What is the mind method? Cultivation requires a method, and the method of cultivating the mind is the mind method; Tai Chi mind method is the method of cultivating one’s own mind by following Tai Chi.
The mind method mentioned here has two meanings. One is the method; the other is the law. I personally think that in terms of Tai Chi mind method, the method seems to focus on the law. Because the mind method of Tai Chi is characterized by no permanent mind, no fixed law, and no mind or law, so if there is a law, it is the law.
As the boxing theory says: Kung Fu is self-cultivation without rest. Tai Chi mind method is the fundamental law that governs Tai Chi cultivation, and it is a law that cannot be changed at will. Perhaps it can be called the constitution of the Tai Chi kingdom. The method is a personalized category, and every practitioner can and must find a specific method that suits him.
Some famous Tai Chi masters today call the mind method how to coordinate the body movements with the mind’s thoughts and thoughts when practicing boxing and walking, which I personally think seems inappropriate. Whether it is holding a small balloon in your hand or thinking about pushing the small balloon underwater, these thoughts and ideas are just some specific small skills and methods in cultivation, and should not be the mind method mentioned in Tai Chi.
Because Tai Chi mind method is the most fundamental, essential, and profound law born from Taoism, rather than superficial, phenomenal, individual, specific ideas, thoughts, or practices. Tai Chi mind method is so big that it has no outside, and so small that it has no inside; it governs and embodies all schools in the field of Tai Chi, so it transcends Yang style, Chen style, Wu style and other schools, and does not belong to any one person. It may only belong to Tai Chi.
Some fellow practitioners may ask: You call Tai Chi mind method the constitution or fundamental law of the Tai Chi Kingdom, so is this mind method very profound and mysterious?
Here I first want to make one point: Tai Chi mind method is neither profound nor mysterious. The so-called Tai Chi mind method is by no means an unfathomable theory, nor a mysterious metaphysics, nor an abstract and bizarre illusion. On the contrary, it is the predecessors who, through excavation and inheritance, and through continuous practice and summary, have summarized and refined the complete system of Tai Chi Heart Method, making the originally profound and mysterious boxing theory easy to understand; making the originally abstract and vague boxing meaning become vivid and concrete; making the originally complicated and ambiguous methods simple and feasible.
In short, it is the Tai Chi Heart Method that summarizes the main points and makes the “Tai Chi boxing that has not been practiced for ten years” from difficult to easy, from deep to shallow, and from complex to simple. Therefore, if you want to enter the hall and climb to the top in the practice of Tai Chi boxing, you can only learn and understand the Tai Chi Heart Method meticulously. Only by practicing and following the Heart Method can you have the possibility of entering the door and climbing to the top. Because of this, the Tai Chi Heart Method has been regarded as a secret magic weapon by people in the door for many years.
Under the historical conditions of the past, teaching boxing became a profession and a means of making a living. Therefore, it is understandable that the Tai Chi Heart Method is hidden and secret. In fact, the so-called secret is man-made. Today, in this rapidly changing information age, if we want to inherit and pass on Tai Chi, the treasure of our national culture, we must discard the false and retain the true, reveal the secrets to others, and encourage others to learn together. Only in this way can we live up to our ancestors, our descendants, and our own hearts in the practice of Tai Chi.
Let’s get back to the point. What is Tai Chi’s mind method? The master once secretly taught: “One pursuit and three cultivations are the mind method.” What is one pursuit? That is: seek the middle everywhere. What are three cultivations? First, reverse cultivation of meaning; second, borrowing to cultivate the truth; third, cultivating layers by layers. The specific connotations of this pursuit and three cultivations are described as follows.
1, Seek the middle everywhere
Based on my own learning and understanding, I would like to summarize the Tai Chi mental method of seeking the middle everywhere as one core and three basic points. One core is to seek the middle everywhere. Why is seeking the middle considered the core of Tai Chi practice? For example, Master Wang Zongyue said at the beginning of Tai Chi Boxing Theory: “Tai Chi is born from Wuji and is the mother of Yin and Yang. When it moves, it separates; when it is still, it unites. It is neither too much nor too little, and it follows the curve and stretches.” The master also said: “Neither too much nor too little is the middle.” Therefore, in Tai Chi practice, whether it is practicing basic exercises or practicing boxing and walking; whether it is rubbing hands and listening to the strength, or fighting hands, without exception, the only principle of not too much or too little should be followed at all times. It can be said that the core of Master Wang Zongyue’s Tai Chi Boxing Theory is not too much or too little. “If someone is strong, I rub it, which is called running; if I follow someone’s back, it is called sticking; if someone moves quickly, I respond quickly; if someone moves slowly, I follow slowly.” This is a discussion of not too much or too little. “Neither biased nor partial, it appears and disappears; if the left side is heavy, the left side is empty, if the right side is heavy, the right side is dark; if you look up, it is higher, if you look down, it is deeper; if you advance, it is longer, if you retreat, it is shorter; a feather cannot be added, and a fly cannot land.” This is still discussing the process of neither excess nor deficiency. Therefore, we can summarize the practice process of Tai Chi as the process of seeking the middle without excess or deficiency.
