Wake-Up Sermon by Bodhidharma

[jonesboy]

The earliest reference to energy or Shakti is from the Rig Veda.

Rigveda were composed in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, most likely between c. 1500 and 1200 BC,[10][11][12] although a wider approximation of c. 1700–1100 BC has also been given.[13][14][note 1] The initial codification of the Rigveda took place during the early Kuru kingdom (c. 1200–900 BC).

The Egyptians also used energy. Ra is considered Primordial energy.

I am not sure where you are getting that energy came from the Greeks. Greece wasn’t even a country during this time period.

You should really look towards India as that is where it has all started some 3500 years ago.

[Rain95]

Chi is also from the greek language.

It's the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet. First known use, the 15th century.

Bodhidharma, who lived around 483 AD, could not have know the word energy or chi nor known concepts about such words as they did not exist yet. Whatever he taught had nothing to do with those words.

From reading Bodhidharma's writings it seem obvious to me what he taught was how to know or see or discover your true nature. Not some imagined "energy" or "chi." Zen, which he taught, does not cover imaginary parts of ourselves. Plus, like I said, the word "energy" was not a part of his vocabulary.

[sky]

Originally Posted by Imzadi

Rain95 quotes,

"Bodhidharma, who lived from 470 to 543 AD, was an Indian prince who studied to become a Buddhist monk under the tutelage of famous Buddhist master Prajnatara. After his master’s death, Bodhidharma traveled to China, where he taught Zen Buddhism and developed a system of exercise designed to improve his students' health and fitness. Modern forms of Bodhidharma exercises are used today in martial arts such as kung fu and chi kung. The exercises are intended to improve physical strength and balance." (https://www.livestrong.com/article/4...rma-exercises/)

Chi Kung (aka Qi Gong) literally means energy work (or energy cultivation) with the word "Chi" (Qi) literally meaning energy in the Chinese language. The origin of the kanji word "Ki" in Japanese was derived from the word "Chi" as well. You might recognize “Ki” from the energy work system practice of Reiki which literally means Spiritual energy. Perhaps what was taught by Bodhidharma evolved into the ancient/modern energy practice of Qi Gong?

Exactly......
He actually invented a Qigong Form..

[Rain95]

Originally Posted by jonesboy

I am not sure where you are getting that energy came from the Greeks. Greece wasn’t even a country during this time period.

The word energy or the concept did not exist in the time period Bodhidharma was alive.

The word energy derives from Greek ἐνέργεια (energeia), which appears for the first time in the work Nicomachean Ethics[1] of 4th century BCE.

The History of the Word "Energy"

The word “energy” comes from the Greek enérgeia.

Developed by Aristotle (384 BC − 322 BC), enérgeia has no direct translation to English, although it is frequently described as “being at work”.

Although the term English “energy” acquired its current definition (meaning the quantitative property that must be transferred to an object to perform work or heat the object) in the 19th century, the ideas behind the concept began forming at the end of the 17th century, when the term was first used in English to refer to “power

http://home.uni-leipzig.de/energy/ef/01.htm

https://www.etymonline.com/word/energy

energy (n.)
1590s, "force of expression," from Middle French énergie (16c.), from Late Latin energia, from Greek energeia "activity, action, operation," from energos "active, working," from en "at" (see en- (2)) + ergon "work, that which is wrought; business; action," from PIE root *werg- "to do."

Used by Aristotle with a sense of "actuality, reality, existence" (opposed to "potential") but this was misunderstood in Late Latin and afterward as "force of expression," as the power which calls up realistic mental pictures. Broader meaning of "power" in English is first recorded 1660s. Scientific use is from 1807. Energy crisis first attested 1970.

[Imzadi]

Originally Posted by Rain95

Chi is also from the greek language.

It's the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet. First known use, the 15th century.

Bodhidharma, who lived around 483 AD, could not have know the word energy or chi nor known concepts about such words as they did not exist yet. Whatever he taught had nothing to do with those words.

From reading Bodhidharma's writings it seem obvious to me what he taught was how to know or see or discover your true nature. Not some imagined "energy" or "chi." Zen, which he taught, does not cover imaginary parts of ourselves. Plus, like I said, the word "energy" was not a part of his vocabulary.

Chi Kung (Qi Gong) is a romanized translation of the characters 氣 (chi or qi) 功 (kung or kung) which literally means "energy" and "work/cultivation" in the Chinese language. I am not saying that Bodhidarma somehow retain etymological knowledge of various future terminology as you seem to be suggesting. What I am simply asserting is that perhaps the concept of "energy" was taught or mentioned by Bodhidharma regardless of whatever terminology he might have used because your quote from earlier mentioned Chi Kung (in relations to Bodhidharma) and this is obviously the system of energy work in practice throughout the world used by many people from martial artists to Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rain95 quotes,

"Bodhidharma, who lived from 470 to 543 AD, was an Indian prince who studied to become a Buddhist monk under the tutelage of famous Buddhist master Prajnatara. After his master’s death, Bodhidharma traveled to China, where he taught Zen Buddhism and developed a system of exercise designed to improve his students' health and fitness. Modern forms of Bodhidharma exercises are used today in martial arts such as kung fu and chi kung. The exercises are intended to improve physical strength and balance." (https://www.livestrong.com/article/4...rma-exercises/)

[Rain95]

Originally Posted by sky123

Exactly......
He actually invented a Qigong Form..

Qigong, the Chinese practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and martial arts training,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_qigong

Not one mention of the word "energy" as it did not exist then!

[Rain95]

Originally Posted by Imzadi

What I am simply asserting is that perhaps the concept of "energy" was taught or mentioned by Bodhidharma ..

What is your concept of energy?

[Imzadi]

Originally Posted by Rain95

Qigong, the Chinese practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and martial arts training,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_qigong

Not one mention of the word "energy" as it did not exist then!

According to wikipedia, ”Qigong (/ˈtʃiːˈɡɒŋ/), qi gong, chi kung, or chi gung (simplified Chinese: 气功; traditional Chinese: 氣功; pinyin: qìgōng; Wade–Giles: chi gong; literally: "Life Energy Cultivation") is a holistic system of coordinated body posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used in the belief that it promotes health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Chinese medicine, philosophy, and martial arts, qigong is traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance qi (chi), translated as "life energy".

According to Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucian philosophy, qigong allows access to higher realms of awareness, awakens one's "true nature", and helps develop human potential.“ （https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong)

I think there is a bit of miscommunication here. I am not asserting or refuting that Bodhidharma taught "energy" work. I have no idea, I never studied him. I am merely responding to the existence of "energy" work as chi kung (Qi Gong) based on the quote you have kindly provided earlier and wanted to share. :)

[jonesboy]

Originally Posted by Rain95

Qigong, the Chinese practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and martial arts training,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_qigong

Not one mention of the word "energy" as it did not exist then!

Why didn’t you quote the whole thing?

The history of qigong, the Chinese practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and martial arts training, extends back more than 4,000 years. Contemporary qigong is a complex accretion of the ancient Chinese meditative practice xing qi (行氣) or "circulating qi" and the gymnastic breathing exercise tao yin (導引) or "guiding and pulling", with roots in the I Ching and occult arts; philosophical traditions of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts; along with influences of contemporary concepts of health, science, meditation, and exercise.[1][2]

Chi is energy.

[jonesboy]

Padmasambhava's came from India a couple of hundred years before Bodhidharma. As Padmasambhava's is the one that brought tantra to Tibet it is save to say tantra practices were pretty widespread at that time in Buddhism.

There is some very interesting research on Kashmir Shaivism as really the birthplace of tantra and it’s influence on Buddhism.