(reproduced from http://shaolin.org/answers/ans15a/apr15-3.html)
A beautiful statue of Bodhisattva Guan Yin, a gift to Grandmaster Wong from Gloria of Madrid
Question 1
You said that past masters took years to attain chi flowing at various levels. Why is it that we could achieve this in just a day?
— David, UK
Answer
It is just ridiculous but true that past masters took years to attain chi flowing at various levels, but our students can achieve the same result in just one day! It is understandable of others do not believe what we way, but there is no doubt that all the students present today (9th June 2014) on this Bone Marrow Cleansing Course know this is true.
How do we know it is true? It is like someone asking you how do you know you are now sitting on a chair. In both cases, you know from direct experience. You know you are sitting on a chair because you are sitting on a chair. You know you can direct chi to flow at the levels of your skin, muscles, meridians, organs and bone marrow, because you can clearly feel chi flowing at all these levels.
Now the question. Why did past masters took years to attain these skills whereas you take only just one day? There are a few reasons, like we understand the underlying philosophy of the art, we are generous to teach it, and our methodology is very cost-effective, but the most important reason is that I transmit the skills to you from heart to heart.
An analogy is becoming a millionaire. If you work to become a millionaire, you will take many years to succeed, if you ever will. But if a benefactor transmits the money to you, you become a millionaire immediately. If you train to have chi flowing at five levels, you will need many years to succeed, if you ever will. But if master transmits the skill to you, you have the ability to have chi flow at the five levels immediately.
On the other hand, when past masters as students learned chi kung they had to practice appropriate techniques for many months or a year or two to develop the necessary skills. Normally they were unaware of the skills though they had developed the skills through dedicated practice. With the skills chi first flowed at their skin level. This development was spontaneous.
As they continued their dedicated practice for many more months or another year or two, chi next flowed at their muscle levels. In the same way, after may years chi flowed at the levels of their meridians, organs and bone marrow.
It should also be noted that these students did not learn these advanced techniques of chi flow at various levels at the start of their learning career. It was only after a few years when they had won the trust of their masters that their masters taught them the appropriate technques.
Secondly, not all those who learned the techniques would developed the skills and eventually succeeded in the art. Only a small percentage, probably less than 10%, would succeed and eventually became masters themselves.
Question 2
I remember reading some years back a Taichiquan book that stated whilst practicing you must concentrate on breathing, body weight, points on the body and the self defence aspect.
— Wiliem, Zimbabwe
Answer
It is helpful to know that different advice is applicable to different people or to the same person at different stages of his development.
If you practice on your own without a teacher’s supervision, it is best for you not to worry about breathing, body weight, points on the body, and self-defence aspects. Just practice whatever you can in a relaxed manner without any intellectualization.
It is unbelievable but students at this one-day Bone Marrow Cleansing course can direct chi to flow at different levels of their body
Question 3
I am from a small town in Zimbabwe, have tried some Karate which is not for me and am looking for some simple, practical exercise to do as my work involved sitting by a computer all day. I found a detailed simple 18 form Shibashi Taichi exercise which I am learning at “Everyday Tai Chi” and was wondering if you have some advice on application. I have included the chart.
Answer
“Taiji Shibashi” means “Taiji 18 Forms”. It is a set of chi kung exercises invented by a modern chi kung master from China, Sifu Lin Hou Sheng, in the 20th century. For a time, it was widely practiced n Southeast Asia. One could find Taiji Shibashi groups in most public parks, and any person could just walk in to join a group to practice. Instructors taught without charging fees.
Despite its name “Taiji”, these exercises are not related to Taijiquan or even to Taiji dance. In fact, Sifu Lin Hou Sheng practiced Shaolin wushu before. I guess that the term “Taiji” is used because the exercises are meant to be performed flowingly in a relaxed manner like what Taijiquan should be performed.
As a type of chi kung, Taiji Shibashi works on a physical level to generate energy flow. Students have to performs many forms for a long time, usually about an hour. However, most students perform Taiji Shibashi as gentle physical exercise, and not as chi kung. Like most other chi kung practitioners, they do not realize this fact because they do not know the difference between chi kung and gentle physical exercise.
Taiji Shibashi was not meant to be a martial art. Hence when Sifu Lin Hou Sheng invented the exercises, he did not have self-defence aspects in mind. It is therefore unwise of you to try to find combat application in these exercises where combat application was not there in the first place. You would have done extremely well if you could perform Taiji Shibashi as chi kung, which would then place you at the top 20% of Taiji Shibashi practitioners anywhere in world, even better than most Taiji Shibashi instructors. You would have a chance to achieve this feat if you follow my advice of performing Taiji Shibashi exercises in a relaxed manner without any intellectuzlization.
However, a genuine kungfu practitioner may still be able to use the Taiji Shibashi exercises for self-defence, although these exercises will not be his first choice for the combat purposes. For example, “Rase Arms” in Exercise 1 may be used to release grips on his wrists, “Open Chest” in Exercise 2 may be used to release a body-lock, and “Paint a Rainbow” in Exercise 3 may be used to deflect a shoot from a arestler.
If you want to learn self-defence, you should learn it from a competent teacher. Like most other people, you will probably be surprised that genuine arts of self-defence are rare today. Most martial artists today, including black belts, do not know how to defend themselves. They just hit and kick each other in free sparring. Worse, and usually without their conscious knowing, their training is detrimental to both their physical and emotional health.
Question 4
Next I am contemplating a 36 sword form to compliment my tonfa katas.
Answer
Frankly I believe you would spend your time better by taking your wife out for a walk, or getting a wife if you haven’t one yet.
