Zen Breathing: From Zen in the Martial Arts -- A Classic!

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Bodhidharma's Discourse on the Twofold Entrance to the Tao

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Bodhidharma's Discourse on the Twofold Entrance to the Tao (from The Golden Age of Zen by John C.H. Wu): There are many roads leading to the Tao, but essentially they can be subsumed under two categories. The one is 'Entrance by way of Reason,' and the other 'Entrance by the way of Conduct.' By 'Entrance by way of Reason' we mean the understanding of the fundamental doctrines through the study of the scriptures, the realization, upon the basis of a deep-rooted faith, that all sentient beings have in common the one True Nature, which does not manifest itself clearly in all cases only because it is overwrapped by external objects and false thoughts. If a man abandons the false and returns to the true, resting single-heartedly and undistractedly in pure contemplation, he will realize that there is neither self nor other, that the holy and profane are of one essence. If he holds on firmly to this belief and never swerves from it, he will never again ...
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Generating Qi

We breathe in the qi which holds within it deep calm and peace. What matters is the feeling of peace, you must make that feeling within the mind. Conviction is the key to your success! • relax the body and mind • bring the mind to the present moment • accept the body and mind and give yourself kindness • let go of all internal dialogue, quiet the mind • bring your attention to the natural breath • bring your attention to the skin over the whole body • relax deeper to open the pores • breathe in qi from around you through the pores • breathe the qi back out through the pores • feel the quality of calm in the qi around you • breathe in the quality of calm • breathe out feeling calm deepen within you • continue until the mind and body are feeling calm and peaceful. • make a strong mental affirmation that you have increased in the chosen quality e.g calm. When you practice this qi breathing with affirmations, it is important to practice consistently and to only use one affirmation...
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Integration

If you have certain ideas about zazen it is very difficult to know zazen as it is, right in the midst of transiency. There is no way to escape constant change. So, how can I be one with zazen as it is? How can I show the truth of impermanence? I must be I as I really am. This is not just a problem for human beings. A pine tree must be alive as a pine tree. That is all it has to do. Pine tree, bamboo, lake, winter, all show impermanence constantly. Pine tree must be pine tree as it is when the pine tree exists. Winter must be winter as it is when winter comes. Snow must be snow as it is. Only when the pine tree becomes the pine tree as it is, can it show impermanence, which is called nature. This is why we notice how beautiful the pine tree is. When the pine tree is the pine tree as it is, the pine tree really exists with everything else in nature—pebbles, lake, river, sky—this is really the way the pine tree becomes the pine tree as it is. This is the practical aspect of impermanence. ...
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