Hot in Hangzhou

[JessinChina]

A twitter friend pointed me to this forum, although I've stumbled upon it before doing research. I'm not much for intros, but would like to say I'm glad to be here. I am heading to Wudangshan for the Fifth Int'l Conference on Daoism, June 18, commissioned to write two short articles for the Beijing Review on related topics. I will need some help. These are big topics to cover in a small space. I like to reach broad and deep for information and understanding -- perhaps there are some here who can help me avoid pitfalls -- overgeneralization, western bias, ignorance.

I've been studying Tao for over 14 years, with various teachers from different paths. Some serious some not so serious, you all know who they are. For the last three years have seriously been practicing tai chi chuan and learning neigong and healing arts. I am searching for authentic women's internal arts practices; hoping to get some training at Kundao if they will have me.

I am also going to Rome in August to study some foundational practices with a disciple of Master Wang Liping. Additionally, have been invited to attend another Dao conference in Beijing in November.

I am grateful to be able to write and try to live these practices as best I can. I hope to be a contributing member to the group some day as well.

Sincerely,

JessinChina

[Tabula Rasa]

Hello and welcome, JessinChina,

 

Wonderful to hear from a woman deeply rooted in study, practice and life in Tao. I will watch for your posts, and for seeing ways of sharing woman truth and energy with you.

 

I would love to read about your experiences at the conference, and in Rome. Perhaps you will choose to post your articles in the personal article forum on this board.

 

For now,

 

Carol

[Stigweard]

Welcome Jess Glad you found us here ... how do you like your tea?

 

We would love to hear your reports on all your adventures. There are a couple of folks here in China as you can see here TaoBums Map.

 

Warm Regards

 

Stig

[erdweir]

I am also going to Rome in August to study some foundational practices with a disciple of Master Wang Liping.

 

who are you studying with in rome if you dont mind me asking? David Verdesi perhaps? If so, you might want to look at this thread:

 

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?showto...l=david+verdesi

Edited June 7, 2009 by erdweir

[h.uriahr]

who are you studying with in rome if you dont mind me asking? David Verdesi perhaps? If so, you might want to look at this thread:

 

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?showto...l=david+verdesi

 

I'm in no way going to actually compare him to Jesus but even Jesus had his opponents.

I dont know the guy, never met, nor have I even seen him in flesh at a distance. Those who ( it seems as such ) have met him and do actually study with him seem to enjoy what they're doing and believe in the practice. I mean, I've yet to meet anyone who says otherwise.

 

Edited due to spelling.

Edited June 8, 2009 by h.uriahr

[gendao]

I am searching for authentic women's internal arts practices; hoping to get some training at Kundao if they will have me.

Ni hao,

 

Kathy Li is the only woman authorized by Master Wang Liping to teach Longmen Pai's "female alchemy" to Western women. In fact, she just held a workshop in Atlanta (although she did not focus on female alchemy there due to time and other constraints).

[JessinChina]

Thanks for all the replies to my missive.

 

TabulaRasa/Carol, Thanks for the warm welcome. I will gladly post the articles here on the forum. Thank you for inviting me to do so.

 

Stig, thanks for pointing me back to this forum. I like my tea with friends -- like you.

 

Erdweir and h.uriahr, thank you for your kind replies. I am sure you meant to protect me from the evil villains in the world. I am well aware of the controversy surrounding DV. I will check it out for myself, as any good writer and serious practitioner would do, and let you know what I discover.

 

Vortex, thank you for pointing Kathy Li out to me. I had not heard of her. I was not looking at Master Wang for studies in womens' arts. I was unaware that he was teaching them. I am more interested in Kundao at the moment, because that's where my research and contacts have led me so far. But I will look into what Kathy Li is teaching with great interest. I am grateful for the information.

 

All: I'm not sure how to reply to each message individually--haven't worked out your system on this forum yet. Hope this will do for now. I look forward to further discussions with all of you.

 

JessinChina

[erdweir]

 

Erdweir and h.uriahr, thank you for your kind replies. I am sure you meant to protect me from the evil villains in the world. I am well aware of the controversy surrounding DV. I will check it out for myself, as any good writer and serious practitioner would do, and let you know what I discover.

 

 

 

Ok, i just thought I would send you a friendly warning. Some people here contacted me privately after talking to me on the open forum and told me that they liked the practices, but some found the atmosphere in the school creepy. Nobody really went into detail with me, so I look forward to hearing your take on it.

 

I have decided to go to China myself and poke around to see what I can find. I am not going to be able to go until november or december. Perhaps we can keep in touch to talk about practices and such. I am mainly interested in Neidan and things like the secret of the golden flower, but i have other interests as well.

