Now that I’m back in the Tempe area, I thought it would be a good time to revive this blog a bit and write about our local martial arts classes more often, or just post either martial arts, or meditation related things that I think are kind of cool, but aren’t necessarily appropriate for my blog on https://iliqchuan.com. Hopefully, you’ll think they’re cool too and want to come train with us!
I came across a couple of posts (the Thich Nhat Hanh quote above and the video below) on Facebook today that were completely independent of each other, but sort of on the same topic that I thought I would share, because they reminded me of something that is very important to I Liq Chuan (and meditation) which is the concept of “right view”.
Sifu often says “your view is blocking your view!”
“Everyone is right from their own point of view, but what is your reference point for viewing?”
In other words, if you’re looking at a situation from the common point of reference, which is our past experience, then you’re point of view is filtered by the mental feelings of “like and dislike”, and you’re responding and reacting to the situation rather than acting mindfully.
In short, you don’t see things clearly.
In a self defense situation, the dangers of not seeing things clearly should be obvious.
Sifu gave a talk in Poland where he said “I Liq Chuan teaches you to understand [the] condition, [the] situation. So, if you see a situation of danger, you don’t walk into it—you walk away. Avoid danger. All this is part of the training.
Getting yourself in the proper situation, [is] like feng shui, the Chinese belief of putting things in good coordination so it doesn’t disturb you. [ex: chair in front of door…over time, will annoy you, affect you.]
I thought the video below was an interesting example of what happens when you use past experience to try and judge a situation [or person]. Like the three blind men arguing about an elephant.
If you would like to check out our Tempe, AZ martial arts classes, give us a call at 315-628-0777 and take advantage of the special offer below!