grady

It is true that these words were written for Shifu's students, and it is true that this was posted without asking me. That being said, the words are true, and I doubt I am going to be able to say them any better than I have here anytime soon, so let them remain.

This is an excellent question and important topic. The short answer is: according to our perspective, if your doctor is not confident enough in his diagnostics and his knowledge of herbs to prescribe you a single formula that can be effectively and safely used for one to three months, with an expectation of a persistent and stable resolution of your disharmony in the months afterwards, without requiring you to come back for an adjustment *unless* certain conditions occur/re-occur, then he doesn't have any business providing herbal formulae. Now that may seem harsh, especially because many people have been conditioned by their often well-meaning TCM college graduate practitioner that they need to be in clinic once a week (or more!) for endless tweaks to their formulae, more needles, more tui na, more whatever, sometimes for years on end. And it's not necessarily their fault, as that's typically how they were taught. Our goal is always to get people *off* of herbs (or whatever other treatment modality is called for) as soon as possible, and for many people that is after the first 疗程 LiaoCheng "treatment protocol/period". We see a lot of people who have been treated by other practitioners who seem to want to keep them hooked *on* herbs, for reasons which should be obvious. Let that sink in for a second. Also, particularly for treatments involving herbs, we consider a period of "down time" immediately following treatment extremely important for allowing the body-mind to stabilize the resolution of the disharmony which the herbs have helped to effect, and that period can be as long or longer than the time spent taking herbs, depending on the given case. Now we do not always achieve full resolution of a disharmony in a single go, particularly when immune systems are severely impaired/compromised, say by what Western medicine calls "autoimmune" conditions or cancer (particularly post-chemo or radiotherapy). However that is *always* the goal, even with our most serious cases, and frequently we can make very large strides in that direction with a single treatment protocol. So yes, we consider these open clinics to be very beneficial for our patients, particularly for people who are unable for whatever reason to travel to the hospital in China.

Those of you contacted me in regards to Auckland & Melbourne, please keep an eye on your inboxes for an email with more details/scheduling/logistics/etc. either today or the next. Response has been larger than expected and we will be scheduling things carefully. Best, Grady

Hey there FT, I see your PM, thanks.

Hello there Rob, sorry to hear you won't be able to make it after all in November after all, ironic given that I think out of everyone coming you were the one with the shortest distance to travel!

For a number of reasons, including the severity of the side effects associated with the conventional treatment modalities (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and redactive surgery), cancer is probably the "major" disease which we treat most frequently. The short answer to your question is yes, we have very good results with many different kinds of cancer. However it is important to understand that no two cancers are the same, even if located in the same structural area and even if categorized in the same "stage", and therapies can be radically different for apparently similar cancers depending on the age, gender, nature of organ-meridian disharmonies, etc. of person who is afflicted with them. It should be obvious that it is easier for us to deal with cancers in the early stages, particularly before the immune system has been significantly damaged by conventional therapies, because we actually strive to make use of the body's own immune system in dealing with cancer, as opposed to "killing" the cancer directly. That being said, I have personally witnessed some pretty dramatic improvements as a result of Jiang Shifu's therapies, including a young mother who came to us with a large inoperable brain tumor seven years ago after her Western doctors gave her less than a year to live, who has received no Western medications of any kind since that time, and who I am pleased to say is still very stable and essentially symptom-free (the tumor remains, though reduced in size) as of the last time I saw her a few months ago. All trips to China to see Jiang Shifu for training or treatment, including one in November of this year primarily for US-based folks, are being organized on our private forum; if memory serves I have already sent you the link via PM on this forum.

As per my earlier post here we are now organizing all Gengmenpai training opportunities in China and elsewhere on our private forum, so normally I would not come to this forum to post such an announcement directly, but since this is happening on such short notice I feel obliged to make sure we do our best reach as many people in need as possible: I am excited to announce that Jiang Shifu has decided to dispatch me first to New Zealand, and then to Australia to treat a few very sick patients next month. These are people who due to the severity of their illness are unable to travel but have expressed a sincere desire for access to our medicine. I also will be evaluating traditional herbal pharmacies in both Auckland & Melbourne, and in New Zealand in particular I will also spend a few days to investigate the quality and price of the sika deer antler products and a few other herbs that are now being sustainably wildcrafted there, for potential use here at the hospital. My schedule will be very tight, and thus time constraints will preclude us from holding a full Gengmenpai training workshop in either location. However I am delighted that following the success of the annual open clinics in San Francisco these past two years, Shifu has permitted me to open these clinics up to anyone in either city who has a sincere need or desire to gain access to our medicine. As usual, these open clinics are conducted entirely free under the Buddhist auspices of 义诊 YiZhen "Compassionate Diagnosis". I encourage all of you if you are aware of someone in these countries who has need of our medicine to let them know about this opportunity. By way of reminder and reference, our classical Shaolin medicine "specializes" in what Western medicine calls cancer, autoimmune diseases, inflammation of the organs (particularly liver, kidney, & prostate), anxiety-depression/mood disorders, and fertility/gynecological issues, as well as the "side effects" of improper cultivation practices. Also for those of you who live nearby and would simply like to come and chat about qigong/neigong, the hospital, Jiang Shifu & the Gengmenpai, etc., over a cup of coffee/tea/pint of lager/whatever, you are welcome to do so and I will make myself as available to you as possible within the constraints of the needs of our patients. Dates are as follows: Auckland, New Zealand: 9/15-9/16 Melbourne, Australia: 9/22-9/23 Please feel free to PM here if you would like further information as to specific location and appointment times, etc., or simply post to this thread with general questions and I will do my best to reply in a timely fashion. May all achieve in this lifetime. -Grady

Those interested in gaining access to our private forum are welcome to PM me here.

