10 Questions on Cosmic Shower

[wooden shoes]

Dear Sifu,
Thank you for the first part of the answer.

I never gave it much thought but I actually only talk and write about experiences like this within Shaolin Wahnam because as Sifu just described so well, no one would know what I was talking about. Except, of course, here, where most know what I am talking about thanks to our Grandmaster's great teachings and incredible efforts.

Thank you Sifu, for your teachings. Thank you Roland Sihing!

Best wishes,
Roeland

[Luo Lang]

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 6 - Part 2

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 6 - Part 2:

(Continued from Part 1)

It is worthwhile to note that how much a practitioner benefits from Cosmic Shower depends on his developmental stage. In other words, how much grace God gives to people depends on their needs. For a beginner who is sick, Cosmic Shower clears his physical blockage and enables him to recover, or God overcomes his illness and gives him good health. For an advanced practitioner, Cosmic Shower clears his spiritual blockage and gives him cosmic wisdom, or God makes him see things in celestial light. The multiple level of benefits of Cosmic Shower makes it a great art.

If you had not practiced Cosmic Shower and other high-level arts but only had practiced Golden Bridge, it is very unlikely that you would have such an experience. If you ever had such a beautiful experience, it would be after a few years of practicing Golden Bridge. For you, if you practiced Golden Bridge daily, you might have 10% chance of experiencing a cosmic shower after 5 years. Yes, your beautiful experience is the result of my teaching of spread and depth.

For other people outside our school who do not have my teaching of spread and depth, they would be lucky if they had 1% chance of experiencing a cosmic shower after practicing Golden Bridge daily for 20 years. As I have often mentioned, some people may be angry at my estimation, and that is their problem, not mine. I make the estimation honestly.

Why is it that our Shaolin Wahnam instructors or students could have 10% chance of experiencing a cosmic shower after practicing Golden Bridge for 5 years, even though they had not practiced the art of Cosmic Shower, whereas other practitioners would have only 1% chance after 20 years? It is because our instructors and students have the general skills though they don’t have the specific techniques of experiencing a cosmic shower, whereas other practitioners have neither the skills nor the techniques. Other practitioners do not even have the skills to develop internal force with Golden Bridge.

Those who attend my course on Cosmic Shower would learn the techniques and be transmitted the skills within 4 hours. In other words they will be able to enjoy a cosmic shower within 4 hours because they have both the skills and the techniques. Someone in our school who does not have the specific skills of Cosmic Shower but has the general skills of chi kung, and knows the specific techniques of Cosmic Shower, may acquire the skills after a few months of daily practice.

The explanation above is straightforward, but other people may not understand it even when they understand the dictionary meaning of all the words used. As mentioned at the start of the answer, it is because they lack direct experience.

<End>

[Luo Lang]

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 7 -- Part 1

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 7 -- Part 1:

Question 7


Practicing Cosmic Shower often leads to experiencing the presence of the Divine, albeit using an energy visualization method.

In my experience the feeling of Cosmic Shower is getting more and more refined over the years, and what was in my earliest stages a real energy shower feeling (feeling of energy) gradually evolved to a very subtle contact with the Supreme or Divine. I have to add that this Cosmic Shower feeling can now be initiated without any technique and without conscious volition as well, but just by standing where I am, relaxed and happy.



Therefore I would like to ask what are the differences between God (or the Divine) and energy. What is the relationship between God (Cosmos, Divine, etc...) and energy? Are the development stages described above to be normally expected?

Sifu Maxime Citerne


Answer

Congratulations for your wonderful development. This development, though expected from senior practitioners in our school is very, very rare. Most chi kung practitioners do not even experience an energy flow. And the number of people who practice gentle physical exercise but mistaken it as chi kung is actually very small compared to the world’s population.

But your development is expected from our students. Those students who only learn generating energy flow from us, but do not learn any other chi kung skills in other courses, if they practice regularly and sufficiently may sometimes feel energy flowing inside them even when they are not performing any chi kung patterns.

