The Shaolin Workout by Shi Yan Ming

Author:Shi Yan Ming
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rodale
Published: 2006-05-05T16:00:00+00:00

Meditation

My body is a gift from my parents and from Buddha. I was given it to use. I will not waste this precious gift.

Our bodies are gifts from our parents and from Buddha, and we were given them to use. If you don’t use your body, it becomes like an abandoned car. You can almost feel the rust forming in your joints. Then, when you need it—when you have to run to catch a bus—it won’t start. That’s why it’s important to maintain your mental and physical condition.

As we all know, obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, and it’s spreading throughout the world as more and more cultures imitate Western lifestyles and diets. Sifu teaches that 21st-century technology is a fantastic gift. We don’t have to walk everywhere. We can fly from the United States to China overnight. With our cellular phones, we can call anyone, anytime, from anywhere.

But at the same time, all this technology can make us lazy and overweight. As we gain weight and avoid physical exercise, our bodies fall apart. The extra pounds strain our backs, knees, ankles, and joints. We sit at computers all day, putting stress on our necks and shoulders. Day by day, the body falls apart a little more.

Without balance, a blessing can become a burden. You truly can have too much of a good thing. Let’s say a person sees that a friend is having trouble walking, so she gives her a pair of new, comfortable walking shoes. That is a blessing. But suppose she gives her 10 pairs of shoes? Now she has to carry those extra 9 pairs, which makes walking a little more difficult. What if she gives her 100 pairs? How far can she walk now? The blessing has become a burden.

It’s a blessing to live in a world where we’re surrounded by all this technology and we have an abundance of food to eat. But if we eat too much, if we let the technology make us lazy, these blessings can very literally turn into a burden—the burden of extra weight. That extra 100 pounds you carry around every day is like those 100 pairs of shoes.

Life is so beautiful. It may seem like a long time, but it’s very short. When you are a child, you have no responsibilities. Adults take care of you, give you clothes and food, keep you safe and happy. Then you leave your parents’ home and go out into the world on your own. You study, you begin a career, you get married, you have kids. You may also begin to think too much, worry too much, confuse yourself, and forget to enjoy all these beautiful things that have come into your life.

Life is short. From the day you leave your parents’ house to the day you die might be 40, 50, 80 years. That may seem like a long time. But subtract all the time you spend asleep during those years. All the hours you spend eating.

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