Tai chi (chi gong) is NOT an exercise

(TangSaying) "Tai chi" was never an exercise | What the original actually says

Tai chi is today thought of as a Chinese martial art created for combat and self-defense, but that is tai chi chuan, chuan meaning "fist."

For most practitioners, it has (d)evolved into an "exercise," a relaxation technique, and a sport. As an exercise and relaxation technique, tai chi is practiced in set sequences known as "forms" (taolu), usually in gentle, flowing, circular motions that are often described as "meditation in motion," though they may also be performed in faster and more vigorous routines.

As a sport, competitors are judged on their performance in forms, pushing hands, and free sparring. As a martial art, practitioners master the applications of forms and partner work for effective self-defense.

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  Master Lam practicing in Sichuan

  Qigong (Chi gong) is the movement of energy: It is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation [2] said to be useful for the purposes of spirituality, health, and self-defense martial arts training [3]. With roots in Chinese medicine, philosophy, and martial arts, qigong is traditionally viewed by the Chinese and throughout Asia as a practice to cultivate and balance the mystical life-force chi or qi [4]. Qigong practice typically involves moving meditation, coordinating slow-flowing movement, deep rhythmic breathing, and a calm meditative state of mind. People qigong worldwide for meditation, recreation, exercise, relaxation, preventive medicine, self-healing, alternative medicine, self-cultivation, and training for martial arts [2].

One implies the other in pairs. It is not balance

Many styles of tai chi are practiced, both traditional and modern. While the precise origins are not known, the earliest well-documented practice began during the Ming-Qing transition at Chen Village and Zhabao Village in Henan on the North China Plain, a region where centuries of rebellions, invasions, and adverse economic and social conditions nurtured the development of a wide range of martial arts, including those of the Shaolin (Kung Fu) Buddhist Monastery on Mount Song at the western edge of the plain.

(Inside the Human) Psychology of men who don't chase women

Most modern styles trace their development to five traditional schools:

1. Chen,
2. Yang,
3. Wu (Hao),
4. Wu,
5. Sun.

In the early 20th century, Yang Chengfu, Wu Jianquan, Sun Lutang, and others promoted and standardized the art for its health benefits in programs supported by the Nationalist government.

This approach was further expanded and institutionalized by the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) government after 1949. In 2020, tai chi was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. More

World's largest Buddhist university town

Explore world’s largest hidden monastic town to get a glimpse of Tibetan monastic life

Sichuan's Giant Leshan Buddha

Tibet Travel (Tibet Vista) May 23, 2025: Today, we visit somewhere truly incredible — a place that feels like it is from another world. Deep in the mountains of western Sichuan, China, is a vegetarian Tibetan Buddhist university called Larung Gar* in the world’s largest and nearly hidden monastic college town.

Few may have heard of it — as it’s not easy to get to — but once it is seen, viewers will understand why it’s so special.

Imagine a valley completely covered with thousands of tiny red cabins, all packed tightly together on the hillsides. These are the homes of Tibetan monks (lama) and nuns (ani) who come here from all over the Tibetan Plateau to study and practice Vajrayana Buddhism.

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  The ruins of Nalanda Buddhist University

  NALANDA was a renowned Buddhist university or "great monastery" (maha vihara) in ancient and medieval Magadha (modern Bihar), eastern India, widely considered among the greatest centers of learning in the ancient world and often referred to as "the world's first residential university" [9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14], like Timbuktu in Africa and much older than Oxford, but destroyed by Muslim marauders. It was located near the city of Rajagriha (Rajgir), roughly 90 kms (56 miles) southeast of Pataliputra (Patna), operating for almost a thousand years from 427 CE until around 1400 CE [15][16] and playing a vital role in promoting the patronage of arts, culture, and academics. More

This video is a look around Larung Gar, the heart of Seda (Sertar or Serthar) — the massive Buddhist academy that has been quietly growing since the 1980s.

