Andrey Ramses Qigong in the Buddhist and Taoist Traditions

practical guide for beginners

“Fighting the enemy and defeating him is not the highest achievement. The highest achievement is to break the resistance of the enemy without going into battle.

Sun Tzu "The Art of War"

FOREWORD

Thirteen years ago, I read a book by Shaolin qigong master Mr. De Chan (translated by Vinogorodsky) “Controlling Breathing Qigong in the Shaolin Tradition”. At that time I was seriously ill. Diseases were not fatal, but living with them was not easy either.

The book described 6 basic qigong breathing methods that changed my whole life. Not only did I learn these methods and thereby improve my health, but I also began to collect practical techniques. And also became an instructor in martial arts.

As a representative of traditional Western medicine, I was amazed at how you can get rid of the most complex diseases through simple breathing exercises, smooth movements and light massage. With prolonged practice, the body became insensitive to pain, which was called "iron" or "steel", the practitioner began to open extrasensory abilities.

Unfortunately, Mr. Te Chan gave a minimal description of the techniques and it is very difficult for an ignorant person to figure out where the theory is and where the practice is.

At the stadium, people often ask me about my classes and ask me to teach them hand-to-hand combat or how to become healthy. All this led me to the idea of ​​writing a practical qigong manual for beginners.

Sincerely,

Andrew Ramses.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I express my sincere gratitude and gratitude to respected teachers, mentors: Andrey, Gong Yi, Arima-san, Igor Shapin, Bengavaza and Vik for their kind attitude and information provided.

Special thanks to my first teacher Sambor V.A.

INTRODUCTION

theory and reasoning

“The one who has suppressed desires, who has no connection with the roots, whose pasture is emptiness. Unmarked and free. That path is as unknown as the flight of birds in the sky.

Boethius

Today there is a lot of debate about whose style is better and the evaluation criterion in this matter is the ability of a representative of the style to beat everyone.

Even serious schools have the same sin. For example, Shaw's followers Tao tell a story about a sage who could not protect himself from a foreign warrior and died. However, here it is necessary to apply the method of different interpretations of the same event. There is another story of the show about testing students. One student ran away. According to one version, this is a coward, and according to another, he was given the task of running away, playing a coward. If you follow the same logic, then the sage himself could wish for death, and the warrior only appeared as the executor of this desire. Indeed, in the east, methods of voluntary departure from life were practiced. For example, in the practice of the "external pill" of immortality, the Taoist would make poison and then take it. Apparently, the samurai adherence to sepuk has the same roots as the external "pill".

Maybe the sage chose this way of leaving life? Or maybe he created a phantom, and he quietly retired. The warrior killed the imaginary sage. Note the statement of Boethius at the beginning of this chapter. How can we judge the actions of a sage if we do not know his ways? We can only give our own judgment. But we don't know the cause or the effect. Everyone has their own, really. So it is with martial arts. It is impossible to give an exact answer to the question of whether they are hand-to-hand combat, a form of medicine, religion or meditation.

My friend, who has been practicing Wing Chun for many years, told me: “For many years I have been thinking about why martial arts arose in the east, and it seems that now I know the answer, people there were more cruel, aggressive than in the west.. Therefore, they were "given" a system that would allow them to get rid of aggression. There is a lot of light at the end of the path." What my friend meant was that in the higher stages of martial art practice, you give up aggression: fighting, fighting, using force. Traditional Buddhism forbids harming living beings, and people were rude and cruel, and then they were offered a system that allows them to give up violence through the practice of martial arts. The adept of martial art masters three stages of mastery:

The first stage is health. The practice of any martial art leads to better health. If your studies have not strengthened you, then this is no longer a martial art.

The second stage is the acquisition of siddhis (super quality or super strength).

Sidhis should be understood as those abilities and skills that you acquire as a result of the practice of martial arts and with which you didn't have before.

The third stage is enlightenment or Buddhahood.

This stage is the ultimate goal of Buddhism and Taoism.

