Chinese Lotus Qigong

Extracts translated from Mandarin (with the author's written permission) from the Chinese best seller ‘The Great Masters of Qigong'.  Written by Ke Yunlu - writer, philosopher and Qigong promoter.  Ke Yunlu is the writer of at least 20 books on Qigong.  This book is based on fact and only names and places have been changed.

This is a story about a little boy called Zhao Puti who became a Qigong master.

When he was five or six years old he was an ordinary boy like any other at his age.

One day Zhao was playing by the bank of a river that flowed near his home.  He had thrown a stick into the river which he was watching flow toward a group of feeding swans.

This river was linked to a backwater pool which flowed into the main river.  Numerous lotus plants grew out of this pool.  As Zhao watched the swans swim slowly toward this pool to feed, he ignored his stick and slowly followed the swans.  As he was drawn closer to the pool, he could now see floating upon the water the wonderful flowers of the lotus plant.  They were pink and white and formed a layer, like carpet upon the water.  Zhao Puti stopped suddenly, staring at these flowers, without moving, almost in a trance as if he was drawn to them by some power.

At this time, an old man wearing plain dark clothes came down the path that wound its way around the lake.  He saw little Zhao staring at the lotus flowers and he saw the glare in the little boy's eyes.  The old man stopped beside Zhao, put his hand gently on the boy's head and asked him what his name was, how old he was and where he stayed.  While the boy answered these questions he observed the boy's face closely.

"Would you like to see a big lotus flower?" he asked.

Zhao Puti raised his little face, looked at the kind old man and nodded.  The old man sat on the grass, put his legs in the lotus position, put his hands together in the prayer position and closed his eyes.  Softly he started whispering something.  Impulsively, Zhao started to copy the old man's position.  He sat opposite the old man in the lotus position and closed his eyes.  The old man slightly opened his eyes and smiled when he saw Zhao sitting there.

"Now watch closely" he said to the boy.

Zhao sitting there with his eyes slightly closed started to see a golden light.  The old man still sitting in the lotus position started to levitate.  Slowly his body started to leave the ground.  Underneath his body was a big lotus flower emitting a rich golden light.  As the old man gradually came back to the ground the golden light slowly faded.

The old man gently touched the boys shoulder and said "I have been waiting for you for many years.  Would you like to become my apprentice?"

Zhao nodded his head as if he knew what this meant.  The old man, as Zhao discovered much later was a Buddhist monk well past his ninetieth birthday and had been wandering the country after his temple had been destroyed in a local feud.

He went to see Zhao's father - an honest peasant farmer and also a great follower of Buddhism.  He agreed to let his son follow the old man and be taught his secret style of Qigong.  Zhao Puti, still a young man, today is a great master of Lotus Qigong.

*          *          *

Outside a city, a large group of students are gathering in a large field of natural grassland.  This field is surrounded by a forest of old trees.  In the distance the dark tones of a mountain range can be seen.  The students are sitting in disciplined, almost regimented rows.  Several thousand are gathered.  Any observer could feel the power of the combined Qi energy of the students.  All are sitting in the lotus position with their hands in the prayer position and eyes slightly closed.

Facing them on a stage in front of a desk is Master Zhao who at this moment is teaching the gathered students Qigong and demonstrating various movements.

The students come from different walks of life.  Some are sick and hope to be cured, some are old and want relief from their aches and pains and some are curious to see this great Master.

One of the students sitting at the back had problems with seeing the Master as he demonstrated one of the postures.  He had asked if anything could be done to see the Master clearer.  The Master who had been sitting on a chair in the lotus position started levitating suddenly in front of the students when he heard this request.

A great "Aaaaah!" came from the group when they saw what was happening in front of their eyes.  Many had heard about this act but until now not many had witnessed it.  There was total astonishment and surprise.  They could all see the Master clearly now!