Those who progress to more advanced chi kung skills, like Sinew Metamorphosis or Small Universe, may feel the effects of their arts even when they are not performing the respective techniques, like feeling very powerful or enjoying a small universal energy flow. In your case, as you have learnt Cosmic Shower before, you can feel a shower of cosmic energy by just standing relaxed and feeling happy.

Originally, Cosmic Shower was just the art of having cosmic energy showering down our body. This is still the result practitioners in other schools, who practice genuine chi kung and have practiced consistently for many years, experience when they perform similar chi kung skills.

They may not call their art Cosmic Shower. Indeed many of them may not have different techniques or skills. They continue practicing what they first learned, and after many years of dedicated practice, they may experience cosmic energy showering down through them. This experience of a cosmic shower happens only infrequently, and they would consider it a fantastic attainment. Only a small percentage of those who practice genuine chi kung would have this experience, probably less than 10%.

Please note that this is not 10% of those who say they practice chi kung. More than 80% of those who say, and sincerely believe, that they practice chi kung actually practice gentle physical exercise. Thus, this is 10% of the total number of the less than 20% of people who say they practice chi kung. In other words, a rough estimate is that less than 2% of people who say they practice chi kung outside our school may have a cosmic shower infrequently.

The term “Cosmic Shower” was coined by me for this regional course that produced a shower of cosmic energy down the body of course participants. At first I called it “Golden Shower”, but later changed the term to “Cosmic Shower”.

More than 60% of those who attended a Cosmic Shower course would experience a cosmic shower down their body. There were two reason why we could be so ridiculously cost-effective. I knew the philosophy of having a cosmic shower, including the necessary techniques and skills, and I transmitted the skills to the course participants.

Amongst those who practice chi kung (most of them actually practice gentle physical exercise), but do not know the techniques and the skills of Cosmic Shower, less than 2% may experience a cosmic energy showering down their body if they practice diligently for more than 5 years. For our students, who not only practice genuine chi kung but can purposely generate an energy flow, if they know the techniques and the skills, but the skills are not transmitted to them, more than 50% will have a cosmic shower if they practice the techniques and skills on their own for less than 6 months. It they attend a Cosmic Shower Course where the skills are transmitted to them, they can have a cosmic shower in less than 4 hours!

(Part 2 follows)

[wooden shoes]

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions Sifu! And thanks to Roland Sihing for arranging it!

Best wishes,

Roeland

[Luo Lang]

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 7 -- Part 2

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 7 -- Part 2:

(Continued from Part 1)

As I continued teaching Cosmic Shower, I improved my teaching methodology. First I transmitted the skills of opening their meridians so that cosmic energy could shower down the body of course participants more effectively. Then I transmitted the skills of cleansing their blockage physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Now, in the latest development, after their cleansing, I transmit the skills of strengthening them physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Besides having learnt Cosmic Shower, you also have learnt Sinew Metamorphosis or other methods that can build tremendous internal force, and Merging with the Cosmos. Hence, as you have practiced the techniques and skills diligently, even when you are not performing the techniques but are in an ideal condition, like standing upright and relaxed, and feeling happy, the skills manifest themselves, with you enjoying a cosmic shower or expanding into the Cosmos.

The differences between God or the Divine and energy is a matter of semantics, and depend much on the persons using those terms as well as the conditions in which those terms are used.

For those who do not believe in God or the Divine, and have no exposure of genuine chi kung, and that constitute a lot of people in the world, God and energy are different. They regard God as a term used to scare people, or sometimes to persuade them to do good. They regard energy as some force that does work, like bring of oil to drive engines, or the action of winds that insidiously but surely erodes land.

For those who believe in God or the Divine but have no exposure to genuine chi kung, the terms are also different. They regard God or the Divine as real, though many may not fully understand the terms. They also regard energy as force that does work.

For those who may or may not believe in God or the Divine, and practice gentle physical exercise but mistaken to be chi kung, the terms are also different. God is supreme, whereas energy in the context of the “chi kung’ they practice, is what they have heard of but never experienced.

For us in Shaolin Wahnam, whether God or the Divine and energy are the same or different depends on the conditions we use these terms. In a cosmic dimension, God or the Divine and energy are the same. God or the Divine is an undifferentiated spread of universal energy, infinite and eternal.

