61
A GREAT country is like the lowland toward which all
streams flow. It is the Reservoir of all under heaven,
the Feminine of the world.
The Feminine always conquers the Masculine by her
quietness, by lowering herself through her quietness.
Hence, if a great country can lower itself before a
small country, it will win over the small country; and if a
small country can lower itself before a great country, it
will win over the great country. The one wins by
stooping; the other, by remaining low.
What a great country wants is simply to embrace
more people; and what a small country wants is simply
to come to serve its patron. Thus, each gets what it
wants. But it behooves a great country to lower itself.
Translated by John C. H. Wu
Interpretation by Bill Bernsen
HUMILITY
HUMILITY
Lower
Remain low
Will not lose balance
Physically/emotionally
Understand this
Really feel the lowness
Then project spirit
Outward in all directions
Achieve this
Then embrace
100 students
Give up
To gravity
Use spirit to
See over opponent
And use
Humility
To support
Self and others
Deeper roots
Loftier spirit
Closer
To the lineage
Reach further
Into the art
Follow by listening
Listen by being under
Follow
By listening
To the intent
The lower portion
Of the body
Holds up
The upper portion
It follows the intent
Of the upper body
But must be ahead
Of the intent
Or else
The whole body
Losses its balance
For the upper body
To remain in balance
Remain soft, yin/female/receptive
Soft intent = soft eyes
Being lower
Giving up
To gravity
Do not lead
It shows
As intent
Only lead
If someone asked
Fewer words
Is more leadership
Tai Chi Chuan student
Doesn’t make
The first move
It is always the opponent
Who moves first
Move means lose
Wait means gain
To win over
Just lower center
Raise spirit
Not voice
Yang below
Yin above
Males always support
The female
Who are the creative ones
New ideas must have
A feminine foundation
There should
Be peace
At the end
Of practice
Great Masters
Want more students
Student must support
The master
Student Kow tows
As does the Master
Supports the student
Always be low
Under students
During class
Take the low ground
Project
Center of gravity
Under others
Water honors
Respects gravity
What is
The center of gravity
Of water
Idea of lifting
Goes up like a spirit
Idea of rooting
Goes down
Like gravity
Earth’s energy
Must ascend
Thru the feet
Master can lower
His self
To teach me
The basics
Coming down
To my level
Even under me
This is the secret
His center of gravity
Is under mine
So I must lower myself
Every time I go lower
Master goes lower than me
To the point
Of holding me up
As I eventually to him
Conquer
By being
Tranquil
Overcome
By being
Calm
Let gravity
Do its job
It will assist
If I fight gravity
It will win
Let spirit
Do its job
If fight it
It will let me win
This is a loss
Tai Chi Chuan is passive
A great student
Has gravity
As one
Of his Masters
All Tai Chi ideas
Flow down to me
As does water
Give up
To gravity
My spirit
Rises above
Opponent
Why?
Because if spirit is up
Chi down
Is the secret
To elasticity
Equals = stretching open
So the
Energy can flow up
Join spirit
Stillness
Is not using
The energy
Unless called for
By the circumstances
Like a woman
Seduce others
By opening
Being under them
Connected
To the Masters’ spirit
If I am worthy
I can give up
To gravity
Be at one
With earth
This is the secret
To elasticity
Be as a valley
Master’s spirit
Will pore
In like a waterfall
Give up
To gravity
If worthy
Spirit
Will flow down
If I am yin
Masters’ yang
Will enter
Supple
Apprehension
Graceful
Intent
I learn
By remaining low
Masters teaches
By stooping
Great form
The chi descends
A great body
Drains
To earth
Body becomes
Hollow
A vacuum
For spirit
Yin overcomes Yang
By being unobtrusive
As water
Chi must flow down
When called for
The chi
Will flow up
Like a tree
To its leaves
Lower myself
To students/partners/opponents
Lower center of gravity
That is
It looks like
Kow towing
But it really
Is support
Gravity = apprehension
If I lower myself
To others
It must be done
By vortexing down
This causes the others
To sense my Jing!
