Tibetan Meditation Workshop
On Sunday, April 25th at 1 pm, Geshe Dakpa Topgyal, a Tibetan Buddhist Monk, will discuss the practice of Shamatha meditation. The purpose of this meditation is to achieve deeper levels of understanding and wisdom, and help free the mind from disturbing emotions so as to foster inner peace, harmony and balance.
Workshop topics include meditation in general, physical postures, ways to withdraw mental focus from the external and bring it inward, calming the mind, and then retaining pure awareness. There will also be periods of meditation and time for questions.
Geshe Dakpa Topgyal is a graduate of the great Drepung Loseling Monastery, and teacher in residence at Geshe Dakpa Topgyal is a graduate of the great Drepung Loseling Monastery, and teacher in residence of Charleston Tibetan Society. The cost for students and members is $39, and for the public, just $49. This is your opportunity to gain a new tool for your spiritual growth.
Pakua Workshop
On Saturday, July 31st, Master Park, one of the world's leading experts on the Chinese internal martial art of Pakua Chang, and author of The Fundamentals of Pakua Vols. I and II, will lead an all-day workshop on Pakua chi kung and self-defense principles. The workshop is open to the public, beginners and advanced alike. This intensive workshop will run from 11am - 5pm at The Peaceful Dragon. Mark you calendar, Saturday, July 31st. The cost for everyone is $100 pre-paid, or $120 at the door. Sifu highly recommends this workshop to everyone, so register now at the counter.
Mountain Retreat
The First Annual Peaceful Dragon Tai Chi Retreat is set to go! Scheduled for Friday, September 10th - Monday, September 13th, it will be held at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly. This vacation is guaranteed to rejuvenate your spirit! Register before March 31st and save $30. Peaceful Dragon students pay only $269; the cost to members is $369, and for the public $469. After March 31st, add $30. For additional information, look on our website under Special Events, or stop by The Peaceful Dragon. By the way, these prices include food and lodging.
World Tai Chi Day
On April 10th, The Peaceful Dragon will be the local Charlotte sponsor
of World Tai Chi Day.
At 10 am in each local time zone, begining in the Earth+s earliest time
zone, and unfolding around the Earth, zone by zone, Tai Chi groups
around the world will gather to exhibit Tai Chi to the world.
The four purposes of this historic event are 1) To educate the world
about the benefits of Tai Chi for our personal, social and world health.
2) To thank Chinese culture for this powerful health art. 3) To improve
world relations by joining Tai Chi players to promote and celebrate a
healthier world. And 4) to show how the emerging power of the internet
can be used to foster world cooperation and health.
This day happens to be the same day as the major Charlotte Marathon.
The Charlotte Observer, sponsor of the race, is hosting a Charlotte
Observer Marathon Celebration festival in Marshall Park from 8:30 am -
2:30 pm, whose theme is health and fitness. We are delighted to
announce that the Observer has invited us to host World Tai Chi Day at
the park during their fitness festival. We've also been asked to
demonstrate kickboxing fitness and other martial arts throughout the day
(times to be announced).
Sifu Sbarge asks that all Peaceful Dragon students (even if you haven't
done tai chi) gather at Marshall Park at 9:30 am wearing your school
uniform. We will teach newcomers a few simple tai chi moves so that
everyone can participate at 10 am in this worldwide event. Directions
to the park uptown are available at The Peaceful Dragon.
This is a perfect event to promote awareness of the benefits of tai chi,
and an excellent time to publicize The Peaceful Dragon, so please don't
miss it!
Due to the importance of this event, there will be no morning classes.
Afternoon classes will happen as usual.
For anybody interested in demonstrating our kickboxing, yoga and other
martial arts at the festival, we will have demo team practice from 6 - 7
pm Friday, April 2nd and again from 6 - 7 pm Saturday, April 3rd. The
demonstrations we practice will be repeated the weekend after World Tai
Chi Day at our own Mind and Body Fitness Festival here at The Peaceful
Dragon.
Mind and Body Fitness Festival
The Peaceful Dragon is hosting an all-day Mind and Body Fitness Festival
on Saturday, April 17th (refer to the new lecture schedule). From noon
until 9 pm, students, members and visitors alike can participate in free
classes, demonstrations and lectures on tai chi, kickboxing fitness,
martial arts, feng shui, acupuncture, vegetarian cooking, tea tasting
and more.
This is the Saturday immediately following the World Tai Chi Day that we
are participating in. Anyone who demonstrates there is asked to please
come and demonstrate at our Mind and Body Fitness Festival as well.
If you aren't comfortable demonstrating, we also need volunteers to
assist visitors and guests and help make them feel comfortable and
welcome here, and we need kitchen volunteers to help bus tables and wash
dishes if we get the large turnout we hope to.
Pick up a complete schedule of events at our Mind and Body Fitness
Festival at the tea house or look on our website
www.thepeacefuldragon.com. See you there!
Message from Sifu Eric Sbarge
The classes, lectures, workshops and special events offered by The
Peaceful Dragon share the common theme of helping you to develop your
mind, body and spirit through time-honored Asian traditions. But what
do you do with your stronger, healthier body, your more focused mind,
your elevated spirit?