Regarding the middle, it has been discussed in the chapter “What is the Middle” of Tai Chi, so I will not repeat it here. But here I would like to focus on how seeking the middle as the core of Tai Chi’s mind method is specifically embodied. We know that Tai Chi is a treasure of the traditional culture of the Chinese nation. It is one of the martial arts with a profound national cultural heritage based on the theory of Yin and Yang and Taoist thought. Its most important feature is that it fully and perfectly embodies the classical dialectical philosophy in Chinese Taoist thought. The division of Yin and Yang and the combination of Tai Chi, in this division and combination, use and demonstrate the fundamental attributes of mutual opposition, mutual dependence, mutual unity and mutual transformation between Yin and Yang. In the Laozi, which inherited the ancient matriarchal civilization thousands of years ago, this dialectical thought was profoundly discussed in extremely exquisite words, which is “existence and non-existence are mutually generated, difficulty and ease complement each other, length and shortness contrast each other, high and low incline each other, sounds harmonize each other, and front and back follow each other.” The Laozi used the vivid and incisive “phase” formula to clearly point out that if anything has one side, it also has another side; and these two sides are opposite and complementary, mutually restraining and mutually generated, and exist in dependence on each other. Neither can be separated from the other. It is simply impossible to want one without the other. Difficult is compared to easy, long is compared to short, high is compared to low, front is compared to back, etc. It is the “Taijiquan Theory” written in accordance with the teachings of the Laozi that clearly tells us: “Yin is inseparable from Yang, Yang is inseparable from Yin, and Yin and Yang complement each other, only then can we understand strength.” Some Taiji masters have summarized the characteristics of Taijiquan: using small to fight big, using slow to control fast, using few to defeat many, and using soft to overcome hard… Indeed, these are indeed the characteristics of Taijiquan and cannot be questioned. However, it only reveals the opposite side of the yin-yang contradiction, such as small and big, slow and fast, few and many, soft and hard, etc. It is not comprehensive. Everything has another side that is both opposite and unified. At the same time, this side and the other side also maintain a mutually transforming relationship.
Based on this fundamental law of the balance of yin and yang, adhering to Laozi’s words of the word, my predecessors in the inheritance of Tai Chi summarized the Tai Chi Heart Method “Sixteen Words of the Word”, namely: “Loose and tight, fast and slow, hard and soft, light and heavy, straight and curved, rise and fall, front and back, left and right, up and down, big and small, much and little, inside and outside, open and close, movement and stillness, existence and non-existence, virtual and real.” The sixteen words of the word can be said to be basically comprehensive and systematic. The relationship of unity of opposites from the outside to the inside, from form to spirit, from direction to practice, etc., has been specifically expressed.
The 16-step Xiang-Zi Jue has a profound meaning and points out that when practicing Tai Chi, if you only practice relaxation and deny tightness, only seek softness and reject hardness, only talk about slowness and lose speed, only seek lightness and negate heaviness, only seek curves and ignore straightness… all of these are contrary to the fundamental principle of the balance of yin and yang in Tai Chi.
The 16-step Xiang-Zi Jue tells us that in practicing Tai Chi, you must be both relaxed and tight; there must be tightness in relaxation, and relaxation in tightness, and the relaxation and tightness must be appropriate. The relaxation and tightness here mean that if there is too much relaxation, you will be slack, and if there is too much tightness, you will be stiff; the relaxation and tightness should be moderate, that is, the relaxation and tightness should not be too much or too little, that is, the relaxation and tightness should not be too much or too little, that is, the relaxation and tightness should not be too much or too little, that is, the relaxation and tightness should not be too much or too little, that is, the relaxation and tightness should not be too little … The master once earnestly advised: “In looseness and tightness, seek the middle and be calm; in lightness and heaviness, seek the middle and be stable; in curvature and straightness, seek the middle and be elastic; in hardness and softness, seek the middle and be tough; in speed and slowness, seek the middle and be even; in inside and outside, seek the middle and be complete; in emptiness and reality, seek the middle and be flexible; in existence and non-existence, seek the middle and be changeable.” Therefore, seeking the middle everywhere can be summarized in eight words: calm, elastic, uniform, and flexible. These eight words are the specific embodiment of seeking the middle in Tai Chi practice, which is also the result of seeking the middle.
