The Gompa Electronic News Letter - Vol.1 #1. August 2000. Copyright© IAM Co.2000. Reprints for friends allowed. Distribution of contents for sale or profit is a violation of federal copyright laws. The Gompa or place of quiet study was created by John Painter Ph.D. ND to provide an intimate setting for a personal learning experience in the Chinese and Tibetan internal health and martial arts. The Gompa as part of IAM Co. and the Life Sciences Qi Research Institute just celebrated its 29th year of instruction. The center enjoys an international reputation for excellence in teaching the Chinese and Tibetan healing, philosophical and martial art practices. FEATURE ARTICLE. Origin of the Taiji Principle. Yes, I know almost everyone who practices the martial art calls Taijiquan (Tai Chi Ch'uan) Taiji. The truth is they are using incorrect terminology when they do so. Today it is common for people to say, "I practice Taiji." When what they really mean is that they practice Taijiquan. Taiji is not Taijiquan. It was derived from the concepts of Taiji but saying I practice Taiji is like saying "I play base" base what? Oh, you mean baseball, fine then say so. Taiji is the Yin and Yang concept. Yin and Yang is derived from the philosophical principle of the Yijing and is called Taiji. Taijiquan is the martial art derived from Taiji. Why all the fuss. Well I guess it is because Westerners are so casual with things that I was brought up to believe are special and yes even sacred terms. Tai in Chinese is the word for great or ultimate. Expressing something that is very important or a big idea. While Ji (Chi) originally meant "utmost point" or main principle The Chinese character for Ji was derived from a representation in characters of a "ridgepole" that supports the center of a structure. Combined the two characters are Taiji and mean the one true principle or the supporting idea of nature. This is a reference to the concept of universal law. In Chinese thought this law was explained through the interaction of the twin polar energies Yin and Yang. The first mention of these two interdependent principles is described in the Yijing or book of changes and Lao Zi's Dao De Jing, Classic of the Way. Daoist Did Not Invent Yin & Yang. While the three main branches of Chinese philosophy, Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism all use the Yin and Yang or Taiji Du symbol (double fish diagram) in their philosophical and medical practices Taiji has become in the Western mind associated with Daoism. This concept of polar opposites, Yin and Yang and the word Dao originated in China's pre-history long before even the Daoist, Confucians or Buddhists sects arose. It was first discussed by the legendary First Emperor, Fuxi around 2730 BCE in his writing on the Yijing and was expanded upon over thousands of years by the three branches of Chinese thought. When early Chinese man felt the winter air grow cold and the trees fell bare, he believed that life was over. There would be no more warmth. But with the advent of another summer, followed by another winter, man noticed a developing cycle. Realizing this helped early man in China to understand and bring order into the chaos of life. This recognition eventually led emperor Fuxi to begin recording what was to become the Yijing (Book of Changes). The yin/yang's white and black hemispheres evolved over time. They became symbolic of everything physical, spiritual and emotional in the universe-male (yang), female (yin); sun (yang), moon (yin). For everything up there is a down. For every back there is a front. The Taiji Du. In time the common people of China and the Daoists adopted this version of the symbol of Master Chou, Tun-I. It is the "double fish diagram" and is often mistakenly called the Yin and Yang. This icon is actually called Taiji Du or grand ultimate terminus principle. The black and white curved circles fitting into each express the Dao of eternal wholeness. The unbroken line surrounding the two symbolizes Wuji or void from which creation began. While the reversed S shaped curved line in the center simply divides the two. The two dots mean that nothing is ever absolute. Each thing contains just a little of the essence of the other. Taiji Du also represents continuous interaction or movement. There is no separate Yin without Yang or Yang without Yin. The two are part of one whole the Taiji and the Taiji is the creative principle of Dao. Daoists who studied the Yijing devised an earlier version of this symbol. It is remarkable for those who study the ancient methods of creating life force energy or Qi. This symbol was a blank circle with the trigram for Fire and the trigram for Water from the Yijing curved so as to fit in a circle touching at each end. This was symbolic of controlling the fire of emotions with the water of reason while attaining an inner stillness. Such a condition creates correct homeostasis and thus increases Qi energy in the human body. Internal martial arts like Taijiquan use this Yin and Yang concept or Taiji as the basis for their core principles but so also do the methods of Xingyiquan and Baguazhang although they are expressed in different forms. PHILOSOPHERS DESK. Chapter I. Lao Zi's Daodejing Realization of Dao. The Dao that can be described is not the real Dao; The names that can be spoken Are not the real names. The nameless is the source of the ten thousand things, The origin of Heaven and Earth, That with a name is the mother of the ten thousand things. Therefore, those who relinquish desire can see into the mystery. Those with desire will be confronted with the manifestations. These two named and nameless are in nature the same; They are given labels when they come into being. Some call this the cosmic