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To: fourdeuce82d
I suspect the most important thing is the person using the art, and his/her determination to prevail.

Without getting into a lot of the zen, the "internal" arts -- which Shaolin Kung Fu is -- go far beyond "determination." There is a certain "rightness" to the universe, and the imbalances created by combat can be restored in certain ways. Achieving that natural harmony is the ultimate goal, not some ephemeral "victory" that only creates more discord. Sometimes the greatest victory is a loss.

I don't presume to understand the Dao Te Ching or the Book of Change, but it's all there. Or so I'm told.

14 posted on 09/29/2002 6:19:17 AM PDT by IronJack
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To: IronJack
There is a certain "rightness" to the universe, and the imbalances created by combat can be restored in certain ways.

Well...some people believe a salamaner showed Joseph Smith some golden tablets, some believe a carpenter was the son of god, others believe the earth sits upon the back of a giant turtle.

These are all religious beliefs, and not really amenable to proof or disproof. I have to say I do not share the belief that the universe keeps score, or that martial arts practitioners benefit from operating under that assumption.

but that's merely *my* belief.

15 posted on 09/29/2002 1:35:54 PM PDT by fourdeuce82d
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