by Cheng Tong | Aug 8, 2021 | Stillness
At the conclusion of my first lecture on the cultivation of stillness, after I moved to the northern Berkshires, one of the first questions I was asked had to do with the practical application of stillness. I answered simply: “Life.” I meant that answer in the sense... 
by Cheng Tong | Apr 15, 2021 | Stillness
“The great Way is easy,Yet people prefer the side paths.Be aware when things are out of balance.Stay centered in the Great Dao.”Chapter 53, Dao de Qing, by Laozi In stillness, we find clarity. By bringing ourselves into the present moment, we see the... 
by Cheng Tong | Feb 2, 2021 | Stillness
During a recent class, a student and I were discussing softness. Over the preceding two classes, we had been investigating the important qualities of a taiji and qigong practice. Those qualities are slow, soft and smooth. They are integral to an... 
by Cheng Tong | Dec 8, 2020 | Stillness
?If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to become straight, let yourself be crooked. If you want to become full, let yourself be empty. If you want to be reborn, let yourself die. If you want to be... 
by Cheng Tong | Oct 12, 2020 | Stillness
Calm, but alert; Relaxed, but ready; Smooth, but sharp; Humble, but confident. This is martial arts. It is an integral part of our training at the Five Immortals Temple in China, where I lived as a monk. It is part of what I teach today in the Berkshires of western... 
by Cheng Tong | Sep 14, 2020 | Stillness
Can you deal with the most vital mattersBy letting events take their course?Can you step back from your own mindAnd thus understand all thingsDao de Qing, Ch. 10, from Laozi Things change, always. What we thought today was so awful will seem less so with each... 