How long we live is partly genetic and partly environmental. An important question is whether this balance can be altered through will-power? It may be that longevity - as in continuing to live - may have to be integrated with the development of 'enhanced' awareness regarding how life is to be perceived. This suggests that 'Immortality' is not just about living physically longer (as individuals can live longer simply through genetic 'luck') - but also cultivating a deeper and more profound understanding of what it is to be 'alive'. Conversely, an 'enlightened' being might not always possess a perfect body and could well have to inhabit a living vehicle not always optimised. Immortality must then be a relative concept and cannot be used to suggest, denote or support any form of intolerance or artificial (and superficial) standards of purity. Seeing through the fabric of physical existence at the very least allows an individual to suitably 'adjust' to physical circumstances as they inevitably 'change'. Indeed, 'change' is the essence of physical existence and the agency through which we - as individuals - acquire life in the first place! It is also the agency through which life will come to an end. The point is that physical life - regardless of how long it may last - still comes to an end. Therefore, immortality cannot be merely about a continued (cellular) existence and must include a transformation of consciousness. Even so, we all know people who have passed away young - or who have lived (and are still living) a relatively long time! On this note I am pleased to report that my father has turned 80-years old today!
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I remember translating a highly technical and tricky blog entry written by Master Zhao Ming Wang of Beijing. I enjoy these challenges which the boundaries of my knowledge and understanding of a) traditional Chinese Daoist culture, and b) how this is interpreted, understood and applied to contemporary Chinese culture. This translation was shared by a reader online and was described as ‘mystical nonsense’ by someone who happened to come across it. Of course, this individual took it for granted that the original Chinese language text had been read, understood, translated, re-arranged and logically presented into (British) English! He could not comprehend how Master Zhao Ming Wang had employed a traditional Daoist sub-text in his explanation of a particular aspect of health and longevity practices, and yet articulated this understanding through a distinctly ‘modern’ interpretation of how the mind and body functions. Admittedly, this is a very subtle nuance that exists within the Qianfeng School which ‘blends’ traditional Chinese Daoist understanding with the ‘modern’ science familiar in the Western world. As it is my job to translate Master Zhao Ming Wang’s blog into English, it is my responsibility to convey this reality, even though it is very much an acquired taste! Master Zhao Bichen (1860-1942) was a very intelligent man. Not only did he seek-out and train with over thirty-six different (traditional) Daoist Masters, but he also encountered scientific literature imported from the West – which interested him tremendously. Primarily, this was data relating to medicine, anatomy and physiology – and it is this body of knowledge that he ‘integrated’ with the philosophy of traditional Daoist methodology. For ethnic Chinese readers who are familiar with the usual Daoist literature – the texts of the Qianfeng School are unusual in that they introduce to the Chinese reader common attributes contained within the Western interpretation of modern biology! The only obvious difference is that all this data is presented in Chinese translation. This blending of the ultra-orthodox Daoist ideology of the Qianfeng School with key attributes of ‘modern’ (Western) biological science – makes the Qianfeng School ‘unique’ in both China and the West! This is why the Chinese government considers the Qianfeng School to be an ideal conveyer of Daoism within a ‘modern’ Chinese context that plays-down superstition and literal beliefs in spirits and gods, etc, and encourages a more thorough and proactive ‘care’ for the well-being and health of the psychological and physical aspects of each practitioner. A lot of specialised work is carried-out in China (and in the UK) for teachings of the Qianfeng School to be properly presented for each reader to (freely) absorb, be inspired by and benefit from!
Dear Alex The sixteen steps exist on one-level – and do not exist on another. This is very much like the situation involving Schrodinger's Cat within Western Physics. Patriarch Zhao Bichen (1860-1942) was very interested in the ‘modern’ attitude of the West and how this could be ‘integrated’ with the traditional Chinese ‘spiritualised’ view of the cosmos. As a consequence, Zhao Bichen often deliberately used both the traditional Chinese term and the familiar Western term so that both Chinese and Western people could theoretically study his system. I am told that this attitude of including Westerners may have originated with Master Xu Yun (1840-1959) - who first told Charles Luk (1898-1978) about Patriarch Zhao Bichen. Shortly after returning from the UK in 1935-36 – Charles Luk met with Patriarch Zhao Bichen – with the latter requested that Charles translates his (just finished) journal into English. Charles did not complete this task until 1970 where it was released as ‘Taoist Yoga’ as you know. I tend to follow Master Zhao Ming Wang’s habit of publishing important Daoist data on a blog for public consumption (minus personal detail) - as this ‘public’ display was viewed as ‘compassionate’ by Grand Master Liao Kong. As regards ‘instruction’ - I am not qualified. I can share what I know and that is it. In the West there is a general lack of respect and an attitude of spiritual materialism. You are not like this – but this attitude does exist in the general culture. I did not train in Qianfeng ‘one step at a time’ (and neither did Charles Luk). Zhao Bichen emphasised another method he had learned which is the first fifteen steps embedded in the sixteenth step. I can only manifest this experience (which Zhao Bichen expresses in the first step in ‘Taoist Yoga’). For me, the preparation to ‘leave my body’ is by far more important – and not many people in the West contact me to ‘know’ how to die more efficiently! With the expedient (and ‘thorough’) path, students who have trained for a short-time assist those who have just begun. This process is repeated throughout the training system until the latter stages are reached and only an interaction with Master Zhao Ming Wang is reached. My view is the penetration of ‘emptiness’ between two-breaths – as I believe all the life processes will leave the body and flow in this direction. Some Daoist Masters chose the time of their death and sit in meditation whilst they gently abandon the ‘breathing’ process. Quite often, their body remains sitting upright and does not decay. This process even happens within modern China. You have a good heart and much to give the world. With Metta
