The Principle of Non Resistance

The Principle of Non Resistance
The Passive Activity
"It is useless to push a river..."

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We recover here one of the least integrated principles: it is the famous "non-doing". A lot has been said about this principle as a manner of not doing anything and waiting in order to get somewhere, like a used subway ticket pushed by the dirty water in the gutter. This idea is rather little compatible with the active vision of the Taoist life. The concept of non-resistance does not reside in doing nothing but rather in going with the flow of events as opposed to resisting them. In the interaction between the yin and yang, when for example there is too much yang, we have two solutions: either we try to bring in more yin or we push yang to the extreme.
In the first case, we go "against" in order to bring balance; in the second, we go "with" in order to change the cycle of the movement. The one that can understand this concept will find the way to simple life.
There is a Chinese saying: "it is useless to push a river". One recovers the very essence of the non-resistance principle in this sentence. It is interesting to see that most problems with which we are confronted in life, as minute as they are, due to our negatively intervening mind become quickly a horrible, overwhelming mountain. The principle of the non-resistance aims at understanding and acceptance of the problem in question, at going in its direction and getting the resolution thus out of it. Not resisting while going in the sense of the aggravation, we are able to eliminate it quickly. Once again, this method asks for concrete applications and clean experience.

In the arts of combat, the basic concepts explain it all quite well: go always straight to the goal; if one is stopped in his access to the goal, to glue himself to the obstacle; if the obstacle is too strong, let the strength pass; then return to the pursuit of the goal.

The awareness that corresponds to this level of practice is the realization that life "flows" and we can become a part of this fluidity. Here is the time when it is necessary to concentrate and listen to the sensations within us, to accept the signs that we can receive from life and follow our instincts. Therefore, we are going to try to get back in touch with the part of ourselves that already "knows"; our being's part that we never listen to.
The practice of Chi Kung here is the one of "the plates". It is an exercise that comes to us from Bagwa, the martial art on which you can find some details in this website. This exercise is going to loosen the whole muscular sinewy chain of the arms. It is also a practice that stretches, works the balance, coordination and permits to arrive to a dissociation of the left/right movements. The practice begins then in the position of the tree, evolves into linear movements and finishes with an endless circular motion. This is a funny practice that shows us the lacks in coordination and the tensions stocked in the body, particularly on the level of joints. Here we begin the meditative practice, the most important one in which many students initially fail to succeed. This practice can remain blocked for years or on the contrary, can be a revelation in seconds; it is about the white screen, a state of modified conscience that will be the basis of most advanced practices. This active method of meditation permits to observe, analyze and understand the manner in which thoughts speed up in our brain and how we can act on them. We may complain the more about the practice because it asks for a daily effort and a lot of time before settling in. But one doesn't have the choice, does he? This observation of our own mind allows us to know ourselves better. It is also a practice, which reveals itself as being the basis of all other practices.
In order for all this to function, it is now necessary to achieve a complete relaxation, it is necessary to relax and benefit of life. One of the first concepts easy to understand and practically impossible to apply is this: to accept what we cannot change. If an event in your life puts you to worry but there is no way to neither change things, dissolve nor influence them, then it is important we understand that it is necessary to relax. It can go from the simplest to the most horrible things that life knows how to throw at you. An invoice, a death in your family or an incapacitating accident, these are the examples among so many others where one is not able to do anything anymore except to accept what is unchangeable. On the other hand, if one has the opportunity to make an unpleasant situation evolve, it is important to understand: that is the moment where one is going to react. At this stage, one is going to stop letting things be, stop being a victim and undertake to change what one does not accept. In the yin there is yang and vice versa. Here you will also see that it is necessary to stop taking yourself seriously, to believe yourself so important and once again, it will be necessary to relax. Physically, this is the moment where we realize that there is dissociation in the body between the right, left, top, bottom, front and rear. At this level of practice one will try only to bring the mental in a controlled "leader" state to loosen it better later. This is the time where one develops and reinforces the defensive energy of the body.