Zen course in Bern, Switzerland

[Luo Lang]

Dear family,

Due to our preparation of another highlight in September upcoming this year I would like to open this new thread to start a discussion about Zen.

To get the discussion rolling I would like to invite you to read the following articles and discussion to have a sound base.

When time is right but not yet please, we will have the great opportunity and chance to continue the great and succesful Q/A series with Sifu by himself with the possibility to ask specific questions.

http://www.shaolin.org/zen/what-is-zen.html

http://www.shaolin.org/zen/zen-and-tao.html

http://www.shaolin.org/general/cultivation.html

http://wongkiewkit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10712&highlight=Zen

What is Zen?

How has it enriched you daily life?

Please share Zen experiences in your daily life (including business and combat) or at one of Sifu's courses!

Let's have a fruitful beneficial discussion.

Best regards,

Roland

[Luo Lang]

Additional note

As an additional note this thread will be a great benefit for all of Sifu's upcoming Chi Kung, Taijiquan, Kung Fu and Zen courses some may realise that this thread will enhance any course you choose to participate. And it will enrich your current training.

[Anthony S]

This is a great idea for a thread, Roland. I look forward to joining in as I have time, hopefully soon. lol

[Andrea]

I am looking forward to both the course in Bern as well as to the preparation and discussion here. Thank you for posting these links Sifu.

[Mark Blohm]

What is Zen?

How has it enriched you daily life?

Dear Siheng,

The most crucial influence of Zen for me has to do with mental clarity. The mental clarity to realize the truth that I am helpless to just help myself. I must respect and follow a Master.

[Binia]

It is indeed wonderful that we may host such a beautiful course Sifu. My first Zen course with Sigung in Praia Grande has a very special place in my heart.

-> How has Zen enriched your daily life?

Just a small example: if I have a problem or face a challenge I tend to think ... and re-think ... and re-consider ... too much when I look for a solution. Through our Zen training I have realized that making a decision and putting it into action makes me indeed less worried and freerer and lighter; irrelevant of the outcome already. Also my ChiKungState of Mind helps me to find a solution faster and it feels more naturally which is supporting too.
This I could already put into action very well in my business life and am very happy that more and more it also works for my private life.

[Irina]

Thank you for posting these links dear Siheng Roland!

I am looking forward to this great opportunity. Thank you for the organisation.

[Luo Lang]

Dear family,

Thanks for your mindful thoughts

Dear Anthony Siheng,
It's a pleasure that you will join. The discussion will be very beneficial if not mind blowing. I had a talk with Sifu about the Q/A series of the Iron Wire Set, the 18 Lohan Arts, the different force training methods and Sifu highlighted that there are invaluable secrtes within the answers openly shared which deepen the understanding and the training of instructors and students.

So the thread will be beneficial in many termes.

Dear Binia,
Thanks for sharing your experience with applying Zen directly into daily life. In fact you are very right, Zen teaches to make desicions simple, effectively and direct. Once a decision is done, we may look at the practical outcome meaning the benefits. Considering that we may or may not reconsider things for another decision. Making decisions is in Zen aspect highly important: rather making a decision which is not the perfect solution, than making no decisions and turn in circles around.

Sifu has given in Italy a great example. Let us imagine Attlio, out great Italian host asks what we would prefer to eat: fish or meat.

A common response or thinking of many people would be as follows:

Well I like fish but I prefer meat. But fish is more healthy is has less fat and contents a lot of essential acids. But where is the fish coming from? Maybe it contents cause of polution a lot of metal. What is the difference between sea fish and lake fishes? Italy is also well known for river fishes, what is the next river close by? Well I stick on meat then, but yesterday I have already eaten meat. Actually I need proteins what is better fish or meat.......and so on.

A common Zen answer is:
Yesterday I eat meat, today I am gonna try the fish.

The most crucial influence of Zen for me has to do with mental clarity. The mental clarity to realize the truth that I am helpless to just help myself. I must respect and follow a Master.

Dear Brother Mark,
A wonderful account. In Zen tradition as in other genuine Arts, the Master is highly important to lead a student at right time with right instructions or Gong Ans. This is most probably quite a special thing in Zen. Maybe we could elaborate more on this aspect.....

http://www.shaolin.org/zen/gong-an.html

Best regards,

[Luo Lang]

A moment of Zen

To give some food for the discussion I would like to share an experience which happened a couple of year's ago:

Originally posted by Luo Lang:

Dear family,
Finally I would like to share a for me deep life experience, an experience of Zen, with divine help.

