Understanding the foundations of Taoist Internal arts

The aim of these posts is to help to demystify the practise of internal arts and to support people on their journeys into this world. It will be a mixture of theory and personal experiences. The posts will build over weeks into a resource to support people’s study. I will attempt to help with any questions that you have. So without further ado let’s start.

The study of Chinese internal arts is not solely a process of learning sequences of movement or some complex choreography. It is, at its heart, a journey towards remembering and allowing a more ‘natural’ and connected way of moving through life. We work towards an integration of body, mind, heart and spirit, gradually developing an unmediated self with less contrivances, and with this, a more natural and whole-hearted movement to our lives.

During our lives most of us will develop distortions of function in our body, mind and spirit. They add to our unique experience of being alive but also can create difficulties. These distortions may become more and more the driving forces of our lives. The gradual deviations from our path can lead to many issues including ill health, a lack of movement and direction in life, feeling dispirited and disconnected from ourselves and the world. During practise we start to work on letting go of these distortions and finding a place to rest in a more natural state of being. We find and release into our ‘Root’, ‘empty our hearts’ and allow ourselves to sink deeper and deeper into our ‘original self.’ In Taoist practise this is called Zuo wang (坐忘) “Sitting and Forgetting.” It is a quiet returning into what has always been. A gentle sinking into our natural state, untouched by our striving, not burdened by will or intention. There is nothing lost, nothing scattered to reclaim. A stillness without any agenda, an acceptance and abiding in all that is. We rest in the open space where our true nature gently reveals itself. It is not a quest to hold this experience as a continuous state, when we stop practising we will return to our uniqueness and our distortions. Gradually however, through sustained practise, the impact of these distortions on our physical body, emotions, mind and spirit become less troublesome. Our physical structure will become more aligned and strong. Our emotions and mind settles and there is a sense of freedom of spirit.

There are many different styles, schools, lineages of Chinese Internal Arts each with its own ideas on the ‘correct’ way to learn and practice this work. Along the way you will encounter many different words describing what you are learning to do. Qi Gong, Nei Gong, Dao Yin, Nei Fa. These describe the aim or form of practice. There are different styles of Internal Arts, for example Xing Yi Chuan, Ba Gua Zhang, Tai Chi Chuan, Yi Chuan. There are also different classical ‘forms’ or ‘sets’ that you might encounter e.g. the Ba Duan Jin (The Eight Pieces of Silk/The Eight Brocades) and the Wu Xin Qi the Five Primal Animals.

These arts were commonly passed down through a family line or lineage. They were largely oral traditions. Whilst there are common elements found in the principles of internal art practise there are also many variances. Most complete systems have their roots in common principles but the differences between them provide a richness and depth born of generations of experience in the development of a specific lineage. A lot of these subtleties would be handed down only after a long period of commitment on the part of the student. The heart of the path would only be available to the ‘Inner door’ students, and for the most part, not written about or necessarily understood outside of a particular school. Once a person ‘hears’ and embodies the inner understandings of these arts they are recognised as holding the lineage. Their own nature, exploration and development of the work becomes woven in to the ongoing tapestry of the lineage adding ever more depth and perspective to the heart of the work.

Terminology

When embarking on the path of learning Chinese internal arts understanding the terminology is important. The concepts being explored are really beyond words or naming. As verse one of the Dao De Jing says ‘ the Dao that can be named is not the eternal Dao.’ Of course then they go on to write 81 more chapters on the subject. These are arts, and so their essence is best described through metaphor and imagery, something that can elicit a deep sense of knowing or recognition inside you. The layers of meaning contained in Chinese characters evoke such precise and intricate stories that weave a rich tapestry of meaning and nuance. Like the lines of a poem they convey ideas and truths that are way beyond the sum total of the words used.

The word ‘Gong’ 功 means ‘achievement,’ ‘good result’ or ’skill.’ The character is made up of the characters for labour or work and power or capability (from hard work). This implies that learning these arts does not come easily and will take time and a lot of diligent practise and patience. We are working on embedding a skill into our selves. Or a natural movement pattern to reappear. Through practice we develop Gong or a naturally occurring skill that is then always present in everything that we do.

