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I originally taught: Settle everything today. Drop all stress. Live out your life in bliss. But now I teach: Settle everything in one breath. See through the vanity of all stress. Live this now in naked bliss.
Shibumi is the unmodified, unforced elegance of being. Ki is the original energy used by all beings. Do is the Way. The Way in which all beings realize their potential.
The natural state is original enlightenment. To regain it in a flash you must drop thinking and attain no mind. Then stabilize yourself in this wonderful openness.
Shibumi is considered a recondite & difficult concept, almost impossible to explain, but it can be understood in a straightforward way from experience as an unforced, unmodified & highly satisfying natural elegance.
To guide the qi, allow it to enter deeply and collect it. As it collects, it will expand. Once expanded, it will sink down. When it sinks down, it comes to rest. After it has come to rest, it becomes stable. When the qi is stable, it begins to sprout. From sprouting, it begins to grow. As it grows, it can be pulled back upwards. When it is pulled upwards, it reaches the crown of the head. It then touches above at the crown of the head and below at the base of the spine. Who practices like this will attain long life. -4th century B.C. practice instructions for Qi training, found on a jade cane knob.
Your senses will attain brightness, your movements will be subtle and slow or quick as the moment demands. You will gain new energies & new skills. “Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear?” -Lao-Tzu
Busuku, translated as “not doing,” is the ultimate in Dzogchen & Mahamudra, just as Daigo-Tettei is in Zen or Sahaja in Advaita or Wei Wu Wei in Taosim. They are all the same. Busuku is non-meditation, just simple presence in full and relaxed awareness.
discovered it in the simple, unfinished, unmodified elegance of just sitting on the Persian rug on the floor by my bookcase without holding any special posture or any special intention to make my consciousness do anything or not, to be any certain way or not. This experience of simple blazing presence emanated a charm that made me smile with quiet bliss — like the musty smell of old tatami mats or the cold iron touch of a tea kettle filled with sloshing water before it gets put on the flame.
Purification means that before doing the exercises you should forget about all ill-feelings & throw away any grudges you might be holding. One easy way to do this is to visualize the person who you feel has harmed you the most in life & sincerely wish that person great happiness & freedom from all problems.
“The empty mind is a mysterious mirror. It is a state when knowledge is closed in and perception obstructed. Only then can one be aware of the darkest mystery. Therefore, when the deep dark mirror develops from knowledge, it is non-knowledge. When spirit applies itself fully to en- countering and corresponding, it is utterly free from thoughts. Only spirit free from thoughts can be aloft, beyond the world. Only knowledge which is non-knowledge can mysteriously reflect what is beyond things.”
AI Summary
The Little Manual of Shibumi Ki Do by Lao Hu presents key insights from the contemplative tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
- [To be expanded]
Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.