Seeking the middle everywhere is the core rule of Tai Chi mind method.
In Tai Chi practice, to seek the middle everywhere, you must have the middle in your heart; you must always grasp the “middle” as a ruler that is neither too much nor too little, to test and measure your every thought and every move; you must gather your body and mind around the core point of “middle”. In this way, you can get rid of the interference of those chaotic thoughts: whether it is loose or tight, soft or just right, faster or slower, etc. You will find that when you seek the center everywhere, you will feel that you have a way to follow when practicing boxing, listening to the strength and touching the hands; the scattered becomes concentrated, and the complex becomes simple.
When you use the key of seeking the center to unlock the secret of Tai Chi, you will truly understand: looseness is not right, tightness is not right, only moderate looseness and tightness are right; softness is not good, hardness and softness are good, and the best is the combination of hardness and softness in the middle… You will truly understand the meaning of the famous saying “too much talk is exhausting, it is better to keep the center”; you will truly step into the magical realm of Tai Chi where “there is no boxing, no intention, intention and no intention are the true intention”.
2, Reverse cultivation
Reverse cultivation is one of the three important basic points of Tai Chi Heart Method; it is also the most important methodological interpretation of Tai Chi Heart Method in the process of Tai Chi practice. It can be said that practicing Tai Chi without the law of reverse cultivation will not be able to enter the core of Tai Chi; deviating from or failing to correctly apply the law of reverse cultivation is indeed one of the reasons why many practitioners have not entered the door after decades of practice. Master said: “Boxing focuses on understanding the principles and understanding the meaning, and understanding the meaning is the key to reverse cultivation.”
It should be said that the law of reverse cultivation is neither derived from Tai Chi nor unique to Tai Chi, but is the inevitable law of the operation and development of all things in the universe. The reverse cultivation mentioned in Tai Chi Heart Method is an important law of cultivation based on the Tai Chi Yin-Yang theory and Tai Chi boxing. We know that the Yin-Yang theory is the core theory of classical Taoist philosophy in my country. It profoundly reveals the laws of operation and transformation of things that are mutually opposed, unified, mutually growing and declining, mutually transformed, and mutually complementary. The origin of all things is the Tao that Laozi talked about, and Tai Chi embodies and reflects the essence of Tao in the form of boxing. It can be said that all the qualities and attributes of Tao can be fully displayed in Tai Chi without exception.
As the basic rule of Tai Chi Xinfa, the key to the meaning of reverse cultivation lies in the word “reverse”. Looking at “Laozi”, we will find that the Tao discussed by Laozi is natural and fluid, infinite and eternal, regressive and cyclical, and reverse and negative. “Reverse” is the specific embodiment of regressive and cyclical and reverse and negative in Tao. A careful reading of Laozi reveals that: “Empty your mind and fill your belly”; “Put yourself behind and you will be ahead, put yourself outside and you will survive”; “Bend to be whole, bend to be straight”; “Heavy is the root of light, quiet is the master of restlessness”; “Know its masculinity, keep its femininity, know its whiteness, keep its blackness”; “Know its honor, keep its disgrace”; “The straight is like a crooked one”; “The right words are like the opposite”; “The opposite is the movement of Tao” and other arguments, all of which are connected with the reverse and negative law of “opposite”; all of which show that “opposite” reveals the essence of things that will reverse and return to the extreme and cycle.
All things in the universe exist in both positive and negative aspects, or the whole = positive + negative. Positive and negative are opposite and unified, forming a complete body. What we see in daily life is mostly the positive side of things, because the positive side is external, real and superficial; while the negative side is implicit, virtual and profound. This one-sidedness caused by years of habit has caused most people to focus on the details and lose sight of the whole, look at the surface and lose sight of the essence, and focus on the front and fall behind in their behavior. However, Taoism tells us to focus on the big and let go of the small, from the outside to the inside, from the front to the back. Since “reversal” is an important attribute of Taoism, it will inevitably be reflected in all aspects of the Tai Chi practice.
The reverse cultivation principle runs through the process of Tai Chi practice in a complete and systematic way with three attributes. First, Yang is born from Yin and Yin comes from Yang, that is, Yin and Yang are mutually rooted. First, let us take the opposition relationship between lightness and heaviness in Tai Chi practice as an example to analyze the attribute of mutual root.