Get down lower
Deeper into the art
Get more
Worthy students
Great body
Gives up
To gravity
Becomes one
With the earth
Earth is all under heaven
Great Tai Chi student
Should be like a horse
After training
Likes to give
People a ride
The horse/rider
Realize the horses
Center of gravity
Is under the rider
They both humbly
Accept it
Kow Tow
To opponent
Be under his center
Easier to control him
I am the fulcrum
Go under
Center of gravity
Of all
Kow towing to all
If I cannot
Kow tow
To the Masters
How can I kow tow
To the opponent
In the beginning
The Master
Is the opponent
Kow Tow
To nature
Low
Slow
Soft
Let everything flow
Downward back
To earth
To be born again
The famous
Taoist Return
Getting new feeling/idea
Let it come in
Flow down thru me
To earth/China
Return back up thru me
And out to others
Expressed
In Slow set
Lower myself
The sit
Better yet
Receptive sit
My heart
Is the studio/gallery
For the Masters’ art
Get down lower
Be more receptive
Humbly
Serve
Master/Students
Water must have
Earth to hold it
Spirit must have
Gravity to support it
Merge with gravity
Have the strength
Of the earth
Yin
Receive
Yielding to lead
Follow to be first
A low-pressure weather system
Rotates counter clockwise
When confronted
By an opponent
Go low
In a counter clock wise direction
Constant
Rain showers
Results in growth
When practicing
Be sunny/bright
Be aware of gravity
At all times
Spirit is yin
Earth is yang
Man is the fulcrum
Yield to spirit/gravity
A great gesture
Is well anchored
So the body/life
Can be elastic
The further
Reach in life
The more
Can return
Lower body
Moves/establishes
First = foundation
For all
Same as nature
Earth moves first
Man who is hollow
So heaven can enter
Kow Tow to all
I can support
Any thought
Lower
Kow Tow
Yield
Follow
Kow Tow
To all
Physically everything
Gives up to gravity
Except for spirit
This holds me up
A great Masters
Allow energy
To flow back
To earth/China
Thru him
Be hollow
Of intent
To do the same
More practice
To get more students
Tai Chi Chuan
Is passive
Bow
Must be anchored
To ground
Before it can
Bend it
To string it
Yin side
Of pelvis allows
Yang side
Jing/Chi to flow
Just get down lower
Kowtow
To the next gesture
Cannot get lower
Try thinking
With the earth
Reason
For the white yang
Kow tow
To Yang
Via Yin
Give up
By being Yin
To gravity
The reason
For the recent
Yin-ness
Merge
With the earth/China
To become great
Be yin
Get more students
Yin = humility
A great body
Is like the low stance
Toward which all chi flows
Quiet during
Practice or push hands
Lower stance (sink)
Then the energy can
Flow thru me
One wins
By stooping (body)
The other
By remaining low
Lower center of gravity
Attribute of modesty
Stillness
Farther from
A steam
Stiller
It becomes
Steam going downward
What the body
Should feel
Arms/legs
Are smaller streams
As is the opponent
Gravity cannot
Be forced up
It takes spirit/energy
To lift up
From gravity
Do not advertise
The art’s knowledge
Will pour in
Must be strong enough
High spirited
Is reaching up
To the lineage
The body
Must respect
Gravity
That is ground
All will be attracted to it
If is rooted
In the art
In fighting
Take the low ground
Center of gravity
Lower than opponent
Be humble
Humility adds
To the calmness
So I can listen
A large
Beginning student
Can succeed
By Kow towing
To the smaller
Advanced student
This is
Supporting
The lineage
Masters
Are watching
Tai Chi Chuan
Stay in direct intuition
Better to abandon
Disputation
Seek true light
The pivot
Applies are red
Oranges are orange
Eatable is the pivot
Not the color/taste/smell/good/bad/size
Caution
With an opponent
Who does not object
To being controlled
Fulcrum stands
In the center
While yin and yang
Yield each other
Around the situation
During Push Hands
There are both
Correct and incorrect
In the end
Both reduce
To the thing
That which
The match
Is about
First flow
Like a down
Curving stream
Pivot of Tao
Is Tai Chi Chuan
A great teacher
Is very humble
Many ideas
Flow to them
The teachers draw
Powerful energies
Because
Of concentration
On the subject
Get center of gravity