In a personal context, God or the Divine and energy are different. God is personal, though He can also be universal in other situations, and the God one worships may or may not be the same as the God another person worships. The connotations, at least, are very different.

Energy is the force we work with for attaining good health, vitality, longevity, mental clarity and spiritual joy. It is different from God or the Divine.

The relationship between God or the Divine and energy depends on ones understanding and situations. To many people there is no relationship between God or the Divine and energy, regardless of whether it is mechanical energy, natural energy or life force as in genuine chi kung. To others, especially those who are pious, the fruitful use of energy, like driving a car or practicing chi kung to overcome illness, is a grace of God or the Divine.

When we practice Cosmic Shower, we regard the energy that cleanses and strengthen us as a grace of God. We appreciate that God or the Divine is all compassionate, and He gives his grace to all people. It is not because God or the Divine does not bestow grace on them that some people are sick or unhappy. It is because they block themselves from the grace of God. Cosmic Shower is an excellent method to clear the blockage.

The developmental stages you mentioned above, like the feeling of Cosmic Shower getting more and more refined, and from experiencing a cosmic shower to a presence of the Divine, are normally expected from our instructors and students who practice our arts diligently. But to most other people, such developmental stages are very rare, and may be considered crazy by some people.

As explained in some details above, the developmental stages of our instructors and students depend on the philosophy, skills and techniques they have learnt. If they have learnt only basic philosophy, skills and techniques of generating an energy flow, they may also obtain the benefits of more advanced chi kung arts after practicing diligently for many years.

This, in fact, is the normal development of most other practitioners who practice genuine chi kung. But they need a much longer time, and a far smaller percentage will attain these results because they only know the basic techniques, without knowing the basic philosophy and skills.

Those instructors and students who attend courses on special chi kung arts, like Cosmic Shower, Cosmic Breathing and Developing Internal Force, will have more than 80% of obtaining the respective benefits in 4 hours because the philosophy and techniques are taught, and the skills transmitted to them. It is simply ridiculous but true.

<End>

[Maxime]

Bowing with Gratitute

Thank you.

[Luo Lang]

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 8

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 8:

Question 8

Regarding that you teach the Cosmic Shower quite frequently all over the world and also that you mention the Cosmic Shower very often, it seems to me quite obviously, that the Cosmic Shower may be one of your favorite skills. Could you explain why?

Thomas


Answer

Yes, Cosmic Shower is one of my favour skills.

I practiced this skill quite frequently in my early years as a chi kung healer. In the 1980s I was a pioneer in not only opening chi kung teaching to the public, but also teaching it in a package of 6 months with set aims and objectives.

It was much later than some chi kung masters from China came to Malaysia and countries of Southeast Asia to teach chi kung, but mostly in the form of gentle physical exercise, in courses of a few months. Most of these masters, however, did not practice, or at least did not teach kungfu.

This was, I believe, a first innovation in chi kung history. Previously chi kung, better known as en kung or internal art, was taught exclusively only to advanced kungfu disciples after they had proven themselves worthy.

There were no set aims nor objectives, and there was no time frame. Practicing nei kung would be a matter of years. A master would teach his few selected students, and sometimes only one selected student, some techniques of internal art without any conscious awareness of the purpose why he taught them, apart from the obvious fact that this teaching was an advanced, and usually secret, part of his art. The selected students learned it without knowing why, apart from their acceptance of the new teaching as a reward for their dedication.

Hence, later when some masters from China taught chi kung in various Southeast Asian countries to the public, there were two main concepts of internal arts. One was nei kung, a form of advanced, internal kungfu. The other was chi kung, a form of exercise for general well-being. Many people, including some masters, wrongly considered that nei kung was only for combat, chi kung could not be used for fighting, and both could not be used to overcome illness. Indeed it was partly because of these issues that I had a big controversy with both the kungfu and the chi kung circles in the 1980s.

At this time I was still working as a school teacher. So I employed a chi kung master as a chi kung healer in a chi kung clinic I set up in partnership with two other persons. This master later betrayed me and left, and so I had to carry on the clinic as a chi kung healer myself.

