Master Shi Heng Yi: Why a misused body fuels modern anxiety

1. 0:00 – 2:02

   Intro

   1. SBSteven Bartlett0:01

      You said to me, "The key to breaking this brick isn't strength necessarily. It's the ability to really, really focus." So can you show me, you smashing this brick?

   2. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi0:10

      Yes. (brick clattering) (shouts)

   3. SBSteven Bartlett0:14

      Master Sha Heng Yi is the world's most hardcore monk. He uses his decades of knowledge and techniques to help people control their minds and overcome society's biggest problems.

   4. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi0:23

      This world is filled with so much choice that it's difficult to take a decision which direction to go, what is right to do, and so there is a lot of suffering with the skills that you are developing through kung fu training involves methods and practices that give you the ability to do this. But there are five hindrances that make it difficult for you to still keep your goal in the mind. There is sensory desires, ill will, dullness, restlessness, and then self-doubt.

   5. SBSteven Bartlett0:48

      And to overcome the five hindrances, you recommend the four-step RAIN method.

   6. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi0:52

      Yes, and with this, I'll make it super simple.

   7. SBSteven Bartlett0:56

      So many of us live in the same cycles of unhappiness and suffering.

   8. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi0:59

      I, I witness it in my life as well because I felt I was never enough. My father and mother put a lot of pressure in terms of, "You need to prove yourself." And so I did all these type of practices and methods that made it possible to be where I am right now. I wanted the recognition by my father, but it didn't happen.

   9. SBSteven Bartlett1:16

      Because your father passed away from cancer.

   10. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:18

       Yeah.

   11. SBSteven Bartlett1:24

       How does one let go of that, and therefore, break the pattern?

   12. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:27

       I will show you some practices. Number one...

   13. SBSteven Bartlett1:31

       This has always blown my mind a little bit. 53% of you that listen to this show regularly haven't yet subscribed to this show. So could I ask you for a favor before we start? If you like this show, and you like what we do here, and you wanna support us, the free, simple way that you can do just that is by hitting the subscribe button. And my commitment to you is, if you do that, then I'll do everything in my power, me and my team, to make sure that this show is better for you every single week. We'll listen to your feedback, we'll find the guests that you want me to speak to, and we'll continue to do what we do. Thank you so much. (upbeat music)

2. 2:02 – 5:43

   What’s Your Mission?

   1. SBSteven Bartlett2:02

      Master Sha Heng Yi. Based on everything that's happening in the world right now, and the work that you've committed your life to, what is the mission that you are on, and why is it so important right now?

   2. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi2:18

      I do think that in this world, there have always been different streams, different forces, one of them leading to the betterment of humanity, one of them leading to the destruction of humanity. And I do think that there are types of wisdom and knowledge existing out there that very easily, without any additional help or anything else, can be very useful for the people nowadays. You know, you don't need to go anywhere. The only thing you need to do is take a moment, contemplate about yourself, go into yourself, and find the answers there, and then decide for yourself which part and what type of contribution would you like to give to the world that you're living in. I ultimately think this is what I'm doing.

   3. SBSteven Bartlett3:16

      And what is it that you see people struggling with because so many people write to you, they, they send messages to you, they come and see you? What is it that you hear they're struggling with at a fundamental level?

   4. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi3:26

      I would say it's diversity and choice. This world is filled with so much choice meanwhile that it's difficult in a way to take a decision which direction to go, what is right to do, what is not right to do. But ultimately, it's only yourself who knows the answer, which means it comes to the essential point, learn more about yourself. This is where it starts because if you have the wrong perspective of who you are, what you are, everything else in this lifetime you base your decisions on is just not, not gonna be placed in the right direction.

   5. SBSteven Bartlett4:08

      And what are the, the other things that you hear people suffering with on a daily basis in the modern world, with the way that the world is now? It's digitalized. We're lonelier than ever. Mental health seems to be surging. What are the, like, fundamental things they say to you or that, that you in- infer through what they're saying that they are actually struggling with? So choice, o- an overload of choice and an inability to make a clear decision is number one.

   6. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi4:31

      So being perfectly honest, I usually do not very much rely on what the people tell me, what they think, what problem they have. It's just that I look and I can see already what I think you need. And foremost, one of these, and it's very simple, n- non-religious, nothing about believing, it simply is the fact you don't use your body as it is intended to be. Very simple. Yeah. You, we, you, you sit, many people sit too much during the day. The body is not active at all. A lot of work, a lot of energy investment is done with the mind. Less energy investment is done really with the body. And that simply means, for me, I can see there's a disbalance. Whoever created us, he did not create us to sit with our butt on one place and do thinking work the whole time. I do think a part of why we have been created is to get out on the field and just do something out there.

3. 5:43 – 7:24

   Why Are We Suffering?

   1. SBSteven Bartlett5:43

      And what is the cost of not utilizing our body in the way that it was meant to be utilized?

   2. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi5:50

      Unbalanced energies that can translate into anxiety, that can translate into dissatisfaction, that can translate into continuously searching and never being satisfied.... and the most common thing, not realizing how precious the moments are that you have. And instead of replacing them with illusions, and dreams, and assumptions, which are just not real. Meaning, everybody is, is not even Buddhist, it's not Shaolin, it is common understanding, we don't know if we wake up tomorrow. It is like this, yeah? But our plans go (laughs) ... we have five years plans, 10 years plans. We have short-term, mid-term plans, yeah? The truth is, we don't know if we wake up tomorrow. So, of course, I don't want to make it, like in- sound negative, so just live in the present moment without planning. This is not what I'm saying. But this is the challenge nowadays. How do you balance out vision, vision with reality? Real, the only thing real right now is this (knocks three times on table) . That's real for us. I can feel it, you can hear it, you can sense it. This is real.

   3. SBSteven Bartlett7:20

      You nearly broke my table. (laughs)

   4. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi7:21

      (laughs)

   5. SBSteven Bartlett7:22

      I was concerned

4. 7:24 – 13:08

   How Do We Find Our Purpose?

   1. SBSteven Bartlett7:24

      because, um, later on, you will be sh- proving to me that you can break this brick using your, your mind and the physical, um, preparation that you've done, which I find really, really interesting 'cause I tried to smash this brick on the floor and I couldn't. So, all of the things you talk about, uh, understanding one's physical mind and h- and mastering it, but also understanding one's physical body, we'll find out if you can smash through this brick. On this point, I w- I wanted to talk about an adjacent subject, which is really like purpose. What to do with one's life. And if we're spending a little bit too much time thinking off into the future, um, and not enough time thinking in the present moment, I'm wondering how purpose and having a, having a big dream for one's life fits into this equation, and if we should have a purpose. And if so, how do we find our purpose?

   2. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi8:14

      So, absolutely, there is the field of becoming conscious. Consciousness is a big field. Then we have science. This is another very, very big field. So, some say, "Okay, is it that consciousness creates matter, or is it the other way around?" Which one is, which one is the fundamental basis? What is the basis of our interaction? So, the truth is, the fact right now is, regardless of science, no science, how our evolution developed, right now, we are here. Your body, my body, we are here. This is what we're having right now. At the same time, in the way of how this lifestyle at the moment is, we won't have more than 50 more years to go in that body. So, very simple, without believing, without any religious aspect, once again, the truth is, the lifetime of what you carry right now and what I carry right now, it's limited. And now just imagine you would be, let's say, the director of your own movie. Jump out of the body and watch yourself right now. You are sitting, like, with Shengyi, we sit on the same table, and you are writing your story. How do you want to write the story? You want to, afterwards, after this podcast, you want to, like, feel uncomfortable, feel unsafe, feel unloved, feel like being just unsatisfied with the whole life, cry, or anything like this? Or how do you imagine what is a, a, a really nice way of living for you the next 50 years? So, and based on that, purpose can be different. You say, "I do like to travel. I, I do like to invest this lifetime in this body to have the feeling, at least, that I can contribute something to all the fellow, um, brothers and sisters that are around there. It makes me, like, I wake up, I like to do it, it gives me purpose." So, it is something very, very personal and which also means that, in a way, speaking in, in these terms right now, I do not believe that every human being has the same purpose when it comes to this type of purpose. But now, there's another type of purpose which is, more or less, personally for me, why do I think that in the first place we have been put with all these possibilities? And, uh, positively said, I do think it is a blessing being able to just experience. It's a blessing that we have been granted the possibility of simply experiencing what this existence is capable of creating, including everything. Including the joy, including the happiness, including the tears, including the heartbreaks. All of this, without the separation, whether you prefer one area or not. The one, sometimes, the one goes with the other. But the purpose, in a way, is just be and experience. The only thing that happens, and which is a big part nowadays, is if you take your current existence too serious.... if you completely base your identity, your being on what you think you are. But like I said, it's just a picture right now. Yes? But just sometimes make it very simple. Jump out of yourself and be the director. Be the director of this avatar. And then, it just opens another perspective because in that moment, you just realize it's like a movie. Not everything is always positive, but in the moment where there are times of struggle, still not being caught inside your own creation.

