Water Tiger T'ai Chi

08/30/2026

Peter Neri’s opening paragraphs for his "The Perils of Booking T'ai Chi Time", published nearly 32 years ago, read almost as if they were written for our current times:

“For anyone living in the frantic-paced, tension-laced, fit-full sleeping, five-day-a-week, work-a-day-world, what you need most in your life is T’ai Chi.

“The Catch-22 is that you probably don’t have time to devote to the practice of this art that will allow you to deal effectively with your lifestyle.”

After this setup, Mr. Neri makes a point very close to one we’ve made many times over the years when discussing students’ personal practice schedules:

“Something isn’t right here. T’ai Chi shouldn’t be something that you fit into your life like booking a date with your barber. It is a ‘way’ of life that, let’s face it, doesn’t meld well with popular American society (at least at my age in my neck of the woods in the VT / NH area).” *

Tomorrow, we’ll explore his take on taking moments at work to practice.

- Peter Neri, "The Perils of Booking T'ai Chi Time", "T'ai Chi", December 1994, 35.

* In 1994, “T’ai Chi” magazine notes “Peter Neri books his T’ai Chi time in South Royalton, VT. n

08/29/2026

We’re going to spend time with another pair of our primary handouts, Peter Neri’s “The Perils of Booking T’ai Chi Time” and “Any Time Can Be a Good Time for Practice”. Like the last two articles we recently featured, “Learning the Tai Chi Solo Form – Solo” and “Variety is the Spice of Life”, they’re a pair that’ve been with us for decades and to which we’ve referenced often.

They were both part of a group of articles we’d give to studio students after they had remained in Water Tiger’s studio program for six months. While the list of articles started shorter, it had remained at 18 for quite a few years before we went dark in May of this year.

We’ll begin tomorrow with Peter Neri’s "The Perils of Booking T'ai Chi Time", which, surprisingly, we’ve only referenced once on this page over the years.

- Peter Neri, "The Perils of Booking T'ai Chi Time", "T'ai Chi", December 1994, 35.

- David X. Swenson, Ph.D, “Any Time Can Be a Good Time for Practice”, October 2001.

08/28/2026

Just enjoy it.

(3 of 3)

- David Schiller, ed., “A Year of Zen Page-A-Day Calendar 2026”, Workman Publishing Co., Inc.

08/27/2026

The archery theme of this reminds us of another in our collection. Over the years, we’ve adapted it to fit other circumstances beyond leadership:

“ . . . to be a leader is like shooting an arrow, a tiny deviation at the outset results in a miss by a wide margin.” – Wen-Tzu.

(2 of 3)

- Thomas Cleary, t. "Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries; Further Teachings of Lao-tzu" (Boston: Shambhala, 1992), 27.

- David Schiller, ed., “A Year of Zen Page-A-Day Calendar 2026”, Workman Publishing Co., Inc.

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08/26/2026

We had a series of strong quotes on our office calendar recently, the first is on the power of giving …

FYI: David Schiller made an odd cut in publishing this quote. The ellipses represent this short sentence: “To give is powerful.”

(1 of 3)

- David Schiller, ed., “A Year of Zen Page-A-Day Calendar 2025”, Workman Publishing Co., Inc.

08/25/2026

“Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.”
– William Wordsworth.

WATER OVER STONES

No matter how long I live,
how much I paint,
or how much I remember,
it isn’t enough

to explain mystery.
No matter how much
I use all of history,
it still isn’t enough.

So I turn to water over rock,
and how much they persist,
devoid of human thinking
and daily effort.

Water moves, but doesn’t think.
Rock remains, but doesn’t strive.
Yet both are examples
of what is enough.

_________

Water Over Stones
Deng Ming-Dao
Ink and watercolor on paper
22 x 30 inches
25_028
https://www.dengmingdao.com/art/2025-paintings-ink/

Solar term: Limit of Heat

08/25/2026

Since we haven’t posted an update on the state of McElroy Laoshi’s recovery from his surgery in December, we thought we’d do so with this image from his Yoga session last Thursday. He tells us while he still has neither the range of motion nor the strength he previously had, it’s all getting better.

We’ll also take this opportunity to apologize for the fact we haven’t gotten back to the YouTube channel yet. There have been various challenges continuing to interfere with taking those steps since our late spring relocation to Iowa – including a family emergency involving Laoshi’s eldest sister. While she’s getting better, she’s still in hospital at the time of this posting.

08/24/2026

“Words cannot express things;
Speech does not convey the spirit.
Swayed by words, one is lost;
Blocked by phrases, one is bewildered."
- Mumon Ekai.

‬ ‬ ‪ ‬ ‪ ‬ ‪ ‬

WORDS

As I work with the Dàodéjīng, I keep thinking of a famous line from Lewis Carroll’s book "Through the Looking-Glass" (the sequel to Alice in Wonderland). Humpty Dumpty is engaged in a conversation with Alice when he declares: "When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."

Alice responds: "The question is, whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

Humpty is dismissive. "The question is, which is to be master—that's all.”

Humpty Dumpty thinks whoever has the power gets to decide what words mean. Alice represents common sense. She knows that language only works if we all agree on what words mean together. Is the speaker the master of the language, or is language the master of the speaker?

(I wonder if Carroll’s story has an implicit rejection of Humpty Dumpty’s view: Moments later, he falls and breaks into pieces. “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men” can’t put Humpty Dumpty together again. The king represents mastery and power. But the highest power in the land cannot restore life or wholenesss.)

Chapter 81 of the Dàodéjīng states: “True words are not beautiful. Beautiful words are not true."

In chapter 70, Lǎozǐ says, “My words are so easy to understand and quite easy to put into practice.”

There are so many possible and valid ways to translate the Dàodéjīng. But ultimately, you define it by your own practice. Then, this pronouncement will describe you perfectly:

“Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know” (chapter 56).

__________

This series introduces key thoughts and shares the process for my upcoming book:

The Complete Dàodéjīng
Lǎozǐ’s Classic on Wisdom and Harmony
A new translation with commentary
Deng Ming Dao
6 x 9 inches, hardcover, estimated 480 pages
Estimated publication date: November

08/24/2026

"It’s a good and bad trait for people to be passionate. In fact, it’s always good. To be passionate about whatever you do. But, sometimes, if you don’t keep it in check, it gets in your own way."

James Jene Fae Lew
September 6, 1952 - August 21, 2026

08/23/2026

We felt we had to share this article since some people always lean into the belief that martial arts training doesn’t work on the street. Well, if stage combat training works …

When Jameka Wilson encountered a man wearing a Chucky-style Halloween mask, her stage combat training kicked in. Now she’s a minor local celebrity.