Taiji ist ein Begriff der höchsten Kategorie in der chinesischen Philosophie. Seit alters her gibt es nur wenige Sätze wie das "Yi hat Taiji, daraus entstehen die zwei großen Bilder", die das Wort Taiji erklären. Gewöhnlich denkt man sofort an das populäre Taijiquan, wenn man das Wort Taiji hört. Nur Menschen von traditionellen Schulen wissen, daß Taiji kein inhaltsloser Begriff ist, bedeutet auch nicht nur Taijiquan, sondern auch die Bezeichnung der höchsten der fünf Geheimschulen des Daoismus ist. Diese Schule, Taijimen, hat nicht nur ein vollständiges Übungssystem, sondern auch ein umfassendes philosophisches System.
Gesundheitspflege und Wahrheitssuche bzw. Meditation (yangsheng xiuzhen) hat in China eine lange Tradition. Im Lauf der Geschichte sind durch Spaltungen und Zusam-menschlüsse und auch unter fremden Einflüssen einige große Schulen entstanden. Alle wichtigen Techniken in diesem Gebiet sind in diesen Schulen vereint. Im Buddhismus sind es die Chan- (Zen-), die Mi-Schule (der tibetische Buddhismus) und die Tiantai-Schule, im Daoismus sind es die Taiji-, Danding-, Jianxian-, Fulu- und Xuanzhen-Schule, wobei sie die nichtreligiöse Richtung des Daoismus vertreten. Der religiöse Daoismus hat auch verschiede Praktiken in sich vereint, ist im Grund genommen eine Ab-spaltung von der Danding-Schule. Unter diesen Schulen werden die Chan- und die Taiji-Schule als die jeweilige höchste anerkannt.

Die philosophische Grundlage der Taiji-Schule, Natürlichkeit, Wuwei und Rückkehr zum Ursprung, reicht bis in die Anfangszeiten der chinesischen Zivilisation zurück. Als eigenständige Schule entstand sie spätestens im 4. bis 5. Jahrhundert. Nach der Spaltung der Danding-Schule wurde die Taiji-Schule, wie die anderen 4 daoistischen Schulen auch, geheimgehalten. Im verborgenen Dasein haben Generationen von Meistern die Schule ständig vervollständigt, indem Elemente und Einflüsse von traditionellen philosophischen Schulen sowie buddhistischen und anderen daoistischen Schulen integriert wurden.
In der Taiji-Schule werden die drei Grundprinzipien des Daoismus konsequent praktiziert: Natürlichkeit, Wuwei (als Nichthandeln bekannt) und Rückkehr zum Ursprung. In der Taiji-Philosophie unterscheidet man drei Ebenen der Welt: die Ebene des Seins (you), des Nichtseins (wu) und die Zwischenebene (youwu). Jede Ebene hat ihre eigene Gesetzmäßigkeit und Wahrheiten. Auf jeder dieser Ebenen gibt es drei Übungsstufen, die dazu dienen, daß der Übende selbst die jeweilige Gesetzmäßigkeit herausfindet. Mit anderen Worten: Man beginnt die Übung auf der körperlichen Ebene, um das Qi zu erfahren und zu verstärken; man übt mit Qi, um den Geist zu erhellen; man erhellt den Geist, um dorthin zu gelangen, wo der Ursprung aller Dinge ist: das Wu, das Nichtsein. Als Einführung dient die sogenannte spontane Bewegung, shifang wuji dang (Stehübung des Wuji in zehn Richtungen) genannt, die in körperlicher und geistiger Entspannung entsteht. Unter Einwirkung vom Zhongzi, eine besondere Art von Information, kommt der Übende durch die spontane Bewegung zu einer Bewegungsform, die jiugong taiji jia (Formübung des Taiji in neun Positionen) genannt wird. Die künstliche Zusammenstellung von Bewegungen aus dieser Übung stellt den Ursprung des populären Taijiquan dar. Somit kommt er auf die erste Stufe der Übung, die Stufe 9.

