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Chi
A friend of mine practices Buddhism, and he explained to me about the concept chi. I can't seem to find anything about chi in any sites or books about buddhism, can someone explain to me how chi fits in to Buddhism? thanks for any help you can be and also hello everyone
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Just to add another welcome and to confirm what Elohim said: Ch'i is part of the Chinese 'energy medicine' approach which includes acupuncture, etc. Notions of energy channels within and around the somatic body can also be found in the Japanese system, too.
Not all Buddhist societies use the notion of Ch'i. Tibetan medicine is completely different and is well worth some study in our Buddhist practice:
http://www.tibet.com/Med_Astro/tibmed.html
"The basic theory of Tibetan medicine is to keep in balance the Nyipa sum - they are rLung (pronounced loong), mKhris-pa and Bad-kan. The long-term causative factors of Nyipa sum are the three poisons of desire, hatred and delusion which show how closely connected Tibetan medicine is with Buddhist philosophy."
Welcome to the site!
Adiana
In answer to your question What is Chi? In china Chi ( pronounced Chee) it is the life force or spirit of all living things. It is the energy that surrounds us and flows through us.
In Japan it is called Ki. In India it is refered to as the Prana or Shakti. And in the Christian world it is called the Holy Spirit.
Hope this helps.
That's quite a leap you make there! I'm not sure about identifying Ch'i with the Holy Spirit quite works for me.
I don't know what chi is (or sometimes, depending on what part of the world you're from, call ki) for sure. I've mostly run across the term in martial arts and chinese healing medicine/practices.
I've heard explanations of it being this force that surrounds your body, that protects you, that is centered in your body about three inches behind your belly button - and tons of things that people can supposedly do with it.
I've also seen great "chi" masters defrocked on their so-called ability to use their chi. There is a person who goes around the world (and I can't think of his name right now) asking people to demonstrate their "chi abilities" and they've all been shown to be fakes.
So ... after all the discussion I've heard of chi (especially in martial arts) this is how I've come to terms with it .... to me, it's my "center".
If someone is using their "chi" against me - their using their center against me. They are more grounded, or better balanced than I am. If someone is using my own chi against me (as is done and discussed in aikido) they're using my center against me. If they're redirecting my chi they are using my center and the force of mass I've generated against me (which is "key" in aikido).
I'm not saying that it doesn't exist. But after careful examination, not just taking what elders have said to be true, or because it has been written in a book somewhere - I have not found that what most "chi" masters to have said to be true. In thinking of it as the center of your being, your focus, the force or momentum you create in doing something - then yes, I could agree that calling it "chi" is a good name for it.
Michael
Stunning enough, but I still was a skeptic. I wanted to check the pole myself, so I did. It was just a regular old bamboo stick, with a point on it. No "joint", no hidden tricks.
That same instructor was in a wheelchair as a child until he was eight years old, because he was "crippled" until he was taken under a chinese master's wing.
I fully accept the notion of chi now.
You or I couldn't do it because we have never trained to do that. We haven't built up the muscles, tendons, etc. that would allow for that. You could also probably jab the sharpened bamboo pole at his throat and it would most likely go through.
I've seen martial arts demonstrations where a person has someone swing a baseball bat or 2x4 at their shin - and the wood breaks instead of their shin. But I also know from spending a lot of time working your shins - your shin bone becomes bigger and denser. Even runners - the more you run, the larger your shin bone becomes because of the abuse your legs are taking from running. Just like calouses - the body knows when an area is takin a beating and directs more bone to grow or more skin, etc.
There are people in India that put needles into their eyes, through their cheeks (and don't bleed), pull cars with their penis, etc.
To me it's physics and training. I still can't accept that as being a mystical force that is protecting or surrounding that person.
No disrespect - just my experience.
Michael
I believe that we can continue to discover other 'energies' and understand the laws that govern them but only if we are prepared to build on the experiences of such experts in using them. Studies continue into the energies generated in meditation, just as they have, in the East, for 5000 years.
A very good point. But, I don't believe it's being Western or arrogant to not believe hype instead of fact. To my reckoning - I have never seen a valid display of chi. I'm not saying that it doesn't exist - just that I haven't seen it.
So, in the meantime, I've come to terms of what I can accept chi as being. I don't say that it doesn't exist - and I don't discount it. So, until I can see the mystical properties of chi performed - I'll associate it with something that I can grasp and believe.
