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The Wealth Deity

In churches and temples all around the world people pray to some god, saint or wealth deity to try and get something they really want. With great intention they bow down before their idol and pray for a rich husband or wife, to buy a new car or house, to have a boy child, or some other material desire. In many cases they make lavish offering and tell their deity that if you just give me this one thing then I’ll be happy forever and I’ll never ask for anything else ever again etc… The problem is that the wealth deity is powerless to bestow material wealth. Only wealth karma can bestow wealth.

The reason why we are rich or poor, happy or sad has nothing to do with the power of the wealth deity. If we are currently wealthy then it is because we have been generous in the past and are enjoying the karma of wealth today. If we have been stingy in the past then we are suffering from the karma of poverty today. If we want to be rich in the future then we need to practice generosity now so that in the future we can enjoy wealth. If we want to be poor in the future then simply act greedy now and for sure we will end up being poor. As it says in the good book, you reap what you sow.

However, there is a caveat with the intention of generosity. If we practice generosity today simply because we want to be rich in the future then the karma of our generous actions will be greatly weakened. Also, if we act generous with the only intention to get rich in the future then the karma can reverse and even though it seems like an act of generosity it can lead a person to poverty. Many sincere people might also donate to causes that create harm and they have to share in that karma. Many sincere people have been involved in help the Koreans, Vietnamese, Iraqis and so on but if it comes at the end of a gun barrel, then the karma a gun barrel will come around. Even paying taxes to a government that wages war on others we connect to that karma and even if we totally disagree, we are still guilty by association. So, while we are still bound to the wheel of cause and effect we should be mindful of where we put our efforts and money.

The ten levels of the bodhisattva is all about generosity and that’s why Lord Shakyamuni taught generosity as the first of the Six Perfections, the others being morality, patience, discipline, meditation and wisdom. Generosity begins by one though and action at a time. The first level of the bodhisattvas begins with simple acts of generosity. You might think that giving a buck to a bum doesn’t mean much but every time you do you are manifesting as the wealth deity bodhisattva. And, that bum is not really just a bum either. Not only does a bum have Buddha nature in the absolute sense, he has Buddha nature in the relative sense. In fact he is simply a Buddha manifesting in our life’s experience to practice our perfection of generosity. The more we pass the test the more we ascend the levels until the full awakening of Buddhahood is achieved.

The four types of generosity are wealth, protection, teachings and wisdom. When we give these things freely then the karma is reciprocated and we enjoy these things in the future. Many people become doctors, lawyers and stock brokers because they think that they will become wealthy. However, there are many doctors, lawyers and stock brokers that are not wealthy at all and even those that are still experience the same suffer the four stages of birth, sickness, old age and death as we all do. To understand and enjoy true wealth a practitioner of the Way shouldn’t pray to the wealth deity, but become the wealth deity and all of the blessing of generosity will manifest.

The transformative path of the yogi is exemplified through his ability to practice generosity. Whenever we see suffering we should use our visualization and what ever skillful means we have to help someone. When we see a beggar we should throw them a buck, when we see the hungry we should give them some food, when we see someone who is cold we should offer them a coat, when we see the blind we should offer our eyes, when we see the lame we should offer our legs, when we see the mute we should offer our tongues, when we see deaf we should offer our ears, when we see the poor we should offer our wealth, when we see the weak we should offer our protection, when we see the unknowing we should offer our knowledge, when we see sentients we should offer our wisdom. Every thought and moment is ripe with the potential for generosity. When we take a crap we should offer the experience to all beings who are suffering from constipation and to those beings in the lower realms who need it for food or fertilizer. When we have an ejaculation we should offer it to the dakinis to give birth to another Buddha, when we have an orgasm we should offer it to all beings as the divine bliss that leads to clarity. When all of our actions become spontaneous acts of generosity then there is no wealthy deity to pray to, we have become the wealth deity. When a practitioner of generosity has given every atom of their existence for the sake of sentient beings then the only thing left is Buddhahood. Whether it’s the Christ who gave himself on the cross or the Buddha who offer his head going beyond self is the way to complete realization.

Don’t pray to the wealth deity, be the wealth deity and obtain the wealth of the entire universe.