Das Besondere an der Ausbildung in der Taiji-Schule ist die konsequente Durchsetzung vom Prinzip des Wuwei. Auf jeder Übungsstufe wird Wuwei von Neuem praktiziert und begriffen, wobei das auf der vorangegangenen Stufe praktizierte Wuwei als Youwei verworfen wird. Der Kernpunkt der daoistischen Philosophie, das Prinzip Wuwei, wird so stufenweise erfahren. Dadurch kehrt man zum Ursprung aller Dinge zurück und erreicht das, was die Buddhisten als die große Erleuchtung bezeichnen. Das unterscheidet diese Schule von allen anderen Schulen.

Da man in der Taiji-Schule das Prinzip Wuwei praktiziert, gibt es keine konkreten Übungsanweisungen seitens des Lehrers an die Schüler. Über theoretische Fragen wird aber offen diskutiert.

You must have seen it happen many times. Sometimes a butterfly enters into a room. She knows she has entered by the door; she knows there is an entry, so she knows tacitly that by the same door she can go out. But then she starts moving to the window, goes on struggling with the glass. And the more she struggles with the closed window, the more nervous she becomes. The more nervous she becomes, the more unconscious, afraid of death, afraid of being always caught in this room forever. She loses consciousness! In that unconscious state she starts fighting more, even with the walls. And the door is there! And the door has been there. And she knows tacitly. How can she forget? It seems a miracle. She has come by the door. Why does she not get out by it?
The same door that brings you into the world takes you out of it. Remember, it is the same door! On one side is written 'Entrance', on the other side is written 'Exit'. It is the SAME door. These are two sides of the same door. Passion brings you into the world, passion takes you out of it. Desire brings you into the world, desire takes you out of it. Greed brings you into the world, greed takes you out of it. Never fight! The lower is not only the entrance, the lower is the exit too.
This is something to be understood. Let it sink in your heart Never fight! Never create any conflict! Otherwise you will create anguish, otherwise you will become more miserable. That's what has happened to you. People are miserable just like the butterfly. Listen to this story:

Zen Master, Shen Tsan, gained his enlightenment through Pai Chang. He then returned to the monastery in which he had been ordained by his 'first teacher', the monk who had brought him up from childhood and who, at that time, was a very old man....

Remember: he was just a teacher, not a Master. So Shen Tsan had not achieved his enlightenment through him. He had to go to some other Master, to Pai Chang. When he attained enlightenment he came back to his old teacher. He was a compassionate man, a kind man. He had brought up Shen Tsan from his very childhood. He was almost like a father.

One day Shen Tsan was helping his old teacher to bathe. While washing the old man's back, he said to him, "This is such a fine temple, but the Buddha in it is not at all holy!" His old teacher then turned round and looked at him, whereupon Shen Tsan commented, "THOUGH THE BUDDHA IS NOT HOLY, HE CAN STILL RADIATE THE LIGHT."

The old man felt a little embarrassed, but he didn't say anything. This was absolutely new: "This young man has got something new now since he has come back. His quality has changed. And sometimes he utters statements which can mean much, which may not mean anything. He may have just learned them somewhere. Or, who knows whether he has had some insight, some satori?" The old man watched and waited.

Again, one day, while the old man was reading a sutra near a paper-covered window, a bee tried desperately, with all its strength, to fly out of the room through the paper but was unable to get through.
Shen Tsan, seeing this. said, "The world is so vast and wide that you may easily set yourself free in it. Why, then, do you foolishly bore into the old, rotten paper?"

Now, this is very meaningful. It has two meanings. The old man is reading his old book, and the bee is trying to get out by the paper-covered window -- in Japan they make paper curtains. And Shen Tsan says, "The world is so vast and wide that you may easily set yourself free in it. Why, then, do you foolishly bore into the old, rotten paper?" And he sang a GATHA:

"While the empty door is open wide
How foolish is to try to get out
By thrusting against the window!
Alas! How can you
Raise your head above the slough
By putting your nose against the old, rotten paper
For a hundred years?"