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  From here, we will save the world by magic

  SERTAR (Tibetan གསེར་ཐར་རྫོང།, Chinese 色达县) is a county in the northwest of Sichuan province, China, bordering Qinghai province to the north. It is one of the 18 counties under the administration of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, covering 9,340 square kms (3,606 square miles). Sêrtar means "Golden Freedom" [Golden Horse?] in Tibetan. It lies in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau in the historical region of Kham. The vast majority of the population is Tibetan, followed by Han Chinese. Sêrtar comprises 17 towns and 66 villages and is the home of:
• *LARUNG GAR - Larung Gar Buddhist Institute, the largest Tibetan Buddhist institute in the world, formally named the Serta Larung Five Sciences Buddhist Academy. The institute was founded by Lama Jigme Phuntsok in 1980, beginning with just a few monks. It now houses tens of thousands of monks and pilgrims from around the world [2], which constitute the vast majority of the Sêrtar population. Most monks spend 6 to 13 years completing their training. The institute, divided into two main segments and spread over just a few square kms, is located in a valley about 15 kms from the town of Sêrtar. A permit is occasionally required for non-Chinese nationals to enter the institute. Sêrtar is remotely located and requires more than half a day's driving if travelling from Chengdu via Maerkang. It is also possible to travel from Xining, the capital of Qinghai. Sêrtar is at an altitude of 4,100 meters (13,500 feet above sea level), so temperatures range between a maximum of 30 °C (86 °F) in summer and a minimum of −30 °C (−22 °F) in winter. More

It is a place of devotion, discipline, and deep spiritual life, hidden away from the outside world. Let’s go through the narrow paths between the red homes to see what daily life looks like here and try to get a sense of what it feels like to be in such a peaceful spiritual environment.

We’ll visit the main prayer halls, catch a glimpse of the study sessions, and have a chance to see some of the unique local traditions.

For those interested in Tibetan culture, Himalayan Vajrayana (Tantrayana, Mantrayana, Esoteric Bon-infused) Buddhism, or those who just love discovering places most travelers never get to see, this is it. This is going to be something very special. Let’s explore Seda.

Questions on requirements for a tour of Tibet, please never hesitate to contact Jamyang Tour:

• Email jamyangtour@gmail.com
• Wechat ID: Jamyang-1234
• Website: tibettravel.org
• Facebook: tibetvista
• Jamyang, Tibet Travel ( Tibet Vista ), May 23, 2025; Amber Larson, CC Liu, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Our human ancestors 2 million years ago

The mystery of the 2,000,000-year-old human remains | Mystery of Our Ancestors | Timeline

(Timeline - World History Documentaries) Aug. 23, 2022: The Mystery of Remote Ancestors looks at the possible origins of the Chinese people. Starting with the discovery of "Dragon Bone" over a hundred years ago, the Three Gorges region of China has yielded fascinating evidence of a long-gone past. Combining over a century of scientific study, the film focuses on the controversial findings of ancient human remains that date back over two million years.

• Lucy fossil dating back over a million years reveals the truth about early humans (pastchronicle.com)

📺 It's like Netflix for history... Sign up to History Hit, the world's best history documentary service and get 50% off using the code 'TIMELINE' http://bit.ly/3a7ambu.  Find more on: / timelinewh / timelineworldhistory / timelinewh. This channel is part of the History Hit Network. Any queries, please contact owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com.

• CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Trip to Tibet: "Living Buddha" on Dalai Lama

Jonathan Kaiman (LA Times, Jan. 9, 2017); Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly

Zhada, a "living Buddha," had a peculiar answer when a reporter asked for his thoughts on the current Dalai Lama the 14th, a notorious adversary of China (Jonathan Kaiman/LA Times).

Strange journey through Tibetan China

Rare photo of the baby 14th Dalai Lama

ABA PREFECTURE, [Imperial] China - It was a road trip through one of China's most tightly controlled regions.

We drove uphill and deeper into the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, an area of south-western China's Sichuan province, adjacent to Tibet, where more than half the residents are Tibetan.

The Big Tulku: Dalai Lama

There were five of use foreign journalists, packed into two minibuses along with camera crews, interpreters, and scores of Chinese journalists, all seated should to should with the people in control: party officials from Sichuan and Shanghai. We passed scattered villages, high-altitude grasslands, and towering peaks.

Countless propaganda billboards, some many stories high, line the highway.

"Religious Belief Must Be Accordance With Socialism," said one. "Love the Country, Love the Party." Love Religion," said another. "Construct an Excellent Political Environment," said a third.

In 2016, the Chinese government embarked on a Tibet publicity blitz... More: Eat, pray, love the Communist Party: a road trip through Tibetan lands, guided by China

• Police beat blacks, kids but it's no problem (AP)
• Wife of a U.S. marshal accused of framing his ex-girlfriend in Craigslist "rape fantasy" plot Calling the case a "diabolical scheme," Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas says charges will be dropped against a 30-year-old Ontario woman who had been facing the possibility of life in prison if convicted of charges related to the alleged frame-up. 

