BEING SCEPTICAL AND TEACHING OTHERS
A Chi Kung Course in Penang
Question
I know you have talked about damage that can be done if techniques are performed wrongly. But it seems almost shameful to have knowledge of something so powerful and great that could improve their lives and not share it with them. What might your advice on this be?
— Tim, England
Answer
Your thinking is idealistic but immature. It is not that we do not want to share our wonderful art with them, but it is that they do not want it. If I were selfish, I would not have taught such a wonderful art in public.
Indeed, it is almost ridiculous how I have made the art available to people who want it. In the past, masters might not teach such an art to their daughters, and selected disciples would prostrate themselves to the masters for a chance to learn it. I am so liberal that I am now teaching it to people whom I do not even know. If they cannot even make an effort to come to my course, pay the fee and practice the way I teach them, I do not want to waste my time on them, I would spend my time helping those who are deserving.
My advice is that anyone who wants good health and happiness must work for it, just as anyone who wants his monthly salary must work at his job, or anyone who wants a new car must buy it. Salaries and new cars are not given freely to whoever who raises his hand. There is no shame if you do not share your salary or new car with your friends. By most standards, good health and happiness are more desirable than monthly salaries and new cars, and it is easier to attend my course to have good health and happiness than work the whole month to earn a salary or save a few years for a new car.
Question
I must admit I was sceptical on coming to your course, and was only hoping to generate a nice chi-flow (which I haven't truly felt before) to use in martial arts and Tai Chi, but the amount of amazing things which occurred was truly astounding. I literally felt bones on my back pop and crack and re-align — which was an odd thing to feel in the first place, especially since my back was completely relaxed and I was virtually stationary.
Answer
Many students were amazed at the effects they experienced and the benefits they obtained at my chi kung courses. Some of these effects included needles prickling at their fingers, seeing bright beautiful colours, hands charged with energy, feet becoming very warm, electric sparks flowing all over their body, streams of energy flowing inside them, energy loosening or opening their joints, energy moving up and down their spine, energy massaging their internal organs, and feeling a ball of energy at their dan tian.
Some of the benefits they obtained were feeling calm and relaxed, overcoming pain, being revitalized, having more energy at the end of a few hours of training, being able to sleep soundly, finding the surrounding brighter and more beautiful, experiencing inner pease, feeling of joy and freedom.
Actually one needs not be surprised at these effects and benefits, as they are the expected results of practising genuine chi kung. This fact has been amply recorded in chi kung classics. The trouble is that what most people practice today is not really chi kung, but just external chi kung forms. Hence, they never have these effects or benefits although they may have practiced for many years. What is really amazing is that most students in my courses experienced these effects and benefits on the very first day of their training with me, although normally it would take practitioners of genuine chi kung a few months to have these effects and benefits.
Question
I had a sprained neck twice from bad posture at work, and both times I made it vanish in 5 minutes! Normally I would just wait for it to go and try to massage it a little and it would stay for 5 hours minimum, but 5 minutes! “Carrying the Moon”' cured it completely.
The first time I did this (Tuesday), I literally exclaimed out loud “my God, this is unbelievable”. I was only expecting it not to ache quite so much, but not vanished! Aching arms from martial art practice become normal arms after 5 minutes of “Lifting the Sky”. It was truly amazing.
Answer
Overcoming pain is the forte of chi kung. Not only you chose an excellent chi kung exercise for the purpose, you also performed the exercise very well. Hence, you overcame the pain at your neck and arms easily.
This is an important point for many people to know. They think mistakenly that if they have pain at their neck or arms, and if they do what you did, their pain would go away. It won't. Why? Because they do not perform the same exercise the way you did. You performed “Carrying the Moon” as high level chi kung, but they perform “Carrying the Moon” as gentle physical exercise.
This is the big trouble with many people. They mistake chi kung as gentle physical exercise. Hence, they think that learning chi kung from a book, a video, an e-mail or a mediocre instructor is not much different from learning it from a master.
The above is taken from Questions 5, 7 and 8 of July 2002 Part 3 of the Selection of Questions and Answers.
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