WU LIFE 303
IT'S SO COLD
brrrrrr.. it's negative 7 degrees celsius here in wudang. i've never been this cold in my life.
i'm a california boy.. i'm not used to the cold. the only other place i have lived except for california is hawaii.. so this is definitely the coldest i've ever been in my life. seriously.. i have never even seen snow until just last winter here in wudang, but it was NOTHING like this. it has snowed nearly every single day since i've been back, and according to the news, this is the most snow hubei province has seen in 16 years! it's crazy. people are dying, crops are freezing, roofs are collapsing,.. it's nuts.
each night i tuck under five blankets, with a sixth blanket especially for my head. beyond that, i have three layers of sweats and thermals on.. and i'm still cold! luckily i train internal martial arts and i have learned to generate some light weight body heat.. but it ain't enough.. this cold is brutal. i constantly have piping hot green tea on tap, and i'm always layered up. it's nuts.
the winter isn't all bad though. i had my first snowball fight the other day with the other students, and we made a life size taoist snow man in standing meditation posture,.. it even had a taoist top knot. good fun. the other good thing about this time of year is that it is so quiet (in our school at least); all of the chinese students are away for the holiday, and only a small number of the super-dedicated foreigners like to train in the cold,.. so that means smaller classes.. and smaller classes mean more personal instruction. i can dig it.
SITTINGS OF STRONG DETERMINATION
25 centuries ago, siddhartha gautama sat beneath the bodhi tree with a strong determination not to move until full enlightenment was attained. several centuries later, the patriarch of shaolin kung fu, bodhidharma, sat in a cave with the strong determination not to move until his ego-self was transcended and ultimate reality was realized. countless masters have done the same, committed to understanding the depths of their consciousness through endless hours of internal reflection.. for the only lasting truth is personal truth - a truth which can only be experienced within oneself. all other beliefs, ideas, notions, or theories are based on the intellect and experiences of other individuals, which may be true for them, but cannot possibly hold true for everyone. the only truth that is absolute, is the truth realized from within oneself,.. and the best way to awaken to that truth, is through deep internal reflection,.. or - meditation.
for myself, each day starts and ends with an hour of seated stillness. i rise around six or so and stretch a bit before i plop down on to my meditation pillow for some solo sit time. then, each night around eight, i gather with a few students in the meditation hall to sit for another hour. though i've been practicing meditation for the last few years, i am really just now breaking the surface of a consistent practice. the benefits are amazing. my mind is sharper, my emotions are calmer, my awareness is fuller, and i have a new found feeling for my body.. i can feel the blood in my veins, i can feel the marrow in my bones, i can even feel the fillings in my teeth! it's insane. moreover, sitting helps me recover faster from hard training sessions, and an hour of sitting is far more refreshing than taking a power nap. i highly recommend it! if you can sit for an hour to fight traffic or to watch your favorite show on television, you can certainly sit for a bit to watch your mind run around - it's far more entertaining, and you'll learn a lot more too. even if personal enlightenment isn't a goal.. you can still benefit tremendously from meditation.. try it.
IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE
the body is an amazing piece of machinery. every second, billions of cells are regenerating; nearly every day, we have a completely new layer of skin; each month, we practically have a brand new liver; and every year, more than seventy percent of our body has been completely replaced. we are constantly changing, growing, and evolving every moment of every day.
for generations there has been an ongoing debate - was life created by god (intelligent design)? or has life evolved from smaller sub species over the course of countless eons? for me, the answer is simple - creation and evolution are two perspectives of the exact same thing. each moment we are evolving, each moment we are creating,.. there is no difference. but then why do we get old? why do we get sick? if every moment we are new and rejuvenated, if each and every breath fills us with life.. then why do we die? i think i have an answer now.. and this time, it's not just about mucoid plaque.
just as a loud explosion shoots a shock wave of surprise through the body, the same holds true when we express a negative feeling or emotion - it projects a shock wave of nastiness throughout our entire being. if those harsh feelings linger, and that vibrational shock is allowed to continue, gain momentum, and become an involuntary habit pattern that persists over time,.. slowly but surely, that vibrational shock will begin to chip away and compromise the anatomical mortar that binds our body together.. resulting in sickness, pain, and ultimately, death. think about it,.. we've all seen 30 year olds that look 60, and 60 year olds that look 30.. but pay closer attention to their lifestyles and demeanor,.. those that age early typically lead destructive lifestyles - they are always stressed, they are always upset,.. on the contrary, when you observe older individuals still full of life and vigor, they are always happy, glowing, and radiant.
