Celestial Dragon Temple Boxing
Kung Fu
Train in Celestial Dragon Temple Boxing - including Lee family style arts such as Feng Shou Hand of the Wind; plus, Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do, and Tan Tui, at our Celestial Dragon Temple School of Kung Fu classes.
Beginners Always Welcome
Kung Fu Self-Defence Classes
(Celestial Dragon Temple Boxing and Feng Shou)
Mondays (Large Hall): 7pm - 8pm
Thursdays (Guild Room): 6.30pm - 7.30pm
Location: St. John’s Burlington Methodist Church,
St John Street, Bridlington, YO16 7JS
(please use the side entrance)
The Nature of the
Celestial Dragon
By Hsien Sheng Neil Brown,
Dragon Phoenix Taoist Arts.
Kung fu is not only about physical development and learning self defence. It concerns inner development - of character and spiritual poise, which includes control of the emotions and the cultivation of mindfulness in all situations.
The use of symbolism to represent ideas and qualities is well known and has always been of significance in any society throughout the ages. Whether it’s the range of religious imagery around the world, clan tartans, the medieval coat of arms worn by noblemen on their tabards and displayed on their shields and banners, or modern-day heraldic devices – ie a company logo as part of a corporate identity, it is evident that the visual image can have great value, meaning and importance. The oriental dragon is a fine example of this, and it goes beyond symbolism and extends into the realms of underlying beliefs about the forces or energies of life and human nature. The Dragon as a whole is yang or active outgoing force in both its creative and destructive aspects.
Some readers may be surprised to discover that the nature of the Eastern Tianlong 天龍 or Celestial Dragon is in fact that of a benevolent creature, though mighty and fierce when necessary in its function as a guardian of holy places; a protector, as tradition states and upholds. This of course is quite different to many Western portrayals of dragons, for there are many myths or stories which depict dragons as evil and destructive beings – maleficent creatures for the hero to wrestle with and overcome, or to be slain.
From a psychological viewpoint, the dragon can represent an aspect of the underlying energies or driving forces of the human personality, where attitudes and emotions can lead to great acts of compassion and healing, or they can do great damage to individuals and to society as a whole. Just as a person grows from childhood into adulthood, so too can a person's ability to govern their attitudes and emotional reactions develop (to a lesser or greater degree) from basic infantile responses to a more mature, aware, considered, and hopefully well-balanced state of being, which may then lead to harmonious, compassionate, creative and constructive interactions with others. Of course, that's an ideal, and individual human growth often takes many unexpected and undesirable twists and turns in the journey of life, which can then affect an individual's emotional and mental state.
In some traditions, the Celestial Dragon and the Terrestrial Dragon refer to beliefs about two levels of the inner realms beyond the physical world, again corresponding to the emotional levels in Man. A Liberal Catholic priest by the name of William Ernest Butler, in his book The Magician (which details a Western approach to the spiritual path) explains certain levels of existence, or inner planes of being, under the symbolism of dragons:
“The Astral Light is dual. Like a glittering fiery serpent the lower levels of the Light wind their evil coils around the earth; they inspire earth’s wickedness, they contaminate its inhabitants, and gain in a vicious circle by the perverted power and energy which is poured out in response to their stimulus. This is the Terrestrial Dragon...
“But there is also a Celestial Dragon, the Upper Astral, whose glittering radiance encircles the earth. From her flow harmony, peace, happiness; although far below the Supreme Nature, yet of her also it may be said that her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace. Within her realm are to be found the heroic images of the past.”
Seahorses – symbolic of baby dragons
The benevolent Eastern dragons can be assigned to the aforementioned Upper Astral levels, and in this sense, when considered in relation to the human personality, the Eastern dragon is therefore the active, outgoing, dynamic energy of a man or woman who is in harmony with the Tao.
Just as an individual may need to mature before they can achieve greater fulfilment of personal expression, so too do some dragons need to go through certain stages of development before they can achieve the status of Celestial Dragon. For example, there is the Panlong 蟠龍 – these are the coiled dragons, which have not yet 'ascended to Heaven', and traditionally they can represent the person of 'unrecognised talent', here meaning an individual whose inner condition is that of unfulfilled or dormant potential. From a Taoist point of view, the coiled dragon is the stored up force of sheng chi, vitality and internal power within a person, and ever-available as life force, which needs to be nurtured and harmonised to maintain the yin yang balance. It is an energy which can be built up, becoming stronger over time.
