I’ve decided to show the hermit Xuan Kong’s videos on my website. He was the Buddhist abbot I met in Huangshan/Yellow Mountain in October 2007, 25 years ago, through the invitation of his disciple David Verdesi . The videos below show 3 of his demos: one shows what might be pyrokinesis, the ability to project heat from the hands; the second is teleportation, moving objects (in this case a lighter) with energy; and the third is something I do not have a name for, but it involves drawing the Qi from the bulls. Earlier in the week, Xuan Kong showed us a demo (not recorded in a video) where he drew the Qi from a plant. I’ve kept these videos to myself since 2007showing them only to a few friends. But recently I was told that they were posted on the internet, that in fact they have been available online for years now. A friend even sent me a version of the demos by e-mail just a few months ago. He found it on the internet.
I am really reluctant to show these videos in public because they could be misunderstood without an explanation. They are the “document” of what really happened in Huangshan. There are telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and others we do not have a name for. And they should be put in context, i.e., what were the demos for? Why the bulls?
It was not a macho or ego thing. The demos were designed to show what the training could achieve. In short, the human potential. David Verdesi wanted to emphasize that the human being is capable of high gong/achievement with discipline and training in the correct fa/method. The hermit Xuan Kong did not intend the demos to be shown in public. It was not for the media or for the public. For a couple of weeks, Xuan Kong left his cave to join his disciple David and the students in an unprecedented healing retreat in an obscure Chinese city. And afterwards, the hermit went back to his home, the Cave of the Xian/Immortals in the mountains. His official bio is shown below. It mentions training covering different areas – healing, martial arts, qigong, acupuncture, among them – but emphasizes Yi Jin Jing translated as Sinew Changing Classic, the method supposedly taught by Bodhidharma to improve the health of the monks in Shaolin Temple. There are 12 different movements listed in the Buddhist/Shaolin tradition. But it is just the physical aspect of a deeper and larger practice which includes Yin Yang Gong. The other, higher methods are not mentioned or even suggested.
Yin Yang Gong, considered 4th level in the system of the Mo Pai school, is not just an acquisition of power or the ability to emit “electricity”; it is actually a stage in spiritual development. It sets the foundation for more advanced mystical work. There are traditionally 72 levels in the Transmission, one of them the ability to “dissolve” and separate the Shen/spirit from the physical body and travel the other realms. For those who need more information and background, I refer to the stories in the Ming Dynasty epic “Journey to the West,” the picaresque 16th Century novel attributed to Wu Cheng’en. David said that he had met masters who had reached various stages of incredible ability. One mysterious Chinese could leave his handprint on concrete. Another could walk through walls.
To those who object to demonstrations, the image of Xuan Kong doing the demos reminded me of Lord Krishna demonstrating His terrestial and celestial powers to Arjuna in Chapters 10 and 11 of the Bhagavad Gita. How else could the human being understand the vast extent of divine power if we do not see it?
Demos are often given to show achievement, a level of accomplishment that the performer has reached. But the Xuan Kong demos had an additional purpose: to show what a hermit who has lived in caves most of his adult life and trained in the discipline can do to heal others and aid in their spiritual development. If you did not know what it was for, you would think Xuan Kong was just an exhibitionist. As he assumed a posture similar to Brush Knee and Push in Tai chi chuan, it would appear as if he was just showing off. But the ancient ceremony was actually meant to gather the Qi of the bulls and then in a secret ritual, to transfer it to three students chosen from the group to accelerate their development. The transfer was performed in a private room where only a few of the Xuan Kong staff were allowed and no photos were taken. David, Sasha and I promised to respect the privacy of Xuan Kong and keep the videos to ourselves. But apparently some people had their own agenda and shared he videos with the community.
Xuan Kong and Jiang Feng are dead and I do not know who’ll carry on the tradition.
I have also been reluctant to show Lao Kim’s Dragon Tiger Fujian Temple Kungfu forms because these are part of a secret tradition. But I decided that if they are not shown in public, Lao Kim will be forgotten, his legacy will be lost and these videos will gather dust in somebody’s garage. In fact, JC and CSS are gone and nobody seems to be actively teaching LK’s forms now outside of two groups. If we do not show the videos, soon they will be lost.
As for the videos of Classical Yang Family Tai chi chuan fist and weapons forms, they are posted mainly to inform the community about this lineage that is getting muddled by misinformation about Tai chi chuan. I would like to keep the record straight and the best way to do it is to show how the forms are done by disciples and teachers of the style. There may be lapses and variations but in short, these are the authentic forms handed down from Yang Sau-Chaung to his disciple Gin Soon Chu to the present generation of practitioners.
It is a difficult choice, but we have to decide what to do to preserve the past and continue the legacy.
Rene
To help put the Huangshan videos of Xuan Kong in context, here is a long passage from “Thunder Path in Huangshan,” an essay featured in my book
“Of Fire and Water: Alchemy and Tansformatiom” I(Tambuli Media: 2023) available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
December 21, 2007/Winter Solstice:
It was an incredible journey for me. I learned many new things, met a bunch of wonderful people –- searchers all — from different parts of the world, and of course saw those awesome masters.
It is clear from what I have seen and read that the secrets of China are still around, kept in hidden spots, perhaps in caves by hermits, that what we see in the parks, temples and training halls is only the tip of the iceberg, that there are masters out there who carry the real transmissions. Maybe one day, perhaps in the next incarnation, we will be lucky enough to have a glimpse of and understand and learn the awesome powers and spiritual achievements of these exceptional beings.
