SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
SEMPTEMBER 2021 PART 2
Guan Yin Bodhisattva, picture taken from http://thanhsiang.org/en/collecting-commemorative-gold-medallion-guan-yin-bodhisattva-aid-international-buddhist-college
Question 1
In my dreams last night I was shown black tribal people in slavery all chained with deep cuts on their backs and blood pouring down. I was there putting some herbal ointment on their backs and doing healing on them and then woke up.
— Parveen, England
Answer
In your dreams, you healed black tribal people. There are three possibilities.Our arts enable us to transcend space and time. Your thoughts influence your dreams. And we actually leave our physical body in our dreams.
Question 2
Is Kuan Yin Bodhisattva manifesting through me and working through me or is it just simply me cleansing?
Answer
Guan Yin Bodhisattva guides and protects us all the time.
You have passed the cleansing period, though we cleanse all the time. Each time we breathe out, literally millions of dead cells are disposed of, and each time we breathe in millions of new cells are born.
Lifting the Sky
Question 3
I find that I have to skip chi kung practice because just doing one round of Lifting the Sky or just thinking of it I am already full of force and if I do practice I'm over trained.
Answer
You are actually powerful. But you can regulate your chi kung state of mind when performing chi kung.
Perform at a lower level of your potential. Try 30%. If it is still high, try 20% or lower. Remember that chi kung normally takes years, but you take only hours.Question 4
I wanted to say thank you again for Sifu's words. Sifu's simple, direct and profound words about the nature of life and Ph.d studies have helped me a lot to gain perspective and focus. Also Sifu's sign-off, "Life is what we make it," also helped me to snap out of my lethargy and take control.
— John, Ireland
Answer
I am a freak in sharing secrets. There are a few reasons.
Our arts make us generous. We need to be generous if we want to regain the glory of kungfu.
A student once told me about 30 years ago. He was the chief surgeon in one of the government hospitals. He said something like this: "If you are earning $30,000 a month, what is this graduality compared to what you earn." This has greatly helped me to retire from the government without the graduality, and be a boss on my own.
We have a lot of secrets. Many of the secrets were what genuine chi kung and kungfu practitioners already knew, like entering a chi kung state of mind, or entering silence, and being able to defend oneself in any style of kungfu. If a practitioner cannot enter silence or cannot defend himself (or herself), I would not call it genuine chi kung or genuine kungfu.
Restoring the glory of kungfu
Question 5
I think it was in SP at lunch with Wong Chun Nga Siheng, Sifu said, "Let the Chi Flow." I thought I understood Sifu's instruction at the time but upon reading Sifu's answer to Matt's question, I doubted myself. Should we let chi flow on the exhalation especially?
Answer
Letting the chi flow -- and this is one of the secrets which you can perform very well -- is important in "Fierce Tiger Cleanses Claws" or any internal force exercise.
Concentrating the flowing energy into internal force -- and this is another secret which again you can perform very well as you have trained "One-Finger Shooting Zen" -- is also very important.
Most other people when they perform "One-Finger Shooting Zen" only perform it as gentle physical exercise.
You need not be too particular on whether you are exhaling or inhaling when training "Fierce Tiger Cleanses Claw." Usually it is exhaling. You need to be natural and spontaneous, and full of energy
Question 6
If we grab our opponent with a tiger-claw, if we inadvertently tense our arm muscles in this situation when we are applying the tiger-claw grip, is the effectiveness reduced unbeknownst to us? Is there some way for us to test if our tiger-claw is progressing?
Answer
When we say "do not use muscular strength, and use internal force", we mean figuratively. If we want to split hair, muscles will be used; the muscles need to hold the bones in place.
If you grip your opponent with a tiger-claw, you may accidentally use your muscular strength, though your emphasis is on internal force. The effectiveness is marginal.
A good way to test internal force is to use it. You would be surprised that your opponent finds it very hard to release your grip. Another good way is to perform 3-star knocking.
A student actually did that more than 30 or 40 years ago. He was an Aikido practitioner, and he wanted to have powerful grips. I taught him "One-Finger Shooting Zen".
After a few months he told me an interesting story. He went to a school famous for internal force. He could last about 10 times in 3-star knocking arms with ordinary students. He went to the school again and talked with the school master. They had 3-star knocking arms. The master gave up after a few rounds.
You may have heard of a story about a famous Shaolin master. He degraded Taijiquan, or Taiji dance, and knocked his arms against the porch where we stood. Seeing that I was not impressed, we decided to have 3-star knocking arms. He gave up after literally the second round.
Internal force is not just for fighting or sparring. It is for daily life. You should be healthy, full of vitality and enjoy longevity when you grow old. You would also have peak performance and spiritual joys.
Western Civilization. Map taken from https://cognates.miami.edu/AT_0011
Question 7
I hope I can assist Sifu in restoring the glory of kungfu. It struck me that traditional Chinese culture which gave bloom and blossom to these amazing arts, is a jewel in the crown of humanity.
Answer
A good way to restore the glory of kungfu is to teach.
Remember the Shaolin way loves peace, but we have to fight if necessary, and in today's civilized society it is usually not necessary. While we can gain a lot from Chinese civilization -- it is the longest, surviving civilization in history -- we can also gain a lot from Western civilization. Western civilization gives us education, law and order, justice, science, the internet and many wonderful things.Question 8
I don't want to get in fights with guys on the street and most of the time wish to avoid confrontation, but how does one know when is the right time to fight and when not to fight? I didn't want to hesitate in moments when bullies racially abused people in the street. Adrenalin coursed through my body like a raging torrent.
Answer
It is natural to have the adrenalin rising. It prepares you to fight or flight.
Being able to control yourself comes with experience. When you know that you can beat your opponent easily, you don't have to fight. You don't have to prove yourself that you can be combat efficient. In my younger days I went out to look for opponents to spar. But after learning from my sifu, Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, I knew I was very combat efficient. I could beat professional fighters and masters. So I didn't have to prove myself.
If you have any questions, please e-mail them to Grandmaster Wong via his Secretary at stating your name, country and e-mail address.
LINKS
Selected Reading
- The Wonderful Benefits of Chi Kung
- One-Finger Shooting Zen -- the Treasure of Shaolin Wahnam
- Frequently Asked Questions on Taijiquan
- Against Chin-Na and Felling Attacks of Three-Harmony Set
- Our Home in Sabah