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A Commentary on The Emei Sudden Enlightenment School

As the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng has said it is not the Buddha Dharma that is fast or slow it is the capacity of sentient beings that is fast or slow. For beings of high capacity the mere mention of a sutric stanza could bring them to complete realization. For beings of lower capacity however they might have to recite that same stanza for an entire life time before they obtain any realization. The Sudden Enlightenment School is a Zen tradition and like that of the Vajrayana Dzog Chen school uses the the mind directly to understand the nature of mind. The training is very direct and easy to learn and for those with greater capacity enlightenment comes very quickly. However, for those of lesser capacity the system and approach still remains the same it just requires more time and practice to obtain complete realization. Regardless of whether one's capacity is fast or slow all sentient beings have Buddha nature and all phenomonea arises from the dharmakaya so it is from this point that we begin our sacred journey.

Obtaining qi realization
People who are unfamiliar with the Sudden Enlightenment tradition usually think it is impossible to immediately achieve qi realization in an afternoon. Acupuncturists talk about qi their entire life yet most of them have never had a real qi experience anyway. Qigong, tai chi, bagua, yoga and the internal arts practitioners talk about qi their entire life but only after many years of practice do they gradually obtain any qi realization. However, through the qianneng empowerment of the Emei Sudden Enlightenment School and others like it participants immediately gain one of the three levels of qi realization. When a practitioner has developed qi realization they can perceive the light nature of phenomonal existence directly. They enter the Sambogakaya. Through qi realization practitioners can experience the divine energies of people, places and things. They can quickly connect to the energies of holy mountains, spiritual masters and the consecrated relics of the practice field. Percieving their immeasurable and boundless qualities which are as vast as space we can realize and obtain their blessing.

Becoming a qigong acupuncturist
According to conventional thought most people think that it is impossible to become an acupuncturist in just one afternoon. For academic acupuncturists that is definitely true because it takes years to learn anatomy, physiology, psychology, pathology, the meridians, channels, collaterals, acu-points, their functions, theories, manipulations, pulses, signs and symptoms. In fact most academics are lacking in their own academic approach because it is impossible to completely know the vast copious of TCM knowledge that has been compounded for so many thousands of years. How many people graduating acupuncture schools today even know all of the fifty two pulses? The bottom line is that intellectual knowledge can not be completly known by using the intellect and since all intelectual knowledge in contained within mind, it is to the mind we must turn our intention to obtain wisdom. Academic acupuncturist look at the pulse and tongue to see what the qi is doing to the patient indirectly but by using qi awareness a practitioner can see and feel the qi directly making an extremely spontaneous and accurate diagnosis. As the saying in kungfu medicine goes," those that have to ask the ten questions can't see, those that have to take the pulse can't feel." Qi realization cuts through all such indirect methods to perceive diseases directly. In more recent times TCM has also been inundated with intensive studies in western medicine making it even more difficult to turn their minds to the profound path of TCM's classical studies. However, in Sudden Enlightenment qigong Acupuncture all that intellectual study is really not that important anyway. In fact it really more of a hindrance. As it says in the Hui Jing, "the intellect can bring you to the gates of heaven but to enter you must leave it behind." The same is true for Sudden Enlightenment qigong acupuncturists. Qigong acupuncture is based on direct qi realization, qi diagnosis, needle manipulation, qi transmission and nothing else. And, it can be learned in just an afternoon through empowerment, obtaining the pith instructions and receiving the pointing out instructions. For those with the fortunate karma to meet with these teachings and put them to good use healing becomes the path the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

