There are two gates up there. One leads to places within the three worlds, and one goes beyond the three worlds. I opened the one beyond the three worlds for you when I gave you initiation. Understand? Just like your house has a front door and a back door. You use the front door to go outside, whereas the back door will lead you to the trash bin or the restroom.
Master: There are people who practice that kind of martial art. Do you know it? It’s like this. From here. And neither the knife nor the sword can pierce into it, including here. (The throat.) And their hands become… (Very hard.) They can bend an iron bar like it’s a noodle. What did you practice? Internal or external qigong?
Q(m1): I have iron arms now.
Master: What? (Iron arms.)
Q(f3): He has iron arms too. (Iron arms.)
Master: You have iron arms? You can also bend the iron bar, right?
Q(m1): No. After reconstruction, the bones become harder. And the skin can withstand pain.
Master: Withstand the wind? (Pain.) Pain? Oh!
Q(m1): If any of you want to try, you’re welcome to come up here.
Q(f3): He’s asking people to come and try.
Master: Come and try? No need. You can beat yourself with the iron bar. Then they’ll know you’re not afraid of pain!
Q(m1): But if I use the iron bar, they will not know how hard my arms are. They have to try for themselves.
Master: I have to find a martial art expert to come up here. Tong! The copper man! Come up! I don’t know if he has iron arms. I know he cannot be hurt by knives and swords. But iron arms… I don’t know. Someone else is coming? Come, come! It’s more fun this way! Otherwise, people will think that we are boring practitioners and only useless people come here. They don’t know that there are great kung fu masters among us. OK, you two.
Master: Aren’t you a dentist? No?
Q(m2): No. I’ve practiced martial arts for almost 30 years.
Master: Practiced what? (Kungfu.) Wow! If I’d known this earlier, I would not have dared to give you initiation. Welcome. Now try him. Fix him for me. He has boasted enough about his power. You see that? Thirty years! Good! Wow! Great! You see?
Q(m1): I came up to entertain you all, not to boast or anything.
Master: Sit. Just sit down. Sit here. It’s OK. Now we will try something different. You all can talk. You don’t have to always listen to me. Now let’s hear you all talk. OK! Go on. You can fix him after he’s finished. Don’t be polite with him. OK, tell me.
Q(m1): I once competed with someone who had iron palms.
Master: Iron palms? (Yes.) OK, understand. (He could…) Kill someone with his hand, right? (Yes, he could.) Wow! Scary!
Q(m1): He could even stir hot sands with his bare hands. His skin would peel off and be replaced with a new skin. The skin would have yellow and white patches.
Master: Understand.
Q(m1): It looked horrible. Because I got my iron arms from practicing qigong, they look normal on the outside.
Master: Understand. (They are different inside.) I understand. You use the inner qi. (Yes.) to push it here. I know now.
Q(m1): Yes, yes. Just like forging iron. A knife has to be forged to make it strong so it won’t become jagged after use.
Master: Yes.
Q(m1): I have hit his palms before.
Master: You did? (Yes.) Oh! Not bad!
Q(m1): But I found that his bones are not really hard.
Master: Not so good. (No. Only one spot on his hands is hard. He only worked on one part, not his whole arm.)
Master: Oh! Maybe he didn’t practice that well. But you have to watch out! If you met a top kung fu master, you would be finished. It’s true that some people really have iron hands. They can bend knives and swords like toys. You would be finished if you were touched by his sword. He can twist it like a noodle or a French baguette.
Master: What else? You beat him? (No.) How good was that person?
Q(m1): He was once an advisor to the taekwondo coaches in the Marine Corps in Zuoying.
Q(f3): He was an advisor to a coach in the Navy.
Master: Wow! That means he’s good, doesn’t it?
Q(m1): He was an advisor to their taekwondo coaches.
