 |
|
|
|
Shaolin's Greatest Secret
No matter what your favorite form of martial arts may be - Shaolin
Northern Style, or Southern Style, Pa Kua Zhang, Hsing-I Ch'uan, Tai Chi
Ch'uan or whatever - the secret resides within the style. Yes, there is
a great secret learned within the training. It is this secret that
keeps a martial artist coming back for more. The training is arduous
and requires one's undivided attention and effort. But what is it that
those special few see that keeps a student coming back class after class
to face yet another grueling test of fortitude? What is that drives a
martial artist to follow the way of Shaolin?
It is the realization of
the true meaning of the Wu Hsing. This is the secret, and once learned
you will never stray from the path all of your life, until life is no
more.
|
For more messages from Grandmaster, see the Archives.
|
But what is the meaning of Wu Hsing? The Chinese language is not an
easy one to translate. I have been, and still am, an avid student of
the language for near twenty years now and feel I have not even
scratched the surface of this ancient and mysterious language. So what
I say comes from other writings on the subject interjected with my own
interpretations.
The first Chinese character is not difficult to
understand, Wu simply means the number five (5). It is the second
character "Hsing" which has many interpretations.
The character "Hsing" is what we call a radical in Chinese. A Chinese character consists of
writing units. One unit is called "Radical" or root. The radical
indicates the general meaning of the total character. The second part
of the character helps to give a clearer picture of total meaning of the
character as a whole idea. Hsing denotes motility, it has a meaning of
doing something, to travel, to walk. It also takes on other meanings
such as, as process, ones conduct, behavior, path or way. Many would
agree that common translation would be fair to call it a course or way.
Thus Wu Hsing can be interpreted as "The Five Ways," or "The Five
Courses," "The Five Forces," or the "The Five Agents." It is best known as"
the Five Elements." Keep in mind these are but variations of
someone's interpretations. The original meaning of the character can
only be truly interpreted by the one who originally wrote it, and he is
dead. However, we will go along with most of the common translations
and say the Wu Hsing can be defined as a movement between a
Destruction cycle and a Production cycle of forces that are never
ending.
Most of us who study are familiar with these five properties
namely, Water, Fire, Metal, Wood, Earth. It is the constant
interchange of the five elements that causes the rising and falling of
life itself. But it is a complex process to understand, and it can take
years for a students to fully understanding even the fundamental
workings of these five forces. Once a student does realize the
impact of these forces on his or her life, few would turn away from this
invaluable knowledge. This is what draws a student back to
continue the learning and transition process.
More than fighting
Shaolin's greatest secrets are far and above the mundane defensive
aspects. At the highest stages of development true masters of the arts
rarely find great pleasure in learning more fighting techniques. They
revel in finding themselves and holding some form of control over there
destiny.
|
One level of training ends only at the beginning of the next level.
There seems to be no end for those deeply involved. Everything becomes
Kung Fu.
|
The father of Japanese Aikido, Professor Morihei Uyeshiba, was an
avid practitioner of the martial arts, but once he moved beyond the mere
defensive attributes of his art, his direction changed from defense to
harmony with nature. In his later years he went from a world class
martial artist to a saint. This change was the result of his coming to
understand the force of nature and harmony with God (Tao).
The same could be said of the famous Kenpo fighter James M. Mitose, who went
from an unbeatable fighter to a saint in his later years. Fighting
became the least important in his life and love became a more predominant part
of his nature.
The arts have so much to offer to those who truly seek the final truth.
One level of training ends only at the beginning of the next level.
There seems to be no end for those deeply involved. Everything becomes
Kung Fu. But you must experience this to know this. By merely reading
but not walking the path, you become a philosopher, and philosophers only
talk of what other people do. They themselves can stagnate.
Many fail to study the arts because they have been influenced by what they
see on television or the movies. This is the lowest end of the arts -
the fighting, dreams of being invincible, dreams of being the most
skilled martial artist that ever lived.
These are pipe dreams, for in reality, such endeavors are useless, and futile. There comes
a point where each of us will reach our peek then recede again, finally
to pass away completely from existence as we know it.