To be efficient in my job as a chi kung healer, I read a lot of chi kung classics. It was emphasized that a healer must cleanse himself off the sick energy that he might have picked up from his patients.

I found two effective methods. One was to flick away the bad energy from the fingers like flicking away water. The other method was to have an energy shower.

I discovered an energy shower from my dedicated practice of exercises from the 18 Lohan Hands, like Lifting the Sky and Carrying the Moon. As I progressed in my many years of training, I discovered a shower of energy coming down my head through my body to my feet.

At first I called it Golden Shower, and taught it my early courses as I travelled overseas to teach. Later I called it Cosmic Shower.

In my early courses, Cosmic Shower was used only for cleansing. It was effective not only for cleansing sick energy a chi kung healer might pick up from his patients, but also for clearing blockage to enable people to overcome illness.

At first I was aware only of physical cleansing. But as I taught more courses, I discovered that the cleansing could also be emotional, mental and spiritual. I discovered from direct experience that students who were angry or anxious became calm and relaxed, who previously had negative thoughts started to have good thoughts, and who were previously depressed or easily afraid became peaceful and confident.

In a flash of inspiration I discovered that God or the Divine gave His grace to everybody, in the form of good health, being peaceful, mental freshness and being happy. But some people blocked themselves form God’s or Divine grace, and become sick, agitated, dull and depressed. Cosmic Shower was an excellent art to clear the blockage so as to receive the grace of God or the Divine.

As I progressed in my teaching, I discovered that Cosmic Shower not only cleansed but also strengthened practitioners physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. The benefits were confirmed by asking course participants to answer from their own experience. More than 80% of participants of Cosmic Shower courses reported that they felt stronger physically, could control their emotions more effectively, had better mental clarity, and were uplifted spiritually.

<End>

[Luo Lang]

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 9 -- Part 1

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 9 -- Part 1

Question 9

When I practiced Vipassana the instruction was "observe your body sensations from head to toe and from toe to head". After some time this induced a Cosmic Shower. 


A few years later I took a retreat with a Rinzai Zen group. Here the instruction was "inhale with the Cosmos, exhale with the Cosmos". This induced Cosmic Breathing.



Are Cosmic Shower and Cosmic Breathing different in terms of spiritual cultivation? Is there any relation between Cosmic Shower and Vipassana and between Cosmic Breathing and Zen?



Sifu Anton Schmick


Answer

Your wonderful experiences of a cosmic shower and of cosmic breathing when you practiced Vipassana meditation and when your practiced Rinzai Zen respectively were due to your having practiced Cosmic Shower and Cosmic Breathing before.

Even if you had not attended these two courses, because of the advanced skills you have acquired in our school, like entering deeply into a chi kung state of mind and tapping energy from the Cosmos, you would also have such beautiful experiences and benefits because the methods in the Vipassana and Zen practices were similar to those in our Cosmic Shower and Cosmic breathing. Other practitioners would not have such experiences and benefits no matter for how long they may practice Vipassna meditation or Zen.

This is a great benefit that our students have, i.e. experiencing similar results of our arts when they practice other arts or during their normal life. Because they have learnt how to generate an energy flow, for example, many of our students can experience an energy flow when they perform chi kung exercises of other schools. Because they have learnt internal force, our students can feel internal force even during their normal life.

In terms of spiritual cultivation, Cosmic Shower and Cosmic Breathing are both the same and different. The answer depends much on our terms of reference.

If we think of spiritual cultivation in general, Cosmic Shower and Cosmic Breathing are the same as both are advanced arts with benefits ranging from the basic to the highest level.

At a basic level, both Cosmic Shower and Cosmic Breathing enable practitioners to be peaceful and happy. Considering that many people today are agitated and stressful, even these basic benefits are marvellous, though many of our students take these benefits for granted. By the fact that they learn chi kung in our school, they are peaceful and happy.

At the highest level, both Cosmic Shower and Cosmic Breathing enable our advanced practitioners to expand into the Cosmos. Understandably many other people may not believe that our students can attain such marvellous results. Some may ask how we know we have expanded into the Cosmos. It is like asking how we know we have eaten our lunch. Those who have no direct experience will not understand our explanation, nor our analogy.