Master: Oh, that means… (In the army.) That means he’s good. Right? Or did they just pick randomly? Or were the real masters in hiding? Is that possible? Was there anyone better than him? What do you think? You are from the martial arts community. Do you know anything?
Q(m2): I believe that kung fu is about what’s within. For example, in qigong, you have to relax when practicing, so that your bones would become strong. That’s what he meant by bone remodeling. I have practiced almost all types of martial arts, including qigong. I can make hundreds of people’s fingers longer or shorter at the same time.
Q(f3): He can make fingers of hundreds of people become longer or shorter.
Q(m1): You can try it later.
Master: What is that? What do you mean by longer and shorter? I cannot understand your martial jargon.
Q(m2): I can send qi to someone’s fingers and make them longer.
Master: Longer? (Their fingers will become longer. Two fingers will be of different lengths.) Yes?
Q(f3): And the fingers of each arm can also become different. (Yes.)
Master: One will be shorter and one longer?
Q(m2): Many people in Taiwan (Formosa) can do this. At least hundreds of them.
Master: Hundreds of people can do this? (Yes, I am not the only one.) Hundreds of them in Taiwan (Formosa).
Q(m2): Many can do it. It’s very common.
Master: Wow! So you can make a short person taller?
Q(m2): Yes, but they will shrink back after a while.
Master: Then what is the use of it? (It’s of no use.) It’s a waste of your time and that person’s expectation. (That’s why I quit.) You stopped learning? (I now practice the Quan Yin Method.) Yeah, that is a waste of time. What’s the use of making people taller if they just shrink back afterwards? Otherwise I could… (But it could be used to relieve pain.) Otherwise, you could use it to help our young monks grow faster. Yes? You could use your kung fu to pull them up a little. They eat a lot of blessed food but it still doesn’t help. I order a lot of food for them every month. All kinds of food. They still don’t grow much. Like Tong. There’s nothing I can do! Do you think you can pull him up a little? OK, OK. Say yes only if you can. Otherwise, don’t bother. OK. You can tell us what you are good at. Then it will be his turn. We can have a discussion. If there’s anything you would like to add or correct, then you can bring it up in the discussion. OK, sit over here. Don’t face the audience, they have a lot of karma. Look over here. Tell me. What else?
Q(m1): When I came for initiation, in the beginning I was not so… I just wanted to give it a try. But the more I practiced, the more discoveries I made inside. This is just an analogy. Many brothers and sisters fell in love with You first and married You later. But I did not fall in love first. My marriage came before the love. I was initiated first.
Master: You just wanted to try.
Q(m1): After initiation, I realized how good the Quan Yin Method is. I fell in love with the Quan Yin Method.
Master: I see. And? You don’t have to talk about the Quan Yin Method. We all know about it. Just talk about your own experience.
Q(m1): I shared many stories during the last 7-day retreat.
Master: You did?
Q(m1): Like I was suddenly able to do shadow boxing by myself. That was nothing.
Master: So he learned it himself. The kung fu stances originally came from spiritual practice. After practicing spiritually for some time, some people could suddenly perform mudras or kung fu stances. That happens when qi is circulating smoothly in your body.
Q(m1): I think it’s a flashback memory of previous lives.
Master: Yeah, this happens. Then it developed into kung fu. For example, after practicing spiritually for some time, some people can automatically react to whatever the opponent does, without having learned any kung fu. Have you heard of such stories? (Yes.) Have you? It’s a natural ability.
Q(m2): They call it “magic boxing.” Magic boxing.
Master: Do you know anyone in Taiwan (Formosa) who can do it? (Yes.) (Yes.) Who? (Yes, my ancestors had this ability.) Your ancestors? (Many generations of my family practiced martial arts.) That’s why you are so good! You have the lineage. It’s better than learning from outside.
Q(m1): I don’t think so. Because we would practice life after life, and be born here again.
Q(f3): He thinks it’s not a good thing for him. Because he has practiced it in previous lives, so he was born again in the family of martial arts.
