Xi'an met
When I got out of the high-speed rail station, I heard excited words in my heart: Halfway through the mountains and half the way, here I come; Teacher Wang Dong, here I come! Classmates, we are going to meet!
After putting my luggage at my friend’s house, I hurriedly rushed to the place halfway up the mountain. Based on my feeling, I found the area near the piano studio. After asking several passers-by, I was able to confirm that a black house was halfway up the mountain with no signboard. , only the simple three letters MOL, which is low-key enough. Entering the piano hall is like entering a peach blossom garden. Without taking a closer look, you come to the second floor, where Teacher Dongdong is waiting there making tea. As soon as we met, I gave the teacher a big hug. This hug started a happy journey of getting together in Xi'an.
Wang Dan took me to visit the piano pavilion. The foundation of the piano pavilion is plain and unpretentious, like a rough cement color. It seems that the designer or owner advocates simplicity and nature, but also has high requirements for aesthetics. , this can be felt from the supplies and furnishings inside the piano hall, which are full of artistic sentiment and every part is made with originality. Scattered display cabinets are designed next to the stairs, and there are smart and elegant flower arrangements at the corners and entrances, or paintings with unique meanings. Hanging on the wall and placed on the piano table is a guqin that Teacher Zhao Kai personally cut. Even the bathroom shows emotion. There are two scenery in the small space, one is the natural mountains and rivers. Under the bamboo curtain, there is a dead branch with a few yellow leaves, and two larger stones stand among the small stones, like a landscape, the autumn mood is coming, and it is quite Zen-like. There is also a small bookcase with a few books. What's commendable is that in such an artistic environment, I don't feel a little bit uneasy.
So my impression of the piano studio and its teachers is: low-key, natural, warm and elegant.
The next day, all the classmates arrived. Everyone sat together drinking tea and chatting, and there was no sense of strangers at all.
During the chat, Teacher Dongdong talked about how to be accepting as a teaching assistant. Accept yourself and others' imperfections, don't resist, don't ask yourself and others to be perfect, but that doesn't mean you don't have the heart to compete. You have to have the heart to do your best, but don't be held back by that thing.
This makes me think that I am very nervous about doing things and playing the piano. When I look deeper, I feel that I am nervous in my heart. The reason is that I want to do well and be perfect too much. I am eager to do well and want to be recognized by others. In fact, I have no idea about what is good and perfect. I have no idea, it's just a delusion. If my mind is on delusions, I can't relax and play the piano.
So when we play the piano and do things, we must first be aware of it, and then accept it as it is, not as we want it to be. As awareness becomes more and more acute and acceptance becomes wider and wider, the boundaries will become larger and the accumulation will become richer. It is possible for us to become better.
One of the gains from this gathering is the sharing from classmate Wang Yingfei.
Peace of mind and health
The most important energy in the universe is balance. If we keep ourselves in a balanced state, it is a healthy state. There are external factors and internal factors that affect physical health. The external factors are diet, daily life, exercise, and nutrition, and the internal factors are emotional changes. Learn to resolve unstable emotions, such as talking and writing memoirs. Another simple method is Pingxin Health Ball.
Specific usage of Pingxin Health Ball
This method can open the meridians of the whole body and relax the hands. The more relaxed the hands, the better the state of playing the piano.
With your feet shoulder-width apart, sit one-third of the way up the chair. Relax, hold your chest and straighten your back. When you relax, your Qi and blood will flow smoothly. The Yongquan point on the soles of your feet leads to the ground. When your Qi and blood circulate, The generated cold air, toxins, and moisture are discharged downward through the Yongquan point.
Imagine holding a ball (balloon or ball) in your hands, with your feet parallel, your left hand holding the ball down, your right hand up, your palms facing each other, rotating counterclockwise. Do not go beyond your chest, put the restless emotions into the ball, and start rubbing the ball. In fact, you are clearing out the restless emotions (worry, anxiety, fear, tension, etc.) in your subconscious mind. For example, the specific operation to clean up the unstable emotions when practicing Guqin: put in all the nervousness, anxiety, hope, lack of confidence and other unstable moods, states and atmospheres from the first day of playing the piano, relax, relax , don’t chase, don’t stop, ignore. From now on, I no longer pay attention to it and clean it up.
This method can be used in many aspects. Unsettled emotions encountered at work and in life can be cleared up by this method.
Golden Quotes
If I change, you will get better and better
The more things you can accept and accommodate, the higher your realm will be
The more you want to do something or get something, you will encounter setbacks. This is an invisible balancing force.
