October
  2005   

Valley Spirit   
Author  
Contact 
Home  
Purpose   
Archives      
   

Websites
Spirit of Gardening 
Cloud Hands 
Cuttings: Haiku Poetry 
Zen Poetry 
    

October 1, Saturday, 2005

"What does mysticism mean? It means the way to attain knowledge. It's close to philosophy, except in philosophy you go horizontally while in mysticism you go vertically."
Elie Wiesel

Walking and Taiji for 30 minutes at dawn.  Teach Taiji and yoga at TFFC from 10-12:15.  Mow lawns and weed during the day.  

Watch USC (#1 Ranked)  and Arizona State (#17 Ranked) on television in the early afternoon.  A tense and exciting football game.  USC won in the last quarter with
a very strong running game.  

Working on covering outdoor sheds and putting up items in case it starts to rain on Sunday.  Digging holes for planting shrubs and trees.  

Updated the webpage on Master Chang San-Feng.  

Principles of Taijiquan
A Taijiquan Classic by Zhang San-feng, circa 1200 CE, Part 1:

“With every movement string all the parts together,
keeping the entire body light and nimble. ”
- Olson, Stuart

“In any action, the whole body should be light and agile, or Ching and Lin.
One should feel that all of the body’s joints are connected with full linkage. ”
-Jou, Tsung Hwa

“Once in motion, every part of the body is light and agile and must be
threaded together. ”
- Yang, Jwing-Ming

“Whenever one moves, the entire body must be light and lively, and must above
all be connected throughout. ”
- Davis, Barbara

“Once you begin to move, the entire body must be light and limber. Each
part of your body should be connected to every other part.”
- Liao, Waysun

“Move in an agile, balanced, and coordinated manner.
Once you decide to move,
The parts of the body should act together:
Feeling connected and coordinated,
As balanced as two feathers on a scale,
Strung together like pearls in a necklace,
Agile like a cat,
Lighter than moonbeams,
Mobile as a young monkey.”
- Garofalo, Michael

- Master Chang San-Feng’s Principles of T’ai Chi Ch’uan.

“While making a stride, it is as quietly as a cat walks, and while putting forth strength the exertion is so mild, that it looks like reeling off raw silk from a cocoon. The movements, like clouds floating in the sky, are spry and light, but well-balanced and steady. Motion is even and fluid, the muscles neither stiff nor rigid.  Breathing should be deep and even … the mind is tranquil but alert, with consciousness commanding the body. In practicing T’ai Chi Chuan it is essential that movements be guided by consciousness and that there be stillness in movement - a unity of stillness and motion.”

- Official Chinese Instruction Manual for the “24 Movement Yang Short Form,”
quoted by Howard Reid in his book The Way of Harmony, p. 90.

Categories   
Search  
Archives   
Blogs     
Gardening  
T'ai Chi Ch'uan  
Qigong  
Indexes  
Photography   
Biographies  
General   
Months  
Mysticism  
Webmaster   
Mike Garofalo  
 
   

   
  

October 2, Sunday, 2005

Walking and Taiji for 90 minutes at dawn.  
Mow lawns and weed during the day.  
Reading and writing projects.  
Watch Raiders vs. Dallas NFL football game.  

"The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life, and in elevating them to art."
-  William Morris

Fluid Imagination Blog   

Changing Places Blog.   By Donna Woodka.  

Did some extesnive work on the Master Chan San-Feng webpage, including adding a section with the "Treatise on T'ai Chi Ch'uan" and some photographs of Wu Tan Mountain area.  

I have been fighting off a bit of an upper respiratory infection the past week.
Sometimes is really saps my energy, and at other times it is but a minor
inconvenience.  Using a variety of home remedies and herbals.  

T'ai Chi Ch'uan  
Yang Style  
Sun Style  
Sword  
Staff  
Saber 
Cloud Hands 
Qigong 
Links  
Chen Style   
Bagua  
Yang 24  
Sun 73  
Bibliography  
 

October 3, Monday, 2005

Tomorrow is the only day in the year that appeals to a lazy man. 
-   Jimmy Lyons

Work from 7:30-4 p.m. for CUESD.  

Exercise at TFFC for 40 minutes of weightlifting, 30 minutes of spin class led by Nichole.

