Full transcript
0:00In order for something new to come,
0:02something old must go.
0:04And that old can sometimes mean
0:07let go of what you know until now.
0:13Empty the cup
0:16and start from the beginning.
0:20It's not easy to do, but at the moment
0:22it's the only way that I see how
0:25something that is blocked
0:29can be brought back to movement.
0:33You must spill the old tea
0:35and pour in new one.
0:39Then things look different. Welcome back
0:41to Inspire Change with Jordan Wullegan
0:43and today's episode is with your
0:45favorite guest, Master Shi Heng Yi. Now,
0:48this conversation has been under wraps
0:50for a long time because we weren't aware
0:53that we'd be doing more interviews in
0:55the future. We have some new interviews
0:57coming out with Master Shi Heng Yi in
0:58December because I'm going out to
1:00Germany to record some more at the
1:01Shaolin Temple. So, make sure you hit
1:03the subscription, hit the notification
1:04bell if you want to be notified of the
1:05new content coming out. But, this
1:07conversation right here has never been
1:10seen before. Some small clips from this
1:13did some crazy numbers on Instagram. 20
1:16million views, I think on one of them.
1:19Absolutely mind-blowing. There is so
1:20much wisdom in this conversation,
1:22obviously, from the great Master Shi
1:24Heng Yi. Today's video was, as always,
1:26powered by mulliganbrothers.com.
1:29So, you can get ready for the end of
1:302024 with the um not a journals linked
1:34down below and also the momentum or
1:36reposters. These posters or life
1:38calendars, whatever you want to call
1:39them and frames, that's my life right
1:41there. It reminds you that one day you
1:43will die. Um it's it's a humbling
1:46experience to accept death. That's the
1:48poster when you start and the frame and
1:50you fill it in. It's the most humbling
1:52experience I've ever had in my life. It
1:54was a very humbling to understand that
1:57one of those squares along there I will
1:58not fill in. So, I fill this in every
2:00week. It absolutely makes me live with
2:02passion and purpose. And also the not a
2:04journals as well. They're on sale right
2:06now, so go to the link in the
2:07description and get ready for 2024 while
2:09stocks last. These These will go again,
2:12as always, before the end of the year.
2:13They always sell out. So, get them while
2:15you can. But, before that, let's listen
2:18to the great Master Shi Heng Yi from the
2:20Shaolin Temple Europe. Let's dive into
2:22it. So, my name is Shi Heng Yi. I'm
2:25currently the leading headmaster of the
2:27Shaolin Temple Europe,
2:29which is a Buddhist monastery located in
2:31Germany in the city of Otterberg.
2:35And since 1996, where we started the
2:39initial idea
2:41to, let's say, bring the knowledge that
2:43the Shaolin teachings inhabit, to bring
2:46this to a wider audience, let's say. We
2:49are establishing different possibilities
2:52for people to, for example, visit us
2:55here in the monastery on the one side
2:57and take part of the daily livings.
3:01But, at the same time, we have also
3:03realized that
3:05it's another possibility to share this
3:07type of knowledge also
3:10part-wise through different channels,
3:13just like yours. So, therefore, people
3:16that cannot visit us, they maybe can
3:18just already start some type of the
3:22thinking processes
3:24through these online videos.
3:27So, we're going to start with again, a
3:30lot of the questions coming through when
3:32we when we put these polls out. And one
3:35of them was a lot of people feeling
3:37lost,
3:38feeling like they don't have purpose. I
3:40I guess one of the the things I really
3:42want to start with then is
3:44how does somebody become lost in in the
3:47first place? It might be quite an
3:48interesting place to start.
3:51How does somebody become lost?
3:55I think it's never correct to generalize
3:59in the way because like I initially also
4:02said before,
4:05you never know where the people are
4:06coming from and through what type of
4:10circumstances and situations they
4:13already went through.
4:15So, there might be a lot of variables
4:17which ultimately lead to the fact why
4:20you maybe have been on the path already.
4:23But, something happened in between, some
4:25obstacles showed up
4:28that make you stagnate. That make you
4:30sometimes
4:32lose the path.
4:35Now,
4:36coming from the
4:38ancient views and the ancient
4:40philosophies, especially now talking
4:42about Taoism,
4:45there is the term the Tao,
4:48which is translated as the way.
4:52But, this way sometimes is not
4:55considered of being the way that
4:58you are deciding for yourself
5:01which one to to walk, let's say.
5:04It is always the combination, in my
5:07opinion, in my view.
5:11It is the purpose to on the one side
5:13discover
5:15what is in your field of possibilities
5:20and at the same time
5:22what is your, let's call it, destiny at
5:25the same time.
5:27So, initially, when we talked with each
5:30other the first time already, I
5:32mentioned that word karma.
5:35Meaning that there is something about
5:37the outcome of our future, the outcome
5:40of our life dependent on
5:43the way how you think, what you think,
5:46the way what you talk, how you talk, and
5:49what you do, and how you do the things.
5:52This is something directly related to
5:55your actions, to your personality.
5:59But, at the same time,
6:04I have to call them other forces,
6:08which are also interfering and which are
6:11also having a huge impact upon the
6:14outcome of your efforts.
6:17So, therefore,
6:19the whole approach, once again, is to
6:22become more aware of yourself.
6:26This is the answer of finding out what
6:30is it actually that has
6:32make you lose the way.
6:35Maybe even you you never even realized
6:38what is the way.
6:40And so, therefore, the initial point is
6:43to take a step back,
6:47especially taking a step back and
6:50realizing what is it that you are at the
6:52moment surrounded with that all the time
6:55from the morning until the evening is
6:58maybe interfering with your own
7:04with your own thoughts.
7:06It's necessary to really be aware.
7:10Are the ideas that you are having about
7:12life?
7:13Are the ideas how you are supposed to
7:16develop within this life?
7:19Are these ideas really coming from you?
7:22Or is it something that you have just
7:24grasped from the outside because maybe
7:29Yes.