Adrian Qianfeng methodology has already been ‘modernized’ by Master Zhao Bichen (1860-1942), and part of this evolution has been the adoption of certain Western biological concept and principles, which have not replaced traditional Chinese thinking, but have rather reinforced the validity of ancient Chinese (Daoist) science. This is not very well known in the West because it happened in China in the early 1930s, with the Western terms being presented not in English, but rather in their Chinese translation (for use by Chinese-speaking people). Master Zhao Bichen was a very clever person. Logic and reason were emphasized by Zhao Bichen over superstition and ignorance. This is exactly the attitude the average Western person would have toward a medical doctor, avoiding any doctors who appealed to nonsensical beliefs, or overly used placebo, etc. Qianfeng Daoism has been modernized – but it has been modernized not by Western force of arms or economic terrorism – but rather by the Chinese people themselves, in their own time and in their own. Western science has not replaced TCM, but is used side by side in China. It is also true that Master Zhao Bichen did study Western science, understood it fully and adopted what he thought was useful for his Daoism, but he still preferred traditional Chinese thinking. He avoided dogma and prejudice and made use of what was useful in both systems whilst not allowing his personal opinion to interfere in the developmental process.
As Westerners, we should follow the good and virtuous example of Master Zhao Bichen, and we should do this regardless of where we live, or how we live. Master Zhao Bichen abolished the traditional Daoist practice of one master teaching one disciple per generation, and instead opened his doors to all and sundry. This does not mean that everyone is suitable for the training, but it does grant everyone an equal chance to ‘try’. Rich or poor – everyone can train regardless of social status, gender or ethnicity. Master Zhao Ming Wang (b. 1966) tends to prefer ‘face to face’ training (at least in the beginning stages), and he does this because like a TCM doctor, Master Zhao Ming Wang will also ‘treat’ the student by stimulating the qi energy channels that flow throughout the body (and mind) as a means to release psycho-physical blockages (usually stored as ‘tension’ in the musculature surrounding the inner organs), build physical strength and clear the mind. He does this by examining the attitude and bodily movement of the student, the colour of the eyes and tongue, and the strength of the various pulses, etc. He also advises a vegetarian diet and no alcohol. Master Zhao Ming Wang massages the muscles, and uses a traditional Daoist acupressure stick which hits the ‘points’ of the qi energy channels exactly. A student may lie down to receive this treatment, or sit upright in a chair. Master Zhao Ming Wang also teaches people with disabilities and adjusts this treatment to their needs. (This is an important point as I have seen other Daoist schools ‘banning’ disabled people on the grounds that they are ‘bad luck’ - this is exactly the ignorance that Master Zhao Bichen abolished). Western students of Qianfeng Daoism have to meaningfully make sense of all this in a manner that fully respects the cultural view of China (as expressed through the Qianfeng School), understands what Master Zhao Ming Wang a) expects, and b) is talking about, and do all this whilst carefully navigating a course through the choppy seas of cultural adaptations and potential misunderstandings. My own view is that all this must be achieved through a sense of spiritual self-sufficiency. Spiritual self-sufficiency has nothing to do with social status or economic situation – but is rather a reliance upon the realization of the empty mind ground (shen), and how this understanding permeates through the entirety of the body (automatically ‘clearing’ all the qi blockages and building ‘jing’). The mind must be ‘stilled’ to realize this reality which does not require any other stimulus – although this is a rare state to achieve. Stilling the mind is the first crucial stage of Qianfeng Daoist training and can be performed exactly where you are right now. Without the mind being ‘stilled’ the Qianfeng training will be only moderately successful. Whilst training to ‘still’ the mind, a Qianfeng student should train in a traditional Chinese martial art that suits their character (whilst ignoring the pettiness of sport). Regular qigong exercise builds a robust body and ensure a fluid mind. All this can be pursued around a central practice of ‘nei dan’ - or meditation which ‘stills’ the mind (whilst also guiding the breath and the circulation of qi and jing etc). If this is established, then the machinations of the external world will fall into place, ensuring that all paradox and confusion falls away. ACW - 釋大道 (12.9.2019) UK Qianfeng Sub-Branch of the 千峰先天派 (Qian Feng Xian Tian Pai) - Thousand Peaks Prenatal School (Beijing) |
AuthorAdrian Chan-Wyles (內丹 - Shi Da Dao) - Qianfeng Lineage: Zhao Bichen (1860-1942), Charles Luk (1898-1978) and Richard Hunn (1949-2006). Acknowledges Master Zhao Ming Wang (赵明旺) of Beijing as the ONLY Lineage Head of the Zhao Family Lineage of Qianfeng Daoism in China and the world. Archives
February 2024
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