discernment, great honesty, and great sacrifice for the benefit of the whole universe. In this way, we can live peacefully among friends in an atmosphere of ideal Qigong wisdom, a state of mutual help, mutual understanding, and mutual forgiving. 7) Eighty Characters The Gist of Qigong Training Dr. Yan Xin My thirty years’ experience in Qigong training is summed up in a poem of eighty characters with four verses, four lines ina verse and five characters in a line. 1. aspiration, interest, endurance, advantage, commitment In brief, have lofty aspiration when doing Qigong. Feel a sense of being in a boundless, spacious openness. Cultivate interest in it, and dare to endure all hardship encountered in the process of learning. Furthermore, make efforts to discover the advantageous effects of training and commit them to practice. Qigong is a worthy career undertaking. Never treat it as a pure pasttime, if you have nothing else to do. In this case, the practice will do you harm, for it does not conform with Qigong theory. 2. preparation, understanding, persistence, awareness, virtue Emphasize the word BEFORE, and do Qigong before all matters, before one’s life time, before a day, before an event, so ‘ { as to understand the mystery of doing Qigong 24 hours a day. By doing this, one is sure to regulate the movement of internal and external bioenergy in oneself and in one’s surroundings. lo In order to master the essence of Qigong, one naust continually persist and never grow inattentive to learning. Stn addition, always be on the alert for sensitive points in oneself Sd one’s environment. oS Anyone learning Qigong should hold fast to the protecfn of high moral principles. Respect others and always do goo o others by all means, on any account, anywhere, any time, Y N 3. broad-mindedness, scholarship, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism is) Oo Have noble conduct, be broad-minded and generous in al respects while leaming Qigong. Study further to acquire mde profound Qigong learning, or it will be difficult to advance ga Qigong feats and theory. . oO Refer to the classics of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism as a guide to Qigong, so as to better comprehend the knowledgs and principles of Qigong. (Taoist Qigong is thought to be ofg native Qigong. In fact, Taoist Qigong existed before Taoism. at served as the regimen for maintaining and improving health, as @ measure in disease prevention and recovery.) 4. respect, research, route, teacher, timesaving elease 280 master sincerely in thought, word, and action, but certainly nob . . or me) with the courteous tribute of burning incense or kou tou (kneeling with forehead touching the ground.) = Who is to be the master? Everyone is a master. All things om. earth can be masters, including animals, plants, and mineral§ which have some functional energy that one’s body may need. There are signals of masters in the upper space of the universe. 95
If one has superb skill in Qigong, it will be easy to find a master. Master means teacher, but should also mean one well admired and respected by the public, or it will be difficult to take up the teaching responsibility. A Chinese verse by Lu You says, "What we get from your writings on paper is rather superficial. We know the subject needs to be treated with respect." But, obedience is better than respect; sincerity is better than obedience; self-confidence is better than sincerity. It is difficult for a master to find an eligible apprentice who has these complete qualities. The route means all sects or groups of learning, for every school has its own way and every way, its own school. The day may come when three Chinese religions. merge into one and five religions merge into the ancestral clan system. But until then, one begins to learn Qigong at the threshold of one of the schools or not at all. Do not criticize this school or that school, for another school may be better than yours. Attend instead to the state and moral conduct of a Qigong participant. These first four lines are intended to lead you to find a timesaving shortcut. Never go a roundabout way! 5, difficulty, ease, is, not, self It is difficult to learn Qigong, but after overcoming the difficulty, it will then be easy. In Chinese, the word EASY not only implies ’not difficult’, but also means ’to change’. After overcoming difficulty, one feels it easy; one is changed. When undergoing difficulty, one is no longer the same person. 6. intention, in, negative, positive, difference Anything we do, we intend to do with our heart and mind. We also do Qigong intentionally, but we usually get the effect or success unintentionally. An unintentional effect eventually leads to success, so one may say from nothing to something. So, intention makes a difference. Success, however, comes 96 ee A TAL unintentionally. It is a kind of state or condition. We must see the difference. 7. character, life, advantage, joy, right 5 03 A period of training in Qigong will cultivate one’s charactep and life so as to integrate one’s essence, bioenergy, and spirit One’s heart, mind, and personality will change for the bettes There will be apparent improvement in health and steadfastnes& and an enhancement in wit and wisdom so as to bring success 8 one’s efforts. One will help others and find joy in seeing them prosper. enjoyment may extend to helping other living things by promo and maintaining the ecological balance of the universe. One’s ae: in Qigong will naturally rise as one follows this ’right way’. QR the otherhand, skill in Qigong cannot improve if one has ni cultivated one’s character and life while learning Qigong. i” 4 RO 8. living, life, love, words, praises oO A Qigong participant should have a correct perception o life and death. When one is not self-centered in life, one will nf be afraid of death. = When one understands the true meaning of living and ow 01 one’s life philosophy will reflect that transcendence. One possess true love for all mankind and the universe, help othesg sincerely and put in a good word for anyone who needs help. © As one becomes more interested in the life of other personal, selfish desires decrease. Qigong feats will improve, desire for praise will be lost, and above all, selfish concern far personal life and death will be discarded. ko] Eventually, one comes to realize, no pain no gain; mB gains without pains. Success in Qigong means deserting whatev brings personal advantage, fame and wealth. For with too muck interference by these things, one cannot expect to attain high lev Qigong skills, including the skill that helps to prolong life. 97