   3. SBSteven Bartlett12:58

      Identity.

   4. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi12:59

      Identity, illusion of the self, different expressions for that. It's a very helpful way of thinking. Let's put it like this.

5. 13:08 – 15:30

   Why Purpose Is So Hard to Find

   1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi13:08

   2. SBSteven Bartlett13:08

      'Cause there's so many people that say they are struggling to find meaning in their life, or they feel purposelessness and, you know, I get so many messages from people all over the world saying that they, um, they're saying things like, "Is this it? Is this all my life is?"

   3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi13:25

      So, this is literally also one, one point that you just mentioned. "Is that it? Isn't there more?" That has always been a part that followed me along the way. Yeah. Especially now in the last three, four years, after social media, the algorithm of social media really started also pushing, pushing us quite out there. More requests were coming of doing workshops, of doing podcasts, of teaching here, of teaching there, of making television show, of participating in movies. And of course, altogether with this, doors start to open. Different things start to come in. But at some point, I just couldn't believe that this is supposed to be the purpose, because it all still had to do, like, had to do with doing. The constant doing. Yeah. And there I felt, in my life now looking at this, this couldn't be it. So, I, I looked for alternatives, always and always again. Especially feeling that along the way of what you would say achieving something, being recognized as something, yeah. But yet, there's a, there's another side that goes hand-in-hand with it that the public doesn't see. There were times I could simply be surrounded with like thousands, thousands of people, but still feel lonely. It's not what you're surrounded with. It's with what you are connected. Yeah. And there, I felt like there is always again, this type of force. What is it that drives you on? Going outwards, going outwards, going outwards. You lose yourself. But this self is the only thing that can give you connection in this life.

6. 15:30 – 21:15

   What Do We Need to Be Connected To?

   1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi15:30

   2. SBSteven Bartlett15:30

      And what do you need to be connected to then? You talked about being surrounded by thousands and being lonely, and it's really about what you're connected to. What does one need to be connected to?

   3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi15:42

      Um, maybe before I answer you this question, there's one thing, uh, I maybe want to, like, mention beforehand. So, when I went to elementary school and also during my school time, I actually, for example, joined Christian, Christian lesson. Yeah. So, by my parents, I grew up with Buddhist tradition, let's say. From the martial art training, I also got introduced into so-called Zen Buddhism because my father always told me, "Look, son. We are here in a foreign country. You're a foreigner. It's always better to have friends than to have enemies." That's why I made always friends with everyone, meaning I had a lot of Russian friends, I had a lot of Arabic friends, I had a lot of Turkish friends, multicultural. Also meaning, at some point I also got, like, introduced into Islam. Bottom line is, taking all of this knowledge from the past into my mind, no matter from which angle I'm watching right now, I do believe that we all have a source. There is a source. So, whether you call that source, it's the universe, whether you call the source it is the God, whether this source is, is the, the infinite energy. I don't know. There's so many different expressions to it, but when I look at all these teachings, all are always pointing at one and the same thing. Let's just take the expression of yin and yang. Yes? The symbol everybody knows in the world. And there is that nice saying, "Yin and yang have a mother." The mother sometimes simply being illustrated as one circle. So yin and yang as the expression from duality, polarity, existence of number two. Now, where do, do the two come from? They must come from one. So, simple like in our way, you are there, I am here. One, two, where do we come from? There must be something that we have as a common denominator, and this source is the only thing that can connect us because it's not your family, it's not my family. They're still different. That is not enough, going just looking at we are humans.... animal saying. Whatever and whoever gave us the possibility to be here is the same who gave you the permission, (laughs) is the same who gave me the permission and the blessing. And this is what I think, this is the level of mind, this is the level of connection that never leaves you lonely. This-

   4. SBSteven Bartlett18:47

      Being-

   5. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi18:47

      This is the one that I, that I mean.

   6. SBSteven Bartlett18:50

      Being connected to the source?

   7. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi18:51

      Yes.

   8. SBSteven Bartlett18:52

      Now for someone that is listening to this and is confused at this juncture and they're, they're asking themselves, "What is that source?" You've described it in, in many potential ways, but it's the, uh, uh, my attempt at describing it is, it is ultimately where we came from. That is, that is the source. Is there a better way of describing it for people that might be unfamiliar with the concept?

   9. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi19:16

      First of all, I cannot speak without it and it would make sense to everyone. That's already the first very, very difficult part. That's why my intention is never to say, "What is it?" The only thing I can do is to, to try to, like, give pointers. But ultimately, there's only one person who will be able to find it out, and it's not me finding it out for somebody else. Everybody will find out for himself or herself. So every human being, I do think, is at a different level of his, um, of his growth, of his development, and everybody gets what he needs exactly in the moment where he is in, which is why I think everybody at this moment in time is exactly where he needs to be for the next elevation to take place. The only thing you need to do is look at yourself right now and just find out what is it that makes you unhappy, what exactly is it that at this moment in your life is binding you and restricting you from moving on. And this is the same question for everyone, but the, what you ultimately need to tackle is different. In the past, I sometimes played Super Mario and Luigi. (laughs) And it's the same if you don't, like, manage level number one, you won't see level number two. The challenges from number two won't come. The end boss from number two is not gonna come. First, you finish level one. But once number one is finished, you won't face the same stuff anymore. And there is something along this line where it sometimes is like a game at the same time. Don't take it so serious helps.

7. 21:15 – 26:46

   Identity, Ego & the Feeling of Lack

   1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi21:15

   2. SBSteven Bartlett21:15

      On that point of we're all struggling with something based on the levels we're at, if you had to try and summarize what the common answer is to what people are struggling with, what do you think that might be? I was thinking about my, um, my best friends, 'cause sometimes it's easier to step outside of oneself and look at others. When I was reflecting on the conversations I've had with them over the last couple of weeks about things they're struggling with, and I would define a lot of it as wanting. So wanting to improve their businesses, wanting to improve maybe their romantic situations and find love. I would say the essence of it, the, the suffering seems to be striving for something that they're unable to grab. Um, but I wondered if you had a different perspective on that.

