松永道

Though I'm sure your current students would understand and even be proud to support the free spread of your teaching, that's your decision to make. I'm sure many people would be interested in a free taste program. Please let me ask: How long have you practiced your system before achieving the 河车 (heche: river vehicle; also translated as spirit baby)? Do you project your Yang spirit to teach? Have any of your students also achieved this level of ability? I sincerely wish to achieve the heche and immortalize my yang spirit, to both better know the universe, and better help humanity. It's beautiful. An act of of internal evolution. Anything else you have to say about, I'd be glad to hear.

So are we to understand you are already enlightened and/or have immortalized your yang spirit? If I've misunderstood you please clarify your position. Because, if this is indeed the case and you have surpassed the pinnacle of cultivation practice that takes other systems 45 years to attain, then it's truly monumental. And I believe it would be your obligation to humanity to spread such a teaching wide and far, free of charge. Successful students will donate, just look at Vipassana as taught by S.N. Goenka. He has centers all over the world all of which run solely on donations from satisfied students. They won't even let you donate until you've already received the teaching and have seen your life improved.

I think we all know such a field exists. Some call it Dao, God, or Allah. Some take refuge in the Buddha, Jesus Christ or Krishna. I'm not metaphysically savy enough to know which traditions use a spiritual middle-man to connect to everything that is and which ones simply connect right to it. However, I think we're all savy enough to identify the earthly mediums. The gurus, masters, priests and the like who either want to teach you to connect yourself or who want to profit someway as your middle-man. Some people want a middle-man, just like some people want to travel with a guided tour. The tour costs more, provides you less freedom, but in return you have some sense of security that your tour guide won't steer you wrong. And from my experience, most tour guides are well-meaning. In fact, my beloved works as a tour guide now. Trips through China and India, and though she's knowledgeable on Buddhism, Daoism, Chinese history and such, she'll be the first to admit she's not an expert. Were she, she'd be a professor, not a tour guide. And so to we find with spiritual wayfaring. The tour guides aren't the experts. The experts teach you to become an expert yourself, the tour guides just take you along for the ride. Different strokes for different folks. But I imagine most folks here aren't looking for a packaged tour. Good luck to you too Li Jiong. Please let me ask, do you draw a distinction between your tradition's Xuanji Matrix and the Dao?

I wonder too. It seems the Kunlun system introduces spirit travel very early. But I don't know enough about the system to say. I like Kunlun's philosophy, but I wonder if it's methods are really the 'Great Way' Daoist speaks of, or one of these side roads. I was speaking with a Daoist cultivator the other day on Yin Shen Dao and Yang Shen Dao and he that Buddhists tend to practice Yin Shen, and Daoists tend to practice Yang Shen. He also said this is the reason why Buddhist cultivators tend to be fat while the Daoists, thin. Yang energy provides heat and circulation, no need for extra chub. He seemed to allude that many Buddhist cultivators ended up with Yang deficiency, leading to fat, mucus buildup, etc. S.N. Goenka of the Buddhist Vipassana tradition would certainly conform to this stereotype. Wonderful heart, but his body is fat and phlegmy. --- clearclouds, Cool excerpt! Good description of the gui, ghost immortal.