7:31Maybe
7:32from the government, from the society,
7:36from the advertisements that you are
7:38seeing being surrounded with. A lot of
7:41people nowadays, I think, are being
7:43influenced by that.
7:46And
7:47the issue here is
7:50that
7:53you sometimes are just not conscious
7:55about it.
7:56So, in the moment where you are becoming
7:58more aware, where you are becoming more
8:01conscious about what is actually going
8:04on,
8:05this is that initial
8:06starting point where I would say
8:09this opens
8:11chances.
8:13Because you can only fix a problem, we
8:17can only tackle a problem if we know
8:20where it is located.
8:22And if you are still searching
8:25somewhere on the outside to blame
8:28someone or to blame any situation or to
8:32blame any organization or even to blame
8:35the government or whatsoever, as long as
8:37you are watching outwards,
8:40and
8:43search for a guilty one
8:45without pointing the finger at yourself,
8:50in our understanding,
8:52in our way of how we see the things, it
8:56is the wrong approach.
8:59Because feeling lost meaning
9:03you are feeling lost.
9:06It is something inside of yourself
9:09that you feel is not in the proper
9:11state.
9:13It's not the people that you are
9:15surrounded with that are feeling lost.
9:17It is something that is directly linked
9:19with your inner being.
9:23So, if your inner being
9:26needs something to be fixed,
9:29you need to make it internally. You need
9:32to make it inside of yourself.
9:35Of course, it can mean
9:37that your inside at the moment is still
9:40being triggered many times by external
9:43circumstances. But, that is exactly
9:47that is exactly the dependency
9:49that we want to get rid of.
9:52Because as long as your internal being
9:57is so strong connected to external
10:00circumstances.
10:02You are not going to find the peace.
10:04And you will especially not find
10:07the proper ways how you are able to
10:13to find your own path.
10:19Yesterday we spoke about
10:22when
10:23you have a like a mentor or a
10:26relationship with a person and they give
10:27you that spark in terms of
10:29um
10:32inspiration or maybe they could even
10:34they tell you something and it just
10:35gives you have a feeling there's a
10:37feeling there.
10:38With uh I think myself and my brothers
10:41is with filmmaking and uh making these
10:44videos is
10:45it's a very similar feeling to what we
10:47feel is our purpose is a very similar
10:50feeling. But again, very difficult to
10:52articulate to people.
10:55How how would you explain to somebody to
10:57find their purpose or to find their
10:59passion? Like what is the process?
11:02Good.
11:07I think it is an
11:09a very very difficult
11:13endeavor, let's say, to try and walk
11:16through this lifetime
11:18only by yourself.
11:21It is something extremely helpful
11:24to either have
11:26close friends,
11:28to have a brotherhood,
11:31to have a community,
11:34to have people
11:36that you are surrounding yourself with
11:39where you are feeling that there is
11:41something you have in common
11:43or what we also sometimes call
11:46where there is resonance between you.
11:51And sometimes you meet a person
11:55and if you are aware enough and you
11:58start your conversations, you will feel
12:00that maybe
12:01the way how that person is behaving,
12:04the things this person is talking,
12:07there is something that is resonating
12:10with yourself.
12:12And just by taking this word resonating,
12:15resonance means
12:17there is something getting into the same
12:19wavelength, something getting in the
12:21same
12:22swing, in the same frequency
12:25as what you already are carrying inside.
12:31It is similar like why do people have
12:33different tastes when it comes to music?
12:36Why are there some beats
12:39you you like to hear
12:42and they are like music for your ears,
12:44but other type of tracks
12:47they are hard for you. They are more
12:49like disturbing maybe for you.
12:52And at least my theory and my
12:54understanding is
12:57that because there is something from the
12:59past maybe already that you are carrying
13:01inside of you, you are starting to
13:04re-remember something.
13:07Re-remember that you maybe heard these
13:11sounds before.
13:13That you were maybe in contact with
13:15these type of frequencies before.
13:19And so every time when you feel
13:22there is something where you quickly
13:24come in resonance,
13:27it could mean
13:29that you are just
13:32starting off
13:34to re-remember
13:36a place
13:37where you have been before. You are So
13:39you are just starting to continue from
13:41that moment on.
13:44On the other side,
13:46it doesn't mean that if you are
13:47witnessing something and
13:50you're not in resonance with it,
13:53it also doesn't mean that there is no
13:55possibility in there.
13:57Because everything that is unknown to
14:00you,
14:01everything that in the moment is
14:02disturbing to you,
14:04that is in the way a challenge to you,
14:06like we mentioned before,
14:08these are also chances.
14:11But right now when we are talking about
14:13somebody feeling lost,
14:15somebody not knowing what is my own
14:18path,
14:20one way of, let's say,
14:25starting a journey
14:28is to just start by socializing,
14:31start by getting to know different
14:33people,
14:35talking with the people and figuring out
14:38if there's anything during those
14:40conversations where you directly feel
14:43that is something I'm resonating with.
14:46Because if these ideas at the moment
14:49don't come from you,
14:53that's not a problem.
14:55But then
14:56we need at the moment, at this moment in
14:59time maybe just some additional support
15:02from the outside.
15:05And all humans are the same.
15:07On the one side it's right, on the other
15:09side it's not right.
15:10All humans are the same and all humans
15:12are unique. Somewhere along these humans
15:16there are people you are resonating
15:18with.
15:19So you are definitely not alone along
15:21this path.
15:23But to give up and think that there is
15:27that you are a lost case,
15:30there are no lost cases
15:32unless you give yourself up,
15:35then it is lost.
15:37But if you for yourself
15:40keep that spark inside of you and just
15:43try at least and find someone else
15:50that is on the same wavelength,
15:54I think that is a chance.
15:57Um when you were speaking on the idea
15:59that
16:01somewhere that you've been before, are
16:03we talking about like generational, like
16:05something that's baked into our DNA? The
16:08you know, that's passed on.
