Over his career as a martial teacher Master Yang Chen Fu was asked many questions about Tai Chi Chuan by his students, and for every question he always gave the same answer “Relax, relax, just relax”.
In his own way he was referring to the Taoist concept of ‘Wei wu wei' or ‘Do without doing, act without action’. Great creativity and power would flow through us if we would only let it. We inhibit ourselves because we try too hard, think too much and do not believe. Just relax and everything becomes effortless, on autopilot, this state is natural, desirable and something to ‘work' towards. Those who follow this calm course will actually accomplish more.
In Chuang Tzus' poem ‘THE NEED TO WIN' he hits the nail on the head.
When an archer is shooting for nothing
He has all his skill.
If he shoots for a brass buckle
He is already nervous.
If he shoots for a prize of gold
He goes blind
Or sees two targets –
He is out of his mind!
His skill has not changed.
But the prize divides him,
He cares.
He thinks more of winning
Than of shooting –
And the need to win
Drains him of power.
Tai Chi Chuan should be a totally unassumed doing. You cannot practice Tai Chi Chuan with the rational mind (the same goes for things like Zen koan paradoxes or Dionysian style ecstatic trance). The movements are too complicated, the flowing of the hands, the body alignments, the breathing, the correct timing – all this cannot be controlled by the mind. A pianist cannot think of each note as they play it, it must simply be there. Just leave the body alone, when we do not interfere with it the body moves with the Tao spontaneously.
Conscious effort can only disrupt the spontaneous accomplishment of the universe moving in continuous harmony. Tai Chi Chuan like the universe has no beginning and no end – because it has no goal. The Tai Chi person is not going anywhere, they are simply being (going about the business of being human). The universe moves but always remains here and now. When you have completed the form where have you moved to? Nowhere, you are exactly where you started. It is not a goal but simply the process of moving that is important in Tai Chi, because it has no goal, because there is nothing to achieve Tai Chi is an endless journey. There's a Chinese saying :
The Taoist has no ambition
Therefore he can never fail.
He who never fails,
Always succeeds,
He who always succeeds
Is all powerful.
Immeasurable self conquests are made possible through a peaceful mind and inner harmony. The strength and resiliency gained from Chuan Fa (form) training fosters an inner force with which one can conquer worldly delusions.
When you perform a Chuan (form) in a satisfactory way, you may experience moods that can best be described as poetic, even close to a religious experience – being entirely experiential and personal it's different for each individual.
I'll leave you with some sagely words by Jorge Guillen
“To be. No more. This is all.
This is the joy supreme.”
Blessings
Mathew
Wow Matthew you've really aimed at a higher level