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