It is not truth that makes man great, but man that makes truth great.

人能弘道,非道弘人

--- confucious

 

Only those who take leisurely what the people of the world are busy about can be busy about what people of the world take leisurely

能闲世人之所忙者，方能忙世人之所闲。

--- chang ch'ao

Relationships

First of all, a man does not call a relationship a relationship -- He refers to it as "the time when me and Suzie was doing it on a semi-regular basis." When a relationship ends, a woman will cry and pour her heart out to her girlfriends and she will write a poem titled "All Men Are Idiots." Then she will get on with her life.

A man has a little more trouble letting go. Six months after the break-up, at 3:30 a.m. on a Saturday night, he will call and say, "I just wanted to let you know you ruined my life and I'll never forgive you and I hate you and you're a total whore. But I want you to know there's always a chance for us." This is known as the "I Hate You/I Love You - Drunken Phone Call." 99% of all men have placed at least one such call. There are community colleges that offer courses to help men get over this need. Alas, these classes rarely prove effective.

Sex

Women prefer 30 - 45 minutes of foreplay. Men prefer 30 - 45 seconds of foreplay. Men consider driving back to her place as part of the foreplay.

Maturity

Women mature much faster then men. Most 17-year-old females can function as adults. Most 17-year-old males are still trading baseball cards and giving each other wedgies after gym class. This is why high school romances rarely work.

Hats

Women look good in hats; men look like dinks.

Comedy

Let's say a small group of men and women are in a room, watching television, and an episode of "The Three Stooges" comes on. Immediately, the men will get very excited; they will laugh uproariously, and even try to imitate the actions of Curly, man's favorite stooge. The women will roll their eyes and groan and wait it out.

Handwriting

To their credit, men do not decorate their penmanship. They just chicken-scratch. Women use scented, colored stationary and they dot their "i's" with circles and hearts. Women use ridiculously large loops in their "p's" and "g's". It is a royal pain to read a note from a woman. Even when she's dumping you, she'll put a smiley face at the end of the note.

Bathrooms

A man has at most 6 items in his bathroom -- a toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of Dial soap, and a towel from the Holiday Inn. The average number of items in a typical woman's bathroom is 437. A man would not be able to identify most of these items.

Magazines

Men's magazines often feature pictures of naked ladies. Women's magazines also feature pictures of naked ladies. This is because the female body is a beautiful work of art, while the male body is hairy and lumpy and should not be seen by the light of day.

Groceries

A woman makes a list of things she needs and then goes to the store and buys these things. A man waits until the only items left in his fridge are half a lemon and something turning green. Then he goes grocery shopping. He buys everything that looks good. By the time a man reaches the checkout counter, his cart is packed tighter than the Clampett's car on the Beverly Hillbillies. Of course, this will not stop him from going to the 10-items-or-less lane.

Cats

Women love cats. Men say they love cats, but when women aren't looking, men kick cats.

Jewelry

Women look nice when they wear jewelry. A man can get away with wearing one ring, and that's it. Any more than that and he will look like a lounge singer named Vic.

Menopause

When a woman reaches menopause, she goes through a variety of complicated emotional and psychological, and biological changes. The nature and degree of these changes varies with the individual. Menopause in men provokes a uniform reaction -- he buys aviator glasses, a snazzy French cap and leather driving gloves and goes shopping for a Porsche.

The Telephone

Men see the telephone as a communications tool. They use the telephone to send short messages to other people. A woman can visit her girlfriend for two weeks, and upon returning home, she will call the same friend and they will talk for three hours.

Low Blows

Let's say a man and woman are watching a boxing match on television. One of the fighters is felled by a low blow. The woman says, "Oh, gee. That must hurt." The man doubles over and actually feels pain.

Admitting Mistakes

Women will sometimes admit making a mistake. The last man who admitted he was wrong was General George Custer.

Richard Gere (see also -- Patrick Swayze)

Women like Richard Gere because he is sexy in a dangerous way. Men hate Richard Gere because he reminds them of that slick guy who works at the health club and dates only married women.

