Embrace The Moon Taijiquan and Qigong

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Fresh air. Clean Water. A comfortable bed. High Efficiency Washer & Dryer. Subaru. Cable TV.  I don’t really think I live a high-end lifestyle, I worry about car tires, health insurance and rent, yet sitting in our little Seattle bungalow looking over Lake Union on a quiet – so quiet – Sunday morning, I think, “wow, this is really something.” As I muse, I am drinking tea out of my favorite souvenir – a mug from Starbuck’s Xi’an store. I loved that city almost as much as I have loved anywhere. Their Starbucks did not feel commercial to me, surprisingly, rather the green umbrellas and mermaid logo infused the exotic with home, making it all feel somehow more organic to my heart’s rendering of time and place.  Ok, so the Terra Cotta Warrior on the ceramic is sort of cheesy but it makes me love it all the more.  The bottom of the cup tells me it was “made in China” and reminds me I had best get this last blog out. I can already feel my travel induced altered state of consciousness jumping into the slingshot, aimed directly towards the familiar.

The last day (was that yesterday??) Doug, Kevin & I spent in Beijing was a blast.  We left the hotel at 6:30 am sharp, walked ten minutes to the Temple of Heaven and found our spot in the park.  Peter & Rey from Allison & Bill’s group had just arrived too and we all warmed up on our own.  The Chinese were arriving; it was a bit busier than the day before yet the groups in our proximity recognized us and nodded.  (By the way, if one is over 60-and Chinese, then Park entrance all over the country is free; for foreigners of all ages its about $2). We all practiced together; sword, qigong, Taiji, fan.  I also really enjoyed the folks who were simply fast- walking (the real Qi-Walking!) or jogging. Instead of headphones & and IPods, they carried their little radios listening to music and I assume, news.  I especially enjoyed watching the teacher of one of the groups, a women in her 60’s I think, explaining the footwork by writing with chalk on the walkway. We all showed off for a man who was taking a lot of pictures and videos. He stuck around for much of our practice session, using his tri-pod and hand held to capture us from all manner of angles.  I wonder where we will end up. On his wall, a slide show for his school project, CCTV or the trash bin on his computer!

We spent a good 2 hours practicing Taiji and Luohan and taking it all in. We were just about to leave when I lingered to watch a particular group that had captivated me. They were so great! Just as I turned to leave the teacher caught my eyes, I did a little salute to him and then he invited me in. I bowed to all and followed along with what I think was Sun Style Taijiquan. I didn’t know the form but the teacher took very good care of me, even slowing down so I could follow him.  After I gave the whole group a hearty salute, which they returned, and we were off to breakfast.

After breakfast we were determined to find one of the 70 Beijing Starbucks. (Yes, you read that correctly). But, we didn’t want just any one; we wanted the “traditional” one that our guide, Miss Gu, had told us about. Luckily it was in the vicinity where our day of spontaneous tourism was taking us anyway.  We cabbed over to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City (I’m very grateful my traveling companions were happy to simply do a “walk through” of the City, it is infinitely overwhelming and we were all dynastied out by that point), and walked over to one of my favorite parks in China, Beihei, with the Nine Dragon Screen.  I had been introduced to Chen Taijiquan there 25 years ago during my first trip to China and I have a very spiritual feeling for that exact spot. It was great to share it with Doug & Kevin. By that point, we all were getting pretty fried. We walked into a “Hutong” district that I’m sure was once traditional but is now set up for high-end dining and tourism. We found the Starbucks though! It was indeed set up a little more to blend in, but still familiar. It was a beautiful day, the windy sky was dotted with kites and we sat outside under a green umbrella overlooking a small lake with our red bean scones & lattes. Heaven!

We cabbed again over to a crazy shopping district: Wangfujing Street. It used to be run down in the most fabulous way, but is now an outdoor walking mall flanked with Gucci & Prada.   After pursuing “The” Foreign Language bookstore only to find an extraordinarily subpar selection of Taiji & Qigong books- Borders has quadruple at least – it was time to get out of there and head for the much-anticipated visit to the Silk Market.  At least I anticipated it! I think my male travelling companions felt a bit trepidatious but I assured them they were in good hands with me. And indeed they were! I negotiated hard for our last minute gifts and it was a blast. It is touristy, loud, extremely over stimulating. I love it! At the same time it was poignant to see the economy has hit this market as well; there were many less tourists than last time and the way the locals negotiated seemed more tired too. I admittedly gave up a few more Yuan than I might have feeling hugely compassionate to the struggles of small businesspeople in this global economic climate.

