A reprint of an article I wrote back in the '90's
FO MEN JIU GONG ZHANG:
Chinese Qi Gong for Health and Vitality
Qi Gong is at once mystical and mundane. Its practice can give one almost superhuman abilities, yet it is a power that all people, without exception, share. The Chinese character "Qi" means air or breath, but is used in this context to mean "internal energy". "Gong" means skill developed through hard work; here it stands for the practice of manipulating the breath and internal energy. Qi Gong may therefore be called "Energy Meditation", with "energy" referring the body's internal energy and "meditation" referring to the process of contemplating and manipulating that energy.
Qi Gong was developed by the Daoist in ancient China. The main tenet of Daoism is that man should live in harmony with nature. It also teaches that one should honor the physical body that is given to one by one's parents. Respect for this gift is shown by maintaining good hygiene and not mutilating the body, even to the extent that Daoist monks do not cut their hair. A Daoist monk can be recognized by the topknot of hair that protrudes through the traditional open-crowned cap. Another gift from one's parents is one's original Qi. This Qi is the energy that everyone is born with; the very life essence that animates the body. Everyone has this original Qi while alive. When it is depleted, one dies. The Daoists believe that this store of Qi can be supplemented and refined. Using internal alchemy, they believed that air and the body's own sexual energy could be transmuted to create additional Qi. This energy could by further refined until the body's gross, impure Qi could become as pure as the energy that made up the universe, thus rendering one essentially immortal.
There are many types of Qi Gong exercises, both traditional and modern, in existence today. All forms use visualization and breathing techniques to manipulate the body's internal energy. Internal Alchemy, an important practice of traditional Daoism, seeks to transform the body's sexual essence into Qi and then to refine that Qi into the "Golden Pill" or "Elixir of Immortality. Internal Alchemy is usually practiced in a sitting posture, requiring very little in the way of physical motion. It is a powerful practice and should only be attempted under the guidance of an experienced practitioner. Such masters are hard to find today and one should be wary of those claiming to teach it. Since such a practice requires a lifetime of dedication, it was generally taught only to those who had made the commitment to become Daoist monks. Such a practice can be harmful to the student if not done correctly.
There are, however, many methods that are readily available to the more casual practitioner. Qi Gong is immensely popular in China where literally millions of people practice one form or another. In these types of Qi Gong, the goal is not immortality, but rather the development and preservation of good health. These practices range from stationary postures to forms where the practitioner moves constantly in slow motion. A distinction should be made however between moving Qi Gong forms and Tai Ji Quan. The main purpose of all Qi Gong exercises is to augment one's supply of internal energy. Tai Ji Quan, on the other hand, is a method for circulating one's already existent Qi. This distinction becomes clear when one realizes that all styles of Tai Qi Quan contain supplementary Qi Gong exercises, usually static postures, designed for the development of Qi. It is also important to realize that, in Qi Gong, it is the mind that does the work. Postures are used merely as an aid to concentration and circulation. Copying a system's postures without understanding and practicing the associated contemplations is, at best, a waste of time.
One rare but extremely effective form of Qi Gong is known as Fo Men Jiu Gong Zhang. The name, Fo Men Jiu Gong Zhang, translates as "Buddhist Nine Directions Palm". The system originated on E Mei Mountain in Sichuan Province in China several hundred years ago and has been handed down through the Gong Family for over twenty generations. E Mei mountain is unusual in that it is regarded as sacred by both the Buddhists and the Daoists. Fo Men Jiu Gong Zhang is unique in that it is a synthesis of both Daoist and Buddhist practices. Although Buddhism stresses meditation, few temples, outside of the Shaolin temple, were thought to practice Qi Gong. The fact that Fo Men Jiu Gong Zhang includes Buddhist Qi Gong, makes it all the more rare.
Like all Qi Gong systems, regular practice will develop and balance one's inner energy. In addition, Fo Men Jiu Gong Zhang is thought to be extremely good for healing; both for healing one's self and for healing others. In fact, most of the students in the class in which the author participated were there on doctor's orders. Most showed a marked improvement in their own conditions and a few went on to become healers as well.
Fo Men Jiu Gong Zhang contains eight postures. The first is called "The Novice Pays Homage to the Buddha". As the name suggests, this posture was taken from Buddhism. Rather than use visualization, like Daoist Qi Gong, the student recites a mantra while practicing this posture. A series of sacred sounds, mantras are widely used in Buddhism as a way of controlling and emptying the mind. With the mind open, the Qi begins to circulate freely, with powerful results. After a few days of practice, most of the students in the author's class, including the author, began to experience physical reactions to the increased Qi flow. Shaking, clapping of hands, walking back and forth, these are just some of the ways the circulating energy manifests itself. It can be an unsettling experience to find oneself moving almost against one's will, but under the guidance of a competent teacher, is quite safe and is an effective method of "resetting" one's Qi. This powerful practice is an excellent way to prepare one for the next series of movements.
