What would YOU ask Bruce Frantzis?

[sean]

This month I've setup an email interview with Bruce Frantzis, who likely needs no introduction here.

 

I could really use your help coming up with cool questions to ask him.

 

So once again I'd like to ask the community here to help me come up with interesting, respectful questions for this interview. Sincere questions from the heart.

 

Please post your questions for Bruce Frantzis right here in this topic.

 

Or, if you'd prefer some privacy, you can PM me directly.

 

This weekend I'll organize the questions from this topic and I will email them and post his responses here on the site.

 

 

Thanks!

Sean

 

PS - Bruce's enormous Bagua Mastery program launches later this month. Mal has already posted a topic about that in the link below. (Oh and it looks like Gerard has already pre-ordered the program! )

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/16143-bruce-frantzis-bagua-mastery-program/

[devoid]

Hi Sean,

 

Thanks for the great interview with Chunyi Lin - what a great idea to continue interviewing contemporary masters this way for the benefit of us all!

 

Bruce Frantzis has a few landmarks in his teachings which are only alluded to in limited detail in his books:

1. The 16-part nei gong system

2. The connection between Baguazhang and the I-Ching**

 

My question is if would be possible for Bruce Frantzis to elaborate some more on the above points?

 

**NB I happened to post a poll on this morning http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/16144-connecting-baguazhang-and-the-i-ching/ in case anybody is interested in having a go

[cheya]

Hey Sean! My favorite Tao Master! This is great!

Here are a few questions off the top of my head... more may bubble to the surface.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what you come up with, and how Bruce responds!

*******

I've read that you say it's better to emphasize the downward flow instead of the upward flow, because when we bring the energy down, it naturally returns up; while when we bring the energy up, it does not necessarily return down. Is there ever a time when we would concentrate on the upward flow, or even concentrate on both flows simultaneously?

 

I think you also say that the sinking energy goes out the heels, especially when we lean our weight back on our heels. However, for years I've been experimenting with "Breathing from the heels" and find it seems the chi comes in right in front of the heel (not so much Kidney 1, Bubbling Spring", but posterior to the arch). I don't get any sensation of it leaving from there. Could you comment on the chi leaving via the heels in relation to the ancient taoist advice to breathe from the heels?

 

I've heard that Dragon and Tiger is the most important of your forms for healers to practice. Could you elaborate on why that is so, specifically how practicing the Dragon and Tiger set can help healers develop their skills?

 

Can you advise those of us interested in Opening and Closing, specifically how to proceed if personal instruction is not available?

 

Is it better to focus intent and direct chi in our bodies (tell it where to go) or to let the chi go where it wants, especially when it seems to "have its own agenda'? Or should we just do the sets and watch where it goes? :-)

 

Can people with weak legs and/or unstable knees benefit from your Bagua program, or should they concentrate on other sets?

[Friend]

Edited November 16, 2011 by Friend

[Sloppy Zhang]

There's a lot of stuff he puts in his books regarding certain things, such as the trajectory of where a practice will take you, when other practices are to be taken, and stuff like that. So, Sean, I'd recommend trying to get a hold of some of his books like "Relaxing Into Your Being" and "The Great Stillness", google books has some sections of them available for preview last time I checked, so try to get some areas that sound interesting and give a read.

 

There's also a lot on his blog: http://www.taichimaster.com/ and website: http://www.energyarts.com/ when it comes to practice.

 

I'm sure you'll do your research beforehand, Sean, but for others, there's a lot of stuff in those resources. It's a bit of a read, but no sense in asking questions that have already been answered in previous texts.

 

That said, I'll try to come up with my own questions as well, but that's just some general info!

[Mal]

"If you could only buy one of your books, which one and why?"

(because I don't own any of Bruce's book and the large catalogue of them makes it hard to know where to start)

 

and like you asked Chunyi Lin

"If you could only do one practice/exercise, which one and why?"

(along the lines of what is good to add to any pre-existing practice/system)

 

p.s. It's gratifying to see your interview project come to fruition. Congratulations and thank you for the effort.

[Mal]

[Gerard]

Sean, I hope BKF doesn't come across my response in the other thread opened by Mal just in case he decides to lurk in this forum for a short bit.

 

Anyway, I would ask him the following:

 

Overall which IMA has left the best impression on you from an energetic and healing point of view, and why?

 

Thanks and regards.

[Pero]

Is Pietro a good student?

j/k

 

A question I have is: Do you plan on publishing any more books and/or videos from the 16-part neigong system?

[Jetsun]

[joeblast]

I think what I'd like to ask him is: What'd I miss by not spending 5 grand this summer? But that would surely be a bit inappropriate.

[VCraigP]

Knowledge has been transmitted to you via the lineage system.

 

Are you intending to pass the lineage on in the traditional fashion to one or more students?

 

Is this even a possibility for you? If not what are your thoughts about this lineage being passed to you a westerner and not being fully transmitted in the traditional fashion.

[sean]

Great questions, keep 'em coming.

 

I'm going to organize these over the weekend and send them to Bruce on Sunday.

 

Thanks,

Sean

[Tung]

What is the heart/mind? How does one traine it?

