Chi kung rapidshare

Still another closely allied group flourished in Tibet and became the Vajrayana Buddhists. This sect also developed its own special set of chi kung exercises. Each of these schools has many similarities not only in chi kung practice but also on key points of doctrine and philosophy, which clearly indicates at least some common founding principles.

On the next page, learn the effects of the Chinese cultural revolution on the practice of chi kung. During the Chinese cultural revolution, a pronounced effort was made by the government to purge chi kung and other associated arts of their religious associations.

The intent was to "purify" the practices. In the case of chi kung, what survived during this period were techniques that could be used exclusively to promote health. Governmental officials during the Chinese cultural revolution endorsed these chi kung exercises and even assisted in formalizing instruction and in promoting chi kung practice among the general population. These sterilized versions of chi kung have little or nothing to say about several of their original purposes, including the notion of the return to Tao and the ideas of immortality and enlightenment.

Fortunately, these sacred ideas were preserved in secret during the difficult years of the Chinese cultural revolution by dedicated monks and others, often at the peril of losing their lives. Today, they are being reintroduced wherever chi kung is practiced, even, to some extent, in China itself. The efforts by Chinese officials to purge religion from the face of the earth were especially virulent in Tibet, which China invaded in Thousands of monasteries, where chi kung, among other disciplines, was traditionally studied and practiced, were completely destroyed.

This destruction was a great tragedy for the Tibetan people since monasteries served not only as centers for religious instruction but as centers for education of all types. When these institutions were obliterated, the educated classes were uprooted and the entire history and culture of Tibetan society was in danger of being lost.

Fortunately, a great many monks set out to cross the Himalayan mountains, the highest mountains in the world, to escape into Nepal. They brought all that they could carry on their backs, especially their spiritual treasures, including ancients texts passed down through the generations.

This harsh pilgrimage cost thousands of lives. Constant practice and refinement of chi kung exercises began to yield a number of intriguing results, not the least of which was robust health for the monks confined to the monasteries. From time to time, chi kung practitioners also experienced profound psychological transformations, which led to superior intellectual abilities and even unusual psychic abilities such as telepathy and the ability to see auras.

The monks realized that these breakthroughs were related to the chi kung practices themselves. They also realized that the powerful energies they were cultivating could be applied in self defense, a very useful application since in those days traveling monks were easy prey to bands of roving thieves. By observing animals in their native habitat, the monks discovered exactly how the chi cultivated in their chi kung exercises might be applied in hand-to-hand combat. Due to anatomical peculiarities, such as the long powerful wings of the crane or the extreme flexibility and constricting abilities of the snake, each animal has a unique set of movements that lend themselves well to self-defense and self-preservation in general.

The rapierlike beak of the woodpecker, for example, not only pecks deep holes in trees during its search for insects, but serves as a formidable weapon against competitors or enemies. In the water, the snapping turtle is a powerful and graceful swimmer. But on land, it appears to be a a clumsy creature, often hiding deep within its shell. Don't let this subterfuge fool you, however. Its extremely long neck is ready to shoot out of its shell to capture prey at any moment.

When it goes fishing, its razor-sharp jaws and vicelike grip make short work of anything that happens to be caught.

Many chi kung exercises are very likely derived from these same kinds of observations. As you might expect, exercises such as The Horse Stance and, in tai chi chuan, Stork Cools Wings, are named after animals and their movements.

Some creatures' movements are adopted from real life while others, such as the old favorites, the dragon and the phoenix, are mythical. In terms of self-defense, animal movements were adapted as far as human anatomy would permit. In this way, practitioners learned to imitate the lightening strike of a snake's head, the soft yet powerful blow of a crane's wing, and the raking gouge of the tiger's claw.

Some chi kung exercises are tailored specifically to spiritual development. Learn about this aspect of chi kung on the next page. One very practical way to classify chi kung exercises is to separate them into two groups -- those related to spiritual development and conducted specifically to achieve enlightenment and those related to physical concerns and used to condition the body and to help it resist disease.

Some exercises related to physical concerns are performed for the benefit of others and are directly related to traditional healing practices, while some are associated with personal, worldly concerns, such as winning a martial arts competition or developing great physical prowess. The most advanced styles of chi kung, such as tai chi chuan, pursue all of these goals at once. Contemporary chi kung practice is, in a general sense, largely concerned with personal health.

But there are many exercises related to spiritual development, some still held in confidence, that focus on the advancement of psychic abilities and even seek to achieve immortality and enlightenment.

Some masters often closely guard certain details of their practice, reserving them for their favorite and most trustworthy students. If followed carefully, these spiritual development practices are reputed to heighten consciousness to superhuman levels and dramatically increase the flow of chi in the acupuncture channels of the body.

