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The Threefold Training of Quantum Life - To Develop Excellent Beings Toward Kosen Rufu What to Look for In a True Quantum Life Kwoon of the new Millennium. An essay from Sifu Sylvain In Quantum Life Training, there is a deep relationship between ethics, epistemology (fundamental beliefs) and philosophy. Ethics are your relationship through behaviors with your environment. Epistemology is your relationship with your mind. Philosophy is your relationship with your self as a member of humanity. The true purpose of its study is to find the subtle connection between the body, mind and spirit. It is an intensive search into:
To answer these profound questions takes a deep investigation into the self. It requires a change within the human perceptions of life. Only the best of efforts can accomplish this noble breakthrough. Only the three-scale training of true Quantum Life offers the solution to the above stated inquiries. Only if your Quantum Life teacher (Sifu) has experienced this type of training will he or she know the true Way. If these three requirements are not satisfied you will never realize the truth. With this truth Quantum Life takes on a totally different meaning than you may be aware of. When the true meanings become clear and evident to you, there will be a major transformation within you. You will become an Excellent Being. Body, Mind, and Spirit When the truth of Threefold Lotus Kwoon training is seen for what it is, then a whole new meaning emerges from the term Self Defense. We come to learn there are in fact three forms of self-defense. The first is defense of the body, the second is defense from the mind and the third is in defense of ones spirit nature. To learn the truth of which we speak you need a guide and teacher who himself has found truth. By knowing the truth the teacher has the potential to point the Way to you. If on the other hand your teacher is not trained in the inner meanings and purpose of Threefold Lotus Kwoon Ch'uan, you will falter the whole of your life only to be caught in the web of body and mind. Those who are acquainted with the true traditions of the Shao-lin Temple in China know that the Shao-lin monks combine their martial arts training with inner development of both mind and spirit. In the Shao-lin Temple there is the realization that the practice of Ch'uan Fa can greatly help the monks in their practice of the Buddhist and Taoist beliefs. The Buddhism practiced at that time was integrated with local Taoist and even Confucianism. The result became "Chan" Buddhism in China, later in Japan as "Zen". Although useful at the time for the inner development of the Shao-lin Monks, this was not the Ultimate and most profound teaching of the Buddha. Only the single vehicle of the Lotus Sutra, and the recitation of the teaching as Nam Myohorengekyo, can reach to the core of one's life to awaken the Buddha life condition and purify all the consciousness
By the study of "Ch'uan Fa" (Fist Method) the monks are
better able to integrate the body and mind to work together in a
harmonious manner. Although, we all like to think we are in control
of our selves, the teachings of Buddhism exemplify the constant
battle and disunity of mind, body and spirit. When we become aware
of the haphazard interplay of the three states of being, we gain
the ability to deal with this interplay and take the necessary steps
to correct this disunion. The Monkey mind was a term Shakyamuni Buddha used to exemplify the human mind jumping around from limb to limb and tree to tree without rest and uncontrolled. Later, T'ien-T'ai, a great scholar in china defines the concept as ichinen sanzen (3000 realms of causation) in his treatise the Maka Shikan. T'ien-T'ai defined ten worlds or states of being that all humans live in at any given moment. These are Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Tranquility, Rapture, Learning, Realization, Bodhisattva, and Buddhahood. He then described that each of these ten life states has within it these same life states, or Mutual Possession. This means that at any given moment, any human is shifting between the Hell of Learning or the Hunger of Rapture or the Tranquility of Realization and so on. This gives us 100 different states of being at any given moment! But we are not done. Each of these states of being has 10 factors of life by which to manifest. The first three are appearance, nature, and entity of life. These three correspond, respectively, to life's physical aspects, spiritual aspects, and the entity, which gives rise to and sustains both. The next six are power, influence, internal cause, relation, latent effect, and manifest effect - all of which can be understood as functions of life. Lastly the principle, which maintains them all in perfect harmony, is called consistency from beginning to end. We now multiply the ten worlds by their mutual possession to arrive at 100 and then multiply by 10 factors to yield 1000! Then multiply once again by the three existences of Past, Present and Future to yield 3000 realms! So, as you can see the Buddhists are fond of mathematics. What this means to explain is that the human existence is in constant turmoil wandering through at least 3000 states of being at any given moment! Additionally, our lives are constantly affected by the decisions we make while we bounce around these states! It is estimated that at the deepest level, humans make