CHAPTER 15: 80 WORDS OF QIGONG MASTER AND DOCTOR YAN XIN
According to Grandmaster Wong, Grandmaster Yan Xin is the greatest qigong master living today
(This chapter is selected from talks by Yan Xin to the Beijing University, Qing Hua University, Central Party School of China, and other places, and is summarized and published in Chinese by Nan Guang. Sifu Yan Xin, a great modern qigong master, is well known for distant qi transmission. Under scientific conditions, he transmitted qi over great distance to change the molecular structure of liquids. He transmitted qi to hundreds of people in seminars, some of whom came in wheelchairs and walked out unaided after the talk!)
Zhi Qu Ruo Yi Ye -- Qian Wo Yi Wu De
Guang Cai Ru Shi Dao -- Gong Xun Shi Men Jie
Nan Yi Bu Shi Shen -- Yi Zai Wu You Bie
Xing Ming Li Le Zheng -- Sheng Si Ai Yu She
Fa Ji Ning Hua Huan -- Li Lian Jing Qi Shen
Tiao Xing Ju Kong Bian -- Yin Yang Xian Hou Cheng
Shu Shu Ding Gen Tong -- Ji Kong Xuan Miao Xin
Kai He Chang Xue Shi -- Mi Du Qi Neng Zhen
Zhi Qu Ruo Yi Ye; or Purpose, Interest, Endurance, Benefit, Occupation
Simply said, practitioners must demonstrate purpose while practicing qigong, must feel free without boundary, and must show interest. They must have endurance, and continuously conclude the benefits derived from qigong training, and consolidate the effects on their work of qigong training.
Qigong training is a form of occupation. Do not treat it like play. If someone practices qigong for no good reasons, it will harm himself, as this does not fulfil the scientific reasons for qigong training.
Qian Wo Yi Wu De; or Front, Manage, Patience, Understand, Virtue
From beginning to end, focus on the word “front” when training qigong: In front of all things, in front of all your life, in front of a particular event, you must train qigong in front.
You should manage the miracles of qigong 24 hours a day, manage yourself, manage the environment, and manage the circulation of external energy and internal energy.
The word “patience” means you must have patience in qigong training, you must be determined. “Understand” means you must continuously understand, you must continuously search for crucial points, continuously search for the crucial points of the environment.
“Virtue” means you must respect other people, possess the heart of virtue.
Guang Cai Ru Shi Dao; or Wide, Skilful, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism
Practicing any art, practitioners’ heart must be open and wide. They must be able to let go in any thing. Do not look at things in a narrow manner.
“Skilful” refers to being skilful in learning, otherwise after a certain time, practitioners cannot progress further in the art.
Whether it is Confucianism, Buddhism or Taoism, practitioners must understand various aspects of qigong knowledge, regardless of whether it is Confucian qigong, Buddhist qigong or Taoist qigong.
Taoist qigong is the legacy of the Chinese. Originally it did not belong to Taoism. Before Taoism was established, there already existed Taoist qigong. It was used to prevent illness, strengthen the body and cure illness.
(Editorial Note: Before Taoism was established as a religion, the type of qigong now commonly called Taoist qigong, was already in existence.)
Gong Xun Shi Men Jie, or Respect, Search, Teacher, School, Pathway
Practitioners must show respect to all people, not just only people in the family but people in all areas, and be able to search for successful ways. Practitioners must respect their teachers. Here it is not burning joss-sticks or prostrating, but respect the teachers in intention, language and behaviour.
What is a teacher? The public can be a teacher. Myriad events and myriad things can be teachers. Living things, plants and minerals have their special functions and uses, can be requirements for your bodily needs.
There is a poem by Liu Yu which says, “Whatever from paper may appear shallow, but towards this event show respect.” Showing respect is not the same as life. Life is not the same as self confidence.
There are impulses of a teacher in the Cosmos. In an advanced art, it is usually students searching for teachers. It is difficult for teachers to search for students. Secondly, the term “teacher” does not only refer to a school teacher. Only when this person can get the respect of the public, is he a teacher.
The word “school” refers to various schools, various styles. Every school has its ways. Every way has its school. When practitioners have reached “three schools become one”, “five schools become one”, “myriad techniques become unified”, they should enter a school to train the art.
It is necessary to pay importance to a qigong state of mind, a qigong code of virtues. Don’t talk about which school or which style. It is possible the school of other people is higher than yours.
“Pathways” refers to finding pathways. All the four words in this phrase refer to finding ways of practice in qigong training. There are many pathways. Do not follow deviated pathways. This is to find pathways.
