SUN-DOTANTIEN BREATHING MEDITATIONIn 1967, the Taoist cave hermit Master Chong San came down from the hills into Seoul, Korea. He spent the next 15 years teaching a tantien breathing meditation called Sun-do, which had been a secret practice, to the public. During those years he transmitted his teachings to eleven of his students, giving them sanction to teach. One of these eleven was my teacher the Venerable Hyunoong Sunim, a Korean Zen Buddhist monk who trained under Master Chong San for 10 years, combining this with his twenty years of traditional Zen practice. Due to the various and dramatic changes it produces, Sun-do must be practiced under the strict guidance of a sanctioned teacher. Sun-do, a Taoist way of longevity, involves a combination of breathing patterns and a total of 365 postures divided into several different levels of practice. Over time it initiates tremendous changes involving our whole physical, mental, emotional and spiritual being. It transforms our old habits and heals the damage created by these habits. Through it we can awaken to the truth of the universe. Our body has 365 acupuncture points connected by paths along which energy flows. When our energy can flow unobstructed we experience health and harmony, both physically and mentally, but modern man has developed many mental and physical bad habits, such as anxiety, tension, emotional excesses, incorrect thinking, eating and sexual habits which block the energy paths and obstruct the acupuncture points. This causes energy imbalances which result in poor physical health and mental and emotional problems. Sun-do consists of special tantien breathing techniques combined with sets of postures. The tantien area in the lower abdomen is our body’s center; it is also the place of energy storage. Focusing our breath in the tantien is like supporting our body at its center, allowing it to fall into balance; the tantien’s ability to store energy also increases. The postures serve to direct this increased energy to specific meridians, pushing its way through blocked points, sometimes causing spontaneous movements, and thereby releasing the cause of the blocks whether it be tension an old injury, present illness, suppressed emotions, etc. Eventually the whole energy system is opened in this way. In essence, Sun-do activates the body’s natural healing abilities. During practice, the mind must focus on the breathing, thus providing the experience of deep meditation, quieting the mind and drawing one closer to one’s inner nature. Benefits from consistent practice are increased or more balanced energy and strength, the return of physical and emotional health and an intuitive understanding of the functioning of the body and mind. Women, being yin, experience changes after approximately four to six weeks and men, being yang, generally after six weeks to three months. Through Sun-do we return to fundamental universal harmony between human and the universe, bringing universal energy into our bodies and leading to the awakening of the ultimate Truth. With a foundation of Sun-do a purer and deeper understanding of any spiritual path is possible. Great Zen masters of the past practiced this path and Taoist hermits, some hundreds of years old, are still practicing it today. Real changes occur to anyone who follows this path, but only through actual personal experience can one truly understand what it is. Fees:$45 for individual instruction, postures and CD of chant (if wanted)Family rate is $25 per person if undergoing instruction at same time. Additional copies of chant and/or postures are $5 a piece. |