Li Jiong, I think this is an important topic. In fact, an apocalyptic mindset is why I started my study and practice of Qigong and Chinese Medicine in the first place. Truth be told, it was a correspondence of inner an outer worlds. The impending apocalypse is a very dark thought to have in the mind. And, if you're like me, this darkness can and will continue consume your heart until it transforms into an impetus.. or death. Taiyin transforms into yang. But yin and yang, at their extremes can also separate. No not permanently, not in the universal sense, but in the relative, temporary terms of our individual life, yin and yang separation means death. Water on the lands and fire in the sky sounds like this sort of separation to me. Perhaps what your Master envisioned was more likely a metaphor for impending disasters, not the actual way they will unfold, for no human life could survive this separation of yin and yang, water higher than the mountains and fires consuming all the oxygen in the skies. But what of transformation? My apocalyptic thoughts consumed me until I started enacting a solution. The starting point at least. Qigong and meditation, improves my immune system and makes me less reliant on material goods. As my practice improves I eat less, can endure greater climactic extremes, and most importantly retain a clearer mind under stressful conditions. The way I see it, this increases my survivability in the case of drought, plague, and other down-to-earth inevitable hardships. I am learning Chinese Medicine and how to understand plants so that I may help myself and others who may be with me through whatever may come. When my studies have reached a sufficient level, I would like to move to the country side and set up a humble practice. Not only do I much prefer a more natural setting, but in the case of collapse, I do not want to close to the cities. Over populated areas will become outright nightmares should the artificial influx of resources disappear. No clean water, no food, lots of people. Only the violent will survive. And though I'm sure any survival scenario will involve some violence, I'd like to avoid it as much as possible. However, should the shit hit the fan sooner than later and I find myself trapped in the city, martial arts and Chinese Medicine will still be an asset. In the end, it will come down to luck and preparation. The more time I have, the more prepared I will be. But I also need to accept that no matter how prepared I am, there's no guarantee. So it is. I do have one guarantee though. I already have and will continue to survive my own personal apocalypse. I strive to live my life in an upright, meaningful way. And should the many stories from near-death-experiences be true, on death we all look back without ego and see how much we've loved and learned.. everything else is just wasted time. So should fire really engulf the skies and water, the earth, then I imagine I'll die. But, in the mean time, I'll live best I can. The rest is up to God, Allah, and Dao.

Thanks Little1, that is the book. However, it seems Chia has decided which parts to translate and which parts not to without any mention of what he leaves out. This book is the classic that the Ling Bao Bi Fa practice draws from. As such it's great importance to the Longmen Pai (Dragon Gate Lineage). I assume there must be a better translation out there but I have yet to find it. Otherwise I'll translate it someday once my skills (in language and cultivation) have matured enough.

I'm sure L visa is fine. 2 weeks at your local embassy, you can get it faster if you pay more.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I still don't see eye to eye with you on white bread and ice-cream, but as my body tends towards dampness perhaps my 'laboratory' is partially at fault. But here's a point we can wholeheartedly agree on, "Food is food. Local food is better to eat than "healthy" food transported from the other side of the world." This is the best advice from both an energetic and ecological perspective. And, "As above, so below." I believe the best advice MUST be the most beneficial to our individual microcosm and Earth's macrocosm simultaneously. Eating locally and seasonally almost guarantees you'll get what you need, when you need it. Plus, if you have the means, sowing your own permaculture garden - basically a self-contained, self-renewing mini-ecosystem - will provide a bounty of fresh food with almost no maintenance once you get it up and going. Like resurrecting the Garden of Eden in your own backyard. Anyways.. Hundun, any chance you could give us bums a lesson in Hua Gong?