Offspring

A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and soccer games and romances and best friends and favorite foods and secret dreams. A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

Dressing up

A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the garbage, answer the phone, read a book, or get the mail. A man will dress up for the following: weddings, funerals.

Nudity in Movies

Every actress in the history of movies has had to do a nude scene. This is because every movie in the history of movies has been produced by a 'man'. The only actor who has appeared nude in the movies is Richard Gere. This is another reason why men hate him.

David Letterman

Men think David Letterman is the funniest man on Earth. Women think he is a mean, semi-dorky guy who always has a bad haircut.

Politics

Men love to talk politics, but often forget to do political things such as voting. Women are very happy that another generation of Kennedys is growing up and getting into politics because they will be able to campaign for them and cry on election night.

Locker Rooms

In the locker room, men talk about three things: money, football, and women. They exaggerate about money, they don't know football nearly as well as they think they do, and they fabricate stories about women. Women talk about one thing in the locker room -- sex. And not in abstract terms, either. They are extremely graphic and technical.

Laundry

Women do laundry every couple of days. A man will wear every article of clothing he owns, including his surgical pants that were hip about eight years ago, before he will do the laundry. When he is finally out of clothes, he will wear a dirty sweatshirt inside-out, rent a U-Haul and take his mountain of clothes to the laundromat. Men always expect to meet beautiful women at the laundromat. This is a myth.

Toys

Little girls love to play with toys. Then, when they reach the age of 11 or 12, they lose interest. Men never grow out of their obsession with toys. As they get older, their toys simply become more expensive and impractical. Examples of men's toys: little miniature TV's, car phones, complicated juicers and blenders, graphic equalizers, small robots that serve cocktails on command, video games, anything that blinks, beeps, and requires at least six "D" batteries to operate.

Plants

A woman asks a man to water the plants while she is on vacation. The man waters the plants. The woman comes home five days later to an apartment full of dead plants. No one knows why this happens.

Nicknames

With the exception of female bodybuilders who call each other names like "Ultimate Pecs" and "Big Turk," women eschew the use of nicknames. If Gloria, Suzanne, Deborah, and Michelle get together for lunch, they will call each other Gloria, Suzanne, Deborah, and Michelle. But if Mike, Dave, Rob, and Jack go out for a brewsky, they will affectionately refer to each other as Bullet-Head, Godzilla, Peanut Brain, and Useless.

Mustaches

Some men look good with mustaches. Those men are Tom Selleck and Burt Reynolds. There are no women who look good with mustaches.

 

--- something entertaining i found on the net, well i guess not all applies to chinese culture...

我问佛：为何不给所有女子羞花闭月的容颜？
佛曰：那只是昙花的一现，用来蒙蔽世俗的眼
没有什么美可以抵过一颗纯净仁爱的心
我把它赐给每一个女子
可有人让它蒙上了灰
我问佛：世间为何有那么多遗憾？
佛曰：这是一个婆娑世界，婆娑即遗憾
没有遗憾，给你再多幸福也不会体会快乐
我问佛：如何让人们的心不再感到孤单？
佛曰：每一颗心生来就是孤单而残缺的
多数带着这种残缺度过一生
只因与能使它圆满的另一半相遇时
不是疏忽错过，就是已失去了拥有它的资格
我问佛：如果遇到了可以爱的人，却又怕不能把握该怎么办？
佛曰：留人间多少爱，迎浮世千重变
和有情人，做快乐事
别问是劫是缘
我问佛：如何才能如你般睿智？
佛曰：佛是过来人，人是未来佛 佛把世间万物分为十界：佛,菩萨,声闻,缘觉,天,阿修罗,人,畜生,饿鬼,地狱；
天,阿修罗,人,畜生,饿鬼,地狱.为六道众生；
六道众生要经历因果轮回,从中体验痛苦。
在体验痛苦的过程中,只有参透生命的真谛,才能得到永生。
凤凰，涅盘
佛曰，人生有八苦：生，老，病，死，爱别离，怨长久，求不得，放不下。　
佛曰：命由己造，相由心生，世间万物皆是化相，心不动，万物皆不动，心不变，万物皆不变。　
佛曰：坐亦禅，行亦禅，一花一世界，一叶一如来，春来花自青，秋至叶飘零，无穷般若心自在，语默动静体自然。
佛说：万法皆生，皆系缘份，偶然的相遇，暮然的回首，注定彼此的一生，只为眼光交汇的刹那。
缘起即灭，缘生已空。　
我也曾如你般天真
佛门中说一个人悟道有三阶段：“勘破、放下、自在。”
的确，一个人必须要放下，才能得到自在。

