Five Points Regarding

Self-Knowledge Studies
in Tai Chi Practice

By Roger Ashton
2014

Copyright Roger Ashton Roger Ashton 2014 In Montreal.

All Rights Reserved. No copies but by his hand.

Five Points Regarding Self-Knowledge Studies in Tai Chi Practice

Contents

1. What is Self-knowledge?
2. Is lack of Self-knowledge a Mental Health issue?
3. Self-knowledge and Intending
4. Self-knowledge and the Heart
5. The Heart and the Soul
6. Is the Pursuit of Self-knowledge a Spiritual Pursuit?
7. Implications of Finding Oneself
8. What do Self-knowledge Studies look like?
9. Self-knowledge and Martial Art

1.

What is Self-knowledge?
Self-knowledge is a specific thing, but it is very controversial. It is

controversial because as part of getting along in the world, people pretend they
have self-knowledge, whereas they might not really have it. Having it means you
know who you are deeply. Not having it means you have self-doubt. Anyone
can have self-knowledge; anyone can lose self-knowledge. Having it may
simplify living for self-fulfillment, since the self is known. Not having it
complicates fulfillment, since the basis for judgments is weak.
The issue of self-knowledge is important because of the interaction of
family and culture with individuals, generating a self which we use to get along
in the world; not the self of self-knowledge, but a provisional self that gets the
jobs of living done hopefully.
We hope the self we generate to get along in life corresponds to who we
really are, but it might not. It might be fraught with contradictions against our
depths. Some people are perfectly at peace; others arent. So it is natural to see
self-knowing people advance easily if no accident or misfortune occurs to them,
while it is also natural to see un-self-knowing people struggle on part of their
lifes path. Is achieving self-knowledge part of life? Yes it is.

2.

Is lack of Self-knowledge a Mental Health Issue?

Maybe. Lack of self-knowledge can certainly be confusing, and a cause of

chaos in a life. That doesnt mean that person is sick or crazy. It can be a cause
of depression or a contributing factor in bipolar disorder. It might contribute to
the development of neurosis, psychosis, or schizophrenia. But so many people
are un-self-knowing that if they were all mentally ill this world would be an
open-air asylum, which it isnt.
Nevertheless, un-self-knowing can be deeply disturbing, and may be an
indirect cause of a system of poor judgments that may directly cause chaos or
ill-health. Un-self-knowing is a cause of grief, falsity, and suffering.

People do all sorts of things to garner self-knowledge; from deep-sea

yachting, to academic studies, to mountain-climbing, to martial art. Tai Chi
may be understood as one of the things people do for self-knowledge. It has the
characteristic, if it is studied and applied, of being able to move a person
forward in their being, so that the processes intrinsic within the art propel the
individual forward in their human potential. This is experienced in a unique
way by each individual. Nevertheless, if the classic process is followed, similar
results will be achieved.
It is very common for people to study and practice Tai Chi for well-being.
But seldom will they understand that the capacity for Tai Chi to produce wellbeing is linked to its ability to produce self-knowledge. This production of selfknowledge happens because of the arts basis in a concept of the mind as a
holistic part of the human being. More specifically, the art uses a combination
of meridian energy (Chong Mai), Tan-tien energy, physical energy, psychic
energy (intent, Heart, and Will), and the six transformations to engage the mind
on many levels with the body. Self-knowledge is a natural side-effect of this
process of deep mind/body engagement.
It is very important to recognize that self-knowledge is a side-effect of the
art, not a major effect. Mistaking this point can cancel results easily. By
seeking a side-effect as if it were the major effect, the student may very well
weaken the central processes in the art. For anyone seeking a toning of their
mental health, or self-knowledge in particular, it is important to recognize they
are involved in a profound process that may produce what they want, but as a
secondary precipitate, not as the major product. The challenge for some of the
people who seek well-being and self-knowledge from Tai Chi practice is to
practice for the major product, but with the secondary precipitate as their
actual goal. This is following two paths at once. In such a case, it is necessary
to make peace with the fact that Tai Chi is a martial art, and is concerned with
power, speed, and technique. If a student remains in denial of this, then intent
will remain weak, and the precipitate of self-knowledge will be mitigated.
It is ironic that people in need of self-knowledge are weakened by their
lack of it; and when they practice, they are denied by their state of self-doubt of
the focus they need to accomplish their practice. It is tragic that many teachers