After about an hour there, we had exhausted ourselves. Unfortunately the only glitch to a smooth wrap was trying to find a cab home. It was rush hour and I didn’t consider the only available cabbies would be lined up right out front, charging 4x as much for tourists.  Whereas 4x as much ended up only being about $3 more, I just could not bear the thought of being intentionally taken advantage of. We walked and walked and walked some more to another area until about 45 minutes later we got a cab back for the “regular price.” We were starved!  As you can see, my brain was on full melt down in its capacity to make rational choices. 

Our last meal in China was a fabulous one.  We ate “Fragrant Lamb ribs,” skewers of lamb and chicken, a beef noodle soup, spicy chicken & some yummy Bok Choy with mushrooms. Doug and I split a beer.  It all ended up being around $15. The next morning it was up and out at 5:00 and onto the 10.5-hour flight. I felt glad to being going home but also I felt a surge of emotion as the wheels lifted up off the tarmac and tucked into the belly of the 767. Kevin said, “there is the Great Wall” and I unbuckled prematurely just to stretch over him and look out the window for that last glance. We continued with the sun on the horizon much of the way across the arc of the globe. We saw some stunning ice flows over Japan, the Berng Sea and the coast of Alaska. It was dark by the time we flew over the Puget Sound; we touched down in Seattle, around 5am, just about when we had left our hotel. It was still April 9th. We gained our day back! It felt great to ride in final cab of this long day to our cozy home and fall into bed irrespective of the fact that the sun was just coming up once more.

You’ve been very kind to read my perspective over these past two weeks so I thought I would end with a brief interview that I conducted with Doug & Kevin, my travelling companions. I asked them 3 questions and gave them about 3 minutes to think about it; I wanted their unfiltered impressions. I wanted to know what their 1) most and 2) least favorite part of the trip was and 3) what they will take back into their training/lives.  Here are their words:

Doug: “My most favorite part of the trip was going to the parks.  Seeing all the people exercising, practicing their art, carrying culture into their daily life, and not having it separate from daily life. The parks really bring that out.” “My least favorite was the drive to modernize society; it seems to be speeding things up fro the Chinese, changing their culture. “ “What I will take forward is a deeper sense of how our practice is part of our everyday living; that it can be reflected in everything we do.  For me, this experience will take me deeper into the heart and mind aspect of my training.  As a future teacher, I see more how teaching is a way to help people discover this (the heart/mind) for themselves. “ I also asked Doug if he would go back, he replied, “Oh YES! It was a real eye opener!”

Kevin:  “My favorite part of the trip was the veritable feast of experiences that Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang served up for us. He generously brought us into the Family Traditions, the School, the complete Way of Life that is Taiji in Chenjiagou.” He continued, “I am moved at how Taijiquan has evolved from a utilitarian martial art into a beautiful way of life.” Kevin said his least favorite part was “the air quality in Chenjiagou.” “What I will take forward is the desire to go deeper, much deeper into my practice.  I highly recommend to any Taiji player to go back to the Motherland, to meet the people, the Village, who do not just practice Taijiquan, but live it.” I asked Kevin if he had anything else to add, “this was one of the most amazing cultural experiences I have ever had.  In this and other areas of my life I am learning more and more about the importance of protecting culture so that we can hand it down to new generations. This is one of the gifts that the Chen family is giving.”

Well, it’s about time for me to go back to work.  I guess it won’t be a big stretch to go from this trip back to the Training Floor. I’m excited to see familiar students and to meet new friends; I’m always happy to practice and share with people this tradition that has been bequeathed to me. It has given and continues to give me such a rich life.  As the Silk Road that originated in Xi’an has showed us, the sharing of art and culture and the passing on of tradition is a long and revered path within our human race. It is a Way that cultivates not just an art for its own sake but a way that engenders and inspires our deep interconnectedness. It is a way, the way we evolve.  I am humbled and grateful to be a part of this tradition.

May Peace Prevail on Earth.

Kim

This picture is from the lobby of our hotel in Xi’an, where I was writing and posting. Nicholis caught me at just the right moment!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of The People

Ninety minutes from the 2^nd Ring Road the Tan Shan Mountain Range rises 800 meters over the 3^rd largest city in China. It is spring there; fields of flowering wild peach trees dot the craggy terraced mountains. It is also the Windy Season, but today a soft silky breeze nudges the clouds away, revealing translucent blue sky. Three travelers from Seattle, Washington USA pause and take in huge breaths, feeding their hungry lungs fresh, clean air.  Looking up at the 40% incline rising above them they say, “ready…go!” and push through a difficult stretch of The Great Wall of China. Tourists from China, Belgium, Germany, and Australia stay behind at the sign that says, “Risk! Please guard your safety” and take pictures. The three travelers continue pumping blood, bone & will power up even further to the “No Further Admittance” sign.  At the highest place they stop and take cheesy Taiji pictures, laughing hard and feeling their thighs less from the postures and more from the hike. They then look down at the view and everything becomes quiet. They only hear the sound of soft air currents luring spring forth and the birds cawing, floating along on thermals. No one thinks of Beijing, its city buzzing with 13 million people. They call friends and family from this place and then climb down. Hungry, they enjoy local ‘peasant’ food; savory and salty; as they ate they knew they would remember forever the dish of fresh trout that shortly before was swimming in the cool rivers of these revered mountains.