“Calmly stimulate the ch’i, with the Spirit of Vitality concentrated internally.”
- Stuart Olson

“Chi should be stirred. The spirit of vitality, or Shen, should be concentrated inwards.”
- Jou, Tsung Hwa

“Qi should be full and stimulated, Shen (Spirit) should be retained internally.”
- Yang, Jwing-Ming

” The qi should be excited; the spirit should be gathered within. ”
- Barbara Davis

” The internal energy should be extended, vibrated like the beat of a drum.
The spirit should be condensed in toward the center of your body. ”
- Waysun Liao

” The ch’i (breath) should be excited, the shen (spirit)
should be internally gathered. ”
- Benjamin Lo

“Energize the body and quiet the gathered spirit.
Raise up awareness to draw Chi to every nerve,
Fill up the body with the strength of the excited Force,
Stir and stimulate the Chi from head to toe,
Playing the Great Drum of Inner Powers.
Keep the spirit calm within,
Vital forces tamed and quiet,
Riding the Tigress to the Temple,
Gently leading the Great Ox past the Gate;
Condensing the Elixir of Spirit in the Inner Chamber. ”
- Michael Garofalo

Master Chang San-Feng
This webpage includes an introduction and brief biography of Master Chang San-Feng, links and a bibliography, various versions of “The Treatise on T’ai Chi Ch’uan,” other works attributed to Zhang San-feng, selected quotations, and poetic reflections on Master Chang by Mike Garofalo.
98Kb.

October 4, Tuesday, 2005

Work for CUESD from 7:30-4 pm. 

Exercise at TFFC for 20 minutes of weightlifting, then taught the Yoga class from 5:30-6:45 pm.  

First Rain of the Cool and Wet Season in Red Bluff, California

“How beautiful is the rain!
After the dust and the heat,
In the broad and fiery street,
In the narrow lane,
How beautiful is the rain!”
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Rain in Summer

Green Way Wisdom - Water

We live in a Mediterranean climate in Red Bluff. We basically have two seasons: a hot and dry season from May to September; and a cool and wet season from October to April. It has not rained since last June.  Yesterday evening, the rain, just a little, began to fall. What a joyful time. Yes! True beauty - dark clouds and falling rain.

For those interested in spices you must visit the wonderful webpages on spices published at: Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages A wealth of information is provided on these excellent webpages. The author says, “On these pages, I present solid information on (currently) 117 different spice plants. Emphasis is on their usage in ethnic cuisines, particularly in Asia; furthermore, I discuss the history, chemical constituents and etymology of their names. Last but not least, there are numerous photos featuring the live plants or the dried spices.”

October 5, Wednesday, 2005

Walked for 90 minutes at dawn and did my Taijiquan routines.  

Attended a workshop at the Red Bluff Community Center called 
the "Graying of the North State."  It concerned the prospects for senior citizens 
in Northern California over the next few decades.  Quite a lineup of knowledgeable speakers from the university world.  

I did not feel well this afternoon.  I'm fighting off a sinus attack and cold.  Rested at home all afternoon.  Reading and writing.  Drank lots of warm tea.  

"Heaven is blessed with perfect rest but the blessing of earth is toil."
-   Henry van Dyke

October 6, Thursday, 2005

"Since it is all too clear
It takes time to grasp it.
When you understand that 
It's foolish to look for fire with fire,
The meal is already cooked."
Wu-men

Work from 7:30 to 4:00 pm for CUESD.  

Weightlifting for 40 minutes at gym, then I taught yoga for 75 minutes.  

October 7, Friday, 2005

Writing and reading in the morning.  Walking and Taijiquan for 90 minutes in the midmorning.   

Still fighting a nagging cold.  Home chores and reading in the afternoon.  

Replace the dead battery in Karen's car.  

Reading:

"Wang Haijun on Eight Methods of Training Jin," by David Gaffney, T'ai Chi: The International Magazine of T'ai Chi Ch'uan: Vol. 29, No. 4, August, 2005, pp. 5-10.  Translation by Davidine Diaw-Voon Sim.  

May you always have
walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain,
tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you,
those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.
-   Traditional Irish Blessing

McCall, Timothy M.D.

Thinking of Starting Yoga?  How to Find the Right Teacher and Class.  By Timothy McCall, M.D.  

My wife, Karen, and I read an e-mail that talked about writing a list of the 
"Ten Most Important Things in My Life."  The author shared her list with others,
and found many of the lists that other people shared with her included the same items, such as: good health, love, spending time with family, money in the bank, bills paid, doing what I want to do, etc..  

So, here is my own list of the then most important ...

The Ten Most Important Things in My Life:

Water - clean and pure.

Food - fresh, simple, vegetarian

Clothing - clean, used, and in good repair.  

Home and furniture - sturdy, comfortable, simple, low maintenance, and in good repair, used

Energy - access to reasonably priced electricity, propane, natural gas, gasoline, wood, etc..   

Garden - Appropriate to local climate, well-kept, varied

Media, especially books.

Audio-Visual Electronic Equipment - computer, television, radio, CD/MP3 player

Automobile or motorcycle - simple, low gas mileage, in good repair, dependable, used.  If I did not need one to get to work or shop, I would not need to own one; a bicycle would be fine if distances and traffic were not a problem.  

