Why learn boundaries, rather than only techniques, when learning practice from the Old Mother of Mount Li?

In introducing the Old Mother of Mount Li, I especially want people to learn appropriate restraint after gaining ability. Understand what may be done, when help is suitable and where intervention is not currently appropriate. Knowing techniques does not mean trying them on everything.

I introduced the legend of Li Quan encountering the Old Mother and asking about the Yinfu Jing. The story places cultivation, governing for people’s peace and military arts at different levels. It reminds me that practice cannot pursue techniques alone. Morality and a sound direction are needed too.

If character remains unadjusted while greed and desire grow, increasing ability may instead be used to harm. The Old Mother observing a student’s temperament in the story also reminds us to consider what kind of person we are preparing to become before seeking learning.

The story of her teaching Fan Lihua belongs to fiction. The power to move mountains and overturn seas in a novel cannot be treated as verified history. We can understand her image through the story, then return to our own practice: having ability also requires knowing how to use it and when not to.