One such chi kung exercise, which draws heavily on the forces of nature, is really a type of meditation called Rabbit Salutes the Goddess of Mercy. Chinese legend has it that the Lady of Compassion, Quan Lin, lives on the moon. Her pet, a rabbit made of jade, stands on the earth saluting her. The jade rabbit, with its red eyes, is well known in the Orient. This meditation gathers energy from the moon.

It is performed during the night of the full moon and for each of the three days before and after it. While standing in some place that is very still, watch for the moon to rise above the trees. Cup your hands and raise them to ear level, placing your palms forward. Stand naturally with your knees slightly bent. The meditation is simply to stand quietly, as if in greeting, and watch the moon as it moves through the heavens.

Some people feel a breeze blowing through their palms. This is the chi essence of the moon. Only perform the exercise in summer when it is warm.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, cold weather can sometimes influence the body in a negative way, particularly when it is in a receptive state such as during the practice of chi kung.

This exercise affects your body fluids, which, like the ocean tides, respond to the gravitational pull of the moon. It promotes the flow of the chi in the feminine, or yin, acupuncture channels in the body.

Unlike Rabbit Salutes the Goddess of Mercy, many meditations are performed while seated. When the Baihui point is penetrated, a stream of chi flows heavenward through the body. In this way, heaven and earth are symbolically reunited through the free-flowing chi. Those who are successful in this meditation are able to absorb and emit chi simultaneously, a very important ability for those who use chi in healing practice.

Almost unanimously, people who claim to have experienced these awakenings say they have gained insight into the nature of life and existence. By all accounts, it is practically impossible for them to relate the totality of their insights. Many of these fortunate individuals rely on demonstrating, as best they can, their revelations through various art forms such as poetry, painting, and descriptive prose.

Some practitioners in this group understand immortality as the development of an imperishable spirit known as shen. One indication of the presence of shen is that the practitioner possesses a heightened sense of awareness, an elevated state of mind in which new forms of perception are possible. Still other practitioners seek to prolong their lives for unusual lengths of time.

The teachings explain in detail some of the theory behind closely guarded chi kung methods for prolonging life. Interestingly, these explanations draw upon both Taoist and Buddhist theory, indicating that a formal exchange of ideas took place between the two movements.

These techniques were developed to preserve and supplement the chi already existing in the body. Proper circulation of the chi is believed to restore sick or degenerating tissues and keep them healthy for an indeterminate length of time. The text makes it clear that the way to longer life, and even to immortality, is through the creation of an eternal spirit body that resides within the physical form. Later, this spirit body separates from the physical body and is born into its own existence.

According to Taoist philosophy, such a spirit has to be created individually, earned through painstaking practice and experimentation. As you might imagine, the creation of an immortal spirit body could not possibly be a simple, straightforward process.

Even when following elaborate instructions such as those hinted at in The Secret of the Golden Flower, because of individual differences, a certain degree of trial and error has always been required to achieve the desired results. Continue reading to learn how despite being around for thousands of years, the question of authenticity in chi kung exercises is still in question.

Identifying authentic chi kung practices in modern times is an issue of great concern. These days, chi kung instructions are very precise, and students inevitably require an experienced teacher to teach them correctly. Otherwise, they will likely become lost and confused. But chi kung practice was not always so elaborate.

How could it be? Today, we have the benefit of centuries of experience, much of which has been recorded and incorporated into the chi kung forms themselves. Today, after 2, years or so of continuous development, a great number of chi kung systems use a highly structured, even rigorous, training curriculum. Still, the basic ideas of the ancients remain at the heart of chi kung practice, though the curriculum now incorporates the discoveries of generations of practitioners.

This means that not only the original postures and applications but also their derivations and some that are entirely new must also be mastered. The only way to transmit this enormous collection of findings properly is through systematic training. With each successive generation of students, variations in the exercises, known as forms, have been developed. Naturally, over the course of centuries, the original forms were obscured until very few, if any, can be said to be identical to the original, authentic chi kung exercises.

Fortunately, there are several ways to verify whether any particular practice is indeed genuinely related to the original instructions. All Asian teachings, whether they are religious, martial, or healing in nature, claim a lineage, or membership in a particular school. Even today, lineage is a source of great pride for practitioners, and internecine rivalry is common.

The importance of one's lineage is determined by the abilities and fame of its members, past and present. To be able to claim a lineage is akin to holding a passport into exclusive societies, similar to the social advantages possessed by members of a privileged caste, that is totally inaccessible to average citizens. In fact, highly respected chi kung practitioners in Asia are often revered as gods with magical powers, and their names are prefixed with the title "Divinity.

Another way to verify an authentic chi kung practice is by its results. If the method is successful and if well-known practitioners verify that it can accomplish what it claims, such as better health, the development of unusual abilities, and so on, the practice will be accepted. If not, its chances for survival are greatly diminished. A final way to verify authentic chi kung practice is to compare its central ideas with those of the formal doctrines.

