Knowing Is Not As Difficult

Do majority of us know what needs to be done to better ourselves, the ones we love and the world?  Of course.  We all have some idea of what is right and necessary.

The difficulty really is in the execution.  We are either too busy or too easily sidetracked by excuses and temptations.

Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), we need to cultivate our Shen.  What is Shen?  Shen is one of the basic Three Treasures sustaining our lives.  The Three Treasures are Jing, Qi and Shen.  Jing is like the nuclear core of a nuclear power plant.  Jing is being depleted at a certain rate.  When it is completely depleted, we die.  Qi (pronounces chi) is like the electricity the Jing produces.  Qi is being distributed everywhere to nourish our organs, sustaining our bones, marrows, blood and lymph systems.  Qi-Gong, acupuncture, feng-shui, etc. all have one objective in common.  They all readjust, enhance and cultivate our Qi.  Shen is the awareness to the state of well being of our body and mind.  Shen is enhanced by our Jing and our Qi.  In turn, Shen enables us to conserve our Jing and cultivates our Qi.  In other words, Shen is like our awareness, our focus, our true spirit, our soul or our inner divine.  Shen monitors and informs us the state of our overall well being.

For instance, when we talk for hours on the phone or drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco, our body is not so tired, but we can hardly focus on any task at hand.  According to TCM, this indicates that our Shen is depleted due to the long focus we just consumed.  On the other hand, if we run ten miles, played two hours of basketball, our body may be tired, but we are actually quite alert and can focus and work with sharp mind.  This is the state of more Shen, but less Qi.

In other words, according to TCM, we need to have our Shen well sharpened, so that it can monitor and guide us along the right path to execute whatever is necessary at every moment, without surrendering ourselves to our inner struggles or temptations. Yet, to have our Shen sharpened, meaning to have utmost focus and concentration, we need to have our Qi enhanced first.

To live with health, harmony and happiness begins by surpassing ourselves, our habits and habitual thinking. this is what Chan Living is all about.