Nan Yi Bu Shi Shen, or Difficult, Easy, No, Longer, Body
It is very difficult to train qigong. When the difficulty is broken, it becomes easy. If practitioners pass through obstacles of difficulty, then the training becomes easy.
“Easy” does not include just being easy, but it also means change. Once practitioners have gone through obstacles of difficulty, the way will become easy. When practitioners have gone through obstacles of difficulty, it is no longer their own body; everything has changed.
Yi Zai Wu You Bie; or Intention, Where, No, Yes, Different
Heart-intention is used everywhere, use the brain, use the form of heart-intention that is intention or non-intention. While training qigong, there is intention to train qigong, and there is no intention to train qigong.
Intention is placed between yes and no. First it is no intention, then it is intention. This is a symptom. It should be differentiated.
Xing Ming Li Le Zheng; or Nature, Life, Benefit, Joy, Righteous
When training qigong to a certain extent, it must be cultivation of both life and nature. Both the heart and nature can be changed. This includes the health of practitioners, and the process of endurance.
The development of the intellect and personal development will also help. If these developments do not help, it means practitioners have not entered the stage of life and nature cultivation.
Cultivation of life and nature brings benefit and joy. It benefits others and brings joy to oneself. It brings benefit to the whole of life, including promoting and protecting the balance of life.
Bringing joy to oneself is the righteous way. Only then will the practitioners progress further, will be able to progress to the next stage.
Sheng Si Ai Yu She: Birth, Death, Love, Aware, Sacrifice
Those who practice qigong can view birth and death with proper perspective. The stage of “extreme leakage generates break-through” can lengthen longevity, lengthen to a long, long time.
(Editorial Note: “Extreme leakage generates break-through” may be interpreted at a high level or a low level. At a high level, when a cultivator has reached the limit of the phenomenal dimension, he enters the transcendental dimension. At a low level, when he has overcome his mistake, he makes progress. In the passage above, it can be interpreted that when a qigong practitioner has cleared the blockage of his meridians, he attains longevity.)
Understanding birth and death enables practitioners to view life with an inevitable transformation. They will view daily living with great interest, and view personal needs with lower and lower urgency. If you view life and death with proper perspective, you will not be concerned with life, and not be afraid of death.
Irrespective of whether it is life or it is death, you will develop a feeling of love. You will love the whole humanity, the whole nature with sincerity, and everywhere you will talk about the goodness of other people, and realize the beauty of other people.
For oneself, if he wants his art to progress, he must be aware of the word “sacrifice”. He will not always think of others speaking well of himself for him to hear. He will sacrifice life and death, and the good words other people speak about him.
There is gain, and there is loss. When there is sacrifice, only then there is gain. When one has accomplished in his art, he has to sacrifice his benefits, sacrifice his fame. If he worries too much, his art will not progress.
Fa Ji Ning Hua Huan; or Method, Foundation, Focus, Transform, Return
When training qigong, one must pay attention to methods. But there is not a single method that has not changed since the beginning till the end.
Being noble lies in essence, importance lies in being marvellous. This is the affairs of humanity, the time of height and depth.
Millions of methods return to the origin, hundreds of methods return to one. All return to the most beautiful thing, all return to the human body. “Methods” refer to methods that are not stagnant.
“Foundation” is laying good foundation. “Focus, transform, return” means focusing vital energy and transforming vital energy to return to the original marvellous functions of a person.
(Editorial Note: “Being noble lies in essence, importance lies in being marvellous” may be interpreted as follows. A beautiful technique depends on its form, its effectiveness depends on how it is performed with marvellous skills. For example, while lifting up the arms in the technique, “Lifting the Sky”, how beautifully a practitioner performs the technique depends on how picture-perfect the form is. How effective the technique is in qigong training depends on how marvellously the practitioner applies qigong skills in performing the technique to have good health, vitality and longevity.)
Li Lian Jing Qi Shen; or Principle, Practice, Essence, Energy, Spirit
(Editorial Note: The author of this passage missed explaining the following section. Hence, the brief explanation below is by me.)
Both the principles and the practice of qigong are important. If practitioners do not understand the principles, their practice becomes aimless and wasteful. If they only understand the principles without practice, they will not derive practical benefits. Qigong is triple cultivation. The principles and practice of qigong must involve all the three aspects of cultivation, namely cultivation of essence, of energy, and of spirit.