Money - to pay for the above things, save for a rainy day, share, give away.  

The Ten Most Important Contributors to Happiness in my Life:

Being healthy, mentally and physically fit, physically active, having professional medical care when needed, and living a long life.

Having reasonable access to the Ten Most Important Things in My Life.

Being employed - having a good, decent job that uses my talents and enables me to earn money to purchase the Ten Most Important Things in My Life.

Living in a relatively peaceful and harmonious society supporting diverse effective and efficient governmental and institutional support for our population.    

Enjoying friendships, companionship, family, and the love of others.  One’s spouse, and children, and extended family, of course, form such an essential unit for one’s happiness that one often thinks of the “Ten Most Important Things in Our Lives.” My and Our become merged in a shared life.

Having a reasonable degree of freedom and liberty of thought and action.

Making positive contributions to others now and for posterity.

Striving to become a more knowledgeable, compassionate, just, hard working, open-minded, and wise person.   

Coping maturely and intelligently with the disappointments, sadness, setbacks, challenges and failures in life.

Being able to choose new and/or different priorities, contributors to happiness, and important things in my life.  Acknowledging the need to revise these priorities as one ages, evolves and comes closer to dying.  

What would you include on your list? How much overlap is there between this kind of list for people in different countries or cultures? One would expect considerable overlap, considering that Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” are applicable for all.

Could you meaningfully reduce the number of “most important” to just one, e.g., Love?  Or are ten inadequate?

I thought of including “Good Luck” in contributors to happiness. Where and when you are born, your gender, your society, your culture, your language, your parents status or wealth, avoiding disasters or accidents, etc.. none of these factors are of your doing, none are something you earned. They are simply givens of fate, of luck, of circumstances beyond your control. I was born in California, to lower middle class parents, and have enjoyed the benefits of good water, food, electricity, and a relatively peaceful society. If I was a born to a simple farmer’s family in a Third World country, torn apart by ethnic, tribal, political, or religious strife, my life and hopes would be radically different.

Having enough “Time” for personal interests is critical. A longer life is critical for gaining more time.

October 8, Saturday, 2005

Walking and Taiji at dawn for 90 minutes.   Teach Tai Chi and Yoga at the 
TFFC in the morning.  

Home chores in the afternoon.  Reading and writing at night.  

First efforts will go into updating a specific webpage, then linking to it via this webpage and the Green Way Blog.  It is too much work to transfer long lists of links from this webpage to the Green Way Blog.  Frontpage has too much code for the blog text entry box.  Then, going back to the subject webpage from here is just too much effort and duplication.  Update the specific webpage first.

Updated Taoism: Links and Bibliography. 

sunlight thru slat
onto rumpled bed
lie kindly our kin
oft, oft, softly
skin to like skin
-  Ronald Johnson, The Shrubberies   

New Links

Taoism

Alchemical Taoism  Some detail on the Microcosmic Orbits.   

Architecture at Wudang Shan  

British Taoist Association

Chad Hansen's Chinese Philosophy Page  

Chang San-Feng

China Related Links  

Chinese Philosophy Page

Chinese Religions Links  50Kb.  By Joseph Adler, Department of Religious Studies, Kenyon College.  

Chuang Tsu (Zhuang Zi)  Translated by Lin Yutang.  165 Kb.  

Chuang Tsu (Zhuang Zi)  Translated by Burton Watson.  110Kb. 

Chuang Tzu 

The Dao Debate  

The Golden Elixir

How to Overcome Without Fighting.   By Key Sun.

Hsing Chen Internal Arts

Hua Hu Ching

I Ching

International Taoist Tai Chi Society

Lieh-Tsu.  Translated by Lionel Giles.   148Kb.  

Panlatrevo

Taoism and the Philosophy of T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Taoism: Bibliography and Links   

Taoism Information Page  A number of translations of essential texts.  

Taoism - Sinophilia

The Taoist Blog   

Taoist Canon  

Taoist Immortals

Taoist Scriptures   Excellent collection of translations.    

Tao of Sean   

Tao Te Ching.   Translated by J. McDonald.  54Kb.

Tao Te Ching

The Useless Tree

T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Assi Ben Porat Arts Inspired by Tai Chi Chuan   

Daynamic Balancing Tai Chi   

Tai Chi Heartwork  

Tai Chi Chuan: Guides, Indexes, Resources and Blogs

Zen

Becoming Whole: Jung or Zen   

BuddhaNet

The Buddhist Blog   

Buddhist Peace Fellowship   

Cloud Water Assembly: Zen poems and sayings, resources, sutras, and stylish photographs.  