Tibet: Mysterious Himalayan Towers (video)

Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly; Mitch Moxley (WSJ.com); Dexter Webster

The Himalayan Towers are a series of stone towers located mostly in Buddhist Tibet. Carbon dating shows they were built approximately 500 to 1,100 years ago. One theory says that since they are generally located in prosperous villages, their primary function -- as on Easter Island with its enormous totems -- was as a demonstration of a family's prestige within the community. For strength, many of the towers use a star pattern of walls as opposed to a strictly rectangular construction method. Heights can exceed 197 feet (60 meters). For more information on them see the work of Frederique Darragon.

Saving the Secret Towers

Mitch Moxley (online.wsj.com, May 27, 2011)

Tower in Suopuo village, Danba County, Sichuan, China (James Wasserman/WSJ).

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Not old Mexico but village life in Tibet now.

The ride from Chengdu to Danba Valley is one to be endured, not enjoyed. The journey is by a smoke-filled bus with tiny seats that barrels deep into the mountains of western Sichuan province, shaking and rattling on a single-lane road that is often strewn with fallen rocks. A hair-raising view out the window is of the Dadu River below.

[This sounds exactly like the two-day drive up from the Kashmir Valley to Ladakh, India, the "Rooftop of the World," in the Himalayas behind Mt. Everest along the highest highway in the world. It is a desert moonscape of dust, frozen peaks, and a jade colored river that does not seem to soak into the neighboring ground any better than the might Colorado does the banks of the Grand Canyon.]

This is the route to one of China's most enduring architectural mysteries. Ten hours and 400 kilometers into the journey, the valley opens to reveal green mountains topped with snowy peaks. On a ridge above stand a half-dozen rock towers, like ancient smokestacks.

• PHOTOS: The Secret Towers of Western China

Jiarong woman, Frederique Darragon (WSJ)

Across the remote, earthquake-prone regions of western Sichuan and Tibet, there are hundreds of these structures. They are built of cut stone, brick, and timber, date back as far as 1,700 years and stand up to 50 meters tall. No one is sure of their purpose, but theories abound: They were watchtowers, way stations, status symbols. Some say they have religious meaning.

Striving to save the towers from the forces of neglect, earthquake, and a planned hydropower dam are a small number of preservationists, including Frédérique Darragon, a 61-year-old global adventurer -- sailor, dancer, trekker, polo player -- turned amateur archaeologist by her love for these mysterious structures. More

The Native Americans of Tibet (Summer Pasture)

Wisdom Quarterly

(SGIntlFilmFest, September, 2011)

"Summer Pasture" -- or "Nomad's Life" -- portrays the story of a Tibetan family at a crossroads.

Husband Locha and wife Yama question their future as nomads as they spend their summer in eastern Tibet's Zachukha grasslands. It is an area known as Wu-Zui or "Five-Most," the highest, coldest, poorest, and most remote county in Sichuan Province, China.

Due to the growing pressures of modernization, the couple has to now face the challenge and have their lifestyle reshaped. Directed by Lynn True, Nelson Walker III, Tsering Perlo.

What do Tibetan nomads have to do with Native Americans? They are the same people, who thousands of years ago crossed the Bering Straits to seed the Eskimos and other indigenous Americans.

The planet and human life on it are far older than conventional anthropology concedes. But this field is contradicted by archeology, common sense, spiritual records, and mythology.

The similarities between Native Tibetans and Native Americans are so striking as to be painfully obvious. A trip to Ladakh, India or among the Hmong, Karen, and other native mountain tribes of Asia makes it perfectly clear.

"Summer Pasture" puts on display shocking "coincidences" or clear parallels rooted in a common historical family? The usual answer, however unlikely, is that sometimes similar circumstances lead to similar independent solutions. That may be. The consistent shamanistic traditions of people around the world furthermore suggest the reality of spirit worlds.

• Review: Summer Pasture (Variety)
• Summer Pasture Review (laweekly.com)
  

(thefederationoflight.ning.com)

Skateboarding Buddhist Monk? (video)

Chinese monk skateboarding on temple grounds; monk doll below (sodahead.com).

Skateboarding Monk: Contradiction or Product of Modern Age?

