227. 📗 Baguazhang art of war - Being one with the Tao

Sometimes I wish I could tell people that once you have discovered the Tao, your life will miraculously get better and that everything that has happened in your life prior to enlightenment would have been worth it. But the truth is, the Tao professed in spiritual circles is a lot more exciting in The Imagination of Beforehand , than when you actually get there. Part of the problem stems from seeking the Tao that belongs to other people rather than your own way. And (the other part of the problem is) from the fact that most people only have one version of the Tao as explained in the Tao Te Ching to measure against. The Tao Te Ching is only one path of many and is not necessarily the true way. It is for some people but not everybody. For most people, the Tao Te Ching is just another path of struggle, whose rewards at the end do not compensate adequately the struggles to be had. Sure. It’s usually at this point that somebody will say that the journey and the struggle are rewards unto themselves (true), and that the destination is only the end (also true). But if the Tao was a river, does that mean that the Yangtze River in China is the only river? China and the world has many rivers, and they all lead to the same ultimate ocean. And the person floating down the Nile in Africa or the Murray-Darling Rivers in Australia will need different maps to survive and overcome different challenges along the way. Sometimes, though, the map does not exist and in cross-referencing everything along the way, a new fresh map becomes apparent: This is what the four books of “The Baguazhang Art of War” series is about. Too many martial artists are mentally feeding off the past, while lost in the present. Too many of us fantasise over the heroics of our distant masters without actually understanding the deeper significance of their journeys, let alone being able to translate those stories into something relevant for our present situation. I know this because if you have quit your martial art this year because the Coronavirus is stopping you from practicing your art with your mates, then you have missed the point, massively, with regards to your martial ancestors: They lived and prospered in a world riddled with nasty diseases every single day. And most of those diseases were only starting to be eradicated mid-last century. Compared to them, our world is the fantasy world they dreamed of. Now, if you have kept up your training, then you would now know a thing or two about your particular martial arts way toward the Tao. Even if it is only a gut feeling. Relish that gut feeling. It is a blessing. A gift from the Tao itself: An unseen guide informing you that you are truly on the way to being one with the Tao.