minimize the need to practice Tai Chi as martial art for all the people who need
healing or well-being. This cools the inner processes, and makes it possible
they will not be healed. This doesnt mean they need to study push-hands or
applications. They only need to study the forms at a deep enough level to
realize the art. If they remain dreamers, hopers, or dancers, they might never
learn to use their mind. It is by learning to use the mind correctly that selfknowledge is won.

3.

Self-knowledge and Intending

Intending may be done superficially or deeply. Superficially, it is the way

we execute tasks in life; mundane tasks and serious tasks. Deeply, it is the way
we act when there are profound consequences. In Tai Chi practice, things can
be done from the surface, or from depth. Both may produce some selfknowledge, but acting from depth produces more self-knowledge. If the form
one practices is well-designed, it will operate significant effects on the body if it
is practiced regularly even if it is not practiced profoundly just because of
the power of the forms design. If a well-designed form is practiced deeply, the
results will be much greater. For anyone seeking self-knowledge from a Tai Chi
practice program, it is important to recognize that some study is required to
optimize the results of the practice. Otherwise, the results might be too
superficial to make a significant difference in a life. Part of this study is
learning how to use the intending mind correctly.
This correct use of the intending mind is not only a thing that is learned
by information. It is grown. This is a controversial point. It is controversial
because it is based in the notion of growth of the mind, which in turn is based
in the notion of the mind as a fluid reality, based in the old Chinese paradigm
of essence, energy, and spirit (ching, chi, shen). The controversy is ultimately
a conflict of metaphysics; whether mind exists in an ideal world, where it
participates only partially in the material world (as per monotheism), or
whether it exists in the real world, where it participates directly and completely
in the material world. In the old Chinese paradigm of mind, it may be grown
through exercise and focus, and promoted to higher levels through the

application of the traditional (Taoist) processes of attention and exercise. Selfknowledge is a side-precipitate of advancement on the traditional (Taoist) path
of evolution. Learning correct intending is an integral part of this path.
The controversy is about whether it is possible to grow the mind, grow
the energy in the body/mind continuum, and to grow the spirit. This is where
there is a divergence of attitude. Many Chinese people have no problem
accepting that they are involved in a process of mental growth. Many western
people reject this idea, and reject the basic practices involved with it. Instead,
they accept the physical aspects of the art (forms and exercises), and as
regards the inner processes, they innovate attention methods, or borrow
attention methods from other disciplines that correspond more closely to an
ideal concept of the mind (based on understanding, not on mental strength).
The problem with this attitude is that it rejects preparation. Instead of
preparing the brain and mind for a future, more encompassing task, they try to
immediately use the understanding mind as primary mental medium, as if by
insisting there is no other mind besides the (ideal) understanding mind, they
will make it so. This is simply a facile denial that Chinese tradition is real;
pretending that only western civilization is real: just chauvinism, nothing else.
This aspect of chauvinism is disastrous for the development of intending ability,
and also for the development of self-knowledge.
The correct use of the intending mind is grown; first, by learning to use
the head correctly: suspension by using Bai Hui, keeping the jaw shut, using
the tongue correctly, absorbing the saliva production, tilting the skull, placing
the neck on the thorax, training the eyes on the hands, and directing the mind
forward. This is the first major task in learning Tai Chi. Learning the forms is
taken for granted. If no mental development is established, then the forms
cannot be grown into a significant practice. This does not mean that no results
will be obtained. On the contrary, many far-reaching results may be obtained if
one practices a well-designed form. But in order to enter into the significant
practices the mind has to be grown. This is done in the traditional way.
Secondly, the intending mind must be trained as it is growing. It must be
given significant tasks, and those tasks must be accomplished systematically.
This means the forms have to be adjusted, so that the mind may eventually run