 

if you want to respond to messages individually, there is a reply option at the end of each individual post that automatically quotes the message you are responding to. I think you just went to the bottom of the thread and clicked add reply

Edited June 8, 2009 by erdweir

[JessinChina]

Thanks erdweir, I will be in China for as many years as the Tao will keep me; for now I'm based in Hangzhou. Please feel free to keep in touch. I'm not that far from Anhui province and Huangshan where there are many masters you probably know more about than I do.

 

Of course your travels may take you elsewhere, but at least you are sure you know someone in southeastern China.

 

I look forward to your posts and I will of course post from Wudang and the conference on the 18th--if I get there in one piece, with my full mind and my computer!

 

JessinChina

[erdweir]

I'm not that far from Anhui province and Huangshan where there are many masters you probably know more about than I do.

 

 

I know there are Taoist on Mt Hua of course, but I dont know much about them. feel free to share what you know if you have the time, I would be interested to learn more. I would like to visit there next year.

[evZENy]

Dear JessinChina,

 

I feel like most of us should ask You, not the other way around :-)

 

I've been just wondering where to go in the World for the 2 weeks the weak US economy gave me as furlough.

Might cross roads somewhere.

 

Till then - my cup of Keemun is virtually next to yours!

Will wait for your reports...

[LongHu Shan]

... And when you be at Wudang Shan can you find out for me if old Master Wang Guangde is still there, and who plays the guqin nowadays... You may pass on the contact details quietly to my email address, say a disciple of Baiyun's late Taozhans An and Cao wants to know and I am now in the UK...

 

Clue me in where else you may be visiting among the Taoist sites and people, I might come across an old mate or two with whom I've lost contact with...

 

Beam me up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A twitter friend pointed me to this forum, although I've stumbled upon it before doing research. I'm not much for intros, but would like to say I'm glad to be here. I am heading to Wudangshan for the Fifth Int'l Conference on Daoism, June 18, commissioned to write two short articles for the Beijing Review on related topics. I will need some help. These are big topics to cover in a small space. I like to reach broad and deep for information and understanding -- perhaps there are some here who can help me avoid pitfalls -- overgeneralization, western bias, ignorance.

I've been studying Tao for over 14 years, with various teachers from different paths. Some serious some not so serious, you all know who they are. For the last three years have seriously been practicing tai chi chuan and learning neigong and healing arts. I am searching for authentic women's internal arts practices; hoping to get some training at Kundao if they will have me.

I am also going to Rome in August to study some foundational practices with a disciple of Master Wang Liping. Additionally, have been invited to attend another Dao conference in Beijing in November.

I am grateful to be able to write and try to live these practices as best I can. I hope to be a contributing member to the group some day as well.

Sincerely,

JessinChina

[JessinChina]

I know there are Taoist on Mt Hua of course, but I dont know much about them. feel free to share what you know if you have the time, I would be interested to learn more. I would like to visit there next year.

 

Hi erdweir, sorry Mt. Hua is in Shannxi, near Xi'an, way west and north of me, very holy mountain--one of the five sacred mountains of China. I don't know much about the Taoist there.

Huangshan, Yellow Mountain, is in Anhui, closer to me. There are Taoists on both mountains of course. I know a little of the Taoists on Huangshan from some reading I've done of DV's and others who visited there last year for a training and shared the experience with me. But I have no direct experience.

Please let me know when you come to visit, Hangzhou is a lovely city and pretty convenient to a lot of other things in China.

 

JessinChina

[JessinChina]

Till then - my cup of Keemun is virtually next to yours!

Will wait for your reports...

 

How sweet. Our cups are neighbors. I have not had the chance to taste Keemun. I love black tea, but as you probably know I'm in the land of Long Jin, Dragon Well, and green tea [lu cha] is de rigueur. I sneak some oolong for myself though and don't mention it. Most people, especially my students, turn their noses up at the mere mention of oolong. Even if I tell them it's from taiwan. What can I say, to each her or his own!

 

Feel free to tell me about Anhui. I have students from there and friends who have been to Huangshan. I've only been to HZ so far and Fuyang and briefly to Shanghai. School has kept me grounded until recently.

 

Thanks for your compliment as well. But I am only a student, no disingenuosity intended. I have much to learn. However, whatever I do learn/discovery I am happy to share.

 

Best,

JessinChina

 

... And when you be at Wudang Shan can you find out for me if old Master Wang Guangde is still there, and who plays the guqin nowadays... You may pass on the contact details quietly to my email address, say a disciple of Baiyun's late Taozhans An and Cao wants to know and I am now in the UK...

