There may well be other Daoist lineages being practiced outside of China – but Master Zhao’s Qianfeng lineage is rare. Indeed, Master Zhao has only acknowledged the lineage from his grandfather (Zhao Bichen 1860-1942) who taught my grand-teacher Charles Luk (1898-1978) in the West. That means at the moment - I am the only recognised gateway for this lineage in the West. This is not because I am good at it or even talented in any way – it is just that I am ‘here’ and was taught by Richard Hunn (1949-2006) - the head-disciple of Charles Luk. Master Zhao spent some months in conversation with me and then surprised me with recognising my lineage – for which I am very grateful. This is unusual, as I am not a formal disciple of Master Zhao Ming Wang. I suppose I must go to house one day and serve him tea and get this ceremony out of the way. He keeps asking me to go.
This means you are stuck with me. Women los their essential energy (jing and qi) through the vagina and the nipples of the breasts. This suggests that the jing (essential nature) and qi (vital force) leave the body through menstruation, sexual arousal and sexual activity. This activity (in both men and women) is referred to as a ‘leakage’ of the essentials energies that preserve health and prolongs life-spans. Eating meat diminishes essential energy, whilst eating a vegetarian diet (of various kinds). Within Chinese culture this is far easier than in the West, as bowls of rice and boiled or fried vegetables are plentiful – as you know. There is also the moral imperative of not taking any form of life. Drinking green tea and/or plenty of water keeps the body well-hydrated. All this is a matter of behavioural modification and change of habit. As for the mind – one sits in meditation and directs the breath from the tip of the coccyx up to the top of the head with the inward breath – and then the breath travels down the centre of the face, the centre of torso and down into and around the groin and through anus-area and back to the coccyx – where the cycle begins again. Each session should involve 360 full cycles (usually in the morning). As you breath-in, you become aware of energy moving back into the body through the vagina and into the energy channel in the spine (where it is directed up to the top of head). Simultaneously, you become aware of energy returning into the body from the breast and nipple area – where it is integrated into the energy channel of the spine and directed up to the top of head. As the vagina is anatomically situated lower than the breasts – the energy enters the spinal area slightly lower than that from the breast area. All of this is practiced with the intention of ‘stilling’ the mind and clarifying the spiritual vision.