SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
NOVEMBER 2014 PART 1
Smiling from the heart is regarded by many as the best lesson ever taught in Shaolin Wahnam Institute
Question 1
Very often smiling from the heart saved my day. It is the most valuable tool we have. I really feel love and compassion when smiling and it feels simply amazing. Is this good?
— Adrian, Germany
Answer
Of course, it is good.
Many students have told me that "smiling from the heart" is their best exercise. I am glad you have found it valuable.
It is wonderful that you feel love and compassion when smiling from the heart.
Question 2
I train the beginning of the Wudang set from time to time and I love it very much. No other form can get me that feeling I have when practicing Wudang.
You have said that the Wudang Set is also a way for spiritual cultivation. I'm simply curious why this is so and why other sets, for example Four Gates, do not have these possibilities. Could you please elaborate on this?
Answer
The Wudang Set is the climax of Shaolin kungfu fevelopment.
If all other things were equal, the Wudang Set trains the spirit, whereas Four Gates trains the physical body. Some other sets focus on other aspects, like the 108-Pattern Yang Style Taijiquan Set trains energy flow, and the Shaoin Iron Wire consolidates energy. Hence, the Wudang Set is most effective for spiritual cultivation.
The above is true if all other things were equal. But in real life, other things are not equal. Shaolin Wahnam students, for example, will have more spiritual cultivation practicing Four Gates than most other students practicing the Wudang Set.
This is because in our school, cultivating the spirit is an integral part of our training, whereas in most other schools students only cultivate their physical body. Hence, our students feel relaxed and peaceful as the result of our training, whereas most other students feel stressful and angry.
Wudang Taijiquan is both the climax of Shaolin kungfu development and the source of all styles of Taijiquan
Question 3
I have a friend who has a thermographie camera, which can show on a laptop what skin temperature is like and how it changes.
When he channels chi to his hands, they turn hot and can be seen on the camera. The person he is sending chi to also gets this effect.
I focused chi in my hands. My hands kept their temperature but my friend could still feel my chi coming from my hands.
Do you have any idea why the temperature of the skin was not going up, but still a lot of energy can be felt? Is there actually a link between skin temperature and chi flow?
Answer
The temperature of your arms and hands did not go up but your friend could feel a lot of chi from you because your chi was flowing.
Yes, there is a link between temperature and chi flow. Chi flow keeps the temperature moderate. A special benefit is that you will feel warm when the weather is cold, and you will feel cool when the weather is hot.
Question 4
We want to do scientific studies about the correlation about chi, skin temperature and the development of certain diseases. The idea is that we may show the blockages of chi in the meridians due to temperature change.
We really want to push Qigong in the scientific community. May I kindly ask for your advice on this?
Answer
Using Western parameters to test chi kung is not advisable, because chi kung uses a different paradigm. Unfortunately many people, including scientists, are doing this, without realizing the dfferent paradigms between chi kung and Western medicine. It is like using German grammar to speak Chinese.
A more fruitful way is as follows.
Start with a group of sick people with their sickness recorded by Western medical parameters.
Let this group of sick people practice Shaolin Wahnam chi kung for nine months. Measure them according to Western medical parameters every three months.
Many of these people should overcome their sickness by the end of nine months according to Western medical testing. But explain their recovery not by Western medical philosophy but by chi kung philosophy.
In other words, use Western tests to confirm that the people were sick at the start of the research, and that they are well a the end. Use chi kung philosophy to explain how and why they recover. If one tries to use Western medical philosophy to explain their recovery, it may not work.
Though it is usually done, it is inappropriate to use Western parameters to describe chi kung
Question 5
I had a blockage at the stomach which was disappearing for 3 months after training Iron Wire and Bone Marrow Cleansing with you in Barcelona last year, But the blockage reappears. It causes stomach pain and red face with headaches.
I always have the feeling of getting heat to the head very fast and turning red and now I also have the scientific evidence through the camera, that chi is going to the head due to the blockage.
That's why I can't do exercises like Iron Wire, zhan zhuang or Small Universe because the massive amount of chi doesn't feel good and chi always tends to go to the head.
I practice Bone Marrow Cleansing now on a regular basis because you have said it is able to break through that karmic blockage and after this training I feel very good.
Answer
You can overcome your problems with vigorous chi flow. You can use any exercise to start your chi flow. During standing meditation at the end, think of your feet instead of your dan tian.
You can practice Iron Wire, zhan zhuang and the Small Universe, but think of your feet instead of your dan tian at the completion of the exercise. The Small Universe is one of the best, if not the best, chi kung exercises.
You can practice Bone Marrow Cleansing if you enjoy it.
Question 6
On a side note: the scientific study about Qigong with cancer patients is working excellently. I have so many positive feedbacks, it is simply amazing. Thank you very much for passing these arts down to us! It is a great tool to help to deal with daily life and it helps these people a lot.
Answer
I am convinced that in the near future people will know that genuine high-level chi kung like ours is the best cure for cancer.
We have helped literally thousands of people overcome cancer, but because of various reasons most cancer patients may not know this or believe it is true.
Bodhidharma or Da Mo in Chinese
Question 7
I would like to ask you please to help me. Some people wanted to hurt me around 3 years ago. Although I try to forget and forgive it is still hurting me. I do chi flow regularly. I read your website but I still suffer. And the worse is that my little boy suffers as well. I want to be a good mum, a good example to him, and take good care of him.
— Andrea, Germany
Answer
Your problem can be overcome easily. Just perform the following exercise every morning.
Smile from the hear and ask God to give your strength to live the day in a way He is proud of you. At night before you go to bed, thank Him for the strength He has given you in the morning.
If you do this every day, in three months you will find yourself filled with the strength of God, and will be ready to face any situations in life.
Question 8
A source on the internet tells that Bodhidharma's work of Yi Jin Jing has survived. Somewhere it was told that he wrote Yi Jin Jing in an Indian language. Do you know where a copy is available?
— Tamani, Finland
Answer
Yes, the Yi Jin Jing, or Sinew Metamorphosis, of Bodhidharma has survived to this day. We practice it in our school. It is very powerful.
I don't think Bodhidharma wrote it down. Hence I don't think it exists in an Indian language. But later disciples wrote down in Chinese what Bodhidharma taught. There are different versions of it. You can find a copy of it in my book, "The Complete Book of Shaolin".
LINKS
Selected Reading
- Various Types of Internal Force
- Eighteen Lohan Hands and the Eighteen Lohans
- Kungfu against Kick-Boxing and Taekwondo
- Opening the Heart in Cosmic Shower
- It's Drunken Eight Immortals, Not Aikido