16:11I I I really try to keep in this type of
16:14conversations,
16:16I try to leave religious
16:19content away.
16:20And I also try to leave all the things
16:23away
16:24where I cannot really prove it to you.
16:29The only thing I can tell you is like my
16:31observations. Just like we talked before
16:35that there is something being
16:37transmitted
16:38and transferred
16:40from generation to generation.
16:43Even
16:45if it was not our choice in a way.
16:48Which goes for biological features that
16:51we have.
16:52But at the same time also goes for
16:55knowledge,
16:56spiritual development, energetic
16:59development.
17:01And so when I
17:03talk about a place or something where
17:06you are resonating with,
17:09resonating means
17:11something is getting into the same
17:14frequency.
17:17So in the moment where
17:19I'm in the situation and that situation
17:21has a certain frequency
17:24and I feel I'm getting in resonance with
17:26it.
17:27What it means for me is
17:29there must be something inside of me
17:32that already
17:35has memorized these patterns of that of
17:38that movement, let's say.
17:40So that means I must have been there
17:42before.
17:43Something about me must have heard, must
17:47have felt that type of situation before.
17:51And if this is the case,
17:54then I cannot tell you if it was from
17:56this life,
17:58if it was from another experience,
18:03but it's out of question that I must
18:05have been there before. Elsewise it
18:07would not suit that example of talking
18:11about resonance.
18:15It is similar
18:16like
18:18that word
18:20feeling
18:21comfortable.
18:23Or when we now just switch maybe a
18:25little bit different topic, but
18:27comfort zone and leaving the comfort
18:29zone.
18:32I think that we are becoming comfortable
18:35with all of the things
18:38because we have repetitively already
18:40spent time with them.
18:44The first time you are experiencing the
18:46cold,
18:48it's uncomfortable.
18:51The more you train it, the more you
18:52practice it, the more you expose
18:54yourself to the cold, I think sooner or
18:58later you are getting a little bit more
19:00at ease
19:02being in the cold.
19:04Meanwhile, also
19:06to the point where you maybe even feel
19:08comfortable outside in the cold.
19:11The same is like
19:14you're not feeling comfortable speaking
19:16in front of a audience, in front of a
19:19a crowd.
19:20You practice it.
19:23Often times you repeat the same pattern
19:26and then sooner or later
19:29that uh stage fever maybe disappears
19:32and at the same time you're becoming
19:34more comfortable.
19:38So comfort
19:39is very often related to the fact
19:44you have already experienced, you have
19:47already
19:48went through a certain amount of times.
19:52This is why you are feeling comfortable
19:54in that situation.
19:58Vice versa.
20:00What does it now mean if something is
20:02making you uncomfortable?
20:05You are feeling uncomfortable or you are
20:08facing the fact of
20:10being uncomfortable.
20:13That just means
20:15you are reaching a borderline.
20:19You are reaching
20:20a limit that you until now have not yet
20:24crossed often enough.
20:29Why do I think it is necessary to
20:33cross the lines, to cross your own
20:36limits and lines from time to time?
20:40Because elsewise, you will be stuck
20:43in your own limited view
20:47of what you have experienced already.
20:51If you are living a comfortable life, it
20:54only means you are continuously staying
20:57inside a field of what you know already.
21:02Either from this life
21:05or you just have not proceeded yet from
21:09let's say past generations.
21:12So, every time
21:15you are crossing that line,
21:17every time you are expanding that
21:19border,
21:20you are expanding that limit.
21:23For me, this means there is some growth.
21:26There is some
21:30There is some new discovery.
21:33Because what you are doing is
21:36you are bringing light
21:38into a space that before that time
21:42was a space of uncertainty.
21:47It's uncomfortable because you don't
21:49know the outcome
21:51of what is going to happen if you cross
21:53that line.
21:55That's why it's uncertain.
21:57That's why people are afraid of
21:59uncertainty.
22:02But there is only one way to find out
22:05and make uncertainty become knowledge.
22:10And that one is through experiencing it.
22:16After you do it,
22:18then you know.
22:20People ask me in the in the type of
22:22trainings,
22:24"Yeah, so
22:25for what should I now stand half an hour
22:28in that position? What is it good for?
22:32Why should I breathe like this? Why
22:34should I breathe like that? Why is the
22:37Why is the finger positions like this?
22:39Why is it like this? Why are there so
22:41many different things?"
22:47You just can't explain it by words.
22:50Somewhere these words
22:53are hitting a barrier.
22:56And that barrier can only be broken
22:59in the moment where the knowledge
23:03the intellectual knowledge starts to
23:05transform into action
23:08and that action is going to bring you
23:10the answer.
23:12And this answer is what in our tradition
23:16we really refer as
23:18that is knowledge now.
23:20Or sometimes we call it wisdom.
23:24It is that type of knowledge that came
23:27because of your own discoveries.
23:30That is the real knowledge. The
23:32knowledge about that your teacher, a
23:35friend, somebody is telling you that you
23:38know up here.
23:41That's like the intellectual knowledge,
23:43the pre-knowledge.
23:45The type of knowledge that now first of
23:49all needs to transform into action.
23:54Action transforms into experience.
23:58And experience
24:00gives you
24:01what you need in order to move on.
24:07Um when you're talking about sort of the
24:10influence of other people and that
24:12knowledge,
24:14and we spoke again about it being a
24:16spark for some people. Like it it's like
24:18a switch you like flick for some people.
24:20But when we were talking about how not
24:23to how to stay on the path or how to not
24:25get lost, you said the they need to keep
24:29that spark alive inside themselves.
24:32Um how how do they keep the spark alive?
24:36If if there's no external, how do they
24:38do that?
24:44It is a method that we call once you
24:47feel that spark,
24:49that spark or that small fire now needs
24:52to be nourished.
24:54Nourished in order for it to grow.
