Dear orange_soda,
There is no argument, only mutual sharing and learning.
Your attachment to plurality is understandable, given your youth. At a
certain stage in our development, we need boundaries, because we are
seeking to differentiate ourselves from others. We are trying to find
identity, the "I-ness" apart from the "We-ness." This is the stage of the
Athlete and the Warrior. We declare with great certitude: Red is not
Blue, Green is not Purple, and we believe anyone who can't or won't
acknowledge their obvious differences is either blind or irrational. Oh,
how wise we are in our own eyes.
But then we realize: Boundaries are but illusions, completely artificial.
Red, blue, green and purple, so apparently different from one perspective,
are all the same in essence. There is no separation, only unity.
This oneness forms the basis of all Chinese ideology and is the
cornerstone of Tao. What can appear more separate than the Yin and
the Yang, the idealization of opposite extremes? And yet, Tao says they are
in fact one. Substitute any opposite extremes you can think of and you
will find the same oneness which binds them both. "Medical" vs.
"Martial." Or, "Matter" vs. "Mind." Or, "Male" vs. "Female." Or,
"Space" vs. "Time." Or an infinite number of dichotomies which our
human natures like to distinguish. According to Tao, they are all one.
And there is truth in Tao.
When we begin to realize that what appears totally different and separate
are in fact one and the same, at that moment, we take a firm step ahead on
the Path of Tao.
Perhaps it is because you are learning Qi in a modern, competitive culture
that the Tao of unity is obscured. Less enlightened teachers get their
bread and butter from drawing lines in the sand: "MY system is distinct,
so come learn from ME." But a true master of Qi has the opposite
attitude: "Qi is everywhere and everything, and there are an infinite
number of ways to appreciate and develop it. I happen to know one, and I
am humbled and honored to share it with you." I hope you will find a true
master of Qi to learn from.
Personally, I know nothing more than any of the great teachers of any of
the great systems which are based on Tao. Separateness is only an
illusion. Separateness is a convenience for our limited natures. To
insist upon and emphasize them is contrary to Tao. To look beyond
separation with a unifying light is Tao.
Meditate upon this in your practice of Qi (whichever flavor of the month
you desire), and you will begin to come to this realization, too. You
must, because it is Tao.
Best,
HF