   3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi22:03

      Two things that right now would come to my mind. There is always the struggle between doing and being. Doing, I would ask, why are you doing? So why? Why do you want to go into action? Mostly, there is a goal. The goal, why do you have that goal? Because you're aiming at receiving something that in the moment where you, where you have it, apparently you are lacking. So that means this type of goal setting in, in my perspective, I would automatically refer to it already that your goal setting already comes from a space of lack. You feel like you're lacking something. That's why you need to do. You feel like you're lacking something. That's why you need to educate yourself, that... Okay? So this is the one direction. Now coming back, maybe sounds again too philosophical, connected with the source, there's nothing to add and there's nothing to take away from you. So apparently, when somebody has this very, very high ambition of doing something, achieving something, then most likely the chances are there this is not coming from a connection to the source. It is coming from the idea of wanting to nourish or create an identity, an identity that represents something that you think you want to represent. Yeah. So this is the one area, the doing versus the being. And then the second thing is, that ultimately goes hand in hand with this way of living your life, is that you for- that, that one thing is being forgotten along the, along the line, the truth of that whoever and whatever you are creating and are intending to create and are intending to gather now and, and starting to, um, to attain things...... your attainment, maximum, is going to last hundred years. That is the other truth. So, and I do believe people understand exactly what I said, but there comes the fight now again. (laughs) The fight between, yes, between this very strong identity that wants to just maintain itself, and the other side of just forget about your identity. Be as you are. That's it. No matter what you're gonna attain, you have it for 100 years, afterwards it's gone. So just be. Don't stress yourself too much with what you don't have. Well, unfortunately ... And this is always gonna continue like this. Unfortunately, there are always three ways how you're gonna learn this. Sometimes people just need to have the experience to realize, "Okay, I did it. I got it. Now I realize I don't need it." But in the first place, you need to have it. First way of learning. Second way of learning, you do trust a certain teacher, you do trust a certain guide or a mentor. You just copy the way how he's living his life, so your approach is you just copy because you see, oh, p- a- apparently, the person lives a good life. So you just copy. Second way of learning. And the third way of learning is you maybe have, like, a teacher or a master. He tells you some wise words, you contemplate about it, you think about it. And because you are thinking about it, it already puts you on the alternative path without you needing to try it for yourself. So, and there will always be people in this world in these three categories. Because, you know, simply said, telling somebody, "Look, don't, don't put your hand in the fire," and they're still gonna do it. But latest when they do it, like, two times, three times (laughs) , then it's done.

8. 26:46 – 28:57

   Letting Go of Your Ideas

   1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi26:46

   2. SBSteven Bartlett26:46

      But a lot of people never get the thing that they're pursuing. So, you know, someone might say, "I want to be a millionaire," or, "I want to have a- this Lamborghini sports car." The majority of people who aspire to that statistically won't ever reach it, so they'll spend their whole life just in pursuit. They'll never get the lesson of path one, where you try it and you realize that ... So ...

   3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi27:10

      But maybe that is also already the lesson involved in this person's life. You have this goal in the mind. You, you put all your energy, all your effort into trying to achieve that. You're 20 years old, you're trying. You're 30 years old, you're trying. 40 years already, you're still trying. 50 years, you still haven't let go of the idea. Well, at some point, hopefully, you see exactly that, that senseless approach of how you personally already wasted 30 years of following a goal with the conclusion of two things. Number one, you haven't achieved it yet. Or number two, you didn't have the right way of achieving it. But the bottom line is, you have two ways now, what to do. Let go of the idea that you need it and, and redirect your life, or redirect your approach of how you still want to achieve that goal if you don't want to let go of it. But apparently, one of these two things is, is not right. And the more you want your life now, let's say, in the future, to be quite different than what you're used to, the more you need to be able to let go. Let go of patterns, let go of the way of thoughts that you had in the, in the last years and months. Now, if nothing changes about that, there will not come a new life.

   4. SBSteven Bartlett28:54

      So many of us live in patterns,

9. 28:57 – 34:47

   How to Break Old Patterns

   1. SBSteven Bartlett28:57

      the same cycles, and we, we end up getting the same results, and th- those results result in unhappiness and suffering. And I was speaking to a friend over the weekend about how one of our other friends has lived in a bit of a pattern, and they've been able to- unable to find love and companionship because of some things that happened when they were younger. I think they were bullied. So they have this sort of deeper sense of having to prove themselves and insecurity. And this shows up all the time, because when they meet someone, they present a facade which might not necessarily be accurate, and then very quickly the relationship ends because it was never real in the first place. But this person's now aware of it, but it's still happening over and over again. They're still living out the same pattern in their life and still getting the same results and dissatisfaction. So, when we think about trauma at an early age that results in this sort of cyclical pattern of getting- uh, same behavior, same results, I wondered if you had a perspective on how one can let go of that and therefore break the pattern.

   2. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi29:59

      And so let me draw you a picture. I was a four, four-year-old boy, having father and mother, Asian origin, being refugees from Vietnam Laos, meaning they, they ran away from the war, coming to Europe, coming to Germany, with the idea that for the children to have a better security, on the one side, yeah, feeling more safe in Germany without the instability that they witness in their own country.And so, of course, father and mother with this idea put a lot of pressure in early ages already in terms of, "You need to be good at school, you need to achieve. Uh, you need to prove yourself." So, this is the education from father and mother. At the same time with the age of four, I went into a Shaolin kung fu school, learning martial arts, and every martial artist practitioner probably knows teachers and masters usually are not the ones telling you, "Oh, yes, you did that very good. Yes, very well." No, they- they just say, "Okay, more, deeper, faster, harder." So bottom line is, from the age of four growing up, the only thing that in a way I felt was, actually you're never enough. No matter what I brought home in terms of grades, if it was a B, why was it not an A? If it was an A, why is it not A+. If I did already 100 push-ups, the question is, why don't you make 150? Yeah? If I was fast already, it was still not fast enough. So, constantly this type of never enough. Okay? Ultimately meaning, and this is all now I can just tell you 40 years later, but now I can see it. Ultimately meaning that at some point this little boy started simply to build up a shield, build up such a shield to be less dependent anymore on what other people think about me. Meaning, I just started to rely everything in my life purely on what I think. At the same time building up emotional blockages and (laughs) emotional walls, nothing to penetrate and at the same time also nothing to express to the outside. So now, having entered into like a very new circumstance in my life where I need to take into consideration the opinion and the emotional state, yeah, of my beloved, of my partner, of my son, I can feel how my old patterns sometimes are still trying to sneak in. And so the only thing to do is what to do to break patterns? Number one, you need to see you have one. And number two, you need to replace old patterns which ultimately mean patterns, it's habitual behavior, it's, it's habits. How do you build habits by continuous behavioral patterns that you continuously do? So there is something about consistency and continuity that ultimately builds a pattern.

   3. SBSteven Bartlett33:33

      Mm-hmm.

   4. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi33:34

      So, and this is now where for example in this field of martial arts, that's exactly what it's about, consistency of having a training regimen every day. This is, you know, it's not helpful to like six days per week do nothing and then you go one day to the gym and, and give your everything. No. It's better you have some type of consistency throughout the whole day. This is what builds patterns, healthy patterns. Yeah. And so similar like this I would describe now what is somebody supposed to do? Number one, look at yourself and see yourself. We are all not perfect but according to the circumstances that you are facing right now today, what type of character do you think, with what do you want to equip your character that he is able to go through this current times in the best possible manner? What is not useful for you anymore try to get rid of it and get your new skills in.

10. 34:47 – 35:33

    Training New Patterns

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi34:47

    2. SBSteven Bartlett34:47

       And then train those.

    3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi34:50

       And then train, of course.

    4. SBSteven Bartlett34:51

       Those new patterns. We don't often think about training some of the virtues that we want to acquire and the patterns we want to have. We, we kind of think that we have to select them and then we'll do our best to live them but the idea that I might have to train certain new behaviors is a really compelling one because you're right. In the context of any physical development I have to go to the gym and I have to re- do my repetitions to build that thing, that strength, but I, um, was just thinking about creating a training regimen from, for certain behaviors, um, and new patterns that I want in my life and tr- trying to make sure I do them every day (laughs) which is not something that I've, I've ever considered. Three

11. 35:33 – 38:33

    Advice for Young Men

    1. SBSteven Bartlett35:33

       months ago you became a dad to a young boy, to a young son.

    2. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi35:37

       Yes.

    3. SBSteven Bartlett35:38

       Um, so you're now in the process of raising a man yourself and there's a lot of dialogue at the moment uh, in the UK but also just broadly in the western world around what it is to be a man and how to, to raise men. I think much of this dialogue has been sparked by some shocking statistics that show young men are struggling now more than ever in various ways. Um, the, I think the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 is themselves and also there's just a- an overarching sense of I think purposelessness, meaninglessness. They're, they're struggling in school more so than women are. Uh, some forecasts predict that for every two women that graduate university or college only one man will graduate, um, i- in the near future and it's pretty, it's pretty shocking. So when I think about the way that you're intent on raising your young, your young man but also what it is that young men in particular are missing in their lives, I wondered if you had, had an answer.