The experience took place on my Spain trip with Riccardo Puleo, when driving with his car through Spain and France, back to Switzerland to catch up Sifu at the Airport of Zürich.

Riccardo and I were driving from San Sebastian on through France, when we decided to have a short break with dinner in the evening about eleven o'clock.
We had a very nice dinner and it was meant that Riccardo would drive on to to find a hotel close to the Swiss boarder.
Somehow I spontaneoulsy took the key and decided to drive the last few kilometres.
As it was a freeway we could drive with about 120 kilometres per hour. The road was free and quite when we entered a tunnel. Coming out of it, all of a suddenthere was a big thik fog , we couldn't see anything anymore. I slowed down, but everything wnt on very fast. In my mind eye I could 'feel' a car standing still very close in front of us. We still had at least 80-90 k/h when I camly alter course to the left to avoid a full crash. On the left side the same, another car standing still, so I alter course to the right when I reduced the speed drastically to go the emergency lane on the right. Riccardo wisely told me not to stop but to drive on carefully, as to avoid cars crashing into us from the back. The fog was very very thik, it was not a natural fog. We even had this fog, actually it was fume in our car through the air condition.

What we heard then was quite shocking for us: behind us we could clearly hear the cars chrashing into eachother. It was terrible to hear that kind of sound, but Riccardo told me to drive on slowly. After some metres we passed a truck and noticed that he was burning. The fume was created by a burning truck, that was the reason, why the fume was so penetrating.
We drove on and when passing the truck it was clear suddenly. We could notice that on the other side of the freeway, ther were already people who were calling I guess the police and ambulance, so we wre sure that people would care. So we decided to move on slowly, using the principle safetly first.

Even after the almost fatal crash I was somehow very calm and quite. Neverthe less at this night I could hardly sleep. I was kind of very happy and a little emotional, honestly said I had to release some tears.

The way I could see was very very slow motion, as I would have all time of the world. also my reaction was feeling very slow. At this very moment, I could clearly feel a hand assisting the car to get safety out of the danger.

When getting Sifu from the Airport we told him the story and he told us that the reaction was a good result of the Kung Fu training. He also thought that we have got some divine help.

At the course in Switzerland after everything was different. I could feel and recieve things in a much different way. When joining the Merging with the Cosmos course I had a kind of satori I have never had so far. As I flicked my fingers tree times I just let go and suddenly there was a feeling like a kind of explosion or implosion. As I had my eyes open I could not only feel but 'see' for a short moment, that everything was still and expanidng. Not only I would expand, but everything of mine would melt with the surrounding. At this moment my eyes saw Sifu smiling at me, when he after completing the execise said. congratulations.

The day Sifu left from Switzerland Andrea my student, Maxime and I we showed him some nice places to see by car, when Sifu said he would like to be at the Airport at about 14.30.
We went eating icecream (Sifu had two) drove a little around, enjoying ourselves and finally we drove to the Airport. We entered the garage and parked the car. At the very same time Sifu and I had a look on the car's clock and when at this time the timer went from 14.29 to 14.30 Sifu's reaction was: very good timing hahahaha.

I would like to thank you Sifu for everything. Thank you for your patience and your generousity to teach me in the Shaolin Arts. I can truly say, that the Arts have safed my life in may different ways. Thank you from the heart.

I would also like to Thank my Sigung Ho and Lai Sitaigung Yang and the Great Sage.

Namo Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa,

With love and respect,

Roland

[sancrica]

About Zen Course Glimpse in Intensive Chi Kung Course

Dear Shaolin Wahnam Family,

The Zen Course is one of my pending courses. It has been so for a couple of years. I hope that I can assist really really soon. And, after having a glimpse of it, I deserve it even more.

Now, I will speak a little bit about that glimpse that I had when I did the Intensive Chi Kung Course this past April.

We all know that Sifu is incredibly generous. Actually, when I went to the Intensive Course, I didn't expect to have a little practice of "using Zen for finding answers to problems." But, as usual, Sifu always gives me more than what I was expecting. :-)

We just expend 5 minutes on the exercise but I was so amazed with the results that my interest for the Zen Course increased by infinite times.

