This is part of chapter 5 of Bahram Khozairy’s first published book, “Jeet Kune Do to San Jieh Dao, From Darkness To Light”, released in 1995.
By: Bahram Khozairy
Copyright © 1995 by Bahram Khozairy. All Rights Reserved.
As we examined the philosophy and concepts of Taoism in our earlier sections, we concluded, that Taoism teaches, that the whole universe is amalgamated into one reality or essence, and that the principle aim of mankind is to coalesce with the universal energies or the Tao. But at the same time, we point out the distinction between man the created being, and God the Divine being is eternally immense. Mr. Koichi Tohei pronounces in his book, "KI IN DAILY LIFE," the classical New Age monism and pantheism
"From the viewpoint of the real essence of the universal, all of us, the whole world, all humanity, are of the same womb with all trees, all grass, everything even the clouds and the mists...We are one with the ki of the universal, and to die is only to return to the Ki of the universal."18
"...our basic essence is the Ki of the universal, that our life and our body are born of the Ki of the universal, and that they must return to it. If the basic essence of the body is Ki, so is the basic essence of the spirit. Ki development is a discipline that helps us unite the spirit (mind) and the body and become one body with the Ki of the universal...To exist in this world everything, in the wider sense, is given a spirit and a body. A stone has a stone's spirit, which protects the stone’s form. Air has air's spirit which protects its formlessness, protects its movements, and achieves its mission...This spirit of material thing is what we call the property of things. Property in itself is the wider meaning spirit... The nail have their spirit, the hair its spirit, each cell its spirit..."19
From the above, we are forced to raise the same old objection; if all the material in the world are made of one substance, it would indisputably allude to the idea that man and the Creator are also made of one and equal substance and hence, share the same nature. Yet, common sense tells us, that man, as a creature can never be "one" with the Creator of the universe.
To recapitulate the previous remarks, we pointed out that man is limited, finite and three-dimensional. God the Creator on the other hand is Unlimited, Infinite, Multidimensional, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Sovereign and to be one with the Divine being means to be decimated at once.
Now, the concept and the definition of "chi," falls very much along the same Taoistic philosophy. According to Taoism and the New Age beliefs, man has a divine capacity within his nature; a divine and all powerful force which can be considered at this juncture a "supernatural" internal force, commonly known as chi. Is this supernatural force Biblical and has it been provided for mankind by the Divine God of the Bible? If not, what is it and where does it stem from? These are the questions that we must be concern with, when considering the chi phenomena.
The term chi (sometimes spelled "qi" or "ki", meaning force or energy in Mandarin Chinese), derives its root from the pantheistic belief systems and has been identified properly By Bob Larson as the, "life-energy-creative force of the universe."20 In a clearer sense, pantheistic concepts and beliefs are very much related to the concept of chi, because the development and enhancement of chi can only be accomplished according to chi's authorities, when one realizes that man has that secret and undiscovered power, that internal energy or the god-within or god-hood attributes to use and enjoy. In other words, man in the context of New Age belief is not just another unlimited creature, but the very "self" or "god." As a result, discovering and developing the self-hood, self-consciousness or god-consciousness are what a chi practitioner aims for.
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The following description is one of the ancient definitions of chi,
"The root of the way of life, of birth and change is chi; the myriad things of heaven and earth all obey this law. Thus chi in the periphery envelops heaven and earth; chi in the interior activates them. The source where from the sun, moon and stars derive their light; the thunder, rain wind and clouds, their being, the four seasons and the myriad things their birth, growth, gathering and storing; all this is brought about by chi. Man’s possessions of life is completely dependent upon this chi, it is written."21
Once again, the relationship and equation of chi with the energy of the universe or the Tao can be seen even in a classical definition as well.