Q(m1): Never to go beyond the three worlds.
Master: No. (Stuck in transmigration here.) No. It’s good you are here now. You are so lucky already. Why are you complaining? Because you had some kung fu power, you could recognize Master. If you had not learned qigong, you probably would not have recognized me. If you had not shot me with your qi, you would not know my power. Just like the Taoist sister who shot me with invisible swords. She had to do that before she could surrender herself. Otherwise, she would not know who I am!
Q(m1): After practicing the Quan Yin Method for 6 months, I thought that I had not practiced qigong for a long time. So I picked it up again. After practicing just one time, I could move automatically again. My body started to walk around making all kinds of hand gestures. Suddenly My body ran to my cushion and sat down to meditate (on inner Heavenly Light and Sound).
Master: How strange! (So I think…) He was also a qigong master. He could make just one move and send people flying in the air. He had great skills, yet he used it to shoot his qi at me. But he came to learn with me after he failed. They are all like that! I do not use any martial arts. For example, when that sister came to shoot her magic swords at me, I didn’t engage her at all. I just sat there eating my cake. And you said the knife I used to cut the cake was emitting light. I didn’t do anything! I was just cutting the cake, It’s not me who made the knife shine brightly. I didn’t do anything intentionally. But you needed to have intent when practicing your magic skills, (Yes. It’s not good using the mind power.) Mind power? (It’s not good to use the mind.) It’s still… (Low level.) It’s still not so good, is it? It’s better to do it naturally. Right? (Yes.) OK.
Master: Now you can share something with us. Then you two can compete with each other. Now tell us your story. When did you start practicing? What did you practice?
Q(m2): I had practiced martial arts since childhood. It’s been a family tradition for many generations. I also practiced karate for many years. Karate. (Practiced karate.)
Master: Karate. Wow! Awesome!
Q(m2): With the Japanese. You can see that my hands are round.
Master: Yeah. (They are both round.) Yes. (The whole hand is…) I know. (Round.) Really professional!
Q(m2): Because I practiced karate for many years. After that I learned tai chi too. I learned tai chi from the chief master. He was the highest master of the orthodox tai chi style in Taiwan (Formosa).
Q(m1): Was it Huang Xing Xian?
Q(m2): No, Huang also learned the moves from my master. Huang was a junior fellow of my master. He had hundreds of thousands of students in Malaysia.
Master: Oh, I see! (But my master was the chief master.) Wow! Awesome! (I was his first major disciple.) Really? That’s great! Major disciple? (Yes.) Wow! I am honored to meet you. So?
Q(m2): After practicing tai chi for many years, I felt like I had reached a plateau that I could not break through.
Master: How come there are also different states of martial arts?
Q(m2): Because in the field of tai chi, this is how it is when you reach the highest state. You’ll have the power of hearing and apprehension, etc. It’ll be like that when you reach the highest state. Because it seems… I felt empty inside when I reached a high level. It was as if there was something missing.
Master: Yes?
Q(m2): I didn’t know what it was. Nothing looked right to me. I did not seem to know anyone in this world. I seemed to have no feelings toward people, including my wife. I often felt like I did not know her at all. It was strange.
Master: It’s like your attention is focused, you know? Concentration. That’s not bad.
Q(m2): It seemed like nothing in this world concerned me. And then my brother-in-law invited me to come and get initiation from Master to practice the Quan Yin Method. During the lecture…
Master: Can everybody hear it? Can people in the back hear it? (They should be able to hear. They should…) Yes? (Yes!)
Q(m2): I… I went to Master’s lecture at the National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. I only went on the first day. The second day I did not go. But I saw Master’s transformation from my wisdom eye for 4 to 5 hours. The image was vivid, as were Master’s clothes. It lasted a long time. When my brother-in-law came back from the lecture, I described to him what Master was wearing at the lecture. He said, “Yes. How did you know?” This just happened naturally. I never practiced this kind of magic before.