I heartily agree that attitude is important, but respectfully, eating only by color is terrible advice. Coffee does affect the Kidneys - as a diuretic. More important is to examine it's bitter, slightly sweet flavor and warming property. Bitters tend to affect the Heart network, meaning many bitters are stimulants. They also affect the Small Intestines Network, making them purgatives. Bitters also often act as diuretics, and assist drying what Chinese Medicine refers to as Dampness. Coffee is a stimulant, purgative, and diuretic. It is indicated for individuals who consume rich, greasy, heavy diets - which tend to cause both the build up of stagnant food in the intestines, and general symptoms of Dampness (heaviness, lethargy, acne, etc). Excessive Coffee use will deplete the Kidneys/exhaust the adrenal glands. Simply put, Coffee, like most stimulants, imbalances the water (jing) / fire (qi) axis, pushing towards fire and exhausting water. Use in moderation. And that's just one example. Ice-cream similarly does no favors to the lungs, bones, or joints though it will create phlegm. And white bread, though true it will digest very quickly, it does so at the expense of delivering any actual nutrition. Additionally, the excessive consumption of white breads, ice-cream, sugars, sodas, and other simple starches and sweets cause an radical insulin spike, the sugar high, followed soon after by the sugar low. Over time, this dramatic insulin dose will can to Type II Diabetes insulin resistance. Admittedly, whole grains can be hard to digest for someone who already has impaired digestion. But consumption of more simple starches, white breads, etc can further impair digestion, contributing to Dampness and Candida overgrowth in the intestinal tract. In these cases, cooking / stewing vegetables and whole grains with spices is indicated. Spices will stimulate digestion, and the complex carbohydrates will deliver long lasting energy. Also, chewing your food does wonders for digestion. The process begins in your mouth after all. When eating, don't drink. You want to keep those salivary enzymes in your mouth. If you absolutely need some liquid, try tea, and then only taking small sips once in a while. Definitely don't drink cold beverages with your meals. You need your stomach to cook the food for a second time, don't douse the fires. And avoid cold drink while digesting too, especially if you consumed fats or oils. Drink too much cold water and it will cause those fats to congeal in your intestines making digestion drastically more difficult. You wouldn't believe some of the ancient sh*t found in some people's intestines. That all said, eating should be a joy not a worry. I have taken to seeing foods as medicines, they're all good (the natural stuff anyways) if you know when to use them. Basically, eating a combination of the five flavors - sour, bitter, sweet, spicy, and salty - at every meal, and keeping things more bland than overly flavorful will give you more Qi than you'll know what to do with. An example meal: mixed veggies (bitter/sweet), garlic and onions (spicy), meat (salty/sweet) or beans/tofu (sweet), stir fried in Ghee or Olive Oil (sweet) and maybe a little soy sauce (salty), with a side of Sauerkraut (sour), Kimchi (spicy/sour) or something else fermented (sour). Most people eat too much sweet and salty foods and not enough bitter and sour foods. Flavor should be your first guideline, not color. The five colors are used for medical diagnosis and internal seeing. There may however be some merit to eating food that looks like the organ you want to strengthen. IE broccoli for the lungs, walnuts for the brain, tomatoes for the heart (both have four chambers) etc. Amazingly enough, modern research backs up a lot of these folk claims.

Kundaolinyi, Don't abandon your theory. Since I've started studying Chinese Medicine I've held a similar idea. Now I endeavor to truly grasp the 5 Movements Theory, to give it due respect, but I do suspect that immortality comes in threes. This his article on the Pure Yang Mudra, Master Wu Zhongxian contends that the fingers of the hand can form two trigrams or one hexagram although only five are visible. This, he explains, is because the 6th line or pair of fingers is hidden. Could it be that the five phases also contain a hidden sixth? Further more, the 6th hidden line is the top line. According to Wu, visible means yang, hidden means yin, in order to achieve the 1st Hexagram, pure yang heaven, with your hands you would need to find a way to transform your hidden 6th fingers into visible fingers. Food for thought. Also, one comment on your understanding of the Earth element. In terms of Yin and Yang, Wood is Yang within Yin, Fire is Yang within Yang, Metal is Yin within Yang, and Water is Yin within Yin. Earth is Tai Yin within Yin. When Yang or Yin have reached their greatest extent, Taiji (Taiji literally translates to "the utmost extreme"), they transform. Therefore Earth is best thought of as the boarder between Yin and Yang, it is the moment of transformation. Now here is where orthodox five elements leaves off and you need to pick up. Specifically, you could see Earth as the transformation from Yin to Yang, as Taiyin within Yin transforms into Yang - But what about the transformation from Yang to Yin? Taiyang within Yang? You could say that the Five Elements Theory is an earthbound system, no pun intended. I have a fair deal more theory on the matter but I'd rather not influence what you might come up with. Any good researcher will both respect and doubt the orthodoxy.

With fall fast approaching now is the right time to practice the 7 weeks of Laohu Gong, if you're interested. Not that you couldn't practice at any other time throughout the year, but like Craig said, though it's not just a Metal form, it still does share a special relationship with Metal quality, specifically Zheng/Zhen Qi which, among other things, will keep the autumn sniffles at bay. Master Wu is a good teacher and I can personally attest that he genuinely cares for the wellbeing and progress of his students. And I can also personally attest that Craig is a good student!