    4. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi36:32

       From this moment there's one thing I can tell by myself what I would absolutely prevent when it would come let's say to the education or what I share with my son.Like I said, I felt I was never enough. There was always something that additionally needed to be done. So, which literally means for me, for my son, there is nothing to be done. There is nothing he has to achieve. If there, if there would be something, it is, stay connected. So in terms of, I don't see myself as somebody who is now having the responsibility to shape my son. No. I only provide the framework. I try to provide the most safe framework for my son. He can try out whatever he wants. If he fails, he will learn by himself to get up again and keep trying. So, you know, to fail and then to continue. I just want to build up this framework as good as I can to make him feel safe, you know? But trial and error is what I do believe is the way how you find yourself. So, definitely not being spoiled, but at the same time, also not, like, keeping something away from him where, where I make him feel like he's not enough. So ultimately, I do think in the modern way of how to express it in all these attachment theories, very simple. Of course it's the secure, the secure way of being a stable, own build, self-made, self-sufficient individual who knows his own value. Why? Because he failed and got up.

12. 38:33 – 39:34

    Why Are Young Men Struggling?

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi38:33

    2. SBSteven Bartlett38:33

       Why do you think so many young men are struggling?

    3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi38:42

       Look, whatever shows up right now at, at this moment, yeah, 2025, it didn't start in 2025. Whatever appears right now, sometimes it's the result of how things have been handled, how the education has been from previous years, whether it's the last 10 years, whether it's the last 20 years. So it's not necessarily what did the generation right now do, did wrong, let's say. No, it's also the question of what did the previous generation missed to keep passing on that ultimately led to the result that we have nowadays. So, and this is the question where, where I do think it's multilayered.

13. 39:34 – 42:05

    The 5 Things Holding All Humans Back

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi39:35

    2. SBSteven Bartlett39:35

       You gave a, a TED Talk in 2020, almost five years ago now, about the five hindrances. What are the five hindrances? You described them as five mental states that are holding us back.

    3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi39:52

       Let's put the context first. Take it simple. Just you have goal-setting. You set yourself whatever goal it is. You have your goal. So your mind is set on the goal normally. The five hindrances now simply describe there are five mental states that would actually make it difficult for you to still keep your goal in the mind, whatever goal that is. So, the number one, for example, is called sensual desire. Sensual desire means you are too receptive for any type of pleasurable feeling in regards to your five senses. You're being too quickly attract when you see something beautiful. You're too quickly attract if you smell something tasty. You're too quickly distracted when, like, you have, like, physical touch. You know? So, the first hindrance means you're, you are losing the goal already because in the moment something pleasurable is being presented to you, your, your mind has shifted already. So that means that first mental state only means, look, be aware of what is it that you are very easily attracted to. It doesn't say it's bad. It doesn't say it's good. It just says in the context of you want to reach your goal, how to reach the goal the quickest, be focused with your energy, meaning be focused with the mind. Don't lose the goal from the mind. Whatever you do from the moment of waking up until the evening, whatever you do, keep the goal in the mind. This is the quickest way of making this goal become real. Number two, simply said, you don't like discomfort. You, you don't like challenges. You don't like hardship. In the TEDx talk, I described it like you're like walking along the path and

14. 42:05 – 43:13

    Living in a World Full of Temptations

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi42:05

       then suddenly it starts to rain, but you don't like rain. So instead of you just continue follow the path, you are starting to make your mind busy about what you don't like. Yeah? And already that means the mind starts to shift again, losing the focus of the goal. So this idea num- hindrance number one, hindrance number two, actually you can easily say it like this. This is the goal. Two things not to do. Spend your time enjoying, don't do this, or spend your time rejecting that things are not the way how you imagine them to be.... both of these things. One is you follow pleasure, and the other thing, you're rejecting any challenges. Both of these things is something to be aware of when it comes to stay focused along the path.

    2. SBSteven Bartlett43:09

       When we think about this first hindrance of central desire, is this where

15. 43:13 – 45:14

    What Is Discipline Really?

    1. SBSteven Bartlett43:13

       discipline comes into play? The idea of discipline? 'Cause that word is often used, but it's often lacking a clear definition, but also a clear understanding of how one attains and exhibits discipline. 'Cause when I think about the things that require me to have discipline, it is these desires. It is the five gates. It is something I want to eat. It is maybe, um, some kind of touch that I want to have, et cetera, et cetera. So is this where discipline is important?

    2. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi43:44

       No. Even, for example, like in the book or even now when we talk about we have the five hindrances, we have the 14 virtues. We have the eight rules. We have the four here and the 13 here and the six... Okay. (laughs) It's a very good guideline because it makes it easy for us humans to have something like really structured. There are, there are four steps, there are six steps, there are five steps, whatsoever. What I want to say is, just in this way it's also that only discipline wouldn't be helpful if in the first place you do not possess the ability to see it, to realize it, to be aware of it. Meaning, you have discipline, but you're never aware actually when is the moment actually appearing right now that this sensory desire is hitting in? You're not aware of it, so the discipline wouldn't help you if you don't have this awareness. So always meaning, I do think that there are different, different qualities of the mind that come into play for you to, to adjust yourself properly.

16. 45:14 – 48:51

    Awareness of Your Trigger Moments

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi45:15

    2. SBSteven Bartlett45:15

       I was thinking, uh, about my friend when you mentioned awareness there, the friend I described earlier who exhibits the same pattern. And although they might be aware of the pattern, they might say, "You know, I have this pattern," I don't believe they're aware of the moment where that pattern begins, like this, the singular trigger which sends them in that, in that loop. So I was w- I was thinking the same about myself. I was like, there's some behaviors that I have that I don't like, and although I'm aware of them, in the moment when it happens, I might not be conscious that it's, the pattern has begun. The, the, the someone has said something, something has happened, and then you go on that pattern. Or you reach into the refrigerator at 1:00 AM in the morning and grab the thing, or you end up being triggered by something. So I wondered if there's a practice at all to become-

    3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi46:04

       Yes.

    4. SBSteven Bartlett46:05

       ... increase our awareness of the trigger moment?

    5. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi46:07

       Yes. This is, for example, where I very much appreciate so many different teachings that are meanwhile existing, are freely available, for example, through the social media, including breath work, including yoga practices. All of them, if you have a proper teacher, I'm very sure that this is exactly what is starting to raise your awareness for something that, in this field, when you're spending some time, we refer to as energy. If you're not aware of your own inner s- layer, let's say, like this, and somebody insults you, it can happen that like somebody... And so somebody insulted me, and then I just started exploding. Yeah, but the fact is, before something explodes, before I explode, first of all, something must be lit. Already the, the, the small little flame already must have been lit. So when I already knew who is it that I'm going to meet, maybe that already knowing, hearing the name from him already was, ah, was already the starting point of a potential explosion to happen. Yeah? So then, ah, this was where when this little flame already started being there, and then you literally can feel things like this. You can feel when something is, has been injected, let's say, into you, when something starts to arise. Because when the fire is already too big, when the whole house is burning, you're not gonna, you're not gonna, um, put down that fire in any way. You can only put down all of these fires before things come too big, meaning we must find a way to be directly grabbing the root, grabbing the core, or grabbing the source of the explosion. And the only way that I know is you need to become more sensitive for everything that goes on in your body, in your surrounding, in everything. This is where, for me, awareness does play a role. Mm-hmm. And, yes. And especially when it comes to becoming aware of your emotional states, this is absolutely inner work. This has nothing to do with doing work out here. It's inner work.

17. 48:51 – 1:07:36

    Bringing Light to the Dark Parts of Your Life

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi48:51

    2. SBSteven Bartlett48:51

       How does one begin the journey of doing that inner work?

    3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi48:56

       You give trust in the vision that when you are investing your time right now to become more aware of yourself, of your emotional state, then this is going to benefit your life. That's the starting point.

    4. SBSteven Bartlett49:11

       Mm-hmm. You believe in it.

