To Love Something

“ To love something means wanting it to live...

Analects of Confucius - Chapter 7

Confucius thought of the concept of Rén as the pillar of his philosophical and political system in China, formed during the Warring States period over 2000 years ago. His thoughts were collated together in a series of chapters called, The Analects, published during the Han Dynasty - 206 BC to 220 AD.

When asked to describe the quality of Rén, Confucius used the analogy of a parent's love for their child and the well know phrase above.

Two characters make up the logogram for Rén:

人 - meaning human being or person,

and 二 - representing the number two.

When written together, the characters for Rén 仁 can also represent the dynamic balance of yin-yang, or Tàijí 太极. The vertical line in the character represents yang qualities (male, sky, light, day, the sun, heat), while the two horizontal lines represent yin qualities (female, earth, shade, night, the moon, cold).

Together, the two characters that make up Rén 仁 encompass the essence of all things on the earth and beneath the sky.

From another perspective Rén represents our relationship with all around us. Akin to the modern ecological concepts of human beings as just one part of the larger interconnected world and universe in which we ourselves embedded.

Rén reminds us that we all have our place in the world and that we should actively remember that we share our place in the world with others - both the animate and the inanimate.

As part of an active meditation, Rén reminds us that our place in the world is dependent on recognising the principles of reciprocity and mutuality in all our dealings with the others and the world around us.

Those same principles described by Rén find themselves embodied in the movements and sequences of tai chi.

Tai Class In Cliffe Castle Park, Keighley

As we slowly and purposefully move in time and space we engage in a moving meditation on Rén where we create breathing space for ourselves to reflect on our place in the world and how we abide with others.

We hope you have enjoyed this little exploration of this important philosophical concept that in many ways runs as a thread through every thing we hope to achieve with our practice and our work.

If you have a friend, colleague, or family member who you think might benefit from coming to one of our classes please do share this page with them.

Tai Chi for Therapists

If you’re a rehabilitation professional you may like to join our class leading course, Tai Chi for Therapists.

Tai Chi for Therapists is designed for all registered allied health professionals, clinicians, and other rehabilitation professionals who would like to learn how to implement evidence-based tai chi and qigong movements into their practice.

If you’re a physiotherapist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, occupational or physiotherapy assistant, or other allied health professional get in touch, we’re here to help.

Visit our course page to find out more.

Thank you for visiting, all the best,

Phil & Helen