Eastern Philosophy   

Green Way: From the Ground Up   Gardening, Zen, Taoism, and Mind-Body Arts.  By Mike Garofalo of Red Bluff, California.   

Hundred Mountain Journal

101 Zen Stories   

Paperfrog  A Buddhist inspired blog.  

Resources for East Asian Language and Thought.   Charles Muller.

Silent Water - The Zen Blog   

The Ten Bulls by Kakuan 

Ten Bulls

Terebess Asia Online   

Valley Spirit Journal  Zen, Taoism, Mind-Body Arts, and Gardening   

Zen Filter: Zen Buddhist websites, news and discussion

The Zen Guide   

Zen Poetry  

Zen Proverbs    

Qigong

All About Qigong - Blog

Hua Tuo   

Master Chang San-Feng  

Wudang Shan

Gardening

::: an eclectic garden :::  

The Japanese Garden

Sacred Places   

The Tree Spirit Project by Jack Gescheidt.  Excellent photographic studies of nude people and trees, tree happenings, and tree art.   

The Witch's Voice  NeoPagan News/Networking on the Net since 1997

Software

AskSam: Free-Form Text Management System

Tantric scene: 6 am - 3 pm.

Relax and watch TV.   

Work around the house all day: watering, chores.  Reading.  

“Railing against Do-Nothing Zen
Ekaku Haikuin presses that one hand, hard,
stamps his staff –
clap, clap, clap, Clap!
Shouting, spittle flying,
he prods, and pokes, and preaches
till the fawning monks scatter.
Haikuin sits alone the long cold night
gazing into the fires of hell.

Ivy crawls
the walls of Shoin-ji;
night boats pass in silence. “

- Michael P. Garofalo, Above the Fog

Haikuin was terrified by his meditations on the punishments of hell. At an early age, these painful reflections on hell greatly spurred him on in his religious pursuits. In my youth, during my Catholic school education, I also meditated on the eternal punishments of hell. I regularly prayed for forgiveness from my petty sins so as to avoid hell if I died.

By the age of 15, however, I decided that the whole idea of hell was a fiction, a bad lie, a useless falsehood, a wishful dream of vengeance, and a con-game invented by religions to control paying believers. Every true believer would say that all members of a religion other than there own were going to hell - a self-serving falsehood and scare tactic. The many reasons given by religions for sending a soul to hell seemed completely bizarre, unjust, ethno-centric, and absurd. Also, the factual evidence supports the conclusion that there is no fire that burns for eternity, and no non-material eternal souls to burn. Finally, you can be a wise, good, just, enlightened and spiritually sophisticated person and not believe in any of the many fanciful versions of eternal hells.

The cooling rain of good thinking will extinguish the flames of falsehood.

Explore some Zen resources online:

Zen Filter: Zen Buddhist websites, news and discussion

Cloud Water Assembly: Zen Poems and Sayings

Terebess Asia Online

Zen Poetry

Blog Search Terms: Hell, Zen Poetry, Ekaku Haikuin.

Work 7:30 - 1:15 for CUESD.  

Attended the Tehama County Commission on Aging meeting in Los Molinos.

Lifted weights for 45 minutes and then taught Yoga from 5:30 - 6:45 at TFFC.  

“Well versed in the Buddha Way,
I go the Non-Way;
Without abandoning my
Ordinary person’s affairs.
The conditioned and
Name-and-Form,
All are flowers in the sky.
Nameless and formless,
I leave birth and death.”
- Pang Yun, Two Zen Classics, p.263
Green Way Wisdom - Flowers in the Sky

“Enlightenment, nirvana, the body of reality, inherent nature,
and so on are a few petals of the opening five petals of
flowers in the sky.”
- Grand Master Dogen, Flowers in the Sky, p. 68
Translated by Thomas Cleary

“Leaping from the Ledge of Infinite Regress,
The Unmoved Mover fell into Formlessness:
Pure silence echoed between the galaxies,
Eons of eons vanished in a second,
Withered trees bloomed in fires,
Polar mountains melted, rivers went dry,
Thusness scattered in sixty directions,
Space became Time, time became things,
Black Holes filled with Nirvana,
A billion samadhi mirrors shattered,
Galaxies snuggled within a single skull,
Many became One, One only, only One.
Then, the Divine Illuminatrix in All Beings
Opened Her clouded Eye, to see:
Flowers in the Sky.
- Michael P. Garofalo, Emptiness in Full Bloom

Worked from 7:30 to 1:30 for CUESD, then gave a presentation and attended the CUESD School Board meeting from 7-9 pm.  

Weightlifting for 50 minutes, and spin class for 30 minutes. 

I spend a lot of time writing reports, proposals, plans and grants at work; as well as daily communications with the people I supervise and must coordinate with on various projects. Therefore, at the end of the workday, my energy and interest for writing has been somewhat depleted. Nevertheless, I blog on and on….