‘Nei’ 内 means ‘Inner’ or ‘Internal.’ The character is made up of the character for wide and the character for man, it has also been associated with the opening of a flap of a tent. It has the feeling of opening up the person or opening and moving inside so ‘Nei Gong” means inner skill or ‘internal skill that has been achieved by hard work.’

There are different levels of Nei Gong work. The Nei Gong from the internal martial arts of Xing Yi and Ba Gua work on building, and strengthening the internal processes and connections through physical movements. Bringing awareness to, and connection between, the many layers of the body and allowing the generation of more inherent energy. There are also more meditative Nei gong traditions that work on initially creating the internal environment that allows the generation, consolidation and storage of the vital substances Jing, QI, Shen.

Qi Gong is skill with Qi. (Qi as a concept is understood in many different ways. We will explore some of these ideas later). Qi Gong is a ‘result’ of sustained correct foundational Nei Gong practise. At the beginning of your journey you are not doing Qi Gong, you are preparing and developing your internal environment through your Nei Gong practise. This allows the internal environment to transform and for the generation of the vital substances so that when we do our Qi gong exercises they are working with those substances and connections and not just the musculature. There is movement on the outside but a degree of stillness internally.

Dao Yin means ‘Guiding and Leading,’ this is an older term for a particular type of internal practise. These practises are based on the more shamanic work of connecting with the primal patterns of nature and purging out pathogenic influences stuck inside the practitioner. During the period of time that these practises originated, disharmonies of the body, mind, spirit were seen as coming from the outside in the form of climactic factors such as excess heat, cold, wind and dampness. It would also include influences of spirit entities, a diseased environment and ‘bone pointing’ or curses. In practising Dao Yin we strongly open up our bodies with clear and active intention.

Having an understanding of these terms can help to get a sense of what you are embarking on. We are working towards a method of natural internal movement that is developed over time through consistent practise.

Teachers

When we start to practise any internal method we move through different stages of our development. Who we learn from and where they are at in their practise will open up different avenues and possibilities for our cultivation.

The first type of teacher we could call the Technician. This teacher that has learnt a body of knowledge, a form or set of movements. There is a certain amount of theory behind the forms and it stays on a rather superficial and objective level with little subjectivity and internal awareness. This stage is never the less important as it can provide some raw materials for our walk along the path.

The second type of teacher is the Fang Shi or Shi. A “teacher of the method." Rather than just showing you the movements they can explain why you do the technique and how the changes that are happening in you are occurring. They can teach you methods that underly the forms so that you can develop understanding of the practise and yourself. This is about self cultivation. The ability to listen and hear is being developed. Our awareness is amplified through the compassion and attention of the teacher, we are able to listen more clearly as the focus is now more subjective and focused on the individual. You cannot change something that you are not aware of. You are made aware from many angles of what is necessary for you to change.

The third type of Teacher is the Shaman (Wu). These are people that generate transformation through their presence. The power of their methods is not something that can be explained. They are walkers between worlds, intermediaries between the ancestors and this world. They are able to move into and ‘call in’ the primal patterns of the universe. A mediator between heaven and earth. They move in to the dimension of patterns where everything that is available to us is located. They can embody these primal patterns of life. This generates a resonance and a harmonisation in the bodies of those around them.

When you train with a teacher who has cultivated enough you can feel this change internally. You are able to do the exercises/forms more smoothly and with much more connection, inside yourself and with the world around you. When you leave the teacher, often this vibration will slowly start to dissipate over time and the impact of the exercises wanes a bit. The key is to recognise the vibration, and hear the changes, holding them in your body to allow the cultivation of a new less distorted version of yourself. There can, on occasion, be a sudden spontaneous unraveling as a whole pattern is changed all at once and permanently. The nature of the teacher, and where they are teaching from has a major effect on our own cultivation in these arts. There are benefits to studying with each different type of teacher. It is important to understand that there will be different outcomes depending on who you train with.

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