守破离

This Sunday afternoon, the yoga sangha together discovered 守破离.

It started with Justin sharing on our chat group of a Tao Te Ching phrase my previous yoga teacher Joan used to quote all the time.

'When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. When the student is really ready, the teacher will disappear'.

And he went on to explain more about Shu Ha Ri

Shu- learn the basics by following the teaching of one master. Imitating the work of great masters also falls in this stage.

Ha- Start experimenting, learn from masters, and integrate the learning into the practice.

Ri- This stage focuses on innovation and the ability to apply your learning to different situations.

Aletheia joined to share the fact that the kanji gives us more context since we understand Chinese:

Shu 守 to protect traditional wisdom and fundamental techniques

Ha 破 to break away from traditional and detach from illusions of self as immitator/impostor

Ri 離 to leave the system/mould of teaching such that all moves come naturally, from within and through the spirit, no longer clinging to form

This also explains the move in this year towards including short self practice thrice weekly to kickstart the practice of being Led from Within.

Namaste

*photo contribution from Jason