I have really enjoyed teaching yoga and taijiquan at the Tehama Family Fitness Center. It is a challenge to lead and model the workout, and to keep trying to find ways to add new information and ideas for students. Last night, in yoga class, I focused on 10 different kinds of twists. On Thursday, we will do 1 minute long holds on 1o asanas, and introduce two affirmations and two Sanskrit words. I try to wisely use our 75 minutes together in our class.

Taoism Links:

Images of Taoism

Daoism Depot

Home chores in the morning.  Worked for CUESD from 12:30 - 4:30.

Started work on master bathroom floor renovation project.  

Weightlifting for 45 minutes, then taught yoga class from 5:30-6:45 pm.  

Reading, writing, home chores.  Tai food for dinner out with Karen.

“You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.”
— William Stafford

“There is a point where in the mystery of existence contradictions meet; where movement is not all movement and stillness is not all stillness; where the idea and the form, the within and the without, are united; where infinite becomes finite, yet not” — Rabindranath Tagore

“For those who wish to climb the mountain of spiritual awareness, the path is selfless work. For those who have attained the summit of union with the Lord, the path is stillness and peace.” — Bhagavad Gita

“One’s action ought to come out of an achieved stillness: not to be mere rushing on.”
— D.H. Lawrence

Wind stirs the bamboo,
But once the wind passes,
The bamboo is silent.
Geese land in a chill pond,
But once the geese fly away,
There are no reflections.
In the same way,
Once the red dust passes,
The mind is still.

“History deals mainly with captains and kings, gods and prophets, exploiters and despoilers, not with useful men” — Henry Louis Mencken

Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused.
Therefore wise men embrace the one and set an example to all.
Not putting on a display, they shine forth.
Not justifying themselves, they are distinguished.
Not boasting, they receive recognition.
Not bragging, they never falter.
They do not quarrel, so no one quarrels with them.
Therefore the ancients say, ‘Yield and overcome’.
Is that an empty saying?
Be really whole, and all things will come to you.

Tao Te Ching, 22

“To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.”
— Terry Tempest Williams

“Ninety percent of the world’s woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves.” — Sydney J. Harris

“Whoever knows he is deep, strives for clarity; whoever would like to appear deep to the crowd, strives for obscurity. For the crowd considers anything deep if only it cannot see to the bottom: the crowd is so timid and afraid of going into the water.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

“I’m afraid of losing my obscurity. Genuineness only thrives in the dark. Like celery.”
— Aldous Huxley

“There are two kinds of light - the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures.”
— James Thurber

“The great work must inevitably be obscure, except to the very few, to those who like the author himself are initiated into the mysteries. Communication then is secondary: it is perpetuation which is important. For this only one good reader is necessary.” — Henry Miller

Teach Taiji and Yoga at TFFC.  Watch USC (5-0, #1) vs Notre Dame (4-1, #9) football game - another game in their long tradition.  How I wish my Dad could watch this game with me - we always did together.  USC won in the last 3 seconds 34-31 is a see-saw game before a sellout crowd in Notre Dame on NBC.  It was a tense and exciting game.    

The Tao cannot be sought from others; it is attained in oneself. If you abandon yourself to seek from others, you are far from the Tao.
— Huainan-tzi

The experience of solitude, of the trembling beauty of a swaying pine or twinkling star, or a bird call, is our self reflecting the infinite Tao and becoming, in that moment, conscious of being part of it and not apart from it. — Hermitary and Meng-Hu

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after one’s own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

We must reserve a back shop all our own, entirely free, in which to establish our real liberty and our principal retreat and solitude. –Michel de Montaigne

I am tired of frivolous society, in which silence is forever the most natural and the best manners. I would fain walk on the deep waters, but my companions will only walk on shallows and puddles.
— Henry David Thoreau, Journal

“When the king is good, serve.When the king is evil, recluse. — Confucious”

Solitude and nature are absolutely necessary for the proper development of a human being. It is an admixture of natural life, lived in solitude, amid beautiful surroundings of nature and what we call an arboreal life, which is absolutely necessary for the poise and harmony of the human mind.
–Gopi Krishna

Never less idle than when wholly idle, nor less alone than when wholly alone.
–Cicero, De officius

Karen and I walk around our property and do nature studies in the morning.  

Work on master bathroom floor renovation project.  

Watch Raiders vs San Diego Chargers in the afternoon.  

California Backyard Orchard: The University of California at Davis Resource for Fruit and Nut Crops.  Includes useful calendars for orchard maintenance, links, articles, and resources.  

