71

71  

To realize that our knowledge is ignorance,
This is a noble insight.
To regard our ignorance as knowledge,
This is mental sickness.

Only when we are sick of our sickness
Shall we cease to be sick.
The Sage is not sick, being sick of sickness;
This is the secret of health.

Translated by John C. H. Wu

Interpretation by Bill Bernsen


OBSERVANT

Be alert

To ignorance/sickness

First in myself

Then others

Be alert

To my lack of interest

First in myself

Then others

Be alert

To my lack of chi

First in myself

Then others

Be alert

To my alignment

First in myself

Then others

Be alert

To others

Lack of alertness

Being closed

To ourselves

To be open

To the Master’s

A noble perception

To open

My mouth

Have my knowledge

Come out

Is sick

Have the Master’s

Knowledge known

Is healthy

When my knowledge

Makes me nauseous

I will quit or

Heal from the hurt

Be aware

Of my entire body

Thru Slow Set

Before correcting it

Be aware

Find the pain or pleasure

Then act

After making

All the corrections

Then it is easer

To discriminate

As to what is let in

Knowledge

Corrections come  

When the Masters

Want me

To have it

Ignoring the above is

To be misaligned

With the Master

The secret

Of practice is

To repetition

Insight

Comes from

Masters thru me

Not from me

Awareness

Unconsciously

Is knowing self-defense

Not practicing

To the point

Of unconscious

Awareness

Is folly

Pain/pleasure

Is awareness

In the body/mind

Pain is negated

Thru practice

Pain is the first stage

Of awareness

Once aware

Pain in negated

Both real and imagined

First end pain

Caused in self

Then pain from

Others later

There is no difference

Between stoppings

Practices myself

Or someone

Making me stops

Only the Masters

Can make the decision

Sick = shortcoming

Old bad habit

Blockages etc.

Become aware

Of them first

Thru others

To know me

I can find shortcomings

By testing myself

On others

Revealing

Shortcomings

The fulcrum

Must be

Perfectly stable

Use gravity

To stay

Plump/steady

Knowing that

I do not know

Keeps me going

Thinking that

I know stops

Knowing

Being

In a state of mind

That I do not know

Is preparing me

To change with change

Bring tired

Of not practicing

Is the secret

To practice

In my mind

(Knowing)

This became wrong

(Not knowing)

The important thing

Is undoing the known

(This was wrong)