Chee Soo (who introduced the Lee style Taoist arts to Western students) was a great advocate of internal development - of working with Ching Sheng Li (external macrocosmic energy), which is held to be the source of all energy. From this comes chi, which is natural internal energy. In many cases, and for a variety of reasons, there is a significant amount of dormant (coiled up) chi within a person, which needs to be reactivated for that individual to feel a greater sense of vitality. Chee Soo introduced techniques of gaining more of this internal power by the poised relaxation of mind, body and spirit and the practice of Taoist breathing exercises. Eventually, the student learns to direct this inner energy from the lower Tan Tien, or storage centre, up the spine, over the head, then down the front of the body and back to the Tan Tien, to encourage and effect self-healing, peace of mind and greater vitality.
I count myself lucky to have experienced direct healing by Chee Soo - by focusing and directing inner energy to cure a long-standing pain in my knee. I was only in my early teens at the time, and did not know what to expect. He achieved this during one of his week-long Summer courses, in the presence of many other students. We were on the third day of the course and the pain in my knee had become unbearable and I'd been forced to sit down as a result. When Chee Soo came over to check on me, I explained the problem. He simply told me to stand up and turn my back to him. I did as I was asked and it felt as if his hand lightly brushed the back of my kung fu jacket, along my spine, and as he did so, the pain vanished and I was able to continue training. Naturally I was amazed, and it served as a pivotal moment in guiding my life's direction, causing me to seek greater understanding of the energy arts and meditation from both Eastern and Western psychological, philosophical and spiritual perspectives. It is worth noting that prior to that Summer course, I'd suffered with knee pain for many months, yet it was instantly cured by Chee Soo. From that point on, I never suffered with any pain in my knee again.
Panlongs can be symbolically portrayed as Seahorses (with their coiled tails) – which in some legends are perceived as baby dragons. It is interesting to note here that the Lee Style Taoist family tradition uses as its symbol the Seahorse wearing a manual labourer’s hat, to represent humility. It demonstrates how one needs to practice the arts of humility, often seen in the humble person who uses their skills or gifts well, while remaining in harmony with the Tao, rather than purely to inflate the ego, whether in the pursuit of riches, power, or social standing for personal gain, without sparing a thought for the welfare of others.
The seahorse as a celestial dragon
The Lee family symbol, of the Seahorse wearing the hat of a humble person, is therefore not only representative of the Panlong but also the Tianlong. Through hard work, growth and the perfecting of its skills, it uses its coiled, stored up or potential energy (Chi) for acts of goodness, which help and protect society. Indeed, the female seahorse inserts her eggs into a brood pouch located at the base of the male's tail (around the area of the Tan Tien), where they are fertilised, and thus it is the male seahorse which carries its many young. Over time, a chemical process takes place during which the male seahorse's body fluids (quite literally its stored up energy) stored in its pouch, gradually transform into saltwater, where the eggs hatch and the young remain for some time. After that the young are born as miniature adults, fully equipped to live their lives in the sea. In so doing, it might be said of the parent seahorses that they have become Tianlongs – heavenly dragons. Seen from the point of view of a class teacher, the student (symbolised as a baby seahorse) begins as a Panlong with the potential to become a Tianlong (in whom the yin and yang should be balanced, enabling them to become effective teachers, capable of instructing students themselves if they wish, and also becoming effective practitioners of their arts, having the capacity to diffuse certain disruptive situations and restore peace and harmony to their environment).
It is also worth noting here that when the individual becomes a teacher or class instructor, one does not stop learning and developing. The baby dragon may have become a Tianlong, but there are further stages and levels of attainment even then - and these in truth, in addition to effective demonstration of principles and techniques, apply more to inner qualities and the development of the ability to 'demonstrate', or to 'put into actual practice', acts of compassion, patience, understanding and genuine concern for a student's, or any person's, wellbeing; (qualities that should have already been developed throughout the course of one's training as a student). The expression of such qualities is more important than just the celebration of belts or TengChi awards alone (which do have their place and function), for the latter can become empty and meaningless, even self-destructive and self-aggrandising, if received in the wrong spirit. Better to always preserve the humble nature, as depicted in the Lee style image of the Seahorse wearing the hat of humility.
Hsien Sheng Neil Brown, Dragon Phoenix Taoist Arts, 2025.
In part 2, we shall consider the Phoenix, a representation of yin, passive, negative force.