In thematic aspects, Cosmic Shower and Cosmic Breathing are different. As their names clearly reveal, in Cosmic Shower, we enjoy a cascade of energy flowing through us from the Cosmos, and in Cosmic Breathing we breath, or pulsate, with the Cosmos.

It is helpful to remember that “breathing” in Cosmic Breathing is in a classical sense, referring to an exchange of energy between our dan tian and the Cosmos, in contrast with a modern sense of breathing referring to an exchange of air through the nose and mouth. Indeed, during Cosmic Breathing many of our students realize that they do not breath in the modern sense.

(Part 2 follows)

[Luo Lang]

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 9 -- Part 2

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 9 -- Part 2

(Continued from Part 1)

Why do we practice Cosmic Shower and Cosmic Breathing? In other words, what are the benefits we can get from these two marvellous arts? As mentioned earlier, these arts provide many benefits ranging from the basic to the highest, but we shall now focus on only their primary benefits, which also show their difference.

In Cosmic Shower we employ cosmic energy to cleanse and strengthen ourselves physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, thus receiving and enhancing the blessing of God or the Divine. In Cosmic Breathing we use cosmic energy to build tremendous internal force to break through our illusionary body to expand into the Cosmos.

Yes, there is much relation between Cosmic Shower and Vipassana meditation, and between Cosmic Breathing and Zen as you practiced them.

By paying attention to your body sensations from head to toe, you also stimulate an energy flow from head to toe. This flow of energy from head to toe attract energy from the Cosmos, thus manifesting in a cosmic shower.

For those who have not learnt Cosmic Shower before, they would not have a cosmic shower. At best they would pay attention to body sensation from head to toe, eventually attaining a one-pointed mind.

For my early students who attended Cosmic Shower courses, they would just experience a cosmic shower. For my later students, they would also know how to use the cosmic energy to cleanse themselves physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. As I have improved my teaching methodology, for those who attended my latest Cosmic Shower courses, besides cleansing they would also know how to use cosmic energy to strengthen themselves physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

In your Zen training, as you inhaled with the Cosmos and exhaled with the Cosmos, you attained cosmic breathing, where you needed not breath in and out air through your nose and mouth, but exchanged energy between your dan tian and the Cosmos. Those who have not learnt Cosmic Breathing, will not be able to pulsate with the Cosmos because they still breath in and out through their nose and mouth. But a very small minority may unintentionally developed into cosmic breathing after many years of dedicated practice.

Cosmic Breathing is very powerful. Practitioners literally pulsate with the Cosmos. Hence, they are able to use not just their personal energy through their normal nose and mouth breathing, but to use cosmic energy from the Cosmos. With this tremendous amount of energy, and with the appropriate techniques and skills, they are able to expand into the Cosmos.

This applies to our students who have attended courses on Cosmic Breathing. The very few who practice Zen for a long time and unintentionally develop cosmic breathing, would not be able to use the internal force to expand into the Cosmos because they do not have the necessary techniques and skills to do so.

The internal force they have developed from their unintentional al cosmic breathing will also not be as powerful as that developed by our students even though they may have spent longer time in their training. Their intention is to inhale with the Cosmos and exhale with the Cosmos, and not to develop tremendous internal force to be used to expand into the Cosmos. They also inhale and exhale through their nose and mouth, though without their realising it they infrequently exchange energy between their dan tian and the Cosmos.

These examples illustrate why we are so incrediably successful and effective. We understand the philosophy, know our aims and objectives, and purposely work towards attaining our aims and objectives with appropriate skills and techniques. Others just practice the techniques, albeit diligently, and obtain remarkable results incidentally after a long time.

<End>

[Luo Lang]

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 10 -- Part 1

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 10 -- Part 1:

Question 10

I am also very interested to understand the differences between the variety of ways in which we as humans feel the divine flowing within our body's hearts and minds.

 Our wonderful Sifu has allowed us to experience this in many different, profound and direct ways through his generous and beautiful teaching.