Text by Deborah Jiang Stein (Huffington Post, Dec. 28, 2009)
A monk [not the first] skateboards inside an historic temple and causes controversy in China. In Sichuan province near the top of Mount Emei, the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China, stands the Dafu Temple. Here, a monk on a skateboard has stirred controversy about whether his skateboarding is appropriate behavior for a monk. Many are asking: Is this the way monks ought to live? Clad in his gray cloak and true skater form, the monk twists his legs, leans forward, and skateboards in the temple. More>>

Monks on Skateboards Wisdom Quarterly COMMENTARY

Is skateboarding appropriate behavior within the monastic code of conduct (Vinaya)? Technically, this behavior is fine in private. But in terms of decorum, it is pushing the envelope. On one occasion monks were bathing in a reservoir and splashed each other playfully. This innocent act offended a prominent disciple of the Buddha, who complained to him about how this might look to others. The Buddha then established a monastic rule barring playing in water.

• PHOTO: Tibetan Buddhist monk tries skateboarding at Arou Temple in Arou, Qinghai Province, China (Rob Thompson).

One could easily imagine that the Buddha would also deem recreational skateboarding out of bounds. But as it did not come up, he did not. It is therefore left to the abbot or the local Sangha to decide. Until such a decision is handed down, the bhikshus might consider a stint on the Warped Tour. After all, if that's the worst thing they're doing, we should rejoice.

Skateboarding has already met Christian "spirituality" in Australia and elsewhere. We know firsthand that Ven. Thanissaro (Wat Metta, California), who is known as "Tan Jeff," hikes, camps, and photographs every chance he gets -- and he's the author of the English version of the Buddhist monastic code.

• Online Buddhist Monastic Code (Ven. Thanissaro)

Thousand Buddha Cliffs discovered in China

Three cliffs each containing about a thousand Buddha carvings appeared beside a reservoir in San Su County, in Sichuan province. (Image: newssc.net).

In early August, three cliffs each containing hundreds of Buddha carvings appeared beside a reservoir in San Su County, in Sichuan province, China. The Buddhas, which have different expressions, are well preserved.

Most villagers said they never knew these "Buddha cliffs" existed. However, an old man said he had seen them about 49 years ago. In fact, this place used to be a temple. In 1963, construction of the Chen Gou Reservoir was completed, and the three Buddha cliffs were submerged. In 1983, it was declared a heritage conservation unit at the county level.

According to one expert, the decision to submerge the Buddha cliffs in water was opposed by cultural sectors. However, compared to exposing the Buddhas to the elements, submerging is a much a much better preservation method even though they would also be eroded by water to some extent. Source

More Karma? Latest Chinese Earthquake

Seismograph reading. Thirty-two dead/missing; 258,000 homes destroyed in latest quake in China, state media said today (AFP/File/Olivier Morin). See slideshow

Actress Sharon Stone is staying quiet this time as the latest... China quake kills 27, destroys 180,000 homes
Gillian Wong (AP)

BEIJING -- Chinese rescue teams carrying tents, quilts, and sacks of rice rushed Sunday to reach survivors of an earthquake that killed at least 27 people, turned tens of thousands of homes into rubble, and cracked reservoirs.

Sharon Stone said she "cried" after the Tibetan Foundation asked her to come to the assistance of Chinese quake victims and added: "They wanted to go and be helpful, and that made me cry....It was a big lesson to me that sometimes you have to learn to put your head down and be of service even to people who aren't nice to you" (enjoyfrance.com).

The 6.1-magnitude quake struck Sichuan province on Saturday along the same fault line as the May 12 quake that killed nearly 70,000.

Dozens of evacuees were assembled on a primary school field in Panzhihua, footage from state broadcaster China Central Television showed. Wrapped in quilts, the evacuees, including children and the elderly, lay on plastic sheets and mats on the ground.

Saturday's quake killed 22 people in Sichuan and five in the neighboring province of Yunnan, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The quake damaged major bridges and cracked three reservoirs, the agency said.

Another 362 people were injured, and three were missing after the quake hit 31 miles southeast of Panzhihua City in the southwestern corner of Sichuan on Saturday afternoon, the report said.

About 40,000 people were evacuated and relief efforts were under way, despite being hampered by heavy rains and the region's rugged terrain, Xinhua said. It said 6,200 tents, 3,500 quilts, and 55,000 pounds of rice were sent to the quake zone.

Since the 7.9-magnitude temblor on May 12, the region has been hit by scores of aftershocks.

A woman who answered the phone at Sichuan provincial seismological bureau said the region was hit by about 300 aftershocks on Sunday morning. She declined to give her name, saying she was not authorized to speak to the media.

Later on Sunday, a 5.6 magnitude aftershock was recorded in the same location as Saturday's quake, the administration said in a separate statement posted on its Web site. It was not immediately clear what damage the aftershock caused.