re-cycling: general #555
When you practice a traditional Chinese bodymind method dedicatedly and mindfully, you naturally encounter and discover new details every day. It never becomes a boring journey. Depending on your teacher, you might already learn that the number of details is endless when you start learning the movements of a bodymind method.
With the transmission of a method from one generation to the next, some of the technical knowledge gets lost, overlooked, forgotten. Some knowledge gets added. There are ups and downs in the transmissions of methods. Often there is a variety of different lineages. Different teachers have different levels of understanding and knowledge, and often they have a different focus, too. This is human. This is why it makes sense to study with different teachers, not just one, and not to take any one teacher of any tradition too „seriously.“
The technical, medical, or whatever details of bodymind methods are fascinating by themselves—so are the educational journey and the quest for practical and theoretical knowledge in these areas. As is widely visible, it makes, however, always sense—as a matter of fact, there is an obvious need—for „technical“ knowledge to be embedded in a constructive holistic worldview. If, practicing a traditional Chinese bodymind method, you are on a spiritual path, and you are, for instance, motivated by the philosophy of the Tao Te Ching and the Chuang-tzu, these two core texts of Taoist philosophy become even brighter guiding lights than the „technical“ concepts.
With specific and extensive „technical“ knowledge as a foundation there is fertile ground for the individual practical application of Taoist philosophy, and in Chinese movement traditions you find over two millennia of experience in working with Taoist concepts. Concepts like 抱一 the concept of embracing oneness are utterly open towards a wide range of applications. The concepts of the Tao Te Ching that I am writing about and working with in my bodymind practice are not bound to any practical knowledge base. They can—independent of your background—support you to embed your growing „technical“ knowledge in meaningful wider frames. They are simply inspirational. They can help to bridge boundaries. They can help you to be more open to interacting with and studying other traditions. They can help you connect ancient knowledge with current issues and current knowledge. They can help to extend hands.
Walking on any path, it is important to keep relativity and diversity in mind. Spiritual paths are no different. The relevance of this can be seen every single day. I am personally fascinated by and writing about a Taoist philosophy related path. Nevertheless, I can clearly see that a Taoist path is one of many meaningful paths. It is like a plant.