With my very basic level of understanding sometimes things can get blurred with regards to what I am feeling, how I am feeling it and where its coming from.
 Thus generally I tend to just let go and enjoy allowing the universe to flow through me rather than trying to grasp hold of or understand it.

 However is this correct?



For example: practicing chi kung with my dad and experiencing chi flow together has been at times profound, beautiful and expanding, and once we suddenly felt a cosmic shower running into and through both of us. However at some point it was difficult to understand where it was flowing, i.e. from top to bottom, bottom to top, round and round, inwards to outwards or out to in, as we were simply enjoying being.



Maybe it was instead a wonderful chi flow blessing of awesomeness from the divine for us both.

 Either way it was a fabulous thing.

Sifu Sean Grame


Answer

The divine, called God in many religions, is infinite and eternal. It is everything there is. In parsec terms, it is the universal spread of energy.

In its widest sense, the divine flowing in us is energy flow in chi kung. In its narrow sense, it is a cosmic shower. Hence the divine flowing within our body’s hearts and minds ranges from one exercise to all of chi kung.

The divine flow gives us the grace of God, manifested as good health, being happy, mental clarity and spiritual joys. But some people are sick and unhappy. This is not because the divine, or God, does not give His blessings to all people, but these sick and unhappy people block themselves from the grace of God. An excellent art is Cosmic Shower, which clear the blockage and lets the grace of God flow through.

The same principle applies to all other types of energy flow in all chi kung. Providing good health, which includes and surpasses overcoming pain and illness, is the basic benefit of all chi kung, the essence of which is energy flow.

There are countless ways of practicing chi kung, i.e. generating an energy flow or letting the divine flow through us. The countless differences may be classified into two main groups, dynamic chi kung and quiescent

An example of dynamic chi kung is Lifting the Sky from the 19 Lohan Hands. An example of quiescent chi kung is Abdominal Breathing.

Cosmic Shower refers to a chi kung skill, and it belongs to quiescent chi kung. We can implement the skill of Cosmic Shower with many different exercises. An excellent example is Lifting the Sky. Another excellent example is Carrying the Moon. Both are dynamic chi kung techniques.

We can also induce a cosmic shower using the quiescent technique of Dan Tian Breathing. But if all other things were equal, using Lifting the Sky or Carrying the Moon is more effective.

Congratulations for the beautiful, profound and expanding experiences, especially together with you dad. It was indeed wonderful to practice chi kung with your dad and together enjoy its amazing benefits. Practicing chi kung together with your dad by itself was a great blessing.

Like most of our instructors, you are very modest to say that your understanding and experience of chi kung are very basic. Modesty is a virtue which we should cultivate. But, at the same time, we should also realise that your understanding and experience of chi kung, like the understanding and experience of chi kung of other instructors, are actually quite advanced when compared to those of other practitioners, including masters of the present as well as of the past.

(Part 2 follows)

[Luo Lang]

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 10 -- Part 2

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 10 -- Part 2:

(Continued from Part 1)

Many masters today, for example, do not know what is entering into a chi kung state of mind, which is basic knowledge to all our students as it is an essential condition for practicing genuine chi kung. These masters, therefore, would not have entered into a chi kung state of mind on purpose when they practice chi kung, but due to their long years of practice, they might have entered into a chi kung state of mind incidentally. Hence, their chi kung attainment must not be high, but we still address them as masters, which is a sign of our modesty.

Masters in the past had a higher level of attainment than modern masters, but their knowledge of chi kung was lower. This was because knowledge was scarce in the past. Some masters might be illiterate. Today,especially with the internet, information is aplenty — to an extent that we have to distinguish good knowledge from mis-information.

One important benefit of this realisation that we are actually knowledgeable in chi kung besides having high attainment, is to give us courage to righting wrong. We would, of course, do so tactfully.

An example which some of our instructors often face is as follows. This example concerns kungfu rather than chi kung, but I mention it as it is common and the principle is the same. In Taijiquan Pushing Hands, an established master may tell our young instructor that the latter’s way of pushing hands is incorrect, and the correct way is his way, which has been passed down, in his lineage, for generations.

