林愛偉

Believe it or not, but in the big lake, people swin in there like there's no tomorrow.. the gross thing about it is they also go to the bathroom as well.. everything.. fun! haha Thanks for the blessings... Lin

Here's a story I posted in the articles section of the forum. Actually, it is very accurate, coming from my Shifu's Shifu. I have info in Chinese though, from a book given to me by Liu Shifu, Daoist Priestess...but until I get back , it won't be translated... hahahaha There are many meetings between Daoist Immortals and Buddhist Masters. Many of which are not spoken about only because after so many years, they just get forgotten. Its that most stories resurface from high level cultivators who can actually attain the knowledge of the history of such events.. not impossible...not hard to attain, but requires stillness. I pay very high respects to Patriarch Lu. He is a great being, and great teacher ! The Proper Story of Lu Dong Bin spoken by Chan Master Xu Yun Lao He Shang (Old Monk Xu Yun) Story can be found on : http://zbohy.zatma.org/Dharma/zbohy/Litera...book/xy_11.html The Dao Immortal Forty-three generations of Chan masters have passed since the Sixth Patriarch held high the Dharma Lamp. Forty-three generations of seekers have found the Way, guided by his Light. No matter how confirmed a person is in another Path, he can be guided by Chan. When sunlight comes through the window, it does not illuminate some sections of the room while leaving other parts in darkness. The entire room is lit by the Sun's Truth. So, any person, no matter which Path he has chosen, can receive the benefits of Chan's Lamp. Take the famous case of the Dao Immortal Lu Dong Bin. Lu Dong Bin was the youngest and most unrestrained of all the Dao Immortals. Actually, you could say that he was pretty wild. At least that's how he started out. In his mortal days, he was called Chun Yang... a native of Jing Chuan who lived at the end of the T'ang Dynasty. That was more than a thousand years ago, but those days weren't so different from ours. If a young man wanted to get ahead, he needed an education. In our time, he'd get a college degree. But in those days, he had to pass the dreaded Scholar's Examination. If a fellow couldn't pass this exam, he had to give some serious thought to farming. Well, Chun Yang tried three times to pass the Scholar's Examination, and three times he failed. He was frustrated and depressed. He knew he had let his family down, and that he hadn't done much for himself, either. It was his own professional future that he had doomed. So Chun Yang did what a lot of desperate young people do, he started hanging out in wine-shops trying to drink himself to death. The path that alcohol takes went in the same direction for Chun Yang as it does for anyone else: it went straight down. As the old saying goes, first Shun Yung was drinking the wine, then the wine was drinking the wine, and then the wine was drinking Shun Yung. He was in pretty bad shape by the time the Dao Immortal, Zhong Li Quan, chanced to meet him in one of those saloons. The Dao Immortal took an interest in the young man. "Instead of trying to shorten your life with wine," he said, "why don't you try to lengthen your life with Dao." Instead of a short, miserable life, Zhong Li Quan offered Chun Yang a long, happy life. It sounded like a good deal. Chun Yang might not have had what it took to be a government bureaucrat, but he certainly had everything required to try spiritual alchemy. Chun Yang had nothing else to do with his time so he had plenty of opportunity to practice. He was definitely motivated. I suppose that he had become aware of how far down he had gone, that he'd hit bottom, so to speak. When a person realizes that he doesn't have anything to lose by looking at life from another point of view, he's more open to new ideas. So Chun Yang had the motivation and the opportunity. It only remained to acquire the means. And that was what Zhong Li Quan was offering to supply. He'd teach him the necessary techniques. Chun Yang threw his heart and soul into the mastery of what is called the Small Cosmic Orbit, a powerful yoga practice that uses sexual energy to transmute the dross of human nature into the Gold of Immortality. He got so good at it he could make himself invisible or appear in two places at once.... That's pretty good. One day he decided to fly over Chan Monastery Hai Hui which was situated on Lu Shan mountain. Saints and Immortals can do that, you know. They're like pilots without airplanes... or parachutes. While he was flying around up there, he saw and heard the Buddhist monks chanting and working hard doing all the ordinary things