48

48

LEARNING consists in daily accumulating;
The practice of Tao consists in daily diminishing.

Keep on diminishing and diminishing,
Until you reach the state of Non-Ado.
No-Ado, and yet nothing is left undone.

To win the world, one must renounce all.
If one still has private ends to serve,
One will never be able to win the world.

Translated by John C. H. Wu

Interpretation by Bill Bernsen


UNDO

Like water

In the sea

Masters hold

Up the unseen

Like the bottom

Of the sea

They never need

To be seen

Like the bottom

Of the unseen sea

If an opponent attacks

It is like hitting

A body of water

With fist

They will drown

In my chi

Thinking about

The vertical

1. Bow

2. Vertical draining

3. Vertical scale

4. Vertical infinity  

Daily diminishing

Daily practice

To reel silk

With details

Of the previous practice

The secret

Is to undo

Not to amass

Slowly

Get a new idea

In slow set

Understand it

Faster in fast set

Open/ close it Kai He style

Project it

Into Weapons

Lastly push hands

To win

Over an opponent

Do not think of

Self

Rather think

Of the opponent

Going away

Highest level

Of push hands

Is thinking opponent

Going away

Without touching

Suddenly stops

His intent

To attack

This can be done

During a

Profound

Demonstration

Demonstration

By cocking bow

There is a horizontal bow also

Arms stretched out

To sides

The bending

Of the bow

Whether

Horizontal one

Or vertical one

Heats up the heart

Do not overdo it

Might break heart

Instead

Of modifying

Old shortcoming

Just reduce/lose/diminish/

Drop them

What replaces

The void

Is the Tao

Invest in loss

Gain the Tao

Nothing will be wrong

No gesture will be wrong

Tao is never wrong

Must undo

Personal accumulations

Negative history

Undo your past (future desires also).

Once undone

Ready for the now

Diminishing

Is riding

The Dragon

Start out learning

During daily practice

Half way thru

Starts undoing that

Which I have

Learned

Add new Ideas

Lessons

Subtract old

Inhibitions

Practice to get

A new idea

Then apply it

By undoing

The old self (ways)

Diminish/diminish/diminish

Desire/desire/desire

Discriminate/discriminate/discriminate

Lessen/lessen/lessen

Longing/ longing/longing

Diminishing

Entertainment

Thinking of self

During push hands means

Private ends to serve

And loss

Forget self

Follow others

Triumph

Hollow intent

Fill apprehension

Diminishing

Chaos

Is Art

Negate adding

Pursue negating

Push hands is won

By negating intent

Pursue negating

Just listen

Change with change

Less and less

Results in more

And more energy

The Art is won

By letting

Masters guide

Thru the course

Job is to listen and undo

Old self

Return to being

A child

Who let

Masters guide

Pursue the Tao

By undoing

Material things

People

Traveling/ entertainment

Art and Tai Chi

For the world

Not just for me

I am only

The conduit

To start

Have intent to learn

To understand

Have apprehension

As to what allow in

Diminishing

Until hollow

Daily lesson

From Masters

Is daily diminishing old self

To make room

For the Tao

Diminishing

Imperfections

Less and less

Until Tai Chi Chuan

Undoing

Dysfunctional spirit

Undoing

Malfunctioned body

Until I become

A fulcrum

Diminishing external

The influences of others

Family/friends/foes

Problems

Past/future

Worries

When nobody

Is finished

Nobody is

Left incomplete

Lessening shortcomings

Today blocked pelvis

I did not learn

To unblock the pelvis

I unblocked it

Opening gates

Diligently reduce

Relax into retreating

Into past

Becoming an infant again

Peaceful present

No fear

Of the future

Daily diminish

Nightly negate

Hollow

Masters

Will mandate

Undoing shortcomings

Undoing

After understanding

Undo the songs

By removing words

The words that remain

Are on their own

Cannot own

                                                                    Investing in loss

To success

The domain

One must forsake

Entirely

Be completely open

To hear and feel

Being unsatisfied

Learning

Fulfilled

When diminishing

Tai Chi Chuan

Practice comprises

Undoing the old self    

Diminishing

Others ideas/learning

By listening to self

Losing outside

Influences

The art form

Can be mine

If I don’t try

To personalize it

Increase knowledge

Via Masters

Decrease knowledge

Other students’ ideas

Escape all

Excesses/extremes   

Slowly spring silence

Be more intuitive

Adaptation

To circumstances

Of reality

Like tigers

Passively

Allowing self

To be guided

By instincts

Into almost every

Detail of life

Tai Chi

Must become

Instinctive

The reason it

Takes such a long time

In the pursuit

Of Tai Chi Chuan

Every practice

Must challenged

With new idea

                                             There is a difference

Between                                           

Learning

Something new

And understanding

Something new

Only have

To open

To the lineage once

But most of us

Open and close

The pursuit

Of the Tai Chi Chuan

Is by dropping

The close

Let go

Of all forms

Except the Slow Set

With the Slow Set

I have Tai Chi Chuan

Don’t try

To run the school

Let the Masters run it

Each practice gets

One new idea/feeling

Negate one shortcoming

Just open/merge

With the Masters

Once Masters’

