Spiritual Cultivation and Movement
Does finding spirit movement interesting and enjoyable disrespect spiritual practice?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
Not necessarily. Finding it interesting describes the mood of learning, not permission to act recklessly. Practice can be relaxed and exploratory while the actions themselves still need to be correct.
When I described spirit movement as extraordinary and enjoyable, someone reminded me that practice should be taken seriously. My meaning was that life is already tiring and learning can be more relaxed. Enjoyment does not mean fooling around or treating practice as unimportant.
At first, without understanding spirit movement, feeling an inner force guiding the hands and feet into movement was truly unusual and made me want to understand it. Curiosity can encourage continued learning. But understanding must develop afterwards so we know what we are doing, rather than continually chase the next fresh sensation.