approximately 180,000 choices per moment of life. A moment is not a scientific unit, and nor are these numbers, but, they do illustrate very convincingly that without training and determination there exists little to direct our lives in a successful way! To harness control of our minds, bodies, and spirit, is to influence and direct the nature of our choices at the deepest levels to create a clear path toward our happiness and fulfillment in life. Ethics By the spiritual studies we learn the true meaning of harmonious living within all of nature and their fellow man. Contrary to what some may believe, fighting just for the sake of fighting is not taught in the TLK Quantum Life practice. Of course this does not exclude use of the martial arts for defensive purposes only. Under extreme conditions where life and limb were threatened, the fighting skills were used. However, the law of Buddhism always took president, not to do harm to others, and that all life is precious. There
are numerous martial arts magazines on the market, which deal with
the physical aspects of martial arts training. They display countless
intricate techniques of defense, however they fail to bring to light
the real essence and benefits of training. Few if any publications
discuss in any detail the spiritual aspects of training. Without
the threefold training in the martial arts it is impossible to see
clearly our perfect nature. The inner teachings of Threefold Lotus
Kwoon focus on the methods of seeing our original nature. When your
real nature is revealed, the importance of the body and mind take
on a completely different character. An inner peace is experienced
which stems from knowing the real self and its connection to everything
else in the universe. You will find how thoughts and emotions lose
their control over you. The ego will be lessened in intensity, and
less apt to display itself. You will come to know the spiritual
connection between you and your fellow human beings. The study of
the fighting skills alone cannot achieve this goal. In fact by intensive
study of the fighting skills you will risk emerging yourself further
into egotism. This in turn can give you more problems than those
with which you started. Therefore picking a school that follows
the Way of Threefold Lotus Kwoon is of prime importance. The Threefold
Lotus Kwoon represents the next evolution Martial Arts. The most
significant difference being the teaching of the Buddha's highest
teaching of the Lotus Sutra rather than the inferior Chan or Zen
teachings. This is not to disparage Shao-lin, but to teach to the
capacity of the people demands the most evolved teachings for these
modern times. Until the Threefold Lotus Kwoon, these teachings have
been taught only from person to person, and without the benefits
of the complete program for which the Shao-lin were famous and successful. When you find such a school you will know you have arrived at the threshold of a great adventure in learning and self-transformation. A true school of The Way teaches various methods of Threefold Lotus Kwoon Ch'uan Fa, meditation, and spiritual awareness. When you see this, you know the teacher knows the truth of Threefold Lotus Kwoon. Many good schools exist which still teach in the lower forms of Buddhism of the Chan sect (Japanese - Zen). These are good schools, but they have not respected the great teachings of T'ien-T'ai, Miao Lo, Dengyo, and Nichiren Daishonin. The Shao-Lin evolved over hundreds of years. For instance, after the Manchurian invasion and the destruction of the Shao-Lin temple at the Yellow River, the monks moved south and assimilated amongst the population while they made changes to their systems to account for the superior grappling and wrestling techniques of the northern invaders. These later forms and styles of Shao-Lin Ch'uan Fa Kung Fu developed far superior and varied skills. So I believe it is highly appropriate to teach as Shakyamuni Buddha taught. In the last eight years of Shakyamuni Buddha's life he taught his essential teaching. Moreover, He taught that all his previous teachings were only preparatory and no longer of any value. The final teachings of the 28 chapters of the Lotus Sutra were the essential and only teachings that would lead any human being to his or her fulfillment and happiness. Owing to cultural ties and desires to preserve old methods is honorable when it also preserves quality and relevance. Shakyamuni Buddha taught that one must teach in accordance with the times, and that in these later days, so much confusion and wrong thinking will abound that one must teach the simplest and most direct route to personal enlightenment. This is why his culminating teaching, elucidated by T'ien-T'ai to Nichiren Daishonin, are encapsulated in the simple five character phrase of Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo. Our dedication to this concept to purify our bodies, minds, and spirits is exemplified in the characters, Nah and Mu, said together ahead of the five characters yields, Nam-Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo. This is our meditative chant. When a teacher knows truth, he or she then has the potential to pass this secret onto you. Sadly there are teachers that do not know truth. How then can they pass anything of lasting value to you? Therein lies the greatest problem, finding the true teacher. Now that we understand these facts we should look at what other qualities compose good teaching.