SOME THEORETICAL POSTULATES

Six levels of mastering internal styles:

1. body movement;

2. movement of breath;

3. movement of consciousness.

4. movement (regulation) of Qi;

5. Shen movement (spirit-mind).

6. renunciation of control over any action - zhudin (immersion in contemplation).

“From the Great Void, from SOMETHING (UJI), the Great Limit was born - TAIJI, which gave rise to two Great Beginnings - Yin and Yang, which gave rise to the darkness of things. And ten thousand things fell into the Void again."

Master De Chan.

In the beginning, you are in a state of not knowing - UJI. Starting to practice, you learn to distinguish in yourself TAIJI, which means the division into Yin and Yang (two opposite principles that make up our Universe). In Qigong, Yin and Yang can be thought of as inhalation and exhalation, right and left, up and down, tension and relaxation, front and back of the body, the path of fire, water, and so on. When you do the exercises, you study thousands of objects and their variations. But the meaning of the practice is to reduce all these changes to Yin and Yang. When you can clearly distinguish which element refers to what, then you move on to the next stage of the return to the Void - WUJI. In this state, you give up control over body movements, breathing, and consciousness, and you may even stop breathing altogether for a period of time. This is the Judin. It is described by Zhou Zonghua in the book “The Tao of Meditation”: “Suddenly, against your will, breathing automatically stops. It has been missing for a long time. Then there is very weak prenatal breathing…. When people reach the top of a mountain, they do not argue over whose path was wiser, but simply look around the earth and sky, feeling awe and peace. And they come back again and again to experience this sense of the totality of being.”

As a result of practice, a true balance is gained and nothing can disturb it: a hungry tiger, an evil person, a rampant element bypass you. Just by your presence, you are able to eliminate conflicts and struggles. Instead of chaos, harmony, instead of a duel, peaceful coexistence.

In the picture "Harmony" the master stops two fighting samurai armed with swords. The master has a weapon in a scabbard. If the master did not have balance in himself and was not in a state of Void, then rather he would have to fight with both samurai.

FIRST PART

I. GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendations are not rules or regulations that must be strictly adhered to, they are something that can be changed, but recommendations have been tested empirically for generations. People who practiced these methods noticed that under certain conditions the techniques they performed were more effective than in other cases. This can be called a tradition. However, the basic principle of Chinese philosophy is the "principle of change"

Therefore, at more advanced stages of training, deviation from the recommendations is allowed.

For example, it is not necessary to breathe in a sitting position, you can lie down, stand, or move. It is also possible to cross the legs in a sitting position. All this and much more is allowed only if the basic principles on which the system is built are not violated.

These principles will be detailed in the practical description of breathing techniques.

CONTRAINDICATIONS TO EXERCISES

Serious mental disorders. The use of drugs and psychotropic drugs, alcohol.

ROOM

We recommend exercising outdoors in calm weather, or in a well-ventilated area that is free of drafts and free of any fragrances or chemicals. Aromas can have a certain effect on the psyche, and chemicals will distort the effect and can cause allergic reactions. You may feel: loss of appetite, sleep disturbance, general malaise; irritation; nausea, headache, and in more severe situations, attacks may develop: anaphylactic shock; asthma attacks. In some cases, loss of consciousness up to collapse is possible.

It is not recommended to practice indoors, the walls or floor of which are covered with tiles, as well as with linoleum, it should be covered with a carpet.

It is not recommended to practice with electrical appliances turned on, especially a computer. It is also undesirable to watch TV, listen to radio or music. At later stages, it is permissible to listen to music, preferably relaxing.

pets and houseplants during practice is better to keep in another room. In particular, the reaction of animals to your activities may be inadequate.

Also, one should not communicate with other people during the practice. All contact must be stopped during class.

CLOTHES

It is best to practice naked. In this case, women are advised to cover the groin area. However, you can not be naked in the cold. In general, you should not be cold or sweaty from excess clothing. Clothing, if