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I think the key here is very obvious as to why this imbalance came about in the first place: the use of the word 'austerities' in itself shows a lack of understanding of the most basic of Buddhist precepts, which is the middle way - the way of no extremes. Buddha himself found the ascetic path non conducive to the objective of reaching liberation from suffering. If such practices lead to an imbalance sufficient to have caused illness in a practitioner, this would be indicative that he was not following the correct practices and therefore straying from the Buddha Dharma. I realise that Buddha set extremely high standards in terms of spiritual practice, but his own disciples would presumably have had the time to adapt to his rhythm and methods, whereas later offshoots in the different schools of Buddhism aside from the Mahayana school have each obviously devised their own methods and interpretations of the Buddha Dharma, and in the case of Tibetan Buddhism also absorbed outside influences such as shamanism, and Japanese Buddhism probably influences derived from Shinto. In the Sutras Buddha explains the reasons for these other school's existence and how he manifests through them. David (Vajramantra)

In terms of spiritual cultivation, aside from Qigong/Neigong etc., my practice presently follows the Mahayana school of Buddhism, reciting the Buddha's Dharanis, studying and reading the Sutras and practising maintaining the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum constantly in mind. The objective is to practice Om Mani Padme Hum samadhi. This is not the path I thought I would follow, and it is far from easy, but I am persevering and doing my best to be faithful to the practice. My teacher has a very low opinion of energetic practices, as he says did Lord Buddha. I am not so sure about that, as the Patriarch Bodhidharma surely did not pull the practices he brought to the Shaolin temple out of thin air - they must have been based upon an existent practice. What do you think about this? I mean that Bodhidharma must have been doing something similar to what he taught the Shaolin monks. Or did he arrive at the entire system only through his years spent in meditation in his cave? David

If you are asking for the Buddha's Sutras or Dharanis, I may be able to help. Otherwise you could try contacting John Vajra. He has published an authoritative and beautiful work on the Sutras and Dharanis, and he also instructed me on the correct way to pronounce the Sanskrit Dharanis which are in Pali. Whether he decides to help you or not depends upon your virtue. He may decide to tell you about your spiritual path. But if you want a little advice, I would say that the only mantra you need to learn to recite correctly is Om Mani Padme Hum. And my advice would be to not seek rapid repetition, but rather separate each syllable and intone it whilst maintaining as strong a focus as possible. I do this during my Qigong practice in order to purify it, and find it very powerful. David (Vajramantra)

Hi Old Wolf. I think I understand why you made that point, but in my case I am talking about masters who deliberately mislead students. Without mentioning names, although I already have - I witnessed one of my instructors deliberately teaching new students Zhan Zhuang postures that were incorrect - just to be able to verify that those students were actually obeying him. Later on he confided to several of us, his senior students that as of that point in time he would no longer teach the postures correctly, as he felt his time and energy were wasted on such people. It wasn't long after that that I left the association for good, because I knew that this was deeply wrong on many levels. I also feel that masters like that put Chinese martial arts in a bad light, and I feel that they should be exposed for such behaviour.

Hi there, I just wanted to add my personal experience in terms of the dangers of this practice if practiced incorrectly. Please have a look at this post: http://www.thedaobums.com/topic/42836-can-anyone-help-identify-this-neigong-practice-please/ . It is rather long, but towards the end there is a description of my own experience after having tried to use will power to move the Qi around the MCO. The results were truly devastating, and I am still paying the price years later. There are Qigong masters who state that one should only ever engage in MCO practices once all the channels have been fully opened and cleared of any blockages. I tend to agree with that. However in regard to the practice as it relates to Zhan Zhuang practice specifically, I think there is no denying that Grandmaster Wang Xiangzhai did practice and probably teach the MCO, and I found it lacking in the training method I was taught. Perhaps it is true that the MCO can open by itself, after all, this is one of the goals of several Neidan gong systems, including various styles of Taijiquan, but I cannot be sure. But what I would say is that the way I was taught the MCO practice made it unnecessarily complicated and difficult to perform. I am of the opinion that such complications actually impede the natural flow of Qi in the body, and can cause a practitioner to apply the will rather than Yi, or intention - thus forcing rather than leading the Qi. Once you read my post you will understand why that should be avoided at all costs!

I am very interested in this discussion. I have been practising the level 1 form from videos found on Youtube for getting on for 2 years now. In my case I am practising in order to hopefully resolve some spinal injuries and other health issues. Now, just as I was about to begin the second level practice I just found several new videos which contradict pretty much each movement in the level 1 form, so now I am hesitant. My Qigong level is sufficient to enable me to quickly feel the differences in terms of the efficacy of one practice as compared to another, but I am not prepared to mix and match. I want to learn the form as Master Tian teaches it, preferably from an authorised source, such as one of his own instructors. However I am based in Europe (Spain) and have very limited income as I am unable to earn my living due to my present condition, although it has improved over the past couple of years...

Thank you Marblehead, Kar3n and Old Wolf for your heartfelt responses and acceptance of my request to post to these forums. I hope to be able to contribute in some way to the pool of knowledge available to members. I am not sure where to post the follow up with my description of the Cultivation method I want to identify, but perhaps one of you will be kind enough to move it to the right place if I get it wrong? Thank you.