{"id":1648,"date":"2016-02-20T00:01:57","date_gmt":"2016-02-20T00:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theme-sphere.com\/smart-mag\/?p=1648"},"modified":"2016-07-05T15:30:46","modified_gmt":"2016-07-05T15:30:46","slug":"taiji-fajin-hermetics-and-metaphysics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.studymartialarts.org\/blog\/taiji-fajin-hermetics-and-metaphysics","title":{"rendered":"Taiji Fajin, Hermetics and Metaphysics"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"text aa abs pre body left\">The following modest wooden house is where I stayed in Chiang Mai, Thailand when I trained with Sifu Rasmus. Sifu Rasmus teaches Taji Fajin, Hermetics and Metaphysics in this idilic setting nestled at the foot of a mountain and within ear shot of a buddhist retreat.<\/div>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre body left\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51452239686039494\/medium.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>Leaving the cold and smog of Beijing behind I headed to Chiang Mai for 1 month of intensive training. Sifu Rasmus courses run from 1 to 12 weeks or longer depending on the content. His students tend to be instructors or masters who are looking to add greater depth to their knowledge or a more internal flavour to their art.<\/div>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51452623737116201\/medium.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre body left\">During the training period Sifu Rasmus would from time to time hold his class in the grounds of some of Chiang Mai&#8217;s most spectacular temples. In this visual blog I share three of my favorite. Below you will see a picture of an impressive nagga (N\u0101ga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology).<\/div>\n<h2>Wat Hmong<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text aa abs pre body left\">A place were I began training the air element, metaphysics and meditation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51452913467488594\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51453817553551014\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre body left\">Wat Umong was built in 1927 by King Manglai of the LAN dynasty underneath the stupa above there are caves and shrines, and in the grounds you can find a garden of broken sculptures and a fasting bodhisvista. A place of tranquility where resident monks provide willing students a meditation retreat.<\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre pull_quote center\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>&#8220;Where talking trees have words of wisdom&#8221;<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre body right\">The hidden jungle temple of Wat Palad below has a special energy and was overall my favorite temple in Chiang Mai.<\/div>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51454322214827593\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51454766456387921\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre pull_quote center\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>&#8220;The monastery at the sloping rock, visited by the God of the Earth&#8221;<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"abs crop\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51455257382294283\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\">\n<div class=\"abs fill\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51459971900023706\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>3 transformations at Wat Chedi Luang<\/h2>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/46913281929443339\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre pull_quote center\" style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8220;Please, come to the monk chat&#8221;<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre body left\">The ancient temple of Wat Chedi Luang in the centre of Chiang Mai&#8217;s walled city is one of the most important temples in Chiang Mai. It houses the ashes of the 14th century King Saen Muang Ma&#8217;s father. The big stupa is guarded on each of its four sides by two mythical serpent naga&#8217;s at the base and further up by rows of elephants. Peaceful in the evening the stupa vibrates with energy. Monks and nuns chant sutras and welcome conversation with travelers.<\/div>\n<h2>Climbing to the top of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep<\/h2>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51483457421115155\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre pull_quote center\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>&#8220;Wat Phra That Doi Suthep&#8217;s Emerald Buddha overlooking Chiang Mai&#8221;<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre pull_quote center\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51484111759597207\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51484306388354895\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51484633049485790\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51485229098457273\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre body left\">I visited this temple on the festival of Makhachkala Bucha. The festival honours the event when 1,250 of Buddha&#8217;s disciples congregated to hear an important sermon.Buddhists carry flowers, lightened candles and joss sticks while walking around the stupa three times on the day and night of the full moon in February.<\/div>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51485484093664654\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"abs crop pointer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"abs\" src=\"https:\/\/d2qhh7ouc3wmy8.cloudfront.net\/images\/imgs\/36784375888525006\/51485709153696191\/large.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre body right\">\n<h2>Learning Taiji Fajin, Hermetics and Metaphysics<\/h2>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre body right\">Although this visual bog focuses on the temples I visited while training in Chiang Mai. It would be a miss of me not to say something of my training time with Sifu Rasmus. So I&#8217;ll keep it short and simply say that training with Sifu Rasmus was an excellent decision that helped demystify some of the secrets of Taichi fajin, as well as principles and themes explored in hermetics and metaphysics.<\/div>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre body right\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"text aa abs pre body right\">Overall the course has been a great help for my own practice and I&#8217;d like to say a big personal thank you for Sifu Rasmus, guidance, welcome, coffee and of course friendship. You can learn more about the training by visiting\u00a0<strong><a href=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SifuMarkRasmus\" target=\"_blank\">Sifu Rasmus&#8217;s YouTube Channel<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0Further information on the course content can be found <strong><a href=\"\/\/www.studymartialarts.org\/master\/sifu-mark-rasmus\/55.html\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nullam lorem eros, posuere nec sodales at, aliquet. Ut luctus justo elit, sit amet sodales purus vulputate non.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,57,72,38],"tags":[224,52,225,226,227,51,53,47],"class_list":{"0":"post-1648","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-destinations","8":"category-martial-arts","9":"category-spiritual-arts","10":"category-thailand","11":"tag-chiang-mai","12":"tag-fajin","13":"tag-hermetics","14":"tag-metaphysics","15":"tag-sifu-rasmus","16":"tag-taiji-quan","17":"tag-thailand","18":"tag-travel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studymartialarts.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studymartialarts.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studymartialarts.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studymartialarts.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studymartialarts.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1648"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.studymartialarts.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2785,"href":"https:\/\/www.studymartialarts.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1648\/revisions\/2785"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studymartialarts.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studymartialarts.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studymartialarts.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studymartialarts.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}