Christopher

I heartily agree. As the Chinese say "sui yuan" - go with the flow

There is a retreat in December which i have emailed for some info about. Can i ask, from your experience attending last year why do you feel it was worthwhile?

Interesting that you mention Wang Liping, i'm reading his biography at the moment. You think it would be possible to just turn up? Might not be a bad idea, although i don't know where he lives. Not so interested in learning BaGua. If i were going to study an internal martial art it would be Yiquan because i'm very interested in zhan zhuang. So i'm thinking about Yao Chengguang's school in Beijing. Anyway looks like i'll have to stay in Hong Kong for a few weeks to wait for my 12 month tourist visa. If i can find someone there to start would be great. Thanks all for suggestions

Thanks for the kind words. Will definitely write up any interesting experiences

I know there are good teachers in the west, but the reason I'm going to China is the same reason I've spent a lot of time in temples in south-east Asia: money! China is cheap, Europe/America/Japan are expensive. And in China even if I run low on cash I can easily pick up a few hours of teaching work a week which is plenty to live on. Also I studied Chinese and I like China. So I hope that will dispel some of the doubts of the naysayers who think my plan is "crazy and romantic". Gerard - thank you for the practical suggestions. Yes actually I have studied samatha and vipassana meditation in Thailand and Burma, but I have always gravitated towards Daoist internal alchemy. When I said I have never sought instruction I specifically mean that I have never become a student/disciple within this particular meditation tradition, but would like to do so. Maybe I should have been clearer. I've checked the videos of He Jinghan - thank you for that. I think Beijing would be a good place to go as a starting point at least.

Dear all, Good to be a part of the forum, thanks for welcoming me in. I am planning to go to China in August to learn Daoist meditation. I'm pretty fluent in Mandarin having lived in China already for nearly 4 years (in Kunming) where I was mainly studying Chinese but latterly also teaching English. I've been practicing meditation for about 15 years and have done quite a few retreats. Now nearing my mid-thirties it has got to the point where it is the most important thing in my life and I'm lucky at this point in time in that I have the freedom and resources to focus on it intensively. I just came back from Sri Lanka where I stayed in a monastery practicing 8-10 hours a day of seated meditation in a small hut in the jungle. In all honesty, although I've had some interesting experiences in meditation I don't feel like I have any significant accomplishment. The intense states of mind I sometimes experience while sitting always disappear as soon as I finish. 90% of the time I feel more or less completely normal, and have not experienced the deep psychological change which I think is hoped for by everyone who seriously undertakes a program of intensive meditation. Since I like to do things independently, I've never sought a teacher (at least not successfully). Also I'm very aware of the cliche of going to China to "find my master", kind of like Luke Skywalker going to Dagobah to find Yoda. I always cringe when I hear westerners talk about "my master" with that smug look in their eye. But when I think about how much effort I've put into meditation over such a long time and how little I've really achieved I think there are only two options left to me - either go find a real master to learn from or cut my losses and just give up the whole thing. So before I leave for Dagobah, I mean China, I'm here asking for advice from anyone who knows of anyone who knows of anyone who might be able to help me. I know that real authentic "enlightened" teachers don't usually advertise and that the only way to find one willing to accept me as a student is through relationship and introduction. I will be starting in Hong Kong, where I'll have to stay for a few days at least to get my visa. After that I'm thinking about heading to Wudang Mountain to study at one of the schools there. However my impression is that Wudang is kind of like another Shaolin Disneyland where kids who've seen too many kung fu movies go to dress up as Daoists and learn to fly over rooftops. So I'm a bit wary. Also I'm not looking to take part in a daily schedule filled with all kinds of kung fu acrobatics. I just want to train in meditation and the associated nei gong practices of Daoist internal alchemy (actually I do also train martial arts but just for a bit of fun now, it's not my focus anymore). Anyway, enough of my rambling. If anyone has any useful info please do share. Maybe you know of someone in Hong Kong who, while not exactly an "enlightened teacher", would at least be a good person to know. Also, if anyone is currently in China, or planning on going, and feels maybe we could help each other, by all means stay in touch - in China I use Wechat (i.d: 416360). Happy to post updates of my adventure here if people are interested.

I'm Chris from UK. I have been practising meditation for some time and am interested in Nei Dan. I was living in Kunming, China for 4 years learning Chinese so I am fluent in Mandarin. I plan to go back to China in August this year to find a teacher who can help me to progress with Daoist meditation.