    5. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi49:12

       You believe in it. So, y- you don't do it because somebody tells you you're supposed to do it. You do it because you genuinely believe this is the way. Now, "I want to know more about myself. I want to really understand what is it that I am made out of. I want to figure out, is there something inside of myself I tried to look away for many years, but I know it's still there and was afraid to look at it," all of these things. There's only one way, hey, to make yourself free. You need to become transparent. Uh, if there are sp- if there are spots inside of ourself, where there's no light yet, it can't be. It can't be. Bringing light to everything that has been in the dark. This is another area of the path, which at some point everybody will face. Yeah. And even though that is, is ... Even though that this is now just, like, a saying, but just the idea, whatever you're doing, whatever you're thinking, whether people are around you or you are alone, just imagine there is one who always sees what you're doing. So live your life based on that.

    6. SBSteven Bartlett50:56

       And that person is you?

    7. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi51:00

       Also.

    8. SBSteven Bartlett51:01

       Who else is it?

    9. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi51:04

       It's the elevated version of you, but it's true. It's you and you.

    10. SBSteven Bartlett51:10

        Once I've shone a light on that area of me, so I have greater awareness of its existence and it's now transparent, is it a case then of ... What is the work I then have to do to make a change in that, in that context? So, w- we're talking here about managing one's emotions and getting a grip of one's emotions so you can avoid being triggered or perpetrating the same patterns in your life that have led you to the same outcomes. First, you b- you believe that it's possible to, to change. You gain a greater awareness of the parts of yourself that y- you've kept in the dark that you might want to change, and then what does one do from there?

    11. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi51:53

        Because I came, let's say, from this martial art field, yes, also meaning the Taoist teaching or the principles of yin and yang have always been a part in there. Let me put it like this: whatever you are thinking, saying, or doing has a consequence. So this consequence that you have created or that you are intending to create, ask yourself, "What is that consequence actually? Does it make y- y- yourself, does it make your being, your interaction with people, does it make it feel more light, more pleasurable, more enjoying, more free, more nourishing? Or is the result that you are about to create going in the other direction? Meaning, you're nourishing conflict, you are nourishing aggression, feeling like you are carrying the suffering of the world on your shoulder, feeling like there's a burden on you, feeling like there's a stone on your heart, feeling like you're being put under pressure?" See, the d- all of these expressions have something to do with density, have something to do with ... Pressure, so. Yeah. But then when we look at ... No matter which tradition it is, Buddhism, enlightenment, freedom, liberation, elevation. No matter what it is, you see, it is just two forces in the world. Two forces in the world. One aiming for limitlessness, and the other one aiming for restricting and very clear boundaries. These are the two forces. The ... And this is exactly now turning the view upon yourself, what are you made out of? Your, your patterns. The emotional states that follow you. Within a week, within a week, looking back the last week, what was the most dominating emotion you felt inside yourself? Was it one that had the character of limiting yourself in a way? Or were you in an emotional state, like, through the week that was light, it was cool, uh, liberated, free, uplifting, joyful? Which of these? So. And this simply gives you exactly from what to what do I think you need to transform yourself if you want this. If you want this. So. And why do I think that this is the goal?

    12. SBSteven Bartlett55:00

        Lightness.

    13. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi55:01

        Lightness. Let's just imagine, after this conversation-... your best friend or your best girlfriend gonna ask you, "So how was this conversation?" And even so that we are maybe just talking three hours, four hours, even if you spend two days long explaining to your best friend how this conversation was, it's not the truth. It is not the truth. How is this conversation? How is this conversation? Even right now, we cannot even speak about it. I tell you how this conversation right now really is, yes? How you want to describe this? Um, you, only you will be the only one ever knowing how it is. It doesn't matter who's gonna ask you afterwards, what you're gonna tell them. You wanna feel it, you need to experience it. There is no other way. And this is the, this is the nature of words. This is why these, these ancient stories come. For example, one master and his student walk up on a mountain early in the morning, then the sun rises up, and then the student says, "Oh master, what a beautiful sunrise." And then, like, the master, like, slaps him and never takes him to walk, uh, anymore. Then you say, "Hm, why was the teacher so hard to him?" Because in the moment where you give something that you experience, a word, you limit its nature. You, you naturally limit its nature. So, how does this now translate into, into what we can do with this knowledge? Whatever is being dense and it's limiting, I don't think it's the way. I think everything for us to practice is look beyond limitations, look beyond the words, look beyond the shape, practice to look beyond the superficiality of things. Because this is where the meaning lies, or this is where part of the, part of the realization lies.

    14. SBSteven Bartlett57:47

        I think in my life, I, I want to be liked, but the way that my life tends to operate is I might aspire for that, but then I fall into almost a bit of an autopilot, and I run the same pattern throughout the week and the same... I respond in the same ways to the same external, external sim- stimulus. So although my, one might aspire to r- be freer and to be less agitated or to be, you know, all those things, I quickly fall back into my old path, my old autopilot, because life does seem to come at me pretty quickly. Um, if I look at my calendar, it's just full every day. So I wake up and, like, I woke up this morning, and I'm, like, with one eye open looking at my phone schedule to figure out, like, what day it is and what that means and what I have to do and what's just happened and, oh, the podcast has gone out. I've got this email from this person, and there's my calendar. Oh, and I'm late for, by 20 minutes, and although I might have the day before said to myself that this week we're going to be joyful and light and free, it feels like the week hits me like a truck and then, boom, autopilot.

    15. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi59:00

        So our goal is set in a way, and now comes the next realization. Just because your goal is set doesn't mean this life is going to give you exactly what you're looking for. Meaning, you really must make sure how important is that goal really for you. Because, yeah, I, uh, I, I witness it in my life as well. So at some point, I, you know, when it started to become a lot public, you know, the calendar went full. And at some point I said to myself, "Okay, now it's becoming too full. Let's start to s- let, let, let's start to settle down a bit. Let's start to stay a little bit more in the background." Yeah? But then still, like, requests coming in still, and then you are thinking, "Ah, come, this one still." Yeah, but ultimately, it's really up to you how much do you really want it? And it is going to continue like this until you will ultimately come to the point, and it's going to come quickly I do think, you know, where you realize for yourself that, that it's an infinite, that it's, that it's an infinite direction of possibilities. They will never run out, but you will still have to figure out what is it that you really want from your life.

    16. SBSteven Bartlett1:00:33

        People will say, "Well, I want to have a mansion, and I would like to have a private jet, and I would like to have a beautiful partner, or I'd like to have a trophy."

    17. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:00:46

        Valid. Absolutely understandable as well. But I do think that this universe is going to let you realize your lesson in the way how you need it. Yeah? You're going to have your mansion, you're going to have your beautiful, beautiful wife, you're going to have it all. There is something that's going to put you back on track.There is something that's going to put you back on track, telling you, "You need to readjust." It- it's why, why, why, why? Because, uh, it has always been like this. We come with nothing. We go with nothing. What does it mean? This universe is going to make sure that you're going to go with nothing, which means at some point, before it's time for you to go, you will be faced with the fact of learning the necessity of letting go of what you have attained in this lifetime. And if you have not learned and have not understood that this is going to come, then I think it's a very, very hard awakening. It's a very painful awakening to realize, to have this realization that you have spent 70 years, 80 years, following your goal, and now there is no other choice, you have to let go. So... Yeah. It's not my invention. It's just my observation. And this is why in now, maybe let's jump a little bit. There are literally, in the ancient traditions, in the text of Chan Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, it's very simply said like this: How do you know that you have practiced this path, this tradition in a- in a- in a decent manner? It is simply by feeling inside yourself how easy, how willing are you actually to let go of what you have. If you feel that you are mentally attached to still- things still, mentally attached to possession, then you're far- you're- you're- you're far away from- from the state of being, what is Chan Buddhism, what is Chan teaching, is, uh, wanting to, like, reveal to you. What it also means is, if you have the possibility of attaining everything that you were speaking about, you are absolutely happy to do so. You are- you can own everything. It's never about promoting to have this is not good. No. But to have attachment, at least in this type of tradition, will have consequence. So it's not about what is it that you possess. It's about what of these possessions are possessing you. That's it.

