Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

Did Yang Chen Fu teach any sitting meditation? In the book 'Tao of Tai chi chuan' author Jou Sung hwa teaches sitting meditation. The book uses a picture of Yang Chen fu sitting cross legged like the drawings of him doing form. So i was curious if that was a regualr part of taiji research in Yang Family. As far as i have heard there is a style of Taijiquan that is practiced in the ancient monastaries in china that uses sitting meditation using an hour of microcosmic orbit sitting meditation and taijiquan.

I have also heard Yang Chen Fu used to practice sitting on a chair supported by a board and would close his eyes and meditate for 20 minutes. (sounds like TM practice(transcendental meditation). When people approached him with eyes closed he would know they were there.

Lastly Fu Zhong Wen taught a standing meditation and visualization as part of his warm-up to relax the body and mind. When i was in Shanghai in 1994, he taught this and I assume it was passed on to him from his teacher Yang Chen Fu. It envolved relaxing parts of the body and visualizing a color while in standing meditation.

matt stampe

[This message has been edited by mls_72 (edited 06-28-2004).]

[This message has been edited by Jamie (edited 07-04-2004).]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by mls_72:
<B>Did Yang Chen Fu teach any sitting meditation? In the book 'Tao of Tai chi chuan' author Jou Sung hwa teaches sitting meditation. The book uses a picture of Yang Chen fu sitting cross legged like the drawings of him doing form. So i was curious if that was a regualr part of taiji research in Yang Family. As far as i have heard there is a style of Taijiquan that is practiced in the ancient monastaries in china that uses sitting meditation using an hour of microcosmic orbit sitting meditation and taijiquan.

I have also heard Yang Chen Fu used to practice sitting on a chair supported by a board and would close his eyes and meditate for 20 minutes. (sounds like TM practice(transcendental meditation). When people approached him with eyes closed he would know they were there.

Lastly Fu Zhong Wen taught a standing meditation and visualization as part of his warm-up to relax the body and mind. When i was in Shanghai in 1994, he taught this and I assume it was passed on to him from his teacher Yang Chen Fu. It envolved relaxing parts of the body and visualizing a color while in standing meditation.

matt stampe

[This message has been edited by mls_72 (edited 06-28-2004).]</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi Matt,

I looked at your site and was impressed that you had included my great grandteacher Li Ya Xuan in your list of Yang Stylists. My Grandteacher is Lin Mo Gen, My Shifu is Wang Xue Jun. I am a 7th gen. disciple. I don't know if YCF taught seated meditation, but we do an exercise similar to the one you describe Fu Zhong Wen doing. We do it in the Preparatory posture before we begin and visualize each body part and internal parts - relaxing them one by one. My teacher also recommends seated meditation on our own. Once again - great website!

Take care,

Jamie

[This message has been edited by Jamie (edited 07-04-2004).]

Tai chi IS meditation. One reason for practising meditation in a chair or otherwise is to discover what it feels like to feel good. Once you discover the feeling, you do the form in the same way and continue to feel good.

Once you know what it feels like to feel good and how to be the feeling, you don't need to meditate in any particular way. You just do what feels good and don't do what doesn't feel good - remembering that thinking is also doing.

There is a trap if you get the idea that the meditation, or whatever, is ultimately causing the feeling. You are causing the feeling and you are chosing to experience this feeling while sitting in a chair or doing the form or washing the dishes.

I used to meditate as an escape from reality (just like I used to do many other things). And, it can be an escape - 20 minutes out of body or off to the planet Koos Bar. But when I came back I was still the same me, and I was still carrying the same burden. I had only managed to escape it for a time.

It was only when I stopped 'meditating' that I realised I had not been really meditating at all. I was caught up in the illusion of cause and effect.

This is only a suggestion: stop and ask yourself, "Do I feel good?" a few times and actually feel before you answer. Next, once you feel good, and you will, ask yourself, "Can I keep feeling good?" Then ask, "Do I want to keep feeling good?" THEN, do the form. This is not a 'way' or a method, it is just one of the many things you can do to feel good. And since it has always felt better (to me) to feel good before starting the form than to do the form in the hope that it will make me feel good (and it will), this is what I prefer.

If you are not feeling good while doing the form, stop and do something that does feel good, like sitting in a chair.

R. M. Field

Thanks Jamie for your reply. Sounds Like we did learn the same standing meditation exercise. Yes I am interested in finding more pictures of famous Yang taiji disciples. it takes great courage to study and preserve a tradition. I finally met Yang Jun last weekend. he is very nice and taught a 13 taiji form. i have some pics on my website. see the news section.

R.M. field- your right! taiji is moving meditation, but I am talking about the stillness type of meditation and or taoist internal alchemist. Meditation is when your mind can focus on the qi when its in the "here and now" and nowhere else. meditation can be done, sitting, walking, lying down, moving, taiji, whenever. I am more curious if Yang Family may have learned some special type of sitting mind training.