At the same time, it is important for me, as well as for others, to take those astounding demos not so much in terms of power but in the context of healing, spiritual development and transformation, and the potential of the human being. As David said, we should see beyond the obvious impact of the demonstrations: they are meant partly to satisfy the need for concrete proof of human possibilities and partly as a basis for scientific verification of a person’s attainment. I do not know if I am quoting David correctly but he did say that we need something more substantial than claims of mastery and achievement.
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“It is clear from what I have seen and read that the secrets of China are still around, kept in hidden spots, perhaps in caves by hermits, that what we see in the parks, temples and training halls is only the tip of the iceberg, that there are masters out there who carry the real transmissions. Maybe one day, perhaps in the next incarnation, we will be lucky enough to have a glimpse of and understand and learn the awesome powers and spiritual achievements of these exceptional beings.”
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In passing, it should be mentioned that, during the course of the 2 weeks, we witnessed only about two hours of demonstrations. One healing session up in the mountain took the old masters about 3 hours (including interruptions) transferring Qi from 14 bulls to 3 of us. It was the most unusual and most-talked about and controversial healing technique I have ever seen, and I was one of its lucky beneficiaries.**** The healing sessions with Jiang shifu must have taken at least 10 hours at different intervals while the training took at least 6 to 7 hours a day.
Demonstrations usually bore me. Still, I cannot deny I was impressed with the exhibitions. Who wouldn’t? These after all were not your break-a-bottle-with-the fist or lift- 200-pounds-from-your-genitals type. They are not your everyday feats of strength done in circus atmosphere. For me, at my age, what I want to pursue is training in … stillness and clarity … perhaps, in the cultivation of the heart. I don’t know what it may entail, I do not know its consequences, I am still at that stage when I am exploring the different paths. Searching for peace and quiet within is probably the most difficult quest in the world because the senses and the mind are always picking up something, always being ambushed by desires and thoughts. The way to emptiness is full of obstacles because the world is teeming with temptations and the inner self is itself a constant battlefield.
Of course, power is important — imagine what a person with a pure heart can do with it — but it can also fall into the wrong hands. Love — and healing — should be the foundation of life. There is too much meanness and cruelty and egotism, even in everyday life, not much patience, acceptance, forgiveness and accommodation. Like success, fame and fortune, power can distract us from our intended and true goals -– our destiny — on earth. We have seen masters who have been derailed from their intended mission because they were blinded by the blandishments of the world or misled by their own greed; and those who seek power often get bogged down in showing off and blatant exhibitionism. Either way, the route of power, unless guided by a pure intention, is invariably vain and corrupting.
David emphasized the need for “prayers” … or an attitude of reverence and wonderment for the sacred in our lives. Whatever it is we believe in, he said in Huangshan, we have to honor the divine. We are indeed just like the shamans in the Chinese character for“ling” or spirit — we can only mediate between heaven and earth to bring down the blessings and grace from above.
At the end of the 2-week training, David and I sat down for breakfast in the sitting room early in the morning. I peeled a pomelo, he lighted a cigar as we used to do every day. We were both exhilarated by the incredible experience that we had shared. “So, how do you feel?” I asked. He looked at me with a smile. He was silent for a while weighing what we had gone through, his unprecedented attainment of Yin Yang Gong and the burden of the transmission. I cannot remember his exact words, but he did say that he felt nothing special, that the achievement of electricity – that’s what we called it at the time – was not really important. Smoking the cigar, we talked about what’s truly important in our quest and in life. Echoing the classic wisdom of the ancients, we decided that what is truly, truly and ultimately important is not power but love: it should be the ultimate basis for whatever it is that we do. Whatever it is you achieve or own, whatever your status in society, is meaningless unless you have love in your heart.
I don’t know if I can describe the journey completely. The amazing talents of the masters, the hospitality of the people, the camaraderie of the students, the incomparable training .… All I can say is that it was much, much more than I expected. It was both humbling and enlightening, a great gift to this writer on his 67th (68th in China) birthday!
*****End *****
*Yin Yang Gong, the mating of Yin and Yang in the Dantian, is considered 4th level achievement in the Mo-Pai tradition. Some people believe that this is the real Tai chi, the marriage of yin and yang in the dantian. Generating “electricity” can also happen in other cases but Yin Yang Gong – one of many gongs in Lei Shan Dao — is the more potent type.
**** The ancient master took his position similar to Brush Knee and Push in Tai chi chuan, aimed the right palm at the bull 20 feet away and in a few seconds, the bull bellowed and groaned and collapsed in indescribable agony. I heard that the master could have killed the bull right then and there, but it is against the principles of his religion (he is a Buddhist). It would die in a week to a month, we were told. Fourteen bulls were sacrificed that afternoon. There is a considerable debate about the ethics of this procedure similar to the slaughter of animals for food. I understand that the transfer of qi from the bulls is necessary for people who have depleted qi, or who need to make quicker progress in the work. It is also a sacred ritual from an ancient tradition of animal sacrifice to honor the ancestors and seek the intercession of heaven. Xuan Kong’s method is definitely more humane than the version of the ancient religions where a lamb – or a virgin – is sacrificed at the altar of God.
© RN 2007