Zen course in Bern, Switzerland

[Shamsher]

Dear Shamsher,

The pleasure is on my side.

I had another such an experience of Zen before Chun Nga's wedding on beautyful Island Lankawi.

Best regards,

Dear Sihing,

Might you share your experience on Langkawi?

Warm regards,

Sham.

[Luo Lang]

Dear all,

Before moving on with other experiences here is another very interesting Q/A series from Sifu about the first Patriarch of Shaolin the great Bodhidarma. Please refer to Q/A 1-3:

http://shaolin.org/answers/ans12a/jun12-1.html

Happy reading

[Anthony S]

Hey Roland, here is my way of responding to your questions , lol - I’ll also read your links soon too.

I’ve found that by practicing Zen Arts (Shaolin) for so many years I now operate predominantly through intuition and that it is fantastic in terms of effectiveness and results bringing me a lot of satisfaction and happiness. Hmm, the examples are daily of course.

It helps a lot to have a little life experience to operate by intuition but Zen Arts are famous for cultivating intuition. Of course there is a place for analysis and when a Zen cultivator analyzes he or she is typically superior in analysis compared to one who doesn’t, if all other things/factors are equal. This is because a clear mind can analyze effectively because....of a clear mind, uncluttered of distracting, unproductive thoughts.

Interestingly, I wouldn’t have “thought” of this without the prompting of the topic by Roland.

Please keep in mind that the Zen Cultivator (one who practices Zen) does benefit from self analysis and in fact, the Zen cultivator is more effective in self analysis, again because of the ability to do so without being distracted by self flattering , self serving thoughts and ambitions. Ironically, self-serving thoughts, when they are at the expense of concern for others, ultimately don’t serve the self very well!

Zen cultivators don’t get caught up with stress or out of control anger or petty jealousy. They simply enjoy life with both calm, grace and zest at the same time while exuding wisdom and discretion in their dealings with others. They typically don’t have to analyze what to say, they just say the right words (or no words) the right time, while at the same time instinctively being careful in what they say. Of course, we all develop more and more over time according to our cultivation. In time, one simply “knows” and non-cultivators are puzzled as to how you “know”.

Practicing Zen has enriched my life so much and I’m grateful to Sifu and the long line of Zen Masters, before him.

[Luo Lang]

Dear Anthony S. Siheng,

I am very glad you mentioned the intuitive part of our spirit-soul-mind.  xin or shen can be differentiated into two dimensions: the intellectual part and the intuitive one, which would reflect more the universal mind. 

It is beneficial and inspiring that actually kai xin ( hoi sum in cantonese ) means open heart a skill Sifu teaches students at the very first session as a fundament of all teachings. We often hear Sifu mentioning that kai xin actually means beeing happy n free which is a natural state. Beeing physically tensed or full of emotions or having lots of thoughts bothering oneself lockes the soul of beeing free. 

While beeing emotionally disbalanced one may not be able to apply or use his mental potential. Well it does not mean that all Zen practitioners have no emotions anymore. But once those arise they may often take a step back, let go of it and once that happened and is cleared they go back to task. 

That brings me to one of Sifu's funny but very beneficial explanations why we walk after completing our training sessions briskly. Of course it is only one of the applications. Sifu answered well once you (a typical Wahnam student) have a heated discussion with your wife bringing up emotiones hold in shortly make a few steps brisky let go, move back to your wife give her a hug and kiss her.

What is Zen in this approach?

Best regards,

[Luo Lang]

Another Zen moment

Dear all,
What is Zen here?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzPMo...ature=youtu.be

That's Thomas`hobby actually. He is an accomplished Master of science.

You can imagine his Travelling Dragon Sword performance and Thomas is also engaged into the sparring program, in which to many surprises he is very succesful too.

[Luo Lang]

10 questions to the Grandmaster about Zen

Please refer to the follwoing thread:

http://wongkiewkit.com/forum/showthr...077#post113077

Hurry up

[Andrea]

As some asked about accommodation in Bern, I add a link here to the English section as well: http://www.bern.com/en/accommodations
You can find there all types of accomodations, from B&B to 5-Star hotels, as well as some information about the many beautiful places to visit in and around Bern.

The course will take place at the Cultural and Congresscenter of Bern: the Kurssaal: http://www.kursaal-bern.ch/en/culture-congress-centre

[Binia]

Zen course in Berne

Dear family,

Sitting on a chair and mainly listening to Sigung for almost 8 hours during our Zen course was a very special experience for me. I felt extremely rooted and alert. My upper body felt so light and somehow open and in my legs it seemed as energy would constantly flow through to the ground. At one point I closed my eyes because it was so intense. It then felt as my hands wouldn't belong anymore to me, they were just somehow lying in front of me. This was a new feeling for me and I decided to open my eyes again in order not to get distracted and be able to follow Sigung's teaching. I could have been sitting there for another 8 hours. I felt in constant bliss

What did we do? We entered Zen and did better whatever we did. And at the end of the day after the Graduation Dinner (which was a Zen course by itself) I felt like my cup got emptied already again like one of my KungFu brother put it to the point. If this is a skill, then I guess Sigung kindly transmitted it to us. After 12 hours full of information I felt incredible fresh.

