Take a gander at John Bright-Fey's book, "Whole Heart of Zen," for transformative movement qigong, as taught by Bodhidharma to the Shaolin monks. All but lost to modern Zen.

Lin,

Nice article.

I keep flirting with the idea of standing, do it for a while, and then stop. I know the basic posture where you stand with your arms around chest level, sometimes called tai chi stance or 3 circle stance. You say a Buddhist approach is to concentrate on the breath: would this be on the sensations of the belly? Also, do you have a recommended approach for beginners? (i.e. how long to stand, etc.)

The breathing technique I learned from Dr. Yang's books are good, they've helped me clear my mind while breathing. Basically just understand the mechanics of the breathing strategy and focus on the feeling and execution of the technique.

Actually, the Buddhist approach is to stand, and not give rise to the thought of standing. So its as though you are not standing at all. Because really, though we call it standing, it is only a perception of body.. hahaha

So the focus of breath is to the belly, but if the practitioner has a problem with the lungs, they can breathe into the chest for certain outcomes. THis reason is because in breathing to the belly, it isn't just the belly that should be expanding. Its that the belly expands "first" and then the chest begins to fill and expand. There are several manners in which to breathe, several ways to expand the belly, lower back, chest, scapulae all with breath.
With this kind of cultivation in the Buddhist school, the purpose is to strengthen the body, clear any sickness from the body as well and work on further mind cultivation. But it goes further, because I also know of movement and forms related to certain Buddhas and Bodhisattva taught as an expedient to healing the body, strengthening determination, energetic cultivation as well. THe list can go on.

You can do it as long as you want. That is all up to you, and a basic exercise would be to simply stand and place your arms to the sides with your palms facing forward for a few minutes, yet the arms slightly rounded, and another one would be palms facing behind you, arms slightly rounded as well. Too much to write on the benefits of it, but it assists in two different breathing manners, both very good for you and regulates organ functions, anchors in patience mind and develops rooting ability.

Peace and Blessings,
Lin

Thanks Lin. I didn't know of any Buddhist movements and forms, except maybe for some kung fu and the Dharma Drum forms.

Lin, Thank you for the excellent article. How should one position the eyes? Open, partially closed, looking at the tip of the nose, closed?

Eric

Eyes in standing cultivation can be in many manners. One is wide open, gazing at a slight 45 degree angle downward. Actually, that would be pretty normal for them. Blinking would be minimized naturally while concentration of breath and posture is enhanced.
One can close the eyes and keep concentration on breath throughout the body, or direct energy where one wishes to cultivate it in. Slightly opened is fine and the eyes should be peering out from the slits of the eyelids without strain.

Some standing cultivation require one to keep the eyes on the hands, or to peer through the finger spaces when the fingers are separated. Others have the eyes follow the hands if the arms are moving.

Fun Stuff!

Peace,
Lin

Thank you

Peace and Blessings