True Development
Those who know Shaolin's deepest secrets practice for totally different reasons. We
find in Tai Chi Ch'uan a
beauty and conformity to nature. Harmonizing with this form
brings with it a taste of peace and flow of that conformity. The same
can be said of when we practice our Pa Kua Zhang. It has a beauty of its
own, a conformity with the circle, which represents a continuum, a cycle
of the never-ending forces of heaven. The art of Hsing-I
Ch'uan, brings out yet another approach to movement that differs totally
from Tai Chi Ch'uan or Pa Kau Zhang. With the study of each art we come
to understand the total picture, for hidden within the movements are
principles to live by. The arts are but physical representations
of those principles put into action.
|
There is nothing that is not affected by the interplay of the
five elements, and whether we practice the internal or external is
inconsequential.
|
Again if the student practices
these arts on a superficial level, the secrets will remain secrets,
undiscovered. And so the art will remain just a fighting system and
nothing more. But to those who look beyond the obvious, a new world
opens. A world where the fight turns inward toward our greatest
opponent, ourselves.
From our continuous study we come to know that internal and external
arts are but one and the same. Each teaching embodies different aspects of the
same thing, Yin/Yang. External Shaolin Ch'uan is nothing but physical
chi kung.
It appears very obvious what the movements represent as the
defensive nature of this art is hard to miss or misinterpret. But those
who do know see these energies of the physical body pointing to the
outer conformity we must also master to reach the total scope of our
training. There is nothing that is not affected by the interplay of the
five elements, and whether we practice the internal or external is
inconsequential. By working with these energies we have a total encounter
with our physical bodies, our mind and all its power and finally the
spirit itself.
I have read there is a style of kung fu that is called
"Shen da" or spirit boxing. Here, a student is trained under the
guidance of a spirit. While in a spiritual trace they perform
various forms much like the traditional forms you see today. The only
difference is that here you see there is little emphasis on fighting,
but rather on contact with the spirit self.
Training it not easy. There is a Chinese saying which states what it
takes to be master the arts: "dan, li, gong, yi " which translates as
"guts, strength, skill and art." True training, however, referred to
as "yi nian," has nothing to do with the physical body. Yi nian refers to
development of the mind. Only in your mind can change occur. The body,
for the most part, is out of your control and will eventually degenerate. But
the mind does not die. Its essence is energy and
energy moves between lifetimes.
By our constant looking at the
interplay of the five properties (Wu Hsing) and working with these
forces, we are able to find some order in our life, and with order we
find calmness, peace and control over our fears. The forms become like
rituals for a martial artist, the student becomes one with form. I too
have a saying: "First, the form becomes evident, then the form
disappears, then the student becomes evident, then the student
disappears."
Constant Study
The study of these fascinating arts sounds so alluring, who could resist?
Yet, just about everybody drops out within the first year. The reason
is simply they only saw the superficial. Then there are those who go
further, five years, and others further yet. Some can study many years
and never see the truth staring them in the face. In the long run, they,
too, will drop out of the training. Few last a life time. To last that
long requires one to see the truth of what they do. If you do see the
truth, even a life time is not enough for you to complete your
training.
True training is walking the path and following the way
without reserve. Those that know, realize that without continuing effort
it is easy to slip back to the old self. We go back to our saying,
"dan, li, gong, yi" ("guts, strength, skill and
art). You need the guts to carry on no matter how people view your
actions and decisions as strange. If you put anything in your path,
you will surly trip up. Strength not only refers physical demands of
the art but rather the strength not to concede your values. The skill
refers not only to the ability to perform the forms and techniques of
our art but also the skill to manipulate the forces of nature to your
advantage. And finally the art, which is the secret revealed, for if
you posses all these attributes gut, strength, skill, the true art is
revealed to you.
And so each day we must continue our study. And as we do, a little
more will be reveled . The secret does not come easily. If it did
we would all be masters of the self, we would all be able to understand
the secret and all our lives would change for the better.
This does not happen for the simple reason that few study earnestly. Few realize
learning itself is exciting, for with each new thing learned yet
another door opens for you. Each successive door prepares you for the
unknown which becomes more known each passing day: A chance to awaken
yourself from the lifeless existence of living in a dream. Our
traditional forms and styles becomes like a dance or expression of our
feelings and beliefs. Like the Shen Da ( spirit boxing) we spoke of
earlier, we unite with the cosmos, blending into the Tao.
It is here we express our understanding of the power of the five forces. In doing so
we display our control of those forces by harnessing its power to our
benefit. This is the Shaolin's greatest secret, ready to be revealed to
anyone who seeks it.
|
|
|
|
|