Becoming a qigong therapist
According to conventional thinking most people believe it is impossible to learn acupuncture, tuina, massage, shiatsu, chiropractics, reki, qi diagnosis, qi transmission, and basic herbal medicine formulas all in just ten days on the mountain. For academics that's definitely true because it takes years to learn anatomy, physiology, psychology, pathology, the meridians, channels, collaterals, acu-points, their functions and theories, adjustments and manipulations, individual herbs and herbal formulas. Again most academics don't even get it because it is too vast to comprehend. The common approach to academic physical therapies is to learn all the disease categories and then all of the treatment protocols that treat those diseases. that takes a long time. However, in the Emei Sudden Enlightenment School's qigong therapy system all you have to learn is the treatment application sequence and how to use it. It is like learning a tai chi/kungfu form that you perform on a patient. It doesn't matter what the disease is whenever you see a patient you simply apply the form and the results can be quite miraculous. There are two types of applications. One is for general health and longivity and the other is for treating specific diseases. You might not be able to cure everything and sometimes western methods might be better at addressing an issue but this system can have a profound effect on all of the four stages of birth, old age, sickness and death. It can be used for prenatal treatment, post natal treatment and even post mortum treatment. Regardless of the particular stage of treatment enlightenment and liberation from the six realms of samsara is the therapy's goal. How we achieve it is up to us.

Becoming a qigong teacher
Most people think it is impossible to become a qigong teacher in just one trip to Emei Mountain. It usually takes years to learn qigong and your master usually only allows you to teach it after you have been with him for over ten years. Our approach is the exact opposite. You can become a qigong teacher on this trip. Most people know that qigong forms are not that hard to learn. They're usually very simple in fact. Qigong is just a series of basic postures and body movements combined with breathing patterns and visualizations to get the qi flowing. The Emei Sudden Enlightenment School's four basic qigong forms are very easy to learn too and are specific to the hand techniques of the qigong therapy application form. That's one of the aspects that makes this healing system so powerful. The four basic forms are easily learned in just a couple of weeks and continual support is given to those that maintain their training and want to grow in the system. We encourage participants to take their training seriously and to use it to help liberate the pain and suffering of their friends, family and communities. Just practicing qigong can treat thousands of illness and qigong therapy can treat thousands more. But to escape the realm of suffering a practitioner must begin to practice qigong. They must practice qigong to strengthen their meditation. They must strengthen their meditation to discover the nature of their mind. They must discover the nature of their mind to escape the wheel of birth and death. They must escape the wheel of birth and death to reach final liberation from the six realms of suffering. Where meditation is the vehicle for enlightenment qigong is the rocket fuel that gets you there quickly and for all of the medical applications Emei qigong therapy is not just a treatment, it is a blessing. From this trip you can become a qigong teacher and open on-going classes. Your students will have ailments you can treat with your qigong therapy and they will become your patients. If you help them they will introduce you to more patients and in turn they will become your students. Isn't this a great way to live your life in the service of others? May you obtain all of the blessings and realizations that qigong, qigong therapy, meditation and the sublime dharma of cultivation has to offer!

The human potential is vast for those on the sacred journey of self discovery!

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The Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic

Academics study the Neijing, mystics practice the Neijing and enlightened beings realize the Neijing. The Neijing’s formal title translated into English is the Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic but this simple translation isn’t really sufficient enough to capture its entire meaning. On the outer level an academic believes the Neijing is a famous medical book compiled by the Yellow Emperor and his minister Qibo two thousand years ago. On the inner level the mystic believes that the Neijing is a guide-book written by the Son of Heaven and a Daoist priest on how to cultivate the Dao. On the secret level enlightened beings believe that the Neijing is pure celestial wisdom manifest in written form. If an academic reads the Neijing he will only have an academic understanding. If a mystic reads the Neijing he will have a mystical understanding. If an enlightened being reads the Neijing he will have an enlightened understanding. Regardless of your level of comprehension how well you train in the Neijing will determine how well you understand the Neijing.