If one sees me in forms,
If one seeks me in sounds,
He practices a misleading way.
He cannot see the essence of creeds:

All conditioned creeds
are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows,
like dew drops and a lightning flash:
contemplate them thus.  

Doctrines and creeds are like a raft
to carry one to the other shore,
and then to give away.    
Neither cling to the raft forever,
or reject it when drowning.  
Even better,
become a strong swimmer.

Source: The Diamond Sutra
Paraphrased and modified by Mike Garofalo

You should know that such people will have planted good roots
With not just one Buddha, two Buddhas, three, four or five Buddhas,
But will have planted good roots with measureless millions of Buddhas.
All who hear such phrases and produce even one thought
Of pure faith are completely known and completely seen by the Tathagata.
Such living beings thus obtain measureless blessings and virtue.
And why?
Those living beings have no further mark of self, of others, of living beings,
Or of a life;
No mark of dharmas and no mark of no dharmas.
If your hearts grasp at marks, then that is attachment to self, to others, to living beings, and to a life.
For that reason you should not grasp at dharmas, nor should you grasp at no dharmas.
All you Bhiksus should know that the dharma which I speak is like a raft.
Even dharmas should be relinquished, how much the more so no dharmas.
-   The Buddha, The Diamond Sutra

"As I understand what the Buddha has said, there is no concrete dharma called Anuttarasamyaksambodhi, and there is no concrete dharma which the Tathagata has spoken. And why? The dharmas spoken by the Tathagata cannot be grasped and cannot be spoken. They are neither dharmas nor no dharmas. And why? Unconditioned dharmas distinguish worthy sages."
-  Diamond Sutra

'Tathagata' means thusness of all dharmas.

The Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra

Buddhist Door Sutras

The Diamond Cutter.   Paraphrased by Josh Pritikin.  24Kb.  Index  

The Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra.  34Kb.  

Diamond Sutra   A Chinese version of the Diamond Sutra is the world’s earliest complete survival of a dated block printed book, made in 868 CE.  This rare document is now in the British Museum collection of early printed books.  

The Diamond Sutra.  Translated by Charles Muller.  96Kb.  Includes Chinese text.

The Diamond Sutra.  Translated by Charles Patton.  109Kb.  HTML and PDF Version.

The Diamond Sutra.  Translated by Edward Conze.  29Kb.

Diamond Sutra.  Translated by F. A. Price.  

Google Search on "Diamond Sutra"   

Heart Sutra

The Vagrakkhedika or Diamond-Cutter Sutra.  64Kb

Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra   47Kb

The Diamond Sutra - A Chinese Block Printed Book (868 CE)

Attended Enhancing Education Through Technology Grant workshop in Orville taught by Nancy Silva.  Linda Lucero, Peter Finkle and I drove down to the workshop.

Weightlifting for 50 minutes and then taught Yoga from 5:30-6:45 at TFFC.  I spoke with Jeff Cox today about having him teach me power lifting.  

Worked for CUESD from 7:30 - 4:30.  

Weightlifting for 45 minutes, Spin class with Tonya, and then Yogalates class taught by Lauren.  Started a new fitness, bodybuilding, and weight reduction program, that will last 90 days leading up to my 60th birthday called: The Big 60.  I will be exercising every day, eating less than 2,000 calories at day, and finishing learning the Sun 73 form.  My goal is to weigh in at under 255 pounds on my birthday, bench press 245, know the full Sun 73 form, and be in great physical condition.  My main objective is to do what I say I will do every single day.  

Worked for CUESD from 7:30 - 4:30.  Managers meeting, EETT3 meeting, Olive View EETT5 grant presentation, email, follow up on meetings.  

Weightlifting for 50 minutes and then taught Yoga from 5:30-6:45 at TFFC.

Weightlifting for 40 minutes, spin clas with Tonya, and Taiji with Kevin at TFFC.  

Work for CUESD from 11-4:30: Grant Applications.  

Visit with my brother Philip and Marcella.  They are staying with us tonight and Saturday.  

“The first principle of Tai Chi Chuan is relaxation, without which there is no Tai Chi. The initial lecture Professor Cheng Man-ch’ing gave to each beginning class was on the importance of being relaxed. “The whole body must be relaxed, loose and open, so that the ch’i, the vital energy, can pass through without blockage. This is the principle of Tai Chi as a health exercise, as well as a system of self-defense.” Relaxation is not simply becoming limp. There should be a quality of vitality about it. The beginner must focus entirely on letting go of tension and hard force, but, building on that foundation, the practitioner must contemplate the difference between going limp, which is lifeless, and the relaxation of a cat, which is completely vital and alert.”
- There Are No Secrets: Professor Cheng Man-ch’ing and His Tai Chi Chuan, p. 6.
Green Way Wisdom - Relaxation

Cats ought to be relaxed. They sleep for hours on end. Doze off more often than stay alert. Beg rather than work for food. Do whatever they want to do. Nose around the backyard for hours. (Dogs do about the same.) Darn, I could be relaxed with that lifestyle.

