53. The Bagua Mountain drinks tea

☰(無) For a lot of martial and (0) non-martial artists, martial arts is just a hobby or amusing pastime. Anything more than that is open to derision. It is like only allowing oneself to drink tea 喝茶 on special occasions rare and far between. ☳(龍) The first (1) level of doing martial arts (as a hobby) is like drinking instant powdered tea. Instant powdered tea may seem great at first, but a tea drinker soon realises what's put in the powdered tea (usually anything but actual tea), and it is time to move on. ☵(帝) The second (2) broad level of martial arts, is the level of the amateur. This is like drinking tea made from cheap brands. In those teabags is usually dust or Fenning, and there isn't enough in one tea bag to have a decent cuppa. So it always tastes washed out or weak. Hence, tricking the tea drinker to use two teabags or more. One's money seems to be ‘the name of the game’ in martial arts. ☶(禪) The third (3) broad level of martial arts is the level of the semi-pro up to the professional. The tea drinker is using triangle silk tea-bagged tea. The tea used is usually superior. But the problem lies in the tea bag itself. It blocks some of the aroma, taste and strength from getting out. There is a point in the equation where the physical price paid to win outweighs the rewards. ☷(彖) The fourth (4) broad level of martial arts is the level of the life-styler. The tea drinker has moved up to using loose leaf tea and is engaged in the process of learning the "Art of Making Tea". The martial artist is finding ways to incorporate martial arts into their daily life outside of the dojo/club/gym. ☱(道) The fifth (5) broad level of martial arts, martial arts is the way. The Tao of Martial Arts 武術道 is a total statement in itself. A tea drinker now just does the Art of Tea Making. Here the very act of judging the skill of the brewer is limiting. From sunrise to sunset everything is martial arts. Only those at this level understand the full ramifications of what this means. ☲(靈) These basic five levels plus the level of the non-martial artist at the beginning make up the six changing lines of the I-Ching 易經 (Classic Book of Changes) from bottom to top. And are the energetic and/or experiential lessons that a Baguazhang 八卦掌 master goes through going up the Bagua Mountain 八卦山. ☴(魂) There are other levels beyond what was commented on here. And levels further down than just being a non-martial artist. But just like drinking tea 喝茶, those other levels are like drinking tea with spirits or cream, or going yinyang 陰陽: Tea mixed with coffee. For Tea Time equals Me Time.