Instead of keeping quiet which will give an impression that what the master has said is true, the instructor should politely reply that his way is what he has learned from our school and he has found it very useful, and the test of its usefulness is in practical application. Our young instructor should engage Pushing Hands with the master. Out of respect, he should not openly defeat the master, but he should first prevent the master from pushing him away, which shows defence, and then subtly push the master away or off-balance him, which shows attack, but without making it too obvious.

What you have said about letting the chi kung experience happened and not intellectualising on it, is not only correct, but was highly recommended by genuine past masters. They went further by telling practitioners not to worry about the benefits as the benefits would surely come. This is expressed by the term “wu-wei”, or non-action.

“Wu-wei" has been routinely explained as “not doing anything, and everything will be done for you”. This adds to the confusion. Many people, including many Chinese, wonder how could everything be done for you if you do nothing.

As I have often mentioned in class, the confusion will be cleared when we realize that “wu-wei” is only half the secret. The other half, which comes before, is “you-we", which means “do something”. So the complete secret is “do something” then “don’t do anything”, and everything will be done for you as a matter of course. Perform the action of an appropriate exercise, then be spontaneous and enjoy the experience, and the benefits that the exercise is meant to give will come.

Modern bogus masters do the reverse. They intellectualise about the exercise but never perform it, or never perform it the way it should be done. For example, in chi kung they talk about energy of different colours, which they never experience, but they never performed chi kung in a chi kung state of mind, which is an essential condition in performing any chi kung. In kungfu, they talk about internal force as body mechanics, but they never have any experience of what they talk about, and therefore never have the benefits.

How do we know that these bogus masters do not have the experience and benefits of what they talk about when we are not them. It is because of direct experience. From our direct experience we know that we have to enter into a chi kung state of mind to perform chi kung, and that internal force is not the result of body mechanics.

(Part 3 follows)

[Luo Lang]

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 10 -- Part 3

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 10 -- Part 3

(Continued from Part 2)

Having enjoyed and benefited from our chi kung and kungfu experiences constantly for a long time, we can look back to explain what happened. Our expiation constitute the philosophy. The philosophy comes after the experience, not before it. The philosophy is a logical explanation of our experience, and confirmed by repeated experience.

We say that we need to enter into a chi kung state of mind to generate an energy flow because that is our repeated experience. As a test, when we tense our muscles or let our mind wander, we cannot generate an energy flow.

We say that chi kung can overcome illness because that is our repeated experience. Many sick person have overcome their illness by practicing chi kung learned from us. Some skeptics may ask whether we did any scientific experiments to prove that it was actually chi kung, and not eating breakfast at 8 instead of at 9 as an outlandish example, that overcome their illness. We do not want to waste our time arguing with skeptics. To us, and to our students who were sick, it is sufficient, and rewarding, that they overcame their illness after practicing chi kung.

In line with wu-wei, where you enjoy a cosmic shower or any energy flow, it is not necessary to know how you are feeling it, where the chi is coming from, and where it is flowing, i.e. from top to bottom, bottom to top, round and round, inwards to outwards, or out to in.

I was often amused when beginners in our school, though they had used chi kung techniques to practice gentle physical exercise for a long time in other schools, asked me when they first had their energy flow, from where the chi came from and why they felt tingling sensations at their fingers. After giving them brief answers that the chi could come from the Cosmos or could be within themselves, and that feeling tingling sensations at their fingers was a normal effect of chi flow, I made a point to ask them not to worry about unnecessary intellectualization and enjoy their experience and benefit.

But at the level of instructors, it is good to know the answers. If you perform Cosmic Shower, energy will cascade down from top to bottom. If you perform Long Breathing, which is a part of Small Universe in our methodology, energy will flow from bottom to top, i.e. from hub-yin to bai-hui. If you perform Swinging Hips or Hola Hoop, energy will flow round and round. When you use chi kung to cleanse, energy will flow from inwards to outwards. When you tap energy from the Cosmos, energy will flow from out to in.