We are so busy “taking care” of cats, dogs, home and gardens it is a wonder we find the time to relax, kick back, loosen up, and take it easy. Gardens, especially, are demanding pets.

I do think that loosening up, hanging loose, and chilling out are all cool. Even if I were not a Taijiquan dancer, abiding in Sung, staying loose would still be a “Good Thing.”

So, slip into Sung and flash the Inner Smile ……

Walking and Taiji at dawn.  Teach Taiji and Yoga at TFFC in the morning.  

Drove from Red Bluff to Monterey, California.  This was a long 6 hour drive.

“Breathing in and out in various manners, spitting out the old and taking in the new, walking like a bear and stretching their neck like a bird to achieve longevity - this is what such practitioners of Dao-yin, cultivators of the body and all those searching for long life like Ancestor Peng, enjoy.”
- Chuang-Tzu, Chapter 15, circa 300 BCE.

Five Animal Frolics Qigong
This document includes a bibliography, links, resources, and quotations about the Five Animal Frolics. Some descriptions of various movements of the Bear are provided.

“Chinese medical chi-gung emphasizes soft, slow, rhythmic movements of the body synchronized with deep diaphragmatic breathing. The purpose of these exercises is to stretch the tendons, loosen the joints, and tone the muscles, to promote circulation of blood, and to regulate all the vital functions of the body. The medical school adapted many forms of ‘moving meditation” exercise for
therapeutic use, including the ancient Dao-Yin and ‘Play of the Five Beasts’ forms based on animal movements, martial forms such as ‘Eight Pieces of Brocade’ and Tai Chi Chuan, and special exercises developed specifically to treat various internal organs.”
- Daniel Reid, A Complete Guide to Chi Kung, p. 52.

Eight Pieces of Brocade Qigong
This large document includes a detailed description of each movement of the Eight Section Brocades, benefits of the movements, and alternatives and options for each movement. It also includes the largest bibliography, link list, and resources list for this popular Chinese exercise set. A historical introduction to the form is provided. A few of the movement descriptions include animated graphics.  

Shrub 4U - Trees  Lots of links about shrubs and small trees.  

Attended the Internet Librarian Conference in Monterey.  

Attended the Internet Librarian Conference in Monterey.  

Attended the Internet Librarian Conference in Monterey.  

"One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things."
-   Henry Miller

Last day of Internet Librarian Conference in Monterey.  

Drove home from Monterey to Red Bluff.  It is a long 6 hour drive through some heavy traffic areas.  

Work from 7:30 am to 4 pm at CUESD.  Worked on grants all day.

Weightlifting for 40 minutes and then I taught Yoga class from 5:30 - 6:45.  

Created my first blog on Blogger.  It was an easy and fast process to create the blog:  Cloud Hands: Taijiquan and Qigong.   

Work from 7:30-4 pm for CUESD on grants.  I finished writing, on my own, the Reading First Grant expansion application (7 pages), and started work with Dan Drum and Jim Stevensen on the EETT Round 4 Grant for Olive View.  

Karen and I went out for dinner at our local Thai food restaurant.  I was exhausted after work.  

Tai Chi Workshops in Northern California

January 14-17, 2006, Master Yang Jun, Hand Form and Saber Workshop
Stockton, CA.  Information  Website: Raymond Tom   209-952-8582

January 3-5, 2006, Daoist Master Oleg Tcherne, Alchemy of Tui Shou (Push Hands)
Sacramento, CA  Information:William Cranstoun  916-965-0575

Cloud Hands Blog: Taijiquan and Qigong

Writing and computer research in the morning.  Karen and I took a long walk together - a beautiful foggy morning.  I taught Tai Chi and Yoga at the TFFC
gym this morning.  Karen and I went to Home Depot, out to lunch, and shopped for a new cellular telephone.  Worked around the house in the afternoon until sunset.

Reading:

Publishing a Blog with Blogger.  By Elizabeth Castro.  A Visual Quick Start Guide.
Berkeley, CA, Peachpit Press, 2005.  Index, 127 pages.  ISBN: 0321321235.   

Syndicating Web Sites with RSS Feeds for Dummies.  By Ellen Finkelstein.  Hoboken, NJ, Wiley Publishing, 2005.  Index, 326 pages.  ISBN: 0764588486.  

Cloud Hands Blog: Taijiquan and Qigong

Up early.  Writing Olive View grant and editing Mick's resume.  Updated my own resume.  Walking and Tai Chi Chuan practice at dawn.  Work around the house during the day.  

