Peace

[shaolin_mike]

Hello all,

I recently had the privilege to watch the film 'The US vs John Lennon'. It made me look at this man in a new light. Whereas the media made him seem ridiculous and not worth taking seriously the fact is he was a warrior for peace who tried to follow in Ghandi's non-violent footsteps. He fought the war with a guitar and a smile and ultimately this was his undoing if you believe the theories.

In any case the topic here is peace. Shaolin Wahnam has at its disposal a great system for creating peace in the mind and body of the individual. How then can one help bring peace to one's society?

Sifu tells us to obey the laws of the land (I think in the Shaolin Laws it is mentioned), does this also apply when the laws are insane? What if there was a law requiring you to shoot your neighbour or cut down every tree in a forest? You might think this far-fetched but I can back these up with examples.

If the cell is a microcosm of the person, and the person is a microcosm of the universe... (as I have read in various places) if we are all one and we are all connected...how can the individual ever be at peace if around him there is suffering and war?

I'm interesting in hearing what you have to say.
With respect
Mike

[8nsteen8]

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Hi Brother,

Thanks for starting this thread, it will be very interesting to follow were it flows.

If we are all one then there are no individuals?

As soon as we look at ourselfs as individuals then we enter duality, good or bad, right and wrong and suffering occurs.

Between us as individuals and this oneness is this wall that seperate us and creates duality. On that wall we have alot of dirt that this duality have created.

This wall has been built up over thousands of years, humanity have created beliefs that have reinforced it step by step creating more and more seperation. What we need to do is to first acknowledge that their is a wall first then can we break it down.

Every practise session in Shaolin Wahnam we work on this wall on a level that i havent found in any other practise. We arent just trying to get rid of the wall but we are constantly clearing up dirt making us stronger and stronger so we can not only break more and heavier bricks but also live a better and better life at the same time and we get peaks over this wall aswell, getting a taste of the peace, joy and freedom that awaits us, motivating us to continue working patiently.

How does this answer your other questions, well, the only wall we can break down is our own, so we can only work on our own dirt and break down our own wall. The nice thing is that the more you break down your own wall the more you see over your own wall and this let you see other walls from the inside.

When you see someones wall from the inside you see everything exactly as it is without any dirt. Then you can truely help them to break down their wall.

All the best,
Niklas

[Andrea]

If the cell is a microcosm of the person, and the person is a microcosm of the universe... (as I have read in various places) if we are all one and we are all connected...how can the individual ever be at peace if around him there is suffering and war?

How then can one help bring peace to one's society?

How can a grain of snow set of an avalanche?
Or a small amount of sour dough transform the whole dough?

Because everything is connected each one of us, I believe, has within her or him this "power" of transformation. The first step is to let this transformation happen to ourselves and as you say practicing our arts give us the means to become peaceful, calm, relaxed, joyful. Is there a proof that one person "transmits peace" to its environnement? Gandhi is certainly a good example . The joy and peace we feel during Sigung's courses is another one. And many of us probably have their own examples ... how smiling from the heart changes not just yourself but people around you... etc. Therefore just this first step is a full answer to your question. Practicing with an open heart to let this transformation happen is a way to bring peace to our society.


There might or might not be additonal ways depending on the person and situation. Facing a situation of suffering is difficult. It takes great courage to let ourselves be touched and open up to compassion rather than closing our heart, taking sides and going into an action mood of "just do something to end it"... But it is from within (rather than from an external theoretical or ideological approach) that in my experience a true opening can emerge. This opening might be quite different from what we would have considered when looking at a situation from the outside. I am often surprised when mediating a conflict that the emerging solution is completely different from what would have been considered the obvious solution. If there is an opening and an opportunity (i.e the means) arises to act - then we move - peacefullly and "smiling from the heart" - to the best benefit of all involved.

Here again I believe that our training and practice prepares us to develop the mental clarity to recognize an opening, look out for the opportunity and move when the time is right.

Thinking about it this could probably have been more efficiently said using the 4 modes of preparation : 1. Prepare yourself (Become peaceful yourself) 2. Assess your oponent (Have the courage to face the suffering and assess the situation) 3. Seek an opening 4. Move when an opportunity arises

[drunken boxer]

Coming from northern ireland, I find this topic most interesting!

I don't think the Shaolin Laws specifically say we must obey the law of the land, unless you mean Law 5, but its not how it reads to me.

I also don't think we would be expected to obey the law of the land if for example the practise of kungfu was banned in that land.

Paul

[shaolin_mike]

Hey Paul you are correct it is rule 5.

Forbidden to be ungrateful and unscrupulous, ignoring the Laws of man and heaven.

The laws of heaven lead to harmony but many times the laws of man seem to lead us to conflict and trouble. So that then brings up the question is a rebel a troublemaker or a righteous man?

[drunken boxer]

The laws of heaven lead to harmony but many times the laws of man seem to lead us to conflict and trouble. So that then brings up the question is a rebel a troublemaker or a righteous man?

I guess some rebels are troublemakers, some are righteous men.
Also, the same rebel can be a troublemaker from one perspective and a righteous man from another perspective.