Through a contemporary representation, Koichi Tohei describes in detail the principles and the nature of chi
"From Ki, the real substance of the universal, came movement and calm, joining and breaking apart, tensing and slackening, and many mutual actions which gave the present universal its form. Ki has no beginning and no end; its absolute value neither increases nor decreases. We are one with the universal, and our lives are part of the life of the universal."22
"Our lives are a part of the universal Ki enclosed in the flesh of our bodies. Though we say that this is "I," viewed with the eyes of the mind, it is actually the Ki of the universe...When we breath, we breathe the Ki of the universal in with our entire body."23
Chi is also associated with the "internal" martial arts or the so-called "soft" styles. For instance, Tai Chi Chuan (Tai meaning extreme and Chuan meaning "fist" in Mandarin Chinese), a Chinese style of martial art, which was developed by Chang San-Feng of the Hubei province of China is multi-facet as well. The hard style of Yang Tai Chi is used for health purposes and its counterpart, which is commonly known as Tai Chi-Chi Gong utilizes the internal exercises such as chi, meditation and breathing.24
According to Doc Fai Wong and Jane Hallander,
"Correct tai chi practices require both meditation and movement. Standing meditation causes relations and develops chi. Movement, including breathing exercises, activates the chi. Comprehensive tai chi study must include some internal (chi) training. Without chi development, tai chi would be just another external martial art or exercise. Chi development comes from passive meditation and stance training. It must also include chi and physical activity, gained from forms practice and breathing exercises."25
Chi-Qong (or Chi-Kung, which literally means the skill of force or the skill of energy) is categorized as one of Chinese internal martial arts. It is a system of massage, which utilizes the practice and concepts of chi. The chi-qong massage involves, the touching and rubbing the body and the skin; but the highest form of Chi-Qong is non-contact, which is known as the "Chi Massage." As Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming explains,
"To understand qi massage, you must recognize that qi is the bioelectricity circulating in the body. Because it is electricity, it can be conducted or led through electrical correspondence...In the qi massage which does not use skin contact, the practitioner uses the fingertips or the laogong cavity in the palm (which is the gate through which one's qi communicates with the outside world) to focus qi in a cavity or area of the patient's body."26
And, according to other authoritative sources,
"The goal of chi kung training is to awaken and circulate vital energy of chi within the practitioner. Chi is not a myth; it is a very real part of Chinese and Asian culture. By regulating or harmonizing one's posture, mind and breath, a warm heat energy will develop in the lower abdomen. When sufficiently cultivated, this heat current will travel up the spine and over the head when inhaling and down the body to the lower abdomen again when exhaling. Practitioners liken the feeling to warm water going up the spine and over the body. This phenomenon is referred to as the "small heavenly circulation."" 27
As we notice from the above quotations, the practice of chi is synonymous with internal arts such as, chi-qong, which not only deals directly with chi, but also with the occultic practices of healing and spiritism.
One of the most dangerous of all the internal martial arts, which is purely offensive and has been invented for the purposes of killing and destroying human lives, is called "Dim Mak." It is also categorized as an internal Chinese form of martial art, which utilizes the practitioner's striking powers on opponent's vital body points in order to obliterate his life. William Cheung explains,
"Dim mak, however, uses a special set of vital pressure points which must be coordinated with various secret times of the day, night and seasons...A person injured by the death touch must seek proper medical treatment or be prepared to die. Death could come in less than a day or take as long as six months. This is why the dim mak is also called the delayed death touch."28
The manipulation of chi and other occultic tools are the central theme within the art of Dim Mak, which allegedly attacks the 36 main points of the human body.29 It is said, that the practitioner, who has mastered the art of Dim Mak
can kill his opponent by waving his hands and fingers, and aiming at the right vital point, at the right time and the right weather temperature.
Douglas H. Y. Hsieh has translated and depicted Dim Mak's procedure in his book,
"In starting, the trainee should clasp his fingers toward the palm before slowly extending and straightening up the fingers when the hand comes to the front. In doing so, try directing your Chi (breath) to travel from you hypogastrium through the arm before coming to the finger tips because such action can eventually increase the power and strength of your fingers ... Training with empty hand can be called the Forward Training which familiarize the trainee with the method of operating their hand and fingers and of directing their Chi toward the finger tips in order to increase the power and strength of the hand."30
And, as William Barret states,
"Dim mak is a mysterious killing art which is usually held secret in the highest level of traditional Chinese martial arts ... By striking carefully chosen points, the attacker can block and disrupt the flow of chi and cause disease and slow death."31
It must be noted, that Bruce Lee had also accepted and acclaimed the practice of the internal arts; including Dim Mak's secrete death touch. He had mentioned in the pages 40 and 41 of his book "The Tao Of Jeet Kune Do," with the Chinese heading of, "ultimate secret ingredient of the Wing-Chun forefathers..."32
The death touch,
The secrete killing art,
18 points,
54 small points,
72 body pressure points,
(8 in the body that combined heaven and earth,
4 main and important points that one utilizes in order to take someone's life,)
Also, some are not listed under the "ultimate secret ingredient of the Wing-chung forefathers..."32 including,
The 36 vital points of the body from Shiao-Lin style in detail illustrations,
Interestingly enough, these portion of his writings were never translated into the English language, in his book of Tao Of Jeet Kune do.