I planned a private tour for Doug, Kevin and I to the Great Wall today, knowing from past experiences I would want to linger longer than a big group’s cadence would allow me.  For me there has always been something profoundly sacred about this place. I’ve been here three times now and have felt it each time. Perhaps this holiness comes from its history that reaches back to 700BC and extends through Time to the present moment. Perhaps the reverence I feel is brought forward from the ghosts of those who suffered greatly while building it, many entombed in the Wall itself. Or, perhaps I admire how this is one of the places on our planet that beckons leaders and common people alike to travel great distances simply to stand upon it in awe. There is all of this but mostly the sacredness I feel comes from the deep stillness this place engenders in me, a feeling of heaven and earth as one.

It is hard to believe tomorrow is the last day. At once the trip has flown by but also I feel I have been gone a long time. So much has happened - every moment packed with experiences.  I have learned that one cannot keep up with this place; one simply has to surrender to it. It has taken me many years of being in Asia to accept that. Its hard for me, because I like the stability of knowing where I am in both Time & Space but here, Time itself seems to melt. For me, who likes to be so organized, it is funny to feel my mind become utterly plastic and not be really able to (or want to) track hands on a clock or location but instead preferring to stay within the timeless flow of experience.  I have hardly slept over these two weeks; it is not jet lag, I have not wanted to miss anything –  I do not mean something “to do” but more, something “to feel.” I suppose more than “knowing” I crave the alternate consciousness that seeing and feeling allows.  And there is nothing like getting out of one’s own culture to see and feel so much.

This morning several of us went to the Temple of Heaven Park for early Taijiquan Practice. Everyone is performing their morning exercises: Taiji, Qigong, singing, dancing, slapping or sweating on yellow and blue metal equipment, a sort of outdoor gym, Chinese Style.  Doug, Kevin and I practiced our Taijiquan and Luohan along side of big groups of people practicing fan, sword, Taiji, many different forms of Qigong.  A few Chinese tour groups were already coming through, they would stop to look at us, and take pictures. For them, we are their cultural awakening, as they are for us. Around us all, the ancient Cyprus trees looked on. I breathed in the emotion and stillness of the moment.

While I was practicing today I remembered before I left on this trip I was so sad at the state of the world. The political, economic, geologic and geographic schisms that are present right now really had me down. I thought, how has all this evolved in my lifetime in this way? It does not make sense.  I was even surprised at how blue I was, my characteristic optimism down at my ankles like pants in need of being laundered.  But this trip has restored my buoyant feeling for humanity. Yep. The world is a mess. Yet there is nothing like a trip to a culture that is at least 5000 years old to remind you that we do endure and that everything does change. I do not know if we are getting wiser. It is hard to see Subway’s garbage at the Great Wall. It is truly painful to see the awful land use practices, nature being relegated only to the parks. And the pollution…it is hard to not see unless we all over the planet get this under control, our future is tenuous. But, then you talk with the people of this crazy changing culture and you see such hope and confidence. It’s impossible not to feel that too.

The Chinese say that a man can gain knowledge two ways. One, is to read 10,000 books, another is to travel 10,000 miles. For me, I am a traveler. Over these past two weeks I have once again been so fortunate to make a trip across the Great Water. I loved the site-seeing portion of our trip, the history is so beautiful, tragic, compelling and profound and I feel grateful and privileged to be able to expand my mind and heart in this way.  But, I feel even luckier to have a practice that is universal and is a way to communicate with people in the present moment, transcending language and culture, dissolving politics and economics and equalizing each of us into one race, the race of humanity, the race of the people.  I believe somehow that is our job, to practice as a way of connecting to our hearts, to the earth and sky, and especially to each other.

May Peace Prevail on Earth

Kim

We have one more day of wandering tomorrow and then home. This then is my last blog from China. I’ll post the post scrip shortly upon my return.  Thank you for sharing in my journey. Salute!