And the old man is getting to be nearabout a hundred years old. Now this is too much.
Hearing this remark, the old man laid down his book and said to Shen Tsan, "For quite a few times now, you have made unusual remarks. From whom did you gain your knowledge while you were away from home?"
Shen Tsan replied, "I have reached the state of peaceful rest through the grace of Master Pai Chang. Now I have come back home to pay my debt of gratitude to you."
The old teacher then prepared a great festival in his young disciple's honour, summoned the monks in the monastery to the assembly hall, and besought Shen Tsan to preach the dharma to all. Whereupon Shen Tsan ascended to the high seat, and, following the tradition of Pai Chang, preached as follows:

"Singularly radiating is the wondrous
Light Free from the bondage of matter and the senses.
Not binding by words and letters
The Essence is nakedly exposed in its pure eternity.
Never defiled is the Mind-nature;
It exists in perfection from the very beginning.
By merely casting away your delusions
The Suchness of Buddhahood is realized."

Listening to these words, seeing his own disciple illumined, feeling for the first time who he had become, the old man touched the feet of his own disciple. And when he was bowing down and touching the feet of his own disciple, he became enlightened, the insight opened.

The earth is not divided by political lines, and words like " India" are certainly symbolic. It simply means the eternal search for truth.
"Himalaya" is also a symbol, a symbol for peace, serenity, silence.
The physical, the material, is not important. You should listen to the significance, the symbolic meaning in it.
India is not confined by the boundaries. Anybody who has been a seeker of truth is part of India. He may be Henry Thoreau in America, he may be Martin Buber in Jerusalem, he may be Bertrand Russell in England, he may be a Socrates in Athens -- but these people belong to a certain, symbolic world which is not parallel to the geographical and the political.
For example, most of the Indians are not Indians. The majority of them has no concern for the spiritual. They are more greedy than people anywhere else. They are more materialistic than the people they condemn as materialistic.
Spirituality is absolutely individual. The moment you organize it, you kill it. You can see it all around the world in all the religions, just corpses.
There is a very famous story that a man came running to the devil and told him that, "What are you doing sitting here! A certain man on the earth has found the truth. Do something; otherwise your business is finished!"
The devil laughed. He said, "You are a new servant here -- you don't know me. My people have already reached there; they have become his successors his priests, his scholars. They are standing between him and the people. They will not let the truth reach the people without their interpretation -- and their interpretation is my interpretation."
It is a tremendously beautiful anecdote.
Mahavira was against Brahmanism, his whole revolt was against Brahmanism, but his eleven chief disciples were all Brahmins. He never wrote a single word; these eleven Brahmins wrote all the scriptures, and Jainism has been worshipping those scriptures for twenty-five centuries.
Now this is very strange: a man who is against Brahmanism is represented by Brahmins to the whole world.
The same happened to Buddha. He was also against the Vedas, against the Upanishads, against the whole tradition of Hinduism, but he found all his successors Brahmins. They turned, they changed, they made meanings that was easy for them. They listened from a Hindu mind. Whatever Buddha had said, they managed to support it, exactly what he was opposing.
There have been many founders and nothing has been founded.
All kinds of organizations and the successors and the churches and the shankaracharyas and the popes and Ayatollah Khomeiniacs, all these are not seekers of truth, they are exploiters of the masses in the name of truth.
And the best place is the lowest because from there you cannot fall.

