Master Shi Heng Yi – 5 hindrances to self-mastery | Shi Heng Yi | TEDxVitosha

Meet Shaolin Master Shi Heng Yi in his serene talk about self-discovery. Learn why rainfall is an essential part of each flowering, and every small step part of the journey to the highest peak. The hindrances along the way to self-discovery and personal growth are easy to overcome. Learn how from his talk.

For more than 30 years, Master Shi Heng Yi has been studying and practicing the interaction between mind and body. His strength is the ability to smoothly combine this knowledge with physical exercises and to practice martial arts –Kung Fu and Qi Gong. He has an academic background but he prefers to live at the Shaolin Temple Europe monastery located in Otterberg, Germany. Since 2010 he has been taking care of the settlement, and he personifies the sustainable development and spreading the Shaolin culture and philosophy. As a contemporary monk, Master Yi holds a smartphone in the folds of his clothes as he sees no contradiction between living together with ancient knowledge and high technology. “The universal law of being successful and happy at the same time means finding the balance,” says master Yi. And as for flying – yes, he really can do it! He only needs a stick and a little space. We expect him to fly in and share about the Shaolin way at TEDxVitosha 2020.

Artist: Secret Garden
Album: Earthsongs
Track: Lotus

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Good morning.

(Ethereal music)

It has been quite a privilege

being able to grow up
in two quite different ways of life.

I was born in Germany,

and at the same time had the chance

to learn more about an ancient art
coming from the Shaolin Temple.

When you grow up in an Asian family,

it is quite common

that firstly, you don't argue
with your father,

and secondly, you either
become medical doctor,

engineer, or lawyer.

Elsewise your parents
will be very unhappy.

So having that said,

I finished my academic education
with two university degrees,

an MBA,

and quite a collection
of different certificates and diplomas -

everything that my parents thought
would be useful to have.

But throughout this education,

I felt something was missing.

Because I was learning
about many different aspects -

how the plant is working,

what an atom is made out of,

how a political system is functioning,

but somehow, the subject was missing

to learn something about myself.

So with the age of four,

for the first time

I got introduced
into the monastic practices,

and I was very happy to find out
that the main part of these practices

were dealing with the exploration
and the discovery of yourself.

There was mental training,

development of behavior
combined with the physical training,

all aspects of what nowadays
is known as Shaolin Kung-Fu.

Now, despite the wishes of my parents

to somehow go out in the market
and try to manage the world,

I decided to continue this monastic life

and start learning more
about myself first.

Now, in the preparation for this talk,

I was asked to share a few words on

what is important in this lifetime,

and see,

it's already challenging

to put three decades into a single talk.

But the picture I would like to show you

summarizes very much

what I consider
as being valuable in this lifetime.

There is something
about sharing with others.

There is something about connection.

There is the training
and development of yourself.

It is to enjoy your time,
even doing nothing.

And one main aspect is

to find a way

and do the things you like to do.

Now, when I received the invitation

to have a talk at today's event,

especially under the slogan
"High, Higher, Highest,"

something very particular
came up on my mind,

and a master from the Shaolin Temple

once told me a story
that I would like to share with you.

(Flute music)

A man was living close to a mountain,

and every day he was thinking:

How would it be to climb that mountain

and what would I see on the peak?

So finally, the day came,
and the man went on the journey.

Arriving at the foot of the mountain,

he met the first traveler.

So he asked,

"How did you get up the mountain,
and what did you see from the top?"

And so the traveler shared his path,

and also the view that he had.

But then the man was thinking,

"The way that this traveler described
to me sounds very exhausting.

I need to find another way to climb."

So he continued to walk
on the foot of the mountain

until he met the next traveler.

So once again he asked,

"How did you climb up that mountain,

and what did you see from the top?"

And so again the traveler
shared his story.

Still not being determined
on which direction and which way to go,

the man asked 30 more people,
30 more travelers.

When he finished talking to all of them,

he finally made up his mind.

"Now that so many people
already shared with me their paths

and especially what
they all saw from the top,

I don't need to climb there anymore."

It is very unfortunate

this man never went on the journey.

Now, to conclude this story,

firstly,

each individual needs to find
the most suitable way

to climb that mountain.

But secondly, there is information

possible to be shared with words,

but it is impossible

to share the experience of clarity

when you are standing
on that peak by yourself.

To invest the right effort

in climbing that peak,

it's very much what
all the Buddhist practices,

the Shaolin training,

or any spiritual practice is about.

Clarity means you see more clear.

When you see more clear,
interrelations become more apparent.

When you see more clear,

there is no need to believe anyone
or believe anything.