Call To Prayer

Pungent aromas of star anise, turmeric and cardamom entwined with sweet swirls of incense filling our senses as we walked down the narrow streets of the Muslim Quarter of Xi’an.   Zippy dots of Neon flashed up and down signs everywhere, festively lighting up the streets. Cooks & shop owners rolled their metal doors up for the evening as men and women with Muslim head-scarves – some plain white, some with magnificent blues and greens, popped out from behind doors, stepping into the main street flow. Some cast their legs over bikes and rode down the street, humming.  I both regretted and was relieved I left my big camera at home when the cooks began rolling and pounding dough for buns, noodles and dumplings, and firing up their black oiled woks atop stone ovens – 3’ tall thick cylinders with small doors at the base for slabs of coal. Each turn of the eye was a feast for the 5 senses, picturesque in a way that reminded me more of Istanbul than China. I think if I had brought my big camera you would not have seen me again. As it stands, my little I-phone camera was just fine and I snapped away, especially at the stand where Doug & I choose a thick, sweet “mochi on a stick” treat to eat, with little red, green and black sugar dots on top. We gobbled it down, this tasty treat winning out over all the breads and thick gooey deserts that filled cases upon cases of displays as far as the eye could see. It was a hard choice though, I could have picked anything from the street banquet laid out so magnificently.

We passed a shop that looked very much like a recycling place. I pulled out my Iphone and used the Google Translate App (an amazing tool on this trip) and typed in Recycling? The middle- aged man sitting on a stool in front of the clean open air shop twinkled and smiled and nodded he head with vigorous approval. “Hao!” I said and gave him a thumbs up. Little kids ran around in split pants while their moms tried to feed them and shop after shop continued to light up and prepare for dinner. Doug and I continued to stair step our way along the Quarter to our destination:  the Grand Mosque – the biggest and oldest Mosque in China.

Our guide told us today that China has a very open policy when it comes to religious freedom.  Mao of course tried to neutralize this believing that if people were religious it would make them lazy. But, as our guide said, “you can tear down people’s worship halls but you cannot stop them from believing.” We paid the 27-yuan ($4.50) entrance fee and entered one of the loveliest places I have seen in my travels. White Magnolia buds swelled and deep purple plum blossoms burst forth from branches twisted and coiled from pruning and age.  Chinese men with white Muslim hats and women with colorful headscarves began gathering for evening prayers.  We had just enough time to have a relaxed wander around the complex that was created in 724 ad. It has been continually renovated since then and is in beautiful condition, but unlike some other Chinese renovations, one can still feel its antiquity very much in place.   Absent however are the domes and spires that I expected to see in a typical Mosque.  Its architecture looks exactly like a Chinese temple save for Arabic script a top Chinese characters.

The courtyard buzzed around 5:10, groups of people gathered now for evening prayers. Women and men congregated in different sections, split by layout and Magnolia trees. They laughed and gossiped; everyone was joyful.  At 5:15 a scratchy recording of the Call to Prayer began, its cadence and intonation familiar to me from my travels to other Muslim regions save for the fact that this Call was in Chinese. The devotees meandered into “the Honored Prayer Hall” whose door curtains were then rolled down. Inside, they took their place in the huge hall kneeing on row upon row of blue tapestry prayer rugs.

Earlier that day our group was 1,000 meters above this Grand Mosque, to the south of Xi’an, in the foothills of the Qi Lin Mountains.  We were so fortunate to visit Loguan Tai, the mountain temple complex that was built in the Tang Dynasty to honor Laotzu. Laotzu chose this place 2600 years ago to cultivate himself because of its perfect Feng Shui. The soft rolling mountains, the rivers and clean air is also is the place where he was compelled by his adepts to write the Tao Te Ching, the 5,000 word book of philosophy for which he is so famous. For a thousand years this area remained untouched nature until during the Tang Dynasty, this temple complex began as a way to honor his teachings.  It is lovely, not garish at all and is kept in good repair from the donations of rich business people, wishing to assure their continued success.  

Monks strolled back and forth throughout the complex, it being the oldest working Taoist temple in China. Several incense urns for prayer are placed strategically and there is a huge Laotzu statue on one of the mountaintops, along with Pagodas that dot the vast mountain landscape. This area is also home to 26 of the 100 oldest trees in China, some over 1500 years old. Each of the trees tells epic tales of the Dynasties that have come before this moment; the powerful and the devout making pilgrimages here to pray for good fortune in their family, their business and their health. And now, tourists and Chinese alike also come here to this Taoist Mecca, to pray, light incense and candles and bow to the four directions. 

On the way home I asked our guide, "Robin" (a 30 something man) about freedom in China. I was curious if speaking three languages (Chinese, English and Indonesian) gave him the ability to express himself differently and more freely than if he just spoke Chinese. He told me no, he didn’t think so, that his nature was his nature in any language.  We spoke of political and religious freedoms and how the younger generation of Chinese perceives this.  He told me they do feel freer, there is the religious freedom and even increasing acceptance for Gay and Lesbian relationships. There is more money, better places to live and huge hope for the future.  All in all, even with all the staggering environmental problems and economic polarization, their life is most certainly better and he believes will become even better.  He continued to reflect upon the one party system vs. the two or three party system of government. He mused if one really allows its people more freedom than the other. Then he said to me “but truly, how can you measure a man’s freedom? It is here,” pointing to his head.