“Tai Chi Boxing Theory” says: “Every move should be light and agile.” But why do many practitioners fail to achieve lightness and agility, but instead appear frivolous when they practice boxing and walking; when fighting with others, they move rashly and lightly without roots. The symptoms of this disease are frivolity, rashness and frivolity, but the root of the disease is actually the failure to achieve “heaviness”. As Lao Tzu said: “Heaviness is the root of lightness, and calmness is the master of restlessness”; “If you are light, you will lose your root, and if you are restless, you will lose your master.” Lao Tzu, with his unique reverse thinking, pointed out the dialectical relationship between heaviness and lightness, calmness and restlessness, which are opposite and complementary and mutually rooted. He warned people that when the monarch governs the country and the common people live in the world, if the lightness loses the heaviness, it will lose the foundation, and it will inevitably act rashly, act frivolously, treat people frivolously and be doomed to failure; if the movement is separated from the stillness, it will be restless and without a master, and it will inevitably be impatient, impetuous, impulsive, and anxious, leading to imbalance.
Therefore, in order to avoid the disease of losing the root of lightness in Tai Chi practice, it is necessary to follow the principle of reverse cultivation of Tai Chi Heart Method: lightness must come from heaviness! To obtain lightness and agility when seeking heaviness; that is, to obtain lightness and agility, one must seek heaviness in reverse; to change the practice of practicing lightness to seek lightness into practicing heaviness to seek lightness. This is the reverse cultivation. Only in this way can we achieve the boxing proverb: “You can train a thousand-pound body, but you can use four ounces of power when you need it.” It can be seen that thickness is the body, and lightness is the use. Thickness is the root, and lightness is the branches. Only when the roots are deep can the leaves be lush. Indeed, in the process of practicing Tai Chi to seek lightness, we must be light without floating, and heavy without stagnant. We must make lightness and heaviness appear in the middle, as the master said: “Lightness without floating is agility, and heaviness without stagnant is thickness.” Thickness and heaviness are the important foundations of Tai Chi practice. Thickness and heaviness are obtained by accumulation. When fighting with others, how can we send the opponent away from a few feet in an instant? The master said: “You can store and send.” “Boxing Theory” says: “Store and then send.” From this, we can see that the key to sending people is to be able to store; we must store and make it thick, and store and make it heavy. How can we store? The master also said: “Lightness and agility can store.” As we can see, lightness and agility are for accumulation; lightness and agility can move freely. Only when we can move can we store and store; only when we can store and store can we send and fight. Just like the reservoir is full of water, the gates must be opened to release water to generate electricity. Therefore, just like the principle that heaviness is the root of lightness: storage is the root of development, and the ability to store can develop, and storage can develop; development is storage, and there is development if there is storage, and there is no development if there is no storage. As Laozi said: “Early service is called accumulation of virtue, and if you accumulate virtue, you will be able to overcome everything. If you can overcome everything, no one knows its limit.” Laozi warned us to be prepared in advance for everything we do, and to pay attention to accumulating sufficient reserve forces. At the same time, use the accumulation carefully, accumulate a lot and release a little: four taels is enough, not half a catty; one fen is just right, not more than half a centimeter. And if you use it and store it, you will have endless stamina and will win without a doubt.
Therefore, in Tai Chi practice, correctly apply the law of reverse cultivation of Tai Chi mind method, you can fully and systematically understand and grasp the true meaning of the mutual generation and development of lightness and heaviness, development and storage, opening and closing, transformation and attack, gathering and dispersion, etc., and the true meaning of each other’s roots.
The law of reverse cultivation of Tai Chi mind method always runs through three attributes in Tai Chi practice. We already know that the first is that yin and yang are mutually rooted. The second is that yin and yang must reverse (return): Taiji Yin and Yang Theory clearly reveals the law of operation and transformation of all things in the universe, that yin turns to yang and yang turns to yin. And this law is completely and systematically reflected in the Taiji Xinfa Reverse Cultivation Law, with the opposites of yin and yang complementing each other, and the property that things must reverse (return) when they reach the extreme.
As Laozi said: “The way of heaven is like drawing a bow? The high is suppressed, the low is raised, the surplus is reduced, and the insufficient is supplemented.” Laozi tells us profoundly: Isn’t the law of operation of all things the same as drawing a bow? If the bow is raised too high, it should be lowered; if the bow is raised too low, it must be raised up; if the force is too strong and the bowstring is too tight, it is necessary to reduce the force to make the bowstring looser; if the force is insufficient and the bowstring is too loose, it must be tightened.