你说，
茫茫人海中，
你总是可以一眼认出我。

因为，
我是如此光彩照人。

我们拥抱，
相爱，
相互取暖。

时光辗转，
寂寞开花。

不言不语，不诉离殇。
不闻不问，不诉衷肠。

风暴中，
心安若处子。

原来最深沉的爱，
是为彼此努力盛开。

万年亘古的洪荒，
千年遥远的回忆，
百年孤独的沧桑，
十年一生的轮回 。

那一夜，
我忘却了所有， 抛却了信仰，舍弃了轮回 。 

只为，
那曾在佛前哭泣的玫瑰， 早已失去旧日的光泽 。 

 

01惠能降生	02高僧奉讳	03三岁丧父	04艰辛度日	05砍柴养母	06闻经悟道
07老翁赠银	08真善假善	09佛法东来	10相以表法	11境由心现	12正邪之别
13登门许婚	14母子情深	15辞母离家	16智解棋局	17衣钵真传	18五祖法脉
19东山见祖	20劳作苦役	21慈悲忍辱	22巧遇故人	23五祖索偈	24神秀作偈
25神秀难秀	26惠能作偈	27密授心法	28得法南归	29五祖圆寂	30查寻能者
31庾岭求法	32客栈救人	33归途遭劫	34大显身手	35蓄谋杀祖	36访兄度母
37曹溪指迷	38财主问难	39幸福在心	40李氏善终	41火焚宝林	42自食恶果
43石中避难	44隐匿猎队	45历事炼心	46随机说法	47利他大爱	48风幡非动
49展示法宝	50剃度出家	51开坛弘法	52出家本分	53化险为夷	54荣归曹溪
55飞猫行刺	56命运无定	57命由己造	58刺史请法	59朝廷诏请	60功垂千古