Amongst the thousands of Neijing scholars there are many debates on the reality of who, what, where, when, and why it was written, where the actual source material came from, how it was edited, how did politics affect it and so on but the fact is that the Neijing, though its wisdom essence has never changed, the text itself changes with every new translation, edition and printing. Scholars translate the Neijing from a historical perspective, doctors of Traditional Chinese Medicine translate the Neijing from a medical perspective. Mystics translate the Neijing from a practitioner’s perspective and enlightened beings don’t translate it at all. It is already written in their language. The Neijing was written in gu wen which is the Latin of China. It is an old form of writing that modern Chinese people don’t understand so it needs to be translated into bai hua or clear speech so that common people like modern academics and doctors can study it. The problem is that translations rarely strike the central point. To change something from its original inscription already changes it’s meaning, so to read the Neijing at a scholarly level from a bai hua translation much less an English translation is like drawing water from a very shallow well. Scholars believe that ancient Chinese characters were developed by human beings trying to create symbols to represent forms and concepts. Mystics on the other hand believe that ancient Chinese characters descended as a blessing from the heavens called celestial writing so that humans can better understand the phenomenal world they live in. Academics also believe that acupuncture and the understanding of the meridians, collaterals and channels were also developed by human beings through trial and error. However, mystics obtain direct realization of the meridians, collaterals, channels, evils, and environmental conditions through the practice of qigong and meditation. Academics consider the Yellow Emperor, Qibo, Sun Si Miao, Zhang Zhong Jing, Hua Tuo, Shen Nong and others as famous doctors that wrote great works on the nature of disease, their diagnosis and treatment. Mystics on the other hand believe these famous doctors to be Daoist deities that are objects of great veneration and refuge. How you view these masters and their texts will also determine how well you can understand them and receive their blessings.

Amongst the thousands of Neijing mystics there is no need to translate the Neijing. Instead they themselves study gu wen and the mystical language of the ancients so that they can unravel the wisdom of the Neijing directly and achieve the Dao. For Daoists and the other mystical traditions of China such as the Confucians, Buddhists and Shamans, the Neijing is a bible equivalent to the Christian bible for the Christians. In the Chinese language a Jing is much more than just a classical book. The character for jing represents pages wrapped in silk. Similarly the character for book indicates a stack of drawn characters but they’re not precious enough to be wrapped in silk. Any holy book or bible in China is called a Jing. Xin Jing-Buddha’s Heart Sutra, Dao De Jing-Daoist Way of Virtue, Shen Jing-Christian Bible. So where the academic considers the Neijing to be just an ancient medical text the Daoist considers the Neijing to be a Holy Bible. If you stacked all of the different bibles, or treaties on the path to heaven or enlightenment in China, you’d have to get a mighty big warehouse for as the great scholar and Pureland Master Jing Kong has said so many times, one book is not enough to completely describe all of the infinite qualities of enlightened beings or their wisdom traditions. Jing however, does not just mean classic, bible, book or a stack of paper wrapped in silk. It also mean channel such as the energy channels of the body that acupuncturists and herbalists use to treat disease, mystics use to practice qigong and enlightened beings use to meditate on. So, for an academic the Huang di Neijing means the Yellow emperor's Internal Classic. But for the mystic it means the golden Light of Liberation that resides in the Central Channel of body/mind.

For the academic the Neijing means the internal classic because it describes the internal anatomy, physiology, pathology and remedies for the human condition. For the mystic the Neijing is a description of the internal pathways and the environment that are cultivated through the practice of qigong and meditation so that they can understand the nature of reality as it is. For enlightened beings they are the Neijing. On the outer level when the scholar reads the Neijing-Internal Classic the neurons in the brain are stimulated and it gives him many tools with which to interact with the phenomenal world. On the inner level when the mystic practices the Neijing-inner channel he cultivates qi-energy so that he can use it to enter the central channel and arrive at the central point. Where academics throw around the stanzas and phrases of the Neijing to prove their artificial perception of the phenomenal world, the mystic doesn’t use his mouth to talk about it, he uses his mind to course the Neijing-internal channels, until ultimate reality can be found. For the enlightened being the Neijing is the central channel, the central point and their own true nature. Beyond that there is nothing to talk about.

Academics study the Yellow Emperor, mystics cultivate the Yellow Emperor and enlightened beings are the Yellow Emperor. A student will have to read the entire Neijing over and over again to develop some understating. Erudite scholars can expound upon its meanings for thousands of years and still not strike the central point. A mystic however can simply hear the name of the Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic and with tears in his eyes a shower of great blessings will fall upon him. If an enlighten being was to comment about the Neijing he would sum it all up into one axiom, yin yang gui yuan, yin and yang returns to the original source. The Neijing constantly recites this phrase but readers keep passing over it looking for some other clues that they can grasp to use in their practice but there is no where else to go from this central point. Yin and yang is the nature of duality that is created between the non-existent self and the delusion of an existing self. Then self creates other, other creates many and then the myriad of appearances. Mystics reverse this process by using self to practice qigong, gigong to enter meditation and meditation to return to the original source. So, let's stop here, and cultivate the Neijing on the physical, mental and spiritual levels so we can too realize all of the blessings the Neijing has to offer.