9. method, foundation, consolidation, transformation, return There are certain methods for learning Qigong, although no one method evolves constantly without modification. As a beginner, however, one needs to learn the rudiments of one method continuously from beginning to end. Above all, it is essential, to sense the subtlety of Qigong. In advanced stages, ten thousand methods will either merge into one, or into the ancestral clan system. In fact, the methods actually merge with the body’s most refined substances, such as the body itself or the body’s functional energy. Methods or laws are rather fluid, not structured and restructured. The body is the Qigong foundation from which one builds, therefore, it must first be cured of disease in order to have a good foundation for advanced learning. In the process of learning, consolidated and accumulated bioenergy is eventually transformed and returned, as the body’s extrasensory perception. 10. theory, training, essence, bioenergy, spirit The theory of Qigong is to train the essence of the body, and transform the essence into bioenergy; train the bioenergy, and transform the bioenergy into spirit, etc. Qigong training teaches the participant, using concrete, demonstratable methods. The idea is to practice the movement of body bioenergy, and temper it repeatedly to become pure, powerful energy for curing disease. The method varies in detail with every step, and at each step, the master discards the excess and selects the essential. The higher the step, the more refined the acquired substance. The high quality final substance which Chinese call DAN, collects in three regions (the lower abdomen, the central chest and the middle forehead.) Participants concentrate on these points during practice. 11. regulation, exercise, accumulation, control, change 98 " These are Qigong’s concrete training methods, from beginning to end. One learns to regulate the body’s functional energy, then to practice the movement, collection and accumulation of bioenergy, and finally, to transform bioenergy into useful high quality energy. 3 12. Yin, Yang, prenatal, post-natal, class 630043000 According to Qigong, the universe and all living things either Yin or Yang. Yin and Yang include everything under $e sun, organic or inorganic. The coexistence of these two entifiés exists everywhere in mankind and nature, including the exteroul and internal parts of the body. This coexistence provides Qigdse with unlimited potential for unsurpassed feats. 8 In Qigong, we practice Yin and then Yang, or substance md then function. By training Yang, one accumulates substancqqn Yin. When one practices both Yin and Yang, one trains ones@ff. In Taoist Qigong, the spirit of Yin repgesents genetic codeSof the mother and sisters, and Yang those of the father and brothées. The spirit of Yang represents the ideological thinking of one’s qun cerebrum. Today, we call the four spirits the ideological thinkgg code system. . ° Through Qigong training, one adds to the prenatal genetic cége by acquiring as much post-natal knowledge, wit and poweigas possible, so that personal potential power can be enlarged and strengthened. Qigong’s three skill classes are the elementary, me intermediate, and the advanced. One should train and strive for the advanced class. a 13. mathematics, technique, fix, root, through ed For When one advances to the highest technique, the mathemati§al laws of life span and other mathematical laws become apparent. Qigong technique has special mathematical principles and Qisgng training is the application of those methods. The technique is closely related to the methods. r 99
Three schools, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism have different techniques and therefore different skills to express through the gestures of their hands. Every kind of gesture, posture, and expression represents a special skill. While doing Qigong, try to fix in one’s body, the picture, pattern, or image that appears internally and externally. One should make up one’s mind to practice Qigong, and in practicing, should strive to get the six roots vibrate and six roots through. ’Six through’, the highest skill of all, allows use of all one’s potential bioenergy. 14. extreme, void, mysterious, miraculous, mind When one thinks one’s skill is extremely good, others will say there is no extremity, for there are always some who are better. When it is very good, it is wiser to say one’s skill is not extremely good. When one’s Qigong skill is extremely good, one enters the sphere of void. For instance, to the advanced Qigong master, mental transport of substance is from void to void. To others, this is very mysterious and full of wonder, but nothing is mysterious or miraculous to the master who understands these things. 15. open, closed, often, study, real Applying bioenergy to treat the sick is on or off, like a control valve. When a man of virtue comes by, the valve immediately opens. When a man of evil heart passes, the valve closes because the signals are different. The two cannot have the same reaction. The kind hearted man who honors his parents will have better effect and will be easier to treat with the high technique of the Qigong master. Even when able to move bioenergy with regulated or automatic control, one still must study hard until the technique of treating the sick is very high and efficient, so that a Qigong doctor is good in reality, not just in name. 16. puzzles, assessment, wonderful, able, true or succeed 100 After gaining automatic control in applying bioenergy to treat the sick, one should study further until able to solve all Qigong’s mysteries. One is able to teach Qigong only as one’s ability to assess people commences. Without that ability, one’s teaching be unclear and puzzling. If able to enlighten people, one contribute bioenergy to mankind and to the whole universe. Vth such miraculous skill and energy, one will certainly make wonderful contributions. Only at this stage has one succeed or reached the complete state of Qigong accomplishment. o The whole poem of eighty characters also emphasizesShe word ’reality’. Qigong training leads to the real attainmerf& of perfect and favorable health, mind, skill and power. Qigor® is real, not imagination or wishful fantasy. =] Approved For Release 2001/03/07 : CIA-RDP96-0 101