Doug, Kevin and I had the most amazing dinner for our last night in Xi’an. We eagerly made our back to the Muslim quarter, past the little neighborhood park where we had practiced Luohan and Taiji 12 hours before, next to a little pagoda of Muslim women. We immersed our senses in the smells, sites, and sounds of the area, in a way that people do when they know it is their last time somewhere. We were hungry! I told my travelling companions we had to look for the place that was the most crowded. Two or three blocks in, on our right, we saw a lively gathering of locals.  Fire pushed out from the bottom of the cylindrical oven. Women crouched over rolling some type of meat into gyoza (dumplings). They looked as though they had been rolling this way for generations. Stacks of bamboo steamers flew out of the open- air kitchen to the restaurant next to it.  Kevin and Doug ordered a soup, strange and sweet with sunflower seeds, peanuts and a unique tasting broth. We were to learn later this soup and this place was famous in Xi’an, its food a well guarded family secret. 

We all shared one of the slatted steamer plates of the absolute most amazing gyoza I have ever had. Truly.  We could not quite figure out what fragrantly spiced meat filled the tender and perfectly shaped dumpling skins, so I pulled my translate app out once more. I had it translate “lamb?” and brought it to the cook. He shook his head emphatically, no! We knew it was not pork, we suspected not beef or chicken but we could not figure it out. The cook tried to explain it to us but stopped short of imitating an animal.  A young Chinese couple sat down at the outdoor table next to us. I suspected they spoke English like so many in the younger generation do.  When I asked them about the meat, he said, “Goat!” We were a bit confused because he went on to tell us that in this part of town, the Muslim Quarter, they did not eat meat. We laughed and I said, “in the US we do think of Goat as meat,” but I do not think this translated very well.  The man told us he studies “Behavioral Economics” at one of Xi’an’s 40 plus universities and his wife teaches art. They told us they have lived in Xi’an all their life and of this restaurant’s wide fame. “We cannot cook this food at home, it is a secret recipe passed down only through this family,” he said.  I savored the gyoza’s fragrance and taste in a way that I knew would be my only time to do so as the evening Call To Prayer filled the night sky.

May Peace Prevail on Earth

Kim

We are headed in a couple hours to Beijing! Xi'an is definitely at the top of my cultural experience not just in China, but ever. I love this 3,000 year old city and its juxtapositons. But am also looking forward to practicing Taiji on The Great Wall and savoring once again, the Capitol city of China. I'm so glad we have 3 more days along the Way of this wonderful adventure. Sharing it with you all has been very much part of the fun. To be continued…..

 

 

 

 

 

The Crane and the Warrior

A fresh breeze blew in today over Shanxi province.  The Qin Ling Mountain Range emerged from behind the smog, rising up 3000 meters around the city of Xi’an. One could even see the cable cars on the top of the closest mountain to town, Mt. Lou Guan. Xi’an means the city of “Western Peace." As we drove out of town though, it didn’t seem very peaceful.  Volkswagens, Toyotas, cement trucks, taxis and tour buses wove in and out of traffic, in front of pedestrians and 3 wheeled cargo transport vehicles. Everyone was vying for position to cross the street, make a u-turn or merge into seemingly impossible spaces as the traffic somehow moved forward. I asked our guide “Carol” if there were many traffic accidents. “Yes, but just little ones, fender benders. There is too much traffic to move very fast.”

Xi’an is considered a mid-size city. There are 8-million residents living in this sprawling city of high-rises, Pagodas, Mosques and one huge ancient City Wall. It is impossible to imagine it all was once farmland. Our guide said just 30 years ago it was 50% more farmland than what we see now.  I asked if she had conversations with her parents and grandparents about the changes in China. She said sometimes they did and then she laughed and asked us, “Do you know what our national bird is?” We all waited. She looked up and pointed to the sky full of red and blue wenches, towering and swinging over and around the brick and concrete sky rises and said “the Crane.”

We seemed to be accompnaying the entire city on the main road today. We passed the Bell Tower, headed out of town and joined the traffic jam. The driver and guide spoke rapidly and soon told us we were on the same road as the one to the Graves. Today is “Tomb Cleaning Day” and everyone goes to burn incense & paper money at the graves of their ancestors. Some don’t go, instead just sitting on the street and burning paper of all sorts. Money, effiegies, secret wishes. At night, the streets are littered with eerie little bonfires. It is supposedly illegal but the police turn their heads during this festival. It is a crazy place Xi'an, but it is 100% China and in the midst of what feels to us like chaos, Xi’an exudes is a liveliness and flow that I like. It is a mix of the very new and the very very old.  Xi’an was the capital city for ­­­ 13 dynasties. The Silk Road started here. So when driving past cranes and navigating the concrete trucks one can still imagine layer upon layer of farmland and kingdom buried 2000 years below.