that Buddhist monks do. So, to show off his powers and mock the monks' industry, he wrote a little poem on the wall of the monastery's bell tower: With Jewel inside my Hara's treasure, Every truth becomes my pleasure. When day is done I can relax My Mind's without a care to tax. Your mindless Chan a purpose lacks. Some such bad poetry like that. Then he flew away. Every day that the Abbot, Chan Master Huang Lung, looked up at the bell tower he had to read that awful poetry. One day while the former Chun Yang - he was now known as the Immortal Lu Dong Bin - was flying around the vicinity of the monastery he saw a purple umbrella-shaped cloud rising over the monastery. This was a clear indication that something very spiritual was going on and so Lu Dong Bin thought he'd come down and take a look. All the monks were going into the Dharma Hall so he just disguised himself as a monk and followed them in. But he couldn't fool old Abbot Huang Lung. "I don't think I'll expound the Dharma, today," growled Huang Lung. "We seem to have a Dharma Thief in our midst." Lu Dong Bin stepped forward and arrogantly bowed to the Master. "Would you be kind enough," he challenged sarcastically, "to enlighten me to the meaning of the expression, `A grain of wheat can contain the universe and mountains and rivers can fit into a small cooking pot.'" Lu Dong Bin didn't believe in the empty, egoless state. He accepted the false view that the ego somehow survives death. Huang Lung laughed at him. "Look! A devil guards a corpse!" "A corpse?" Lu Tun Pin retorted. "Hah! My gourd is filled with the Elixir of Immortality!" "You can drag your corpse throughout eternity for all I care," said Huang Lung. "But for now, get it out of here!" "Can't you answer my question?" taunted Lu Dong Bin. "I thought you had all the answers you needed," Huang Lung scoffed. He remembered the poem. Lu Dong Bin responded with fury. He hurled his dreaded sword, the "Devil Slayer", at Huang Lung; but the Master merely pointed his finger at the flying sword and it stopped in mid-flight and dropped harmlessly to the floor. The Immortal was awestruck! He had never imagined a Chan master could be so powerful. Contrite, he dropped to his knees in a show of respect. "Please, master," he said, "I truly do wish to understand." Huang Lung softened towards him. "Let's forget the second part about the cooking pot," he said generously. "Instead, concentrate on the first part. The same mind that gives form to an arrangement of matter which it names `a grain of wheat' is the same mind that gives form to an arrangement of matter which it names `a universe'. Concepts are in the mind. `Mindless Chan,' as you previously put it, is actually the practice of emptying the mind of concepts, of judgments, of opinions, of ego." Then he added, remembering the poem probably, "Especially the concept of ego!" Lu Dong Bin brooded about the answer until he suddenly understood it. As long as he discriminated between himself and others, between desirable and undesirable, between insignificant and important, he was enslaved to the conceptual world, he was merely an Arbiter of Illusions. Nobody in his right mind wants to be that! And certainly no Dao Immortal wants to spend his life, or all eternity, either, judging between lies, deciding which ones are more convincing than others. Overjoyed, Lu Dong Bin flew up to the tower, erased his old poem and substituted another: I thought I'd mastered my small mind, But t'was the other way around. I sought for gold in mercury But illusion's all I found. My sword came crashing to the floor When Huang Lung pointed at the moon; I saw the light, his truth broke through And saved me none too soon. Unfortunately, Enlightenment didn't make him a better poet. The point, however, is that Lu Dong Bin, despite being a Dao Immortal, was able to benefit from Chan. He so appreciated the Three Jewels - Buddha, Dharma, Sangha - that he actually acquired the title of Guardian of the Dharma. Of course, it wasn't necessary for him to convert and call himself a Chan Man. The whole lesson of his Enlightenment was that names are meaningless, so he continued being a Dao Immortal. Only now, because he understood so much more, he immediately rose through the ranks of the Immortals; and though he was the youngest of them all, he became the most prominent. Under his inspired leadership, the Daoist Sect in the North really began to thrive. Lu Dong Bin was called the Fifth Dao Patriarch of the North. Down South, another great Daoist, Zi Yang, also attained Enlightenment after reading Buddhist sutras. He became known as the Fifth Dao Patriarch of the South... ...but that's another story.