There is no poetry in psychology. Psychology is the latest instrument to keep people oppressed. Because the priests have failed, new priests are needed. The psychologists are the new priests, and obviously they have come with a new jargon, but the basis is the same.
The politician has been conspiring against you with the priest for centuries. But now it seems the priest has lost hold of people. Churches are empty, so empty that people have purchased a church in Holland and are turning it into a disco. In fact, that is a good beginning. I would like all beautiful cathedrals and churches to be turned into discos. Now nobody goes into them, they are cold and dismal and dead.
The politician is very cunning. He can see the priests have lost their hold -- at least on the younger generation. He has to find a substitute. The psychologist has come in handy, because he speaks a different language than the priest. He pretends that his psychology is a science. That is absolutely wrong!
It is not science; how can it be science when Freud, Jung, Adler, Assagioli, are not agreeing on a single point? The four great psychologists -- and not agreeing on a single point! Science always comes to an agreement. When the truth is known about anything, the scientist is humble enough to drop his prejudices and accept it. It does not matter who has discovered it, what matters is that it has been discovered!
But the psychologists are divided into so many schools -- the same way as religion was divided into so many religions, so many subdivisions of religions, cults, creeds. The same is the situation now of psychology. But the psychologist does not bring God in, does not bring heaven and hell in. He has found different names for these entities. He does not talk about man in the old terms the priests have always used; hence, you got caught in their jargon.
The psychologists don't say that you have to become an ascetic, that you have to practice a certain discipline for years together -- or perhaps for lives together -- and then you will be liberated, no. They say psychoanalysis will do, just go on being psychoanalyzed.
There is not a single man whose psychoanalysis is complete. In fact, even Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, is an unpsychoanalyzed person. Freud was so afraid of ghosts that even the word "ghost" was enough, and he would freak out.
Once he was talking to Jung, his most intimate follower at that time, who was very much interested in ghosts. Jung started talking about ghosts, and Sigmund Freud fainted. These are your founders of psychoanalysis. That was the point where Sigmund Freud and Jung parted. Jung could see, "This man, who cannot even listen to what I have to say about ghosts without fainting, is not going to be my master. " And Sigmund Freud also realized, "This man is not going to be my successor." Sigmund Freud and Jung parted.
You may be thinking that Jung was very much more courageous than Sigmund Freud, because he was so interested in ghosts, but that is not true. He was interested in ghosts because he was very much afraid of death, and afraid of becoming a ghost!
Jung wanted to go to Egypt to see the ancient mummies of kings and queens preserved there. Almost ten times he booked his trip, but at the last moment he would find some excuse and cancel the trip. On the tenth time, he even went to the airport; and the moment the departure of the plane was announced, he chickened out. After that, he never made any attempt to go to Egypt. He was very much afraid of a dead body. These people are certainly in need of much psychological help.
To see poetry in psychology is insanity.
There may be some psychology in poetry, but in psychology... In psychology you will find your psychologists talking about masturbation, schizophrenia, nightmares, all kinds of madnesses. I don't think you can find any poetry in all this. Nobody has found poetry in a medical book, and the psychologist is dealing with far worse sicknesses than any medical book can.

In the beginning those who knew the Tao did not try to enlighten others,
But kept them in the dark.
Why is it so hard to rule?
Because people are so clever.
Rulers who try to use cleverness
Cheat the country.
Those who rule without cleverness
Are a blessing to the land.
These are the two alternatives.
Understanding these is Primal Virtue.
Primal Virtue is deep and far.
It leads all things back
Toward the great oneness.

The Tao is an empty vessel; it is used, but never filled.
Oh, unfathomable source of ten thousand things!
Blunt the sharpness,
Untangle the knot,
Soften the glare,
Merge with dust.
Oh, hidden deep but ever present!
I do not know from whence it comes.
It is the forefather of the emperors

He who stands on tiptoe is not steady.
He who strides cannot maintain the pace.
He who makes a show is not enlightened.
He who is self-righteous is not respected.
He who boasts achieves nothing.
He who brags will not endure.
According to followers of the Tao,
"These are extra food and unnecessary luggage."
They do not bring happiness.
Therefore followers of the Tao avoid them.

When the Tao is present in the universe,
The horses haul manure.
When the Tao is absent from the universe,
War horses are bred outside the city.

There is no greater sin than desire,
No greater curse than discontent,
No greater misfortune than wanting something for oneself.
Therefore he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.

Without going outside, you may know the whole world.
Without looking through the window, you may see the ways of heaven.
The farther you go, the less you know.

Thus the sage knows without travelling;
He sees without looking;
He works without doing.

When men lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster.

Do not intrude in their homes.
Do not harass them at work.
If you do not interfere, they will not weary of you.

Therefore the sage knows himself but makes no show,
Has self-respect but is not arrogant.
He lets go of that and chooses this.

Brost, Marc / Rohwetter, Marcus
Das große Unvermögen
Warum wir beim Reichwerden immer wieder scheitern. Mit einem Vorwort von Helmut Schmidt
1. Auflage - August 2003
19,90 Euro
2003. 184 Seiten, Gebunden
ISBN 3-527-50070-7 - Wiley-VCH, Weinheim