    18. SBSteven Bartlett1:04:18

        And therefore, is it possible to possess things and to pursue the possession of things while also having a relationship with them where they don't possess you? I- can I go in pursuit of getting a, well, something that one might want, a sports car, and is it possible to then have the sports car and pursue it without it possessing me, and therefore me avoiding the consequences that come with that unhealthy relationship to possession? 'Cause in your life, there must be things that you're pursuing, and you get those things. So your book sells a million copies. Your YouTube channel does exceptionally well. You pursued those things.

    19. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:05:03

        Let's start with the sports car.

    20. SBSteven Bartlett1:05:05

        Okay.

    21. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:05:05

        Um, it depends on the rest of the circumstances. So let me put it like this. If the salary that you have, for example, is just as much that you can pay your rent, nevertheless you want to have that sports car, therefore take a loan, then buy the sports car, it's very probable you're going to be very attached to the car. Yeah. Simply because out of the- out of the situation you bought it from, yeah, you didn't buy it from a- from a position of abundance. Yeah. So this is already not a good starting point, to afford something that you actually cannot afford. So differently it is when you have the possibilities and you just spend the time and spend also the money on the sports car and see it what it is, and realistically see it, what- how much time you, let's say, spend with it. I do think the excitement in the beginning is there for a week. Maybe a month, that's already long, but it's fading, and at some point there will even be a day you don't even see it 'cause you're busy. Then there will be a week when you see the car once standing around somewhere. And then there will be a month passing by where you are traveling the world and you're not even sure anymore when was it the last time that you were riding it. So and these are things, like, when you observe them and actually realize, yeah, it's the truth, this is how the- how the development of things with possessions is. In the beginning, it's always like you want to have, you want to have, and then they fade. So... And diving into this type of mentality, of really understanding wanting, wanting is the one part, and then realizing how is life really. Do you need it? Is it necessary? Can you afford it is the second part. It just opens another perspective, and then you just decide for yourself. Yeah. But so...... whether something is possessing you or you can possess something without being attached to it, very much is linked to all of this. From which position did you buy it from, did you attain it from? And then the second thing is, how much time do you literally really spend with it?

18. 1:07:36 – 1:10:39

    The Emotions That Block Growth

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:07:36

    2. SBSteven Bartlett1:07:36

       The second of the five hindrances is ill will, a negative emotion such as dislike stops you from chasing a goal. Can you give me some context on this one? What do you mean by ill will?

    3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:07:53

       Okay. No, it's ... V-, I make it super simple when it comes to the five hindrances. Literally, it's like this. You know, whatever hap- whatever appears in our life, if I have my goals set right now, what you are not supposed to do is to witness something, and now if you have, like, the number one, sensual desire, sensory desire, what we tend to do is we, like, start to pull things towards us. Okay? That's number one. The second thing what not to do, this is what it all belongs to that family of non-judgment, is like when ill will, something appears in your life, something you witness, uh, you- you meet a person you don't wanna meet, you get the message, you don't wanna read that message, whatever it is, and you try to avoid it by doing actions in order to push it away from you. So, what it ultimately means is, don't do any of them because whatever you try to hold onto, the nature of thing is that this is happening.

    4. SBSteven Bartlett1:09:03

       Swinging away.

    5. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:09:04

       It's gonna move away from you. And whatever you try to avoid and push away from you is just a question of time until it's gonna move, like, pretty close towards you.

    6. SBSteven Bartlett1:09:16

       It's gonna come towards you.

    7. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:09:17

       It's gonna come towards you. Okay? So that means, also in the way of how it's expressed, don't touch the water. If you don't want to have a life that is too shaky, don't touch the water. Because in the moment you touch, your touch is the initiation for the ripples to appear. Same way, you wanna follow that goal, you wanna have it easy along that goal, don't touch any additional water along your goal. Don't touch it because you like something and don't touch it because you dislike something. Because when you walk towards your goal and you do here and here and here, you- you're just gonna ripple your whole surroundings, which ultimately means your energy is being just drawn away from your initial goal. That's how I would say it is. And ill will is one of these expressions of you don't like something and then you invest the energy there. You like something and it draws your energy back to there. And ill will is similar in this category belonging to this idea of don't push, don't pull.

19. 1:10:39 – 1:26:47

    How to Stop Caring What People Think

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:10:39

    2. SBSteven Bartlett1:10:39

       As you've become more popular and y- you've got millions and millions of views across the internet, your TED Talk, I think, from the link ... of one of the links that I saw had some 20 million views, and it probably has tens of more millions of views all over the internet. Um, there's gonna be more and more people sending you messages, interacting with you, and saying amazing things, saying not-so-amazing things. We experience this obviously as a podcaster, you just, you get, you receive all kinds of feedback from everybody. When you think about how you manage that and you manage other people's opinion of you, does this tie into ill will? And I guess the ultimate question is, do you care what people think about you?

    3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:11:22

       So, there was a time I cared a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, very much. But within the last five, six years, I really had my hard lessons, being perfectly honest. Number one thing I need to learn is also to really not take things too deep into consideration, especially from people that I've never met in my life, number one. That is the first area I needed to learn, which means all the, everything that's on social media, everything that is, um, publicly available, this is one thing. Now why? Because what they judge or if they judge or what they comment, they can only comment on the character that is actually being available to them. So which is ultimately what? Which is, for example, also let's say, that person, Xue Hongyi, yeah, named Xue Hongyi on that cover. Always like having good uniform, in a way, representing something, yes. But I'm simply not limited to only this type of representation. And this is something really, really important in general now to, to bring out there to the world. It is not, it is not good, it is not helpful if this idea of putting people on, on how you call it? On, on higher pedestal or- or podest, is not a good idea. The idea of raising somebody up to be our guru, raising somebody up to be our master, raising somebody up, "Oh, yes, he is the, he is the special one." All of these things ...... are doing exactly the opposite of what I'm trying to bring into the world, of what I do believe is the key, especially in these times right now, worldwide. It is to become aware of the real and the fake. This is the, this is the current situation that we're in. That the threshold, that the line between whether something is real or whether something is artificial or not real, it's becoming so incredibly slim, that line. This is why, at the moment, our world seems, seems so fractioned. There are the ones which are completely about let's go into the nature, and then there's the other fraction which is all about going into the technology, into everything that's available nowadays, where ultimately meaning, at some point, you will be able to just spend your whole life in your living room 'cause everything you wanna see and wanna partially experience, you just call it into your living room. It's gonna be possible at some point in time. So, why- how do we get to the point? Yeah. Exactly because of this. It's not good if people raise you up and make you unhuman. And this is what is being attacked. So, this is number one. That takes a little bit the pressure off from me to take it too seriously, because I just know they are seeing something, but it's a fraction of what I am. That's number one. Second realization at the same time was, it's also not helpful or wasn't helpful in, in, or let's say, was also a lesson for me. Even the close people, even the very close people in my surrounding that stayed with me for eight, nine years, sometimes even such close people don't know who you are. Can also happen. Hurts double as much as people saying something about you that don't know you. Now you have people that you thought know you, and still they didn't get you. Also very painful. So, ultimately leading only to one thing. It only leads to one thing. You would have right now the impression of, "So what's the only way? Just go your way regardless of what people think?" In a way, yes. But have understanding for them. And, and no ill will against them.

    4. SBSteven Bartlett1:16:15

       Have empathy for-

    5. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:16:16

       Yes.

    6. SBSteven Bartlett1:16:16

       ... their lack of understanding.

    7. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:16:17

       Yes. That is ultimately the only thing that me as a, as a result for the current state of being, um, that I took as my consequence. Yes. So, be careful. Be very aware who are you letting into your circle. And ultimately, rely on yourself and maintain your, sorry to say, but it's the heart. Maintain the purity of your intention.

    8. SBSteven Bartlett1:16:55

       One of the things that I've, I've noticed in your work is that you have this huge emphasis on being able to focus oneself. And when I talked to you about this brick, I think just before we started recording, you said to me that the average person on the street might not be able to break it, but if someone was really, really strong, they might be able to break it. However, the key to breaking this brick isn't strength necessarily. It's the ability to really, really focus. And when we talked about the five hindrances, they all sway us from focus.