HEY LOOK! We do have something in common! haha I do the same exact thing on long flights. Except for the Vitamin C, because I can't get it out here..atleast that I don't trust any out here.. hehe I never get jet lag because of the stretching, hydration, and sitting meditation the whole flight.. keeps the mind sharp indeedy Thanks for the tips! I'll definetly remember them Peace, Lin

Actually, what I see is that Daoism and Buddhism have a very very very similar education when it comes to cultivation. Only that many in the Daoist cultivation school remain attached/stuck in form realms, and in that respect take a longer time to attain enlightenment. Its just another manner of cultivation in the universe. Buddhism doesn't worry about the in between, because they can recognize conditions and outcomes from the beginning. SOmetimes Daoist cultivation delves deep into the process of things.. but not always. Both are wonderful. But some manners in both are only necessary given the conditions of the cultivator. I was taught both, and still study both. But I never once see them as totally different, and or one being more superior than the other. From the state I am in and the conditions I have cultivated through, Daoism has the methods to purify the body, yet to a certain level, the conduct and heart seems to be last. Not with all though. So far in the Hua Shan School, which I am associated through, and has its direct connection with Quan Zhen; all same family, just different disciples in different regions creating a group, purity of mind/heart is first and foremost, and in the process, keep the body healthy, cultivated as well. It is Quan Zhen Dao foundation, which has a great amount of its education from Buddhist and Confucianist schools. My Daoist Shifu always tells me that Buddhist cultivation methods and expedients of spiritual powers are safer than most Daoist ones. Reason being, one has more of a chance of getting possessed by demons in some magickal aspects of Daoism than they do Buddhism due to the vows of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to protect sincere cultivators of the teachings of virtue and moral, wisdom and compassion. And my Buddhist Shifu, when once asked the difference between Buddhism and Daoism, he said, "Buddhism, Daoism...Chinese, American...aren't we all people?!" The practices in cultivation of Daoism to attain states, with guidance of a wise teacher, is wonderful! These states are not easy to get too, and not safe to try without a deep resolve to remain virtuous, in order to tame the desires. The teachings are the same.. in most respects... its just that like I said, there are some things in Daoism that are not regarded to be important that Buddhist education covers, and vice verse. Neither should be seen, argued to be better...only how to make the methods of both fitting for the conditions of the minds of living beings of this world to help them attain wisdom! After that...NO PROBLEM The energetic cultivation in Buddhism is through the mind, in which the body follows suit. Daoist cultivation is of the body, reach states through mind from cultivating the body. Afterwards, for some reason in the more modern Daoist education, virtue and moral is last. It should be the other way around in order to attain immortality, which is just a state anyway, and thus attain enlightenment.... flip it any way one wishes, enlightenment should be the goal, for once it is completed, one would have the wisdom to utilize any and all Spiritual Penetrations/Powers. At a certain state, no matter what name of one's school of cultivation, the methods are what counts. There should be no label/mark of the method...only the wisdom to realize which method helps one realize their result. For whatever reason one cultivates, they will attain that state as their result. Peace and Blessings Tao Meow! Lin P.S.- I'm returning to NY on July 4th... Afterwards, I am sure we'll have time to meet up for some tea... hehe we might not have similar views, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy some good tea!

HEHE I didn't look directly at the flag, and can't see the words clearly, but the pic with the cave is where Master Lu Dong Bin cultivated at and attained immortality. Also, since it is a big wishful spot for tourists, the flag most likely says to come and buy incense...hahaha Peace and Blessings, Lin

Sometimes the energy of a place is so dense, that it manifests in pictures. I have some pics of Master Lu's alter, where there is energy spheres around him. There is one at the temple where an energy sphere manifested right at the crown of his head! Really nice. Also, when one's energy is at good levels of cultivation, and they are practicing, or just walking, depends on their state, energy may manifest around them in pictures, and at different places, either on their body, and or around them. In some cases, different geometric shapes appear in the sphere. Some shapes are indications of celestial beings, protector spirits and what not. Fun Stuff!!! Peace, Lin

