Be in Harmony with Nature: Offering Love with a Tribute: Classical Qigong Master Wu Zhongxian

Please enjoy the following article about Master Wu Zhongxian, that has been translated into Enlish.  Master Wu will be a future featured instructor on Discover the Fire, and we are greatly looking forward to receiving his wisdom.  He embodies the type of teacher we are seeking to make accessible to our active members!

Shen Xiaoju
Director of Qigong Scientific Research Association of Shaanxi Province, China

1. ONCE AGAIN, THERE IS A MIRACLE
The Head of Hong Kong Yijian Corporation, Ms. Chang, had a very poor constitution and often suffered from it. One of her ailments was allergic rhinitis and she had been on medicine for five years. She had also suffered from frozen shoulder. Sometimes, it was so painful that she could not use her hand to write. Over the years, she tried many kinds of medical treatment but got no improvement. The illness that affected her most was a brain tumor located at the pituitary gland. This condition resulted in an internal secretion imbalance and cessation of menstrual  periods. The standard modern medical treatment for her condition is to use medication to control the growth of the tumor. Every month, Ms. Chang had to spend thousands of Hong Kong dollars on medicines. However, these medicines could not cure her illness and even had uncomfortable side effects. Although she often slept for more than ten hours a day, she still felt very tired.

From friends and media, Ms. Chang learned that Qigong could work miracles in curing
diseases. She decided to try it. In March 1994, she went to Mainland China to seek Qigong
treatment. After two months, she finally arrived in Fuxin, Liaonin Province and met Master Wu Zhongxian. On her first visit, Master Wu told her, “From now on, you stop taking any medicine.” Ms. Chang agreed, and from that day on, she stopped taking her medication and practiced Qigong everyday. She enjoyed it very much. Her need for extra sleep decreased and she found that a regular night’s sleep enabled her to feel very energetic during the day.

By the second week, her rhinitis did not show any allergic symptoms. Pain in her right
shoulder disappeared completely. The most exciting thing was that her menstrual cycle returned to normal. After another two weeks of Qigong practice, she visited her doctor in early June and was told that her brain tumor could not be diagnosed. She went back to Hong Kong in July and had several internal secretion tests. The results were all normal. Today, Ms. Chang is healthy and is enjoying her work again. For Master Wu, such a miracle resulting from Qigong practice is not unusual, and it is not the first time he has seen this kind of miracle.

2. LOVE IS THE SOURCE OF MIRACLES
During the course of teaching Qigong and treating patients for free, Master Wu made
countless miracles. In 1990, Mr. Liu Zhong, then a student at No. 4 Military Medical University in China, injured his left leg during a soccer game. He could not bend this leg more than 90º. His doctor gave him massage treatments and other physical treatments. This resulted in swelling, blood stasis, and pain in his left leg, which now could not bend more than 15º-20º. The CT scanning report showed that the tissue in his leg had ossified, so he took herbs, medicine, and underwent several treatments, but did not get any improvement. The doctor pronounced that his left leg was disabled and that the degree of bend in the knee could only be improved through surgery, but only to a 90º bend.

One day, he met Master Wu Zhongxian by coincidence. After comprehending his condition,
Master Wu applied Qi to work with him. Immediately, Mr. Liu felt warmth in his left leg, and the degree of knee bend showed obvious improvement. Master Wu recommended a course of treatment consisting of seven in-person weekly visits and daily treatments in between by remote healing. This treatment plan was successful and at the end of treatment, Mr. Liu’s left leg was completely healed and back to normal healthy functioning. In his thank-you letter to Master Wu, the patient said: “I was trained in a modern medical school. My medical situation cannot be explained by modern medicine, but Master Wu solved the mystery. I cannot help getting interested in Qigong. I would like to devote my life to studying and practicing Qigong.”

Mrs. Yang, a teacher at the high school attached to Xian Transportation University, learned Qigong from Master Wu. Every time her son had a fever, a cold, or diarrhea, she would come to Mater Wu to ask for help. Master Wu would apply remote healing to her son. Each time her son’s illness had already gone away by the time she got home. Mrs. Yang was so thankful and said “Master Wu is my son’s protection God.”

The director at a daycare center in Xian had a strange disease. For years she had no saliva or tears. Her eyes were as dry as the desert and this condition was very painful. Through friends she learned of Master Wu and came to see him. Master Wu applied Qi to her and in just a few minutes, tears welled up in her eyes. Everyone at the scene was moved to tears.