We drove about 45 minutes outside the city to visit the 8^th wonder of the world: The Terra Cotta Warriors.  The first Emperor of China, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, envisioned the Warriors.  Emperor Qin (Qin Dynasty) unified China, systematized the writing and monetary systems and created the first Great Wall. Though this was useful for China, his methods were violent, he was narcissistic and he wanted to be able to rule in the afterlife. So, he forced 780,000 men over 40 years to create his tomb with these warriors so he could stay protected after he died.  Indeed people were always trying to kill him.  He did mysteriously die and after the site was pillaged, burned and finally forgotten by Time.

This stunning archeological treasure was then discovered in 1974 when a now famous farmer, Mr. Yang, was simply digging a well on his farmland.  In digging, he pulled up a head from one of the Warriors. That single lucky twist of fate (imagine if the well would have been positioned even 1’ over, missing the head), gave Chinese archeologists, historians and the world enough to work on for several lifetimes.  This site became a Unesco Heritage Site in 1984. Since that time several burial mounds have been discovered; it is said there are at least 8,000 Warriors. There are also horses, chariots and weapons. There are more sites further out including the tomb of the Emperor himself but these will never be fully excavated because the city is now too vast or opening the tombs would likely destroy their contents.

To see the Warriors was thrilling and overwhelming.  The tourist site itself consists of three “pits” all in different phases of excavation and reconstruction. When excavated, the Warriors are broken as if pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. It is breathtaking to experience not only the huge site itself but to imagine the suffering of the oppressed people so long ago. Now, the painstaking work of reconstructing thousands of warriors is such a gift to the world but its scale is almost impossible to take in. I was quite moved by the faces of the Warriors.  There is not one that is identical; one can truly see the personalities of the forced laborers who molded the clay, baked them in the hot ancient kilns and carted the down, one by one, into the expansive tomb of the Emperor.  As you can imagine, it is a huge tourist attraction, made more popular today by the holiday. In other words, it was packed! Carol told us there were days in the year it was even more crowded than this; she said today was 50% as crowded as she as seen it. Dizzying!

We just ended our day with a fantastic dumpling dinner.  Our group is starting to get to know each other personally. It’s a great group and tonight we shared our insights and reflections about this trip specifically and also about the effect travel has in our lives.  We all had such amazing stories ranging from growing up in Detroit to spending a month with the Mosquito Indians.  In all these diverse experiences there is a common thread: the expansive quality of travel, how we experience the generosity of people from all over the world and how this experience shapes us into better people.  We are all very grateful.

The streets of Xi’an are still buzzing below our 12^th floor hotel window. Horns are honking and I can see little bonfires burning.  The jackhammers stopped about 10 minutes ago; I imagine those people will be home soon, enjoying a meal and some time with their families. Tomorrow we drive to the foot of Mt. Lou Gong to visit the oldest working Taoist Temple in China.

May Peace Prevail on Earth.

Kim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forged

During his visit last fall, Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang told his disciples the International Wushu Federation was holding its Duan Wei ranking test for Taijiquan for the first time in history in Chenjiagou the following March. In his soft spoken way he said, “You can test if you would like.” Shortly the emails and Facebook messages flew throughout Cyberspace, colliding with anxiety, anticipation and elaborate excuses of why there was no way we could go: too much money, not enough vacation time, too stressful. Yet, even in the midst of sharing increasingly  lavish excuses, we were each organizing our time and money and sharing our plane reservations.  We all knew the bottom line: when your teacher says “you can test if you like,” it really means, “test.” And when your teacher says test, you test.   

The International Wushu Federation was created in 1990 and the ranking system was put into place in 1998.  The ranking system is as follows:  Levels 1-3: student level, Levels 4-6 Instructor/National Champion level, Levels 7-9 – Personality and Contributors to Wushu. One only tests through level 6; Levels 7-9 are granted in accordance with a person’s contributions and high moral standing. Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang was awarded level 9 last year, one of the few in the world.

In 2007 Grandmaster invited a group of us to the first ever test of his students by the Wushu Federation.  It was an extraordinary event that included a highly public reconciliation of Grandmaster with the Chinese Government & the Wushu organization after a huge abyss was created in the wake of his leaving China in 1988. A Grand Seminar was created in the Czech Republic.  Students from all over the world flew into Prague and took a train to a small spa town called Luhachoviche in the cold of late November. The Chinese Wushu judges flew in from China. The whole experience was without precedence; we had no idea what to expect (or what to study for). It was stressful for all of us, including Grandmaster. Yet, we tested and achieved our rank; the US Disciples achieved Level 5.  And we thought, well, that’s that…until last September when our teacher again said, “test.”

