Hall of Happiness I like to include poetry related to Tai Chi in our classes. One of my favorite poems, “Hall of Happiness” was written by Chen Man-ch’ing (29 July 1902 - 26 March 1975) and posted in his NYC Tai Chi Studio in 1973. This has a special significance for folks in Asheville as his son, Patrick, owned and operated a wonderful Chinese Restaurant here for years, The China Palace. Here’s one translation of the poem: May the joy that is everlasting gather in this hall. Not the joy of a sumptuous feast, which slips away even as we leave the table; nor that which music brings - it is only of a limited duration. Beauty and a pretty face are like flowers; they bloom for a while, then die. Even our youth slips swiftly away and is gone. No, enduring happiness is not in these... We may as well forget them, for the joy I mean is worlds away from these. It is the joy of continuous growth, of helping to develop in yourselves and in others, the talents and abilities with which we were born - the gifts of heaven to mortal men. It is to revive the exhausted and to rejuvenate that which is in decline, so that we are enabled to dispel sickness and suffering. Let true affection and happy concourse abide in this hall. Let us here correct our past mistakes and lose preoccupation with self. With the constancy of the planets in their courses or of the dragon in his cloud wrapped path, let us enter the land of health and ever after walk within its bounds. Let us fortify ourselves against weakness and learn to be self-reliant, without ever a moments lapse. Then our resolution will become the very air we breathe, the world we live in; then we will be as happy as a fish in crystal waters. This is the joy which lasts, that we can carry with us to the end of our days. And tell me if you can; what greater happiness can life bestow?” Anne is a teacher from Asheville, North Carolina at wnctaichiarthritis
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 18:47:27 +0000
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