to use myself as an example,.. for several years i held onto a great number of destructive habits and emotions, and as a result, my body deteriorated.. i was sickly, stiff, overweight, and for the most part, unhappy. however, i awoke one day and chose to take responsibility for the reality i was creating for myself.. i changed the negative habit patterns of my diet, attitude, and lifestyle,.. and in time (certainly not overnight), my body transformed. now, i resonate with health, vitality, power, and vigor - just as nature intended. each year that i return to america, that truth is only further illustrated when i see childhood friends crumble and crack from the habits and stress that they themselves cling to,.. all the while i grow softer and more life like.
so, thinking happy thoughts and eating more vegetables.. is this how one becomes a physical immortal? ..probably not. however, i do know how one can discover immortal joy. first and foremost, one must realize that their woes are the result of their very own destructive habit patterns,.. but just as one creates their own sorrows, they can also create their own happiness as well. cultivate compassion. cultivate peace. forgive foes. let go of old grudges, and release the heavy burden of anguish and blame that drags you down. take full responsibility for your personal pain. develop a deep, unconditional love for yourself and for all in creation. cleanse yourself - mind and body.. and in time (certainly not overnight), your outer being will begin to reflect the purity that brews within. this process takes courage, persistence, and above all, patience, but the fruits are real - for eternal joy is the divine birth right for each and every individual committed to developing that light within themselves. ..word.
ALOHA ALL
i've been ending my weekly journals with an aloha for quite some time now. the word aloha holds a vast variety of meanings.. it can mean hello or goodbye; it can describe hospitality, attitude, spirit, or personality; but above all, it defines love - not a romantic, lustful, or passionate love.. but rather a deep, infinite, unconditional love. a love that penetrates and pervades. an omnipresent, omnipotent love available to all of creation. a love that uplifts and nourishes everyone - especially those willing to receive, revere, and rejoice in its bounty. this is the love i extend to you all - family, friends, and foes alike,.. i love you all. i only wish for the best in all of you. may all beings realize their personal potential.
damn, dave wei be preaching. whooo. this was a heavy blog week. i still got jokes though.. did you guys hear about the circus fire? it was in-tents.. get it? intense? in-tents? it's a pun.. you know, a play on words.. whooo. no good? how about the joke about the vacuum? did i tell you that one? eh,.. it sucks... HA! get it? the vacuum? it sucks. right? whoooo. thank you, thank you,.. i'll be here all week. (smile) maybe i should blog more about mucoid plaque. (wink)
see you on the other shore,
-wei zi rong
--
May all beings be happy.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
WU LIFE 302
WU LIFE 302
BACK TO BASICS
to paraphrase my dear brother sam tripp..
'rice is the foundation of every chinese meal; similarly, basic exercises are the foundation of traditional martial arts. without a strong foundation, all you have is flavor and no substance. just as there is no real meal without rice.. there is no real kung fu without strong basics.' ..word.
i love my basics. for those that have trained with me.. they know i can easily spend hours drilling the exact same basic movements over and over and over again. i really love my basics. it has been said.. 'i don't care about the ten thousand movements you've done once.. i'm worried about the one movement you've done ten thousand times.' ..or.. 'know a hundred movements, but master one.'
it's all about the basics.. so when shifu offered to teach me the basic fist set, i jumped at the opportunity. our basic form is really simple.. it has all the five basic stances, and it is a great form for developing timing, coordination, mechanics, control, balance, power, endurance, and flow.. everything you need for good kung fu. i managed to pick up the entire set within three days - approximately 15 hours of class time - which is very fast by my standards.. since then, i've been drilling the set intensively - bit by bit, part by part.. making sure each movement is crisp and defined. i love my rice, and i love my basics. i'm so motivated.
STRUCTURE
when i first came to wudang mountain to train two years ago, there was absolutely no structure to the foreigners' class - no warm ups, no conditioning, no group or partnered work,.. nothing. if you came to class, great,.. if not, then you just waste your time and tuition. students were driven by there own personal initiative and they trained at their own pace. personally, i enjoyed it a lot because it gave me a chance to develop self discipline.. but now, things are very different.
these days, every class is kicked off with an hour of basic exercises. this includes stretching, conditioning, kicks, and coordination drills - very structured. from there, the class typically breaks off into groups depending on what each click is learning. very, very structured. to make it even better,.. now, nearly everyone knows the basic sets - and when we get together to do them as a class, the energy is indescribable. structure is nice.
in just the two, three months that i have been away, i've seen tremendous growth in the students that have stuck around.. and in all my training, i have never seen students evolve so quickly - i'm assuming it's due to the new class format.. and if it is.. i'm looking forward to a powerful year of transformation. structure is nice - i'm so motivated.
BITTER WORK
midweek, i had an opportunity to take my master and two martial uncles to hot pot for dinner.. what a treat,.. and to share the bliss, my kung fu brother derek jumped in the mix too. they say, 'every moment shared with the master is an opportunity to learn,' so i was all ears when he started to share stories of his personal training..
'when i lived in the temple, we worked very hard. here, there are two classes each day, one class in the morning, and another in the afternoon.. when i trained, we had FOUR classes each day, two in the morning, one in the afternoon, and another in the evening! here, i give you one day to rest each week.. when i trained, there was no such thing as a day off - if the master was in a good mood, MAYBE we would get one class off to rest, otherwise, we trained.. no matter what.
'if you were sick or hurt, you trained anyway. if your legs hurt, you trained fists.. if your arms hurt, you trained kicks - my master accepted no excuse for missing a class. if you could open your eyes, you had to train. kung fu is HARD WORK, of course you will have pain, of course you will be sore - that means you are working.. so keep training!
'when the day was finally over, our master never worried about us getting into trouble.. we were too tired! now, students stay up all night, playing on the computer, flirting, smoking, drinking, and having fun.. when i trained in the temple - no one had energy to do anything else - we were too exhausted from training.
'these days, students do not know what it is like to 'eat bitter.' they are too scared to train real kung fu.. one moment someone's foot will hurt too much to train, but after class they are running around and playing ping pong. they don't have real pain.. they just don't want to train. kung fu is HARD WORK.'
the whole time shifu spoke, all i could do was listen - jaw dropped in awe. how dare i consider myself a martial artist, shame on me. it's time to step it up - i'm so motivated.
THIS CAN'T BE REAL
my body is transforming. my mind is evolving. my entire being is resonating at a different frequency now - i can hardly recognize myself anymore.
one especially cold afternoon, class was held indoors due to a snow storm. after the basic exercises were finished, we all practiced the five animal qigong set together as a group. for the most part, it was just an ordinary session, but my experience was far from ordinary.
with each breath, a fire grew inside me from deep within my belly. a serene calm came over me and my movements seemed to flow without a single thought or cognition,.. it was as if i was being moved by remote control, while my awareness simply observed - like a scientist, keenly observing his subject. as cool as that may sound, my words still fall short of the real thing.. the experience was beyond description. to add to the awe.. my entire body was pumping out steam! it was as if every single one of my pores was breathing - and the cold only made it that much more observable.. you could literally see steam coming out through my clothes! my hands and head gave off the most.. even the instructor took notice and said i looked like a lit stick of incense. wow. i was immediately reminded of the tibetan monks that meditate outside in the snow with wet towels wrapped around their bodies - is this really happening to me? this can't be real - can it?
i have to train more! i'm so motivated.
ALOHA ALL
thus concludes another week in the wu - where transformation and transcendence is common occurrence, and where hard working practitioners chew bitter to taste sweet. but before wrapping this round up, i would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all my friends, family, and loved ones for their continued love and support along this journey of mine. i trust that through my evolution, you will sew that seed of personal development within yourself and come to experience the joy of your own, individual transformation - only to ignite that same passion in others.. and so on, and so on, and so on...
may all beings fulfill their personal potential.
get motivated.
see you on the other shore,
-wei zi rong
BACK TO BASICS
to paraphrase my dear brother sam tripp..
'rice is the foundation of every chinese meal; similarly, basic exercises are the foundation of traditional martial arts. without a strong foundation, all you have is flavor and no substance. just as there is no real meal without rice.. there is no real kung fu without strong basics.' ..word.
i love my basics. for those that have trained with me.. they know i can easily spend hours drilling the exact same basic movements over and over and over again. i really love my basics. it has been said.. 'i don't care about the ten thousand movements you've done once.. i'm worried about the one movement you've done ten thousand times.' ..or.. 'know a hundred movements, but master one.'
it's all about the basics.. so when shifu offered to teach me the basic fist set, i jumped at the opportunity. our basic form is really simple.. it has all the five basic stances, and it is a great form for developing timing, coordination, mechanics, control, balance, power, endurance, and flow.. everything you need for good kung fu. i managed to pick up the entire set within three days - approximately 15 hours of class time - which is very fast by my standards.. since then, i've been drilling the set intensively - bit by bit, part by part.. making sure each movement is crisp and defined. i love my rice, and i love my basics. i'm so motivated.
STRUCTURE
when i first came to wudang mountain to train two years ago, there was absolutely no structure to the foreigners' class - no warm ups, no conditioning, no group or partnered work,.. nothing. if you came to class, great,.. if not, then you just waste your time and tuition. students were driven by there own personal initiative and they trained at their own pace. personally, i enjoyed it a lot because it gave me a chance to develop self discipline.. but now, things are very different.
these days, every class is kicked off with an hour of basic exercises. this includes stretching, conditioning, kicks, and coordination drills - very structured. from there, the class typically breaks off into groups depending on what each click is learning. very, very structured. to make it even better,.. now, nearly everyone knows the basic sets - and when we get together to do them as a class, the energy is indescribable. structure is nice.
in just the two, three months that i have been away, i've seen tremendous growth in the students that have stuck around.. and in all my training, i have never seen students evolve so quickly - i'm assuming it's due to the new class format.. and if it is.. i'm looking forward to a powerful year of transformation. structure is nice - i'm so motivated.
BITTER WORK
midweek, i had an opportunity to take my master and two martial uncles to hot pot for dinner.. what a treat,.. and to share the bliss, my kung fu brother derek jumped in the mix too. they say, 'every moment shared with the master is an opportunity to learn,' so i was all ears when he started to share stories of his personal training..
'when i lived in the temple, we worked very hard. here, there are two classes each day, one class in the morning, and another in the afternoon.. when i trained, we had FOUR classes each day, two in the morning, one in the afternoon, and another in the evening! here, i give you one day to rest each week.. when i trained, there was no such thing as a day off - if the master was in a good mood, MAYBE we would get one class off to rest, otherwise, we trained.. no matter what.
'if you were sick or hurt, you trained anyway. if your legs hurt, you trained fists.. if your arms hurt, you trained kicks - my master accepted no excuse for missing a class. if you could open your eyes, you had to train. kung fu is HARD WORK, of course you will have pain, of course you will be sore - that means you are working.. so keep training!
'when the day was finally over, our master never worried about us getting into trouble.. we were too tired! now, students stay up all night, playing on the computer, flirting, smoking, drinking, and having fun.. when i trained in the temple - no one had energy to do anything else - we were too exhausted from training.
'these days, students do not know what it is like to 'eat bitter.' they are too scared to train real kung fu.. one moment someone's foot will hurt too much to train, but after class they are running around and playing ping pong. they don't have real pain.. they just don't want to train. kung fu is HARD WORK.'
the whole time shifu spoke, all i could do was listen - jaw dropped in awe. how dare i consider myself a martial artist, shame on me. it's time to step it up - i'm so motivated.
THIS CAN'T BE REAL
my body is transforming. my mind is evolving. my entire being is resonating at a different frequency now - i can hardly recognize myself anymore.
one especially cold afternoon, class was held indoors due to a snow storm. after the basic exercises were finished, we all practiced the five animal qigong set together as a group. for the most part, it was just an ordinary session, but my experience was far from ordinary.
with each breath, a fire grew inside me from deep within my belly. a serene calm came over me and my movements seemed to flow without a single thought or cognition,.. it was as if i was being moved by remote control, while my awareness simply observed - like a scientist, keenly observing his subject. as cool as that may sound, my words still fall short of the real thing.. the experience was beyond description. to add to the awe.. my entire body was pumping out steam! it was as if every single one of my pores was breathing - and the cold only made it that much more observable.. you could literally see steam coming out through my clothes! my hands and head gave off the most.. even the instructor took notice and said i looked like a lit stick of incense. wow. i was immediately reminded of the tibetan monks that meditate outside in the snow with wet towels wrapped around their bodies - is this really happening to me? this can't be real - can it?
i have to train more! i'm so motivated.
ALOHA ALL
thus concludes another week in the wu - where transformation and transcendence is common occurrence, and where hard working practitioners chew bitter to taste sweet. but before wrapping this round up, i would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all my friends, family, and loved ones for their continued love and support along this journey of mine. i trust that through my evolution, you will sew that seed of personal development within yourself and come to experience the joy of your own, individual transformation - only to ignite that same passion in others.. and so on, and so on, and so on...
may all beings fulfill their personal potential.
get motivated.
see you on the other shore,
-wei zi rong
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
WU LIFE 301
WU LIFE 301
TREACHEROUS TREKS AND HELLACIOUS HIKES
shanghai was slamming, but nature had a curve ball for dave wei.
the departure rocked. the train ride was awesome, and i even got to sleep the whole way through to wuhan (china's hot pot), the capitol city of hubei province - but i was lucky enough to arrive in the middle of a blizzard.. the first snow wuhan has seen in three years. to complicate the situation further, the train station was under construction for renovation.. so i had to drag my big bags through muddy-snow-sludge along ultra crowded, round-about detour routes around the station. by the time i get to the ticketing booth.. it turns out that all the tickets to wudang are sold out for the next week.. there isn't even standing space. so from there, i back track, against traffic, through the detours to a bus station only to find out all the busses are canceled due to the storm too. wa waaaa. so now, i have to get a room.. this is where it gets good.
i start dragging my bags down the muddy, sludgy streets in the middle of a blizzard to find a hotel. when i find one, they won't let me stay cause i'm laowai (foreigner).. so i drag my bags further still to another (more expensive) foreigner spot.. but now i can't get a room because i don't have a passport (it's being processed in shanghai for my visa).. wa waaaaaa. i do, however, manage to get a standing ticket for the train the very next morning from the ticketing service at the hotel (finally, some good news), but without a room, i would have to sleep in the train station.. which is no bueno.
in light distress, i call my master. he advised that i should stay in the hotel lobby to rest until they kick me out - i would need my chi if i was going to sleep in the station that night. right? his advice was sound, so i plopped my wet, muddy, exhausted self on a couch and kicked it in the lobby. some two hours later, a young man, apparently sent by my friend cathy in wudang, came to rent a room for me in his name so that i wouldn't be stranded. life saver. after we were set, i treated him to some street noodles and green onion pancakes for saving me from the stormy streets that night. such a blessing.
after our little meal, we took a nice walk back to the hotel. along the walk, he noticed i wasn't even shivering despite the cold snow storm.. i replied, 'i practice qigong, i'm not scared of cold, nor am i scared of heat.' he chuckled in response.. 'i'm the same,' he says.. 'i'm only scared of my wife.' ahh.. jokes - i love em.
from there, i got back into the room for a good rest.. cause the next day's ride was going to be juicy.
come morning time, i rose to see that the blizzard continued well through the night.. what a great start. since my train was set to depart from a station on the other side of town, i left super early to make sure i had ample time.. and it's good that i did too.. it took me an hour just to get a cab, and then it took another hour to get to the station! i literally get to the station just as the last group of passengers are boarding.. close call. once on the train, i arranged my bags in such a way so that i can sit on them comfortably in preparation for the eight hour, ultra-crammed, standing-space only train ride. yummy. along the way, i faced everything that i would have expected to face on a chinese train.. filth, spitting, baby excrement, yelling, smoking, staring.. yummy.
now, as if my travel time wasn't challenging enough, the train passed right through wudang without stopping! powerless at this point, i ride it out.. finally, the train stops in shiyan city, about one hour away from wudang. as luck would have it.. there was a blizzard there too, so all the busses were canceled and all the taxis wanted a ridiculously over priced fare to take me home to the wu. finally, after standing in the snow for what seemed like an eternity, i managed to find a cargo truck that would take me to the mountain town for 100 kuai (compared to the 5 kuai it should cost by bus), but it was my only choice. so then, after making a number of detours, i finally arrived at my school. man.
you know, despite the madness, i somehow managed to keep a smile on my face. no matter how muddy, wet, dirty, or tired i got.. no matter how cold it was, no matter how drenched my luggage got, or how desperate the situation became.. i still managed to smile. see.. if anyone has some bad karma coming for past wrongs.. it's dave wei.. and if this little travel drama is the vehicle upon which my suffering is handed back to me, then it is for me to smile and endure with peace - planting seeds of patience and compassion for the next harvest. wandering taoist with a buddha heart.. the world is on my side.
NINE BOWS
i made it! after getting my bags up to my room, i come to find out that my master had been running all over town looking for me.. ahh, to be loved. an hour later, he pulls back up to the school. the second he sees me he starts scolding me in his fatherly tone.. 'ni zheng si fan tong!' ~ 'you really are a rice bucket!' (rice bucket=only good for eating). but before i even made eye contact, i immediately dropped to my knees and proceeded to kowtow (traditional bow where the head touches the ground) nine times to show my respects and gratitude. after the third, he tried to pull me up, but i kept going.. after the sixth, his wife started to pull me up too, but i kept going.. after the ninth, i held my head to the ground and only got up after my master applied pressure to a sensitive area in my shoulder. ouch.
when i finally looked up at my master, the look in his eye was one of love. i made it home.
ALOHA ALL
and it's on.. wu life 300 is underway. thank you to all my loved ones, friends, family, and sponsors.. yes, i got sponsors! three or four good friends have been kind enough to contribute 10-20 bucks a month towards my training - it ain't much, but a monk don't need a lot to live.. wanna contribute too? ask me how.
oh.. and on a side note.. my kung fu brother sam tripp is going to be heading back to the states in the spring to run a few workshops all throughout california.. i'm sure every one will be welcome, but if you don't have any martial experience.. prepare to get rocked - sam's got skills. if you're interested in hooking up with him, extend your intent towards me and i'll reflect it his way.
and that's all for this week. stay tuned for more adventures.. this year is going to be powerful..
may all beings be happy,
-wei zi rong
TREACHEROUS TREKS AND HELLACIOUS HIKES
shanghai was slamming, but nature had a curve ball for dave wei.
the departure rocked. the train ride was awesome, and i even got to sleep the whole way through to wuhan (china's hot pot), the capitol city of hubei province - but i was lucky enough to arrive in the middle of a blizzard.. the first snow wuhan has seen in three years. to complicate the situation further, the train station was under construction for renovation.. so i had to drag my big bags through muddy-snow-sludge along ultra crowded, round-about detour routes around the station. by the time i get to the ticketing booth.. it turns out that all the tickets to wudang are sold out for the next week.. there isn't even standing space. so from there, i back track, against traffic, through the detours to a bus station only to find out all the busses are canceled due to the storm too. wa waaaa. so now, i have to get a room.. this is where it gets good.
i start dragging my bags down the muddy, sludgy streets in the middle of a blizzard to find a hotel. when i find one, they won't let me stay cause i'm laowai (foreigner).. so i drag my bags further still to another (more expensive) foreigner spot.. but now i can't get a room because i don't have a passport (it's being processed in shanghai for my visa).. wa waaaaaa. i do, however, manage to get a standing ticket for the train the very next morning from the ticketing service at the hotel (finally, some good news), but without a room, i would have to sleep in the train station.. which is no bueno.
in light distress, i call my master. he advised that i should stay in the hotel lobby to rest until they kick me out - i would need my chi if i was going to sleep in the station that night. right? his advice was sound, so i plopped my wet, muddy, exhausted self on a couch and kicked it in the lobby. some two hours later, a young man, apparently sent by my friend cathy in wudang, came to rent a room for me in his name so that i wouldn't be stranded. life saver. after we were set, i treated him to some street noodles and green onion pancakes for saving me from the stormy streets that night. such a blessing.
after our little meal, we took a nice walk back to the hotel. along the walk, he noticed i wasn't even shivering despite the cold snow storm.. i replied, 'i practice qigong, i'm not scared of cold, nor am i scared of heat.' he chuckled in response.. 'i'm the same,' he says.. 'i'm only scared of my wife.' ahh.. jokes - i love em.
from there, i got back into the room for a good rest.. cause the next day's ride was going to be juicy.
come morning time, i rose to see that the blizzard continued well through the night.. what a great start. since my train was set to depart from a station on the other side of town, i left super early to make sure i had ample time.. and it's good that i did too.. it took me an hour just to get a cab, and then it took another hour to get to the station! i literally get to the station just as the last group of passengers are boarding.. close call. once on the train, i arranged my bags in such a way so that i can sit on them comfortably in preparation for the eight hour, ultra-crammed, standing-space only train ride. yummy. along the way, i faced everything that i would have expected to face on a chinese train.. filth, spitting, baby excrement, yelling, smoking, staring.. yummy.
now, as if my travel time wasn't challenging enough, the train passed right through wudang without stopping! powerless at this point, i ride it out.. finally, the train stops in shiyan city, about one hour away from wudang. as luck would have it.. there was a blizzard there too, so all the busses were canceled and all the taxis wanted a ridiculously over priced fare to take me home to the wu. finally, after standing in the snow for what seemed like an eternity, i managed to find a cargo truck that would take me to the mountain town for 100 kuai (compared to the 5 kuai it should cost by bus), but it was my only choice. so then, after making a number of detours, i finally arrived at my school. man.
you know, despite the madness, i somehow managed to keep a smile on my face. no matter how muddy, wet, dirty, or tired i got.. no matter how cold it was, no matter how drenched my luggage got, or how desperate the situation became.. i still managed to smile. see.. if anyone has some bad karma coming for past wrongs.. it's dave wei.. and if this little travel drama is the vehicle upon which my suffering is handed back to me, then it is for me to smile and endure with peace - planting seeds of patience and compassion for the next harvest. wandering taoist with a buddha heart.. the world is on my side.
NINE BOWS
i made it! after getting my bags up to my room, i come to find out that my master had been running all over town looking for me.. ahh, to be loved. an hour later, he pulls back up to the school. the second he sees me he starts scolding me in his fatherly tone.. 'ni zheng si fan tong!' ~ 'you really are a rice bucket!' (rice bucket=only good for eating). but before i even made eye contact, i immediately dropped to my knees and proceeded to kowtow (traditional bow where the head touches the ground) nine times to show my respects and gratitude. after the third, he tried to pull me up, but i kept going.. after the sixth, his wife started to pull me up too, but i kept going.. after the ninth, i held my head to the ground and only got up after my master applied pressure to a sensitive area in my shoulder. ouch.
when i finally looked up at my master, the look in his eye was one of love. i made it home.
ALOHA ALL
and it's on.. wu life 300 is underway. thank you to all my loved ones, friends, family, and sponsors.. yes, i got sponsors! three or four good friends have been kind enough to contribute 10-20 bucks a month towards my training - it ain't much, but a monk don't need a lot to live.. wanna contribute too? ask me how.
oh.. and on a side note.. my kung fu brother sam tripp is going to be heading back to the states in the spring to run a few workshops all throughout california.. i'm sure every one will be welcome, but if you don't have any martial experience.. prepare to get rocked - sam's got skills. if you're interested in hooking up with him, extend your intent towards me and i'll reflect it his way.
and that's all for this week. stay tuned for more adventures.. this year is going to be powerful..
may all beings be happy,
-wei zi rong
Friday, January 11, 2008
WU LIFE 300
WU LIFE 300
THE SUBTLE JOY OF EQUANIMITY
for the last leg of my stay in the bay, i challenged myself with a ten-day silent meditation retreat up at the california vipassana center near yosemite. i couldn't think of a better way to enjoy the holidays and ring in the new year. the experience was unbelievable,.. i highly recommend everyone try this program. now please be aware.. ten days of silence sure does sound nice, but this isn't exactly a vacation.. we're talking ten hours of meditation every day for ten days.. it is extremely challenging - but at the same time, equally rewarding. so if you wanna sharpen your awareness, you can get more information here.. dhamma.org it is offered all over the world, and it's all free! do it!
STRANDED IN CHINA
soon after the retreat, it was time for me to head back to china. i was so busy trying to pull together whatever money i could to fund my training this year, that i hardly got to spend anytime with my friends and loved ones this round. so sadly, i think a lot of people aren't too happy with me - sorry mom. but, happy or not, i still have a reality to create.. and i'd rather be busy than stagnant - so work it is.
upon my departure.. i had to face the most torrential downpour of the year. tons of water came down in buckets, and gusts of wind were clocked at nearly 80 mph. it was insane. needless to say, my flight got delayed three hours - which in turn, made me miss my connecting flight in beijing. so once in the middle kingdom, i had to camp out at the beijing airport for the night before catching the next available flight to shanghai. good fun. if anything, it gave me a chance to read - two books, some 600 pages.. i love it. so glad i came strapped with text.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT SHANGHAI
for those of you that have followed my adventures.. you would know that i have always had issues with shanghai.. for the longest time, i just couldn't get right with this city, but now that i am a vipassana meditator (wink wink) all is blissed and bright for dave wei, even shanghai.
the highlight of this round would have to be all the time i got to spend with my disciple brothers jeff and sam. we are some silly dudes. but beyond that.. what made this trip super ultra disgusting (in a good way) would have to be learning imperial dragon bagua from master ming in the park every morning.
this system is amazing.. there is no other way to describe it. ming shifu is awesome, and his sound effects are hilarious. we got along immediately and i was so happy to spend my mornings with him picking up this rare style of bagua zhang. ming shifu ran me through a barrage of training methods.. line drills, applications, footwork, push-hand techniques, conditioning exercises, standing postures, circle walking.. the works. once again, i am humbled by bagua training.. my body is sore allover,.. but i am so excited about incorporating these methods to my regular routine. party.
AND I'M OFF
tonight i head back to wudang mountain. the year of the pig is coming to a close, and the new year is upon us - making travel in china ridiculously difficult. because of that.. there are no direct trains available so i have to transfer in the capitol city of wuhan. despite the drama, however, my travel time will be cut by 6 hours and the bulk of it is spent over night.. so it's not bad at all.. i think i may have found a new way to get back to the mountains.
and that's all. the wu life 300 series is now underway. lots of good stuff is lined up this year so stay tuned.
see you on the other shore,
-wei zi rong
THE SUBTLE JOY OF EQUANIMITY
for the last leg of my stay in the bay, i challenged myself with a ten-day silent meditation retreat up at the california vipassana center near yosemite. i couldn't think of a better way to enjoy the holidays and ring in the new year. the experience was unbelievable,.. i highly recommend everyone try this program. now please be aware.. ten days of silence sure does sound nice, but this isn't exactly a vacation.. we're talking ten hours of meditation every day for ten days.. it is extremely challenging - but at the same time, equally rewarding. so if you wanna sharpen your awareness, you can get more information here.. dhamma.org it is offered all over the world, and it's all free! do it!
STRANDED IN CHINA
soon after the retreat, it was time for me to head back to china. i was so busy trying to pull together whatever money i could to fund my training this year, that i hardly got to spend anytime with my friends and loved ones this round. so sadly, i think a lot of people aren't too happy with me - sorry mom. but, happy or not, i still have a reality to create.. and i'd rather be busy than stagnant - so work it is.
upon my departure.. i had to face the most torrential downpour of the year. tons of water came down in buckets, and gusts of wind were clocked at nearly 80 mph. it was insane. needless to say, my flight got delayed three hours - which in turn, made me miss my connecting flight in beijing. so once in the middle kingdom, i had to camp out at the beijing airport for the night before catching the next available flight to shanghai. good fun. if anything, it gave me a chance to read - two books, some 600 pages.. i love it. so glad i came strapped with text.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT SHANGHAI
for those of you that have followed my adventures.. you would know that i have always had issues with shanghai.. for the longest time, i just couldn't get right with this city, but now that i am a vipassana meditator (wink wink) all is blissed and bright for dave wei, even shanghai.
the highlight of this round would have to be all the time i got to spend with my disciple brothers jeff and sam. we are some silly dudes. but beyond that.. what made this trip super ultra disgusting (in a good way) would have to be learning imperial dragon bagua from master ming in the park every morning.
this system is amazing.. there is no other way to describe it. ming shifu is awesome, and his sound effects are hilarious. we got along immediately and i was so happy to spend my mornings with him picking up this rare style of bagua zhang. ming shifu ran me through a barrage of training methods.. line drills, applications, footwork, push-hand techniques, conditioning exercises, standing postures, circle walking.. the works. once again, i am humbled by bagua training.. my body is sore allover,.. but i am so excited about incorporating these methods to my regular routine. party.
AND I'M OFF
tonight i head back to wudang mountain. the year of the pig is coming to a close, and the new year is upon us - making travel in china ridiculously difficult. because of that.. there are no direct trains available so i have to transfer in the capitol city of wuhan. despite the drama, however, my travel time will be cut by 6 hours and the bulk of it is spent over night.. so it's not bad at all.. i think i may have found a new way to get back to the mountains.
and that's all. the wu life 300 series is now underway. lots of good stuff is lined up this year so stay tuned.
see you on the other shore,
-wei zi rong
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