FLOATING CLOUDS AND SWAYING WILLOWS

Flowing Water

Flowing Water Floating Clouds

Question

I have observed that many students (including my family members who have learnt from Sifu) who do not delve deeply into our arts tend to focus on the obvious aspects such as qi flow movements or the patterns, but often neglect taking time to stay in standing meditation. It is one of my favourite parts of my practice. I can see, though, why it is so difficult for some people to simply stay still and enjoy the stillness.

When I finish my practice and perform standing meditation, I tend to "sink" a little and tuck in my tailbone. This happened unconsciously early in my practice, and looking back, I think it could be my qi that guided my posture so that my spine was straight (vertical) from neck to tailbone, whereas normally our spine is an "S" shape. I would like to ask Sifu if this is correct as this has been how I have been practising all these years.

Sifu Zhang Wuji, Shaolin Wahnam Singapore

Answer

Chi flow, or energy flow, is a wonderful exercise.

When I wrote the book “The Art of Chi Kung” about 25 years ago, I used the term “induced chi flow” to mean self-manifested chi movement. Douglas, my most senior disciple in the West in Shaolin Wahnam, asked me, “Sifu, doesn’t any chi kung exercise induce chi flow?”

The question really set me back. “Yes,” I answered, “all chi kung exercises induce chi to flow. I have, therefore, to think of another term for induced chi flow in the Art of Chi Kung.” Eventually I used “self-manifested chi movement”, which is close to the modern Chinese term, “zi fa dong gong”, which literally means “self-manifest-movement-art”.

For convenience we may classify a practitioner’s induced chi flow as expressed as outward movement when he progresses from a basic to master’s level as the following:

  1. No chi movement
  2. Some chi movement
  3. Vigorous chi movement
  4. Slight chi movement
  5. Almost no chi movement
To many people, or as the terms appear on paper, number 1 is similar to number 5, and number 2 is similar to number 4. But actually they are different.

A beginner has no chi movement because his chi is blocked. Gradually as he clears some of his blockage, there is some chi movement. Then he has vigorous chi movement as much of his blockage is cleared. When his chi is flowing smoothly, though vigorously inside his body, which means his meridians are cleared, there is only slight movement. When he has become a master and wants to merge with the Cosmos, which is the highest of spiritual cultivation, there is almost no external chi movement.

Our chi kung development is progressive. This means that if an advanced practitioner knows “flowingly still” he also knows all previous stages. If he wants to move vigorously in external chi flow movement, he can do so.

We use poetic descriptions for the above five stages of induced chi flow development as follows:

  1. Chi blockage
  2. Chi flow
  3. Flowing Water Floating Clouds
  4. Flowing Breeze Swaying willows
  5. Flowingly still
Actually all the five stages above involve chi flow, but we use the term “chi flow” quite loosely to mean some external chi movement. As I have often mentioned, we may have to think of terms to differentiate between external chi flow movement and internal chi flow movement. All chi kung and kungfu terms were invented for convenience, and they have become established through usage.

Does “chi blockage” involve chi flow? Yes, it does. When we say “chi blockage”, we use the term provisionally. It does not mean it is 100% blocked. Much of the meridian is blocked, but there is still a lot of chi flowing through. If it is 100% blocked, that part of the body is dead. In Chinese, when a person is alive, we say “you qi”, which literally means “there is energy”. If a person is dead, we say “mei you qi”, which means “there is no energy”.

Because we teach genuine chi kung, not gentle physical exercise using chi kung techniques, we help students to generate energy flow. Because our chi kung is high level, our energy flow can be vigorous. It is consider very high level compared to what is being practiced as chi kung. More than 80 of chi kung practitioners today, including “masters” the public refer to due to their ignorance, or we call them out of respect, do not know how to generate energy flow.

Standing meditation at the Wuji Stance is not easy because the great majority of people cannot relax and cannot stand upright. They cannot stay still and enjoy the stillness. For most people, myriad thoughts come to their head, causing them to be stressful.

Many of them stand with the feet in a V position or lean back. They have to tense their muscles to keep themselves standing, or else they will fall backward. Usually they do not realize that they tense their muscles.

When you stand upright and are totally relaxed, chi or energy will naturally focus at your abdominal energy field, or dan tian. If you are not upright or your spin is crooked, chi will naturally correct it. So what you have been practicing all these years is correct. In chi kung terminology, which is Taoist in origin, it is “wu wei”, or spontaneity.

Swaying Willows

Flowing Breeze Swaying Willows

The questions and answers are reproduced from the thread Questions on Wuji Stance or Standing Meditation in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.

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