Our Shifu is a force of nature to whom one must simply surrender. Once again, I and my Taijiquan brothers and sisters were tossed unexpectedly into a unique place in history.  This test was to be held in Chenjiagou, the birthplace of our art. We were to stand for our rank in front of our Shifu, the 19^th Generation Lineage holder of the original Taijiquan.  Grandmaster himself would be sitting right next to the president of the International Wushu Federation, their relationship no longer tenuous, but forged. We asked Grandmaster how to prepare.  All he said was “relax, don’t worry.”

Right.

Though the gale force paradigm shifts Chen Xiao Wang creates around his calm center can be astonishing, I was determined to prepare for this test differently.  I was a wreck for months thinking about the Czech Republic test; when I was there, it was even worse. And, I was not the only one. It made the trip less enjoyable and after it was over I did regret somewhat spending so much unnecessary energy on worry and fret. So, this time I was determined to not allow the thought of this test or its place in history take my center.  Instead, I was committed to deepening my own mindfulness around it and quite simply to live and practice the way I always do. In fact, if I practiced anything more in specific preparation, it was that which my teacher told me to do, relax.  Every time I felt myself get wound up, I practiced relaxing my mind.  As the months leading up to the event unfolded I found myself committed to walking onto the testing floor without anxiety and without expectation. My prayer was to walk across the green carpet with simply myself, my training, and my sincere heart.  There were times it was easy to relax but there were times - even up to the time I got on the plane, where I found more excuses.  But I got on the plane.

And then yesterday came.  We woke to rain. The sheep bayed, the kids practiced, the cook called for breakfast. An ordinary day was beginning in Chenjiagou.  I had my tea and put on make up. I asked my husband how I looked; we took some fun pictures of me with my fuchsia Patagonia puff sweatshirt pulled over my yellow silk uniform.  And then we walked to the school. It was quiet inside; people were practicing, marking their forms in front of the big calligraphy: “Wu De.” At 9:00 am Grandmaster came in and we had one hour of training. At 10:00 am the President of the Wushu Association arrived and took his place at the table. I was thrilled to see Grandmaster Chen Xiao Xing arrive and also take his place. Jan Silberstorff and Davidine Sim and one other person from the Wushu organization sat too. The nerves in the training hall were rising.

Before we began the testing in earnest the President said some words about this unique and historic moment. In the style of any Chinese Ceremony there were introductions and clapping and acknowledging and more clapping. It was lovely to see the heartfelt feeling between Grandmaster and the President. Then the testing began. Jan called out the names; we stepped onto the floor in 4’s, formally bowed and began our demonstration of skill. The test itself was simple - a few minutes of empty hand for levels 1-3 and empty hand + weapon for levels 4-6.  To the uninitiated, this may seem short but level can truly be determined in just a few moves.  And isn’t that just like life; even one move can clearly determine one’s fate.

I had the great fortune of testing with my Taijiquan soul sisters Allison Helm & Betty Dong. We all looked great with our beautiful silk uniforms and if I do say so myself, we rocked it! We completed the testing process by hand writing two 1000-word essays: 1) Why do we practice Taijiquan and 2) How can the Duan Wei System be improved.  After lunch we all learned that we passed our levels. My close Taiji brothers, sisters and I all achieved our rank of Level 6 with many others, including many of my contemporary's students, earning their ranks as well.

For me the experience marks one of the highlights of my martial arts career.  I earned my rank but more, I achieved my wish. I walked confidently across the testing floor; I felt my teacher and his teachings, and all my teachers that came before him. I felt my students and their sincere hearts and the gift of being able to share myself with them. I felt history but moreover I felt the present moment. And in that place, I simply felt myself and I knew I had nothing to prove. It was just me, doing what I have done for many years.  And in this way, I was given the gift of experiencing a natural flow and power in my test that was steady, quiet and infinitely satisfying. In this way, my whole experience in the Village was not overshadowed by stress. Calming down paid off.

This test was a threshold for many of us. Walking through it allowed us to be forged not just to our practice but to what our practice represents.  And this is what this entire week in Chenjiagou, with all of the ceremony and training, has revealed to us. We were forged: to the past, to the present and to the unfolding future.  As I return to my amazing and blessed ordinary life I will remember the words of the President when he described the test to us. He said, “this test is also a test of your “Wu De,”  Martial Virtue. He continued, “since you are all under Grandmaster’s care, I know that you all excel in this area.”  It was a moment for me of deep gratitude and satisfaction to be a part of this amazing Taijiquan world family.

