the culture revolution, and the industrialization of China, you see the Qigong movement.

 

Now . . . In my mind, Qigong, as it was especially in the "Boom" period, is very obviously the industrialization of Taoism and Budhhism, or just cultivation in general.

 

It's something like . . . Literally like Peter Drucker applied statistical analysis to Taoist cultivation, and then set up a highly efficient assembly line process for it.

 

So I think, first of all that . . . Alot of people talk about how Buddhism is very resilient, and adapts to it's host culture. When talking about Taoism specifically, I think that it has constantly adapted to its host epoch, or era.

 

Shamanism/Channeling animal and nature spirits

Cultivation/Farming energy

Qigong/Industrializing the previous practices

etc.

So here's the question:

 

What does, or what would Taoist practice look like in a post modern, post industrial, information age?

 

Is it time to integrate and transcend the previous 3 epochs? If so, what's it going to look like? If not, why?

 

Thanks for bearing with me for those 5 minutes of your life while my feet cooled down.

Edited September 12, 2008 by wudangquan

[Spectrum]

Mental Focus Games

 

Forms of Classical Art

 

Contemporary Formlessness

[Unconditioned]

So as the topic suggests, this is totally pointless, other than my Chinese is not good enough to have a deep conversation about this stuff, and most of the people who can speak English pretty well just aren't interested.

 

Also - Assume even the basic idea as just a work in progress. I'm not saying that it was or is this or that way. Just . . . Today I was climbing a mountain and started thinking about this.

 

In all honesty it was because I was thinking about the thread about Kunlun bliss (which I won't reply in, because it's not really my business. Sort of like me not being Chinese or Tibetan and not getting sucked into conversations about that business).

 

Just as an outline of the tangent ninja process that brought this up, it went something like this:

 

Shaking Qigong>Shamanism>I wonder what Chinese pre-history was like?>Shamanism>The congruent nature of Shaman practices throughout the world>Ken Wilbur>Why is Andrew Cohen such a dick?>Integration>Fusion>Synthesis>Transcendence . . .

 

And then a whole bunch of other down home country goodness that I won't bore you with.

 

So here is the basic idea (which I am looking for feedback on), and then the question:

 

I'm going to talk about China, but that's just as a reference point.

 

1. During pre-agrarian, hunter/gatherer societies, you see a lot of shaman practices.

2. After Shamanism, you see energy cultivation (growing, cultivating like a farmer) in agriculture China (and also xinxing cultivation and social relationships stuff for a more centralized way of living)

3. After the culture revolution, and the industrialization of China, you see the Qigong movement.

 

Now . . . In my mind, Qigong, as it was especially in the "Boom" period, is very obviously the industrialization of Taoism and Budhhism, or just cultivation in general.

 

It's something like . . . Literally like Peter Drucker applied statistical analysis to Taoist cultivation, and then set up a highly efficient assembly line process for it.

 

So I think, first of all that . . . Alot of people talk about how Buddhism is very resilient, and adapts to it's host culture. When talking about Taoism specifically, I think that it has constantly adapted to its host epoch, or era.

 

Shamanism/Channeling animal and nature spirits

Cultivation/Farming energy

Qigong/Industrializing the previous practices

etc.

So here's the question:

 

What does, or what would Taoist practice look like in a post modern, post industrial, information age?

 

Is it time to integrate and transcend the previous 3 epochs? If so, what's it going to look like? If not, why?

 

Thanks for bearing with me for those 5 minutes of your life while my feet cooled down.

 

It looks the same as it always has, just with a different lens applied

 

Culture influences the medium that we use to communicate methods towards wisdom. Just look at the technology we're using at this very moment. We're able to communicate to people around the world and spread information (good or bad).

 

I think the taoist practice in our era has benefited greatly because of this age. People have been bound by ignorance (that's not a dig, myself included) since we've been able to think. So our challenge is the same with a different backdrop. Or approach should use all available means to help us cultivate understanding which inturn will alter our actions.

 

So, what does it look like?

It looks like a modernization of tried-and-true techniques (meditation in all forms) using the tools, communication, and culture available to us. We shouldn't throw away the ancient techniques but at the same time we should adapt them so they are easier to understand in the context of today.

[Patrick Brown]

Hmm interesting stuff wudangquan I may have to spend some time thinking about you questions over the next few days. My initial thoughts are that all the voodoo needs to be stripped out! The essence of Qigong seems to have been masterfully evolved through tai chi but I'm just wondering where the shamanism and cultivation come in?

 

Shaman > Cultivation > Qigong > Power

 

Mind > Cultivation > Energy > Power

 

Mind > Body > Longevity > Power

 

Mind > Body > Longevity > Enlightement

 

 

So the next step, the transmutation, could be something like this:

 

Enlightenment > Longevity/Energy > Cultivation > Buddha Mind

 

So perhaps without enlightenment Qigong only partially extends ones lifespan but with enlightenment ones life is drastically extended and one attains to the peace and clarity of the Buddha Mind. So perhaps Qigoong is like a partial insight a partial awakening but it's true nature is yet to be realised. If enlightened beings are so rare in the human realm then something could be taught that nobody but the very, very few would understand. So people think they know what they're doing but they have yet to unlock the real purpose of gentle movements with a perfect breath? It's like a dance into peace and then a sitting still in the abundance of your peace.

 

I've never really been into meditation but I have noticed that after doing tai chi I can sit and enjoy the stillness. It's also similar to and extended sex session where you feel really stoned afterwards. Yes I enjoy the stillness of tai chi but it may be like a stepping stone or bridge. I mean I bet those whirling dervishes find great pace and stillness when they sit down!

 

Anyway I'll have a bit more of a think and see if I can come up with anything else.

 

 

 

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[Spectrum]

The Classical Structure equips the practitioners with a framework to continually progress through practice. By first observing the natural order and flux, and then gradually learning (unlearning) by scholastically moving and resting in harmony with ones cycles of growth and death. breath by breath. step by step. perfect move through perfect move. like learning the scales, learning to site read, playing by ear, or playing jazz. solo or in a band? slow to fast. fast to slow. dizzying movement stilling center. vertigo stillness moving center. one feeds the other. the other feeds the one.

Edited September 12, 2008 by Spectrum

[Patrick Brown]

The Classical Structure equips the practitioners with a framework to continually progress through practice. By first observing the natural order and flux, and then gradually learning (unlearning) by scholastically moving and resting in harmony with ones cycles of growth and death. breath by breath. step by step. perfect move through perfect move. like learning the scales, learning to site read, playing by ear, or playing jazz. solo or in a band? slow to fast. fast to slow. dizzying movement stilling center. vertigo stillness moving center. one feeds the other. the other feeds the one.

Come on Spectrum where did you lift that piece from?