Buddhism Question

Chi or Qi
Chi (or Chi), is a fundamental concept of traditional Chinese culture. Chi is believed to be part of everything that exists, as in "life force" or "spiritual energy," It is most often translated as "energy flow," or literally as "air" or "breath". It is pronounced something like "chee" in Mandarin Chinese.

References to chi, and similar philosophical concepts, as the life-process of "flow" in metaphysical energy that sustains living beings are found in many belief systems, especially in Asia. Philosophical conceptions of chi date from the earliest recorded times in Chinese thinking. One of the important early figures in Chinese mythology is Huang Di (the Yellow Emperor). He is often considered a culture hero who collected and formalized much of what subsequently became known as traditional Chinese medicine.

Theories of traditional Chinese medicine assert that the body has natural patterns of chi that circulate in channels called meridians in English. Symptoms of various illnesses are often believed to be the product of disrupted, blocked, or unbalanced chi movement (interrupted flow) through the body's meridians, as well as deficencies or imbalances of chi (homeostatic imbalance) in the various Zang Fu organs.

Traditional Chinese medicine often seeks to relieve these imbalances by adjusting the circulation of chi (metabolic energy flow) in the body using a variety of therapeutic techniques. Some of these techniques include herbal medicines, special diets, physical training regimens (chigong, Tai Chi, and martial arts training), massage to clear blockages, and acupuncture, which uses fine metal needles inserted into the skin to reroute or balance chi.

Thank you Ragman.

Chi or Qi
you're welcome

That should have read: "Chi (or Qi)."

It is the energy of a focused mind. You gather it by focusing all your energy into whatever you're doing.

EpiNirvana, I've never heard of any such force. It sounds somewhat like the LIFE force of "animism".
Esoteric (or "philosophical" as opposed to popular) Buddhism posits no such traits in the "objective" world. There is Dharma and Buddha Nature, but those are metaphors.
We should ask Asherman on this technical point.

mu

Chi


I thought my reply covered this with the info I supplied on Chi? Please scroll back and read. What did I miss here?

"Chi" is an important Chinese concept, and the Ragman's post adequately describes it. Chi is especially important to Taoism, and Taoism in turn was a major influence on how Chinese Buddhism evolved. The I-Ching (Book of Changes) is a famous means of devination and understanding that ultimately is based on Chi.

Sooooooooooo. Chi isn't an essential part of Buddhism prior to the introduction of Buddhism into China. Most Buddhists outside China probably wouldn't recognize the term at all, though the concept itself may linger in a generally minor way. We don't find it in the Theravada writings, nor is it a "big" thing to Buddhists in Southern Asia. Korea and Japan are both cultural copycats of the Chinese, and so the Chi concept remained strong in Mahayana Buddhism. Followers of Zen may occasionally come across the concept ... if they are studious. JLNobody's response above doesn't surprise me at all, and JL may be a Lay Master (though I'm sure he will deny it).

Understanding the concept of Chi is terribly important to the student of Chinese culture, philosophy and religion.

Thanks for the compliment, Ash. I hope to deserve it someday.
I go to a Chinese acupuncturist on occasion and consider the "Chi" she manipates with her technique to be as real as gravity. And while zen buddhists depend on gravity to keep them on their pillows, they never seem to talk about it. Maybe it's the same with Chi.

I wonder if it's related to Tai Chi, the martial arts form. Probably. The philosophy of Tai Chi, as I remember it, seems to be consistent with Ragman's description of chi.

Cryacuz, that's my impression also.

I'm no martial artist, but I have found, through personal experience, that the mental activity of focusing one's energy into a specific purpose makes things considerably easier.

For instance in playing my guitar. I've been doing this for 25 years now, and sometimes when I play, I reach a point where all considerations dwindle, and all my focus is on what I'm doing. When this happens there is no longer a distinction in my mind between myself and the instrument and the tune I'm playing. They merge, and the playing is suddenly so much better than when I make a conscious effort to get it right. I was able to hear the difference because I recorded what I did.

