"One Life. One TaiChi."

Purple Cloud Temple, Wudang Shan, Hubei Provence, China



In the ancient Taoist Temple of Wudang, high in the mountains of Southern China, "Apprenticeship" was a coveted entry point on the path of becoming a Priest. In the practice of TaiChi (Supreme Ultimate), the journey was long and arduous: Apprentice, Monk, then Master, Priest and perhaps; Abbot.

One day, two young apprentices, Diang and Tua were called to a task. Tua was a cunning lad, and hid in the stable to play. He said, "Now is not my time for work! I am not called to feed the animals 'til this afternoon." Diang however, dragged himself heavily into the Great Hall, resigned to helping the monks as they moved tables and chairs and placed incense burners and torches in preparation for a temple gathering.

Watching the monks at work, awe set in as he witnessed the delicate speed and silent grace with which they effortlessly lifted and moved the heavy furniture. Then, instead of shirking, he began to follow their movements and was soon "swept up in the ballet" in which few men were able to swiftly and silently accomplish their task.

"How do you manage to move with such elegant simplicity?" he asked a Monk. "I thought moving furniture was a struggle of strength and sweat!" "TaiChi!" said the Monk.

"Wait, I know TaiChi!" said Diang. "That's the morning dance in the courtyard! But this is something else!"

"What we practice in the courtyard is TaiChi" said the Monk; "but what we live every day is TaiChi as well. There is no ‘wall between parts’ of life. It's One life, One TaiChi. However, seen from different viewpoints, TaiChi shows many faces... Courtyard TaiChi. Great Hall TaiChi. Kitchen TaiChi!" he said, smiling...

When the work was complete, Diang returned to his post in the kitchen -- still taken with the image of the bulky furniture seemingly "floating into position." He began to wonder about "Kitchen TaiChi..."

As his tenure in the Temple lengthened, that Task in the Great Hall was a memorable influence on his daily activity. He imitated the Monks in their movements, style and attitude. "Float, Flow and Follow" became the mantra which directed not only mornings in the courtyard, but also his daily life.

One day, a passing elder noticed Diang on task in the kitchen -- smoothly, silently, gracefully at work -- moving from wok to kettle to cauldron in a beautiful demonstration of "Moving Meditation." Summoned to the Great Hall that afternoon, he was invited by the Abbot to join the Brotherhood and become a Monk. Tua, still looking for fast pleasure and deferring work 'til later, remained in the kitchen, playing...

Decades later, Diang indeed became Abbott of Wudang Temple. He had found the Way in a single instant -- "the Lesson in the Great Hall," which he absorbed and applied everywhere as the great teacher he would become...

 

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