24:59And
25:01yeah, maybe it fits quite well. I had
25:04that one TEDx talk. It was the first
25:07one, the five hindrances.
25:10And those five hindrances are actually
25:14describing the mental states
25:19that in a way are making it difficult
25:21for you to move on, let's say.
25:24And
25:25I think it fits very well now also with
25:28that spark.
25:30And one of these things is
25:32if you are self-questioning your
25:35yourself too often.
25:37If you are filled with too much doubt
25:39all the time.
25:41That is definitely one of these
25:46hindrances that is going to diminish
25:48that fire again.
25:50Once the fire is growing, the fire is
25:52growing. So, stop investing your
25:55thoughts.
25:57Stop rethinking about
26:02why
26:03why it would not work.
26:07Don't stop the fire before it even
26:09started really growing.
26:12Yeah, and this is that
26:14This is the state of you need to get out
26:17of that self-questioning.
26:19You need to learn to sometimes really
26:21have
26:21confidence in the power of your
26:24thoughts.
26:26Once it's in the mind already,
26:34everything can become possible
26:37if you find the way to translate what is
26:40in the mind into action. Because this
26:44transformation makes things come to us.
26:49Everything we have available nowadays on
26:52this earth started somewhere here by
26:54someone.
26:57It started here and then it ended here.
27:01Meaning there were some actions
27:04merged together with what was on the
27:06mind
27:08to bring it here visible for others and
27:11also visible for yourself in front of
27:14you,
27:15not just inside of you.
27:19And
27:20therefore, number one to really avoid is
27:23self-questioning and having too much
27:26doubts
27:29about yourself.
27:34And
27:36the other four hindrances, let's say,
27:39is also
27:41um
27:42easily expressed.
27:45Don't get caught and carried away too
27:47much by positive emotions.
27:51Which meaning Which means
27:54you feel that spark
27:58and
28:00out of whatever reason, you have now
28:02something
28:04that is catching your attention,
28:06which makes you lose the focus of the
28:08spark cuz there is just something which
28:10giving you too much of a positive
28:12feeling. Don't get
28:15lost. Don't get lost and drift apart.
28:18Don't lose your sight.
28:21At the moment we are talking about, you
28:23want that spark
28:26to
28:28to to grow more.
28:31So, that means you want something to
28:33grow, you need energy to get there.
28:37Energy is being directed by the
28:40intensity and the depths of your
28:44intention.
28:46So, that means your intention,
28:48your focus, your concentration,
28:52your efforts, your meditation,
28:57your action,
28:59your complete way of life, your talking
29:03and your thinking
29:06should be related to making that small
29:09spark grow.
29:13And this can only be done
29:15by learning really to focus the mind.
29:19Don't distract by positive emotions.
29:23Don't get distracted by negative
29:25emotions.
29:28And because all of this has something to
29:30do with investing effort,
29:34effort means you need to do something.
29:38You need to bring it out.
29:41It's not about passively waiting.
29:45There are areas in this life where you
29:47are like a passive driver.
29:50You're sitting at the backseat. Somebody
29:52is driving and yeah, you can enjoy the
29:55view.
29:56But in this case, when you want to make
29:58that fire grow,
30:00you need to become the driver.
30:03This time, it's switching. You are not
30:06at the backseat.
30:07You must be the one
30:09directing the thoughts, directing the
30:12actions, directing the energy.
30:16And that means
30:18that that third hindrance, for example,
30:21we call it
30:22it is that uh sloth and torpor, it's
30:26called. It's like you are like heavy.
30:29Mind heavy, body heavy, no motivation.
30:33That must go.
30:34You want to make that fire grow, these
30:36things must go.
30:38Yeah. And okay, now
30:41how to make something like this grow? It
30:43starts with sometimes really simple
30:46things of
30:48instead of lying the bed in the bed the
30:51whole day, stand up.
30:54Instead of staying in your room the
30:57whole day, go outside in the air.
31:01Instead of just walking slowly through
31:03the park, start running through the
31:06park.
31:07Instead of running through the park, put
31:10some jumps in.
31:12Put some more intensity in. So, what it
31:14means is step by step.
31:17Do something that you get out of the
31:20heaviness.
31:23Because it's not going to come flying.
31:27And of course, you cannot expect someone
31:30to make a huge leap from one day to
31:32another.
31:34But this is why there are steps.
31:37This is why sometimes time is also on
31:41your side.
31:43Step by step.
31:46Continuity.
31:48Trust in the process. And trust in the
31:52universe or trust in the words.
31:56Why I'm telling you this?
31:58Because sometimes it's just the action
32:01merged with the right intention, which
32:04is going to bring the difference.
32:08But as long as
32:12that first spark is not there,
32:16it's difficult to make something grow if
32:19there is not that initial spark. And
32:21that one must be initiated
32:25by oneself.
32:29Sorry to take a break from the
32:31interview, but I have to mention today
32:33is powered by mulliganbrothers.com. The
32:35link is in the description, where you
32:37can get the Not a Journals, the success
32:39journals that actually lead to success,
32:41and the Momentum Mori posters, the
32:42poster that reminds you you're going to
32:44die. Accepting death is one of the most
32:47important things, in my opinion, to
32:49understand how to live with passion and
32:51purpose. Time isn't going to last
32:53forever, and one day you don't want to
32:55wake up and regret that you thought that
32:57it would. It's not. There's a square on
32:59there, that's my life right there.
33:01There's a square on there that I will
33:02not fill in. And trust me, there's no
33:04way you can wake up and stare at that
33:06without living with passion and purpose.
33:08It's linked down below. It is on sale
33:10right now for the end of year, so get
33:12them whilst they are in stock. And also,
33:13you can get the Inspire Change t-shirts
33:15and hoodies, linked down below, that
33:17help support this. But before that,
33:19let's listen to Master Shi Heng Yi.