Here, Laozi uses the high and low, loose and tight of the bow to metaphorically and specifically imply that everything has the property of opposites complementing each other and that the opposite will be reversed. The purpose of drawing a bow is to release an arrow, so if the bow is drawn high, it should be lowered, and if it is drawn low, it should be raised. If there is more force, it should be reduced, and if there is less force, it should be increased. Only in this way can the bow be drawn stably, balanced and accurate; only in this way can the bow be full like the moon, the tension and relaxation are balanced, and the arrow can hit the target with one shot.
Looking at the only place in Master Wang Zongyue’s “Taiji Boxing Theory” that talks about internal strength, that is, “Storing strength is like drawing a bow, and releasing strength is like releasing an arrow.” The boxing theory clearly points out that strength can have many different forms of expression, but in essence there are only two strengths: storing strength and releasing strength, or called Yin strength and Yang strength. As the master said, “Internal strength is one storage and one release.” In the boxing theory, Master Wang Zongyue, like Laozi, specifically compares the abstract and unpredictable internal strength to drawing a bow and releasing an arrow. He told us that the inner strength sought in Tai Chi is generated by this tension and relaxation, tightness and looseness, accumulation and release; when tension and relaxation, tightness and looseness, accumulation and release are appropriate and in the opposite and complementary state, the inner strength of Tai Chi is obtained. In other words, the inner strength in boxing is the product of seeking relaxation in tension, seeking relaxation in tension, seeking tension in relaxation, and seeking tension in looseness. Therefore, in the process of practicing Tai Chi, only by deeply understanding the opposite and complementary properties of yin and yang in the law of reverse cultivation, and correctly following and applying this property, whether walking the frame, rotating the boxing, or touching the hands and listening to the strength, we should be able to achieve the opposite of retreating and advancing, seeking tightness and looseness, seeking softness and hardness, and seeking emptiness and reality. In this way, the magical inner strength of Tai Chi is nurtured and born in this opposite and complementary state of advancing and retreating, hardness and softness, looseness and tightness, and emptiness and reality.
From this, we can see that things are always moving in the opposite direction of themselves. It is inevitable that things will develop when the opposite is extreme or when things are extreme. Just like the cold and warm seasons: when it is cold in winter, it will turn warm; when it is hot in summer, it will turn cool. Just like the waxing and waning of the moon, the dark night and the bright day, the overflowing of the water, the clear sky after the rain, etc., all things in nature follow the law of reversal. Since it is inevitable, we must prevent it. For example, add clothes when it is cold and remove clothes when it is hot. This is to add and remove according to the law; but please note: adding and removing too much will still follow the law of reversal and develop to the opposite result. Adding too much or too early will cause illness; removing too much or too early will still cause illness. Therefore, while following the law of reversal, our ancestors also prevented reversal everywhere, that is, they should pay attention to another tendency of the law of reversal; they summed up the experience of covering in spring and freezing in autumn in the process of adding and removing clothes in time and in moderation.
However, people often know that it is inevitable in their daily lives, but they still do the opposite. Knowing that smoking is harmful, they still smoke; knowing that greed will lead to death, they are still greedy and end up in disgrace. This is the case in daily life, and the same problem is also made in boxing practice. In boxing and walking, we should follow the principle of: when it is solid, it is empty, when it is empty, it is solid, and the empty and the real are mutually transformed; when it is extremely loose, it turns to tight, when it is extremely tight, it turns to loose, and the loose and tight phase changes. However, some people insist on going against the principle, insisting on the so-called: solid must be full, and empty must be transparent; there is looseness without tightness, and it is very loose and very soft. This is such an obvious wrong practice method that violates the theory of Tai Chi Yin and Yang. Imagine that when fighting with others, the left and right feet are separated, such as the left is a solid foot and solid, and the right is an empty foot and transparent, the left is solid and the right is empty, the solid is full and the empty is transparent, and the separation is independent, showing one’s own emptiness and reality clearly and distinctly to the other party. May I ask, in this situation, how can the emptiness and reality change? How can I know others when others do not know me? Such a separation of emptiness and reality will inevitably hand over one’s lifeblood to the other party, how can there be no defeat?
In the practice of Tai Chi, as the master said, “It is difficult to make up for the deficiency.” When practicing, there will be a lack of excess and a deficiency of excess. The key to practice is to fill the deficiency, add the deficiency, and make up for the deficiency. However, understanding filling as increase, adding as addition, and making up equal to fullness is one-sided and even wrong. On the contrary, it is necessary to give up to fill, to give up, and to give to make up. This is the true meaning of Tai Chi and fighting with others. However, as the master said, “It is difficult to give up oneself.” Don’t you see that you should let your body fall flat and relax, and be in harmony with the ground, but you insist on grasping the ground with your five fingers and taking root under your feet. Don’t you see that you should give up yourself and follow others, stick to each other, but you don’t give up or give up, and you either throw or resist. It is reasonable to have the problem of resisting, throwing and biasing. Only by giving up to others and giving up yourself to follow others can you be neither too much nor too little and get the middle; only by helping each other and getting the middle can you follow others and still follow yourself.