Respond:
There are other internal Chinese arts, which are the by-product of the world of the occults such as, Pa-Kua and Hsing-I. As was mentioned before, the core concept of all of these internal or soft martial arts are the utilization and the manipulation of chi, and other occultic tools. Is chi an electrical discharge as the late famous Ed Parker, who is considered the father of the American Karate, and who was also a devote Mormon stated;
"Chi is an electromagnetic force created by the mind, a blending of the conscious and unconscious mind to create a super conscious state. Why do swallows return to San Juan Capistrano every year on the same date? They are attuned to God's universal energies. And so are we."33
And, what systematic respond can we offer for all of these internal arts of Tai-Chi, Chi-Qong and Dim-Mak? Are they as innocent and harmless as some have portrayed them? Not according to the same sources, which we examined earlier. They warn us to,
"Beware of a quick course in instant deadly chi power, visions of colors from the third eye and psychokinesis (the ability to move objects without touch). Spiritual (supernatural) powers follow self-mastery and self-mastery requires a lifetime of experience."34
The fact is, that even from the practitioner's point of view, the practice of chi and Chi-Qong can bring disastrous results. According to Bruce Kumar Frantzis, one of the most Chi-Qong experts, who has spent more than 30 years training
"Too much chi is painful ... Sexual chi qung can be dangerous ... When I was 21 I was taught a "secret" technique. I was told it was the chi qung that was the power behind tai chi. I practiced this technique diligently, two hours a day, until I could break bones with one slap simply by vibrating my energy. At the same time, I noticed an incredibly seductive feeling of energy in my head, and I began to realize that I was becoming psychotic. The stronger this chi got, the stranger my mind became, and the hotter my body felt. I realized this practice was making me crazy, removing compassion from my make-up, and I stopped. When I returned to Taiwan a few years later, I found I had been practicing the tsung he form of Fukien white crane, and that some of the practitioners of this art were either subtly or obviously psychotic. Some of the most humble-seeming masters of this chi qung were actually the most dangerous. Power replaced compassion, and while they might use their power for healing, it would be of little concern to them if they instead accidentally caused damage."35
Mr. Frantzis also relates a story about a student of Tai-Chi in San Diego who,
"...studied with an instructor who taught a form involving vibration. He was in his teens at the time, with no martial arts background, and thought this was traditional tai chi chuan. His first year felt good and relaxed, but then his teacher wanted to increase his pace. Weapon forms and more breathing practices were added to increase the vibration. About two and a half years into his training he developed the ability to discharge energy to a crude level, and he felt he was really coming along. Unfortunately he also began to notice some side-effects. These included: frightening hallucinations of his consciousness leaving his body and drifting uncontrollably away; feeling that things were moving much faster than they actually were (this was especially dangerous when he was driving); feeling his body become stiffer and stiffer internally; developing a thirst for power; feeling constantly hyper, unable to calm down, and; having involuntary body spasm."36
Of course, Mr. Frantzis does not abrogate Chi-Qong, but suggests it is only dangerous as long as it is practiced improperly!
But, what about those incredible feats and powers that man utilizes in-order to show his so-called superiority and supernatural capabilities, such as the death-touch and chi powers? As Christians, what sort of explanations can we present at this juncture since according to the Scriptures, man by nature is not divine and can never reach the stage of divinity?
As we analyzed earlier in the previous sections of Taoism and Zen Buddhism, we showed that the heart of man is deceitful above everything and incurably sick; not according to man's opinion or experience, but according to the Creator and Designer of man (Jeremiah 17:9). We found out that Jesus Christ Himself exposed the heart of man in a very subtle, but yet profound statement in the book of Mark 7:21-23,
"For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thought, fornications, theft, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."
