LETTING THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG
Having confidence for both the healer and the patient is of utmost importance in chi kung healing
Sifu Zhang Wuji
Shaolin Wahnam Singapore
27th October 2011
Well, as Sifu said a few times during the course, the cat is almost out of the bag, with probably just the tail in there.
I will just pen a few of my thoughts that I cannot contain any longer. Many course participants, myself included, came with doubts as to whether we can cure the incurable diseases. Sifu can, but we are not Sifu, nor near his level. We probably came with an idea, subconsciously or otherwise that we would learn some special skills, not to mention techniques, that could somehow, even magically, transform us into qigong healers.
But it slowly dawned on me that this was not be objective of the course. Sure, we learnt many qigong therapeutic techniques, but quite a few of us already knew them, such as the full 18 Lohan hands (though many instructors had a brief panic attack when Sifu demonstrated Carry Mountain differently from how we had learnt and taught it. I was like -- oh no, I have to go back and tell my students that I taught them wrong.) And Sifu just sped through the 36 techniques so fast that some were left a little bewildered.
What I realized was that all of us present already had the skills and techniques. We did not need 100 qigong patterns. In fact, the prescribed patterns came down to a select few, and even those were not as important as being able to generate a qi flow (or in our case, enable others to do so). The skills and techniques of healing, we had in abundance. But they constituted only 20% of the healing process.
The pre-requisite and most important elements of healing lay in the first 80% -- the mental and spiritual aspect, both of ourselves and of the patient (for want of a better word). Do we and the patient have the will and the confidence necessary for the healing?
I realized one thing, prompted by wise sages such as Angel and Javier, among others. That is, in the course of healing, it is not about the healer. It is about the patient and God. The healer is but an intermediary -- an important intermediary no doubt, but it is all too easy to inflate the healer's sense of self-importance.
It is ironic that a healer who has doubts about healing a patient or is afraid that he cannot help the patient to be cured, is actually more egoistic than one with confidence. A self-doubting healer is concerned about his own ego, his own success (or success rate), his own desire and his own reputation. A confident healer recognizes his own limitations, acknowledges that it is ultimately God's will and the will of the patient to live (as well as his own destiny) that matters. The true healer never pretends that he has the power to cure every person. He is not out to awe the crowds or show off his healing prowess. He is simply there to do his part to relieve pain and suffering.
While waiting for my flight home, I was reading my Bible, and I was drawn to a passage in the gospel of Mark about how Jesus healed a paralysed man who was lowered down from the roof (Mark 2: 2-12). Together with many stories of how Jesus healed the sick, infirm, diseased, I realised that all those whom Jesus healed had sought his healing. The woman who touched his cloak and to whom Jesus said "Woman, thy faith has healed thee." (Matt 9: 20-22), the centurion who said "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed." (Luke 7: 2-10), or the lepers or blind men who cried out "Lord, if you are willing, heal me" (Matt 9: 27-30, 20: 29-34, Mark 1: 40-42, Mark 10: 46-52). My Lord, Jesus, the greatest of healers, healed only those who wanted to be healed.
It is the patient who chooses the healer, led by God. It is a humbling thought and yet immensely inspiring. Thank you, Sifu, for once again, leading my mind back to the teachings of my savour.
Zhang Wuji
__________________
Persevere in correct practice
Shooting Arrows in Eighteen Lohan Hands
The above discussion is reproduced from the thread Chi Kung Healing Course in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.
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