In Taoist thought, these texts include notable works from many disciplines such as the I Ching philosophy , the Tao Te Ching philosophy , The Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor medicine , The Secret of the Golden Flower mysticism , and the eight tai chi chuan classics themselves. These texts and others like them contain the seminal ideas that are reflected in all authentic schools.

While allowing for some departure and modification, the core principles taught by any particular instructor will generally adhere to the standards set in these texts. After all, the classics have formed the basis for discussion and commentary throughout history. Because they have endured, they are the final standard by which all authentic chi kung practices are measured.

Intention is important in chi kung. Not everyone who follows chi kung techniques will achieve what they intend. Some masters and many references in both Taoist and Buddhist texts issue clear warnings: Those who squander or abuse their energies in the pursuit of worldly pleasures and those who are simply evil will be unable to control the forces they unleash.

The reason is this: Only if the mind is pure will the chi be able to circulate upward to illuminate it, thereby inducing enlightenment and stimulating the creative forces associated with heaven. If the mind is impure -- that is, focused on unwholesome thoughts or ambitions -- the chi will be attracted to and migrate to equally coarse energies associated with the lower realms of existence.

In Taoist folklore, fox spirits are said to inhabit these lower realms. Foxes, as well as people, are believed to be able to cultivate the elixir of life, which leads to the creation of a spirit body. As a result, foxes are occasionally thought to move up the evolutionary totem pole and reincarnate in human form.

But if we, who are already human, abuse the energies created in our efforts to form a spirit body, then we may descend into the lower realms and find ourselves reincarnated as a fox spirit. There, for perhaps a thousand years or more, we will roam free and happy in mountains under the light of sun and moon and stars.

But, at last, we will be reborn into this same world, a world of strife and suffering. Parents impart a limited amount of prenatal chi to their children at birth.

This finite quantity suggests its importance to our health and well-being and that it is vital to conserve and supplement it. The monks focused their attention on developing special chi kung techniques that would redirect chi along the energy channels we know as acupuncture meridians.

These pathways often become clogged in adult life, so these chi kung exercises help to restore the chi to a natural and efficient flow through the body. Essentially, the many chi kung techniques developed by the monks are designed "to reverse the flow of chi" so that the mind no longer needlessly directs it to perform the menial tasks of the exterior world.

While we naturally require chi simply to exist, chi kung practice teaches us not only to supplement the supply in our bodies, but to be more efficient in its use. Typically, we simply give up certain habits that we recognize as interfering with our progress. We also learn to meditate and to discipline ourselves so that our attention does not wander and our energies are not dissipated while we perform a task.

It refers to a complex, multistage chi kung practice that, according to Taoist methods, involves the transmutation of sexual, or "seed," energy. Metaphorically speaking, the "seed" energy represents the creative potential that is latent within our bodies. We can express this potential in either of two ways. We can follow our biological instincts and mate and have children. Or, we can sublimate these primal impulses, redirect them, and express them as artistic creations, in the martial arts, in healing techniques, or in the pursuit of enlightenment.

How it might be possible to chemically alter physical substances in the body has been the subject of much debate and study over the centuries. The results of these efforts are the chi kung techniques we use today. Through the practice of chi kung, the powerful reproductive instinct can be controlled. At this point, it becomes possible to awaken special processes that lie latent in the body and ultimately to induce the flowering of consciousness.

This process of seed energy conversion is a fundamental aspect of Taoist alchemy. The second process is the attempt to direct the chi up the spine through a number of acupoints to the brain.

The third process is the attempt to nourish and sustain the shen, or spirit, which is believed to reside in the area of the forehead located between the eyes. When the spirit is sufficiently developed some say it typically takes three years , it can be used in the pursuit of the final goal of enlightenment. Not only there are various types of chi kung serving different needs, there are also different levels of attainment within the same type of chi kung.

Numerous variables that determine the level of attainment include the appropriateness of the methods chosen, the competency of the teacher, as well as the dedication of the student. Obviously, assuming other factors being equal, a superior method, an experienced teacher or a student who practises regularly will produce better result than someone without these advantages. But what is not so obvious to many people, including most chi kung practitioners today, is the operational level at which one practises chi kung.

Chi kung training can be operated at the form level, the energy level or the mind level. Grandmaster Wong enjoying Standing Zen, which is a high level chi kung bringing mind expansion and spiritual joy. Although there are thousands of chi kung exercises, they all involve three elements, namely form, energy and mind. In other words, every human has form, energy and mind.

Chi kung training develops all these three essential elements of a person. However, due to various reasons, the great majority of chi kung practitioners today, including in China, practise only the form aspect of chi kung, neglecting the energy and the mind aspects. Strictly speaking, this is not chi kung; it is only chi kung form, and in terms of giving health benefits I believe it is less effective than conventional physical exercise like swimming, playing field games and working out in a gym.

For convenience, I call this level of chi kung which pays attention only to form, low-level chi kung. In my opinion, the least a practitioner should have is the energy aspect in order to justify calling his exercise chi kung, i.