Lao Tzu said: “The way of heaven is to reduce the surplus and make up for the deficiency; the way of man is not so, to reduce the deficiency and serve the surplus.” It can be seen that the way of heaven, that is, the origin of things, should follow the principle of reducing the excess and making up for the deficiency, and tending to balance and seeking the middle. However, the way of man, that is, the habits of ordinary people, is often the opposite. In reality, since people often react to heaven, then let us follow such a method, or a formula, that is, to reverse and reverse again, and negate the negation. Isn’t it in the reversal and reversal that we get the correct result? Therefore, in the practice of Tai Chi, to change the habits that you have developed for decades, you must seek the opposite of the habits. Only in this way, adhering to the principle of knowing the reversal, following the reversal, and preventing the reversal to cultivate the meaning of the opposite, can you understand the true way, cultivate your true heart, and practice the true skills, and in the climb to the peak of Tai Chi, you can enter the hall and gain something real.
In the process of practicing Tai Chi, how to correctly use the principle of borrowing to cultivate the truth? There are three summaries: the first is: imagine; the second is: assume; the third is: pretend. The following will discuss the three falsehoods separately.
First, imagination. Most friends who have practiced Tai Chi for many years know clearly that there is such a saying in practice, that is, “When practicing, there is no one but it seems there is someone, and when using, there is someone but it seems there is no one.” In fact, there is something when practicing and there is nothing when using. This is the specific application of the imaginary method of borrowing the law of cultivation. We admit without hesitation that Tai Chi is a martial art. Tai Chi is not only beautiful, but also practical. The important characteristics of Tai Chi are to cultivate both inside and outside, and to combine body and use. Practice is for use, so the principle of practicality must be followed when practicing. Otherwise, practice is practice, and use is use, then practice will become blind practice, and use will be useless.
How can we achieve the principle of actual combat application in daily practice? Then we must achieve the principle of non-existence and pretend to cultivate the truth. To truly achieve: invincible like there is an enemy, imagine the cultivation of the truth. Regarding false cultivation, the master also said: “Don’t let your hands go empty, and don’t let your mind return empty.” (The hands mentioned here do not only refer to the hands in common language, but refer to all parts of the body.) Therefore, when practicing boxing on a daily basis, you must ensure that your hands are not empty and your mind is always there. This meaning can be understood as imagining that there is an enemy. When practicing boxing on a daily basis, you must do as the master said:
Before you start, the enemy is already in front of you; be fearless and fearless, and be at ease; if you seem to have a vivid thought, you will be in contact with the enemy; your mind will stick to the enemy and you will not stop the enemy; follow the enemy in a round way, without any flaws or pitfalls; the body moves according to the mind, and the back hand comes first; fold back and forth, advance and retreat, and switch; take light steps, with both the real and the fake; the left is the real right, and you look left and right; store and then release, and the qi must be continuous; complete and unified, with thoughts outside the body; formless and imageless, but continuous; close Tai Chi, and still connect with the enemy; hands are not empty, appearing and disappearing; invincible, imaginary and real practice; Tai Chi true skill, it will show itself when used.
In this way, when practicing on a daily basis you will be able to do the following: observe the enemy with your heart, stick to the enemy with your intention, connect with the enemy with your qi, watch the enemy with your eyes, touch the enemy with your hands. In this way, when you encounter the enemy in actual combat, you will be able to use it as if you have practiced, but it is there as if it is not there; there is no enemy in your heart, and no one in your eyes; you have no direction at all, and do whatever you want.
Second, assumption. We know that seeking the center everywhere is the core of Tai Chi’s mind method; it is also the only way to practice Tai Chi. In the chapter “Zhong and Ding” of Tai Chi, we have discussed the internal relationship between Zhong and Ding; explained that seeking the center must first be based on setting, and seeking the center with Ding, and there is no Zhong without Ding. At the same time, we also know that uncertainty is the law of operation of all things in the universe; the stability we seek is actually the stability of uncertainty. Stability is relative to uncertainty. Stability ends from uncertainty, and uncertainty begins from stability. Stability is not stability, and uncertainty is stability, and the cycle is endless and repetitive. Since the essence of all things in the universe is uncertainty, how can we seek stability in uncertainty? The master said: “Assume stability.” That is to say, there is no stability in boxing, and stability is assumed in uncertainty. Of course, although this stability is a human assumption, it must be assumed and true, and it must be assumed and true. This stability is the end of uncertainty, so that we can really be stable, peaceful, and quiet. This stability is the beginning of uncertainty, so that stability can give rise to tranquility, and tranquility can contain movement. Therefore, it can be said that the assumption is an important method of internal training of spirit, intention and energy in Tai Chi practice.