Tiao Xing Ju Kong Bian; or Harmonize, Circulate, Gather, Control, Change
During the process of qigong training, it is important to harmonize, continuously circulate, continuously gather, continuously control, and continuously change.
(Editorial Note: For successful qigong training, practitioners should harmonize yin-yang, circulate their energy throughout their body, gather their energy at their dan tian, or abdominal energy field, control their bodily movement and internal energy flow, and make appropriate changes according to the situation or environment.)
Yin Yang Xian Hou Cheng; or Yin, Yang, Pre, Post, Level
This is breaking through yin, and breaking through yang. Yin-yang is a symbol. The whole person and the Cosmos, inside and outside, all should be through, and in qigong training this will be accomplished in every environment.
Yin-yang includes everything in the Cosmos, and when qigong accomplishes whatever it can accomplish at the lower, middle and higher level, pre-natal and and post-natal art.
When trained completely, qigong progresses from small attainment to middle attainment to big attainment. One must pay attention to developmental level or attainment, and each level or attainment is raised.
Shu Shu Ding Gen Tong; Number, Methodology, Established, Root, Through
When the art has reached a certain level, pay attention to application. If the art of numbers is limited, one must study the art of numbers. There is a definite mathematical principle, a definite technology, a definite methodology.
When you have really mastered the art of numbers, you will understand what is called established, what is called root, what is called break-through. Many things can be established. When it is established, is controlled, six roots will be used., and can be activated. The six types of break-through can be accomplished.
(Editorial Note: Although the two Chinese words, “shu”, are written the same in Romanized spelling, they are written differently in Chinese characters and pronounced differently in tones. The six roots are eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and consciousness. Break-through of these six roots mean that these six roots can function at high levels, or at supernatural levels. For example, the break-through of the eye root may enable a practitioner to see beyond space and time.)
(Editorial Note: My interpretation of the term “shu shu” is different from that of the author of this passage. The author of the passage interprets “shu shu” literally as the “art of numbers”, but I interpret it figuratively as “techniques”. The techniques used by practitioners will establish the benefits they get, described as “roots of breaking through”.)
Ji Kong Xuan Miao Xin; or Extreme, Empty, Mystical, Marvellous, Heart
When practitioners have reached this time, the art can be studied at a very high level of Wuji and Taiji. There is no extreme. Extreme is empty. Emptiness means void. Emptiness until there is no limit, energy too has no limit.
At the high level, it is emptiness without marvellous centre. To other people, it is very mystical. To you, it is very marvellous. The crucial point lies in your knowledge. Everything is understood in your heart. (Editorial Note: “Wuji” literally means “No Extreme”. “Taiji” literally means “Grand Ultimate”. Figuratively, the two terms respectively mean the Great Void and the phenomenal Cosmos.)
(Editorial Note: While I agree with the author here at the middle level, my interpretation of the passage is that at the highest level, practitioners may break through their illusionary body, symbolized by Taiji, to merge with the Great Void, described as Wuji.)
Kai He Chang Xue Shi; or Open, Close, Often, Learn, Real
At this developmental stage, any time can be open, and any time can be close. Often it is an inter-relation of open and close, continuously being exchanged in myriad things in the Cosmos. At this time, one must learn, seriously learn. Then the empty can become real. Everything is real, not mystical.
(Editorial Note: Open and close is the transformation of jing into qi, and the transformation of qi into jing. In scientific terms, it is the breaking down of sub-atomic particles into energy, and the coalescing of energy into sub-atomic particles.)
Mi Du Qi Neng Zhen; or Confused, Help, Strange, Ability, True
“Confused” refers to being in a confused state. Before this, everything was in a confused state, not being clear. When practitioners have attained the stage of open and close, and have attained the stage of “chang, xue, shi” or “often, learn, real”, when the art is put into application, it is no longer a state of confusion.
By breaking down confusion practitioners can help other people. Breaking down confusion is when you are really not confused. You can understand how illness is cured, how things are carried away, how masters can go through a wall. It is not just trying out. You are confident of the success of your feats, which are very natural.
(Editorial Note: It is incredible but qigong masters can make things disappear (described in the passage as things are carried away), and can walk through a wall!)
When you can break down confusion, you can help other people. Then you can bring your students, and help many people to overcome their suffering of illness.
“Help” refers to a teacher giving instructions. Before you can break down confusion, don’t talk about helping other people. When you can help other people to break down confusion, when you do a lot of big things and good things, a lot of strange feats are within your ability. This is true.
A Chinese newspaper report dated 1st April 1989 on a public experiment of distant qi transmission by Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit
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