“Wanting to meet an author because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pâté.” —Margaret Eleanor Atwood Canadian Poet & Novelist 1939 — I read Tao Te Ching, Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain and Tao, the Watercourse Way in 1974, just after graduating from University; wanting to

    The bullies were behind the fence as I came home. Returning from a birthday party, I had a balloon, a piece of cake on a paper plate, and some still wrapped take-home goodies. It was a fun day. Lots of other kids, games, food. Not a care. Then came the two block walk

  “Thieves can only steal what they can see. Wisdom isn’t stolen.” — Jen Roshi Temple of the Immortals While Jiayi, the old Monk was bathing, a thief sneaked into his hut and made off with his robe, staff and begging bowl. Several days later, a man entered the baker’s shop and selected a loaf

Sweeping the Dojo Sweeping the temple outside of Chiya Yi City, Taiwan “You can buy an hour of Teaching. But Interest is much more expensive, and must be exchanged for in kind.” — Shifu Jennifer Yuki-San visited our Dojo, and being the perfect guest, he arrived early to help set up, then stayed late to

Gathering Chi “Most people are simply Cut Flowers. Severed from their root, they slowly and continuously expend energy until, in the end, they wither and die.” —Chungliang “Al” Huang Founder of Living Tao Foundation Chinese-American Philosopher, Teacher and TaiJi Dancer So why do we practice TaiJi? Because the movement, the slow speed, the meditation –

A Single Day   John Singer Sargent is said to have completed a portrait of a famous client in a single day and sent a bill for $30,000 which the client disputed in court. Sargent was questioned by the Judge: “Mr. Sargent, is it true that you charged him $30,000 for a single day of

Stop Doing & Be “Meditation is not the addition of another kind of doing where you “sit down and do some special activity.” Instead, it’s about stopping the Do-ing and simply enjoying Be-ing. We’re not human “Do-ings” though many of us might think so… We are indeed, Human Be-ings.” Master Chungliang (Al) Huang Founder, Living

Sink Into Tao “Don’t Think! SINK!” Master Huang Teaching on the campus of National Chiayi University,Taiwan I was a dutiful student. Working hard at shutting up and doing what I was told. Hard. After all, I had a lifetime of external, hard style martial arts at my disposal. I knew I had to hit it

Testing the Truth Rely not on the teacher, but on the teaching. Rely not on the words of the teaching, but on the spirit of the words. Rely not on theory, but the experience. Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they’ve been handed down

Everything Right There: The Bow “Bowing is the ‘First Form’ of TaiChi. It alone is a microcosm of the entire art.” There is a lot of ritual, history and lore in our tradition. But to get right into practice, start with the bow. Getting Set: Feet under Shoulders. Toes pointed slightly in toward each other.