Under the guidance of fate, I stayed with Ying Fei for one night. During the short time together, I felt her peace, wisdom, happiness, nature and powerful energy. I learned to meditate and collect qi from her, and asked her which place is suitable for collecting qi. Her answer was simple: if you feel comfortable in a place, that place is suitable for collecting qi.
What she said to me deeply affected me: From now on, say to myself every day that I love you, love every cell of myself, and constantly inject energy into myself. I will be better, my loved ones. , the people around you will also be better.
I am grateful to have met such a smart and energetic classmate!
Before coming to Xi'an, Teacher Dongdong said that Taoist Zhang might not be in Zhongnan Mountain. It is also a rare fate to be able to visit the Taoist priest this time.
Thanks to Wang Xiaohong and Li Guobin for driving us into the mountains, which saved us a lot of hard work.
Along the way, we have seen the forests all dyed. There are many persimmon trees on the mountains on both sides of the road. They are ripe and showing an attractive orange-red color. The cool mountain breeze and the warm autumn sunshine finally make the scenery beautiful. Nanshan is so beautiful.
Start your exploration along a mountain road with a stream nearby.
This mountain trail is not all steps. In some places, it is a relatively steep uphill climb on gravel soil, which is not easy to walk. At first, I was in a hurry to climb up, and my back and legs hurt. Walking slowly on the mountain path covered with yellow leaves of chestnut trees, watching the flow of the stream, smelling the fragrance of unknown wild flowers, looking back at the scenery behind you, I really enjoy the mountain climbing process, and I don’t even feel tired. .
I think the same is true for playing the piano and life. If you are eager to achieve something, you will not only be very tired but also miss a lot of insights and scenery. As for the destination, as long as the road is right, you will always reach it.
I accidentally saw a roof, and the classmate mentioned it. I saw a bamboo forest in front of me, going deep along a winding path, and a firewood door appeared in front of me, with a sign hanging on it, reading:
Why bother asking about floating life
Knowing this trace is a dream
Tathagata in the quiet hut
Hearing the Zen wind under the mountain forest and spring
Entering Chaimen, the four red characters "Guangming Juezhao" carved on a large stone came into view, and I instantly felt that I had escaped from the world of mortals and came to a quiet blessed land. I have a vague feeling that when I step into this courtyard, my mood and life will be different from now on.
A short distance further, there is another firewood gate. There is also a sign on it, with only two eye-catching words: "Awakening". It seems that awakening is a very difficult thing, and we need to constantly remind the world. .
After passing these two firewood gates, we came to the Taoist leader's residence. Two houses with Chinese-style doors and windows were on a relatively open flat land. You need to climb a few steps to get up. The steps are between a bamboo forest and a clear pond. Suddenly, walking up the stairs, the teachers and classmates were already sitting with the Taoist priest drinking tea.
When I saw the Taoist priest, he was dressed in white clothes and trousers, his gray hair was tied on the top of his head with a jade hairpin, his gray beard reached to his chest, and his eyes were bright. Talking and laughing with everyone.
The Taoist priest is lively and lively, with witty remarks and wisdom revealed in his casual words. When the tea was brewed, the Taoist Master said: Don't worry about drinking this tea. I got it with my wisdom. It has energy, not from greed, anger and ignorance. Yes, a lot of what people gain in this world is obtained through greed, anger and ignorance. They either cannot keep it or are poisonous.
Drinking tea, talking and laughing, tasting wisdom, how happy it is! Two magpies were also infected and were flying around. The Taoist priest took advantage of the excitement and played the tambourine. In the cheerful rhythm, the Taoist priest chanted and sang like a bell. We couldn't help being infected and danced to the rhythm.
Next, the Taoist priest chanted the Heart Sutra. Although he didn’t quite understand the meaning behind it, he felt at peace just listening to him singing. A classmate later said that he saw the two magpies flying around. When the Taoist priest was singing the Heart Sutra, he stopped quietly on the roof. After the Taoist priest finished singing, he flew away. I have heard of this kind of thing before, but I experienced it myself today. All living beings are aware and spiritual, and we must always have compassion and awe.
After singing, we continued chatting and drinking tea. Perhaps casually or intentionally, the Taoist priest suggested drinking vinegar. I was a little confused. How to drink vinegar? The Taoist Master took out a bottle of vinegar and a bottle of wild honey. As soon as he opened them, he could smell the sweet fragrance. The Taoist priest said half seriously and half jokingly: The next three years will be the period of cancer outbreak, and whoever has it will have life. Originally, he was talking about the health vinegar, but the guest interrupted with three and a half sentences: honey. It made everyone laugh. Teacher Wang Dong began to make vinegar tea, pouring some vinegar into the cup, two spoons of wild honey, and pouring some stream water from the side, and a large cup of vinegar tea was ready. Everyone drank from it, the slightly sour vinegar, the sweetness of honey, and the clearness of spring water perfectly blended together. The thuja powder I drank next had a strong pine aroma, which is a natural flavor unique to Zhongnan Mountain. One drink is unforgettable.
