Infinite Dao – 尝试空手道 Trying Karate

Extracts from Patrick Kelly’s book ‘Infinite Dao’ Chapter 1. (Part 1)

尝试空手道 Trying Karate

之后的一年，我大部分时间都呆在神学图书馆，翻阅着每本能找到的内修书籍，因为我甚至知识是实践的铺路石。只是，虽然那时的我对简明的禅宗佛理有着浓厚兴趣，但让我数年如一日地天天打坐冥想几个小时却很难。早年的我热衷于日本剑道、空手道、合气道、弓道（射箭术）等武术，也读过有关武术与禅宗关系的书籍。综合考虑后，我决定一边继续探索各类灵修，一边做其中一种武术的学习，同时从情感方面培养并平衡好日常生活中的人际互动。For the next year I spent most of my days in the Theosophical library, reading every interesting book on the subject of inner development that could be found. Simultaneously, I saw that knowledge was only a preparation for practise. I was attracted by the apparent simplicity of the Zen Buddhist philosophy but the thought of sitting with a blank mind for hours each day, for many years, did not exactly appeal at that time. Because of my previous interest in the martial arts and having read of their connection with Zen – eg Kendo, Karate, Aikido and Kyudo (Archery) – I decided to take up one of these martial arts while continuing my investigation of the different spiritual traditions. All this of course while not forgetting the emotionally nurturing and balancing interpersonal interactions of normal daily life.

University life

在大学的我并不重视专业的学习，但却会一周两三次跑去参加校园里一家极真会空手道的培训。大山倍达大师是这种空手道的创始人，他年轻时曾以赤手空拳对博并杀死了数只大公牛。但他的力量也是他的弱点。此外，个人认为，这项武术对精神层面的修炼并不够重视，虽然练习这一武术的人认为，大量体格训练的同时精神面也得到了训练。At the University – where I continued to neglect my academic studies – there was a Kyokushinkai Karate school and I began training 2 to 3 times per week. The creator of this style, Master Masutatsu Oyama, was known for his physical prowess having fought and killed large bulls with his bare hands in his younger days. But his strength was also his weakness and the spiritual side of the art, which they felt they trained due to the tremendous physical efforts made in their training, was for my own inclination, not emphasised sufficiently.

Growing regard for health

由于日本武术会刻意无视身体的健康，我和其他学员就不断遭受着各种外伤的困扰。学习日本武术，练习者必须压制肉体对舒适和健康的渴求以增强意志，并最终以某种神秘之法打开灵修通道。该理念虽有事实依据，但它施行起来技巧生硬。我为了进一步了解其训练方式，坚持了下来。Besides that, the intentionally careless disregard for the health of the body, typical of the Japanese Martial Arts, generated injuries in myself and all those others with whom I trained. The idea was that by deliberately pitting the will against the body’s desires for comfort and health, the will would grow in power, thereby, hopefully, in some unexplained manner giving access to the spiritual dimension. The idea had a basis in truth but the execution was not skilful. Still, I continued to practise, in the process understanding something of how to train and something of how not to train.

Sanchin

首年学习快结束时，空手道师傅让我去翻阅图书馆里的中国武术书籍，但并没告诉我缘由。空手道师傅曾向我提及一位非华人不教的中国师傅，说他亲眼见识过那位师傅的非凡能力并向他请教过内力（中文称为“气”，日文为“ki”）的练习法，得到的答复是：学习空手道最好重点练三战。三战的招式动作适用于绝大多数的空手道，它们缓慢但伸缩有力，要求有极大的意志力。Towards the end of my first year of training, for no apparent reason, my Karate teacher instructed me to go to the library and read about the Chinese Martial Arts. He also told me about a Chinese teacher he knew who had shown him some remarkable abilities but refused to teach non-Chinese students. My Karate teacher had asked this man how to train the internal force (Qi – Chinese, or Ki – Japanese). The Chinese teacher replied that, if utilising Karate, the best chance was to concentrate on practising the Sanchin Kata. This set sequence of movements is universal to most styles of Karate and is executed slowly with strong contraction together with an extreme, irresistible, effort of will.

Continued….

克利 Patrick A Kelly

began Taiji with an experienced student of Master Huang Xingxian in 1973. In 1977 he moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he studied full time in Master Huang’s school. In 1979, following tradition, Master Huang accepted Patrick as his personal disciple – the only non-Chinese to ever enter Huang’s inner-school. From that time Patrick Kelly travelled and taught beween Asia, Australasia and Europe while continuing to learn personally with Master Huang untill his death late 1992. Simultaneously Patrick worked closely both with the Naqshibandi Gnostic Sage Abdullah Dougan for 14 years until Abdullah’s death in 1987 and for 30 years with the Raja Yogi Mounimaharaj of Rajasthan who died in 2007 at more than 105 years old.

1973年，派瑞克利开始向黄性贤大师的一位资深学生学习太极。1977年，他来到马来西亚吉隆坡，在黄性贤大师的学校全日制学习太极。1979年，遵循传统惯例，黄性贤大师收派瑞克利为徒，他成为了黄性贤大师唯一的非华人入室弟子。自那时起，派瑞克利往来于亚洲、澳洲及欧洲教拳，同时继续私下向黄性贤大师学习，直至大师于1992年末去世。同一时期，派瑞克利还跟随纳什般迪派和诺斯替派哲人阿卜杜拉多安学习十四年，直到1987年阿卜杜拉去世，跟随拉贾斯坦的胜王瑜伽大师穆尼玛哈拉吉学习三十余年，直至穆尼大师在2007年以105岁高龄去世。