Dao De Jing, Chapter 11 by Lao Zi
 
In Chinese philosophy and Qi Gong there is a concept of Wu Ji, which can be translated as "The Great Nothingness" or "The Supreme Emptiness." You may often see a Chinese/Japanese calligraphy of a circle, like the one above, this is Wu Ji. This calligraphy hangs on our wall at ICM in the space where we practice Qi Gong/Tai Ji Quan/Yoga. On a few occasions, as I was practicing with students, I began explaining this concept of Wu Ji and only through my explaining this profound subject have I begun to see a fragment of the larger picture that the ancient philosophers were referring to. 
 
As we look at the image above, we see the black ink of the circle but what of the space inside of the circle? That is Wu Ji. It embodies that Great Emptiness. It is both space and time. One of the insights to Wu Ji came to me one day as I was attempting to explain it as I was teaching. I realized as I looked at the image that Wu Ji is "filled emptiness"; the circle may be empty but it is not deflated. 
 
I recall my teacher, Shi Fu Donald leading us in meditation many years ago. He led us to that moment/place before Yin and Yang, before the "I" becomes. It was a very profound moment for me; I was pondering what would be before Yin and Yang, a sense of wonder manifested in me. All through our training in Qi Gong/Tai Ji Quan, we first find Wu Ji and then begins movement, physical or energetic. It has come to me that Wu Ji is "before the beginning." It is even a specific position in sitting or standing, as well as a moment, space or state before we begin a practice. Shi Fu Donald also taught us a Qi Gong form called Wu Ji Qi Gong or Primordial Qi Gong. 
 
When we read the Chapter of the Dao De Jing (Pin-Yin for Tao Te Ching) above, this is what Lao Zi is trying to convey to us. He is trying to show us that the space in the middle of the wheel, the emptiness in the cup, the space in the house and non-being is what creates us as well as our reality. Lao Zi was a famous Chinese philosopher who lived around the 6th century BCE. He is said to have founded Daoism and wrote the Dao De Jing, which has 81 chapters written in verses like the one above, each barely filling a page. It is, after the bible, the second most translated text in the world. As with many things in life, "less is more."
 
Next time you look at your hand, look into the spaces between your fingers. Your hand exists because the spaces between your fingers exist. This time of winter invites us to look into the spaces in between. There are very few leaves on the trees but there is more space between the branches. Just as we can give ourselves more time and space in our lives between appointments or work to find Wu Ji in our everyday.
 
 
Reference
Lao-Tzu, translated by Stephen Mitchell (2011): Tao Te Ching - The Book of the Way. London: Kyle Books.
 
 
 
Image Wu Ji by Elaine 

As I began my studies in university in the US in the mid-1990s, I was in a class for cultural anthropology. One of the first themes we discussed was, "Nature vs. Nurture." Does a living being get shaped by her/his environment in the manner of behavior and physical traits, or does s/he come into the world with certain characteristics both physical and mental that are already present within and predestined, that manifest throughout her/his lifetime? This debate has been going on in the Western scholarly tradition since the 17th century and continues on till today in the form of Behavioral Psychology and Medical Genetics.
 
In Chinese Medicine, this is not a debate. It is clear in the philosophy of the medicine that life on earth, human beings included, is the fusion of the energies of Heaven and Earth. In our medical text, the Yellow Emperor Internal Classics - Basic Questions (Huang Di Nei Jing - Su Wen), written probably around the 2nd century BCE, it states in Chapter 25, "A human being results from the Qi of Heaven and Earth...The union of the Qi of Heaven and Earth is called human being." 
From this union comes Jing or Life Essence, which is the blending of energies from the mother and father to create the individual, and the nourishment to sustain life. When we speak of Jing, we refer to both Pre-Heaven and Post-Heaven Essences; Pre-Heaven being that which we receive from our parents and Post-Heaven being that which is derived from air, food as well as fluids, as we are born into the world. One may conclude that Pre-Heaven Jing alludes to genetic information and Post-Heaven Jing the influence of the environment. Already at the point when a child is born onto the earth, takes its first breath and begins suckling (or not) at the breast of her/his mother, the individual is being shaped by both her/his genetic inheritance, the nourishment provided from the environment and his caregiver, as well as the process in which s/he enters into the world. Sounds complex, doesn't it? I believe it is, as within these first few minutes of life, we enter into the world that is already in existence, carrying the hopes and dreams of our ancestors as well as ourselves as individuals, and the process in which we are birthed into the world shapes what comes later.
 
Chinese Medicine believes that we are both formed by our genetic inheritance and by our environment that we live in. The manner in which we behave and live in the world is determined by both the body (physical, emotional and mental) we have in this lifetime and the environment that we grow up in, whether it be the people around us or the climate that we live in. It is good to understand how we came to be, why we are here, but I believe what is more important is what we do in this lifetime. How we live with our Jing affect all around us, people, other living beings and our environment. Here is a view from a Chinese medical scholar, Giovanni Macioca in his book "Foundations of Chinese Medicine" on Pre-Heaven Jing:
 
"This Pre-Heaven Essence is what determines each person constitutional make-up, strength and vitality. It is what makes each individual unique... Some say this Essence is 'fixed' in quantity and quality. However, it can be positively affected, even if not quantitively increased. The best way to affect one's Pre-Heaven Essence is by striving for balance in one's life activities: balance between work and rest, restraint in sexual activity and balanced diet...A direct way to positively influence one's Essence is through breathing exercises and such exercises as Tai Ji Quan and Qi Gong."   
 
So, the Chinese medical answer to the debate of "Nature vs. Nurture" is that it is both "Nature and Nurture." It is Nature that gives us a form and a path, and Nurture gives us the means to walk the path. We are both of these and more, we have the free will to choose how we live, and what we do in our lifetime.


Photo by Aron H.
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Photos by Elaine.