the forms correctly. The adjustment of the forms is the second significant task
of the art. This is a real study, not to be minimized or mitigated.
The third significant task is the realization of the thirteen postures. If the
first two tasks have been accomplished, the energy will already have been built.
Then it becomes a question of wielding it correctly with the intending mind. All
through the evolution, if the processes are followed, the intending mind will
grow, and when the third task is reached, it will be understood. All through the
training, if the classic processes are not rejected, there will be a side-effect
within the moral aspect of the mind, which will be experienced as increasing
self-knowledge. This is how the study of the intending feature of the art
produces self-knowledge.

4.

Self-knowledge and the Heart

Within the human being; within the mind of the human being, there is a

set of moral relations. These relations have to do with the relationship of the
conscious mind with the Heart, which may be less conscious, depending on the
individual. These relations are moral relations because they may be more or
less true; more or less honest. A person may be in denial of their Heart, living
through their mind as if their Heart were not real. This is a situation of
fundamental immorality; culpable within ones own mind, but not culpable
with others, as long as there is no larger betrayal of anothers Heart. The
concept of morality within oneself is less than obvious, especially in our
civilization. This concept depends on whether or not the Heart is real. In Tai
Chi and internal martial art, the Heart is the basis of the mind and is the
fundamental internal reality. In Tai Chi and internal martial art, the potential
for a student to achieve self-knowledge is the same as the potential for the
student to get to know their own Heart. Self-knowledge happens when the mind
and heart harmonize, producing an integrated individual.
In our civilization, except in the waning world of womens culture, the
Heart is less significant than the conscious mind. This is a source of grief,
because of poor judgments based in a narrow understanding of the mind;
judging the Hearts input to not be real.
In Tai Chi practice, because of the necessity to include the Heart in the
intending feature of the mind, the Heart is normally toned within the total
horizon of the mind, and normally becomes more apparent. For some men, this
means they become more self-aware through the emergence of sincere feelings.
For some women, this means they become more self-aware through the
emergence of personal power. Both can happen to any individual. The Heart is
a large, complex world, and is particular to each individual. Self-knowledge is
largely an affair of becoming familiar with unknown aspects of ones own Heart,
ones own intending mind, ones own intrinsic qualities, and the ways in which
the world (and past events) have mitigated ones own experience of life in the
world and life as an emerging individual. Then it is an affair of re-negotiating
ones own presence in the world, according to ones new self-knowledge.

In Tai Chi practice, this is done through the medium of energy;

understanding is secondary. This puts the practice of Tai Chi squarely on the
Taoist side, with energy as the primary transformative medium. The
phraseology of self-knowledge suggests that it happens primarily through the
understanding mind. That is not the case. It happens primarily through the
transformation of the understanding mind into the knowing mind. This means
that understanding is progressively replaced with knowing. This is a
controversial point. The controversy is based in the indistinct quality of
knowledge. It is not a question of rational, intellectual, or social knowledge.
Rather, it is a question of direct, intuitive, and personal knowledge. It is
possible for a Tai Chi practitioner to undergo a knowledge revolution just as
well as it is for a Taoist to undergo the same type of revolution. This happens
through the progressive transformation of the brain and mind, enforced by the
sustained effort to advance in cultivation. Cultivation is the active element in
the practices that advances the mind through the stages of self-knowledge.
Cultivation produces the initial fullness in the body, which is then transmuted
through correct physical effort, correct breathing, and correct mental effort
into a higher level of mentation, which results in a higher level of self-knowing
and self-knowledge. Key to this process is knowing how to use the Heart.
Using the Heart is paradoxical. It is not ones own to use in the same way
than an arm or a leg is ones own to use. It is virtually the deepest part of
oneself. It is the part that uses every other part, and is enabled with a version
of sovereignty and authority that is unique on the mental horizon. This means
that in order to use ones Heart effectively, one has to submit to being used by
it; to submit to it in an ontic (being) sense; to admit that one is ones Heart.
This is an evolutionary revolution in and of itself.
This Heart revolution is the basis of the emerging self-knowledge.
Knowing ones own Heart, one knows ones self.