And, one can never read the first chapter of the book of Romans and not grasp the true nature of man. Such many passages as Romans chapter 3 verses 9 through 18, and specifically verse 23 which states very emphatically that,
"all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Obviously man is a created being and is inferior to the Divine God of the Bible. Man is also inferior in power and nature to the angels according to Scriptures, simply because of:
(1) The present limited dimension that men live in.
(2) The present carnal, mortal, corrupt & sinful nature of man.
Furthermore, we reviewed the causality arguments, which proved by definition, that God is an uncaused cause as opposed to the human beings who are caused. In summary, man cannot be divine based on,
(a) Biblical theology,
(b) The laws of logic,
(c) Causality arguments.
As a result, we can reason, since Chi, by the occultic authorities' definition, is universal and a divine energy latent within every man, chi can never be associated with man who is not divine nor part of the divinity.
At the same time, Biblical Scriptures (as we have pointed out before) unequivocally inform us, that there are other dimensions beyond our physical dimensions, which are invisible to the naked eye. One of those dimensions is identified with what the Bible calls the, "prince of the powers of the air." (Ephesians 2:2)
It is a dimension, which the fallen angels or demons are trafficking. The Scriptures tells us very clearly, that Satan who was formerly Lucifer and his fallen angelic followers, possess super-human or supernatural powers and controls.
Bible informs us that presently, Satan maintains the following attributes:
a. Control over the elemental forces of nature (Job 1:13-19),
b. Power to inflict disease and adversity upon human lives
(Job 2:7; 2 Corinthians 12:7, Luke 13:16),
c. Power to destroy human lives (1 Corinthians 5:5),
d. Ability to disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)
e. Power to possess and take over human souls
(Acts 16:16, Luke 22:3, Matthew 8:28),
f. Capable of performing signs, healing, miracles and wonders
(2 Thessalonians 2:9,10),
g. Able to impede the works of God (1 Thessalonians 2:18)
h. Able to obstruct the people's minds so they cannot accept the truth
(2 Corinthians 4:3-5),
i. Able to abduct the word of God from a none-believer's heart
(Matthew 13:19),
Bible genuinely declares in 1 John 5:19 that the world which we live in, lies within the power of Satan. Satan will also duplicate the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ in the person of anti-Christ in Matthew chapter 24.
Now, the power behind Chi has to come from somewhere. Since man is not divine and does not possess such powers by himself as we have studied in detail; and, since God is not in the business of delivering such powers and energies to mankind, someone else must be involved in originating and providing the chi powers.
Knowing that Satan has capacities to perform the feats that was outlined above (a thru i); we can infer, that he is also able to perform and grant such things as "psychokenetic energy," and all of the related occultic tools that go along with the internal arts.
Satan has been involved with such conducts ever since the Garden of Eden; and, his handprints have been revealed to us by God, all over the old and the New Testament records. Thus, it should not be a surprise to any of us, that he would be involved in the same types of activities today, except under different nomenclatures.
The concept of chi and internal powers and energies are not foreign at all to the world of the occult or the New Age movement, which the source and the formulator of them all is no one other than the prince of darkness, Satan himself.
There have been many cases of demonic possessions within the occultic and cultic groups; and intern, we should not be astonished at such things as chi's dangerous side effects such as: hallucinations, out of the body experiences, demonic convulsions and others. This is not an oversimplification of the matter, for a simple reason that the Bible, which is the only inspired word of God and the only true revelation from the living God, informs us of such truths. There is no such thing as "gray area," when it comes to determining the identity of such topics as: spirits, supernatural powers, nature of the Divine, nature of man and the purpose of his existence on this planet.
To accentuate, the supernatural powers can only emanate from two sources. They either come from the Creator of the universe, the living Triune God, who has revealed Himself in the person of the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit; or, from the supernatural beings, which Bible identifies as Satan and his demons.
One must look very carefully and profoundly at the intent and outcome of these potencies, which human being tap into. Bible does not fail to impart to us means by which, to interrogate the spirits behind such supernatural forces, and to differentiate between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error the spirit of light and the spirit of darkness. The apostle John gave us the divine formula,
"...do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."