I find it hard to write down my experiences this time. Somehow it is a course beyond words. In a telegraphically way I can mention some of it: yes there was a lot of deep philosophy, wisdom about Buddhism and life. Strategies how to get married () that we can easily adapt to our working life too. There were some repetitions of Lifting the Sky suddenly followed by Sigung's simple words: Now enjoy the Cosmic Shower. We "put" questions into the Cosmos and received solutions for ourselves or someone else within the next minutes. We realized how crucial it is to express ourselfs properly and to listen and to respond to what we were asked to. We learned about the importance to make a decision instead of worrying about the "outcome" already. In the end Sigung took us on a journey, on a journey back to our very existence.

When I afterwards walked to the venue of the Graduation Dinner I felt surrounded by peace and warmth and Berne never felt so still and tender before.

Well, and the Graduation dinner was just another wonderful Zen course: thank you to everyone for the questions and thank you to Sigung for answering them with so much patience, wisdom and generosity. It was simply beautiful to hear about the book Shukhavati, to learn about the significance of the Monkey God for our school and it was not only inspiring but also lots of fun to see Sigung doing some famous KungFu pattern by Fong Sai Yuk in the middle of the restaurant! It was just truly a special event.

For me two parts of my life somehow melted together: my many, many travels to the Himalaya and my training of the Shaolin Arts. Three-four years ago I stopped going there because whatever pulled me there I wanted to find it here in Switzerland. Indeed I wanted to find it within me, wherever I would be.

If you were not attending the course, I suggest this:
http://wongkiewkit.com/forum/showthr...t=10776&page=3

And just look forward to the next opportunity to attend a Zen course

May we all have a happy and fulfilling life. Thank you Sigung for accepting us as your students and for teaching us.
Binia

[Kevin_B]

Dear Binia,

Thank you for your wonderful account. Simply amazing!

My very best wishes,

Kevin

[Matthew]

Thanks Roland Sipak for this thread.

Thanks Binia for a beautiful account of the Zen course.

It seems a shame to follow your account by returning to the original questions in the thread but I am grateful to share some of my experiences.

I've been practicing Chi Kung for approx 3 years and after attending the first UK Zen course I established a 5 minute daily Zen practice (now >1.5 years). During the Zen course, when we were putting a question to the Cosmos, as I posed the question it felt as if my internal dialogue was answering the question simultaneously. The answer was obvious, direct and simple and felt like the right response to the question.

The key benefit of Zen training for me also is mental clarity:
- When facing a problem, the ability to see the problem simply for what it is rather than being confused (whether mine or another's problem)
- Being able to see a solution or appropriate course of action to resolve the problem
- Taking the decision (not just for a problem) and acting on it, rather than procrastinating

Due to this increased mental clarity, my work effectiveness and productivity have risen yet time spent working has reduced. My interaction with colleagues and customers has improved, my (previously significant) tendencies to procrastinate have almost disappeared and my ability to prioritise complex interdependent work has improved. In fact I have got better at whatever I am doing.

The other positive impact is that I ENJOY everything that I am doing more and more, however simple. I now really enjoy washing the dishes or cleaning and I find myself more mindful whatever I am doing. I have a long way to go, but I am more present in the moment than ever before. Now, with hindsight, I realise just how unclear my thoughts have been in the past, and just how much I procrastinated when facing decisions.

I also have a sense that this training has improved my confidence and courage, reduced anxiety and stress levels and provided an enhanced sense of peace and calm.

Thank you Sigung for your kindness in sharing these incredible arts.

[Binia]

Dear Matt,

it is not a shame at all, in the contrary, your post is very inspiring and important as it shows us the practical benefits of Zen. I feel being aware of these benefits helps us to improve even more and it is a good way to check if our practice goes in the right direction. So thanks a lot!

Happy chi flows
Binia

[sancrica]

Wonderful posts. Really nice to read you.

It is amazing to see how these wonderful stories can help my motivation keep going. :-)

@Binia - Thanks for sharing. I guess this has been a pretty interesting year, hasn't it? I am really happy for you.

@Matt - It is impressive to observe how people can grow in all different levels within this wonderful family. :-)

As I have mentioned before, the ZEN course is one of the things to do for me the next year.

Shaolin Salute,

Santiago

[Binia]

Yes, indeed and I think to know that it has been a very special year for you too Santi!