Kung fu meaning ( source: wikipedia) : In its original meaning, kung fu can refer to any skill achieved through hard work and practice, not necessarily martial. The Chinese literal equivalent of "Chinese martial art" would be 中國武術 zhōngguó wǔshù.
Thus kung-fu simply means work in progress/ in development/ in enhancement.. always a flow and never stagnant. This applies to any skill. This is why i prefer to use the term learning instead of knowledge. The former is present-continous and the other is a corpse of the past.
To live, one must work. To live happily, one must perform work, that is suited to one's natural capabilities and inclinations; as only such work would give satisfaction.
Any skill begins with conscious effort i.e. undivided attention, constant practice, dedication, perfection and ultimately, the skill translates into action without effort. Take the example of typing with the keyboard. Initially, it requires patiently searching for letters, symbols, numbers, etc.. With good experience, the mind simply chooses what to type and the fingers do the magic instantly as you would notice expert steno-typists and secretaries in action.
When that work/skill is to your satisfaction, the work done gradually progresses from effort to effortlessness. Thus from the level of doer, you reach the acme of excellence... a state of bliss in non-doership. Here, only awareness remains upon the background of which life flows in natural harmony. In the words of Gautam Buddha: " Events happen, deeds are done, but there is no doer."
This is why you would hear martial artists say, 'I DO NOT HIT.. IT HITS ALL BY ITSELF'; LEARN THE FORM, BECOME THE FORMLESS; FOR THE SAMURAI, THE WIELDER OF THE SWORD AND THE SWORD FORGE INTO ONE SPIRIT.
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Thus kung-fu simply means work in progress/ in development/ in enhancement.. always a flow and never stagnant. This applies to any skill. This is why i prefer to use the term learning instead of knowledge. The former is present-continous and the other is a corpse of the past.
To live, one must work. To live happily, one must perform work, that is suited to one's natural capabilities and inclinations; as only such work would give satisfaction.
Any skill begins with conscious effort i.e. undivided attention, constant practice, dedication, perfection and ultimately, the skill translates into action without effort. Take the example of typing with the keyboard. Initially, it requires patiently searching for letters, symbols, numbers, etc.. With good experience, the mind simply chooses what to type and the fingers do the magic instantly as you would notice expert steno-typists and secretaries in action.
When that work/skill is to your satisfaction, the work done gradually progresses from effort to effortlessness. Thus from the level of doer, you reach the acme of excellence... a state of bliss in non-doership. Here, only awareness remains upon the background of which life flows in natural harmony. In the words of Gautam Buddha: " Events happen, deeds are done, but there is no doer."
This is why you would hear martial artists say, 'I DO NOT HIT.. IT HITS ALL BY ITSELF'; LEARN THE FORM, BECOME THE FORMLESS; FOR THE SAMURAI, THE WIELDER OF THE SWORD AND THE SWORD FORGE INTO ONE SPIRIT.
******
