The Spiritual Features of the Experience of qi in Chinese Martial Arts
Religions October 8, 2021 Veronica Cibotaru
The experience of qi in Chinese martial arts can constitute a secular spiritual experience—one not necessarily tied to religion. Five features characterize this spirituality: the centrality of individual experience; self-transcendence and the search for authenticity; connection with a transcendent dimension; the role of the body alongside an apprehension of something beyond the physical; and the use of imagination and metaphor to grasp that transcendent dimension. This suggests a form of spirituality that neither requires religion nor simply rejects traditional religions. The experience also reveals fundamental structures of human experience—how we experience our body and the world through it—indicating that phenomenology offers a valuable approach for studying spirituality.