Introduction
Last week, I spent a few days thinking about how I began learning Dai Family XinYi 心意 (Heart-Mind), in order to write a short story of introduction for Polish version of my book, XinYi WuDao, which is in the process of being published. During this time, I noticed many wild ducks, seagulls, and herons enjoying the autumn waters of the lake my wife and I often hike around in the mornings.
Figure 1. Autumn Water
These peaceful images brought me back to the times when I first began my studies with Grandmaster Zhao ShouRong 趙守榮, which gave me inspiration to write about how I learned my first Dai Family XinYi practice — HunYuanZhuan 混元椿, which became a key practice that has helped me discover my inner strength and inner peace for almost three decades.
QiuYuan 秋緣— Autumn Karmic Connection
In the calm of an autumn early evening in 1995, I walked toward a small, quiet field next to my office at the aerospace institute in Xi’an 西安, China, for my daily Qigong and Taiji practices. To my surprise, a couple of my colleagues were already in the spot with a stranger, an intriguing elderly man doing movements I had never seen before. I stopped and watched them from a distance. From my many years of experience with traditional cultivation practices, I could tell this man was teaching very unique and powerful techniques. A strong desire for learning arose in me. Afterwards, I approached one of the young men, a friend and colleague with whom I often practiced Taiji push hands together, and asked him about the stranger.
My friend told me that the man was visiting from ShanXi 山西 province, and was the authentic Dai Family XinYi 心意 lineage master, Zhao ShouRong 趙守榮. My friend’s XingYiQuan 形意拳 Master had invited Master Zhao to Xi'an for one week, in order to teach a group of his select students Master Zhao's legendary XinYi practices.
I asked my friend introduce me to Master Zhao, and was very fortunate that he agreed to train me. The first thing he taught me was HunYuanZhuan 混元椿, the foundation of the Dai Family XinYi system. He told me that traditionally, students would need to practice this posture daily for at least three years before they were eligible to learn any other XinYi techniques. I told him that I would be very happy to practice it everyday before I saw him again.
When I next saw Master Zhao, it was a year or so later, in his home in ShanXi. He was pleased with my progress and decided he would continue to teach me treasured techniques from his rare lineage teachings. I studied with him at least twice a year for the rest of the years I lived in China, and when I returned to China to visit. We grew close and he became a father-like figure to me.
After I moved to the west, first to the US and then to Sweden, Master Zhao continuously encouraged me to share Dai Family XinYi with students throughout the world, in order for more and more people to benefit from his tradition.
WangJi 忘機 — Release your Agenda
After I finished writing, I sat down to play OLuWangJi 鷗鷺忘機 (Innocent Seagulls and Herons) on my Qin 琴, as a personal memorial ceremony to Master Zhao and all my other masters who have passed away.
In my tradition, the Qin represents the heart and the music symbolizes universal Qi, harmony, and joy. In ancient China, music was the highest form of offering to the Heavenly Gods or ancestors. If you’d like to learn more about the relationship between music and cultivation, please read my previous article ䷏ Yu 豫/Delight In —Luxuriate in the Greatest Harmony.
From an Yijing symbolism and Daoist Five Elements perspective, music belongs to the Metal element and is associated with autumn. Autumn is the season of power, killing, dying, grieving, and it is also the season of detachment, peace, harmony, and joy. Autumn symbolizes the spirit of traditional Chinese martial arts — the art of stopping violence and seeking harmony.
I am filled with a sense of peace and harmony every time I see herons in nature. After seeing the heron and being inspired to write about Master Zhao, it was natural for me to feel called to play OLuWangJi as a sacred offering to my masters. The song is about how we can live in harmony with nature and with each other if we learn to let go of our agendas. O means seagull and Lu means heron. Wang means forget or empty your heart. In Daoist internal alchemy practice, Wang means a state of deep tranquillity or meditation. Ji means trigger, mechanism, key, opportunity, strategy, or agenda. Taken together, the title means ‘do not have agendas and catch the seagulls and herons.’
It is said that the song was composed by Liu ZhiFang 劉志芳 (C.E. 1171-1240), a Qin musician from TaiZhou 台州, my hometown region in China. The song was based on a story written by the famous Daoist philosopher LieZi 列子 (B.C.E. 450-375?):
There was a young man who loved seagulls more than anything. Each time he went to the beach, the seagulls were delighted to see him, they would flock to him and allow him to pet them. One day, his father noticed this and said to him " Why don't you catch one or two seagulls to home with you, so that I can enjoy them as my dinner ?" The next day, the young man went back to the beach with the intention to catch some seagulls. As soon as he reach the beach, all the seagulls flew away and did not come down to him as they had before.
This story reveals a disharmony between human beings and/or nature is created as soon as we have an agenda to take advantage of them.
I would like to share my song with you now, with wishes that it will bring some moments of harmonious Qi to your life and to this world - my best autumn memorial to my masters.
The power is astounding. Power Beauty Love Reality
Thank you for sharing your heart with us. ❤️