 

Clue me in where else you may be visiting among the Taoist sites and people, I might come across an old mate or two with whom I've lost contact with...

 

Beam me up!

 

Thanks LongHu Shan, I'll do my best for you to answer these questions. Your name means Dragon Tiger Mountain, which LongHu Shan are you named after, may I ask?

 

I love the UK, haven't been there in years. Went to university there back ages ago. Haven't returned since. But I dream of a trip back some day.

 

Best,

 

JessinChina

[LongHu Shan]

Thanks for such fast reply, Hangzhou Hot!

It is 'the' LongHu Shan I borrow my 'name' from, though I am more closely linked to the Lao Shan fraternity even though the 'fraternity' is all over China! You mentioned Huangshan somewhere on the board - some twenty years back there was only one Taoist priest left on the mountain then he got married, became a 'restaurant' owner half way up the mountain, then he disappeared to the cities! Those were the days before the stupid cable car system and when monkeys were not spoilt by stupid tourists!

 

Do find out about those things I requested, climb as many of those lovely mountains as possible and find that the 'real' Taoists are nowhere to be found - them Xianren (immortals) doth live in caves and still do! I use to like all them city Taoists priests taking me to see them cave -dwellers, it's such fun I always spend the money of the city Taoists for them!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks LongHu Shan, I'll do my best for you to answer these questions. Your name means Dragon Tiger Mountain, which LongHu Shan are you named after, may I ask?

 

I love the UK, haven't been there in years. Went to university there back ages ago. Haven't returned since. But I dream of a trip back some day.

 

Best,

 

JessinChina

[松永道]

A twitter friend pointed me to this forum, although I've stumbled upon it before doing research. I'm not much for intros, but would like to say I'm glad to be here. I am heading to Wudangshan for the Fifth Int'l Conference on Daoism, June 18, commissioned to write two short articles for the Beijing Review on related topics. I will need some help. These are big topics to cover in a small space. I like to reach broad and deep for information and understanding -- perhaps there are some here who can help me avoid pitfalls -- overgeneralization, western bias, ignorance.

I've been studying Tao for over 14 years, with various teachers from different paths. Some serious some not so serious, you all know who they are. For the last three years have seriously been practicing tai chi chuan and learning neigong and healing arts. I am searching for authentic women's internal arts practices; hoping to get some training at Kundao if they will have me.

I am also going to Rome in August to study some foundational practices with a disciple of Master Wang Liping. Additionally, have been invited to attend another Dao conference in Beijing in November.

I am grateful to be able to write and try to live these practices as best I can. I hope to be a contributing member to the group some day as well.

Sincerely,

JessinChina

 

I hear Hangzhou is beautiful, still haven't made my way down.

 

I study Chinese medicine, Taijiquan, neigong etc in Xi'an. If you're studying Longmenpai cultivation, then we are using the same vocabulary - though I've studied significantly less than 14 years! Anyhow, if you need another set of eyes to offer comments on your articles, PM me.

 

Good luck,

SYD

[JessinChina]

I hear Hangzhou is beautiful, still haven't made my way down.

 

I study Chinese medicine, Taijiquan, neigong etc in Xi'an. If you're studying Longmenpai cultivation, then we are using the same vocabulary - though I've studied significantly less than 14 years! Anyhow, if you need another set of eyes to offer comments on your articles, PM me.

 

 

Thank you for this. Hangzhou is beautiful. It is amazing to me that a city this size can have so much beauty cultivated amidst the hussle and bustle of a major metropolis. If you come, do let me know I will make every effort to be a good host. Although I've only been in HZ for a little over four months [i was in Fuyang for my first term teaching] I have learned a few things about the city and its environs. For Taoists, the Baopu Temple for one is amazing, with a glorious view over Xihu [West Lake]. It is an active temple that honors Ge Hong, or Ke Hong or Baopuzi depending on what you like to call him. A wonderous man, a healer and internal alchemist [as well as creating some powerful dan [pills] I've heard as well] advocating simplicity in everything. I am still looking for an English version of his book, but in CN haven't found one.

 

Baopu is also the home of the Zhejiang/Hangzhou Taoist Association, but I haven't had anyone return my email from there yet. It is probably my poor Mandarin that is causing the communication snafu, certainly no fault of their's I am sure.