5.

The Heart and the Soul

Every monotheist, and many polytheists believe in the soul. Whether or

not the individual believes in reincarnation, the belief in the soul postulates
that an essential element of the individual transmigrates. At issue is whether
the Heart is the soul, and by implication, whether the knowledge of ones Heart
is also knowledge of ones soul; which would make Tai Chi practice into a
significant spirituality, not just a martial art. According to one of my teachers
in China, the internal martial arts (and martial art in general) are one of the
native religions of China; unheralded as such but functioning in every way as
such. In the same conversation he said there is no limit to martial arts
advancement, only the limit imposed by the student. This implies also no limit
to the expansion of self-knowledge. It is true that the notion of the soul is
particular to the west and to monotheism, whereas the Heart as it is
understood in Chinese internal martial art is a notion particular to China
(the Heart is not only a center of feelings). For westerners studying Tai Chi this
is somewhat germane because the methods within Tai Chi practice lead to an
awakening of the Heart. Is this the same as an awakening of the soul? Maybe,
maybe not. In Tai Chi practice, there is no intervening deity, as there is in
Christianity, where there is the promise of deific intervention, changing a
person. While it is true that self-knowledge can change a person and change
their behaviors, it seems that these changes are of a different order than those
promised by Christianity and the other types of monotheism. If Tai Chi practice
is conceived as a true spirituality, it must be understood as a specific variant of
Taoism, not as anything like monotheism. While self-knowledge may put a
person close by other deep spiritual issues, it might not answer every question.

6.

Is the Pursuit of Self-knowledge a Spiritual Pursuit?

Yes. No. Maybe. What is spirituality anyway? A person can use the quest

for self-knowledge to heal neuroses, overcome grief, or to save a marriage.

These are pragmatic human goals that are achievable through Tai Chi practice
if the individual is willing to practice correctly and also willing to harvest the
precipitate of self-knowledge that advancing in subjectivity produces. But are
they spiritual goals? No. But they all have something to do with the spirit.

There are different types of spirituality, with different values and

interpretations of the core metaphysics of life. Tai Chi is not a spirituality of
resurrection or reincarnation, but it is definitely a spirituality of spirit. This
distinction is important. It is definitely true that in China, the influence of
Taoism has produced thousands of practices that have spiritual functions that
are based on the advancement of spirit (shen) through exercise, martial art,
meditation, Qi Gong, etc. But the advancement of spirit is not broadly accepted
by the other great religions (even Buddhism) as a true spirituality. It is often
seen as just chinoiserie, simple energetic practices, based on traditional
techniques handed down through history.
But this doesnt mean that somewhere real Taoists dont exist. The test of
whether the quest for self-knowledge is a spiritual pursuit has to be tested.
Having achieved self-knowledge, the individual will know if their results are
spiritual or not.

7.

Implications of Finding Oneself

Self-knowledge, although it may very well be incremental, is a specific

thing. It has to do with discovery, not cognition. While it is true that many
things may be understood about oneself, self-knowledge is intuitive and
volitional, not cognitive. It is intuitive inasmuch as when the energy level is
critically close to a fundamental re-centering of ones energy, it is intuition that
imagines or re-imagines ones fundamental nature. It is volitional because after
this re-imagining, then the individual has to make it so by an act of will on
energy, completing the re-centering task. This is not a bit of fluff. Many
individuals struggle over their lifetime for self-knowledge. This process can
resolve the issue. But another sort of resolve is required to maintain the recentered state. This is an unheralded task for Tai Chi practice. Tai Chi can be
used to repeatedly re-center the whole bodys energy, so that the new individual
(the re-centered and re-imagined individual) can be toned and defined as the
emerging new being within the practice: the being of ones choice, not of ones
past. This way, Tai Chi practice can be the path to a profoundly new life.