What hotel? Do you mean where visitors to our hospital stay in China? There are multiple hotels authorized to receive foreigners near our hospital, and our students, patients and guests are welcome to stay wherever they like. I don't have the foggiest idea who owns them, but it's certainly not Shifu if that's what you're implying.

I posted this update to our private forum a few weeks ago, and after a fair bit of thought I have decided to post it here as well. Barring some unforeseen reason or event, this will be my last post on the Taobums in regards to our activities … In the past few years of posting here I believe I have more than repaid the karma owed to this place and to the fairly tangential but not insignificant role that it played helping me find Jiang Shifu and the Gengmenpai those many years ago. I will continue to check my PM mailbox here from time to time, and I will continue to respond to those who are interested in how to learn more about who we are and what we do, and of course I will continue to be very active on the private forum where we will continue to organize both training & clinic opportunities in mainland China, the US, and elsewhere throughout each year. My sincere best wishes to all in their endeavours, may all achieve in this lifetime!

Truth cannot be understood without the study of falsehood. Reality cannot be approached without passing through the gate of illusion. This is "Cultivation 101".

None of you are ready for Sun Ra. Sun Ra wasn't ready for Sun Ra.

The Mopai way is not the only way to do things. Yes, it is possible with the aid of someone with the capability and, perhaps more importantly, *willingness*, to help your open & close certain points, etc. to emit the electric-like ZhenQi ("true qi") without having completed the process of what Mopai calls "yin-yang gong" (this is not what we call it). I know because I have done it, more than once. It's what I somewhat humorously like to call the "training wheels stage". As for whether Jiang is an "immortal" in the sense you describe: my understanding of the theory of our family's neigong is that on this point we are essentially in agreement with that which is commonly understood in the West in regards to Mopai training, i.e. that once you have the level of dantian development and control over the gates of the body that you can emit the ZhenQi on your own, with no help at all, then yes, you can "take your yang qi with you" and are freed from the cycle. In Chinese Chan buddhism this is the equivalent to achieving the status of a 罗汉 LuoHan ("arhat"). Now if you asked him if he was a 仙 Xian "immortal" he would say no, because he defines that word differently that you are doing now. As for whether I am in immortal in the above or any other sense: no, I don't believe so, not yet. As for how long it takes to achieve certain things: the student of Shifu's who achieved the fastest, who started the training *after* puberty, is one of my Chinese older brother students who achieved in four year's time. That being said, he had an above-average foundation before he began proper neigong training (having spent several years as a celibate Chan monk, etc.).

You're welcome. Quick update - Shifu has decided that it is ok for me not to count for the purposes of the 10-person limit two of the advanced neigong students who are joining us in San Francisco for a full dose of the waigong, which means we have 2 more spaces available in San Francisco in July. Looking forward to seeing everyone in a few months.

Shifu has never "changed his name". I can't believe this really requires explanation, but here we go … *sigh* His surname 翟, is extremely uncommon, and many native Chinese people will read it as "Di", not realizing that in the context of a surname it is pronounced pronounced "Zhai" (in standard mandarin, more like "Zai" in Shifu's native dialect), and he often simply introduces himself as "Jiang Feng" just to avoid having to explain the character. The first character of his given name 江, pronounced "Jiang", is also his mother's surname. His mother died when he was quite young, and he honors her memory by using the name in this way - when I have heard him say "Jiang is also my surname", this is what he is referring to. Also, in Shifu's village they have a tradition where even people with double character given names are typically just referred to by a single character, so there he is just "Jiang". Other than generic kinship terms (like "mother's sister's husband", "seventh brother", etc.) the only character I have ever heard his own family use to reference him in conversation is "Jiang". Of course on all official documents, his national identity card, all the hospital papers, etc. he uses Zhai. Ever since he started seeing Western patients (who are confused by the reversal of Chinese surname and given name order to begin with - many people think his surname is Feng) he has gone by Jiang Feng for simplicity's sake. So when I put together the hospital website for him, I asked him if he wanted me to use his full 3 character name or just the 2 characters, and he said just use the two characters, or else the foreigners will get confused, and I agreed. Obviously we were wrong. Of course I have to say I am somewhat entertained by all the speculation and implications of some kind of sinister conspiracy here, especially given that the real names (yes, nameS) of the great "John Chang" are *far* more obscured than Jiang Shifu's … food for thought!