Right! Never in any Buddhist sutra does it say that one does not need to sit in full lotus to attain enlightenment. All cultivation Masters teach the Lotus position for a reason. As well, all Buddha's attained their great an inconceivable enlightenment through Lotus posture. It may hurt at first..even for the first 3 months or more, but that doesn't mean one must stop practicing it. It is said that the full lotus diminishes negative afflictions. When the legs are in pain, it is the manifestation of negative karma. I know people who were never able to sit in full lotus due to their legs welling up in pain. But because they were sincere in their cultivation, bowing to the Buddhas, dedicating their breath and mind to recitation, they all of a sudden were able to slip right into Lotus without a probelm, and can still do it after many years. They were not children, but full grown adults, who never stretched, never did martial arts, and never tried to practice full Lotus. Its not about whether one likes it or not. Its simply about the mind. Where is your mind...? What is the body...? When things like this are clear, then so is the body. People seem to think that when the body can't do something, it has to do with their inability to perform. Rather, it is the heaviness of one's karmic afflictions. It doesn't need to be believed in to be true. That's just how it is. Practice full Lotus without complaining. Tell your legs that its okay...just a few more minutes, who knows, you may attain enlightenment.. hehe As for not seeing Buddhist statues sitting lotus at temples... who knows what temples one may have gone to, but almost all Buddhist temples show the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas sitting in full Lotus at one alter or another. Even so, at Daoist temples as well. All immortals and Gods are sitting in Lotus posture... its telling us something. Peace and Blessings, Lin

Being celibate may not be the answer for him. Only because his mind still holds attachments to form. Desire doesn't arise out of the "naturalness" of it. It is only seen as natural because we don't see the origin of it and we don't know the function of it. It is due to attachments to tastes, sights, sounds, smells, touch, and thought that we have desire. Lessen those thoughts, and the desire lessens as well. His actions have nothing to do with celibacy. It has everything to do with his mind. When people can't control themselves, they blame the conditions, when in fact it is their attachments to the views of the conditions which influences their mind and behavior. There is nothing wrong with celibacy. I know people who stay celibate till their 40s, just because they haven't found the right person. And they do just fine! No sicknesses, they look just as young as I am, and some of them are Chinese Medicine Doctors, and some of them don't even care for Qigong. Just as well, one's good conditions will be another one's afflictions. It all comes down to the views we hold of them and how we utilize those views. Peace and Blessings Lin

The "Jing, Qi, Shen" cultivation appeared because of the lack of explanation of states appearing through meditation. The elders put these terms together to explain the process of what naturally happens with proper cultivation. Peace, Lin

When the heart/mind is without discriminations, the afflictions of the body and mind thus "melt" away. As a result, this deep state of concentration transforms the body; which means the energy of the body transforms/changes. In concentration, without movement of the mind, the energy can vibrate at higher levels. Such transformations as jing to qi, qi to shen, and shen replacing weaknesses of the body take place naturally. When the mind moves, energy is wasted through the senses, and thus results in taking a longer time to purposely complete the San HUa Jv Ding: Transformations of Jing to Qi, QI to Shen, and Replacing weakness with Shen... Jing hua Qi. Qi Hua Shen, Shen Huan Xu... Then the Shen rises to the crown blooming a wonderful lotus at the top of the head. San Hua Jv Ding (Three Flowers meet at the Top.) It hasn't really been spoken in this sense too much because the process happens naturally. This is why Buddhist cultivation doesn't focus too much on the processes of Qi transformation, but puts more focus on clearing afflictions of the mind in order to let these processes happen as they naturally do. The Precepts guard the mind from causing more afflictions, thus guard the mind and body from leaking/wasting energy. Samadhi develops concentration power, which in return, as one of its outcomes, allows the natural processes of mind transformation to occur, thus also transforming the energy and body. Wisdom, as one result, allows one to understand such processes if need be, as well as realize the relation with all things of mind, and the difference of such. As well, wisdom allows one to realize what the body is, what afflictions of the mind are and their origin of arising, and how to put them down without repression. These things are outcomes of cultivation in the Buddhist school. They happen naturally, so this is why many Buddhists do not pay attention to the changes. As paying attention to the states and changes adds the possibilities of attaching to them. Though this is a brief explanation, I am open to explaining further if need be. Just bring the questions, or I will be here writing for a long, long, long time.. Peace and Blessings, Lin

hahahahahaha I bet anything that Drew's bike was moving while he was sitting in lotus ..above the seat!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahaha

