A Suitable Path
People’s beliefs may vary greatly especially on the subject of spiritual guidance. What one person believes to be the right way may not suit another. So each of us has to choose our own paths in life and only we can tell if they are right for us.
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s a child, I was introduced to Christianity through fleeting visits to Sunday school and then through more serious attendance to our local church when I was ten years old. I remember sitting in the third row shyly looking up at the pulpit where our kind faced pastors would stand to share the “Good News”. At this age my mind was like fertile soil, so the seeds that fell there took root quickly and affected me quite deeply. I once asked my grandparents if they believed in Jesus and had been “saved” as I did not want them to die and not be with me in heaven. Calling myself a Christian was often a joyous experience but at other times it was quite painful. I read my little white leather Bible daily to look for guidance on how to become a better person, which perhaps made me a bit more serious than a child of that age should be. As I grew older, however, the stories that had once been an inspiration became more like condemnation. Page upon page proclaimed me to be a sinner. I found it ever more difficult to reconcile what seemed to be overbearing strictures on conduct, and I finally left the church at the age of seventeen. However, I never ever lost the yearning for spiritual guidance. When I began to study Qigong, I knew very little about its origins. I knew, however, that as I continued to practise I began to feel more relaxed and have more energy to cope with things. After some months of practise, I began to feel other changes. My heart was beginning to become more generous and my mind more balanced. I felt myself going back to my original nature, caring more for others and less for myself. My taste for the business world in which I was working long and stressful hours continued to diminish and I began to look for other means of employment where my primary concern was not a high salary but helping others. By now I had also learned more about the Qigong I was studying and
found that its origins lay with the Daoist monks of the Kunlun Mountains in China. So I began to read more about Daoism and there I found the spiritual home that I had been seeking. There was no God, no Satan, no hell or heaven. Only myself and responsibility for my own actions. I learned that in Daoism one’s actions will dictate one’s future, whether it be in this lifetime or the next. One often hears, “What goes around comes around.” It seems that in practising Qigong one’s awareness of this cycle increases, especially as the speed with which things come back around seems to accelerate. This makes it difficult to hide when you have done something wrong. Although it is hard to admit your guilt, doing so will free your mind and help you to be more clear in finding a solution. Unlike in Christianity, there is no need to carry your sins with you as you wait for a judgement day. How you handle today will shape what tomorrow will bring. As one continues to practise Qigong, the mind is more balanced and our emotions are more steady. This is because the emotions of anger, sorrow, joy, worry and fear are directly related to the organs; respectively, the liver, lungs, heart, spleen and kidneys. As one becomes healthier, the internal organs become stronger and we can handle difficulties more easily. Daoism has helped me greatly. Looking back, I see many seeds of Daoism in Christianity. For instance, the saying, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you”, is similar to the principles of Daoism. In another part of the Bible it tells us to care for the Temple of God, in effect our bodies. In Daoism, Qigong was evolved as a way of caring for the body in order that longevity and hence immortality could be achieved. However, there is one major difference and this is that in Daoism there is no Saviour but ourselves; that we and we alone are responsible for the outcome and results of our actions. by Tse Sihn Kei Qi Magazine 11