The Empowerment of Shaolin Kung Fu
In Shaolin temples, students are taught of ‘Fu’, The word ‘Fu’ as in Kung Fu, has a number of meanings. The first is that which comes from the heart. This is the most important meaning, for the heart is our life source, the heart is the energy for the chi, air, water and blood. Each one needs to be studied to a high quality or ‘Fu’ - quality being another meaning of 'Fu'
The first 'Five Empowerments' are:
The Empowerment of the Mind - thinking through the heart
The Empowerment of the Body - which is attaining chi
The Empowerment of Speech - speaking from the heart
The Empowerment of Movement - understanding tai chi, kung fu and qigong
The Empowerment of Quality of all things in your life - Fu
As a Shaolin student you need to understand the following: acceptance, kindness and compassion.
The next understanding is the understanding of the following: the Law, the Will and the Way of the universes.
All of the principles must be practiced to a high quality to achieve Fu. Even if one of these principles is missing, there is no Fu. Knowledge in Shaolin Kung Fu is vast.
To understand the workings of the Dragon within Shaolin Kung Fu and what the original Taoist and Buddhist monks were studying, we must first take a broader view of how the ancient sages and monks understood the famed Dragon and it’s purpose in creation. The Dragon is a multi-coloured creature. It’s colour represents the colours of the known universe. It’s shape represents the ever flowing and ever changing shape of the earth and the universe. It’s fiery breath represents the divine universal chi. It’s claws represent protection, effort and sureness of foot - foundation. It’s fiery eyes represent our view or how we see things (or should see things). It’s ears represent how we should hear things. It’s nose represents our sense of smell and our scent as well as the scent of the earth and others. It’s mouth represents our taste, our nourishment and medicine. It’s fiery tail shows us how we should learn from the past but not stay there by burning it. It’s head horns shows how we should drive forward with care and courage. It’s shape, it’s movement, it’s colours and power can be seen all around us in nature. In water, in the sky, in the shape of a mountain. It's bright scales can be seen in the stars. It is all that moves. It is not the chi but is the movement of the chi. It abides by the Law, it abides by the Way, it abides by the Will of the creation to aid expansion of all the divine universes. All of this knowledge can be attained through Lung Ying Dragon Sign Shaolin Kung Fu. Yes there are other ways, but these monks devoted their lives to studying all to understand. We can not just call what they were doing a mere martial art. They have given us a great gift of knowledge. We should respect and honour them for what they died for. The Dragon or Lung is the essence of balance - this was Chiu Chung Lung Ying - My Grand-master and my father