Teaching can be defined as purposeful imparting of skills or information or both to another individual or group of individuals for the purpose of self-cultivation and general awareness. Of course the concept of teaching can be greatly broadened to include the use of textbooks, videos, etc. But nothing compares to a student/teacher relationship. Teaching has within it various method's of making learning both enjoyable and informative. There are several essential requirements for teachers, whatever they are teaching. They must know the material they are to teach. They must be able to articulate and demonstrate the material as well as maintain student attention on the task of learning. The teacher must be a shining example of the material to be presented; in this case it is the Threefold Lotus Kwoon concepts of which we speak. The teacher must have the desire to teach, for indeed, to teach a student thoroughly requires enormous patience, understanding, and desire to pass on the arts. A good teacher is only concerned with the growth of his students and little for his rewards of teachings, whether financial or egocentric. Finding a good teacher is of major importance to anyone really wanting to learn correctly. Some teachers are very proficient in the physical skills but lack the inner qualities. Some teachers have all the qualities but are really not committed to passing the art on fully. Some teachers are out right frauds and have only limited training. Some teachers have skill but are only concerned with their own advancements in status, reputation or making a great deal of money. In today's martial arts world the novice has to be very well informed as to what to look for or surely they may end up with a poor quality teacher. This kind of training will only achieve a loss of your hard earned money and, more important of your precious time. It won't take a novice long, with any amount of research, to see there is constant ridicule and bickering going on between so-called teachers. Just open any Kung Fu magazine and read the insults being traded. The questions and comments always remain the same only the names change: Who is better, Which style is better, I am a higher rank then you, or I learned from a better teacher than you. It goes on forever. This kind of childish uninformed nonsense has no place in real Threefold Lotus Kwoon training. This only goes to prove the sad point that as more teachers emerge from the various schools the quality of these new teachers has greatly depreciated in meaningful values. The reasons for this depreciation stems from the quality of training now being offered throughout our country. The focus today is on physical skills and not self-transformation. The physical skills are shallow and short termed, with no lasting and beneficial effects. Only when the metamorphosis from novice to master occurs will Threefold Lotus Kwoon training reveal its true value. This change is not short lived and without benefits. It will change your very being and will grow continually. It will last not only for this lifetime, but if you believe in reincarnation, it will follow from you lifetime to lifetime. This will continue till you break free of the karmic wheel of life and death and move forever into the unknown, you may know as heaven. If you but look back into martial arts history you will find meaningful relationships between the true masters and their students. True masters simply understood truth and what was important in life. The old training excluded meaningless egotistical concerns. This can be seen by the amount of material written by the true masters. It was indeed limited and in some cases nonexistent. The true masters are quiet and unassuming. You will never find yelling and bragging. My own teachers have referred me to excellent texts and treatises written by scholars and masters. The same could be said of many other noted masters of Ch'uan Fa, they were only interested in teaching the art, and remaining in the shadows. I have never met a high-level teacher who spent his time bragging about himself or putting down other noted teachers. This is why a great deal of the classical writing of Shao-lin didn't come from the masters. It was students of these masters who put pen to paper about much of what the master taught. Without knowing what to look for in a true Master the novice can be easily fooled by self-proclaimed teachers. Sadly, there is little anyone can do to stop the flood of poor teachers mixing into the real martial arts world. There are no laws that regulate the quality of a teacher. There is no board of examiners, which accredits the true master. There is no full governing council of masters to say who is who in the arts. There is no standard certificate that says what degree of skill anyone really has. There is no standard universal test one has to take to achieve a teacher level in the arts. With all these evident facts how then can one be sure he or she is indeed studying with a qualified master? The novice usually falls in the visual trap of becoming overwhelmed and intrigued by the defensive capabilities of the martial arts. Any good teacher of external skills can dazzle a novice with swift kicks or fancy hand techniques. However, most people have the