mystery. The mystery appear as darkness; Darkness within darkness is the gateway to the secret. Commentary : In the first of Lao-Zi's eight one chapters of the Daodejing (classic of the way of virtuous energy) he begins by telling us that he cannot tell us what Dao is. This is a perplexing puzzle that is found in the writings of all great spiritual teachers. While Dao is not God Dao is the how of God. Dao is the creative principle of all and so we see in the words of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274 AD) echoed Lao Zi's ideas about man's inability to explain the mystery of the creative essence when he said " The true nature of God is hidden, inaccessible to human reason. All that man knows of God is to know that he does not know God. What man does know is that God surpasses all understanding. Therefore, all that one can say about God is not truth!" It seems to me that this is the same as the secret mystery of the Dao as Lao Zi says, "Darkness within darkness the gateway to the secret." READERS QUESTIONS. Q.Dear Dr. Painter. How valuable and important do you think biofeedback training and also thing like NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) is in regards to our martial art research and development? Is it a good tool to use us in understanding Qi flow etc.? A.This is one of my pet subjects as my minor in college was psychotherapy and my focus was on hypnotherapy with an emphasis on the use of guided imagery in ancient cultures. For learning to reduce stress and understand the feelings that occur in the body, as one becomes less tense bio-feedback and NLP are is a great tools. That is provided one does not become linked to the machines as the only source of feedback. We can use them to give us a start and a feeling but then we have to become internal sensitive enough to feel when these changes are taking place and how to bring them on. As far as Qi goes saying the word Qi without a modifier is like saying sports and not identifying the sport. Qi simply means unseen energy and this comes in many forms for example Gu Qi is for the food we eat. Qi is not a thing or a substance it is an idea a concept or a word used to identify unseen feelings and movements that occur when nature and the body are in a state of homeostasis. All Qigong exercise is ruled by the following Chinese maxim. "The mind commands, the body moves and Qi follows." My thirty years experience with Qigong has taught me that it is really a form of guided imagery or using mental imagery to produce a desired effect. So NLP comes under this category. Of course my Shifu Mr. Li would be horrified at the thought of using a machine, wires and such to feel what we should be able to sense naturally. APOTHECARY. Vegetables Help Lower Prostate Cancer Risk. Vegetable intake, particularly intake of cruciferous vegeta-bles such as cauliflower and broccoli, substantially lowers the risk of prostate cancer in men, according to a report by Dr. Jennifer Cohen, University of Washington, Seattle, that was published the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (92: 61-68, 2000). However, prostate cancer risk was not affected by fruit intake. Case participants included 628 men from the Seattle area who were newly diagnosed with prostate cancer. Control participants included 602 men recruited from the same population who matched case partic-ipants by age. When Cohen's team considered total vegetable intake, they found that men who ate 28 or more servings of vegetables per week had a 35 percent lower risk of prostate cancer compared with men who ate fewer than 14 servings per week. In addition, men who ate three or more servings of cruciferous veg-etables per week had a 41 percent decreased risk of prostate cancer com-pared with men who ate less than one serving per week, even after the researchers accounted for total vegetable intake. IN THE NEWS. We are saddened to report the closing of the Tai Chi Farm in Warwick New York due to the untimely death of our good friend Master Jou, Tsung-Hwa. Master Jou who produced the annual Zhan Sang Feng Taijiquan festival the premier gathering of serious internal arts practitioners is gone and so is the farm. Efforts had been made to preserve the property, however the Jou family at last report has sold the property. The annual Jiulong Baguazhang Gathering of the Circle a week long retreat at the farm sponsored by Master Jou the week following the festival will not be held this year. A new location on both the East and West Coast is being sought for the growing numbers of Nine Dragon Baguazhang students. Dr. Painter Receives Award On May 20th Dr. John Painter will attend a banquet sponsored by the Texas Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He is to receive a life time achievement award for his contribution to the Chinese martial arts spanning a 30 year period. Dr. Painter is the owner of the oldest Chinese martial arts and Qigong School in Texas. Texas martial arts instructors elected Dr. Painter and several other martial arts instructors in Texas to this honor. A display honoring Dr. Painter will be placed in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in the new martial arts wing. Legal Notice. The name Nine Dragon Baguazhang - Jiulong Baguazhang and the Chinese characters for this name are registered international trademarks (TM) belonging to IAM Co. Representatives for the Li family. The use of this name or Chinese characters to represent any form of internal health or martial arts by anyone other than a registered member of the Jiulong Baguazhang International Association is a federal crime. Beware of imitators selling books and videos using the name Nine Dragon Baguazhang.

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