Hopefully, you put these improved qualities to practical use in your
daily life. None of us are hermits or ascetics, or we wouldn't be here;
we have families, jobs, friends and responsibilities. If we keep our
personal improvements to ourselves, we stagnate. We grow only when we
bring our training into our daily lives, and share our insights and
energy with those around us. You don+t have to be a teacher to share
the traditions or teachings you acquire; they are passed on
automatically when you practice them in your daily life.
When you drop your ego and show nothing but love and humility to your
family, friends and co-workers, you are living your training. When you
purposefully stay focused and become more productive at your job, you
are living your training. When you take it upon yourself to do
something charitable for someone, you are living your training.
And when you live your training, you set in motion positive karma. Your
positive approach becomes an example for others to follow, and they
invariably will follow it. As is the way of karmic circles, the good
you do comes back to you, but the joy is not in what comes back: it is
in watching the good spread outward. So, look inward to grow, but move
outward to fully blossom and spread the fruits of your training to those
around you.
Great Savings on Health Foods, Herbs, Teas and More
Tea Club
The Peaceful Dragon is establishing the region's first tea-of-the-month club. Each month, club members can buy limited quantities of rare and exotic teas not normally available either from The Peaceful Dragon or other tea sellers. Some of these teas usually require minimum orders of one pound at a cost of over $100 per pound, putting them out of reach for many people who would otherwise try them. With the buying power of a tea club, the cost of ordering these teas can be reasonably reduced for each member. Teas of this caliber make very special gifts. In addition, there will be lectures, tea tastings and monthly meetings where club members can share information - and their love of tea!
Want to join? Simply sign up at the counter. There is no fee for club membership, and the cost of the monthly tea is only $9.99 - an absolute bargain! The amount of tea you get for this price each month will depend on the grade and expense of the particular tea. Remember that fine teas can be re-brewed two or three or more times, and a small amount goes a long way.
Fresh Breads and Scones
The Peaceful Dragon is ordering for students and members, your choice of wholesome breads, scones and more from Nova Bakery. Place your pre-paid order by any Friday, and get your oven-fresh bakery items on Monday. You can take advantage of 20% OFF RETAIL for every item you order, and it will be fresher than you can get it anywhere else (except Nova, of course, where you have to pay full retail price).
A complete list of bakery goods is available at the counter, and includes organic and natural grain breads, cranberry bread, French breads, scones, pizza breads, and more in a variety of sizes. Just think how wonderful a loaf of fresh bread on the table would be right now!
High Quality Herbs and Health Foods
Herbs, spices, barley green powder, herb teas and other health foods are typically marked up three or four times at health food stores and herb shops. Peaceful Dragon members can order the best quality products from the extensive San Francisco Herb Company catalog each month and pay only 50% above wholesale!
Pre-paid orders are placed on the last day of each month - you can order any time as long as you pre-pay by then - and your items will arrive within 7 - 10 days. As if this weren't enough of a deal already, The Peaceful Dragon will pay all the shipping costs! Your order will be held for you to pick up. Come in and browse the catalogäyou'll be so glad you did!
This and That
Class Schedule Changes
Wes advises that early morning classes will run
from 6:00 - 7:00am beginning April 1st. Our hope is to fit the
schedules of more people. Please make note of this if you are in a
morning class.
Women's Self-Defense
About a dozen women joined the 8-week women+s self-defense class, which
is now underway, led by our kickboxing instructor Lynn Adams. A larger
number of women expressed interest in the class, but could not join this
time due to schedule conflicts. Lynn plans to do more classes in the
future, so stay tuned for announcements of new opportunities in the
future to take this training.
Monthly Discussion Group
The group that has been hosted by SIfu on the first Friday evening of most months has been poorly attended despite an effort to present topics of value to serious and casual students alike. Sifu does not want to abandon what many of you have said is a valuable tool for growth, but time must be focused on things to which people respond - things they agree they need or want.
To this end, the meeting time is being changed to hopefully accommodate more people. The new day and time is the first Saturday of each month from 5:30-6:30 p.m. The topic this month is "Training in Asia Today: Similarities and Differences With America."
Next month (May), in anticipation of Grandmaster's visit, the topic will be Wu-de: The Expectations of a Grandmaster."
All students are encouraged to attend these discussions.
Words to Light Your Path
In Martial Arts, techniques come from theory. If the theory is
substantial, then skill can advance. They supplement each other and
both can raise high. Constantly improve, have no fixed boundaries. The
Inner Gate leads the way, the teacher transmits the instruction. First,
toward firm and stable, seek the level and true. The martial sea has
roads, diligently use the boat. Spiritual wonder is transformed and
practice is halfway complete.
- Shi Jidong
"Assisting Song" from Shi Style Baguazhang: The 48 Skills Method
To contact The Peaceful Dragon:
Call: (704)-544-1012
Write: The Peaceful Dragon
12610 Steele Creek Road
Charlotte, NC 28273
E-mail: comments and suggestions to staff@thepeacefuldragon.com
Grandmaster Frank DeMaria (Ma For Ren, left) is coming to The Peaceful Dragon to lead an intensive three-day workshop of Chinese martial arts that will include tai chi, Shaolin kungfu, hsing-I, pakua and more. The workshop will run from Friday, May 28th - Sunday, May 30th, 1999 and it is open to Peaceful Dragon students, members, and the public - from inexperienced beginners to advanced practitioners alike.