The implication of finding oneself is that ones nature as a person is

meaningful. Ones nature is not an arbitrary decision or the influences from
ones family or environment. It is a real thing, but many of us are unaware at
that depth. Tai Chi practice, once it has been advanced into energetics, can
reveal to an individual who they are at their foundation; what their
unchangeable nature is.
This is the first major revelation of the quest for self-knowledge: I know
who I am now. This is a significant piece of knowledge for anyone. Some people
will give up their quest for self-knowledge at this point, having achieved their
basic goal. Another type of person will continue their exploration of their being.
The next implication of self-discovery is that there are real moral stakes
involved. Once one has discovered oneself after significant efforts, it then
becomes an issue of: Will I now be true to this fundamental nature and quality
I have struggled so hard to discover; or will I let it be ploughed under by the
force of the world (again)?
Once the fundamental nature of oneself has been discovered, and selfknowledge is a real thing, then the human condition re-manifests in a new,
clearly understandable way; part of living is about insisting on ones quality,
even though it might be inconvenient. If ones own quality has been shrouded,
then it is appropriate to un-shroud it. Tai Chi practice is a possible way to do
this. It is not the only way, but it is a practicable way (even though it can take
considerable time).
In this light, a part of the depths of martial art can be appreciated. They
are not only about winning real fights against flesh-and-blood opponents. They
are also about winning the moral (and other) struggles within life, by recentering on ones true nature, and by making that true nature strong enough
to persist as a moral reality in the world. This is about ones relationship with
oneself; is ones integrity as a moral being of defined nature and quality worth
struggling for? Using the hard-won self-knowledge as new ontic center (newly
discovered center of being) within practice is a way to sustain, affirm, and
extend ones nature and quality in real time.

Now it can be seen how Tai Chi can become an abstract gymnasium for
the toning and expansion of ones being.

8.

What do Self-knowledge Studies look like?

They look like classic Tai Chi practice. Self-knowledge is a secondary

precipitate of classic martial arts training. It is true that in order to reach a

high level in martial art the moral feature of the individual must be firm, or
there will only be a weak inner authority, and the arts development will
sputter. But this sort of inner firmness is forged in the heat of correct practice.
It cannot be targeted as a primary goal. That would unbalance the mind in all
its relations to the practices.
Once again, the irony is that the people who need self-knowledge are
weakened by not having it, making them less capable of significant practice.
They need to focus their mind and establish inner order in their mind by force
of will and the authority of Heart. But because they are lost within their mind,
they lack a center from which to execute. This is why Tai Chi is practicable as a
way to self-knowledge: by using the classic progression of cultivation, the mind,
the brain, the intent, the Heart, the energy, and the will; all grow as a unit
when the classic path of cultivation is followed.

9.

Self-knowledge and Martial Art

Many people of every age want to learn Tai Chi, but many of them

disparage its martial nature, more or less supposing they can get way with not
paying attention to Tai Chis martial nature. This reveals they dont know
whats going on; both in Tai Chi and in martial art. They might have watched
the wrong movies. Martial art is broad and deep. It has many aspects. One of
the aspects of Tai Chi is that it combines a cultivation system with a martial
art of the internal school. The reason Tai Chi is slow, gentle, and soft is to

permit the elaboration of a specific martial arts power; song ching. It is also
soft, gentle, and slow to permit the cultivation process to advance. The reality
of these facts is foreign to most students, so they go into a sort of denial, and
they just dont believe it. The same thing happens with people who practice Tai
Chi for self-knowledge; they deny that it is necessary to study Tai Chi as a
martial art. Ignorance of the field makes things worse. They imagine falsities,
and flounder about in their ignorance. This postpones the beginning of their
studies.
Tai Chi practice is a martial arts practice. Because its nature is
profound, it is also abstruse. It takes considerable study to unlock the
relationship of the practitioners mind to the imbedded sequences of the
thirteen postures in the art. This study is what the center of Tai Chi practice is
about. It is ironic that so many students want the side-effect of Tai Chi
practice, yet refuse to study the central practices of the art.