Idea is understood

Then use own ideas

Which still come

From Masters

Only thru the Masters

Can Tai Chi Chuan

Be understood

Diminish desire

To diminish desire

Again

For the past several years

I have learned several

New forms

Knife//Kai He style/Dui Lian

And it seems that

I practice them

For awhile

Then store/ignore

Does diminishing

Take place because

Not ready for

New idea/feeling

Diminishing

Will appear

On its own if

Open/connected

To the Masters

Undoing does not

Negate accumulation

Of new things

It only restricts

The amount

Of effort/practice

Until the time

Is right

Understand

The true purpose

For the new form

The answer is

In slow set

Use the physics

While trying

To put new ideas

Into the situation  

Put ideas

Into a situation

If I am a vehicle

For the knowledge

And not the source

Be the source

Only thru slow set

Don’t be selfish

With ideas

Slow Set

Is a natural force

Life is better

If I diminish what other

Have forces on me

Feel younger

Each day

Because going back

To being a child

Over all

In life

Growing up

By accumulating

Then some people

Reach a point

Return to

The beginning

Return to the roots

Learn to rest

Get to the point

Of having

No intent

To control others

Then a different control

Becomes evident

Merging with others/objects

I felt this

This morning

Using a pen to write

It felt as if the pen

Was part of me = adherence

First let go of

The old

Listen

Write a new

To success

Creation

One must

Forsake all

Other’s knowledge

Knife speeds up

The knowing self

Cutting thru

Others input/ideas

Undo

Physical/mental problems

Until reaching

The state of non-ado

Yet nothing is left

Undone

Defeat upon

Defeat

Pending

At last comes

Repose

Knife form

Cut off

Old problem

Don’t add a new one

With new forms

Too soon

Teaching

Tai Chi Chuan

Loses one

Non-worthy student

Per day

Eventually only

Worthy student

Shows up to class

That student may be

My shadow

Let gestures

Take their own

Path

Do not inhibit

Push hands

Do not interfere with

Opponent intent

Just be apprehensive

Divert it

Melting Ice

Got it

Learning entails

In regular adding

Of students

Less and less

Intent affects me

Everything is Wu Wei

Must undo blockage

When they appear

And return

To Wu Wei

Undo do distractions

Return

To Wu Wei

If I feel

Wu Wei

Will others

Who are open to it

Feel it in me

Secret

Long form

5 monkeys

5 cloud hands

Will undo shortcomings

5 times faster

Are my Tai Chi Chuan

Gestures

Half full glass

Or half empty

Daily something

Is released

Sometimes/some things

Caused pain

When they leave

Not only mental pain

Also physical pain

First

Know self

By undoing

Once this is done

Then really

Know others

Listening

With a clear mind

Undoing old ways

To reach nothing

3C’S

Clean/consolidate/create

Daily diminishing

Undo intent

Forget self

Win the world

With apprehension

Tao (Masters) give me

One idea

This gives me

Two ideas

Two give 3 ideas

The 3 ideas merge

With spirit/gravity

To make me one

Life is in 3 sections

1st third; accumulating

(Knowledge/things)

2nd third; organizing

(Creating)

3rd third; undoing

(This applies to old habits)

Masters

Undo shortcomings

Thru Slow Set

Diminishing

Life;

First 1/3 acquiring

Second 1/3 organizing

Third 1/d diminishing

Hollow

To heartfelt

Harmony

Undoing

Doing

Until done

Start Slow Set

Practice by adding

A new idea each day

Once understood

Relax then

It will go away

But still be there

Know

Ward-off/rollback/press/push

To hollow

To be whole

Practice

Not to acquire

But to undo

That which

Came before

Making room

For endless

Eternal

Epiphanies

Diminish

Impulses

Of past

For infinite

Insight

In future

First third

Of life

Accumulate

Second third

Organize

Last third

Of life

Eliminate

Then comes

Wisdom

Slow Set

Practice

Aligning each

Gesture with

Spirit to gravity

Head to toe

Then let go 

Start over

Slow Set

Learn new

Application

Today

It maybe

Forgotten

Tomorrow

But still 

Be there