    9. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:17:20

       Mm-hmm.

    10. SBSteven Bartlett1:17:20

        They will distract us from that ability to focus. So you've cultivated that ability to focus, which culminates in you being able to smash this brick with your hand. And it's not necessarily a strength thing, you were saying.

    11. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:17:31

        Mm-hmm.

    12. SBSteven Bartlett1:17:31

        It is this connection between mind and body-

    13. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:17:34

        Yes.

    14. SBSteven Bartlett1:17:34

        ... focused at a particular moment.

    15. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:17:36

        Yes.

    16. SBSteven Bartlett1:17:36

        So can you show me you smashing this brick?

    17. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:17:40

        Absolutely. (brick breaking)

    18. SBSteven Bartlett1:17:44

        Do you, do you put the, the brick in the, in the middle of the blocks or do you just put it there?

    19. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:17:49

        Put it like this.

    20. SBSteven Bartlett1:17:50

        Oh, so okay-

    21. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:17:51

        Yeah.

    22. SBSteven Bartlett1:17:51

        ... I can see what-

    23. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:17:51

        I just-

    24. SBSteven Bartlett1:17:51

        ... you can-

    25. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:17:51

        ... chop it down on one side.

    26. SBSteven Bartlett1:17:52

        Okay.

    27. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:17:54

        Do we have another brick? Yes.

    28. SBSteven Bartlett1:17:58

        There's another one here. You're gonna pick your brick.

    29. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:18:02

        Two.

    30. SBSteven Bartlett1:18:03

        Oh.
20. 1:26:47 – 1:32:10

    The Role of Kung Fu in Waking Up

    1. SBSteven Bartlett1:26:48

       (paper rustling) I was really thinking a lot about these, um, virtues. In Shaolin tradition, virtues are a guiding system in both martial arts and daily life. A Shaolin warrior practices thinking deliberately and mindfully about the virtues of everyday life for his or her life, and the, uh, there are two categories of virtues, the virtues to be expected and the virtues to be learnt. What are these virtues that you speak about in the Shaolin tradition?

    2. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:27:22

       Prior to somebody entering now, let's say, into the temple and wants to learn from there, first of all, we also, as teachers, want to find out what does the character of that personality already possesses. Yeah. And these are, for example, what we are looking for are ultimately the virtues to be expected. Virtues to be expected are, for example, self-control, a certain amount of self-control, a certain amount of discipline.

    3. SBSteven Bartlett1:28:01

       So self-control, what does that mean in this context? If I'm self-controlled, what am I?

    4. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:28:06

       You don't let your emotions run over you.

    5. SBSteven Bartlett1:28:08

       Okay.

    6. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:28:08

       You, you, you, you don't s- Even if something makes you angry, but in this context, it's not honorable, it's not respectful to now shout out, you shouldn't do it.

    7. SBSteven Bartlett1:28:18

       Okay.

    8. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:28:18

       Y- you should, like, be able to maintain your emotional states, maintain your temper, let's say, also, at least to a certain extent. This is where I would say, it comes to self-control.

    9. SBSteven Bartlett1:28:33

       And the second one you said was discipline.

    10. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:28:35

        So discipline, meaning you have, uh, like I said, even if it's called the virtues to be expected, expected means they should be visible somehow, but not to the fullest extent to, to what's, what people are capable of. Okay. Discipline just meaning this understanding that if you come to the temple life, you know it's gonna be difficult to wake up every day at the same time and then start to do through the, go through the daily structure. So it, it needs some type of commitment, let's say. It needs some type of, "I know it's hard, but I'm willing to do it," this type of discipline. Yeah. This is also in a, in a way expected. And then, uh, an- another one is simply to be benevolent as well.

    11. SBSteven Bartlett1:29:29

        So that's kindness and compassion for your brothers and sisters.

    12. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:29:32

        Yes, kind of. It goes, yeah, the virtues sometimes swim into each other, but this idea of why do we have these virtues in the first place? And again, it's like in Star Wars, the force, what you're learning, the cultivation of energy, the skills that you are learning, they are, these are very, very powerful things. Yeah. But what does, what makes the difference between somebody possessing this power and using it for the sake of humanity or somebody using it for the, um, for the not betterment of humanity? It's the character. The power is the same, it's the character. The, it's the carrier of the power. It's the one who is in, in, who is responsible to, to hold this power, to maintain this power. That one must be trained as well, and this is where the virtues hit in. The virtues are building the framework of the character, of the avatar, ultimately that is then receiving all different types of training, skill training, that we, that at least in the Shaolin tradition, we would say it's good to know them.

    13. SBSteven Bartlett1:30:48

        Same in business, really. I, I looked at a lot of these virtues and I thought, "They're all the kinds of things that we're looking for in a good team member." So we've got discipline, self-control, modesty, benevolence, h- humility, respect, righteousness, trust, loyalty, willpower, perseverance, persistence, courage, and patience.

    14. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:31:07

        So ultimately, like I said before, in the Shaolin traditional texts is broken down into 14 different virtues. Now, four of them to be expected, another five virtues of action, another five virtues of the mind. Just simply when you will later on fly through it again, the virtues of action. What does it mean, virtues of action? It is how should you behave. How should you behave?Behave in a loyal way. Behave in a trustful way. Behave in a respectful way. Behave in a courageous way. Yeah, so this is the how should you do something. And the virtues of mind, for example, they say, "What is it that nourishes the way

21. 1:32:10 – 1:33:03

    The Shaolin Virtues

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:32:10

       for you to put the virtues of action into practice?" How can you be? How can you learn to behave respectfully? Because naturally, uh, if people like insulting you, you don't behave respectfully towards them. Yeah. So how can you still behave respectfully, still be loyal to people? How do you do it? Well, and this is where, where it then comes to the virtues of the mind, to really learn to be patient, to really know what does it mean to be persistent, to persevere during your training. Yeah. And this is ultimately how I would describe it to easily understand.

22. 1:33:03 – 1:35:52

    Do You Believe in God?

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:33:03

    2. SBSteven Bartlett1:33:03

       Do you believe in a god or do you believe in a religion? If, if someone asked you which religion do you follow, what would your answer be?

    3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:33:12

       I would call it the religion of oneness, the religion of oneness. The religion of I do believe that we are connected at some way, and it is my journey. I don't want to just intellectualize it. I do think it is an... It is a, a... It... The, the path is to lay out and remove all the friction and all the obstacles to just realize that it is like this. Ah, this is maybe also like an... a very essential point along, along the complete line, whether somebody reads the book or whether somebody watches all these type of YouTube channels. I myself always grew up in the need to attain something, to add something up on top of my life. This tradition, the whole tradition I'm talking about is actually quite the opposite. That's why in, in the latest... in the latest videos or publications, for example, I often mention that actually there is nothing I can give to anyone. It's not that you miss something in your life. You got to remember, you're not in a lack. But in the moment where it feels like we are meeting and I give you something, when you even think that I'm giving you something and you are ab- about to receive something, that's not the right state of mind already. I have nothing to give you. The only thing that I really try to do is take stuff away from you, take things away from you that are covering that you see that you are complete.

    4. SBSteven Bartlett1:35:06

       What things tend to cover us that need to be taken away?

    5. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:35:11

       Everything that builds up identity. Everything that builds up a stronger and stronger identity. Everything that you keep from the past in your mind. The more that you keep the past in the mind, the stronger your identity is. I do think this is one correlation that also goes hand in hand. The more you keep past elements inside your mind, the less likely you will be able to break free into the future and open up for the possibilities that this lifetime might still have for you.

23. 1:35:52 – 1:37:18

    Are You Happy?

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:35:52

    2. SBSteven Bartlett1:35:52

       Are you happy?

    3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:35:56

       It's a difficult question. I'm not searching for happiness. I'm searching for peace. So my state of what, what I'm aiming for, I would say it is peace. Because happiness for me, yeah, taking by this word, if there's happiness, there is sadness. If something can rise, something must fall. If you can attain something, there's something to lose. That's why it's difficult. That's why I, I stopped the moment... I don't know what type of happiness you mean. Being satisfied with where I'm standing, yes. Does it mean that I don't have hard moments? I have hard moments. And that's why for me, like, what is it I ultimately look for? I would call it, it's just peace.