Tai Chi Xin Fa borrows the assumption of the principles of cultivation, and there are many specific applications in Tai Chi practice. Let’s take an example to discuss. For example, whether it is boxing or fighting, it is necessary to assume the spatial scope. If the practitioner is obsessed with his own body, his spirit and intention are limited to the movements of his own parts, and his boxing and frame must be nothing outside the body. However, Tai Chi is big without outside, small without inside, inside and outside are integrated, and one qi runs through. If you are obsessed with your own body, only the inside and no outside, your spirit and form will be focused on the appearance and dull. Therefore, when boxing and fighting, you need to put the spirit and intention hidden in the tangible body into the invisible space outside the body. This space is free to stretch and flex according to the assumed scope; in this space where the visible body and invisible mind are free to stretch and flex freely, there is no inside or outside, and the spirit is vigorous, just like the sky is high and birds fly freely, the sea is wide and fish leap freely, and they can roam freely in the kingdom of nature and freedom. At this moment, where is the boxing posture? Where is the visible body? Where is the invisible mind? Only the Tao follows nature! The assumption of the spatial range is just as what Mr. Wang Xiangzhai, the founder of Dachengquan, said: “When practicing, you must assume that there are huge enemies with big swords and venomous snakes and beasts around three feet away and seven feet away, and they are fighting for survival. You must deal with it with a fearless spirit, so as to seek the reality in the emptiness. If there are many enemies, if I enter an unmanned area to deal with them, it is to seek emptiness in the reality.” Mr. Wang Xiangzhai’s theory is extremely insightful, which is the true meaning of borrowing the truth, and it is a classic that we should think about and understand!
Another specific application example of the assumption of borrowing the law of cultivation is that when Tai Chi fights and accumulates energy for a certain period of time, it is necessary to assume the landing point of the release. As the “Boxing Secret” says: “If you want to know where the method in the ring is, you will succeed if you hit the right landing point.” It can be seen from this that at the moment of release, you must not only grasp where the release comes from, but also control where it falls. As the “Boxing Theory” says: “Accumulating energy is like drawing a bow, and releasing energy is like releasing an arrow.” To release an opponent is like shooting an arrow with a bow. To release an arrow, you must aim at the target, whether to shoot five meters away or within ten meters; this has different requirements for the bow and the strength used. Therefore, assuming the landing point, using the launching point to find the landing point, taking the assumed landing point as the benchmark, controlling and adjusting one’s own spirit, intention and energy, and using the accumulated strength to shoot the opponent to the landing point, becomes the key to whether you can successfully release the opponent instantly when fighting the enemy.
At the same time, when practicing Tai Chi, you should always use the imaginary enemy as the arrow you shoot. Assuming the landing point in the space outside the body, train your sense of distance in the assumption and assumption. In this way, after a long time, although you are imagining and assuming during practice, you have a real sense of distance and space that is regulated by the enemy. Here I want to emphasize that some practitioners, even some famous ones, set the landing point of the release on the tangible body of the enemy when fighting Tai Chi push hands, which seems to be questionable. As the master said, “The force is not directed at the enemy.” That is to say, the force directed at the enemy is to penetrate the opponent and point directly at the assumed landing point behind the opponent. Therefore, it is important to understand that you are the bow, the opponent is the arrow, and the target or landing point is assumed to be a certain point outside the body. Only in this way can it be as stated in “Boxing Theory”: “If you have a sense of measure in your hands, you can also pick up people and let them go.” Of course, whether it is the assumed spatial range or the assumed landing point outside the body, it is not taken for granted by yourself, but assumed because of the enemy’s situation. Although this is an assumption, it is based on the time and situation and is objective, so it can be assumed to be true.
Many people often do not pay attention to or ignore the training and control of space, distance and rhythm when pursuing Tai Chi internal strength; they think that as long as they understand the force, they can successfully release it. Little do they know that although they have practiced boxing for many years, they can only practice with their own people, but cannot go to the ring for actual combat. There are many reasons for this, and the inability to master and control the three senses of space, distance and rhythm cannot be said to be one of the main factors. The assumption of the principle of cultivation is an effective way to train and cultivate these three senses. I hope my fellow friends will think carefully about it.