Well, getting a cold, and not getting rid of it is one's destiny in either case...whether they can get rid of it or not, is also based their capacity to change their own mind: Its fairly easy to change ones destiny... people look too much on the outside..when they only have to work on changing their own character, thoughts and behavior. Whether big or small, philosophy is no good unless the person cultivating it can understand it. Their own capacity for things allows them to mis-understand, or understand. Science which consists of assisting the development of virtue, moral and humanity, is a good science. The sciences which degrade humanity, degrade nature, and cause suffering.. not good. Good science can only be bad when the mind applying it has no proper conduct, no virtue. Bad sciences will never be used in either case. Peace, Lin

Buddhism's Jing Qi Shen is simple: Precepts, Samadhi and Wisdom. Precepts cultivate the Jing, store the yuan qi from wasting( wasting through day-dreaming,false thinking basically sexual indulgence to extremes, and controlling desires through understanding their origin.). Samadhi transforms such jing to Qi, through concentration and cultivation of the mind and body; By the not wasting of one's essence, they will hav the strength and will to uphold the states through concentration. This will naturally transform one's mind: Jing, Qi. Wisdom is the outcome of purifying the heart and mind through seeing that all desires, emotions and views are actually false (it would be seen as an outcome of attaining true wisdom), thus leading to a vibrant body, resulting in a long life, as well as attaining true spiritual wisdom, unaltered wisdom. Peace and Blessings, Lin P.S.- Daoism, seen as different doesn't make you more Immortal, or having more abilities. In views of separation, ego arises, views of ego, a self, living beings, and a life span...thus leading to arrogance, anger, greed and ignorance. Buddhism cultivates the Buddha in the Heart, which results in attaining Buddhahood, which is complete in wisdom, and spiritual abilities. And is definetly not what most people ASSUME it is. Daoism cultivates the Dan Tian; to attain immortality and eventually attain enlightenment. The problem is, there is less focus on virtue and moral practice in "Modern" Daoism, and more focus on spiritual abilities and longevity, which doesn't lead one to enlightenment right away../actually it slows one down. The fact is, if the mind is pure, everything is pure. Attaching to views only caises more afflictions. THat is not true cultivation of the Way. All of the Qigong and Neigong and Spiritual abilities will do no good if one still has ignorance as their friend, greed as the father and anger as the mother. One will only remain ignorant, and stuck in their own conditions. Basically, upholding the view of differences only causes more arguing in the long run, views of arrogance, and self, ego. Its not worth it. It doesn't make one a better cultivator. Instead, look at the similarities, and how they actually speak very similar teachings to an extent. This way, more people will want to learn about them, and begin a proper foundation of Educational Cultivation. If all people see is bickering about which is better, then they will only remain confused, and become arrogant fools. If one can not tell, through wisdom mind, the differences of expedients as expedients, then they should not comment frivolously about expedients. It only creates more karma of the mouth and mind... not fun. As such, living beings will only understand as much as they have the capacity for. Peace, Lin *** I had added one word to the 3rd paragraph after the "P.S." I put it in quotations: "Modern"

And Falun Gong took that symbol from Buddhism...

#14, #18, #19, #23 and #24 have all been updated! Peace and Blessings, Lin Ai Wei

