As an ancient Chinese martial art, Shaolin Kung Fu traces its
roots back more than 1500 years to the Shaolin Buddhist Temple.
Monks there developed martial arts practice not only for the
purpose of self-defense, but also as an effective system of
physical conditioning which would support their meditation practices.
Sustained concentration during intensive and extended sessions
of any form of meditation (standing, moving or sitting) requires
good health, and a great deal of stamina, flexibility and strength.
Once a sound physical basis for meditation is established, Buddhism
teachs there are then five common mental obstacles which must
be avoided. These are:
dullness
restlessness
ill-will
ignorant desire
unresolved doubt.
In the Buddhist teachings it is also emphasized that meditation
does not end when one finishes the formal session, but is an
ongoing practice that needs attendance continuously through
the day. This would include martial arts training, and an understanding
of these same five obstacles to concentration can be helpful
when applied in that context as well.
It
would be wonderful to always walk into Kung Fu class feeling
completely clear, enthusiastic and open to learning. More often
than not, we can't help but arrive on the practice floor with
attitudes we have developed in response to previous events of
the day (or our lives for that matter.) One morning in particular,
this was especially apparent to me. Arriving late to class and
without enough sleep again, the frustration I was predisposed
for was immediately provoked by the instructor's announcement
we would be doing staff techniques. Generally I liked the staff
forms and exercises I'd previously practiced, but now I was
annoyed instead as it was the one morning I had failed to bring
my personal rattan staff to class. So, consequently being stuck
with one of the much longer and heftier school stick weapons,
I gritted my teeth as we began a sequence of exercises.
As
I struggled with the weight and unwieldiness of the unfamiliar
staff my mind kept comparing this experience with how well I
could be doing if only I had my own stick. Frustration and sweat
increased along with my resistance, and the heavy stick grew
stickier in my hands. It seemed the weapon's response to my
resistance was a refusal to cooperate. I just couldn't get the
techniques right at all.
I
noticed my instructor carefully observing all this, and in particular
how he did not comment on this obviously bad attitude attack
that was effectively preventing me from learning anything. Seeing
him watch me from across the room -quite intentionally leaving
me to my own devices - somehow my own perspective shifted; my
focus changed from my struggle with the techniques (what I assumed
I should be learning,) to dealing with what was really going
on: my own immediate obstacles to learning and concentration.
In
Kung Fu practice it is important to be aware of the points of
resistance encountered in the opponent, since these become the
opportunities for an effective response. In this case, (me being
my own worst enemy,) it was not only my own bad-attitude resistance
obstructing the learning process, but even more fundamental,
my own presumptions and inappropriate preconceptions about the
primary lesson that morning being anything other than this immediate
point.
Obstacles
occur in both martial arts training and meditation practice
because of an inability to surrender conscious and unconscious
habituation and preconceptions, both mental and physical, which
subsequently limits the potential range of responses. Instead,
one must learn to abandon preconceptions in order to accurately
perceive the actual reality of any situation, and in response
adapt one's thinking and movement of mind/body accordingly.
Despite outer appearances, meditation is not a static, non-responsive
state, but particularly at the higher and more intensive levels
of practice, a very refined process of continual and subtle
adjustments made in response to mental fluctuations in order
to maintain clear concentration and meditative equilibrium.
Maybe
that one particular morning the mental affliction level for
me was a bit more extreme, but obstacles to concentration while
training always arise to some extent for each of us. Such as:
you suddenly notice that the instructor has just finished explaining
the technique or exercise, but you didn't get it because for
the past few minutes you've been somewhere else in your mind
running all those after-class errands. That is the obstacle
of restlessness. Or, you find you just don't care that much
about actually improving on some especially demanding movement,
and instead manage to slide by with minimal effort during that
exercise. That would be dullness. And then there's ill-will:
we all have our least favorite practice partners (too stiff,
too clumsy, too whimpy, etc.) or other students who are just
so much better than we are, we really can't stand to work with
them either. (All this discrimination, as if we could have the
same opportunity to select the fighting style or physical characteristics
of the person who might someday attack us.)
In
interfering with concentration, the obstacle of ignorant desire,
(or as it is also known: ignorant attraction to objects of the
senses,) would generally be considered the inability to maintain
consistent discipline necessary to overcome detrimental distractions
by objects of the senses. This might take the form of over-stimulation
of the senses, such as too much food which can slow the body
down, or too much sleep (missing morning meditation session
or martial arts class altogether); or watching too many movies
too late into the night and not having adequate energy available
the next day for training practice. The obstacle of unresolved
doubt arises as an inability to make a firm commitment to the
training process. There is a lack of certainty, or trust, or
inspiration, or even imagination as to the real benefits of
the practice, which then of course do not materialize due to
inconsistency in one's efforts to progress.
In
order to overcome one's own obstacles to concentration, learning
and progress in martial arts practice, it can be very useful
to begin with clearly identifying these particular obstacles
as they specifically manifest in one's own training. In Buddhist
meditation practice, this is called " developing watchfulness,"
also known as "mindfulness," a skill which is then used to alert
oneself to the rising presence of obstacles. The mind is checked
at regular intervals to ensure intensity and clarity of focus.
This requires a great deal of effort, honesty and patience,
but can gradually lead to an understanding of one's own habitual,
ineffective reactions towards certain situations. Then, based
on the motivation to achieve really effective ongoing concentration
for the best possible training and practice, this conscious
awareness of obstacles can become the first step in eliminating
them.
In
fact, the obstacles present us with our greatest opportunities
to progress. It may be that each of us dealing with any of these
obstacles is one of the most important lessons offered in any
martial arts class.