On the physical level a practitioner of the Neijing should sit facing south as the morning sun begins to rise in the profound lotus posture, which draws the earth qi back into the top of central channel and closes off rebirth to the lower realms. Place your right hand on top of your left hand so that where your thumbs intersect at the hegu points you will see a naturally appearing yin yang symbol. Place the right thumb in the laogong point of the left hand with slight pressure just enough to connect the energy of the channels. Take the yin yang symbol of the hegu points and place it on your guan yuan point four cun bellow the navel or simply a hands width bellow your belly button. Your palms will be facing downwards so that a ball of light will begin to grow between your lotus and your palms. On the mental level thoughts course the channels so breathe deeply, slowly and fully using the lower dan tien of the abdomen to reinforce the qi yet still the mind. After focusing on the lower dan tien for a while you will begin to feel the qi energy warm up the lower cauldron of your abdomen and the palms of your hands too. After the energy becomes sufficiently replete switch your focus to your forehead at the yintang or tianmu point between your eyebrows. Now keep using the energy breath from your dan tien to breathe in and out through your forehead like a string of pure white light dental floss cleaning out your central channel going from the guan yuan point bellow the navel through the yin tang point at the forehead and out into the vastness of space. Many light spheres will begin to appear but just keep breathing through them all without being attached to any one of them. After a while just let all of your thoughts dissolve into the nature of reality without self. This selfless nature in the Yellow Emperor and the Internal Channel/Classic is how you discover it. So, keep practicing this qigong meditation and eventually you will realize the meaning of the Neijing.

Academics study the Neijing, mystics practice the Neijing, and enlightened beings realize the Neijing.
How are you going to approach the Neijing?

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Mountain Wisdom

Sitting like a mountain with a view like the sky.
Sitting deep, long and strong the Zen Master transforms himself into an immovable mountain. He uses his mind to discipline his body and his body to discipline his mind. As his body and mind are stabilized into one essence his view of the sky expands to the infinity of mind. Sitting like a mountain with a view like the sky the Zen Master dissolves all into the dharmakaya.

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Ocean Wisdom

The ocean and waves are not two, they are one.
Like waves on the ocean all thoughts come and go. Arising from the depths of mind its origin should be clear. Coming from nowhere and going nowhere. Are we any different This is how the mystic surfer rides.

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Cloud Wisdom

Nothing sticks to an empty cloud.
Sitting apparent yet empty like a cloud nothing sticks to the tantrika. You can throw an insult or even a stone and it just moves right through him with out it ever sticking. Without a self there is nothing to protect. Just a cloud floating through the morning sky.

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River Wisdom

You can’t touch the same river twice.
If we dip our finger into a river and then dip it again a second later it is not the same river. Time and tied stayeth for no man. Even the most advanced science can’t measure all of the changes that take place in a river in a single nano-second. So, Sidhartha just watched.

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Moon Wisdom

We are just like the reflection of a moon in the water.
Apparent but not truly existing we are living in a phantom dream no more real than a reflection of the moon in a still pond. It seems so real but we know it’s not. We seem so real but we know we’re?

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Sun Wisdom

The sun never stops shining and neither does our mind.
The day turns to night but the sun keep shinning. Even if we lived on the dark side of the moon the sun would still shine. Like the sun our minds continuous energy keeps shinning bright throughout the ten directions of space. Even when we’re asleep the mind is still awake, and the sun keeps shinning.

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Cloud Wisdom

The mirror doesn’t care if you’re the fairest of them all.
Sentient beings use a mirror to see how they look making all kinds of distinctions and micro adjustments. Rarely do they realize their own true nature is just like the mirror and not the object it reflects. A mirror doesn’t care if you are pretty or not, and neither does your mind’s true eye.