Taking One Across to the Other Shore By: Lin Ai Wei A phrase we often hear in Buddhist educational studies is "Taking living beings across...across to the other shore...to take one across." Taking one across simply means to enlighten. Though one can not enlighten a living being for that living being, one may show them the path, the methods, describe the methods, explain them. But, that living being must diligently cultivate their mind to put the methods to use. An often used analogy is the teacher and student on a boat preparing to cross a lake. The teacher says "I'll row the boat, you sit." The student says, "It is only proper for me to do it." The teacher says, " I am the teacher, I should take you across." The student says, " You brought me to the boat, it is only proper that I take myself across." The whole conversation is just a metaphor. "Boat" means method in which when cultivated can result in enlightenment, wisdom. "Rowing" means to do the hard work of attaining the wisdom mind, the enlightened mind. When the student says, "You brought me the boat..." , he means that the teacher only can give the methods for cultivation. When the student says, "...it is only proper that I take myself across.", he means though the teacher has the wisdom and skill to expound the teachings, it is the student who must diligently, bitterly toil at cultivation. It is the student who must, themself, enlighten. A teacher is one who explains the methods to an honest and diligent student. Yet, a teacher only guides the student along the path of cultivation. He/she doesn't turn the light on for the student, and doesn't carry them on their backs across the sea of confusion till they reach the wisdom shore. When a student cultivates, they are mindful of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, yet the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do not take the student by the hand and lead them away from the defilements without the student attaining wisdom. Taking across to the other shore also means the transforming of defilements to enlightened thoughts. It is said that the sea of suffering is endless, vast and always thrashing with desires, emotions, and false thinking. The wisdom shore is without false thinking, emotional confusion and defilements. But no one can actually take you. You have to do the dirty work of cultivating. Cultivation is easy, it is the minds of living beings which make it difficult. When a Bodhisattva, or Buddha is said to "take one across", it doesn't mean they actually take one to the shore of enlightenment. In the Diamond Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha said that if any Bodhisattva thinks they are a Bodhisattva, and thinks they actually have saved a living being, taken a living being across, they are not a disciple of the Buddha. It is a false and arrogant thought to claim that you have actually taken one to the shore of pure wisdom. Such a thought results in the views of ego, self, others and a life, and hinders one's clear and humble mind. It is only said that a Bodhisattva takes one across to the shore of wisdom only because there are living beings who are still revolving in the views of separation, still harboring false thoughts. In truth, there is no taking of one across, there is only awakening to the true mind, the Buddha Mind. Introducing one to the Proper Dharma is not taking them across. It is simply passing the method. In using the term "taking one across" one must not only present the method, but explain in total detail, be as patient as possible with the mind of the living being to make sure that they stay straight on the path leading towards enlightenment. This is truly taking one to the other shore. If the living being retreats from the path, holds false thoughts, and remains defiled in their mind throughout their cultivation, they can not reach the wisdom shore. Thus, the teacher has not guided them at all, but only empowered the defilements of that living being. A wise advisor knows the mind of the cultivator, knows when to expound the teaching, how to expound the teaching and knows when the student is ready to move on their own without guidance. Just as well, the wise advisor also resides in their virtue, vows and wisdom. They will not lead a life of confusion and defilements which they teach those who resolve to attain enlightenment. If a wise advisor him/herself is still confused, and defiled in their own life, they will drown in the sea of desire and emotion along with the living beings they teach. At first, the path may be clear to the both of them, advisor and living being, but the result will not be fruitful unless both change their habits, thoughts and maintain the resolve to attain enlightenment at all times without a thought of retreating. Transmit the teachings through explanation and example and the cultivator will realize the fruit of their labor. This is the mark of taking one across, and yet, not one being has been taken across.

Certainly!!! "Wisdom Ground" means the undefiled, pure and clear bright mind, also known as one's original nature, original mind, Buddha Mind. So, when one is taken to the other shore, they are simply puting down defiled thoughts and realizing the true mind of purity, non-confusion, true, undefiled wisdom Peace, Lin

HAHAHA I get it now! I am a bit slow you know... Thanks for the blessings! Peace and Blessings Shon! Lin

