Letting go

The other day, whilest I was being taught Tai'Chi (yang style) by my father, I noticed, that to acheive perfection in the art, you had to entirely focus your mind on your body movement. You could not be thinking about other things, you could not be worrying about things, or be afraid of failing; and I feel this is the escence of Tai'Chi, the purification of the mind.

I noticed that this is so strongly connected to Buddhist teachings and zen meditation, Tai'Chi is a form (I feel) of moving meditation. It not only trains your body, it trains your mind and spirit also.

Then, later that night, I was looking at the five precepts, which are the moral code those participating in Budhism live by. (Here they are in case you don't know)
(1)You abstain from taking life.
(2)You abstain from taking that which is not given freely.
(3)You abstain from sexual misconduct.
(4)You abstain from speeking falsely.
(5)You abstain from taking intoxicants.

And even though it is common in our culture to drink lie and eat meat, I thought, everything in this sounds perfectly reasonable, and I am willing to live by this code. But I then went even further, and looked at the code ascetic Buddhist monks live by. It was very extreme, and I found I disagreed on a few points, which are mainly: You must eat only one meal a day, before noon. You never get involved in any sexuality lust or sensuality. You may not sing, dance, perform or wear make-up. You may never rest in a grand bed or seat yourself in a grand place.

These seem a bit extreme, almost like an indulgence into letting go. I feel, that after training yourself to let go of everything in that way, you would grow attached to your letting go. From there you need to let go of letting go. It would be a difficult path, and one that is not my way. I feel, to enter into ascetism, you indulge yourself in the path of misery. It is this indulgence that repels me so.

I feel, that to acheive enlightenment, you must live the mid-way path. Tai'Chi teaches you the mid-way path, in that you are neither tense nor loose, you are neither fast nor slow. Your body learns the mid-way. And in your body learning the mid-way, so will your mind learn from it. I believe Tai'Chi is one of the greatest martial arts, especially if you are following Buddhism.

Now excuse me, whilst I practice my form. :D