    4. SBSteven Bartlett1:36:53

       Are you at peace?

    5. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:36:56

       More and more, yes.

    6. SBSteven Bartlett1:36:57

       More and more.

    7. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:36:57

       This one, yes. More and more.

    8. SBSteven Bartlett1:36:59

       What's in the way of your peace?

    9. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:37:03

       I would call it karmic relations, karmic connections that you just think like, mm, you cannot avoid them. You, you cannot avoid them anymore.

24. 1:37:18 – 1:38:38

    What Are Karmic Connections?

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:37:18

    2. SBSteven Bartlett1:37:18

       What is karmic connections?

    3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:37:21

       Karmic connection meaning because y- your mother gave birth to you, automatically, whatever your mother is doing or not doing, however the state of health of your mother is, it's gonna affect you.... yeah, in a way. So there are sometimes people in this world, you have a closer karmic relation towards them, so what they are doing is also going to affect you, so. And in my case, it's the same, yeah. So meaning, so literally real life speaking, so, my son, yes, he is a very strong karmic relation. He's on the one side, my own flesh and blood, yeah, together with my beloved, but it also means the way how my son feels, it is affecting me. And this is something that I still need to regulate, learn to regulate. Which also sometimes means, I mean, (laughs) if you only sleep, like two hours per night, then it is like this, but you have good training to still maintain your peace afterwards. But it is, these are simple things, yes.

25. 1:38:38 – 1:43:28

    Daily Practice of a Shaolin Master

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:38:38

    2. SBSteven Bartlett1:38:38

       And what is your practice in terms of your routines? What do you do every day that brings you back to yourself so that you can regulate yourself? What is your... From the moment you wake up in the morning, are there any routines that you try and execute every day?

    3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:38:57

       Number one is, or one of the first things is really try as often as you can to remind yourself and put yourself in that proper state of what you think you are. I wake up and try to not already have any type of thought from yesterday in my mind. I try to wake up empty, let's call it like this. And meaning, also try to, at all moments immerse myself as much as I can in the present moment. That's what it is. Y- yeah. Live in the here and now. How you do this? To live in the here and now. Stop jumping into the past, and stop jumping into the future. Then you live in the here and now. But you must practice it. And literally meaning, how you do it, make yourself empty, because the only thing that fills your mind with past and future is your thoughts. The mind.

    4. SBSteven Bartlett1:40:03

       So if I watched you for the first hour when you woke up in the morning, what would I see, on a, on a typical day?

    5. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:40:10

       I wake up and sit on the sofa and, and, and still, like, just sit. So just being awake and, and just breathe, literally. Just realizing slowly, scanning my own body from the inside, going through the body. So really making sure, in a way, that everything that's gonna come up during this day is being perceived very consciously, boom, yeah, by this. So it's like I slowly build up my energies, prepare. This is how I would call it. It doesn't look very special looking from the outside, huh, unless I wake up and, I mean, the son is asking for something, then of course, I have my duties to do. But if I can really have my day after waking up, still the next hour is still I spend alone. This is what I prefer to do.

    6. SBSteven Bartlett1:41:12

       And do you do exercise in the morning?

    7. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:41:14

       Yes.

    8. SBSteven Bartlett1:41:14

       What do you do?

    9. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:41:16

       Push-ups, sit-ups, and standing practice.

    10. SBSteven Bartlett1:41:18

        What's standing practice?

    11. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:41:21

        You know, partially it's also, some of them are, like, mentioned in the book, but literally, it is what it sounds like. I choose one position that I'm standing in, and then I hold that position for 15 minutes.

    12. SBSteven Bartlett1:41:35

        Why? (laughs)

    13. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:41:36

        (laughs) So let's take all the spiritual part out of this, because there are some positions that are looking so strange that at some point I also ask myself, "How would somebody even invest his lifetime standing and putting yourself through such a position?" Well, there must be a reason why, in ancient times, it is kept as a, as a secret practice to stay like this. And since I discovered it, I do have to say that, um, mm, uh, it's not this one.

    14. SBSteven Bartlett1:42:17

        I was gonna say. (laughs)

    15. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:42:18

        At, at some point the squatting monkey, it's called. This is a practice that builds up what we call energy. How do you build up energy? It is by giving your mind something where you need to have willpower to maintain it. Willpower and development of energy go hand-in-hand with each other. The will to live, the will to keep going, the will, the will. Strong will, iron will, energy is also very high. And so literally, some of these positions are so demanding on the body that in order to maintain this position, y- you, you have to have will. You need to create something about yourself where you are pushing yourself. And this is, uh, when, when we have time, I show you the exercise. (laughs)

    16. SBSteven Bartlett1:43:23

        (laughs)

    17. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:43:24

        Yes. And this is why I do it.

26. 1:43:28 – 1:48:18

    Doing Hard Things to Grow

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:43:28

    2. SBSteven Bartlett1:43:28

       So how important is that for everybody's life to do hard things, do you think? 'Cause i- it's very easy not to do hard things in the comfort world we live in.

    3. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:43:37

       Okay. When I mention it and then you directly look up, in a way, to me or any professionals who then do this type of training, of course, it's f- it's, it's, it's, it's beyond any normal person's abilities.But it's not about, "You need to learn and do the hard stuff like this." But one thing is for sure, this lifetime, living a life as a human definitely... is not easy. Let's put it like this. Living this lifetime is not easy. The more wishes you have, the more difficult it becomes. The more ambitious you are, the more, the more you will have to face. So bottom line is, I do think that in the moment where you just on a regular basis put yourself consciously and willingly in different situations and circumstances that actually represent a little bit the structures of life, there are moments in this lifetime where you are going to be super tense. Super tense. And then it's good to f- know already how does it feel, and what is it that you can do, well, to learn and release the tension? That's why releasing tension is also a big part of, of the exercises. The one thing is learning to release tension. The other thing is like when you are too sloppy, when you're too slacky, how to increase your attention, how to increase the energy level again for you to get into- back into structure again. So there's always this balance. And ultimately, how does it help people to know the hard stuff? Well, because I do think that it is symbolizing this way of life. It is symbolizing the patterns of what you are going to go through in this lifetime.

    4. SBSteven Bartlett1:45:49

       And so you're almost training to do hard things, because hard things are an inevitability of the life we live.

    5. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:45:58

       In this training that I went through, uh, for, for, for the moment maybe take out all the spiritual part out, simply the Kung Fu training, the Shaolin Kung Fu training, there is a saying which is Shaolin Kung Fu literally means walking through the valley of pain. So what does it mean? When you are doing stretching, stretching, stretching, stretching, it's gonna be painful. When you are doing strength training, it's gonna be painful. When you do conditioning training, it's gonna be painful. So the whole path on this martial art journey, it is just filled with working yourself up to the level of where it feels uncomfortable, getting some consistency into the practice until the point where that uncomfortable feeling just started disappearing. Why? Because somehow you broke that initial comfort zone. So but then it doesn't end. No. Next level, until you're building up, first of all, yeah, whatever we are doing, later on I will show you some practices, it's not that I do not feel pain. I also feel pain. Maybe I feel it later. But the essential part is that my connection, my relation between the pain of the body towards what would it affect in the way of wha- how I take my decisions, that is a different one. Yeah. I feel the pain, but at the moment, I feel the pain, but I see no necessity to still change something about my way right now. Why? Because I can take the pain. Whereas when you are not used to this pain, you feel it, and then it tells you, let's say it's painful. The mind says, "Okay, it's not good," and so you directly change something. And this is, and this is just the difference. So it's not that I became numb. No. I just feel there is an additional layer that I can observe about myself. It is painful, but it's okay

27. 1:48:18 – 1:52:55

    How Master Shi Grows Every Day

    1. MYMaster Shi Heng Yi1:48:18

       for right now.

Episode duration: 2:28:57