33:22Being at the temple,
33:24um there's a lot of physical training
33:25that happens. And I think for a lot of
33:27people who are lost, it it's it goes
33:29hand in hand with the idea of sitting in
33:32the bed all day, not going outside,
33:34um
33:35not getting physical exercise, not
33:38having gaining physical strength,
33:40becoming weaker. And yeah, how do you
33:43find strength when when you are weak?
33:46Okay. Uh maybe I really have to say that
33:51I do think that this society nowadays
33:55suffers a lot also from a lot of mental
33:57issues, let's say.
33:59Yeah? So, the mental states are quite
34:03devastating, I have to say.
34:06Nevertheless,
34:08I can really only speak from the
34:10experience that I have.
34:12I'm not a psychologist.
34:14So, that means sometimes only like
34:18trying to fix mental problems,
34:22I don't know.
34:24What I know is
34:26that we have many, many people that
34:28either came here to our monastery or
34:32people that are sending us the feedbacks
34:34after they are doing some type of those
34:37Shaolin trainings that we are offering.
34:41And the only thing I can tell is that in
34:43the moment where more movement,
34:48physical movement,
34:50physical engagement starts to be
34:53integrated into the daily life,
34:56something about
34:59the way how you look at the world is
35:01changing.
35:03Something about the way how you feel
35:07about waking up
35:09and what is going to be in front of you
35:11is changing.
35:13And this is why the approach that we are
35:16having right now
35:18is quite simple.
35:22If you are out there and you're feeling
35:24lost and you do not have any other idea
35:27right now what to do, I can only suggest
35:30you to look for
35:32everything that is available out there
35:35and just force yourself
35:39at least for 1 week.
35:41You don't need to commit for 30 days,
35:44but make it at least for 1 week.
35:47Instead of 1 week doing nothing,
35:50try out every day a 1-hour session that
35:52is available out there.
35:56Because elsewise, I don't know. I cannot
35:59suggest you to take any medicaments,
36:02medicals.
36:03I don't know who you should go out and
36:06search for to talk to.
36:08These things may become afterwards.
36:11But something that is directly in your
36:13hands right now,
36:16especially if you have the chance to see
36:19that video right now, it means to you
36:21have access to the internet.
36:23So, that means the next search would be
36:26look for a practical session involving
36:31learning how to breathe and learning how
36:34to increase your body awareness.
36:37That would be right now
36:39the easiest
36:44treatment,
36:46the easiest initiation
36:49to get something moving.
36:54Yeah, I think one thing I've always
36:56noticed with people who were in a slump
36:58or in a darker place, getting outside
37:01into nature,
37:03um
37:04yeah, get getting fresh air and exercise
37:08always was a huge benefit to them. It It
37:11never went wrong. You know, it It never
37:13created any harm. Um I think one of the
37:17things that when someone's in that
37:19position, their self-confidence
37:23is at a very low point. And I think that
37:26can create like a a really bad cycle to
37:28constantly go through. How would you
37:30suggest somebody becomes confidence and
37:32confident in themselves?
37:36Yes.
37:39You talked about the
37:42the circle
37:44or the spiral.
37:46And that is exactly
37:48uh it's a nice picture.
37:50If every day you wake up
37:53and you are continuously
37:56encouraging yourself that your situation
37:59that you're in is the right one,
38:02because maybe
38:04there are so many reasons. Some people
38:06feel they are misunderstood by everyone.
38:10People feel that they don't have a place
38:13in in this world.
38:15Other people feel that
38:21they're being discriminated.
38:25There are plenty of reasons why you feel
38:28that you do not belong to, let's say,
38:32this
38:33society.
38:39The more you are talking and thinking in
38:42these terms,
38:44what's going to happen is that you're
38:46just creating more and more distance.
38:51So, that spiral
38:53starts to move in one direction.
38:58But what goes for the spiral downwards
39:02also goes for the spiral upwards.
39:04And that means
39:06that it's not just
39:09that movement that I can suggest for
39:12someone to try out.
39:15But it is also to find out the small
39:18little details and the small little
39:20moments
39:22where they feel a type of belongingness
39:25again.
39:26The belongingness to something.
39:29And that's why I'm saying,
39:32either you find some individuals that
39:36are out there that share your views
39:40and encourage both of you at the same
39:43time.
39:45If you feel like you don't belong to the
39:48humanity, it's no problem.
39:52You might just
39:54start by looking out and get in nature
39:57with animals.
39:58As ridiculous as it sounds maybe.
40:01But some people feel more connected to
40:03animals than they feel being connected
40:06to humans.
40:08Because the way our animals and humans
40:11sometimes interact is not by words.
40:15Words that can be misunderstood.
40:18Because your definition of a word and my
40:21definition of a word sometimes can be
40:23quite different.
40:26But interacting with other beings that
40:29do not share the same language
40:31is a different one.
40:33That one is taking base sometimes on
40:36behalf of
40:39Yes, your expression.
40:41Your expression beyond words.
40:45Which means how you feel towards
40:47something.
40:50And therefore, I also think that this is
40:53maybe a way also to get
40:56people back from that track.
41:01Back from the darkness. If you feel like
41:04you're not connected to
41:07a certain part of beings, no problem.
41:10There are more beings in this world.
41:14Yes? But the main idea should really be
41:18step by step get back and connect
41:21yourself again.
41:24First, connect to yourself.
41:28Then connect maybe with another being.
41:33Then connect within a group.
41:36And afterwards into a community. And
41:39then this is the way how to get back on
41:41track.
41:43And while all of this process is
41:45happening
41:47the confidence is starting to also
41:49return back.
41:54And we spoke about physical routine. I'm
41:56I know a lot of people are interested in
41:58what does your physical like daily
42:00routine look like?
42:02So, my daily physical routine is either
42:06it depends also
42:08what time of the year we have. Normally
42:10summer time it means waking up and first
42:12of all going for a run.
42:14Going for a run for the purpose of
42:17cleaning out your lungs and getting a
42:19lot of fresh air right in the beginning
42:22of the day
42:23into the body.
