grady

First, an introduction. My name is Grady. I am an American, a former attorney who has lived in China full-time since 2008. I am a tudi (apprentice by ceremony) and sometimes translator for Dr. Jiang Feng, whose knowledge I have pursued since our first meeting in China in the summer of 2007. I am not a regular poster on Taobums, although I have lurked occasionally over the years, and a handful of long time members here have met me in person. For those of you who don't know my Shifu, Dr. Jiang, he is a qigong master & practitioner of Chinese medicine who was fostered by the itinerant monk Xuan Kong in his youth, and who as a result of his training displays a range of extraordinary energetic abilities such as the tangible projection of "electric-like" qi, pyrokinesis, telekinesis, etc. which are commonly associated in the English-speaking world with "thunder path Daoism", "LeiShanDao", "John Chang's MoPai", "YinYang Gong", etc. Despite being comparatively unknown in the West, Dr. Jiang's qigong and medicine are quite famous in Asia. He has seen patients in dozens of countries, and has provided treatment to more than one Southeast Asian royal family member and head of state. There are a few videos of Dr. Jiang which have been posted over the years by various parties on youtube, some against Shifu's wishes and some with his approval. I merely provide a link to one here, which includes a short lecture in Chinese on the nature of qigong and its relationship to medicine, as well as a very small demo of Shifu projecting his yang qi in order to burn a small hole in a sheet of paper: Recently Jiang Shifu has invited me to bring to China a group of Westerners who are interested in beginning training in the particular sect of Shaolin Yijinjing of which Dr. Jiang is the 5th generation headmaster, following the passing of his own master this past year. These doors open and close unexpectedly, and Shifu's invitation was quite a surprise to me. Despite continuing to regularly treat patients from all over the world, to my knowledge the last time he welcomed a group of Westerners to come and learn his material this openly was in 2007. The explicit goal of these practices is to achieve the most basic skills in our qigong method, the ability to collect qi in the dantian and then project this very objectively tangible, "electric-like" qi into another person. An absolutely crucial requirement for success in these practices is an evaluation of the prospective student's meridian system, and based on that evaluation an individually tailored "empowerment" which is subsequently given by Shifu. This empowerment essentially consists of an "irrigation" (guanqi) of specific meridians and the opening of specific points with the master's qi. It has been Dr. Jiang's experience that with proper empowerment and with correct, diligent, daily training, the basic skills can be achieved in a matter of a few years. Without empowerment the achievement of the basic skills is a matter of a few decades, if indeed it is possible at all. As I am not yet qualified to perform such empowerments, and as Dr. Jiang has strongly curtailed his foreign travel in recent years, the seminar will take place near his home in the magnificent Yellow Mountain area of Anhui Province, an ancient center of cultivation in China. This seminar will last for 10 full days, tentatively scheduled for the 4th-14th of this November, 2012. I would like to have been able to give more than this 2 months notice but I am obliged to follow Dr. Jiang's schedule. The tuition fee for the 10 days is $4000 dollars US, with lodging & airfare to be arranged separately. This seminar will consist of an initial evaluation and empowerment by Shifu, as well as training both mornings & evenings in the jinggong ("quiescent methods") and donggong ("moving methods") of Dr. Jiang's yijinjing qigong system with either myself or one of the more senior Chinese students assisted by me. This is my first time conducting such a seminar, and I am not a professional speaker or a professional tour guide. As such I am strictly limiting participation to 10 people, no more than that. If less than 10 people are interested that's all the better, as a small group will have access to more personal attention from Shifu and myself. If you are interested in this opportunity please PM me here on the forum. I have set up a private forum where more specific questions about Dr. Jiang, myself, our sect of Yijinjing qigong, etc. can be answered and details of the November seminar can be addressed. I will reply to your PM with forum access info. Based on a cursory review of past threads I am aware the Dr. Jiang is a controversial person in Taobums community. I am also aware that the tuition is no small amount of money. In short, you get what you pay for. I myself was very skeptical when I first met my teacher five years ago. Slowly over time my skepticism has been satisfied. Dr. Jiang not only has the skills, perhaps even more importantly he has a proven track record of his ability to pass these skills on to his students, moreover he has a genuine willingness to teach Westerners, provided of course they demonstrate themselves to be of good character. I truly believe this is the opportunity of a lifetime for someone interested in genuine qigong with tangible, objectively verifiable results, something more than mere illusory sensations. Otherwise I would not be personally involved. I welcome any and all inquiries, via PM please. I will do my best to respond to everyone in a timely manner. Best, -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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

Dr. Jiang has permitted me to begin to organize a subsequent seminar here in mainland China for those interested in formal empowerment and instruction in our qigong method as early as March, 2013. If you are not familiar with Shifu you might find it instructive to peruse the following discussion here on Taobums: http://thetaobums.co...-november-2012/ I would prefer to arrange things as early as possible within the month of March, particularly given how late Chinese New Year will fall this year and also given that tourist season in this part of the country goes into full swing by April 1st, but we do have some flexibility. I invite those sincerely interested either in this seminar in particular or our Yijinjing art in general to PM me directly, and I will point you in the direction of our private forum where we are in the process of discussing the details (dates, tuition, etc.). Once again I should be able to open this up free of charge to those who are interested in coming solely for diagnosis and potential treatment by Shifu, either for pre-existing medical conditions or simply for those looking to take their health & vitality to the next level. This time the seminar location will likely be in the immediate vicinity of Shifu's new 100+ bed hospital (focusing on pre-Cultural Revolution traditional Chinese medicine, to be distinguished from modern TCM) which is currently under construction in the Yellow Mountain district. Best to all, Grady

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.).