"The Firing Process" is a great analogy. Looking to physical patterns to describe the intangible. I've always described enlightenment as evaporating water. Man in society like a water molecule, connected to the rest by hydrogen bonds. At room temperature, once in a while, one breaks free and evaporates. But turn up the heat, the pressure, and you will have many many more molecules jumping out into freedom. However, as for your second statement.. I believe time spent in the wilderness means much more than just a reboot. To me, cultivation certainly concerns becoming "fully-liberated" within the contexts of human society. Which basically means that I'm always conscious no matter the situation; that I transform all emotional baggage, sankaras, triggers, stagnancies, reactivities, etc into free flowing consciousness. But to be "in the world but not of the world" seems incomplete. The world of man may root out and reflect my less desirable qualities but lacks a proper role model. "Don't do what Johnny Don't does," is only half the equation. I look to nature for inspiration. The trees, the rivers, the rain, the songs of birds and bugs.. exposed to these fields deepens my ability to connect, perceive, and flow. The notions of purging and supplement found in Chinese medical treatment seem fitting. Society, when approached consciously acts as a purgative. Nature, again approached consciously, acts as a tonic. And so you find mountain hermits with amazing power and tempers to match - too yang; and in the cities aspiring bodhisattvas with good hearts but weak bodies - too yin.

Thanks Ken, My confusion that the Ling Bao Bi Fa might be taught by Shen Laoshi in a seminar setting, which just didn't make any sense. Thanks for clarifying. Good luck with your seminar, should you find yourself in Xi'an, the tea is on me. ～小松

Woah buddy, I don't know what Master Wang intends to teach at Jinhua but I trust that he knows what he is doing. I merely wanted to ask any custom tailoring to individual needs took place at your seminar. No need to get defensive or accusatory. As you should well know the practice of Neidan, can lead to hallucinations and on to serious mental illness if practiced incorrectly. Now if they are just teaching health building, balancing, and concentrating the spirit practices then you're right, they will benefit just about anyone. My apologies if something I said rubbed you the wrong way. I'd prefer education not an argument.

Thanks YM, I've never seen the Shanhai Jing in English, but ran into it a few times in Chinese. I guess I always assumed it was about real, physical creatures that the scholars of that time period just couldn't get a close look at and so filled some in with their imagination. Kind of like the Chinese Lion. Wow, to see a dragon...

Yoda, that's either a joke or a sin. Send them to the Goodwill!

Intuflow by Scott Sonnon I just purchased Intuflow for my mother. Really great stuff. I've noticed some of the exercises are very similar to movements that have come to me spontaneously in natural qigong practice. Intuflow can be practiced fast for looseness and invigoration, slow for qi development, and it seems to me could be practiced hard (that is with maximum muscle tension plus maximum range of motion) for muscle-tendon changing. I like logic Sonnon's system. Foundation of joint mobility, then athletic bodyweight 'yoga' movements, then circular strength training with kettlebells and clubbells. Add a standing practice and sitting practice and you're pretty set. For standing I thought The Way of Energy and Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body were both adequate. For sitting, Yang's Embryonic Breathing seems ok at first glance, but honestly I wouldn't get too deep into sitting Neigong practice without a good teacher, and from Yang's writing, I'm not don't believe he has achieved the practice. But that's my opinion. Sitting and forgetting or quiet sitting, is a fine practice without the risk. Overall though, any good internal martial arts system will include all these things, I'd only do it piecemeal like this if you can't find a good teacher. Hands of Light by Barbara Brennan I dabbled with energy and qigong practice for a while before stumbling across this book. Very good. The author studied astrophysics and worked for NASA before re-focusing her studies on the human energy body. This book gave a nice theoretical framework to many of the things I had been seeing and feeling. It incorporates Chakras, meridians, auras and more. Very open-minded and, true to the author's scientific background, an evolving system. My only critique: her advice, in my opinion, overcharges Hun / the upper Chakras prematurely. The Prophet by Khalil Gibran Absolutely beautiful poetry. The Web that Has No Weaver by Ted Kaptchuk Chinese Medicine, pre-revolution Classical Chinese Medicine anyway, is the foundation of higher practice. It's provides an understanding of one's internal ecosystem. Knowing when and where Qi/Blood/Fluids are excessive, deficient, stagnant, etc, the meridians, and the interrelated function of organs systems is very, very helpful. With this understanding, you can use qigong and foods (no need to even use acupuncture or herbs) to cure any illness. For an understanding of food energetics, Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford is the best I've seen. Between Heaven and Earth is another good introductory book into Chinese Medicine with an emphasis of 5 elements and constitutional typing. Healing with the Herbs of Life also deserves special commendation, a good clear introduction to diagnosis and herbology. Finally, A Tooth From the Tiger's Mouth is a really cool book on martial medicine for rehabilitating fight injuries, it also includes some first-aid acupressure. My other favorites and most of the materials I use for study now are all in Chinese unfortunately. To be honest though, I haven't found THE ONE yet, any book or course I couldn't live without. I feel meditation, natural qigong and work/play/observation out in the natural world could teach me pretty much everything I'll ever need to know. But I like reading and thinking, philosophizing and analyzing, maybe I'm addicted, but in the true words of an addict, "I can quit whenever I want!" It is useful though, to have some structure for your substance, some form to contain your meaning. Sure you could build your own framework from scratch, but for the ease of communication and cooperation, it's nice to find a good, pre-existing structure and build off that. So while Chinese Medicine, neigong theory, etc aren't mine, I'll use them for now, and where they can no longer contain my body of experience, I'll build out from there.