The rest of the postures are Daoist in origin. In them, visualization is used to manipulate the Qi along acupuncture meridians. These meridians are channels along which the Qi is thought to circulate. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, disease is said to arise when one of these channels are blocked and the flow of nourishing Qi is interrupted. In addition, Qi itself, which is divided into Yin and Yang, must be balanced. A surplus or deficiency in either type of Qi leads to disharmony and, subsequently, illness and disease. Using Qi Gong exercises to circulate Qi along these channels is like injecting high octane gasoline into a car engine. The purified fuel helps clean away the deposits in the fuel lines and allows the engine to run more smoothly and efficiently.
The second posture, called "The Wind Seeps Away Demons" is used to develop and purify Qi. In it, visualization is used to circulate internal energy along what the Daoist call the "Small Heavenly Circulation" or "Microcosmic Orbit". This orbit is achieved by connecting two acupuncture meridians; the Conception and the Control Meridians, which run vertically along the front and back of the torso, respectively. Circulating the Qi along this orbit is a traditional Daoist practice. The Qi is gathered in the Dan Tian, a spot approximately three inches below the navel, and then compelled by the mind to travel along the two meridians in a continuous circle. Internal Alchemy is based largely on the Microcosmic Orbit, although with different visualization and breathing techniques. This posture is a very powerful one and may be practiced all by itself.
Once one has mastered the Microcosmic Orbit and a supply of purified Qi is built up, one can begin to circulate Qi through the "Grand Heavenly" or "Macrocosmic Orbit". This Orbit utilizes the rest of the twelve acupuncture meridians, mostly located in the arms and legs. The remaining postures in Fo Men Jiu Gong Zhang work to circulate Qi along these Channels. The third movement, "Mother and Child Reunite", circulates the Qi along the Yin and Yang meridians of the arms. "The Golden Pellet Enters the Ocean", first follows the Control Meridian down the back and then follows the Yin meridians down the inside of the legs. The Qi is brought back up the Yang meridians on the outside of the legs in the next posture, "The Mighty Eagle Flaps Its Wings". Having completed a basic Macrocosmic Orbit, "Twin Dragons Inhale the Pearl" concentrates the Qi in the head, where the Golden Pill was said to originate.
"Sphere Practice in Nine Directions" is an unusual posture that has the practitioner face each of the nine directions while compounding the Qi into a compact ball between the hands. In the finale posture "Receive the Pellet and Pay Homage to the Buddha", the compounded Qi is then "swallowed" and the practitioner settles himself to return to normal daily life.
Practice sessions can be anywhere from twenty minutes to two hours. One movement or the whole set can be practiced in a given session. When one practices the entire set with proper concentration, two hours can pass very quickly. Each session leaves the practitioner relaxed and energized. In the class the author attended in China, the students practiced from eight to ten hours a day for a month. It is not surprising that many achieved impressive results.
The class was taught by members of the Gong family. Due to their long practice of Qi Gong, they were able to demonstrate very impressive powers. In one exercise, Teacher Gong's son drew three circles on the concrete floor with a wooden sword. In each he drew a different Chinese character. In the first, the character "fire" was drawn, in the second "water", and in the third "wind". As the students stood in each circle, they experienced unusual sensations. In the "fire" circle, one felt a definite sense of increased heat. In "water", the sensation was of waves of energy flowing over one from head to foot, like standing beneath a waterfall. Most impressive, to the author at least, was the "wind" circle. Here one felt that one was actually caught in a small whirlwind. One's body swayed from side to side as the "wind" changed directions. Some students experienced a stronger reaction in one circle than in another but all experienced the effects to some degree.
Fo Men Jiu Gong Zhang is an extremely powerful form of Qi Gong but it is also one of the most rare, even in China itself. To the authors knowledge, he is the only American to ever study it. The prospective student is advised to be extremely cautious of anyone claiming to teach this art. As with any form of Qi Gong, it is not the form itself that brings the student power, but long hours of practice. Without dedication and practice, one will not receive the benefits of Qi Gong, regardless of the form. For those willing to put in the hard work, however, Qi Gong can improve one's health and vitality, providing ordinary people with almost miraculous powers.
The Postures of Fo Men Jiu Gong Zhang
1. The Novice Pays Homage to the Buddha
2. The Whip Sweeps Away Demons
3. The Mother and Child Reunite
4. The Golden Pellet Enters the Ocean
5. The Mighty Eagle Flaps Its Wings
6. Two Dragons Inhale the Pearl
7. Sphere Practice in Nine Directions
8. Receive the Pellet and Pay Homage to the Buddha
Note: Please use the same photograph (#1) for both position 1 and 8.
The Pinyin system of Romanization has been used throughout this article.
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