There are too many miracles like these to list. When we asked Master Wu about the secret of making miracles, he answered: “There is no secret. If there is one, it is love. A Qigong
practitioner should treat his/her students and patients as his/her own family in order to make miracles.” He does what he says, and always helps people unselfishly.

In Mr. Liu’s case, every Sunday Master Wu rode his bicycles over 40 miles in hot summer
weather from his work place to the No.4 Military Medical University to give Mr. Liu in-person treatments. He did that for seven weeks without charge. Master Wu had never met Mr. Liu before he began treating him.

In Ms. Chang’s case, Master Wu did not charge extra just because she was a rich
businesswoman. Instead, he waived all her fees. Some people did not understand this and
questioned him. Master Wu explained, “She came here from such a faraway place. It shows her sincerity. We should show more loving care for her and not charge her fees.”

Many students came to study Qigong with Master Wu out of admiration for him. Master Wu always warmly received them and never charged them. To some students with financial needs, he even used his own money to buy tickets for them to return home. We know that he is not a rich man.

In February 1993, Master Wu gave six Qigong lectures in Shanghai. He donated all the
proceeds to the Eastern Asian Games.

3. THERE IS NO END TO COMPREHEND THE ESSENCE OF LIFE AND UNIVERSE
Master Wu has made many miracles, but he does not feel complacent. Instead, he is worried. He said, “Using Qigong to cure diseases is not the purpose of practicing Qigong and Taoism. If we pursue and propagate the curing effect of Qigong, it will give people the wrong impression and lead them in the wrong direction.” What then is the purpose of practicing Qigong? We can get the answer from Master Wu’s journey of practicing Taoism and Buddhism.

Perhaps because of his inherent nature, Master Wu has been interested in traditional Chinese culture since childhood. His parents lived in a village by the sea and he often sat on the beach practicing Zen Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism. Later, he studied and practiced some other traditional Buddhist approaches. When it was time for college, he easily passed the exams and was accepted into a well-known university in Xian, a famous city thousands of miles away from his hometown. In Xian, he had opportunities to meet many famous people and wise hermits. During school breaks, he traveled around China to meet teachers. After investigation and study, he finally grasped the essence of classical style Qigong as the secrets in Buddhism and Taoism. He wore only light clothing during cold weather. He studied and exercised as usual without eating food for days at a time. People at the university were amazed by him and paid a lot of attention to him. Master Wu remained very conscious and calm. He knew that these abilities were just normal phenomena that occur in the course of practicing Qigong. He continued to study and practice to understand the essence of life and universe.

After graduating from the university, he did not go back to his southern hometown, but
stayed in Xian because of its strong and sacred Qi field. For many years, he voluntarily taught Qigong in his spare time. He published numerous articles on Qigong in newspapers and journals, and did presentations at meetings. [Note: More recent writings include: Qigong and Your Life (1996), The Shaolin Tradition’s Seventy-two Movement Exercise and the Mt. Wudang Tradition’s Thirty-six Movement Qigong Form (2001), Qigong Exercises from Mt. Wudang: Taiji and the Twenty Methods of Intertwining Hands (2001), and The Origins of Taiji and Bagua Symbolism and the Concept of Building Health and Nourishing Life (2000).]

Master Wu does not seek fame and wealth. He thinks that a Qigong practitioner should focus on investigation and study, teach students the true methods, and lead them to the right path of cultivation, rather than focusing on Qigong treatment or so-called peculiar phenomenon. A Qigong practitioner should not brag about and try to please the public with theatrical tricks to win applause. All seemingly magical power is an insignificant skill. If a Qigong practitioner pursues Qigong for some profitable phenomena, he/she will be off track. The purpose of practicing Qigong is to cultivate one’s moral character, and this won’t be accomplished by just practicing the specific poses and movements. Only if we integrate Qigong practice into real life, can we slowly begin to experience the state that is free of distractions. Master Wu often reminds his students of his views.
Life and the universe are profound, and it will take us forever to comprehend their essence. Although Master Wu has already accomplished much, he continues to call on great teachers and to absorb the rich nutrients of traditional practicing methods. He eliminates dogma and sectarian bias and passes on his thoughts and experiences to his students without reservation. He hopes that his students can grasp the true meanings of Qigong practice and that together they can cultivate and be in harmony with the nature.

Originally published in Chinese in Qigong and the Environment: Journal of Life, Nature, and Global Qigong, December 1994. English version translated by Dr. Gary Hou and Sherry Hou. Editorial assistance provided by Pamela Causgrove.?