The Proper Story of Lu Dong Bin spoken by Chan Master Xu Yun Lao He Shang (Old Monk Xu Yun) Story can be found on : http://zbohy.zatma.org/Dharma/zbohy/Litera...book/xy_11.html The Dao Immortal Forty-three generations of Chan masters have passed since the Sixth Patriarch held high the Dharma Lamp. Forty-three generations of seekers have found the Way, guided by his Light. No matter how confirmed a person is in another Path, he can be guided by Chan. When sunlight comes through the window, it does not illuminate some sections of the room while leaving other parts in darkness. The entire room is lit by the Sun's Truth. So, any person, no matter which Path he has chosen, can receive the benefits of Chan's Lamp. Take the famous case of the Dao Immortal Lu Dong Bin. Lu Dong Bin was the youngest and most unrestrained of all the Dao Immortals. Actually, you could say that he was pretty wild. At least that's how he started out. In his mortal days, he was called Chun Yang... a native of Jing Chuan who lived at the end of the T'ang Dynasty. That was more than a thousand years ago, but those days weren't so different from ours. If a young man wanted to get ahead, he needed an education. In our time, he'd get a college degree. But in those days, he had to pass the dreaded Scholar's Examination. If a fellow couldn't pass this exam, he had to give some serious thought to farming. Well, Chun Yang tried three times to pass the Scholar's Examination, and three times he failed. He was frustrated and depressed. He knew he had let his family down, and that he hadn't done much for himself, either. It was his own professional future that he had doomed. So Chun Yang did what a lot of desperate young people do, he started hanging out in wine-shops trying to drink himself to death. The path that alcohol takes went in the same direction for Chun Yang as it does for anyone else: it went straight down. As the old saying goes, first Shun Yung was drinking the wine, then the wine was drinking the wine, and then the wine was drinking Shun Yung. He was in pretty bad shape by the time the Dao Immortal, Zhong Li Quan, chanced to meet him in one of those saloons. The Dao Immortal took an interest in the young man. "Instead of trying to shorten your life with wine," he said, "why don't you try to lengthen your life with Dao." Instead of a short, miserable life, Zhong Li Quan offered Chun Yang a long, happy life. It sounded like a good deal. Chun Yang might not have had what it took to be a government bureaucrat, but he certainly had everything required to try spiritual alchemy. Chun Yang had nothing else to do with his time so he had plenty of opportunity to practice. He was definitely motivated. I suppose that he had become aware of how far down he had gone, that he'd hit bottom, so to speak. When a person realizes that he doesn't have anything to lose by looking at life from another point of view, he's more open to new ideas. So Chun Yang had the motivation and the opportunity. It only remained to acquire the means. And that was what Zhong Li Quan was offering to supply. He'd teach him the necessary techniques. Chun Yang threw his heart and soul into the mastery of what is called the Small Cosmic Orbit, a powerful yoga practice that uses sexual energy to transmute the dross of human nature into the Gold of Immortality. He got so good at it he could make himself invisible or appear in two places at once.... That's pretty good. One day he decided to fly over Chan Monastery Hai Hui which was situated on Lu Shan mountain. Saints and Immortals can do that, you know. They're like pilots without airplanes... or parachutes. While he was flying around up there, he saw and heard the Buddhist monks chanting and working hard doing all the ordinary things that Buddhist monks do. So, to show off his powers and mock the monks' industry, he wrote a little poem on the wall of the monastery's bell tower: With Jewel inside my Hara's treasure, Every truth becomes my pleasure. When day is done I can relax My Mind's without a care to tax. Your mindless Chan a purpose lacks. Some such bad poetry like that. Then he flew away. Every day that the Abbot, Chan Master Huang Lung, looked up at the bell tower he had to read that awful poetry. One day while the former Chun Yang - he was now known as the Immortal Lu Dong Bin - was flying around the vicinity of the monastery he saw a purple umbrella-shaped cloud rising over the monastery. This was a clear indication that something very spiritual was going on and so Lu Dong Bin thought he'd come down and take a look. All the monks were going into the Dharma Hall so he just disguised himself as a monk and followed them in. But he couldn't fool old Abbot Huang Lung. "I don't think I'll expound the Dharma, today," growled Huang Lung. "We seem to have a Dharma Thief in our midst." Lu Dong Bin stepped forward and arrogantly bowed to the Master. "Would you be kind enough," he challenged sarcastically, "to enlighten me to the meaning of the expression, `A grain of wheat can contain the universe and mountains and rivers can fit into a small cooking pot.'" Lu Dong Bin didn't believe in the empty, egoless state. He accepted the false view that the ego somehow survives death. Huang Lung laughed at him. "Look! A devil guards a corpse!" "A corpse?" Lu Tun Pin retorted. "Hah! My gourd is filled with the Elixir of Immortality!" "You can drag your corpse throughout eternity for all I care," said Huang Lung. "But for now, get it out of here!" "Can't you answer my question?" taunted Lu Dong Bin. "I thought you had all the answers you needed," Huang Lung scoffed. He remembered the poem. Lu Dong Bin responded with fury. He hurled his dreaded sword, the "Devil Slayer", at Huang Lung; but the Master merely pointed his finger at the flying sword and it stopped in mid-flight and dropped harmlessly to the floor. The Immortal was awestruck! He had never imagined a Chan master could be so powerful. Contrite, he dropped to his knees in a show of respect. "Please, master," he said, "I truly do wish to understand." Huang Lung softened towards him. "Let's forget the second part about the cooking pot," he said generously. "Instead, concentrate on the first part. The same mind that gives form to an arrangement of matter which it names `a grain of wheat' is the same mind that gives form to an arrangement of matter which it names `a universe'. Concepts are in the mind. `Mindless Chan,' as you previously put it, is actually the practice of emptying the mind of concepts, of judgments, of opinions, of ego." Then he added, remembering the poem probably, "Especially the concept of ego!" Lu Dong Bin brooded about the answer until he suddenly understood it. As long as he discriminated between himself and others, between desirable and undesirable, between insignificant and important, he was enslaved to the conceptual world, he was merely an Arbiter of Illusions. Nobody in his right mind wants to be that! And certainly no Dao Immortal wants to spend his life, or all eternity, either, judging between lies, deciding which ones are more convincing than others. Overjoyed, Lu Dong Bin flew up to the tower, erased his old poem and substituted another: I thought I'd mastered my small mind, But t'was the other way around. I sought for gold in mercury But illusion's all I found. My sword came crashing to the floor When Huang Lung pointed at the moon; I saw the light, his truth broke through And saved me none too soon. Unfortunately, Enlightenment didn't make him a better poet. The point, however, is that Lu Dong Bin, despite being a Dao Immortal, was able to benefit from Chan. He so appreciated the Three Jewels - Buddha, Dharma, Sangha - that he actually acquired the title of Guardian of the Dharma. Of course, it wasn't necessary for him to convert and call himself a Chan Man. The whole lesson of his Enlightenment was that names are meaningless, so he continued being a Dao Immortal. Only now, because he understood so much more, he immediately rose through the ranks of the Immortals; and though he was the youngest of them all, he became the most prominent. Under his inspired leadership, the Daoist Sect in the North really began to thrive. Lu Dong Bin was called the Fifth Dao Patriarch of the North. Down South, another great Daoist, Zi Yang, also attained Enlightenment after reading Buddhist sutras. He became known as the Fifth Dao Patriarch of the South... ...but that's another story.

