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I met amazing 88-year-old Bagua Qigong grandmaster, Teng Un-Fong, in his home in Beijing, China. Teng is a rare individual who is not only good at qigong but also lives by its principals. He is a very pleasant individual and eager to share his knowledge. He is one of the few grandmasters I met over the years, who emphasizes "love and compassion" instead of "martial arts." |
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Teng showed (with a smile!) how to ward off forces without
losing his balance. "You are my teachers. Because without you
pushing me, I would never learn how to deal with attacking
forces."
Teng also explained that in daily life, we should thank "nasty" people for their verbal abuse and other unpleasant things so that we can learn how to ward off those "thorns" of life without losing our love for life. Teng mentioned that during the Cultural Revolution, he was next in line to be denounced in front of a group of frantic Red Guards. Suddenly the chief Red Guard, told the crowd that it was time to quit. Teng escaped this brutal meeting without a scratch. I did not ask how he did it, but apparently the Red Guard must have sensed his composure, neither fear nor hatred, just pure loving human attitude and let this unusual human go.
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Grandmaster Teng lives in a small but comfortable
apartment in Beijing. He lives in the "present" and seldom
bothered by the past nor the future. By finding his real self, he
explained that the past has no place in his mind, and the future has not
taken place yet and so they hold no position in his mind either. He gave
an example how he lives in the present: if someone asks him to come for
a meeting and doesn't tell him what is the matter. Instead of worrying
about what would happen, he would just go and deal with it as it
unfolds. Of course, there is a big difference between an
"irresponsible" person and "enlightened" person.
When his beloved wife of 56 years died, he asked his children not to cry. For him, life and death is only a pair of yin and yang, a natural phenomena to be respected and accepted. |
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Here is the translation of Grandmaster Teng's summary of
Bagua qigong exercise:
1. Cultivation of the body and mind begins with walking. Four squares and four diagonals form the Eight-Step Circle. Inside step is straight and outside step is diagonal, massaging the knees and hips (kwa). Raise foot parallel to the ground and step down gently with the soles empty and arched. 2. Focus the eyes to the front where the earth and sky meets. Both arms embrace forward with hands place in front of the navel. Turn to the left and right and then right to left. Upper, lower and middle form three horizontal rings. 3. The three rings rotate with chi as the center. All the joints in the body need to be relaxed. Should make all the mental images become without images. Let yin and yang change naturally. 4. Body is centered and comfortable, the mind is focused. Realizing the Tao and cultivating the Te ( moral), one will reach the wonderful mountaintop. Getting rid of illnesses and prolonging one's life are just small rewards. Understanding our mind and realizing our true self will increase our wisdom and compassion.
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