Started the CUESD Librarian's Blog on Blogger.  

Comments and feedback from readers during the month of October:

"I really think your site is amazing. I never thought I was going to find anything like this on the internet. Thank you for such a creative website. I got lost in the poems and found a number of them that I really enjoyed. Thank You."
-   Tracy, October 12, 2005, Re: Nature Mysticism

"The poetry collections that you have on line were a great help to me as I searched for autumn poetry. I really enjoyed browsing your sites and thank you for the hard work you have put into developing these sites! Have a great autumn!!"
-  Cindy Hammond, October 11, 2005, Re: Months

"Actually, I just wanted to write to you to say I enjoyed very much your haikus. I like them because they are straight, simple and lacking intellectual or vocabulary artifices.  They are what a haiku should be- to me.  I write haikus myself. I would like to send you three from my website: atmikananda-painting-haiku.com.  I just spent all night on the hills gazing into the night.  At night, it rains over the sea, and  I dream of distant lands.  There is a sad sad face over the moon as I walk back to my home.  Thanks for your haiku.  All the best.  Haiku gives me peace of my mind in a troubled world."  
-  Alessandro, October 3, 2005, Re: Haiku: Cuttings

"Nice of you to use my quote on BaguaZhang from Sonshi forum and gave credit to the site. ... I am the person nicknamed the Cardinal who wrote that article. It was also nice of you to use quotes from Joe Crandall's book and credited him. He's an associate of mine. Suggested that you can link the title of those books he wrote to his site. ... Other than that, Interesting site!"
-   Cardinal, October 13, 2005, Baguazhang, Eight Diagram Palms Shadow Boxing

"Thank you very much for all the great work the Tai Chi website, I've gotten alot out of it, and share it with other people."
-   Larry H, 28 October 2005

"By saving grace I happened across your site. It is delightful, helpful and just what I needed. Thank you so much for putting this on the web. This fed my soul that which it needed most! Thanks again!"
-   Trina, 23 October 2008

Luo Han (Lohan) Qigong

"One tradition is that the Buddhist teacher, Bodhidharma (448-527 CE), a famous Grand Master of Chan (Zen),
introduced a set of 18 exercises to the Buddhist monks at the Shaolin Temple.  These are known as the 
Eighteen Hands of the Lohan.  This Shaolin Lohan Qigong (i.e., the art of the breath of the enlightened ones), 
"is an internal set of exercises for cultivating the "three treasures" of qi (vital energy), jing (essence), 
and shen (spirit)," according to Howard Choy.  The Kung Fu master, Sifu Wong Kiew-Kit, referring to 
the Shaolin Wahnam style, says "the first eight Lohan Hands are the same as the eight exercises in a 
famous set of chi kung exercises called the Eight Pieces of Brocade."  There are numerous versions,
seated and standing, of Bodhiidharma's exercise sets - including the related "Tendon-Changing and 
Marrow-Washing" qigong set.  Some versions of the 18 Lohan (Luohan) Hands have up to four levels, 
and scores of movement forms for qigong and martial purposes."
-  Michael P. Garofalo, Eight Section Brocade (330Kb)

For a comparison of some of the exercises in the Lohan Qigong with the Eight Section Brocade see my chart on the topic. 

The Luohan Qigong includes a massage or patting training methods, and this is especially popular among Yin Fu Bagua enthusiasts.  Master Xie Pei Qi has a DVD out on the topic.  


Started doing push ups, skipping rope, and Sun Tai Chi each day at home. Started on Mediterranean Diet with Karen.    

Work for CUED from 7:30-4pm.  Weightlifting for 45 minutes at TFFC, Spin class with Tonya, Yogalates class with Laurn.  

"To labor is to pray."
-   Motto of the Benedictines

Master Chang San Feng, circa 1200 CE

"When the winter was really cold and the track outside the temple, where he practiced was covered with snow, Chang liked to go out and enjoy the snow-covered landscape. Where he had walked there were no footsteps - like no one had walked there. ...  It’s also said, that when he was meditating at night, his cultivated energy - the so-called Chi or Jing - would make his coat flap, and the walls around him would shake. This phenomenon indicates, that his energy had reached its peak. He had obtained the state where his Chi had been transformed into Shen or Spirit."
-   Bjørn Darboe Nissen, Tai Chi Chuan and the Human Being   

The webpage on Chang San Feng includes links, book references, quotes, and an introduction to this legendary Qigong Master from the Wu Tang Mountain.  

When time comes for us to again rejoin the infinite stream of water flowing to and from the great timeless ocean, our little droplet of soulful water will once again flow with the endless stream.
-   William E. Marks, The Holy Order Of Water

Pulling Onions

Mistakes may lead to good practices.

-  Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo