WU LIFE 236
THE shang-HAI LIFE
ahhh, the dreaded train.. 26 hours of filthy, stinky, spitting, and screaming.. great fun. this last trip wasn't so bad though.. there was a really sweet young lady that got on the train with me, and we managed to talk about mucoid plaque for a majority of the ride. granted, i'm not exactly fluent with chinese.. so i couldn't fully express myself in regards to this (fecal) matter,.. but with all my excitement and the help of a few pictures from my book, i think i got the point across. in all, the train ride went well - lots of MP3s, reading, and resting. i did, however, get my usual sinus slam from all the recycled air on the train - but aside from that, transit wasn't too bad this round.
by the time i got in.. i had a day to play before ramadhan, so i had super spicy ginger soup with every meal to try and smash my sinus slime.. for the most part, it worked, and by the next day, i was ready for ramadhan.
MY FIRST RAMADHAN
i've been hip to the month long daylight fast for many many years now.. i remember teasing friends with lunchtime cupcakes and pizza in grade school whenever this month long fast came around.. i remember it being especially difficult for my friends when day light savings would hit. i thought to myself.. 'these people are crazy! why don't they just eat something?' ..now, 15 years later, here i am embarking on my first ramadhan.
funny thing is, i've been wanting to observe ramadhan for the last four years now, but i always seemed to find out about it halfway through the season, so i would always just skip it. this year, however, i got the heads up three months in advance, so it seemed that this time would be the right time. to make it even better, i also plan to do my first colon cleanse as soon as i get back to the states.. ramadhan rocks.. what a perfect time to flush my gut and reset some internal harmonies.
it's now day three of the sunlight fasting. my brother sam, whom i'm staying with here in shanghai, is also observing the season with me. we are both regular fasters now, so that, teamed with a little martial discipline is making this thing a breeze. by the time sunset drops, the meal time becomes such a meditative practice,.. slowly enjoying each carefully calculated chew, appreciating every taste sensation, grateful for every swallow... i love fasting, it always helps me remember how much i love food, and how little gratitude i show for it. ramadhan rocks.
I'M LEAVING ON A JET PLANE
in less than 12 hours, i'll be on a jet plane to travel over 6000 miles across the pacific ocean back to my home in the bay. i have lots to look forward to. i would like to thank everyone that put up with my weekly generic journals over the course of these nine months.. just think, soon you'll get a chance to slap me for clogging your inbox all these months.
there is, however, a typhoon right now in shanghai.. i hope that it doesn't effect my travel plans. anyway.. i'm heading home.. see you soon!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
wu life 235
WU LIFE 235
TEACHER'S DAY
this last monday was teachers day here in china - this is a pretty big holiday for the chinese. in traditional china, being a teacher is probably one of the most respectable positions in society.. there is even a saying here,.. 'a day your teacher, a lifetime your father.'
with teacher day in mind.. i was present to all the teachers that have helped influence my path. of course there are my teachers from my childhood education that helped set my foundation for learning, then there are the teachers that i found in high school that helped me see past the richmond city streets to a greater possibility of being. in college, i was further blessed with brilliant teachers that helped refine my skills and broaden my knowledge. then of course, there are my martial, cultural, and spiritual masters that have helped me develop my interest of the arts into a bountiful passion that drives my existence towards a higher purpose for being. i would be nothing without the skillful guidance of such masters.
off the bat, i can name several teachers that have blessed my path.. Bruce Chu, Dr. Y.C. Chiang and his wife Hui Liu, Randal Enos, Dr. Robert Santee, Christine Atkins-Brooks, Au Seng, Dr. Alex Feng, Dr. Brian O'dey, Dr. Michael Reed Gach, Joyce Thom, Jason Frye, Sam Tripp, Joe Dolan, Lance Skewis, Loc Huynh,.. the list goes on all the way down to my current master Yuan Xiu Gang, the man whom i have committed my life of practice to.
outside of that long list of realized masters, daily i am graced with other instructors as well.. each day i learn from friends, experiences, and situations.. i was once told that 'when the student is ready, the master will present himself.. and if the master is not present, then the student should learn to be humble and be present to the masters that were there all along.' i am blessed to have been presented with so many remarkable teachers along my path.. most especially my mom - my first teacher. all my love.
TIME'S UP
this is it, i leave wudang tomorrow morning. from here i make my way to shanghai for a brief layover and then i shoot back to the states to embrace my family and loved ones. to look back at my last nine months is rather overwhelming.. thankfully, i have each week documented in a Wu Life journal! (smile)
each week has just been a power packed experience of personal growth, and i would like to thank each and every one of you that have taken the time to read all my generic journals along the way. next week, i will be writing a short entry from shanghai, and then from there, i will be giving shorter sporadic entries to keep track of my colon cleansing and the workshops i host. next year i will start with the 300 series..
THE LATEST
thank you all for your generosity with my chip in account.. i now have enough to purchase my plane ticket to hawaii - i'm sure the other funds i need for food, shelter, and training will fall into place in their own time,.. as they always do. for those of you that would still like to help (dad), you can follow this link to make a contribution via paypal:
donationbox.blogspot.com
as for the the other news.. i have a whole line up of workshops lined up and ready to rock. the first off will be in berkeley late september.. then, the next few will be set one per week in november - hawaii first, santa rosa second, san louis obispo after that, and possibly LA after that. busy body. for more information on those, you can follow this link:
wudangworkshops.blogspot.com
the last bit of news is the taoist conference in oakland. i am scheduled to make two appearances this year. the first talk will be on iron body qigong, and the second will be on foundation exercises of the internal martial arts. for more information on my work, and the work of the other masters that will be presenting you can follow this link:
http://www.thetaoistcenter.com/conference2006/index2006.html
well.. that is it ya'll. this chapter is up and i'm off on a twenty-six hour train ride to embark on the next bit. stay tuned for the further adventures of david wei..
i love you all.
-zi rong
TEACHER'S DAY
this last monday was teachers day here in china - this is a pretty big holiday for the chinese. in traditional china, being a teacher is probably one of the most respectable positions in society.. there is even a saying here,.. 'a day your teacher, a lifetime your father.'
with teacher day in mind.. i was present to all the teachers that have helped influence my path. of course there are my teachers from my childhood education that helped set my foundation for learning, then there are the teachers that i found in high school that helped me see past the richmond city streets to a greater possibility of being. in college, i was further blessed with brilliant teachers that helped refine my skills and broaden my knowledge. then of course, there are my martial, cultural, and spiritual masters that have helped me develop my interest of the arts into a bountiful passion that drives my existence towards a higher purpose for being. i would be nothing without the skillful guidance of such masters.
off the bat, i can name several teachers that have blessed my path.. Bruce Chu, Dr. Y.C. Chiang and his wife Hui Liu, Randal Enos, Dr. Robert Santee, Christine Atkins-Brooks, Au Seng, Dr. Alex Feng, Dr. Brian O'dey, Dr. Michael Reed Gach, Joyce Thom, Jason Frye, Sam Tripp, Joe Dolan, Lance Skewis, Loc Huynh,.. the list goes on all the way down to my current master Yuan Xiu Gang, the man whom i have committed my life of practice to.
outside of that long list of realized masters, daily i am graced with other instructors as well.. each day i learn from friends, experiences, and situations.. i was once told that 'when the student is ready, the master will present himself.. and if the master is not present, then the student should learn to be humble and be present to the masters that were there all along.' i am blessed to have been presented with so many remarkable teachers along my path.. most especially my mom - my first teacher. all my love.
TIME'S UP
this is it, i leave wudang tomorrow morning. from here i make my way to shanghai for a brief layover and then i shoot back to the states to embrace my family and loved ones. to look back at my last nine months is rather overwhelming.. thankfully, i have each week documented in a Wu Life journal! (smile)
each week has just been a power packed experience of personal growth, and i would like to thank each and every one of you that have taken the time to read all my generic journals along the way. next week, i will be writing a short entry from shanghai, and then from there, i will be giving shorter sporadic entries to keep track of my colon cleansing and the workshops i host. next year i will start with the 300 series..
THE LATEST
thank you all for your generosity with my chip in account.. i now have enough to purchase my plane ticket to hawaii - i'm sure the other funds i need for food, shelter, and training will fall into place in their own time,.. as they always do. for those of you that would still like to help (dad), you can follow this link to make a contribution via paypal:
donationbox.blogspot.com
as for the the other news.. i have a whole line up of workshops lined up and ready to rock. the first off will be in berkeley late september.. then, the next few will be set one per week in november - hawaii first, santa rosa second, san louis obispo after that, and possibly LA after that. busy body. for more information on those, you can follow this link:
wudangworkshops.blogspot.com
the last bit of news is the taoist conference in oakland. i am scheduled to make two appearances this year. the first talk will be on iron body qigong, and the second will be on foundation exercises of the internal martial arts. for more information on my work, and the work of the other masters that will be presenting you can follow this link:
http://www.thetaoistcenter.com/conference2006/index2006.html
well.. that is it ya'll. this chapter is up and i'm off on a twenty-six hour train ride to embark on the next bit. stay tuned for the further adventures of david wei..
i love you all.
-zi rong
Thursday, September 6, 2007
wu life 234
WU LIFE 234
THE GHOST FESTIVAL
It was a cold and stormy night,.. well, not quite.. but it was pretty cold and misty. i had to wear my jacket.
brother jeff and i, led by our tour guide cathy, shot up the mountain one night to observe a taoist ceremony - the ghost festival. originally, we went up thinking it was some sort of devil day, and we were excited at the possibility of seeing a taoist exorcism, or better yet, A GHOST!!! but alas, there was nothing of the sort.. what there was, however, was a beautiful ceremony held in honor of our ancestors past. money was burnt and offerings of fruit, crackers, and soft drinks were made. the event itself was held at the mystical purple heaven palace, and it was truly amazing to witness such a ceremony.. ghosts or not. to make it even better, we ran into so many of our martial uncles that night, and we even got to burn some money for our loved ones passed - i hope my grandma and grandpa enjoy the red envelopes i sent em.
that night, there was no way to get off the mountain, so we stayed in a small hotel for the night. the next morning, was so damp and misty that you couldn't even see 20 feet ahead of you - it was so awesome. after a short breakfast, cathy led jeff and i to a small temple cave that was inhabited by one old monk. seeing the monk was so surreal.. he rocked the classic taoist robes with a taoist cap that had a hole for his taoist top knot. his weathered, wrinkled face was highlighted by his deep glowing eyes,.. and further accented by his long, gray, knotty beard. his smile lines creased as he chuckled a welcome, revealing his crusty, toothless grill. his steps were light and soft,.. he gracefully glided across the rocky ground before inviting us to have a seat on two old meditation cushions. once seated, he disappeared into the temple for a moment only to come out with apples for everyone - apples that had been blessed from the previous night. we sat and chatted for a while, and he told us how numerous legendary masters such as zhang san feng and xuan wu had cultivated and trained at that very cave. jeff and i could hardly contain ourselves. as a parting gift, the monk pulled out a couple hand carved jade pieces and handed them to us with a smile. he walked us about half way down the path before fading back into the forest temple cave. i'm still in awe.
after all that goodness, jeff and i walked back to the purple heaven palace and checked out all the halls and temples,.. we stopped in each one to make small offerings and to give our respects to the deities. at the top of the temple grounds we found the parental hall, so jeff and i took a moment to go in and give an offering of honor to our parents,.. it was especially cool because there was a nun inside that rang a small gong each timed we bowed.. it was magical. from there, we chatted with a sweet old nun that was feeding the turtles and fish in one of the octagon elixir pools - there were two, one for the sun, and the other for the moon. before leaving, we took the time to take a couple kung fu pictures along the steps like good tourists. in all, the whole experience seemed like a fairytale - it was nothing short of amazing.
MONKEY VALLEY MADNESS
earlier this week, the government invited our school up the mountain to the mouth of monkey valley to enjoy a competition. that day was extremely cold and wet, and it rained nearly all morning as they set up for the show. to kill time, we all just chatted with students from the mountain schools and did our best to keep from getting soaked. the funniest part of the morning had to be this director that yelled orders at everyone.. you could even see his face get red, it was cute. once the event started, we were shocked to see that wu ben, the master of jet li, was invited as a judge - and here we are sitting just a few feet behind him! could this week get any better?
the event itself was rather boo boo. there was only a short martial arts demo, most of which was contemporary wushu - which is more like a flash dance than kung fu - there was even a guy that was trying to move like bruce lee.. really, really boo boo. after the martial arts demo, there was this silly event where the participants had to sing or dance.. now that was really cheesy. everyone that sang, blatantly lip synced, and the only cool dancers were these two dudes that did a breaking routine. all the rest were horrible. the whole show was more like a 'star search',.. it was nothing like a traditional kung fu competition. to boot, the event ended with a rigged vote to see who would win some fancy sword.. well, if anything, it was entertaining,.. but i would have rather been training.
TIME IS WINDING DOWN
i am now officially down to my last 8 days in wudang. from here, i shoot over to shanghai for a couple days, and then i'm on a jet plane across the pacific to my home by the bay - richmond, california.
once home, i'll be running a weekend workshop in berkeley - and just in time for the autumn equinox on the 23rd.. i'm really looking forward to it! it will be a three day program, saturday and sunday morning, and one monday evening to close. i plan to share a lot of goodies including taoist yoga, breathing, meditation, qigong, and more. you can find more information about this program here:
www.WudangWorkshops.blogspot.com
as for my hawaii fund raising.. i am still just 200 shy of a plane ticket. hopefully, i can get that taken care of before i leave china. if any of you would care to contribute (dad), you can do it via paypal here:
www.DonationBox.blogspot.com
alright, that's it for this round. now i gotta get back to packing up my winter gear for storage and breaking down my office here.. time is almost up. catch you all next week for my last wu life in wudang.
aloha
THE GHOST FESTIVAL
It was a cold and stormy night,.. well, not quite.. but it was pretty cold and misty. i had to wear my jacket.
brother jeff and i, led by our tour guide cathy, shot up the mountain one night to observe a taoist ceremony - the ghost festival. originally, we went up thinking it was some sort of devil day, and we were excited at the possibility of seeing a taoist exorcism, or better yet, A GHOST!!! but alas, there was nothing of the sort.. what there was, however, was a beautiful ceremony held in honor of our ancestors past. money was burnt and offerings of fruit, crackers, and soft drinks were made. the event itself was held at the mystical purple heaven palace, and it was truly amazing to witness such a ceremony.. ghosts or not. to make it even better, we ran into so many of our martial uncles that night, and we even got to burn some money for our loved ones passed - i hope my grandma and grandpa enjoy the red envelopes i sent em.
that night, there was no way to get off the mountain, so we stayed in a small hotel for the night. the next morning, was so damp and misty that you couldn't even see 20 feet ahead of you - it was so awesome. after a short breakfast, cathy led jeff and i to a small temple cave that was inhabited by one old monk. seeing the monk was so surreal.. he rocked the classic taoist robes with a taoist cap that had a hole for his taoist top knot. his weathered, wrinkled face was highlighted by his deep glowing eyes,.. and further accented by his long, gray, knotty beard. his smile lines creased as he chuckled a welcome, revealing his crusty, toothless grill. his steps were light and soft,.. he gracefully glided across the rocky ground before inviting us to have a seat on two old meditation cushions. once seated, he disappeared into the temple for a moment only to come out with apples for everyone - apples that had been blessed from the previous night. we sat and chatted for a while, and he told us how numerous legendary masters such as zhang san feng and xuan wu had cultivated and trained at that very cave. jeff and i could hardly contain ourselves. as a parting gift, the monk pulled out a couple hand carved jade pieces and handed them to us with a smile. he walked us about half way down the path before fading back into the forest temple cave. i'm still in awe.
after all that goodness, jeff and i walked back to the purple heaven palace and checked out all the halls and temples,.. we stopped in each one to make small offerings and to give our respects to the deities. at the top of the temple grounds we found the parental hall, so jeff and i took a moment to go in and give an offering of honor to our parents,.. it was especially cool because there was a nun inside that rang a small gong each timed we bowed.. it was magical. from there, we chatted with a sweet old nun that was feeding the turtles and fish in one of the octagon elixir pools - there were two, one for the sun, and the other for the moon. before leaving, we took the time to take a couple kung fu pictures along the steps like good tourists. in all, the whole experience seemed like a fairytale - it was nothing short of amazing.
MONKEY VALLEY MADNESS
earlier this week, the government invited our school up the mountain to the mouth of monkey valley to enjoy a competition. that day was extremely cold and wet, and it rained nearly all morning as they set up for the show. to kill time, we all just chatted with students from the mountain schools and did our best to keep from getting soaked. the funniest part of the morning had to be this director that yelled orders at everyone.. you could even see his face get red, it was cute. once the event started, we were shocked to see that wu ben, the master of jet li, was invited as a judge - and here we are sitting just a few feet behind him! could this week get any better?
the event itself was rather boo boo. there was only a short martial arts demo, most of which was contemporary wushu - which is more like a flash dance than kung fu - there was even a guy that was trying to move like bruce lee.. really, really boo boo. after the martial arts demo, there was this silly event where the participants had to sing or dance.. now that was really cheesy. everyone that sang, blatantly lip synced, and the only cool dancers were these two dudes that did a breaking routine. all the rest were horrible. the whole show was more like a 'star search',.. it was nothing like a traditional kung fu competition. to boot, the event ended with a rigged vote to see who would win some fancy sword.. well, if anything, it was entertaining,.. but i would have rather been training.
TIME IS WINDING DOWN
i am now officially down to my last 8 days in wudang. from here, i shoot over to shanghai for a couple days, and then i'm on a jet plane across the pacific to my home by the bay - richmond, california.
once home, i'll be running a weekend workshop in berkeley - and just in time for the autumn equinox on the 23rd.. i'm really looking forward to it! it will be a three day program, saturday and sunday morning, and one monday evening to close. i plan to share a lot of goodies including taoist yoga, breathing, meditation, qigong, and more. you can find more information about this program here:
www.WudangWorkshops.blogspot.com
as for my hawaii fund raising.. i am still just 200 shy of a plane ticket. hopefully, i can get that taken care of before i leave china. if any of you would care to contribute (dad), you can do it via paypal here:
www.DonationBox.blogspot.com
alright, that's it for this round. now i gotta get back to packing up my winter gear for storage and breaking down my office here.. time is almost up. catch you all next week for my last wu life in wudang.
aloha
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