characters (steven?)

What I have written was simply meant as a question.

If I would have seriously started to study East Asian Studies in University of Helsinki, I also would have made studies in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) or at least immediately in acupuncture. There is nobody teaching the classical one (CCM) in Finland as is understandable.

Also I am not questioning qi, yin & yang, wu xing, jing etc.

Many of these are quite easy to experience up to certain degree.

But if I am not questioning the experinces or the possibility to develop experiences, there is always some problems with any ancient world view whether Daoist or any other comparable one.

I think that in Buddhist Tantra there are many powerfull techniques but still I think it’s not worth to start to study Sanskrit or Tibetan just to be able to read the classics. I mentioned this as a comparison because if I would major in university in East Asian Studies, I could for example have Buddhist Studies as a minor.

I only asked because, I don’t think that there is really time to master all and everything. Mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy, mandarin chinese, japanese, arabic, or any practical profession… professionally you don’t study them all thoroughly…you are expected to specialize.

So if I want to deepen firmly and steadily my experiences about essential things, more important are things with make me independent from society: survival, tracking, stalking, parkour and so on, names for these things are not important.

Traditionally those who have been steadily advancing yogically, have been always rebels.

HOWDY

Ps. I don’t have in the moment resources to propose complicated and non-trivial criticism of Chinese Cosmology or any other worldview, because I don’t know enough about them. I admit.

This is also my opinion.

I had several points in my mind.

First of all, I haven’t read all books by Felix Mann, but I have liked his approach and he might have some original insights which I personally will follow, if I have time. But he is also somebody who has turned his coat or changed his colors what comes to his ideas about acupuncture.

Second is that I still think that there is quite much cumbersome and schematic in ancient Chinese ways, I mean in theoretical sense. Conceptually these Chinese conceptions simply float too much for present day needs, in my opinion.

Originally this thread started with question concerning meaning of some characters. When I have visited Chinese restaurants in Finland I have consciously tested how well they know characters and very often they don’t know them at all (still being ethnically Chinese). Also it was just one and half a years ago when they started an experiment in Helsinki with first graders (normally 6 or 7 years old in Finland) to learn both Mandarin and characters as a first foreign language. Grammatically Chinese is simple language, but it still takes much time to master. So it’s a real great practical challenge for somebody to seriously starting to learn to speak, read and write in Chinese way.

HOWDY

Japanese connection?

There nice enough little book which gives some special way to work with characters.

So called kuji kiri.

I don’t think that one should see it as very original, but good enough.

http://www.ashidakim.com/stb.html (Secrets of the Ninja)

HOWDY

Kuji Kiri has even found its way into the world of Japanese sports where some athletes can often be seen sporting tiny taped latices (representing the nine cuts symbolically) on their skin. How this started and what the belief in this practice is unknown. It is a protection spell, you put a kanji symbol of whatever you want protection from inside a 9 lined grid representing RIN, KYO, TOH, SHA, KAI, JIN, RETSU, ZAI, ZEN have to draw lines in that order for it to work…the Kuji In were created from the gesture of both hands, (the left hand Taizokai possess a receptive valence, and the right hand Kongokai possess an emitter valence). The Kuji Kiri performed with the right hand are to emphasize the cut of the ignorance of the veil of Maya (that is the deceptive sensory world) through the Sword of the Wisdom. In this way, according to the belief system of Shingon Mikkyo, one would come to create an opening in the daily world that would allow one to reach various states of consciousness. Some Kuji Kiri is made of Jaho, and Kobudera. Derived from the Taoist dualism, Jaho could be seen as Yin, and Kobudera as Yang. This has deeper significance in the various forms of Kuji Kiri that exist.
-WIKIPEDIA about Kuji Kiri

I don’t think it really matters if this picture is strange. It’s only Sega Genesis arcade game cover (the first Genesis Shinobi game). Although it has been created by Japanese, it has all kinds of funny little details.

More interesting are some practices which have been practiced by Daoists as well as Japanese Buddhists.

I still think Kuji Kiri is interesting practice.

Also various teachings how to actually practice Kuji Kiri, I think transmission mostly has been very uncomplete. But I of course don’t claim to be anykind of adept.

Sorry for my broken English.

HOWDY