Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy

Making a Wise Decision at a Critical Moment

Several days ago, while driving on a local road, I stopped at a red light and then slowly entered the intersection after the light turned green. Suddenly a car came from my left side of the intersection, ran through a red light, and almost hit my car. I immediately pressed on the brake to allow the car to pass. To my surprise, the car stopped, and out came a skinny young man; he pointed at me and shouted all kinds of dirty words. Instantly, I told him, “Why are you yelling at me when you are the one that violated the traffic law?” Surprisingly, he raged more fiercely as if he was about to start a fight. At this instance, I could not help feeling angry, and a variety of instant knockout moves came to my mind. However, upon looking closer at the young man, I noticed that he didn’t seem to be in his right mind and was staggering. As a medical doctor, with many years of professional experience, I realized that he was either mentally ill or on drugs. The few moments of observing the driver gave me the opportunity to ease my anger. Meanwhile, I thought of the teaching of my Shifu Dr. Hong Tao-Tze, founder of Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy: “Tolerance, recognition, and forgiveness.” I used to have a bad temper. Dr. Hong has tirelessly used various ways to teach me to think positively and improve my tolerance and forbearance. At this moment, I realized that I would belie my Shifu’s teaching if I couldn’t control my anger and avoid making regrettable mistakes. When these thoughts came into my mind, my anger naturally dissipated. Therefore, I approached the young man and apologized to him. He continued to utter a few bad words and then drove off.

When I was younger, I was interested in martial arts. I had practiced taekwondo, judo, kendo, and other forms of martial arts, and I earned my black belt (rank) in taekwondo. After many years of practice with my partners, I was quite confident with my fighting skills. More than ten years ago, when my girl friend (my current wife) and I were walking down the street, a man intentionally bumped into her and intended to sexually harass her. I was so furious that I knocked him down with my judo skills and beat him badly. That man and I ended up at the police station, each accusing the other of assault. If I had not improved my temper, I could have beaten up the young driver, or maybe even killed him, and thus ended up spending the rest of my life in jail. That would set a terrible example for others. Luckily, one senior doctor recommended Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy to me, and I started practicing qigong with Dr. Hong. My Shifu’s teaching and example helped me cultivate my heart and learn to control my bad temper. Therefore, this time I was able to release my anger before it turned into a rage. Instead of fighting with the driver, I felt sympathetic to him, recognizing that he was mentally unbalanced. Because of a change of my mood, a crisis of fighting was resolved in time.

Most conflicts between people are triggered by impulsive reactions. Many would regret what they have done, but it is often too late to mend the mistakes. Sometimes the damage they have caused is so great that they can never make up for it for the rest of their lives. Our lives are often full of countless difficulties, and the differences in our destiny lie in the choices we make in the face of crises. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to join Tai Ji Men to practice qigong and cultivate my heart and character so that I was able to settle down my emotions and make a right choice at the critical moment. As an old saying goes, “Forbearing a moment of anger enables one to enjoy peace; retrieving a step allows one to see a broader vista.” If everyone can keep a peaceful mind when encountering dangerous situations and think far ahead, then our society will definitely become more peaceful.