The Ten Shaolin Laws

[Ray]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I'll give this one a shot.
A senior is an inspiration for the younger student because he/she is a living representation of what the student may become
A senior is in a favorable position to help younger students because he can share his experiences and attainments with the deserving student. Furthermore the senior should be several levels higher, so there is a lot to share ^_^


Love and blessings,

Ray

[joko]

Most of the time, a Senior had experienced what the younger student is experiencing in the moment. So he is in a better position to help by informing about the situation; and gives direction what to do (or what not to do), based on his previous experiences.

In other words, the Senior has the map of the path, and more importantly, the Senior himself/herself has traveled the path further, so he/she can show the right direction to the younger student.

[8nsteen8]

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I dont know if this exist already but it would be great to have a official designed version of the Ten Shaolin Laws that you could print out and frame.

[Charles David]

So when could we expect you to have this finished, Niklas?

Still,

[8nsteen8]

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It was just a hint to thoose with skills in this area Its not like i am forcing anyone, i have not got that much amount of internal force yet

[Maxime]

1. Why is a Senior an inspiration for the younger student?
2. Why is a Senior in a very favourable position to help younger students?

Dear Ray and Joko,

thank you for your input. Nice words indeed.

I cannot help but think about a few words that come to my mind on this subject.

Faith & Belief
It can be difficult for a beginner to mesure one's Sifu attainment or skill, with 30 or 50 years of dedicated practice. On the other hand, a senior is a representation of the art the younger student might reach 3, 5 or 10 years ahead, which might be more accessible to him/her. Often, a senior is also about the same age as his/her younger (martially speaking) student. In this regard, the process of 'identification' is enhanced. If someone who has 5 years of practice and/or about the same age can reach such and such level... so can we. This gives both a great faith and belief in your own practice.

Aims and objectives
A senior's attainment is a very good reference for setting aims and objectives. For example, some objectives that you might not be aware of before talking /practicing with him/her. Through direct discussions or through any other medium (like this forum), a younger student might grasp some extremely useful advices or learn, by observing, some proper way of behaving oneself (a Senior has more Shen).

Growing faith, stronger belief and helping the setting of aims and objectives definitely make any Senior a source of inspiration.

Example
I believe a Senior is in a most favourable position to help a younger student because of his/her privileged position: close enough (brother/sister) to make the Sidai very comfortable and at ease, yet being on a higher level to set a good example and give advices which will be regarded as valuable.

I feel personally very grateful to my Seniors, because they have helped me in many ways to get the most out of my training.

Kind regards,

Maxime

[chiron]

becuase, the senior is willing to help the student, it is their intention to help the student.

Becuase they have more experience/understanding

[Ray]

Answering by Not Answering

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I have been fortunate enough to have met many people with wonderful attainments in various areas. Sometimes though when I ask questions that are pressing to me they are never answered. Since the Shaolin Laws require one to respect the master I am beginning to fear that perhaps I was disrespectful in my asking.

How then does one ask the master respectfully?
What other reasons would the master keep silent?

Thank you in advance,

Ray

[8nsteen8]

Dear Ray,

I have thought about that aswell. When i get answers to my questions they dont help me unless i have a personal experience that i could relate to. If i dont have the foundation needed then the answers do more harm than good.

So i think its important to first have a personal direct experience and then you can deepen your understanding by using your intellect.

I think Masters also knows that if the questions are important for you, you will in time get that personal experience you need.

So maybe the Masters can tell by your way of asking that you dont have the basic understanding and thats why they keep silent to help you.

Sincerely,

[Andrew]

How then does one ask the master respectfully?

If you are respectful, the master will know. If you are not sure if you are asking respectfully or not, then likely you are not.

What other reasons would the master keep silent?

1. The master doesn't know (or hides their ignorance in secrecy)
- This is often the case these days in the case of self-acclaimed "masters"
2. The master doesn't want you to know (as it may hinder your development)
- This is rarely the case and, if it is so, a true master can explain to your level of understanding
3. The silence is the answer

Andrew

[Grimlock]

Sisook Andrew,

Thank you for your response to Ray. I was preparing my own response, and as I previewed it, I saw yours, which says everything mine said and more, but is superior in every way (and much more concise)!

It's always a great educational experience for me to compare what I was going to say with something you or one of the other seniors does say!

[Andrew]

Andrew

[Maxime]

Sometimes though when I ask questions that are pressing to me they are never answered.

They are not answered now.

Maybe they are pressing to you although they might not really be important ones. Maybe the people whom you are asking do not know the answers.

Often, I noticed that 'pressing questions' have their roots in difficulties or personal problems... which will sometimes be solved with time and life. Logically, when the problem is solved or the difficulty erased, the question is not pressing anymore and will vanished as a matter of fact. Hence, taking intellectual trouble to get an answer might not be the solution, but taking actions in our daily life.

Most of the questions are better solved with a Smiling Heart and Wu De.

Some of the important answers we need to our questions will emerge from the training of mind and energy.

We just need to be patient, and dedicated to our practice.

Kind regards,

Maxime

[Juan Parra]

After reading all the posts in this thread something came to my mind :
Framed or not, our Shaolin Laws are, in my opinion, pebbles in the pathway to a happy life.

[Xia]

My feeling on this is that wushu has *ethic* as an integral part of it - not just out of moral sense, but simply for pratical reasons - one, that people capable of harming one another very easily need to treat each other with repsect - and two, ego is one of the biggest barriers to learning in any field, so having it under control is a massive learning aid! Sadly, ethic is not valued a great deal - partly because amatuer players out-number professionals, so the proffesional way is swamped out of existence.

Myself, I feel rules are very much like fixed martial arts exercises - there as a guide, but at a later point, unnecessary because the person doesn't need them anymore - they act right, and they fight right, naturally.

X