Looks to me like he has some real ability. I can't say definitively without having met the man but he seems to be a real master, no mere instructor. Opportunities to study with someone of this caliber are not common. Wait and he may be gone by the time your ego decides what 'ready' is.

True and not true. Many very good internal artists start from an external background. This is no coincidence. Developing a good vehicle is very important. Jing, used in a broad sense, is the physical body. It's the foundation for Qi. Tight muscles are blocked, loose/weak muscles are deficient. Tight muscles need to be softened, deficient muscles need to be built up. Strength training is great for deficient muscles, but it will make them tighter, so you simply must balance the practice by softening after building. Every martial art has form, application, and gongfu, or bodybuilding practices. Even the gongfu of softest Taijiquan incorporates muscle-tendon changing exercises, work with weights (traditionally sand bags), etc. The interesting thing about many exercises is they start off as strength training, take the horse stance for instance, but they later become internal. This is even true for meditation, a body that cannot hold itself up cannot enter deep, relaxed states. In essence, strength training is the foundation of internal power. It the first stage. It should neither be overemphasized nor under emphasized.

Dude, if you're a complete beginner, start where you are. First, laying the foundation to even begin practicing Neigong takes time. More than 1 year. Second, if you don't have connections you will get totally fleeced. Many many Chinese say they practice Neigong but they really don't. In every park you'll find many so-called masters all-to-willing to teach anyone who can pay, especially a foreigner. These guys may even have some low-level qigong ability (smash stones, iron body, etc), but don't confuse this with Neigong. If you're really serious, find a qigong/taijiquan teacher where you live, preferably one who studied in China, start learning Mandarin, and practice hard every day. With patience, perseverance, and good people skills you can achieve your goal.

On it.

Interesting stuff, What about the water though? Where was it before? I suppose a lot of exposed land these days is thought to have been ancient sea floor (due to fossil records). But where the continents really all pushed together with the same amount of water we have now, wouldn't that have covered most everything? Just a few little islands here and there? Also what about the tectonic upheaval responsible for the Himalayas and other similar mountain ranges? Continental drift seems to answer that question pretty well. I'm intrigued but unconvinced.

I agree, to know and to do are very different things. However, if you gave me a weekend self-defense intensive, I'd surely be a better fighter for it. Not an expert, but better. However, were I in the market to sell my skill, I sure as hell better be an expert. Anything less is dishonest. Sadly, some folks don't even have the skill to know they're not an expert yet!

Transmission? Who knows. Maybe some people just need to know what the human body can do.. and that's something you can learn in a weekend. Not to downplay the role of gongfu, but we all know putting in the time is only part of the equation. There is such a thing as natural skill in everything from martial arts to music to Reiki I'm sure. Of course anything we're born with can still be improved upon by laying down some serious gongfu.