Seeing clear means
you can distinguish for yourself

which is the proper direction to take

and which decisions do I have to make

in order to make my goals
or aspirations start to shape?

Now, at today's talk,
you will have the chance

to become inspired
by quite a lot of different travelers.

But in this particular talk,

I can't, and I won't tell you
which way to go.

It's just that along
your personal journey,

you will encounter challenges.

Those challenges will either prevent you,

or some of them even stop you,

from moving on and climbing that mountain.

In the Shaolin Temple,
we refer to them

as "the five hindrances."

The five hindrances are describing
different states of the mind.

In those states of the mind,

it becomes very hard to see clearly

and therefore engage
in the right decisions.

The first hindrance
is called "sensual desire."

Sensual desire arises in the moment

when you are paying
attention to something

that is giving you a positive emotion.

This positive emotion can originate
from five gates of your body:

Seeing, hearing, smelling,
tasting, or feeling.

So in your mind,
you climb up that mountain.

After one mile of walking,

you discover a beautiful restaurant

surrounded by beautiful people.

You smell delicious food
and the great variety of beverages.

When you follow that temptation,

you have already lost your track.

When this temptation becomes so strong

that you don't want
to leave that place anymore,

then the sensual desire
has turned into an obsession.

In both cases,

remaining at that place means
that you can't get clarity.

The second hindrance, "ill-will,"

describes the state of the mind

that arises from negative emotions.

In that state of the mind,

you have an aversion,
a rejection, or simply a dislike

against either an object, a situation,
or can be even a person.

To simplify, it means:

You are climbing the mountain,

and it starts to rain,

but you don't like rain.

You discover the roads are bumpy,

but you don't like bumpy roads.

In order to cross the river,
you need to swim,

but you don’t like swimming.

Whatever it is that you dislike,

it won’t make it a pleasant journey

unless you learn
to let go of this ill-will.

It’s more likely even
that you won't continue that journey.

The third hindrance originally
translated as "sloth and torpor."

"Sloth" means it’s
the heaviness of the body.

"Torpor" means it’s
the dullness of the mind.

It is characterized by sleepiness,

non-motivation,

lack of energy,

and oftentimes can manifest itself

in a state of depression.

Now, a simile used in Buddhism
describes it as "imprisonment."

You find yourself locked in a cell.

It becomes very hard

to make any type
of mental or physical effort.

So in order to continue your path,

there is only one option left.

You need to find a way to get out
from that hole, from that cell.

Now, the fourth hindrance
is called "restlessness."

It is the state of an unsettled mind.

"Unsettle mind" means
your mind cannot settle.

(Laughter)
Settle where?

Settle in the present moment.

An unsettled mind
either is worrying about the future

or traveling into the past

and rejecting,

judging about an event
that happened into your past.

A simile used here is the monkey mind,

constantly jumping
from one branch to another,

unable to stay for too long time
at the present moment.

The problem is there is no time
to see clearly anymore.

Now, the last of the five hindrances
is called "skeptical doubt,"

and it's very closely related
to a state of mind

which is based on indecisiveness.

It is very easy in that state of mind
getting lost in thoughts.

Can I do this?

Is this the right path?

What will the others say?

What if this? What if that?

The mind cannot synchronize
with your own actions anymore.

And the result is

that you are getting disconnected

with the goals and aspirations
that once you have set to yourself.

When the way is filled
with too much doubts,

more often you will stop
instead of moving on.

That we know the five hindrances now,

what are we going to do about them?

You need to align and structure
your life in such a way

to prevent those hindrances from arising.

If you are not successful,

you need to use techniques
in order to remove them.

Each of these hindrances is placing
the dark cloud on your mind,

or on the way of your climb.

Simply remember one thing:

Just let it rain.

(Sound of rain)

This is a four step method

to help you removing those hindrances.

The first step is recognize

in what state of the mind
you are finding yourself in.

[Recognize, Accept,
Investigate, Non-Identity]

Afterwards, learn to accept, acknowledge,

and allow the situation or a person

to be the way how it is,

to be the way how they are.

Investigate your
emotional and mental state,

and ask questions:

Why did it come up?

What is going to be the consequence
if I remain in that state?

And ultimately, non-identification means:

It is the practice.

I am not the body.

I am not the mind.

I am not my emotion.

It's just that I can see
all these three aspects about me.

All of our lifetimes,

all of our lives are too unique

to copy the path from someone else.

To bring meaning to your life,

to bring value into your life,

you need to learn and master yourself,

and don't let the hindrances stop you.

If any of you chooses

to climb that path to clarity,

I would be very happy
to meet you at the peak.

(Music) (Applause)