Time passed very quickly and it was time to leave. The Taoist priest walked outside the first firewood gate. After walking for a while, I looked back at the Taoist priest and happened to see the sentence on the firewood gate: Knowing this trace is a dream.
Who knows whether fate will end or arise!
I know that Teacher Wu Na and Teacher Hong Bo will come to Xi'an on the 26th to meet with the Manke people. Don't miss this opportunity and stay for two more days to wait for them.
At 2:00 pm on the 26th, the two teachers arrived as scheduled, and the guests were already waiting halfway up the mountain. Teacher Wu Na sat in meditation as soon as she appeared, and everyone followed suit. The place was so quiet that you could hear breathing. Then the sound of the piano sounded, and in such a quiet environment, the sound was even purer. Teacher Wu Na began to play the piano impromptu, and the sound penetrated into the heart in the artistic conception of poetry and painting.
Teacher Wu Na’s sharing started with the ultimate performance of an Indian female singer. This Indian female singer is a prestigious elderly person. She often holds concerts for three days and three nights. She sings non-stop, and tens of thousands of people in the audience will be mesmerized. In fact, what this singer sang was Sanskrit in ancient India, which few people could understand. Everyone was attracted by the sound and entered a state. Everyone settled down and found endless rest in the sound. They had already There is no need to rely on external melodies to meet the needs of life. At that time, the lives of the listeners and singers in the audience were integrated into a purely natural time and space.
Guqin is also like this, integrating nature, heaven, earth and people into pure sound.
Then Teacher Wu Na shared her recent thoughts.
A very admired interior designer will not use luxurious decoration materials, but will polish the cement floor until it is shiny and discernible, and the walls will be plain white but very smooth. Whatever you put in this way is correct and will look good.
The insights gained from this way of doing things are valuable because of people’s intentions and efforts.
This logic of doing things is also the same when it comes to practicing Guqin. Why is it emphasized to sit quietly before playing the piano every time and practice a lot of hooks repeatedly. After patiently practicing hooking for many times, the accumulation has been very profound, and now I have the effort in it. There is no need to worry about the non-standard hand markings anymore, these fingering techniques have long been integrated into the bones and blood. You can fully immerse yourself in the torrent of sound and become one with the piano, the sound of the piano, and nature. This state is something that many people cannot achieve in their lifetime. Therefore, we believe that there is a possibility of such a state at the starting point, but we must calm down, settle down, and know why we keep doing it over and over again. In fact, it means training, not only training our bodies, but also training our hearts. Only by practicing both internally and externally can you truly benefit, otherwise you will still be lingering in the same place even after 20 years.
Only with enough effort at the source can you have the freedom to do whatever you want.
Many things in life reveal this truth everywhere. If you never put effort into the most fundamental place, then putting more things will be redundant and a burden. So we should work from the source to stabilize it and take root deeply. This is saving lives.
Then the whole life is an extremely clean space, and everything in it will be beautiful. Learning the piano should be this way, and this way is the Tao.
The most valuable thing for a person is to walk on the true path. In fact, it is not difficult to understand and know. The difficulty lies in not walking on it once you know it. This involves the unity of knowledge and action, so we may as well practice the piano. , whether practicing calligraphy or practicing the unity of knowledge and action in life, but this knowledge must be true knowledge, not delusion. If it is true knowledge, it will be difficult to do it, but once we do it, every step we take will be close to the original power, and our lives will be more joyful.
What is the relationship between piano learning and life and how it helps life? This is the most important. Otherwise, piano learning will be meaningless talk. Students who are able to settle down in Man Academy will slowly learn their own way through the piano, and through what they gain from the piano, they will slowly make their lives full, rich and beautiful. Sometimes unhappiness is caused by one's own thoughts. Many times when the mind turns a slight angle, everything changes. The difficulty lies in that turn. I believe that through learning piano, everyone can know the importance of turning and the ability to turn. .
What we can see and think about depends on ourselves, so there is nothing outside the mind.
Teachers Wu Na and Hong Bo’s sharing is so wonderful. Due to limited space and ability, I can only write so much.
I have gained so much from this trip to Xi'an. Just like classmate Ying Fei collected qi, I collected the essence of heaven, earth and people in Xi'an, a geomantic treasure land, which nourished my body and mind. The next step is to achieve unity of knowledge and action, as Teacher Hong and Teacher Wu Na said, and to be a unified person.
I would like to write this article to express my gratitude for all the encounters in Xi’an!