All these are normal way of chi flow due to different chi kung techniques you have chosen if all other things were equal. If a practitioner has a sever blockage that may affect his life, energy will flow to clear the blockage irrespective of what techniques he choses. If the blockage is at the top of his head which may cause a stroke though he may not know it at present, energy will flow from bottom to top. If the blockage, for example, is at his feet where a gland produces some trace elements necessary for the normal functioning of his heart, but it is not doing its normal work because of the blockage, energy will flow from top to bottom. This is an excellent example of the benefit of wu-wei.

However, if his mind is powerful, despite the severe blockage, he may direct chi flow with his mind. This, I believe, is an important reason why some masters, who undoubtedly had much internal force, did not live to a ripe old age. If they practiced wu-wei, or understand chi kung philosophy which our typical students know, they would allow chi flow to give them good health, vitality and longevity, which are the natural benefits of practicing genuine chi kung diligently.

Depending on how you look at it, your amazing experience was a wonderful chi flow blessing of awesomeness from the divine, or a natural result of your dedicated practice. Indeed, either way it was a fabulous thing.

<End>


[Luo Lang]

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 11

Cosmic Shower: Question-Answer 11

Question 11

I would like to share an experience rather than ask a question.



During standing meditation just now, I had a flash of inspirational experience that blessings are always there, ready to permeate our soul and cascade down onto us like in Cosmic Shower. Sigung mentions this all the time - God's blessing is for everyone, but those who tense physically, mentally and spiritually block themselves from His Grace.



It's one thing to hear this wisdom. But it's another thing to experience it as I just did. I "saw" my energetic blockages repelling away the divine blessings. I don't know why. After that experience, I spontaneously allowed myself to go into a gentle Cosmic Shower and saw my energetic garbage wash away allowing divine energy through.

 It was quite emotional as I felt some karma cleansed. And yes, this experience was triggered by Dragon Strength.



Stephen


Answer

Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience, and thank you for the kind words said about me.

Your sharing will bring benefit to more people than what I have always mentioned, that God or the Divine gives His blessings to everybody, but those tense and intellectualise unnecessarily block themselves from His grace.

There are many ways to clear the blockage, like taking medication, socialising with friends, and enjoying a holiday, but practicing genuine chi kung is a sure and excellent way. Amongst countless chi kung exercises, Cosmic Shower is one of the best, if not the best.

Indeed, it is one thing to hear the wisdom, but it is another thing to experience it. With the internet, many people today have access to incredible wisdom, and also mis-information mistaken as wisdom, but few people make some effort to experience it and benefit from it.

An excellent way to have such an experience and benefit from it is to learn from a teacher who has the following qualifications:

He has the wisdom.
He has the methodology to experience and benefit from the wisdom.
He has many students who have experienced and benefitted from his teaching.
He is willing to teach you.

Obviously it is futile to learn from a teacher who does not have the wisdom you are seeking, yet a lot of people are doing just this. A lot of students who want to defend themselves, for example, learn kungfu from teachers who explicitly way that kungfu cannot be used for fighting.

Chi kung teachers know that practicing chi kung will give good health. Yet there are many students who learn from chi kung teachers who are themselves sick. It is obvious that these teachers do not have the methodology to benefit from their wisdom.

Some kungfu masters have internal force, but their students who have learnt from them for a long time, don’t. It is unwise to learn form such teachers even when they themselves have the wisdom that good kungfu generates internal force, and have benefitted from the wisdom.

An important point many people neglect is whether the teacher is willing to teach you the kind of wisdom you seek to experience and benefit from. Some even go to the ridiculous extent to claim that if a teacher is a true master he must reach whoever students willing to learn. Such students probably form their misconception from meeting many bogus masters.

To be emotional after karmic cleansing is quite usual.

Dragon Strength, as taught in the Dragon Strength Course, is a marvellous art. It will enhance anything we do, in chi kung, kungfu as well as in daily life.

<End>

[Tim]

I have just re read this wonderful thread. It was more like receiving the lesson with direct experience than reading the words. Wonderful!

[gusty]

I am touched by a deep sense of gratitude for Sifu's boundless generosity and kindness to us. These question and answer series are simply amazing.

And thanks to all who posed these wonderful questions.

Gratefully, Gusty