陈式太极拳起源于河南温县陈家沟，由明末清初的陈氏第九世陈王廷在祖传拳械的基础上，精益求精地创造了太极五套拳、五套锤、十三势、炮锤，以及枪、刀、剑、棍、铜、鞭等，尤其独特的还有双人推手和双人粘枪，形成了完善的流派体系。在300多年的演变发展过程 中，从陈式太极拳又派生出了杨、吴、武、孙、赵堡等各式太极拳。在陈式太极拳体系当中，被后人称为“小架”的，是最以传统的一种练习形式。
　　一、陈式太极拳“小架”概说
　　陈式太极拳的训练讲究以大圈收至小圈、小圈收至无圈为登峰造极。历史上陈式太极拳并无大、小架型之分，而是在训练方法上，师傅为了使徒弟尽快入门，把架型放大，让徒弟先从大圈、外圈入手，经过一段时间的训练，当徒弟掌握了画圈走圆的运动规律之后，再逐步由大圈过渡到小圈、外圈过渡到内圈，形成经路沿躯干和四肢变化所传递的螺旋缠丝劲，达到外形上不见圈的高级境界。随着太发展，后人为了区分陈太极拳的不同练习方法，拳术上出现了大架、小架、（大圈、小圈）之称。大架拳手也要讲求将圈逐渐收小，小架训练过程基本相同，因此有“大架不大，小架不小”之说。
　　陈式太极拳大架因一些后人在外走镖或经商而开始向外界传播，特别是陈氏第十七世陈发科、十八世陈照丕被北京、南京正式邀请传拳，使陈式太极拳大架得到广泛的普及，被世人所熟知。小架由于仅在家族内传授，且师承严格，至今鲜为人知。如今的陈式“小架”传人也开始向外界传授，但由于起步较晚，普及范围仍然有限。当代陈式太极拳“小架”代表人物有：十八代传人陈克忠、陈伯祥，十九代传人陈立清、陈立宪、陈伯先等。
　　由陈氏十六世陈鑫编著的《陈式太极拳图说》，被誉为武林圣典，其中的拳谱皆为“小架”拳谱。《图说》自序：“愚今者既恐时序迁流，迫不及待，又恐分门别户，失我真传，所以课读佘暇极力显微阐幽，纤悉毕陈。”览遍全书并没有陈式太极拳大、小架之说。由此可知，《陈式太极拳图说》记载的太极拳架，应该是最接近于陈王廷所创拳术的原貌。
　　二、陈式太极拳“小架”的特点
　　1、身法：“身忌上蹿胡乱摆，宁低不高行平线”。行拳走架身体不可忽上忽下，左右乱摆；意向下沉，重心放低，重心基本保持在小平线上（个别动作如摆脚下叉、金鸡独立、铺地龙等除外）。
　　2、手法：“双手相合勿翻动，微贯一气指肚间；上行不过眉，下行似松开；内转拇指界中线，外运勿探、沉肘尖；莫贪莫夹、束肋毛肤相挨”。两手相合，四六阴阳；瓦隆掌，大、小指相合，意贯拇、食、中指；手的运动范围以身体中线==为界，左右手各管半边，向上行不超过眉毛，向下行意想松开；出手勿贪，回手勿夹，留有佘地，中规中矩。
　　3、步法：“脚踏忌八、丁，切记合足尖；内脚掌踏地偏重，大、二趾领先；以脚跟转换，步大一腿长，步小一竖脚”。基于开胯圆裆的需要，要求两脚基本保持平行，忌八字脚、丁字脚（造成两跨根不成窝状，裆部失去弧形，成“人”字裆即尖裆，不能实现圆档）；从胯向下内缠（逆缠），落在脚掌内侧大、二足趾上；出步勿贪，伸缩自如，大步不超过一腿长，小步不小于一竖脚。
　　4、“宁进不退，下在上先”。重心宁进不退；转换下在上先。
　　5、眼法；“神送前手，头忌晃动”神意在前手，但目光并非死死盯住前手，头也不能随手晃动。
　　6、劲法：“裆贵开圆，莫扭莫涮”。臀部放松，向两侧外泛，使胯从两侧向前、内裹，胯根里掖，形成后开前合，实现圆裆；裆为腰腿之枢纽，在运动旋转中，是由趾而胫而股而会阴，由身（命门）而肩而肱而桡骨、尺骨直缠至指梢的“缠丝劲”，也叫“螺旋劲”；阴阳转换时，胯走后、下弧；胯似托盘，切记不能扭、不能涮；两胯走“8”劲不断，背丝扣型循环缠；劲需走满，无过无不及。
　　7、立圆多、平圆少。画圈走立圆是为了在松沉圆转的条件下，实现力从脚起，自下而上的传递。另外，走立圆也容易保持身体的移稳定。所以小架走圈多为立圆，或有小角度的倾斜。