I am still astonished by the way Sifu transmits skills. It is such an amazing mistery. :-)

I don't remember having my mind so clear of thoughts before. It is hard to describe it. Time didn't exist. In fact, I could only see "My Question." I guess that this is what Sifu refers as "One Pointed Mind." Then I focused on the "Solution." Nothing else existed again. I could only just see "The Answer."

Why do I want to do the "Zen Course"? Well, that is a very easy question. As I have to take thousands of decisions everyday for the rest of my life... having a tool that helps me to find "the best available solutions" it is an invaluable tool that I don't want to miss. :-)

Thanks Sifu for being there and for sharing these profound teachings with us. Thanks to all the Wahnam Family for being all over the world.

Shaolin Salute,

Santiago

[Luo Lang]

Dear Santiago,
Thanks for your inspiring post!

But, as usual, Sifu always gives me more than what I was expecting. :-)

We just expend 5 minutes on the exercise but I was so amazed with the results that my interest for the Zen Course increased by infinite times.

I am still astonished by the way Sifu transmits skills. It is such an amazing mistery. :-)

Yes, Sifu is indeed incredibly generous. Last year at the Sinew Metamorphosis course Sifu went into Zen quite intensively, teaching students how to speak out from Dantien and how to learn to put right questions to given answers and vice versa.

That said, I was simply touched when Sifu agreed to offer a Zen course with specific goals to be learnt. I will go into those details later on. What I can say so far is, that the problem solving will be one of the topics.

It will be a great opportunity for interested students and instructors to learn and experience and apply Zen for daily life in just one single day.

[Grimlock]

Roland,

One of the many things I admire about you is your ability to let go of a decision you have made in the past, regardless of whether you believe it was a "good" or "bad" decision. This, to me, is another aspect of Zen. Many people (myself included, though I'm getting better at it) stay attached to past decisions they made, and in so doing, allow themselves to be negatively affected in the present by something from long ago.

It's one thing to think, "I did X, but maybe I should have done Y instead", learn the lesson as best you can, and move on. It's another thing to hold onto the thought, "I can't believe I did X! Why didn't I do Y instead?"

[Luo Lang]

we do take care but don't worry

Dear Chris,
Thanks for your nice comments. My development is indeed a result from the Zen practice we recieve from training our Arts. Not hanging for too long in the past is also Zen you are right.

Exessive worries and thoughts bout past decisions affect life quality and enjoyment tremendously. It does not mean we should forget all about it. But it means we should not worry, but rather taking care.

Then the perception of a decision or a happening is highly important in Zen termes.

"I did X, but maybe I should have done Y instead"

"I can't believe I did X! Why didn't I do Y instead?"

Allthough X may not have the best decision done it served its purpose.

When we were driving to the chi kung course part 2 in Bern our (Sifu and mine) driver decided to take another way (X), allthough way 1 (Y) to the pace venue was clear and succesful, yet he thought to make an improvement. We ended up driving around around beeing half an hour too late at class. Sifu's comment in front of class was: "what a beautyful landtrip we had, I had a complete sightseeing of this beautyful capital of Switzerland, thanks to our driver."

It gave Sifu the momentum to highlight many important Zen aspects to look at things. Students were mind blown away.

Sifu's perception was positive and gave him an incredible momentum to go into the depth of high Zen teachings. Something which may not have happened if we took normal way (Y). What was so special? The practical result of beeing late had done it's purpose greatly. Not only students were offered deep insights but furthermore the teachings pushed them up to another level. Yet no one would remember the incident that we drove around in circles beeing late, but rather what extraordinary training session. Another great practical result of students waiting was that they started to exchange thoughts and experiences with eachother. For new ones a invaluable leasson of socialising with advanced ones.

Nevetheless the next class, allthough way x did it's purpose we did way y again, cause at the end it was more time effective.

Best regards

[Guest]

Dear Roland Sihing,

I appreciate you sharing that experience you had in the tunnel.

Thank you,

Shamsher.

[Luo Lang]

Dear Shamsher,

The pleasure is on my side.

I had another such an experience of Zen before Chun Nga's wedding on beautyful Island Lankawi.

Best regards,