(1 John 4: 1-6)
There are many other great passages in the Scriptures that condemn the occultic practices, such as:
"When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you." (Deuteronomy 18: 9-12)
From the above and many other passages (look at Deuteronomy 13:1-11), we learn that God never occupies His Divine plan with cheap occultic tricks such as the table and chair levitations, psychokenetic forces and others. He would not place such self destructive and dangerous tools as chi and Dim Mak in the hands of human beings. He is only in the business of healing and redeeming human souls, which would have a positive eternal impact. He most assuredly not in the profession of leading men astray from Himself, because as the Lord Jesus uttered so conclusively,
"Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Consequently they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Matthew 12: 25b-28)
We also see in the Scripture, Saul the King of Israel executed by God, because he contacted an occultic medium to perform a séance. Again, Apostle John in the New Testament tells us,
"For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son." (2 John 7, 9)
Likewise, the apostle Peter warns the Christians to,
"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert, your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith..." (1 Peter 5: 8,9a)
Biblically speaking, there is no doubt that Dim Mak, Chi Power, Chi-Qong and all other internal arts originate from forces of darkness, the spiritual forces of wickedness (Ephesians 6:12).
Despite of all such depression and darkness, the good news is that, we as Christians possess the entire necessary arsenal to stand against the powers of darkness. We have the capabilities to put on the whole armor of God in order to firmly endure against the systems and strategies of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-18). As Christians, we have been supplied power and authority by the Lord Jesus, to overcome the demonic energies (Luke 9:1), and to identify and resist the diabolic forces in Jesus' name (1 John 4:1-6, James 4:7). Biblical theology undisputedly confirms, that it is impossible for a true born again Christian to be possessed by demons or deceived by the doctrine of demons; simply, because a Christian is possessed by no one else other than God's Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), and it is the Holy Spirit of God that leads every believer into all the truth (John 16:13).
To reiterate apostle Paul's inspired statement,
"...in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes." (2 Corinthians 2: 11)
Finally, Chi, Chi-Qong and Dim Mak are the desperate tools, which man attempts to utilize in order to gain power and control over other human beings. These practices must be avoided by all means and no Christian should ever be involved with such things as, "internal" or "soft styles" of martial arts because,
"There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 16: 25)
"Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it shall be opened."Matthew 7:7, 8
18. Koichi Tohei, KI IN DAILY LIFE (Japan, Tokyo: KI NO KENKYUKAI H.Q., 1978), p. 21.
19. Ibid., p. 70.
20. Larson, NEW BOOK OF CULTS, p. 299.
21. Nei Ching is quoted by William Cheung, "Why the Death Touch Works," Inside Kung-Fu magazine, March 1987, p. 49.
22. Tohei, KI IN DAILY LIFE, p. 20.
23. Ibid., p. 21.
24. Doc-Fai Wong and Jane Hallander, "TAI CHI'S INTERNAL SECRETS," Inside Kung-Fu magazine, October 1991, p. 33.
25. Ibid., p. 34.
26. Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming, "QIGONG MASSAGE, Everything You Need to Know," Inside Kung-Fu magazine, October 1991, p. 67.
27. Chinese National Chi Kung Institute, "MAIL-ORDER CHI KUNG: The Long-Distance Approach", Inside Kung-Fu magazine, March 1987, p. 93.
28. Cheung, Inside Kung-Fu magazine, March 1987, p. 49.
29. Douglas H. Y. Hsieh, Advanced DIM MAK (Republic of China: Meadea Enterprise Co., Inc., 1991), p. 20.
30. Ibid., pp. 133-134.
31. William Barret, "Reverse Dim Mak: What Can Kill Can Also Heal," Inside Kung-Fu magazine, March 1987, pp. 51-52.
32. Bruce Lee, TAO OF JEET KUNE DO, (Burbank, Ca.: Ohara Publications Inc., 1975), pp. 40-41.
33. Ed Parker's is quoted by James William Holzer, "Martial arts in the Name of GOD?," Inside Kung-Fu magazine, March 1987, p. 74.
34. Chinese National Chi Kung Institute, Inside Kung-Fu magazine, March 1987, p. 93.
35. Bruce Kumar Frantzis, "Chi Disease!, How You Can Get it, How You Can Prevent it!," Inside Kung-Fu magazine, October 1992, pp. 65-66, 77.
36. Ibid., p. 77.