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Green
Comes From Blue: (This article
originally appeared in Wudang, Vol. 11, No. 3, June,
2004.) Master Liang went into semi-retirement in 1990, and fully retired in 1995 at the age of 95. His teaching career spanned 30 years, from 1965-1995. In the United States as well as Taiwan, it is estimated he taught over 3,000 students. That is a lot of single-whips! Master Liang’s teaching can be summed-up in two phrases; “T’ai-Chi is for everybody, a whole-world exercise,” and “I want my students to be better than me.” It is the latter I want to address here. One time after a class, Master Liang told us about a phrase in Chinese, “Eight characters that sum-up my philosophy about teaching.” He recited it in Chinese and then gave a quick translation. “Green comes from blue, green excels the blue.” He went on to tell us that green is considered a ‘higher’ color than blue (because it has yellow in it, which is the sacred color of the Emperor, also known as the Son of Heaven), but has blue in it. He said the basic meaning is “to be better than your teacher.” He said his sincere wish is that all his students become better than he, that they reach a higher level, teach more people, and that they improve the art to be more accessible to the masses. After Master Liang told us about “Green Comes from Blue” I asked him to make me a calligraphy of that saying in Chinese. He said, “I will when your T’ai-Chi is better than mine, when you have learned more than I have, taught more students than I have, wrote more books and articles about T’ai-Chi than I have, and you have four children who are Ph.D.!” In 1988, I was pretty much finished with Master Liang’s curriculum, putting the finishing touches on Double Sword and Wu-Tang Fencing. I was both elated and sad—the end of a phase of learning, which started in 1977, was coming to a conclusion. It was at this off-balance, ‘Na-position,’ that he gave me the last counter-attack I was to receive from the Master. “If only a few got it, my art is no good. I want to pass on an art that is accessible for everyone.” At this point I made two plans—a short-term and a long-term. The short-term plan was to organize a demonstration of Master Liang’s complete curriculum and show him all the facets of his teaching. In October of 1988, the Studio gave a three-hour demonstration to an audience with Master Liang front-and-center. His whole teaching career was laid out before him, from the Solo Form to partner-work, to numerous weapons. The majority of demonstrators were my classmates (Liang’s students) and students of Liang’s students. To say it was beautiful is an understatement. Master Liang was extremely happy and proud. We showed him that, not only did his art pass to many of his direct students, but many of the next generation had it as well. There were no doubts left about his impact in the T’ai-Chi world and his continuing lineage. Mission number one completed—now the hard part. My long-term plan is to change my focus from trying to be the best practitioner of T’ai-Chi, to becoming the best promoter of the art—to shift from collecting to distributing—to pass on an art truly user-friendly to everyone regardless of race, sex, health, age or anything—to help students save their precious time by helping them avoid pitfalls, while still getting the experience of the pitfalls. A lot has happened since 1988. I have one personal disciple who passed through the traditional disciple ceremony. Since 1994, Paul Abdella and I bestowed a modified ritual of initiating students as disciples of the lineage. Many of these disciples made good on their discipleship and used the extra recognition and responsibility to take their T’ai-Chi to the next levels. I received by mail a formal request for personal discipleship, using the traditional ceremony of initiation. This got me thinking about tradition and change. I am now considering this student, and am thinking of changing back to the old way of taking personal disciples after they show a certain level of proficiency and dedication, and after receiving a formal request for discipleship from them (those who already received discipleship can opt to have the experience by renewal through the traditional ceremony). I do this not to promote or aggrandize myself, but to insure the respect, dedication and commitment to T’ai-Chi that a lineage holder should maintain. Lao-Tse in the Tao Te Ching says that “ritual is the beginning of ignorance.” The classic commentaries on this verse clarify it by pointing out that Lao-Tse was talking about ritual with no knowledge, or meaning, behind it. As I grow older, I see what needs to be updated and modified in the art of T’ai-Chi Ch’uan. I also see what needs to be kept and preserved. I feel that the ritual of discipleship deserves to be brought to the 21st Century. The teacher/student or master/disciple relationship is the best way to insure the transmission of any art. As I write this, I am reminded of the excitement and responsibility of being a disciple of Master Liang. I have requested discipleship and am awaiting an answer from Master Wai-Lun Choi. I do not want this formal relationship with Sifu Choi as a sign of my level of Martial Art, but as the sign of a student who wants to be in his Master’s heart. This is Master Liang’s own calligraphy and translation:
Ching Chu Yue Lan
Green comes out from blue, |
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