May Peace Prevail on Earth

Kim

I’m uploading this blog from Xi’an; after our first day of being tourists. We are all pretty fried but happy.  It’s a national holiday right now and the Chinese are all honoring their ancestors with burning paper & incense. We went to a really fabulous old Taoist Temple and were able to pay our own respects to our ancestors. It was very moving. Tomorrow we see the Terra Cotta Warriors!

The Wind and the Heart

The winds blew down off the Mongolian Plateau yesterday.  A blood orange sun sat in the middle of the sky, suspended behind a thick curtain of dust and sand. It is easy to imagine these Winds are the same winds from the time of Genghis Khan as they ripped shirts, socks and underwear off the clotheslines, throwing each piece mercilessly to the ground, pummeling them with fierce tornadoes of parched soil. Several foreigners emerged from their dorms wearing white face-masks, others donned scarves tied tightly over their mouths and still others simply coughed futilely, wishing the deep throaty hack would somehow put out the fire in their throats. In the school-yard children continued to train as though nothing was happening, throwing their plastic bodies through the air, laughing and running back for more. We seminar participants dashed inside seeking respite from the elements only to find the wind carelessly slamming glass-paned windows open and dumping dirt all over the training floor. School staff damp mopped the floor but most of us were too tired to care one way or another, our backs, knees and minds aching from days of standing and twining on the concrete. We were tired from nights of fitful sleep on rock hard beds; our bodies ravenous  for food that included protein and some other spice besides MSG. One might say our fabulous cultural experience was becoming, well, challenging. And then, Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang enters the training hall, steps up onto the stage and says, “calm down.”

I said to Kevin I am impressed that 150 people from all over the world can remain so harmonized in the midst of such stressful conditions.  It is not just the training or the food or the elements or the jet lag and hard beds; it is the constant mind-bending stimulation that pummels our psyches at every moment. Further, we have entered that tenuous place where mythology meets reality. At home, we have nice places to train and most of us are high enough on Maslow’s Hierarchy that we get to relate to our practices as art and spiritual methods, returning after a good sweaty training to our great food, our beds and our cushy lives. We mythologize our practice and its roots so it fits so nicely into our daily life and perspective of the world. Here though in the Motherland, we do not train to enter and enjoy a more realized place, we train in the realized place. And it is windy, dusty, loud and at times very smelly. This juxtaposition can be challenging to reconcile, but 150 very different people are doing just that, elegantly. I attribute this to the true spirit of the enlightened Martial Arts we study, to the Chen Family who teaches not only their forms but the code of ethics, and to the hard work we employ to learn and follow this Way.  Being here is always hard, and it is always worth it.

As I awake this morning, I see the Mongolian winds brought rain in overnight. The dust will be damped down and it feels that the temperatures have dropped 20 degrees or so - I’ll have a chance to wear the warmer clothes I brought after all as I stand for the last day of training with my Shifu, Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang.  Being short, I have the good fortune of being in the front row for his seminars but this week was even more amazing.  He is leading us on a 3’ high stage and I am positioned directly behind and slightly below him.  My angle is perfect, it is the coyote’s vantage point and I am stealing every nuanced coil and twine I can.  This morning about 1/3 of us will test for rank in front of the Chinese Wu Shu Association who will come from Beijing.  It’s another in a line of somewhat stressful experiences that like our Taiji, we all are all meeting with relaxation and ease.   We then leave tonight for a quick overnight rest back in Zheng Zhou, which will include a hot bath and a comfy bed before departing to Xi’an tomorrow via bullet train to enter the site-seeing leg of our journey.

There are the sheep. The “ee er san su” will follow soon. We do not have any water again, I’m not sure what I'll eat for protein today; I would be lying to say I was not thinking about a Whole Foods chicken. Yet underneath all of that, I feel the deep tug of wanting to stay just a little longer.  To slide along the dirt floor one more time. To wave to the residents and say, "ni hao" as I walk to training. To breath in not just the dust but the feeling of the Motherland for one more day. Even with the lack of comforts I am used to, or moreover because of them, there is a simplicity here that I deeply value.  It is peaceful in Taiji town, the excesses of too much stuff having fallen by the wayside. There is space for the mind to open wider, the body to become stronger and the heart  to flow more freely. It’s been great sharing the experience with Kevin, Doug and my friends from all over the world. We have laughed, cringed, danced, sang, witnessed and we have become very still. We all know the reward of being in Chenjiagou this week has been only in part all the amazing experiences in which we have been able to partake. Mostly the reward is simply how just being here trains the heart. And every time I return to Chenjiagou, its place in my heart deepens.

May Peace Prevail on Earth.

Kim