If you believe in the power of Qigong this will increase the power of the Qigong and a demonstration such as this by the master made everyone's confidence in its power so much stronger.  As the class progressed, students began to have health benefits and Master Zhao invited those to come forward and tell the audience about them.

One man who had to walk with the aid of crutches for the last 10 years, after one session could now walk unaided.  He was very excited as he walked up and down the stage demonstrating his newfound mobility.  The audience applauded him warmly.  He left the stage shaking his head trying to understand how after just one session of Lotus Qigong he could now walk.

Others came up on stage and told their stories.  Deaf people who had their hearing restored, sight impaired people who had their sight restored, people with aches and pains and mobility problems were all cured or had great relief of their ailments.  All testifying to the great power of Qigong.  They all received warm applause from the gathered students.

Finally the Master raised his hand for silence.

"Some of you will have results later or gradually as time goes on.  For some, it will happen when you have gone home after a few days.  For you who are not sick you will have much more energy and your memory will improve, your concentration more focused, your spirit will be greater.  There will be an overall improvement in your lifestyle."

"Now for the second stage of Lotus Qigong.  Calm down, sit in the lotus position with hands in the prayer position."

Silence and calm fell upon the group.  However, some changes were about to happen!

Until now there had been blue skies and no wind.  Suddenly the sky was filled with clouds, evil winds started to blow and darkness descended upon the gathered group as thick black clouds covered the skies.

The faces turned skyward to watch this gathering menace.  It looked like the heavens would open at any minute and deluge the students.  Thin spiral winds started to dance among the students, large drops of rain started to fall.  Suddenly above the noise of the wind, screams started coming from some students.  Snakes and toads started to appear from out of the grass.  The students started to panic.

Master Zhao scanned the field and realised what was happening.

"Please do not panic!" he demanded "This rain and wind is the work of some Qigong Master - it is not a natural occurrence."

"Please be seated and repeat this mantra." he appealed to the students.

"An Ma Ni Ba Mi Hong"

The students did so.  The chant could just be heard above the sound of the wind.

"Now I will use my Qigong to banish the wind and rain."

The master started to chant some complicated mantras and move his fingers in a twisting rhythm.  Some of the more advanced students who had developed their energy to a higher level could see golden spinning rays around the Masters head.  The faster they spun, the bigger they grew spiraling upward as they started to reach for the sky.  Most people couldn't see this, but they could see the clouds disappearing and the blue sky returning.  The snakes and toads disappeared as well. Again peace descended upon the group.

Master Zhao still sitting on the table said, "This was the work of a Master of Qigong testing us.  It was he who made this happen.  We have all passed the test.  Let us continue our lesson.  Please, whoever did this, do not disturb us again as it is getting late and we still have much to do."

No sooner had he said this that the wind started to blow again.  Master Zhao's face became angry.

He said in a loud voice "If you do not stop this, I will no longer tolerate it."

The wind just continued to blow stronger, ignoring the Master's plea.

"Fix!" roared Zhao as he turned to the west and pointed his finger.

The wind again stopped and the gathering clouds retreated.

"Everyone stand!" demanded the Master, "The one who cannot stand is the fellow causing the trouble.  He will be fixed to the ground."

A few thousand people started to get up.  In the middle of the standing crowd sat a man.  The crowd jostled to get a look at him.  They were prevented from getting a good look by this Master's disciples.  About eight or ten of them stood around him and pushed the crowd away preventing them from seeing him.

Master Zhao ordered everyone to move to the east thus separating the crowd from this sorry looking band of men.

"Lets see who this trouble maker is."

Some of these disciples started pleading with Master Zhao to forgive their Master.

"Carry him away with you," ordered Master Zhao, "If it happens again I won't be so lenient."

He waved his hand over the pitiful looking group and they left carrying their Master with them.  Master Zhao's class continued throughout until the late afternoon.  This time uninterrupted.

After class had finished most people started to make their way home. Several hundred however stayed and gathered around Master Zhao.  They wanted to talk to him and be close to him.  Some wanted to be healed by the Master.