Under opponent
By lowering self
Mentally/physically and
Emotionally
Success
By enthusiastically
Kow towing
Get down
Lower/deeper
In all ways
I must be a patron
Of the art
Of Tai Chi Chuan
If something
Is a fact
It is a fact
For all time/space
All people
Even if not aware
Of it now
They will know later
It is called wisdom
If I can receive
All these ideas
From the Masters
I should be able
To receive students
For Tai Chi Chuan
When the Masters decide
The China/earth/gravity
Draws controlling energies to it
As a friendly Master lures
A ready/worthy student
It is better
To retreat
And go under
Than to advance
And go over
In both directions
Become
The reservoir
For the Tao
Perhaps Jing/Chi
Is the Tao
Expressed
The goal
Of Tai Chi Chuan
Is to get down lower
Not only physically
But mentally
Like a great flowing water
It is always moving
Like new ideas
Everybody
Is attracted to it
It is slow set
That gives a gesture
Life
Tai Chi Chuan
Passivity
Is humility
The Guiding principle
Of Push Hands
Master/student realize
Their goal
By acquiescent
In push hands
It is like sex
Female passively
Seduces the male
Success
Is being apprehensive
About victory
If receptive
Take on large
And small alike
By listening reveals
What the other is doing
Adjusting
Center of gravity
To the environment
Heart outside
The chest
Is above the waist
Center of gravity
Is below
Find the fulcrum
At the waist
Spirit/gravity
Miss one
Miss all
That is in between
Always keep
Center of gravity
Under the point of origin
Done by yielding
The rest of the body
To the force of others
Being yin passive
Calmness
Is like oil
On the axle
It comes from practice
Of the mind/strength
Just go inside
And rest
When the sun
Goes down
Triumph
By remaining low
Converging point
Of the body
Is the waist
By quietude
The master
Is lower
Taking on new students
Master lowers himself
To beginners level
This causes
Master’s return
To slow set
Start over again/again/again
Get down
Lower/deeper
Into the art
All chi flows
To the center of gravity
This great idea
Is very yang
Therefore
Must apply yin
Must give up to gravity
Spirit will hold me up
Gravity assist
Don’t resist
Kow Tow to all
To receive and listen
Be yin
To find
The balance
If yang
And vice versa
Kow tow
To all
Others intent
Will flow
To my foundation
If I am aligned
Connect to them
This includes the Masters
It makes me great
Disavow desire
Negate greed
Don’t resist
Gravity
Is will assist
If open
To spirit
Master Kow tows
To his worthy students
To support them
They in turn
Kow tow
To their students
Searching for the worthy
This builds the school
A great body
Allows Chi
To flow back
To China
Aligning a path way
For the Masters’ spirit
Receiving
With no intent
Great body only wants
To receive
Masters’ knowledge
Humility
It is not how low
I go
It is how
I go low
Lower/deeper
Into self
Then kow tow
To others
Quiet/low
At class
To acquire
Students
Kow tow
Is the secret
To Tai Chi Chuan
Humble/loving
Of force
Will descend
It to earth/China
This is Tai Chi Chuan
Borrowing energy
Hearing
With humility
Brings healing
Be subservient
To force
Kowtow
To the art
To create
A spring
Must be receptive
To be responsive.
Gravity
Is a reservoir
For spirit
Kowtow with
Center of Gravity
Which becomes
A fulcrum used
As a Tai Chi lever
Lifting all
Lower
Intent
To become
Apprehensive
Lower
For better
Leverage
Lifting
Lineage
Gravity
Supports
Spirit
And spirit
Ascends
Earth’s
Energy
Root
To China
To support
The lineage
Inspiring
Spirited
Gestures
To use
4oz to lift
1000 pounds
The gesture
As a lever
Must be rooted
Deeply into
The art
Humility
Awakens
Apprehension
The foundation
For the next
Gesture/application
Persist
Passively
To prevail
For sturdier
Foundation/fulcrum
Lower
Expectations
Humbly
Kow Tow
To Lineage
Unpretentiously
Understand
The lesson
Intention
Gets its
Support
From
Apprehension
Lineage
Lever
Must have a
Perfectly
Aligned/stable
Foundation
A great
Spirited gesture
Must be supported
By gravity
Which changes
With change
Tai Chi Chuan
All gestures
Have a c.o.g
It is a secret
Fulcrum to
Change with change
4-13-24