Realizing I really did

Not know

Once it is corrected

Don’t worry

Worry

Is for the future

Not the past

Be critical

Of self-first

Others later

Gain strength

From defeat

When tired

Of doing it wrong

Practice

To do it right

Never get tired

Of being wrong

It is wrong

To do so

When

I become aware

I am

Right

The Master

Is not discouraged

Being discouraged

Of the student’s

Discouragement

Only when

I am sick

Of my tight hip joints

Will they open

Secret

Of health

Is slow set

Only when sick

Of being hedonist

Will it end

Tai Chi Chuan

Student

Does not

Get disheartened

With the repairs

Going on inside

Only

When I am

Tired of laziness

Shall be cease

To be lazy

The Master

Is not tired

Of being lazy

Students practice for him

If they are worthy

When I accept

The tests

By the Masters

I am on the right path

Sick of being

Reminded

That I am sick

Is a health secret

Awareness

Before the pain

Mind

Before the matter

Sick

Of being lazy

Become obsessed

To get passionate

With the solution

Moving

From reading

To not reading

Gives me more time

To practice

Always be open

To the Masters

Then

I will be a conduit

For their knowledge

Sick

Of entertainment

Outer laziness

Listen

To myself

The good and bad

Adversity = creativity

Tai Chi Chuan

Master is not tired

He’s tired

Of his tiredness

Therefore not tired

Tai Chi Chuan student

Is not sick

Of the corrections

In his body and mind

This feels like a sickness  

Master knows

Students are going

Thru the above

Cannot interfere

Only say

Rest mind

Do more slow set

Tai Chi Chuan

Makes us aware of

Our sickness and

In time negates

Sickness

To realize

My demo is poor

This is insight

To regard demo

As good

This is wrong

Undoing

Not sick

Of the negation

Of my old self

Motion sickness

Of riding

Dragon subsiding

Secret

To health

The repairs

Sick of the repairs

The remedy

Sick = old self

Knowing

I don’t know

But open

To knowing

How to unlearn

Thinking that

I know

Stops my practice

Knowing that

I don’t know

Keeps me practicing

So I can

Change with change

Somatization

Of Slow Set

Get sick

Of entertainment

Sick of recalling

Old movies

Stop the laziness

Not sick

Of sickness

And researching it

Is health

Health

Does not know

What comes next

To recognize

When one does

Not discern

Is paramount

Moving

From intent

To not predicting

Is virtuous

Moving form apprehension

To intent

Is hazardous

New feeling/idea

Each day

Practice in pain

To negate pain

Always pain

Always practice  

Pain takes mind

Off of trivia

Don’t mistake

Health

For disease

Health

Has a lack

Of disease

Do not

Mistake virtue

As a lack of vice

Do not mistake

Poor

As a lack

Of money

Cannot define

Health

To someone

Who is

Always sick

Injured in youth

Become shy

Of that circumstance

That caused the injury

Then to repair

Must go

Thru the past

Injury

It is the remedy

Student

Is not sick

Of sickness

That is not

Fearful

Of the repairing

Secret of health

Realizing

Limitations

Is cure

For shortcomings

Being aware

Of a past/present/future

Problem

Is a sign

Of mental health

See an aberration

As it is search

For new feelings

Both good/bad

The bad

Are good

Because I become

Aware of them

The good are bad

If I stay

Only with them

Just relax

It will go away

The same applies

To opponent’s force

To know

Slow set and

Feel we don’t

Know it

Is uppermost

Understanding

Master

Has no doubt

I know  

Discomfort

Therefore

No uncertainty

The more

Opponent resists

The more

He exposes

His intent

Tai Chi Chuan

Is the ability

To find the central pivot

Of the opponent immediately

Thru a sense of touch

Equilibrium

Sum of the forces

Sum of movements

Acting upon a body

Are both equal

To zero

The body

Is in equilibrium

Static equilibrium

Stationary

Obstacles = sickness

Push Hands

Think I know it

But not knowing

It is like an ailment

It can spread

Among students

To discern

Instinctively

Is paramount

To know

The slow set

Say I don’t

Is best

Means I am open

For corrections

From Masters

To say I don’t know it

But are not connected

To Masters is

An ailment

When in a state

Of hell

Because I am thinking

Of hell

And realize it

Know it

Is a sickness

Now all I have to do

Is be sick of thinking of hell

Masters

Way of correcting

Is having

Student recognize

The mistake

To know that

I do not know

Is the paramount

There is no name

For the Tao

Searching

For the name

This is practicing

Best to be in a state

Of not knowing

Anything

In the future

Don’t Know

Future is ignorance

Therefore to know is

To be in the present

Is healthy

To be sick

Is to always live

In the past or future

To try and know the future

Is a sickness

To try and relive the past

Is also a sickness

To just live

In the present

Is healthy

Wait in the present

The future will come

If listening

Healthy

If trying to speed up

The future

Not listening

Will miss it

Trying to use the past

To predict the future

Not in the present

Not listening

Nature is spontaneous

Merge with nature

Doing Tai Chi Chuan

The only

Way the art

Will continue

Get out of rut

Stiffness in joints

Is a disease

Go to the point

Of feeling the stiffness (pain)

Realize that

Working thru the pain

Is teaching Tai Chi Chuan

Few make it

Take to school

To the point of pain

I feel a certain pain

In the students

Not wanting my instruction

Those who know

Should not show it

Those who don’t know

But show they

Think they do

Are important

To keeping the art

Pure

Those who

Should now

It takes

Time/energy

  A 1000

Will start

The 1000 mile journey

Not all make it

Only worthy one

Will finish the first

Step

Leaving the 999

Bewilder

Don’t know now

But will later

Think it

Don’t say it

Unless understood

Infinity gestures

Are knowledge

What to do with them

Or where they lead

Is ignorance

If sick

Of not knowing

Leads to practice

The secret to Tai Chi Chuan

Sick of

News/entertainment

Cure

More diligent practice

Sick of poor demo’s

More diligent practice

Our vices

Should leads

To health/wisdom

Via Slow Set

Knowing new ideas

Will never end

Healthy

Thinking that the above

Is the last idea

Is ignorance

Disease of knowing

Each epiphany

Is not enough

Ailment of perceptive

Vigorous inexperience

Unpleasant thriving

Disease of knowing

No known cure

Critical of cure

While practicing

Remedy

Slow Set

The secret

To health

Is Slow Set

Merged

With Masters

Worthy

Of worry

Undoing

Making room

For the next

Epiphany

Undo by

Doing new

Be critical

Of what I

Know and

Don’t know

Hypochondria

Can be a secret

To health

Beware of

Shortcomings

It is being aware

Do more

Slow Set

Secret to health

Ignorance

Anxiety

Disorder

Not knowing

Leads to knowing

Knowing leads 

To not knowing

Hollow

To be healthy

Rejuvenation

Starts

With Renovation

To ignore

The lineage

Is to fail

Epiphany

Is a cure

For ignorance

Be a humble

Hypochondriac

Preoccupied

With practice

Tests, tests

Endless tests

Only the worthy

Will be straw dogs

For the Masters

Oxymoron

The more
I learn
The less
I know

More on

This later

Imagination

Is intuition

Of internal

Infinitude 

Don’t know now?

Continue

Practice

To know later

Solution

To problem

Is realizing

It is a shortcoming

Resolved in

Slow Set

First 

Understand

Energy

To interpret

Spirit 

Vulnerability

A virtue

Ignoring

Denies 

Awareness

Tai Chi fulcrum

Stabilities 

Knowledge

Knowing 

Not knowing

Is an idiosyncrasy

Yin/Yang

Our knowledge

Is a fulcrum

To advance

Slightly 

Think retreat

To balance

Gesture

Enable

Change with change

Irony

Of ideas

Is the secret 

To success

Slow Set

Advancing

An aberrate

To absence

Is an attribute

Of achievement

Slow Set

Realizing gestures

Are being poorly 

Expressed

Leads to 

Corrections

Thinking 

Practice Is good

Leads to 

Laziness

Which requires  

More practice

10-4-23