42:27Now from the traditional Chinese
42:28medicine
42:30or the view of the transition phases
42:34we also regard the morning meaning until
42:38until noon we are regarding that this is
42:40a certain
42:44time frame that is dominated let's say
42:47by
42:49rising young energy.
42:51By rising energy which means that is
42:54exactly the point of time where you are
42:57supposed to to come out.
43:00Yeah, to to make
43:02to do the
43:04the work that takes a lot of effort from
43:06you let's say.
43:08Until noon.
43:10So and this is why after the morning
43:13training after the morning run first of
43:16all we have also our breakfast because
43:18after the breakfast starts the first
43:21high intensity training.
43:23High intensity training can mean that
43:27the exercises I showed you with the
43:30practicing of the rings that would be
43:33one of them. So you make several
43:35repetitions from this type of exercise.
43:39Or also I have my personal regimen at
43:42the moment of having
43:44the hardening exercises also in the
43:48morning.
43:49And
43:50so around 11:00 12:00 o'clock we are
43:53normally finished with the first
43:55section.
43:58Then we are starting with preparing the
44:01lunch. 1:00 it's lunch time and followed
44:04up by a short break.
44:06And afterwards we have the afternoon
44:08training where
44:10I either practice again my forms, do
44:13some stretching or do also some standing
44:16exercises.
44:18Yeah, but maybe
44:21uh
44:22maybe it's it would be a good idea to
44:26have a video in the future to really
44:29talk a little bit about what type of
44:32different exercises are actually
44:34existing in this field of let's say
44:37um Shaolin Kung Fu. Because it's it's so
44:41much
44:43that even for me just like doing the
44:46hardening
44:47already like 2 hours of the day are
44:49gone.
44:51If then standing practices come
44:53together, if I just choose two positions
44:57then already half an hour already is
44:59gone again.
45:01For me personally, I have at the moment
45:03around eight or nine continuous
45:07forms that I practice. If every form
45:10just takes 2 minutes and I practice each
45:12of them five times
45:14it's already again 1 hour gone. So there
45:17are so many different areas
45:20that you can
45:21develop yourself in
45:23that
45:26one day is
45:28gone very quickly.
45:31And that also means at the same time
45:35that the longer you are staying in this
45:37field of Shaolin arts
45:39the more methods you are starting to
45:42discover.
45:44You are gaining more knowledge.
45:47You are gaining more methods.
45:50But at the same time you feel like you
45:52don't have enough time to even practice
45:55all of this.
45:57And this is where now my understanding
46:01goes
46:02that there is the saying
46:04it is impossible
46:06to master Kung Fu
46:09in one lifetime.
46:12I can understand somehow where this idea
46:15is coming from.
46:18And what does it mean mastering Kung Fu?
46:22And there one one teacher used to say
46:31practicing Kung Fu
46:35is life.
46:38And life is Kung Fu.
46:42So if you master Kung Fu it means it's
46:46mastering life. It means you are
46:48mastering
46:50to take life into your own hands.
46:54In the Kung Fu you are responsible to
46:57build up yourself as a Kung Fu master.
47:02Kung Fu master, master of life.
47:05Mastering your own life. This is what
47:09all of this is about.
47:11And sometimes one lifetime
47:15is not enough to get all the tools in
47:18order for you to know how to fix
47:21everything that this life is throwing at
47:23you.
47:26And this is again where then the idea
47:28comes from
47:30that every lifetime we need to use in
47:34order to make us grow.
47:36In order for us to learn something new
47:39within this lifetime.
47:42Because if you believe in it or not,
47:45just assuming it would be like this.
47:48The knowledge you are gaining in this
47:50life period
47:53you're going to get as a new nice
47:55package for the next time you come back.
47:59Which means you don't want to waste that
48:01lifetime right now doing unnecessary
48:04stuff that does not bring you forward.
48:07Why not?
48:10Because in case you come back
48:13you're going to face the same issues
48:15again that you did not solve in this
48:18lifetime.
48:22And please excuse if this is maybe
48:25something not everybody can
48:27relate to because they think it is
48:29something you need to believe in.
48:31You don't need to believe in.
48:34You just ask yourself if that would be a
48:38way of thinking
48:40would it make sense?
48:43And from there you start.
48:45I I I think
48:47the the only downside to that anyway is
48:50learning
48:51in this lifetime the these amazing
48:54things anyway. Like it would be a waste
48:56to not. But the the idea of it carrying
48:58over into the next lifetime or as we've
49:02spoken about quite a few times is
49:04if it does bake into your DNA, if it is
49:07if it is passed through generations that
49:09you're handing it off to somebody else
49:10anyway, these these things.
49:12Um just I I obviously we can't we
49:15haven't got enough time to cover all the
49:16exercises and and we I would love to
49:19come back and do something maybe in the
49:20summer time about you know, maybe follow
49:23you around for the day and see your
49:25training processes. But the I've seen a
49:27lot in the temple and we we practice it
49:29and you demonstrated it yesterday, the
49:31hardening.
49:32And uh the building of the resilience in
49:35the body which I think if you do that
49:39now
49:40you probably don't arrive at these
49:41darker times as easy or when you do
49:43arrive at these darker times, you're
49:44more resilient to them.
49:46But yeah,
49:47the hardening exercises, I mean, it is a
49:49metaphor I think work, but what
49:51physically
49:52I've seen some of the stuff you do here.
49:54Like, could you describe what that is?
49:56Like, what what are you striking? What
49:57are you hitting? How are you putting
49:59your body through these hardening
50:00exercises?
50:04In the Buddhist teachings, we have a
50:05saying,
50:08the first arrow
50:10always hits.
50:13That first arrow always hits means
50:17there are certain things, like sometimes
50:19words or an insult.
50:21Somebody is insulting you,
50:23it's going to hurt.
50:25You're going to feel that it's like just
50:27hit your ego, for example.