Oh...? What do you mean?

Hi Shon I just wrote this piece this morning. It came to mind because a friend of mine claimed to have taken two of his friends across, had brought them to the wisdom ground. The fact is, that in his life things aren't all clear and pristine as he would like them to be. THus the body of the piece speaking of; "just because one introduces another to Buddhism, doesn't mean they have taken that person across." I didn't say anything at the time, but after writing the piece, I sent it to him in an email. To claim to have taken one across is a bit too arrogant, and I wrote it as a lesson for him to realize his mistake, as well as a guiding principle for those who claim to be Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. To claim to be a Buddha and or a Bodhisattva is to actually deny that one is. Even if one was a Buddha or Bodhisattva, what good does it do to tell others, or even wear the badge so all can see it? It doesn't make any one more enlightened, or even enlightened.."faster". It actually causes more confusion, false thinking. If a Buddha were to come, a Bodhisattva to manifest themselves, they would never say so, and even deny the part till death. For once others actually know who the Buddha is, the Buddha thus departs asap. Living beings tend to worship, and mystify the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and miss the point. It was posted also as a check point for those seeking for teachers. If a techer were to proclaim that they can take one across, and gaurantee it, the seeker should look out! Its 99.9999999% lies. The only thing which can take a cultivator to the wisdom shore is Wisdom teaching only. All the states and abilities will just cover the wisdom mind when there is no true wisdom present. Buddha Dharma is the vehicle which takes one to the wisdom shore, but the cultivator must cultivate. Without the bitter toil of cultivation, the methods are just false thoughts. HEHE I'll be crossing the Pacific Shores in 2 weeks and arriving on the Western Shores of NY on July 4th...how symbolic! hahahaha Peace and Blessings Brother, Lin Ai Wei

Hi Every One, Here are a few videos for you all. I just put them together for my student, and edited them for online posting. The videos deal with basic fundamentals for breathwork, structural alignment and posture. They can benefit the novice, and touch up the little things for those who already practice. If there are any questions, please feel free to ask. Though the videos are pretty clear, it is always good to question and clear doubts or misunderstandings, so as to keep the cultivaiton proper. Enjoy!!!!!!! Jing Xin Yuan Qi Gong Peace and Blessings, Lin Ai Wei

Glad you are happy with them. Peace and Blessings, Lin