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Crazy Wisdom

Though the tantrika’s actions may seem unorthodox his wisdom is even more pure.
When Jesus threw out all of the moneychangers from the temple his was considered a heretic. When the tantrika delights in wine and women he is considered an outcaste but for all their crazy actions their wisdom has not diminished, only our perceptions have. When the moon channel of the dakinis (menstruation) is in full bloom she may act crazy as a loon. But, to the disciplined yogi he knows it’s just a blessing of his emptiness.

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Crossing The Moon
The Chinese Method of Holistic Childbirth

For over twenty years of clinical practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine I have been telling western women that when they have their baby they should cross the moon, which is a Chinese term for taking care of themselves properly for thirty days after giving birth. If a woman follows the proper protocol of crossing the moon she can have a fast and full recovery that will last her entire life. If a woman doesn’t follow the crossing the moon protocol then her recovery will take longer and she might not ever fully recover. Even for women who seem to have recovered quickly and even be in great shape many types of disease can lay dormant only to resurface latter especially when menopause sets in. A young mother in the west often doesn’t recognize associated conditions such as spotting, post-partum depression, PMS, night sweats, back pain and emotional disorders as not having crossed the moon properly. Even after they’ve recovered and have successfully raised their kids conditions such as early menopause, sciatica, heel and plantar pain can arise later in life that can only be fully cured by having another child and crossing the moon properly afterwards. If the conditions arise after her child bearing years are over then these conditions can only be helped by TCM yet never be fully cured.

In China everyone knows what the term crossing the moon means, what it entails, and what the social responsibilities are to support the entire process. China is an ancient communal society with a holistic medical tradition that dates back thousands of years. It includes herbal medicine, acupuncture, chiropractics, massage, surgery and psychotherapy. After explaining to patients for twenty years how to cross the moon I’ve decided to simply write this guide so that we can all save a lot of time and money and get right to the point. I guarantee that anyone involved in having a baby will find this information extremely useful because there is nothing more rewarding than having children and being healthy enough to enjoy them.

The reason why the Chinese term for childbirth health care is called crossing the moon is because the health rejuvenation protocol takes thirty days, which is one lunar cycle. The Chinese word for menstruation is similarly called moon cycle and like the moon’s affect on the ocean tide menstruation occurs when blood essence is nourished and has risen enough enough to fill the vessels. After a child is born a woman looses a lot of blood so if she can purify and restore that blood during the rejuvenation process her general and specific health will be greatly enhanced. The first step is to cleanse the womb of the placenta. To do so Chinese people use the herbal medicine called Sheng Hua Tang, which means Birth Transformation Decoction. Take it for about three days after giving birth especially if the birth was difficult or was in the west. Stress is high in the west so doctors wanting to get to the next patient might pull on the umbilical cord to get the placenta out quickly and by doing so might leave some of it behind. It needs to be cleaned out so that no stasis remains preventing and future problems from arising.

Step two is to take a black chicken that you can find in any Chinese grocery store and cook it with Si Wu Tang or Four Substance decoction. Drinking this soup will quickly fill the vessels up with blood so that wind can’t enter the vessels. If cooking the soup is incovienient then the herbal pill White Pheonix can be substituted for the soup. During this time the new mother should not take a shower. Just take a sponge bath and do not wash the hair because that can make you venerable to wind attack. A new mother should not hold the baby for long periods of time either. Just enough to feed and that’s it. Excessive holding of the baby will put stress on the back of the neck preventing the vessels from filling with blood. Generally speaking for that first month the house should not have people coming or going, windows and doors should not be opened and there should be no loud noises. Basically a new mother should have the first month off and remain in a quite state of meditation until she has fully crossed the moon. On the thirtieth day the baby’s head should be shaved and everyone can then get together to celebrate the new mother and the arrival of a good strong baby. After that both mom and baby will be strong enough to deal with all of the challenges that life will bring them. This is the basic principle of crossing the moon. If a mother has a weak disposition I highly suggest crossing the moon properly. If she has a stronger disposition then at least cleanse the womb with Sheng Hua Tang and rebuild the blood with the black chicken soup. The better you cross the moon that first month the stronger you will be for the rest of your life so it's an investment worth making. Good luck and enjoy your little blessing!

Strengthen your future by crossing the moon!!!