I am very pleased to announce that following his return from retreat, Jiang Shifu has permitted me to begin the process of organizing a second workshop focusing on the theory and practice of our family’s waigong 外功 “external training/skills/methods” this summer in the United States. The workshop will once again be held at the same exact location in beautiful San Francisco, California. Myself and last year’s workshop participants found our expectations wildly exceeded by the pristine environment and intense fengshui of the practice area, a bluff overlooking San Francisco Bay surrounded by a ring of ancient trees, and the renovated officer’s quarters of the decommissioned Fort Mason military base which served as our lodging and a place to take healthy organic meals are both very inexpensive and extremely convenient. Holding this event in San Francisco also conveys the benefit of access to be best traditional Chinese herb markets in the Americas. As during the previous workshop in 2013 I will be holding a free clinic (with Jiang Shifu’s remote assistance) under the traditional Buddhist auspices of YiZhen 义诊 “Compassionate Diagnosis” which is open to all comers, be they workshop participants or not. The dates for this year’s workshop are July 19th – July 26th, 2014, which should assure us of the same fine weather conditions we enjoyed in 2013. Tuition is the same as last year, $2000 for the week. The cost of lodging will depend on the final number of participants, but it will not exceed $45 per night. Once again I have scheduled our very full week from Saturday to Saturday to make things easier on those with corporate schedules. Participants should plan to arrive and check in at the workshop location on Saturday the 19th, and are free to depart on Saturday the 26th. As before I am limiting the workshop attendance to 10 people and we need a minimum of 5 attendees in order to confirm. Once again, the waigong of our system, which can also be considered our jibengong 基本功 (“foundation/fundamental training/skills/methods”) corresponds to what many people publicly refer to as the 古十二式 ("Old Twelve Postures") of the Yijinjing, although we refer to it as the XinShiErShi 新十二式 ("New Twelve Postures"), and the material that has been passed within our family differs in substantial ways from what has been made public by others. These are the fundamental exercises of the body-mind which were required to be trained diligently for 3 years prior to RuMen 入门 ("entering the gate") in orthodox Shaolin transmissions. While it is admittedly not possible to progress to the level of emitting the electric-like ZhenQi 真气 ("true qi") solely through this material, it can and does have a tremendous effect on one's health and one’s strength, and aids in preparing the ShiErJingMai 十二经脉 ("twelve organ meridians / twelve conventional meridians") for the deeper neigong of the system. As it was last year, this is the *only* opportunity officially authorized by Jiang Shifu to receive training in authentic Shaolin Yijinjing Gengmenpai methods outside of traveling to visit Shifu himself here in mainland China. For those of you interested in securing your place at this workshop, or if you are simply interested in reading some firsthand experiences from a few of last year’s workshop attendees (one participant from 2013 shared his experiences on taobums here: http://thetaobums.com/topic/27501-shaolin-yijinjing-gengmenpai-12-postures-seminar-in-the-usa-summer-2013/?p=462084), please PM me and I will point you in the direction of our private forum where workshop preparations are taking place. Also if you have any other questions about the workshop please feel free to post them here.

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!

Proper empowerment, followed by proper neigong practice with the proper intensity over the proper length of time. Both. No.

Haha, not bad Dorian, but unfortunately not quite right … I'm very excited to say the response to this year's waigong workshop in San Francisco has been unprecedented, and that we are tentatively at capacity. I will be keeping a waiting list for those who would like to attend in case someone drops out or is otherwise unable to confirm, and in case Shifu decides not to count the returning senior students for the purposes of the 10 person limit, so if you are sincerely interested and have not yet gotten in touch with me do feel free to do so.

I'm delighted to announce that the workshop is confirmed. So far the current group of confirmed attendees is a nice mix of first-timers, those who are returning again after attending last year's waigong workshop, and even a few people who have been exposed to our neigong in China and want a chance to focus on the waigong in depth. As of today there are two open slots remaining.

Thank you for the kind words, my friend! Really looking forward to seeing you again in July. You're certainly right that one of the most challenging aspects, of any practice, is the necessity for consistency in the face of the vagaries of life, particularly a non-monastic life, even more so our modern life. FYI for those who are interested, seven spaces have been spoken for, which means at the moment we only have three spaces left for the July workshop. I am serious as a heart attack about limiting this to no more than ten people, so if you are sincerely considering joining us this summer then do let me know sooner rather than later.

Everyone re-read this post 3 times. Mjjbecker is correct, this is how this terminology is understood and used in China. Anything else is just marketing.

The short answer to your question is yes. For us the waigong begins the work on the the twelve conventional meridians, the neigong begins the work on the eight extraordinary meridians, generally speaking. *All* meridians must be strengthened, and, if necessary, impairments cleared in order to practice neigong effectively and more importantly, safely. As for the "how", well, that's the primary topic of the theoretical component of this week long workshop.

I registered on taobums quite a long time ago under an alias, "leandro". I'd like to change my username to "grady", which is my actual name, in the interests of greater transparency. A quick look at "my profile" and "my settings" doesn't seem to turn up a way to do this. Can this sort of thing be accomplished by the powers that be? Please feel free to PM me to discuss details if that is more appropriate. Much obliged! -Grady