Third, pretending. If both imagining and assuming are seeking truth by pretending, then pretending is the specific application of pretending to be false by pretending to be true in the principle of cultivation. Speaking of pretending, many people will be very disgusted. Because pretending in daily life is a dishonest and dishonest behavior of a mean person, and it is a bad habit that is despised by others. Here, I would like to reiterate that the false and true mentioned in Tai Chi are essentially different from the concept of true and false in life. The true and false in Tai Chi are inevitable determined by the boxing theory and boxing meaning; it is both true and false, it can be true or false, the true can be false, the false can become true, the true has false, and the false contains the true; this is the perfect display of the true and false in the artistic category in Tai Chi. Tai Chi needs true and false; Tai Chi cannot do without true and false. Therefore, whether it is daily boxing practice or actual combat against the enemy, it is important to seek truth by pretending, but it is also equally important to pretend to be true.
What is pretending? The master said: “Knowing but pretending not to know.” Some friends may ask: If you know when practicing Tai Chi, then you know, so why do you have to pretend not to know? We say here that knowing and not knowing are: knowing truly but pretending not to know; not knowing others but thinking you know. We have said that practice is for use. In actual combat with the opponent, if you can achieve true and false, false and real, pretending to be false and hiding the real, and being uncertain about the false and real, then you can achieve that others do not know you, but you alone know others, defeat the enemy and win, and be invincible. For example, the 27th strategy of “The Art of War” “Pretending to be stupid but not crazy” says: “It is better to pretend to be ignorant and not act, than to pretend to know and act recklessly. Stay still and do not reveal your intentions, like clouds and snow gathering.” In this strategy, Sun Tzu warns military strategists: When fighting against the enemy, it is better to know and pretend not to know, and not act rashly, but you must never know but pretend to know and act rashly. You must hide your intelligence inside and act foolishly outside, just like a thunder hidden in the clouds waiting to explode, unexpectedly, and as fast as thunder. Only in this way can you win without a doubt. If you pretend to be crazy and really stupid, reveal your intentions and act recklessly, you will lose without a doubt. Although Sun Tzu said that it was about military warfare, why not in Tai Chi push hands fighting? When fighting with others, some people not only cannot pretend to know but actually know, pretend to do nothing but actually cannot do it, do not act rashly, or wait for the opportunity to act; they do the exact opposite: they do not judge the situation, pretend to know but really do not know, think they are right, act rashly, or fall into the enemy’s pretending to be confused, passively beating, and the result will inevitably end in failure. Therefore, those who pretend to be stupid will win, and those who pretend to be crazy will lose. It should be as Sun Tzu said: pretending to be stupid but not crazy is the guarantee of victory. As stated in “The Thirteen Postures Exercise Heart Explanation”: “If the other party does not move, you will not move.” “Be strong in spirit inside, and show ease outside.” In daily practice, you should use the method of pretending and hiding the truth to test and regulate your actions, so that when fighting with the opponent, you can really pretend to be calm; lure the enemy deep into the depths, lead them into failure, strike first and win a great victory.
Using falsehood to cultivate the truth is an important rule of Tai Chi mind method in Tai Chi practice. We know that Tai Chi practice is to use the visible fist to seek the invisible spirit; to use the visible body to obtain the invisible meaning; to seek the truth in the false, and to seek the abstract in the concrete. As Lao Tzu said, the vague, abstract, unknowable and unspeakable characteristics of Tao make Lao Tzu follow the principle of borrowing to cultivate the truth when discussing Tao. Please see: “The highest good is like water”, “Can you be like a baby”, “Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish”, etc. Lao Tzu borrowed the concrete water that can be seen everywhere on the earth, and used the state of water, the character of water, and the characteristics of water to compare and interpret the form and quality of Tao, so that we can touch the true connotation of Tao in a vivid and concrete way. Similarly, Lao Tzu, in a vivid or exaggerated way, racked his brains to borrow “babies” and “cooking small fish” and other tangible and visible evidence to make us more truly close to Tao, feel Tao, and taste the taste of Tao with relish. Similarly, let us hold high the banner of borrowing the principles of cultivation in Tai Chi practice, and in its tangible, audible, colorful and bounded practice, pursue its greatness without outside, its smallness without inside, its boundlessness and formlessness, and its infinite wonder. As the ancient immortal said: “Abandon the illusory body and the original nothingness, recognize the mysterious gate and you will be an immortal.” Isn’t the Tai Chi mental method borrowing the principles of cultivation the mysterious gate in Tai Chi practice!