[idquest]

[Sloppy Zhang]

Question:

 

In books such as the Power of Internal Martial Arts, you relate your experiences from lots of different arts, some of them quite obscure, such as the purely Taoist tradition of Eight Drunken Immortals. Have you considered, or will you consider, teaching methods and styles such as those?

[Sloppy Zhang]

Question:

 

Many of the practices you teach focus on letting go, increasing awareness and sensitivity, and feeling and working with various energies. What protective methods, if any, would you recommend to someone in situations in which feeling other energies could be harmful, or if there is an abundance of overtly negative energy?

[Pietro]

Is Pietro a good student?

j/k

Bruce:

-"Pietro who?"

 

[Gerard]

My last question:

 

Have you returned to China recently? If so, have you noticed any major changes in the IMA arena compared to the past, I mean more openness to teach due to the ruling party being more permissive with Daoist and Buddhist practices. But also this openness could have also meant a deterioration of the quality of what is being passed on.

 

Thanks.

[Mal]

How about something a bit superficial (although it's inspiring to me as Bruce has always looked like a "big guy") What did he change in the last few years? As he looks very healthy, and much lighter, in his recent videos.

[Aetherous]

Mal, that's a question which I'm sure many are truly wondering.

 

Another question:

 

What are the end results of your neigung?

[Wells]

...

Edited November 7, 2010 by Dorian Black

[Ramon25]

1. Does he personally use the I ching for divination and overall how does he feel about such a practice?

 

2. Will he ever create a Tai chi training program, like his bagua one?

 

3.How does he feel about diet and what does his look like?

[gendao]

1) Supernormal feats?

At the age of 40 he was attacked and almost killed on a road. Monks reputedly of the Daoist Long-Men sect (Dragon door Daoists) found him and he was said to have been instructed in a healing method of exercise used by these Daoist monks who practiced a meditative method of walking in circles and chanting mantras.

 

Dong, Hai-Chuan , however, could maneuver himself in and out of the palace grounds by leaping on and off the courtyard walls while balancing trays in each hand. The Emperor was very impressed by Dong's agility and questioned him. It was then that Dong first revealed himself to be a Master of the method he called Baguazhang, and was obliged to give a display of his skill. His performance was so unique that the Emperor made Dong the martial arts teacher of the palace guards.

 

Dong was asleep on a couch. A student wanted to cover him with a blanket. No sooner had the student placed the blanket on the master, than Dong suddenly disappeared. Looking around, the student was amazed to see the teacher sitting in another corner of the room.

Does he know if there was any truth to the legends of Dong HaiChun possessing supernormal abilities such as qinggong and teleportation?

When Dong Haichuan was returning home from his stay in the South, he passed the method of Qinggong to his students in Jiangsu and Henan Provinces, but I do not know if anybody practices it now.

And if so, do you know if these methods have survived amongst any practitioners and what they were based upon (like possibly Longmen Pai neidan?)?

 

2) Enlightenment?

Do you know what actual method Liu HongJie used to attain enlightenment in his 30s? Other than it being from:

Tan Hsiu recognized that Liu had realized the Nature of Emptiness, the major objective of Buddhist Mahayana spiritual practice, which in the West is often called enlightenment. After having realized the spiritual tenets of Tian Tai Buddhism from Tan Hsu Fa Shr

When he was only in his 30s, Liu was declared enlightened by the Tien Tai School of Buddhism

3) Internal Vs External?

Have you ever tested your "internal" skills in sparring against an "external" martial artist (like an MMA fighter)? How do you think guys like Liu HongJie, Morihei Ueshiba or Wang Shujin would have faired in the UFC? Or against each other?

 

Ok, I guess this question has already been sort of answered:

Of the three men, Liu was the most powerful. This fact is hard to believe since Liu weighed less than 110 pounds, whereas Hung was in the 240-pound range and Wang was closer to 300 pounds.

 

Like Wang, Liu said that chi was more important than size, youth or strength.

 

4) Best Story?

 

What's the most fantastic IMA feat you've ever witnessed?

Edited November 9, 2010 by vortex

[Creation]

Sorry I waited till the last minute to add in my huge list of questions. Here they are:

 

There has been much discussion on the forum on your teaching of water and fire methods. Could you clarify what these mean? In particular, how are fire, wood, etc. energies used in the Water Method? Are there earth, metal, or wood methods? Might a Water Method practitioner have a fiery experience as a result of cultivation? What are the Chinese words used for the Water method and Fire method? How does the Water/Fire school distinction fit in with the modern Zhengyi and Quanzhen sects?

 

Many Tao Bums take an eclectic and non-traditional approach to cultivation. As someone whose path was also quite eclectic and yet still traditional, is there any wisdom you would impart to the modern information age spiritual seeker?

 

Many Tao Bums who resonate with the material in your books yet are also interested in practices that work with Chi and Shen levels. What advice would you give to such seekers?

 

What is the difference between dissolving the physical body and relaxing as understood in the West? Can one dissolve the physical body, or must one be able to feel qi to practice dissolving? What would you recommend as the fastest way to learn to feel qi, so that one can dissolve the energy body?

 

What are your main goals in teaching the Taoist energy arts in the West?

 

 

Thank you for doing this Sean!

Edited November 7, 2010 by Creation