Here's an excerpt from an esoteric classic of Taoist scripture of which I will remain nameless for absolutely no reason at all, but enjoy:
"During the twelve double-hours of the day,
Constantly seek clarity and stillness.
The numinous tower of the heart emptied of all things:
This is called clarity.
Not allowing even a single thought to arise:
This is called stillness.
The body is the dwelling place of qi.
The heart is the residence of the spirit.
When intent moves, spirit is agitated;
When spirit is agitated, qi is dispersed.
When the intent is stable, spirit remains fixed;
When spirit remains fixed; qi gathers.
The perfect qi of the Five Phases
Then gathers together and forms a pinch of elixir."
It's interesting to find that the esoteric Taoist practice of achieving immortality is in line with the style of qigong I'm currently learning.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Monk-iness
It's hard being an Entry Level Urban Taoist Monk. See, I live in the CITY of Chicago, Illinois (almost 100% of suburbanites say they're from Chicago, but don't live in the city, and yes, there's a huge difference, but that's another story)... oh here we go, another driver thinking their car horn is my neighbor's doorbell. It's fucking annoying, and you'd think people would use their cell phones instead of irritating the entire block.
See, there you go. Much of the challenge of being an Urban Monk is dealing with that sort of thing. The overwhelming stimuli, the appropriate responses (many times involving cussing and sarcasm) and the overall busy-ness of living in the heart of a densely populated city. And in my neighborhood... it's a culturally diverse area, where over 60 languages are spoken (according to a local 2003 report) within a gigantic variety of cultures (I, myself, being an American-born Asian). So people all around the world, from Schaumburg to Sweden, bring both their brilliance and their bullshit here.
My point is, and I do have one, is that - sure, I can probably uproot my entire family and move to some granola town, or move in with Michael Winn in his cushy little area in the Carolinas or someplace nice and serene... but number one, that would be selfish of me. And number two, I'd consider that escapism.
I've seen documentaries on monks leaving their loved ones and living in the woods to meditate for the rest of their lives. If they're fine with doing that to their families (some who have wives and kids), then that's fine. But I couldn't do that to my wife and little boy. So I'm gonna have to grin and bear it right here, smack dab in the heart of the third largest city in the United States.
I tend to think that reaching enlightenment, cultivating the Three Treasures, cultivating stillness and returning to the Wu Ji are quite difficult, even if you're in a peaceful environment... but not as hard as trying to do it in my neighborhood, boy. Try quieting your mind when you got people constantly honking their horns, blasting hip hop or mariachi music, and especially in the summer time when the gangbangers are out making noise, dealing drugs and looking at you threateningly. So imagine the irritation, anger and fear that I encounter on a daily basis. It can get pretty intense.
Well you know what, if you can achieve stillness and serenity amongst all that, then achieving it in a cushy Taoist retreat would be relatively easy to say the absolute least. In a Taoist retreat, I wouldn't have to worry about getting knifed or shot to death for wearing a certain color.
But again, I'm not one to escape. What I do is IN-ternal cultivation. I work with-IN my own natural dwelling, which is with-IN the city, with-IN the Matrix, and with-IN the beauty AND ugliness of human society.
Yes, it's hard being an Urban Monk, but I gladly accept the challenge.
See, there you go. Much of the challenge of being an Urban Monk is dealing with that sort of thing. The overwhelming stimuli, the appropriate responses (many times involving cussing and sarcasm) and the overall busy-ness of living in the heart of a densely populated city. And in my neighborhood... it's a culturally diverse area, where over 60 languages are spoken (according to a local 2003 report) within a gigantic variety of cultures (I, myself, being an American-born Asian). So people all around the world, from Schaumburg to Sweden, bring both their brilliance and their bullshit here.
My point is, and I do have one, is that - sure, I can probably uproot my entire family and move to some granola town, or move in with Michael Winn in his cushy little area in the Carolinas or someplace nice and serene... but number one, that would be selfish of me. And number two, I'd consider that escapism.
I've seen documentaries on monks leaving their loved ones and living in the woods to meditate for the rest of their lives. If they're fine with doing that to their families (some who have wives and kids), then that's fine. But I couldn't do that to my wife and little boy. So I'm gonna have to grin and bear it right here, smack dab in the heart of the third largest city in the United States.
I tend to think that reaching enlightenment, cultivating the Three Treasures, cultivating stillness and returning to the Wu Ji are quite difficult, even if you're in a peaceful environment... but not as hard as trying to do it in my neighborhood, boy. Try quieting your mind when you got people constantly honking their horns, blasting hip hop or mariachi music, and especially in the summer time when the gangbangers are out making noise, dealing drugs and looking at you threateningly. So imagine the irritation, anger and fear that I encounter on a daily basis. It can get pretty intense.
Well you know what, if you can achieve stillness and serenity amongst all that, then achieving it in a cushy Taoist retreat would be relatively easy to say the absolute least. In a Taoist retreat, I wouldn't have to worry about getting knifed or shot to death for wearing a certain color.
But again, I'm not one to escape. What I do is IN-ternal cultivation. I work with-IN my own natural dwelling, which is with-IN the city, with-IN the Matrix, and with-IN the beauty AND ugliness of human society.
Yes, it's hard being an Urban Monk, but I gladly accept the challenge.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