I think it is similar with this chi. Let it flow without mind, and it's almost as if your energies will fullfill your purpose for you.

Cryacuz, that describes my experience with the violin very well. The best performances occur in the absence of player-vioin-music as distinct entitites, and the presence of the unity of the three (and, sometmes, the audience).

Cryacuz, that describes my experience with the violin very well. The best performances occur in the absence of player-vioin-music as distinct entitites, and the presence of the unity of the three (and, sometmes, the audience).

As I see it, this unity of (percieved) entities is at the core of buddhism. If life were a musical piece I'd say that any musician capable of this unity had reached his fullfillment, or enlightenment.

This unity of entities makes playing a joyful experience. If I could expand my understanding of music to apply to everything I'd be capable of sustaining this feeling of joy at all times, and there'd be nothing that could put me off it. But it is a long journey. I've already mastered it to some degree, and I get this feeling every now and then that I am close.

Maybe just a fancy, but there it is. Sometimes I feel such an intense feeling of happiness that I find it hard to contain it within my being.

I do a little Karate. Mindfulness seems to be something to strive for but sometimes, for me, I might get lost in focusing too much on one thing and missing something else, which could be thought of as mindless. Being in tune with the situation and not losing perspective I guess. I don't know much of "Chi", what little I do know seems very interesting though. Now I know more of course!

In terms of Karate, speaking of states of mind and level of performance, striking the balance between knowing what to do, being able to perform said task and lastly, but very importantly, being free of interferences can have such a big impact. I've found the biggest interference to be thoughts of doubt though. Of course, within a class setting, you need to be on your toes in terms of listening and comprehending what's going on for developing new moves etc. In my experience, when learning new stuff, losing the sense of self and of being there to learn something can be detrimental, however, when practising already learned stuff, it makes such a difference. Balance again. It feels like you have to go through a certain sequence to be able to perform to a certain level, being in one state of mind to learn the move and maybe another to memorise/practice it (constructive self criticism) but yet another when performing properly. A lot of it is about repetition, getting the body to react instantly.

It seems to me that martial arts are about flowing movement. This movement, again as I see it, needs to be in tune with a natural, confident "don't think, just do!" attitude. I've had that "in the zone" feeling at times as well. When I'm practising, I'd say this unity of entities is so important because at the heart of it lies a lack of discrimination amongst "things" and therefore a lack of deliberate unhelpful thoughts muddling the mind with plusses and minuses.



I think I sense what you mean and can only hope others do too.

...a lack of deliberate unhelpful thought...

Yes. That is a good way to put it.

I try to convey this whenever I try to teach people to play the guitar. It is the same principle wether you are playing an instrument, practicing martial arts or doing maintenance on a machine.

People often approach me with a kind of incredulity at how easy it is for me to grasp any given problem and find a working solution. I try to explain that it is not because I have any special gifts. I do not. It is just because I have taught myself to focus my mind entirely on what I am doing. If there is a shadow of a doubt in your mind when you set out to do something, you are not directing all your energy towards your goal. Part of the energy actually goes into countering your progress, and this is more often than not the cause of failure.

Absolutely. I remember on one grading, I made a mistake near the very start and at that very moment, I was pretty pissed with myself. The very next moment was a feeling of, "well you've messed up now, that's that, just get on with it". Now that feeling was a gross over-reaction to what was a mistake in terms of memorisation rather than technique or whatever but I remember stepping it up several gears from that point onwards and doing fine, all because I'd lost both the weighty expectation of passing and the doubts of failing.

You say, Cryacuz: "Sometimes I feel such an intense feeling of happiness that I find it hard to contain it within my being."

Americans use the phrase "bursting with joy."

I most enjoy the quiet feeling we sometimes get of completeness, a sense that nothing is needed or unacceptable.