T'ai Chi Classics (#1150)

(an instance of Generic Scripted Object made by Marcus)


Go to location of this object, a tangle of wild flowers.

After a moment, something begins to happen...
     
      T'ai-chi Classics
     
      As soon as one moves,
      the entire body should be light and sensitive,
      and all its parts connected.
     
      The ch'i should be roused and the spirit gathered within.
     
      Do not allow gaps;
      do not allow bulges or hollows;
      do not allow discontinuities.
     
      The root is in the feet,
      energy issues up through the legs,
      is controlled by the waist
      and is expressed in the hands and fingers.
     
      From the feet to the legs to the waist
      should be one complete flow of ch'i.
      One will then be able to seize opportunities
      and occupy the superior position.
     
      If one is unable to seize opportunities
      and gain the superior position,
      the body will be scattered and in confusion.
      Look for the weakness in the waist and the legs.
      The same is true for above and below,
      front and back, left and right.
      All of this has to do with the mind
      and not externals.
     
      If there is an above, there must be a below;
      if there is a fore, there must be a rear,
      and if there is a left there must be a right.
      If the intention is to rise,
      one must pay attention to below.
      If you want to lift something,
      you must apply breaking power.
      In this way, its root will be severed,
      and its destruction
      will be swift and inevitable.
     
      Full and Empty should be clearly distinguished.
      Any given point has the potential for full or empty
      and the whole body has this dual aspect: full and empty.
     
      All the joints of the body
      should be connected
      without permitting the slightest break.