Among the group was an elderly slim professor.  He had problems with his back for many years as a result of severe rheumatism.  He had felt much relief from his pain after the day's session.

"However I still have some residual pain in my back." he said to Master Zhao.

Master Zhao came up to him and slapped him hard on the back ten times.

"Do you still feel pain?" Master Zhao asked.

"No." the old professor answered "This is fantastic!  I can move my back in all directions now." he shouted as he gyrated around like a youngster.

Master Zhao smiled at the old man's pleasure and turned to his next patient.

A woman carrying a bottle of water was next.  She had a little girl with kidney problems.  Unfortunately the little girl was too sick to come along. "Could you turn this water into Qigong healing water?" she inquired.

"Yes," stated the Master simply as he took the bottle from this woman and shook it.

"Now this is sweet water." he said as he handed it back to the mother.

The mother took a sip of the water and was amazed.

"It really is sweet. This was ordinary water before." she stated to the amazed crowd.

Another person who had a bottle of fruit juice asked Master Zhao if he could also turn this into healing water?  Again the Master took the bottle and shook it before handing it back.  This time it had turned into ordinary water.  Everyone was very excited as they in turn passed their drinks to the Master for him to work his "magic" on them.  And not just drinks were passed to the Master, pens, watches and anything the students were carrying were passed to the Master for him to put his energy into.

This is very common in Qigong.  Anything can be energized by a Qigong Master simply by touch or shaking it and turning the object into a healing product.

Now the time has come for Master Zhao to leave.  It was getting late and reluctantly his students let him depart.  He was accompanied back by a young man who he had known for a long time.  They were good friends.  This man had brought a young girl to the class he had known only a short time.  As they walked to the residence, he introduced Miss Yang to the Master and explained that he had brought her along as she had problems with her heart.

They arrived back at the residence, sat and talked.  The young man asked his friend Zhao if he could look at Miss Yang.

"She is feeling much better after your class, but I think she has arrhythmia.  Can you see if this is her problem?"

Zhao looked at her.  She was a bit shy in front of this great Master, she smiled and looked away.

"No." said Master Zhao "She doesn't have arrhythmia, however her heart does beat a bit fast at 85 beats per minute."

Zhao had said this without touching the girl or checking her pulse.  His friend took the girl's pulse and confirmed it was 85 beats per min.

After a minute Master Zhao said "Check it now.  It is 70 beats per minute and from now on she is cured and has nothing to worry about."

The friend checked and it was as the Master had said - 70 beats per min.

Miss Yang turned to the Master and said,  "Oh, how can I thank you?"

Zhao looked at her closely with a puzzled look on his face.

"Is anyone in your family a Buddhist, your grandfather or maybe his father?"

She looked at him in surprise. "How did you know that?"

"Please stand up and do not move." he asked her.

Master Zhao looked at her closely.  Miss Yang stood quietly in front of him.

Suddenly he said, his face brightening up, "It was your great grand father from Zhejiang Province (near Shanghai).  He lived 120 years and when he was about 40 he left his house to go to the temple.  He had one son your grandfather who also had one son your father."

"Yes, that's right." said Miss Yang in surprise "How did you know that?"

"My Master and your grandfather knew each other."

"Really!  How did you know?" she exclaimed.

The young man who was standing by her side, said, "For a high-level master of Qigong this is an ordinary thing.  They can do this easily."

Still watching her closely the Master said, "Do you want to know what you were in a previous life?"

"What!" exclaimed Miss Yang "You can do that as well!"

"I can, but in your case I think I won't, as people will think I am spreading rumours!"

The young man piped up. "If you won't tell her about her past life why not tell her what the future holds for her?"

Miss Yang's eyes grew wide. "Oh yes, please!" she said turning to the Master "I would love to be told my future."

Master Zhao looked at her, turned his head toward his young friend and then looked at both of them and smiled a knowing smile.

"No, I think it's better if I don't tell you." he said.