BAT DIEU – the 8 birds
Bat-Dieu: the 8 birds.
The way of the 8 birds flying freely in the sky, without any borders and without any imposed path.
ORIGINS
Bat Dieu Bo, which means ‘sequence of the 8 birds’ (Bat: 8, Dieu: birds, Bo: sequence), is part of a basic VietChiDao triad devised by the G.M. The triad is composed by Bat Dieu Bo – sequence of the 8 birds, Hoanh Son – the form of the mountain range, and Than Ho – the form of the guardian tiger).
STORY – THE BIRDS THAT FLEW IN 8 DIRECTIONS
(GM, Caldonazzo Stage 2014)
“Once upon a time there was a group of sparrows that lived in peace without any problems. One day a hunter came to the area and the frightened birds flew off in various directions and dispersed. They were not happy with their situation, until one day a wise man came along and stroked them and told them to fly higher. Some of them agreed, some did not, and some wanted to seek the advice of the people of Earth first. And so the birds flew off in eight different directions. Many years later, their children had the opportunity to meet on top of a mountain, and when they spoke to each other, they realised that they had each assumed a different language. Even as they observed one another, they noticed the differences between them, but they still understood each other. One of them told the others to forget the hunter and to tell everyone what they had learned in the world.
Originally, we were all sparrows too, but now we have different knowledge that we can share with others and fly very high. This is how the form of the 8 directions and 8 birds was created, each with its own technique and peculiarity or speciality.”.
BAT DIEU – THE SEQUENCE CONNECTED TO THE SKY
The Bat Dieu sequence is linked to the symbolic representation of Heaven and composes the basic triad of VietChiDao together with the two forms Hoanh Son and Than HO, linked to Earth and Man respectively. The representation of Heaven, Earth and Man is already contained in the symbol of VietTaiChi, one of the eight disciplines devised by the GM prior to the creation of VietChiDao.
“The sky in its principle is the origin of everything; in its infinite dimensions the spark of life is ignited, which is welcomed by the sweet malleability of the earth, which gives balance and stability to life itself; man is the conscious image of life and the point of union between earth and sky” … “Man is therefore invited, from the firm and solid support point offered by mother earth, to push towards the sky, in search of his own individual freedom, guided by free will”.
THE 8 BIRDS
The birds included in BAT DIEU are , in order of execution of movements:
- CHEO BEO – Black Drongo
- CHIM CHICH – Chickadee
- CHIM KEN – Condor
- DAI BANG – Eagle
- DIEU HAU – Sparrowhawk
- HAI HAU – Seagull
- BOI KA – Kingfisher
- CHIM CONG – Peacock