CULTIVATING SPIRIT, NOURISHING ENERGY AND NEI GUNG
Question
How will the Cultivating Spirit and Nourishing Energy course improve daily life for a person who has a lot of struggles? How will it do so for a person whose life is already full of peace, happiness and joy? Is there any new skill involved?
What are the differences and similarities between Spiritual Cultivation through Small and Big Universe and the "Cultivating Spirit and Nourishing Energy" methods? How will a practitioner/master of the Small and Big Universe improve the "Cultivating Spirit and Nourishing Energy" methods?
What are the differences between the new Nei Gung courses that are going to be taught this summer in UK and our Shaolin Cosmos Chi Kung?
Angel, Spain
Answer
As the name of the course implies, the “Cultivating Spirit Nourishing Energy” course will do that, i.e. cultivating spirit and nourishing energy. As all our arts in Shaolin Wahnam are triple cultivation, i.e. cultivation of form, energy and spirit, aren’t all other courses do the same? Yes, all the courses in Shaolin Wahnam cultivate form, energy and spirit, but they do so at different levels. The “Cultivating Spirit Nourishing Energy” course will attain the cultivation of spirit and energy, besides form, at the highest level. This highest level will also include attainments at the intermediate and the low levels.
All the aims and objectives of the course will be dealt with. In other words, participants will have a practical understanding of cultivating spirit nourishing energy based on the Treatise of Zhang San Feng, namely “Focusing Spirit Accumulating Energy in Grand Ultimate Practice, and will acquire advanced skills and techniques to cultivate spirit and train energy to lead a healthy, happy and meaningful life.
Our objectives will be to have a practical understanding and wisdom of Zhang San Feng, to flow with the Cosmos, to attain a unity of spirit and energy, to use the skills of compassion and wisdom, and to experience phenomenal reality and Cosmic Reality. We shall employ some methods from Five Dan Tian Breathing, Cotton Palm and Dragon Strength.
The expected results of participants will be that they are mentally fresh and clear, experience spiritual joys and deep peace of the Cosmos, experience life as a meaningful flow of energy, feel confident to continue practicing cultivating spirit and nourishing energy, and be amazed and directly experience the wisdom of Zhang San Feng.
Those qualified to attend the course would have overcome their struggles. But if they still have a lot of struggles, to have the best benefits, they can overcome their struggles and improve their daily life if they practice the methods they will learn at the course at a much lower level, or practice other methods of lower-level chi kung.
In principles, it is similar to someone who is sick. To overcome this sickness, he can practice high-level art at a much lower level, or practice low-level arts. If he practices high-level art, it is like asking a sick patient to lift heavy weights or run a marathon. The high-level art is too powerful for a sick person. Similarly, “Cultivating Spirit Nourishing Energy” practiced at its recommended level is too powerful for those who want to overcome their struggles.
What are the common struggles that many people, luckily outside our school, face? These people may not be clinically sick, but they lack energy to do their work, if they have started any work they have no perseverance or zest to carry on, they become tired or bored easily, they are angry, timid or afraid usually for no apparent reason, and they carry on life listlessly.
These are struggles most people outside our school face. We really do not mean to be boastful, those in our school do not have these struggles, except they are very new to our school. Those in our school are peaceful and happy, and find life a joy everyday.
For those who may still have these struggles, they can overcome their struggles by perform any methods in the “Cultivating Spirit Nourishing Energy” course at a very, very low level, at about 5% to 10% of their potential. But it is easier to practice any methods from a relatively low-level art, just in case they may perform at a level higher than recommended which can lead to over-training. Any exercises from Eighteen Lohan Hands can overcome their struggles.
How would participants whose life is already full of peace, happiness and joy improve their life from the course “Cultivating Spirit Nourishing Energy”?
Not only the participants will have more methods to have more peace, happiness and joy, they will also have very powerful methods. It is worthwhile to know that peace, happiness and joy are relative. In other words, while we can differentiate between peace, happiness and joy from agitation, sorrow, and misery, we may not clearly define what is peace, happiness and joy. We cannot, for example, say how peaceful, happy or joyful a person is before we can say he has peace, happiness and joy.
There will be some new skills. Even if participants have learned the skills before, they will find many aspects of the skills they have not learned before; they will deepen their skills. Five Dan Tain Breathing is a new skill that I shall teach at the course. We shall also use skills from Dragon Strength and Cotton Palm.
The skills used in the Small and Big Universe and those in Cultivating Spirit Nourishing Energy are different, though the aim is the same, i.e. expanding into the Cosmos. Both courses use different skills and different techniques.
A practitioner or a master of the Small and Big Universe will find it easier to learn the skills and techniques of Cultivating Spirit Nourishing Energy. If all other things were equal, he will also gain more benefits.
What we practice in Shaolin Wahnam was called nei gung, or internal arts, in the past. We call it “chi kung” because the term “chi kung” has been established. Both nei gung and chi kung are quite the same as they both involve cultivation of energy. Nevertheless, in everyday usage, nei gung is generally considered more advanced and arcane than chi kung.
Hence, the nei gung courses at the UK Summer Camp in July will be deeper than what is normally taught in chi kung courses. They will relate to the objectives of the courses.
For example, on 9th July 2018 the course will be directed to healthier living. This will include overcoming or preventing illness. On 10th July the course will provide a lot of energy to make meaningful changes. On 11th July the nei gung methods will provide energy for expanding awareness.
The questions and answers are reproduced from the thread Questions to Grandmaster on Wudang Kungfu/Taijiquan & Zhang San Feng in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.
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