I agree with you that we can and probably do continue to discover energies that we never really thought existed before.
Michael
Until then, opinions are working hypotheses which can be changed. So much healthier: like changing our socks with some regularity.
Brian, I have seen white belts demonstrate the pointy pole into the neck trick. It’s all about technique and placement, not chi.
I have seen some demos that looked pretty incredible, though still fake, and others that were laugh out loud funny. But to this date, I've never seen a legit one.
I agree with some of the others who said chi was life force, energy. When you're sick, your chi is disturbed. When you strike without benefit of a properly aligned skeletal system, your chi is weak.
Provide me with some of your scientific proof and I'll have no problem with it.
Michael
I haven't been doing martial arts for as long as you, but I do have 15+ years under my belt (no pun intended). I had a wife who was in Goju Ryu, a brother that was in Ed Parker's Kenpo Karate, an older brother that was in ju-jitsu, a sparring partner who was into Kung-Fu and I have done taekwon-do and combat ju-jitsu and aikido.
My point is not to blab on about what I've done - but knowing people in these different styles and participating in my own - I've seen a number of demonstrations in various arts. I too have seen ones that were amazing and some that were just laugh out loud funny. I've seen people mess up and look very embarassed and I've seen people hurt very seriously when the "chi" just wasn't flowing right - or something...
If someone ANYONE has any real chi ability - I've got a great deal for you. Check out
http://gate8.com/bbs-tai/messages/5202.html or
http://www.randi.org/research/
If anyone has any special powers be they telepathic, occult, chi, whatever - you can claim a million dollars by simply demonstrating these powers in a very scientific way.
Oddly enough, no one has ever been able to claim this money. Now, some people may say, "I'm not going to demonstrate my powers because they are not to be taken lightly." Or "there is nothing beneficial in demonstrating my powers to someone like James Randi." But!, if you did this - even if you're humble enough to not want the money - donate it to a charity. Help people that live in near poverty levels - use it for good!
But, I've never seen a demonstration of chi.
I'll get off my soap-box now.
Michael
I can't build a rocket ship, but I can provide someone with scientific proof that they exist.
And honestly, comic... I really don't care if you do believe it. To each his own.
Michael
In the Buddhism, "Chi" refers to the energy of your toughts. It is said that your every thoughts are instantaneously broadcasted into the Universe. Universe energies or "Chi" will then formulate according to your positive or negative thoughts and relects back to you. When natural disaster strike, means the chi is reflecting from a source that is bad. These energies can also be in facial expression and physical health. Some people are healthy and vibrant, some are just dull and boring. The main cause is the thoughts.
You are right in my knowledge, I have been doing Tai Chi for well over 15 years. And I have felt my own energies or Chi and that which surrounds all of us.
I can also recognize it every time I walk through a forest or hike up a mountain. Everytime I am out in the sun. I can feel the Chi of other living things.
As for Scientific Proof, here in California, the medical community is doing secveral studies in to Chi and it's affect on the human body. So far they have discovered that people who do Tai Chi have lower heart rates, Lower blood pressure and other Health benefits. One group is studing to see if Chi is a magnetic field that interacts with the gravity on this earth.
While I admit that there is at this moment no solid sceintific proof. I don't always need to have scientific proof to understand things. Because to me Science isn't always interested in things I have come to know and sometimes you just know.
You are welcome.
We attract energies. Law of attraction.
I was practising the "Yang" Tai-Chi many years back and it was amazing. Well, science cannot proof everything at this time. The greatest science of all, is the science of love-kindness and compassion.
Kin Lee :P
I could do that. But I'd rather do this:
Kalama Sutra - "Rely not on the teacher/person, but on the teaching. Rely not on the words of the teaching, but on the spirit of the words. Rely not on theory, but on experience. Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do
not believe anything because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything because it is written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it." - the Buddha
Honstly, it's actually better for me, I believe, to stop trying to ponder and weigh things that really (to ME - right now - at this point in time) have no real bearing or significance in my life. Some may say, "But chi is all around you! How can you not ponder or give it concern?" - because since I don't believe in its mystical properties and have managed my entire life at this time without believing in it - why should I bother with it now.
So... I actually think the best thing to do is: you ponder and dwell on the things that are significant in your life and I'll ponder and dwell on the things that are significant in my life.
And it's good for both of us.
Michael