 

I have studied 14 years, but many different Taoist practices--primarily Healing Tao and Dahn from South Korea. Dragongate I only heard about last year. I have friends that study with Jeffrey Yuan, a priest of the Jade Purity Sect, an acupunturist with phenomenal wisdom. So I have absorbed some of his teachings and have his tapes and lectures for my own understanding of the energy system. I was an apprentice to an acupuncturist for over a year who studied with Yuan and learned very much. I apprenticed to understand TCM, my energy body and because I have been studying healing arts including Western herbology for many years. It was a very gratifying experience--the art of acupunture is deep and profound and a lifetime of study wouldn't be enough. It has been exceptional for my tai chi as well. Connecting the meridian pathways while moving through the postures has deepened and strengthened my daily practice considerably. Of course without my tai chi teacher, I would never had understood this at all. Where would we be without sifus!

 

I have some vicarious understand of Longmenpai--I have been taught some dao yin, the meditation of the thunderpath, and some other practices learned from those who have studied with DV. So my language will not be nearly as good as yours. I am a student on the path and am willing to do what is necessary to commit to longterm practices. I am at a place in my life where I have no household responsibilties and can come and go as I please. So I have been looking at places I can spend two, three years or longer to practice and cultivate. I am sure the Tao will lead me to the right place and teachers.

 

I am grateful for your offer of help with my writing. It is very much appreciated. I have very little space to write [the eternal challenge of journalism] and so must condense and simplify and refine. Another pair of eyes, with experience will be most appreciated.

 

I am pleased to make your acquaintence and look forward to our future conversations.

JessinChina

[JessinChina]

You mentioned Huangshan somewhere on the board - some twenty years back there was only one Taoist priest left on the mountain then he got married, became a 'restaurant' owner half way up the mountain, then he disappeared to the cities! Those were the days before the stupid cable car system and when monkeys were not spoilt by stupid tourists!

 

 

Hi LongHu Shan,

There are still Taoists living on Huangshan--in caves. I have dependable sources who visited last year and made the acqaintence of several of them, were given demonstrations, etc. The tradition lives.

JessinChina

[LongHu Shan]

O wow! Last time there was a 'census' there were none at Huangshan. I am talking about the Luo Tian Da Jiao when even the cave-dwellers congregate in Beijing. There were cave-dwellers from everywhere but not from Huangshan - check if those there now get a stipend from the government!

 

Have you yet walked by the lake in Hangzhou after it rained?

 

The Xiling Yinshe is my seal-engraving temple! Find out about Hongyi Dashi in relation to this place and tell me what you think of 'da man' or da monk!

[JessinChina]

O wow! Last time there was a 'census' there were none at Huangshan. I am talking about the Luo Tian Da Jiao when even the cave-dwellers congregate in Beijing. There were cave-dwellers from everywhere but not from Huangshan - check if those there now get a stipend from the government!

 

Have you yet walked by the lake in Hangzhou after it rained?

 

The Xiling Yinshe is my seal-engraving temple! Find out about Hongyi Dashi in relation to this place and tell me what you think of 'da man' or da monk!

 

Dear LongHuShan, you must be right, there are no taoists living in caves on Huangshan. My mistake.

 

Yes, I have walked around Xihu after it has rained.

 

I don't know what you are talking about -- seal-engraving temple, Hongyi Dashi, feel free to educate me and I wll look into what you are suggesting.

 

JessinChina

[LongHu Shan]

Good job, Hot, that you have walked around Xihu after it rained. What did it feel like as the mist rise?

 

And if you are in Hangzhou and do not know about the Xiling then maybe about Old Hongyi you should be pushed into the lake!

 

Go do some homework and you'd be mighty pleased with yourself...!

[erdweir]

 

I study Chinese medicine, Taijiquan, neigong etc in Xi'an.

 

 

Cool, you are doing what I just decided to to. I have been in Berlin but I just decided to pack it up and go to China. I was thinking about Xian because of it's long history and I figured there had to be some good teachers there. Also I hear Xian doesn't have the nasty pollution problems of allot of the cities because there isnt much manufacturing there. I would be interested in hearing more about your study situation.

[JessinChina]

Cool, you are doing what I just decided to to. I have been in Berlin but I just decided to pack it up and go to China. I was thinking about Xian because of it's long history and I figured there had to be some good teachers there. Also I hear Xian doesn't have the nasty pollution problems of allot of the cities because there isnt much manufacturing there. I would be interested in hearing more about your study situation.

 

Hi erdweir,

Don't know about pollution and Xi'an. I have a friend there teaching, he would fill you in much better. Not a Tao bum, but a nice fellow who is also into MA. He's on my FB account. Do you FB? I can connect you directly then. Let me know and I'll invite you.

Since I live here now, I no longer apprentice with my sifu. I miss studying and practicing with him. But the conference has some healing panels and I ought to be able to learn something there. I will see my sifu in July for corrections to my tai chi form and to discuss my nei gong.

All the best,

 

JessinChina