50:30The same goes for the physical exercise.
50:33In the moment
50:34I hit whatever material that is,
50:38I feel the pain.
50:40It's not like it's important to
50:42understand. It's not that something is
50:45numb.
50:46It's not that like uh I don't feel any
50:50any sensation anymore. I feel the pain.
50:54I feel the insult.
50:57But what now the Buddhist teachings say
50:59is,
51:00make sure the second arrow doesn't hit.
51:04And the second arrow is the one that
51:07oftentimes you are
51:09shooting at yourself.
51:12Because after the first one hit,
51:15you are crying about being hit.
51:19And that means if I feel the pain
51:23and I
51:24try to, let's say, avoid that pain
51:28or I suffer because of this pain.
51:32That is something that directly with my
51:34mind I try to avoid.
51:37So, instead, what I do is I realize.
51:41I observe.
51:43I observe what is the sensation.
51:47What is it that I call that human called
51:50pain?
51:51What is that sensation?
51:55How does it really feel? So, so what is
51:57it? Is it sharp?
51:59Is it dump?
52:01Where exactly is it? Where is the
52:03starting point from it? How much does it
52:06radiate?
52:08And so,
52:09by observing this,
52:13I can detect, I can feel that
52:17there is something collecting, let's
52:19say, around that area or even trying to
52:21collect and condensate in the mind.
52:26And then you learn to release.
52:34Even if this is loud, but during the
52:36exercises, I feel the pain,
52:39I release it.
52:42What starts to
52:44tense up,
52:46I use my mind to do the opposite.
52:48What What starts to
52:51cut into the ego, I directly make the
52:54opposite of releasing it.
52:57And it is this inter- interplay.
53:00Something comes, you release it.
53:04Something comes, you release it.
53:07More of it comes,
53:09you need to learn to release deeper.
53:13So, that means the more you practice,
53:16the deeper your
53:18level of
53:20relaxation,
53:22the deeper the level of your ability of
53:24letting go becomes.
53:27And then it will always be just like
53:32it's like an interplay.
53:35The pain is there and you release.
53:38Pain level number one,
53:41you can release.
53:42Then comes pain level number two.
53:45In the beginning, it's still difficult.
53:47It's still difficult, but you learn, you
53:49learn.
53:50You repeat your your releasing.
53:53And then
53:55suddenly, you realize, okay, now my
53:59ability has become
54:01um good enough that even pain level two
54:04is released.
54:06Then comes number three. Why? Because
54:08you start to hit harder
54:09or you start to hit more often.
54:13And so, this is also like in that
54:15process, the step-by-step
54:18approach, let's say,
54:20to get used to it.
54:24And like I said,
54:25once you went over
54:28a certain limitation,
54:32that limit is done.
54:36That same pain doesn't come anymore.
54:40You went over it. You have overcome it.
54:45And in if people are insulting you
54:48for this type of translation now,
54:51you learn to not let it attack or even
54:56move your ego.
55:00In the beginning, it's hard,
55:02but future insults, you will just feel
55:09they don't move you.
55:11Because you already have the ability to
55:13release.
55:16And why would you ever let somebody else
55:21take away your life quality just by
55:26insulting you?
55:28That is exactly what
55:31what this is about.
55:34If you do not take charge about your own
55:38internal
55:40way of cultivation,
55:42there is too much out there
55:46that can feel like an insult,
55:48but none of that is worth that you are
55:52like wasting your lifetime for it
55:54feeling bad about it.
55:59Yeah.
56:01I was spoke about sort of more the the
56:04physical side of things and the um it
56:08all connects to the mental side of
56:09things, but it's it's a lot more of
56:11maybe the aggressive side of it. But
56:14then on on the other side of it, we've
56:15got the meditation and mindfulness.
56:19And like
56:20for people who are lost, that's the
56:23something they need to cover, something
56:24they need to to find as well.
56:27Um yeah, just I mean, for for yourself,
56:29like how does it impact your day-to-day
56:31life and how can it help people?
56:36It's exactly this combination of
56:39physicality, which in our case even is
56:42the martial arts, which means it is the
56:45active creation of a lot of what we call
56:49fire energy.
56:51A lot of sometimes also
56:53partly aggression, but aggression that
56:56you are calling out from yourself.
57:00The inner fire.
57:02Maybe some people don't like that word
57:04aggression, then just replace it by the
57:06word very, very high intensity of
57:09intention.
57:12If you have that very high level of
57:15focus,
57:18and very much driven by
57:22pushing yourself,
57:24at the same time, we also need to
57:27recreate the balance.
57:29And this is being done by sometimes
57:32having
57:33number one,
57:34just meditative practices, where it's
57:37not about
57:39high intensity of focusing.
57:43There is nothing that you are trying to
57:44push.
57:46There is something that you're trying to
57:48release.
57:49Release what's on the mind.
57:53What we call it's a meditation. Get them
57:56absorbed.
57:58Just get rid of your own personal ideas
58:02and just get in touch again
58:04with sometimes what people call
58:07is
58:11the flow, if you like.
58:14You are getting back into observation
58:16state.
58:17Because in the training,
58:21there you're not always in observation
58:23state only. There is something you want
58:26to achieve. So, that means you see a
58:28goal in front of your eyes.
58:31You see something that why with all of
58:34this training
58:35you want to go through.
58:38And therefore, to balance this out, we
58:40have the physicality of ourself at the
58:43same time merged with the mental
58:46exercises.
58:48And besides those two, a third one that
58:52maybe we have not covered yet,
58:54but which at a later point of time
58:57is called it's also about developing
59:01your ethical conduct.
59:06So, ultimately, it is those three areas
59:09that within the Shaolin Temple are
59:11starting to come together.
59:17It's the physical training and education
59:19of yourself
59:21balanced out with the meditative and
59:24mental
59:26exercises
59:27that we are having
59:30underlined
59:32by learning more and cultivating your
59:35character on behalf of some ethical
59:39conduct
59:41that are derived by all the theoretical
59:44teachings like mainly the Buddhist
59:47teaching.