Wir alle wollten reich werden, viel verdienen, wenig arbeiten, sorglos einen möglichst frühen Ruhestand genießen - doch dieser Traum ist geplatzt. Unsere Aktien sind nichts mehr wert, unsere Renten unsicherer denn je und die erste Million in weite Ferne gerückt. Stattdessen sind 2,8 Millionen Haushalte in Deutschland überschuldet.
"Was hat nicht geklappt?", fragen Marc Brost und Marcus Rohwetter und gehen den Ursachen nach, warum wir alle trotz einer Flut von Informationen in Broschüren, Büchern oder TV-Sendungen von Geld nichts verstehen. Warum wir beim täglichen Umgang mit Geld immer wieder scheitern. Warum wir finanzielle Analphabeten sind.
Alle reden übers Reichwerden, aber keiner über Geld. Das Thema Geld ist in den meisten Familien tabu, in den Lehrplänen der Schulen taucht es so gut wie gar nicht auf.
Die Folgen sind dramatisch: Wir vertrauen Beratern, die nur den eigenen Vorteil kennen. Wir bezahlen teure Anwälte, die uns den verlorenen Börseneinsatz wiederbringen sollen - und verlieren ein zweites Mal. Wir wissen, dass wir fürs Alter sparen sollen, aber wir wissen nicht wie. Damit schaden wir nicht nur uns selbst, sondern der ganzen Volkswirtschaft: Wenn in Zukunft immer mehr Alte immer weniger Geld ausgeben können, sinkt auch der allgemeine Wohlstand.
Die Autoren machen unser Unwissen über Geld und finanzielle Fragen endlich zum Thema. Sie stoßen mit ihrem Buch eine wichtige Debatte an, denn letztlich geht es um mehr als die Frage 'Wer wird Millionär?'

Aus dem Inhalt
Vorwort
Kapitel 1: Wir sind die Dummen
Warum wir gerade jetzt ein Problem haben
Kapitel 2: Die Ego-Falle
Warum wir uns immer wieder selbst betrügen
Kapitel 3: Falsche Freunde
Wie uns Berater verraten
Kapitel 4: Profiteure des Unglücks
Wie Rechtsanwälte mit unseren Hoffnungen spielen
Kapitel 5: Die schweigende Gesellschaft
Warum Geld kein Thema ist - nicht einmal in der Familie
Kapitel 6: Es geht ums Ganze
Wie finanzielle Dummheit der Volkswirtschaft schadet
Kapitel 7: Amerikas Alptraum
Was die Vereinigten Staaten tun und falsch machen
Kapitel 8: Lernen fürs Leben
Warum wir mehr brauchen als ein Schulfach Wirtschaft

Die These der "Zeit"-Wirtschaftsredakteure Marc Brost und Marcus Rohwetter in "Das große Unvermögen" erschreckt und befreit.
Ein Buch wie dieses mag keine Millionenauflage erreichen. Wer es aber nicht liest, verpasst ein eindrucksvolles Plädoyer für die Eigenverantwortung jedes Einzelnen und die Verantwortung der Politik.
Seit Peter Handkes 'Publikumsbeschimpfung' sind Autoren selten so hart mit ihren Lesern ins Gericht gegangen. Aber das ist zumindest ehrlicher, mutiger und realitätsnaher als die Strategie der meisten anderen Schreiber zu diesem Thema.
Ein lohnendes Buch für alle, die sich über ihren Umgang mit Geld keine Illusionen mehr machen wollen. Ein Lesevergnügen ist es außerdem. So über Geld zu sprechen, sollte Schule machen.
Im Land der finanziellen Analphabeten:Zwei Redakteure der Wochenzeitung "Die Zeit" enthüllen,warum der Traum vom Reichwerden so selten wahr wird.
"Wir alle sind finanzielle Analphabeten",lautet die Erkenntnis von Marc Brost und Marcus Rohwetter.Sie nahmen dies zum Anlass,ein Buch mit dem Titel "Das große Unvermögen" zu verfassen.Sympathisch dabei ist,dass die Autoren in der "Wir"-Form schreiben und nicht überheblich mit dem Finger auf die anderen finanziellen Analphabeten zeigen.Glücklicherweise verzichten die Verfasser auch auf Anlagetipps und Ratgeberallüren aller Art,sondern versuchen der Frage nachzugehen,warum die meisten Menschen beim täglichen Umgang mit Geld oftmals scheitern und so wenig über die finanziellen Dinge des Lebens Bescheid wissen.