ability to learn the physical skills of the art, but what does this prove? It is by learning the secrets of mind, body and spirit that a true student begins to mature. It is only because the novice has little or no knowledge of the three pillars of training that he or she will be deceived by a fast talking teacher. Internal and External Training In a traditional school the outer physical training is intermingled with the inner spiritual training. This is the first major difference between a master teaching and a false teacher. You need only see if the teacher is proclaiming the three levels of training. Learning only the fighting with no emotional or mental controls can in fact be harmful to you as well as other people around you. Imagine a skilled fighter with a bad temper and a dull mind. The purpose of Threefold Lotus Kwoon training is not to take revenge upon the world, but rather to live in the world peacefully and in harmony with all of nature. The purpose of Threefold Lotus Kwoon is to be victorious in our inner battle with the self. To emerge from this battle as the victor not the loser. What is this inner battle we are referring to? It is the battle that rages within each of us every moment of our lives. It is the war with our emotions, craving, desires and temperaments that fester deep within each of us. It is our fear, our inadequacies, and our desire to excel in life. It is our longing to love and be loved by others. This is where our real problem lies. This real culprit lurks deep within us. Only when this inner emotional storm dissipates will there be a great calm and inner satisfaction that will transform your entire being. This victory over yourself does not come from fighting others. It comes rather by conquering the self. In a true school you will learn hundreds of self-defense techniques but most importantly you will learn how to move inward to the real core of being. When this is achieved, the battle will cease, and the entire world will open up to you. A connection will be made to your spiritual nature; you will realize your purpose in life and go for it. When
you find this connection your life will change from what you know
now, to a vast new world of understanding. It is the lack of values,
and ethics that contributes to our own shortcomings. True martial
arts help instill the courage, and discipline we need to win the
great battle. Because of this lessening of values and ethics, society
is paying a hard price. Child pregnancies, drug use, vandalism,
cheating, killing, stealing, are all on the increase. The inability
to distinguish between right and wrong dilemmas is on the increase.
To understand the growing importance of ethics in a technologically
driven world is becoming harder. Fran Wills a teacher in the New
York school system said, "The [ethics] issue is particularly
timely when resources are scarce and there is greater temptation
to ignore ethical considerations."
You would think Webster was a martial artist! The definitions describe much of what Threefold Lotus Kwoon ethics demand. A good teacher expects quality conduct while in Threefold Lotus Kwoon training. Most students soon learn by their errors what is correct to do and what is not correct. A teacher will often speak Wu-De (ethics) in Threefold Lotus Kwoon. Usually when a novice joins a school the teacher will tell him about the ethics he must live up to. To break the code of ethics is to disgrace yourself and your teacher. We also spoke of values, which Webster defines as: ideals and customs. In a traditional Kwoon customs are followed to the letter. You can be sure as a student you will have to follow your Kwoon customs or face a problem with your teacher. Customs compromise how you enter your Kwoon or leave it, what style of dress you wear in training, or the titles you call you fellow students. There are many varying customs and traditions; some may even be particular to certain teachers. In any case a student is usually informed of customs by the teacher or his/her older classmates. To break a custom is considered impolite and must be corrected, it is a sign that you are aware of your mistakes and are correcting them. Thus the Threefold Lotus Kwoon transformation process begins. When our ethics change, our values change, and along with it, we also change. This transformation is like the changing of a caterpillar to the butterfly. Rules and Conventions The Institute for Global Ethics made a very significant statement: "The immense power of modern technology extends globally. Many hands guide the controls and many decisions move those hands. A good decision can benefit millions-while an unethical one can cripple our future." Shakyamuni Buddha gave us a path to follow, it is called the Eight-Fold Path. Here then is the Eight Fold Path and how I define its meaning:
All our decisions stem from the mind. The mind is divided into two modes. The first is the mind of the world and second is the mind of the spirit. Both are intricately tied to each other. All of our decisions are made from our ideas of what life is all about. This also includes martial arts and how it should be utilized in the real world. Some may still be confused as to how spiritual and moral ethics affect martial arts ability. Think for a moment about a real life situation of an encounter with a bully in the street. A bully insults you, what do you do? Do you fight over words? Will you fight at the slightest provocation? If the answer is yes, then you fail to see where violence stems from. It stems from within you, from your ego, from your pride. It is still uncontrolled and leads you to unnecessary violence. A Threefold Lotus Kwoon monk would not let a bully upset his inner peace. He would simply walk away. Of course if attacked, he would defend, using his skills to ward off the assault. But it would not be a first choice, rather his last choice. If a bully finds no challenge in most cases, he will walk away. If on the other hand a bully finds he can control your emotions, he will proceed to intimidate you. If you were to ask someone what he feels deep within himself, there is a good chance he would say he feel alone, separate from all else. In reality this is far from the right viewpoint, for we are in fact all connected with everyone else, connected to all of creation. This feeling of aloneness stems from our lack of understanding of who we really are. Ask yourself a few questions. Do you feel your life has true meaning and purpose? Are you really satisfied with the direction of your life? Do you really study the works of the various philosophers and sages? Are you aimlessly trying to overcome the many prejudices you hold? Are you futilely trying to find the sources of your spiritual strength? The true goal of Threefold Lotus Kwoon training is to overcome these barriers. It is a voyage into your real self to discover what truly motivates you. The Threefold Lotus Kwoon goal is to know yourself and know your fullest abilities. To discover your weak points and thereby eliminate them. To discover your courage and use it to achieve your goals. The true masters of Threefold Lotus Kwoon have already found this union with the real self. They have found real courage; courage so strong that they would be willing to die for what is right. There is no stronger advisory than one who has true conviction and moves through life undaunted by the perils of life. You cannot stop such an individuals; they are strong and fearless, yet loving and giving. Complete
Threefold Lotus Kwoon training changes one completely. The old self
is no more and the new self emerges. There is nothing left except
a general awareness and the joy of truly being able to experience
the moment, and to live in a way that conforms to the harmony of
nature. All this comes from the values and ethics that are called
Threefold Lotus Kwoon. The final point I must drive home is by far the most important. We must come to understand the reason for all this hard work on transforming the self. Because as time moves on, we will grow old and finally die. If death destroys all we have worked for, why study at all? To understand the answer to this you must start with faith. But faith does not imply really knowing, it's only a start. Inner examination will replace faith with fact. His disciples once asked Shakyamuni Buddha how they could find Truth? Shakyamuni Buddha replied with one of his most famous quotations, " Be your own light, your own refuge. Believe only that which you test for yourself. Do not accept authority merely because it comes from a great man, or is written in a sacred book, for truth is different for each man and woman." Shakyamuni Buddha implied each of us must look for ourselves, what you need is the incentive to start. Therefore start with faith and believe that there must be something to this thing we call life. By your own looking you will come upon truth. The greatest sadness in life is when a life is wasted. To live life and not know why or to use it for no real purpose is the greatest of losses. Without this transformation I speak of, the quality of our life will be lessened. Without transformation, death becomes like a proverbial thief in the night, stealing our lives away. Without
inner control and self-awareness, life rushes by us and very little
worthwhile accomplishments will be made. Only when self-transformation
occurs will life have merit, and the passing of time will not hinder
your efforts or aspirations. Only through transformation will life
hold quality and design. Then even death loses it frightful appearance.
For once we spiritually understand the truth we come to realize
only the body dies, the spirit moves on. How and where the spirit
moves will be determined by what, you do in the NOW. This is the
reason we must make the great effort. Yes, Threefold Lotus Kwoon training can
be the adventure of your life. It can be all you expect and so much
more. It is worth the search to find the right teacher, so you too
can start the mystic journey. A Threefold Lotus Kwoon warrior can face life or
death. A Threefold Lotus Kwoon warrior fulfills his life completely and leaves
his mark on the world forever. Now is the time for you to make the
quantum leap into the truth. Dive in head first, don't think about
it, it has been this thinking that has delayed you. Move out of
necessity, before you lose the chance. In summary we have provided
a list of important signs that reveal a good school. Footnotes
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