After an intense week at the temple, today i am reflecting about all my experience here in the Daoist Medicine course. Living in the temple, learning from Li Shifu, practicing Qigong and meditation everyday took me to a new way of thinking and perceiving my body and reality and also, made me understand medicine in a much deeper level from the one i was taught years ago. Since i started studying the master degree in Chinese medicine here in China, i was looking for traditional and real ancient Chinese medicine knowledge. Studying TCM helped me to build a theoretical foundation but was far away from what i really believe is the root of Chinese medicine. Luckily or destiny, i found the way to the Temple and suddenly i was immersed in the real Daoist teachings, the root i was looking for. Once here, i started feeling that the transmission master-disciple was still alive and Li ShiFu has so much to give. His experience, rigor, compassion, honesty, humility and simplicity deepen my perception about what is a real master. I felt i had such a big opportunity to have someone that really experienced what he talks about. It looks like a new world of knowledge opened to me and this time much deeper than before. Learning and practicing longevity qigong, healing techniques, experience Qi in my body, feeling changes in my body, understanding how to use it for healing purposes made me feel i took the right decision and i have the guidance to follow my path in Chinese medicine.
All the medicine course was very intense, full of contents and practice. This week we studied traditional healing massage techniques, music healing class, fire healing class, healing qigong class, medicinal plasters/ pastes class and medicinal herbs. The healing music class was really interesting and important for me, because before i have never had such kind of teachings in Chinese medicine. Learning healing tones based on the five elements / movements, singing them, feeling the vibration in the internal organs gave me a strong insight of how important this healing tool can help people in society. We also studied the Fire healing technique, a very ancient method rarely taught nowadays with impressive effects on the body. Qigong Healing class was one of the most important classes in my point of view. Not only we practice Qigong, we also learn ancient healing methods of using QI. In Chinese medicine there is an old saying « There is no Chinese Medicine without Qigong, without Qi » and more than ever i could realize that. As Li Shifu says only with daily practice, putting effort on your study with honesty and reverence you will reach your experience with your own Qi and after that you will keep on practicing because you know the power you have inside of you.
At last, we ended up the week with plasters class and herbs picking. That was a kind of present for me, because i love herbs and i was willing to learn how to make plasters, oils and medicinal alcohol for a long time. We made ourselves in a wok over a fire wood a black medicinal plaster according to an ancient formula, which took us around 12h of work. The next day, Li Shifu took us on a walk in the mountain, and gathered 99 different wild herbs in just a few hours, and taught us their medicinal properties. After intense theory classes, we got formulas and all the procedures and precautions.
Besides all the theory classes, all the students keep up on their Water TaiJi practice and Longevity Qigong, putting effort to refine the form and the stances.
At the end of the week we also joyfully welcomed back Linsey Wei and her family, one of the oldest disciples of Li Shifu teaching in the United States.
Soon we will finish our Daoist medicine course and i already feel so grateful for all this time i could live here, being taught in such a traditional way. What i learnt here will be with me for all my life, not just in a notebook, but engraved in my heart.