In fact, discipline and faith are not the preserve of monks or practitioners of some spiritual discipline. Discipline and faith can penetrate our life and enrich it.
The first one represents the firm but not rigid intention continued in time, to be with care and patience in something, to experiment maintaining a line, respecting a constancy. The second, faith, is an attitude of the spirit to non-devastation, not self-pity, the firm and lively desire to have this experience of flesh, mind and spirit.
The Shaolin are Buddhist monks whose first monastery was built 1500 years ago in China at the foot of Mount Santo Song Shan . Thirty years after the temple was founded, a monk named Bodhidharma arrived, called by the Chinese Ta Mo, who gave birth to a new form of Buddhism rich in static meditation. His doctrine became the foundation of a new school of Buddhist philosophy, Zen Buddhism.
Prayer, meditation and martial arts are their "daily bread".
The Shaolin respect an apparatus of norms that takes the name of gerontological code, as these practices refer to a practically filial system of obedience.
Recently I happened to run into "The Secrets of Chinese Shaolin Acupressure and Wu-Shu / Chi Kung" written by the father of acupressure from Chinese Kung Fu Cheng Chiang . Both for the passionate practitioner and for the researcher or the curious there are valid elements to be retraced.
Qi gong (Chi Kung ) as a daily practice
Regarding Qi gong, we know that Gong is "work" and Qi - (Chi) energy, but it is obvious that work, the manifestation of energy, can unfold in many ways. There is dynamic Kung, in which the emphasis is placed on the movements of the body in order to obtain a balance that remains in the flow .
There is the static Kung, where there are no complex sequences or movements of the body, but we work on the ability to develop internally the connection between mind, body, thought, nervous system .
The distinction concerning the Chi applies to the exercises of Chi dura and Chi Soft. Chi Chi is often seen in the world of martial arts in demonstrations of breaking stones or wood with the cutting of the hand, for example. The soft Chi is found in silent meditation and Tai Chi, powerful self-healing tools.
Chinese martial arts: history, styles and evolution
The rules of the Shaolin monks
Let's face the gerontological rules of Shaolin. The first concern the diet:
1. Acidic foods damage the spirit, those that are frozen and too spicy increase the inflammatory states of the body.
2. A certain food should not be given preference and the amount of food ingested should be gradually scaled over the day, so that the last meal is the smallest.
Let's move on to hygiene and personal care standards:
3. Brush your teeth often .
4. Swallow saliva often .
5. Rub the stomach often .
6. Rub your feet often .
7. Keep your back warm.
And the last ones, related to sleep and training :
8. Sitting for a long time damages the muscles. Standing for a long time damages the bones.
9. Sleeping for a long time damages the Chi, staying awake for a long time damages the nervous system.
10. Do not train after meals and beware of the cold when you are sweating after training or when you are exhausted or hungry.
Along with these, there is the abstention from tobacco, from a lust too unrestrained, from a too generous management of alcohol.
They are rules full of life and love for life. They can also inspire us in our daily existence. They can fill us with new possibilities and make us feel that wonderful feeling that is keeping our life with great care and respect .
In other words, don't fight blindly against something, whether it's an emotional or material dependency, but start loving yourself a little more .