三、陈式太极拳“小架”溯源
　　在陈氏十四世、陈式太极拳第六代陈有本之前，太极拳被传下来的只有一种练法，并无大、小架之分。对大、小架的分化起着划时代作用的关键人物是陈有本。
据《陈氏家乘》记载，陈有本的父亲陈公兆“学术纯正，明士多出其门”（陈家沟有陈公兆力斗疯牛的传说），陈有本及胞兄陈有恒“均痒生，习太极拳。有本尤得骊珠，子侄之艺皆其所成就，丰度谦冲，常若有所不及，当时精太极拳者率出其门……有本门人陈清平、陈有纶、陈奉章、陈三德、陈廷栋均有所得，陈耕耘亦师事焉。清平传赵堡镇和兆元、张开、张睾山。有纶传李景延、张大洪”。由以上记载可以看出，陈公兆、陈有本父子皆武学造指深厚，弟子名家辈出，有本之艺显然是得到父亲真传，并且在陈有本之前小架已经存在。小架具有刚柔相济、螺旋缠绕、快慢相间的风格特点，一路柔多刚少，二路刚多柔少，而且因其完整的理论体系和严格有序的训练方法，被陈家沟人誉为“功夫架”、“看家拳”。并非像有些书上所说的“十四世陈有本在原有大部套路的基础上，又有些改动，逐渐舍弃了某些难度和发劲动作，架式与老架一样宽大，称为新架（现在称小架）”。
　　陈氏十五世陈耕耘早日功夫上身，陈有本除保留头套十三工兵精髓外，突出了爆发力，将架型予以放大，亲自辅导苦练一年有余。二人共同商讨、钻研，创编了一种架型，从此为了和头套十三式有所区别，就产生了小、大圈的说法。陈耕耘就将这种架型 在其家庭中传授，传到其孙陈发科，1928年被聘北京授拳，遂将此架型公布于世，后人为加以区别就以此架叫“大架”，将传统练法称为“小架”。
　　四、世人对《陈式太极拳图说》的疑惑
　　为什么《图说》记录的拳架为64式，不是74式？因为《图说》是陈鑫避轻就重、择拳式精华而加以论述的，所以记载的并不是完整的拳架。比如：预备势、收势及一些连贯过渡招式未收录在内。有些虽然表述了，但并没有将它们作为拳架的一招列出（易经有六十四卦，或许是受“六十四”这个数字的景响吧）。
　　晦涩难懂。《图说》不是本初级学习教材，而是拳手功夫、理论达到一定水平之后，寻求再提高的理论指导书。再加上古代作文习惯，没有句读，有些地方还使用一些方言俚语，使一些初学者和缺乏古汉语功底的人难以充分理解。另外，由于《图说》某些文字意与现代文字的差异，所以在学习的过程中，应该结合练习体会理解其精神实质。
　　有些很关键的地方一带而过。比如书中有些地方法和过程。或许陈鑫出于所处年代人们思想保守的原因，受“传丹不传药”传统思想的影响或文字表达的局限，一些面传心授的东西并未或无法表述。
　　《陈式太极拳图说》（1931年版）后面附有杜元化（育万）的《杜育万述蒋发受山西师传歌诀》，此《歌诀》成为今人持“王宗岳传蒋发，蒋发传陈长兴或陈清平”这种观点的一个重要论据，并由此推断，陈鑫原来已承认陈式太极拳乃蒋发所传。且不论此《歌诀》的真伪，句读之如何不通，单查《图说》后面的《新刊订补陈式太极拳图说姓氏》附录中有“订补者，沁阳杜元化育万”字样，可知这是在陈鑫死后多年，杜元化自己加上去的。杜氏借他人之著，倡自己之说，这种行为实不足取，也实在是误人。蒋发与陈王廷是同一时代人，应在17世纪，王宗岳（其生平见王宗岳《阴符枪谱》佚名氏序）与陈公兆为同一时代人，当在18世纪，蒋发前于王宗岳约百年，所谓王宗岳传蒋发显为讹言，蒋发传陈长兴或传陈清平更是子虚乌有。

 

 

--- 小架一直都是陈家沟不外传的拳法，才是太极拳的精髓，一般只有掌门才得以传授，陈式太极拳图说我以前有一本，参之不祥，这次回国得授小架后，才开始领悟其间精妙之处。现在小架中的顶级人物应该是陈伯祥了。