But if you still want to learn a sword set, perform it in a flowing and relaxed manner. Remember that performing with a sword is different from performing with a tonfa. They have different nature and characteristics..
Taiji 18 Forms is not a martial art but a master can use any of its patterns for combat
Question 5
I had an experience today I would be gracious for your feedback. I was riding in a car with a friend and her young child. Upon thinking of the child, I saw in my mind a red energy flow linking us together. This energy flow ran from my lower back and to the child. Upon observing the flow, I became aware that I could use this flow to direct energy from me to the child, or draw energy from the child to me. I could also direct blockages to or from the child in the same way. My initial reaction to this awareness was concern over the ability to potentially cause harm, as the last thing I would want to do is harm the child. So I did my best to let go of my focus on the energy flow.
Shortly after, I was driving home by myself several miles from the child and became aware of the energy flow connecting us again. This time, I felt the energy pressing into my lower back as if it wanted to flow into me. I resisted the flow and did my best to let it go (worried that I might be inadvertently taking his chi), but ultimately felt that I should stop resisting it. When I did this, I sensed energy flowing into me and instantly felt sick. I immediately began coughing out bad chi. However, after absorbing the energy the tension in the flow disappeared and it returned to the usual loving, positive feeling I always have toward the child.
During both moments of sensing this energetic connection with the child, I had a sense that the energy flow was a karmic connection. It felt very similar to when I sense chi blockages in myself; emotionally overwhelming and turbulent. I believe that in my becoming aware of this karmic connection, I may have unknowingly drawn bad chi out of the child and into myself as a sort of karmic balancing/cleansing between the two of us. I have felt the blockage in my lower back periodically throughout the rest of my day, and have also coughed out some more bad chi. But overall I feel fine, and the blockage seems significantly diminished after doing chi kung this evening.
— Ryan, USA
Answer
Chi, or energy, is connecting all of us. Everything is connect is not just poetically but factually true, but most people are unaware of it, and their mind power is not strong enough to cause much difference.
However, some rare people with miraculous abilities, like you having practiced high-level chi kung from our school, may see this connection and have influence on it. As I mentioned in my previous reply, you must also use this miraculous ability with great responsibility. We do so due to righteousness.
Even if we leave out righteousness and consider only self-interest, it is also to your self-interest that this miraculous ability must never be abused. Goodness always bring goodness, and evilness always results in evilness, is a universal truth. Many psychics leading miserable lives is clear evidence of this truth.
On the other hand, there are what are called in metaphysical circles as “heaven secretsâ€. You should not reveal or interfere with these heaven secrets indiscreetly. For example, at your mortal level, you may think that clearing somebody’s blockage is doing a service for him. But at a cosmic level, which most mortals do not realize or understand, this action may be a big disservice.
Then, what about patients seeking treatment from chi kung healers, who help their patients to clear blockage? Can that be doing a disservice to the patients? This is a different issue, and here heaven secrets are not involved. Here, helping patients clear their blockage and restore good health is certainly a blessing.
Here the patients ask for help. It would be different if the patients did not ask for help but the healers impose their healing on them.
What you did in the case of the child, i.e. to let go, was correct. When you feel some bad energy entering you, like in the case of the child, you can direct it to a plant or tree instead of taking it in. What is bad energy to the child or to you, is good energy to the plant or tree. Similarly, when you enter a cave and feel the energy there detrimental to you, the same energy is beneficial to other creatures like bats and insects.
Question 6
I had one other experience similar to this several weeks ago with our family pet dog. I had a sense of “something wrong” with the dog (which was sitting near me as I practiced chi kung), then felt negative chi pushing into me from the dog which in that case I resisted the entire time. I also had a sense that it was a karmic connection between myself and the dog, and that the experience was somehow related to karmic cleansing. I have spent many, many hours with the dog since and have not had any other experiences like this.
Answer
Yes, like in the case of the child above, you have some karmic connection with the dog. And like the child too, if you feel the energy from the dog that enters you is negative, you can direct it away to plants or trees instead of taking the negative enrgy in. This negative energy to you and the doy will be positive energy to plants and trees.
Chi connects everythiung. The snow in Alaska is connected to the sunny beaches at the Equator
Question 7
Is it possible in rare cases to sense karmic blockages between two beings, and for my chi to cleanse these blockages by momentarily linking my energy flow with them? This is what these experiences have felt like. It was just like when my chi works on blockages in me, except I had another being momentarily as an extension of myself that was also a part of the cleansing.
Answer
Yes, it is possible to sense karmic blockages between tow beings. The connection is there all the time but most people are unaware of it.
When you emphasize on the link of energy between you and another being, you may cleanse blockages or cause them. Healing others by cleansing their blockages, or alternatively hurting them by causing blockages in them, require special skills. As you are not trained in these matters, it is unethical to do so. Even when you are trained as a healer, it is also unethical to impose the healing on a person if he does not ask for it.
Question 8
I have prayed to Gaun Yin on what I should do about these experiences, and the answer was clearly “Let it go” so that’s what I will do However, any input you have on how to best handle these experiences in the future would be most appreciated.
Answer
Praying to and asking advice from Guan Yin Bodhidattva is excellent.
My supplement to Guan Yin Bodhidattva’s advice is described above, and may be summarized as follows.
Heaven secrets are not to be disclosed indiscreetly. What mortals think is a service may be a disserve at a cosmic level. Healing another person by clearing his blockage requires specialized skills, and should be performed only when one is properly trained, and when it is requested by the patient.
Shaolin Wahnam Kuala Lumpur 