Master: It’s not magic?
Q(m2): No, no, I never practiced anyway. I never learned anything like that. So I came quickly to get initiation.
Master: Because you found it strange.
Q(m2): Yes. Very strange. The vision was… When we practice qigong, we have the impression and energy field of the opponent ingrained onto our wisdom eye, like framing it in a mirror, then we send it out using the mind power. That’s how it’s done. That’s how qi is sent out. We also use the wisdom eye to send it out. Because I was just a beginner, so I didn’t dare to ask Master that, if I sent qi from the solar plexus all the way to the wisdom eye, would it interfere with my practice of the Quan Yin Method? I’m not sure about that.
Master: What did you say? Please explain.
Q(m2): I used to send my qi from the solar plexus to the wisdom eye and send it out from there. After practicing the Quan Yin Method, I often have to cut it off here. Because it would flow upwards, with the mind power and the vibration. The subtle vibrations would come up here. So I often have to control it, to push it down.
Master: Why do you have to push it down?
Q(m2): I don’t know. Because I thought that I should ask only after having practiced for three years. Today, it just happens… I feel embarrassed because this is in public…
Master: I don’t understand his question. What did he ask?
Q(f3): Do you mean after you practice the Quan Yin Method?
Q(m2): No. Because I had practiced qigong before. That’s why.
Master: It goes up automatically?
Q(m2): Yes. Because I learned to emit qi from all parts of the body. Through the hands or the side of the body. Just anywhere. Not only the hands. Even the wisdom eye. We also learned to send out qi from the wisdom eye. But I don’t think this is the right way. I should focus on the Quan Yin Method.
Q(f3): He said that he used to emit qi from the wisdom eye.
Master: Understand.
Q(f3): He thinks that it’s wrong to do that.
Master: Why is it wrong?
Q(m2): I don’t know if I should do that.
Master: You were using the wisdom eye for a different purpose. I told you before that there are two gates there. You were using the one within the three worlds. (Oh!) It’s at the same place, one on the left and one on the right.
Q(m2): Originally, I wanted to concentrate on my practice and ask Master this question three years later.
Master: Ah, no need. There are two gates up there. One leads to places within the three worlds, and one goes beyond the three worlds. I opened the one beyond the three worlds for you when I gave you initiation. Understand? Just like your house has a front door and a back door. You use the front door to go outside, whereas the back door will lead you to the trash bin or the restroom.
Q(m1): I have my own thoughts about this. Chinese people say that humans live on three things. Essence, qi, and spirit. There is a big difference between qi and spirit. Qigong is at the qi level. If you want to become a celestial or a Buddha, you have to rise to the level of the spirit. Cultivate your spirit. The spirit is the Light and Sound. So the qi level is much lower than…
Master: The spirit level.
Q(m1): The spirit level. We also practice through the wisdom eye.
Master: Understand.
Q(m1): But the level is different.
Master: Yes.
Q(m2): For qigong, we have to use our mind power, strong mind power.
Master: Use the mind? OK. Of course, the wisdom eye is the center of wisdom. Inside. We can use it in any way. But qigong uses it for only one purpose. Even though it opens the right door, it is used only for one purpose, such as emitting qi. It does not take you beyond the three worlds. Qigong is used solely for martial arts, but not to its full capacity. So being the best kung fu master is all you could achieve. But the best kung fu master is still nothing!
Q(m2): No, it’s truly nothing. Now I really feel that it’s no use.
Master: Understand. (I don’t want anything now.) Understand. But we don’t just stop at the wisdom eye. We start from there and go to other realms. The wisdom eye is just a door. There’s nothing great about it. We should not just stop there. For example, we open the front door to go and see friends, go shopping or go to work. What’s the use of just standing by the door? You can only see so much from there. Understand? I use that door to take you out, not to make you stand there. But with qigong, you just stand at the door. That’s the difference. OK, anymore?