59:51I think we're going to
59:53take everything from this and wrap it
59:55up. So, when we were
59:57with somebody who has lost, um,
1:00:00we've spoke about how to pull them out
1:00:01of that.
1:00:03Uh, but the the the end thing is
1:00:06eventually for them to rise, for them to
1:00:09to to be the best version of themselves.
1:00:13How would you, I know it's there's so
1:00:15many aspects and facets to this, but how
1:00:17would you
1:00:19describe somebody becoming the best
1:00:21version of themselves?
1:00:25Okay.
1:00:27Let me be realistic also on this one.
1:00:31If there's someone who right now
1:00:35feeling
1:00:37lost,
1:00:39there is the chance in this lifetime
1:00:43to still bring out the very best version
1:00:48of that person.
1:00:50Yeah, there is the possibility.
1:00:53But like I also
1:00:55said,
1:00:56kung fu is not mastered in one lifetime.
1:01:02What it means is
1:01:04the biggest mistake
1:01:07a person can do
1:01:09right now, no matter in which situation
1:01:12you are, is
1:01:15to give up.
1:01:19You might not reach the best best
1:01:21version of yourself in this lifetime,
1:01:24but the better one than you are right
1:01:26now.
1:01:28The main point is to find something that
1:01:30you are not standing still where you are
1:01:33right now.
1:01:36At least prepare yourself
1:01:40slowly, step by step, to get out of that
1:01:44hole right now.
1:01:48And
1:01:49I think
1:01:53there are so many different approaches
1:01:55also out there. I can only tell you the
1:01:57one that is working for us over here.
1:02:00But you have other people that you have
1:02:02also talked to in the past. I think if
1:02:06there is something in common
1:02:08when it comes to people that are not
1:02:13living in these holes,
1:02:16there's a reason why you are not in that
1:02:19hole.
1:02:20Because
1:02:21you have figured out another way of how
1:02:24dealing with this world.
1:02:27Your view has become already a little
1:02:29bit more clear of how about how things
1:02:32are functioning here.
1:02:34And as long
1:02:36as
1:02:38you are blaming
1:02:41others,
1:02:43this is the number one.
1:02:50This is the number one step to shift the
1:02:54view.
1:02:56Nobody else at the moment has the power
1:03:00to change you
1:03:02unless you have that initial spark and
1:03:05say, "I must do something. I don't want
1:03:08this anymore."
1:03:09Because if somebody is still sitting
1:03:11there and says, "No, I want it like
1:03:13this."
1:03:14It doesn't matter how many videos
1:03:17that person is like, um,
1:03:21watching
1:03:23or how many exercises that that piece
1:03:25person is doing.
1:03:29In order for something new to come,
1:03:31something old must go.
1:03:35And that old can sometimes mean
1:03:38let go of what you know until now.
1:03:44Empty the cup
1:03:46and start from the beginning.
1:03:50It's not easy to do, but at the moment
1:03:52the only way
1:03:53that I see how something that is
1:04:03blocked
1:04:05can be brought back to movement.
1:04:08You must spill the old tea
1:04:11and pour in new one.
1:04:14Then things look different.
1:04:20Thank you as always for today. Um,
1:04:23I do want to mention as well like a lot
1:04:24of the resources and the things that
1:04:27we're talking about today are available
1:04:29on shaolin.online
1:04:30um, across Instagram, YouTube resources.
1:04:34There's loads of places to find all this
1:04:36stuff.
1:04:37Um, but yeah, thank you for welcoming
1:04:39the team to the temple. Uh, we we
1:04:42appreciate being here and thank you
1:04:43again for joining us. Welcome.
1:04:46Thank you to Master Shi Heng Yi and the
1:04:48Shaolin Temple Europe for doing this.
1:04:50You can find out more resources from
1:04:51Master Shi Heng Yi at shaolin.online.
1:04:53And yes, we are flying back out to
1:04:56Master Shi Heng Yi to record some more
1:04:57episodes. So, please hit the
1:04:59subscription button, hit the
1:05:00notification bell. We have one more
1:05:02unseen interview that is due to come out
1:05:04before the new content comes out. So,
1:05:06stay following, subscribed, and
1:05:07watching, and all that kind of good
1:05:08stuff. Today's video as always was made
1:05:11possible at mulliganbrothers.com. You
1:05:13can get the Memento Mori posters. These
1:05:15are posters that remind you that your
1:05:16time is precious.
1:05:18That's them behind me. That's one that
1:05:20you would receive. You fill it in and it
1:05:22should look like something like that
1:05:23depending on your age. And it's a
1:05:25constant reminder that your time is
1:05:27precious and that you must with live
1:05:29with passion and purpose and love for
1:05:31everybody else. I love these. It changed
1:05:33my life. And also the not a journal is
1:05:34on sale. Everything's on sale on the
1:05:36website right now for the end of 2024,
1:05:38the start of 2024. Linked down below. I
1:05:41want to say a massive thank you to
1:05:42everybody who supported us this year,
1:05:44who subscribed and hit the notification
1:05:45bell, um, and just stay tuned. We have
1:05:48some incredible projects coming
1:05:51for 2024. And a lot of you guys didn't
1:05:54know that we were working on a
1:05:55feature-length documentary for the last
1:05:573 years. So, our attention's been on
1:05:59that. We've just finished editing it.
1:06:01So, now the whole team, all of us, are
1:06:04on this YouTube channel and the projects
1:06:06that we create here. The the amount of
1:06:08documentaries that we have coming, the
1:06:10inspiring people that we have coming, is
1:06:12going to be insane. So, thank you. Stay
1:06:14tuned. Thank you for supporting us
1:06:16through this period where we were
1:06:17struggling to balance our time. And, uh,
1:06:20I'll see you in the next one. Have a
1:06:21blessed and productive day. Peace.