Four Key Elements in Qigong Cultivation-Practice
Binhui He

In order to be successful in qigong cultivation-practice, in addition to the basic instinct understanding and perseverance of the practitioner himself, there are four key elements, namely, method, partner, money matter and location.

Over the past several thousand years, there have been numerous qigong practitioners, but the accomplished ones are very few, that is why we say "the practitioners are as many as the hairs of an ox, but accomplished one is as rare as the further of a phoenix or the horn of a giraffe." In addition to personal factors of the practitioner, the four key elements mentioned above play an important role in deciding the success or failure of qigong practice.

1. The Method (Form)

The beginning qigong practitioner should first select a proper qigong style and learn to practice it under the guidance of an experienced qigong master.

Quite a few qigong beginners plunge into qigong practice with immense enthusiasm, but they can not learn it well and may go astray because they have failed to select a proper qigong style or a qualified qigong master.

Nowadays people practice qigong for different purposes. Most people practice qigong to maintain good health. Others practice qigong to study it, or to learn a skill with which to make a living, or to develop extraordinary capabilities, or to cultivate themselves according to Daoist doctrine and to realize Dao or the Way of Nature.

Among the five major long-standing qigong traditions in China, namely, Confucianist Qigong, Buddhist Qigong, Daoist Qigong, Medical Qigong and Wushu (martial-arts) Qigong, there are multifarious qigong styles. For example, there are 3,600 orthodox qigong styles within Daoist Qigong and 58,000 orthodox qigong styles within Buddhist Qigong. Based on different philosophies and approaches, each of the five major qigong traditions has a different objective with different training methods. Confucianism attaches great importance to peace and the golden mean. As Buddhism regards the human body as the sticking skin-bag, the purpose of Buddhist Qigong practice is to achieve release from samsara and seek eternal life in the Western Paradise or the next life. In contrast to Buddhism, Daoism tries to preserve the human body and seek immortality. Wushu qigong aims at improving the skills of unarmed combat. The goal of Medical Qigong is to cure disease.

The beginning qigong practitioners should be clear about their objectives in qigong practice, and select a proper qigong style and qigong master accordingly. Otherwise, they may fail to achieve their goals.

2. Partner or Companion

Here "partner" refers to one's close personal relationships, such as one's spouse or relatives and close friends.

Qigong practitioners should remain nonchalant and tranquil, which requires understanding and support of their spouses as well as close relatives and friends. Otherwise, their qigong practice will be frequently disturbed by those who do not understand and support them.

Most patients, especially those afflicted with serious illnesses such as advanced cancers, face such a problem. As doctors could do nothing about their diseases, some patients came to seek qigong therapy for help. At this moment the best treatment for them was to stop worrying about their diseases and devote themselves to qigong practice. However, some of them could hardly keep their minds tranquil due to the repeated disturbance from their spouses, relatives and friends, who were ignorant of the mechanism of qigong therapy and suspicious of the capability of qigong therapy to cure persistent ailments that neither western medicine nor traditional Chinese medicine could treat. As a result, the determination, confidence and perseverance of the patients in overcoming their illnesses were weakened, thus making the qigong therapy less effective.

On the other hand, with whole-hearted support of their spouses, relatives and friends, some patients afflicted with advanced cancers put trust in qigong therapy and achieved a very desirable curative effect. By practicing qigong, some patients suffering from proliferation of cancers, who were considered "incurable" by modern medicine, were restored to health.

Besides patients who practice qigong for the sake of curing illness, ordinary qigong practitioners also need the support of their spouses, relatives and friends. For example, during the initial stage of qigong practice, called bai ri zhu ji (building up the foundation in one hundred days), the qigong practitioner should refrain from sleeping together his spouse so as to convert jing to qi. If the spouse of the practitioner fails to understand this and does not support his or her partner, misunderstanding will arise between the couple. As a result, the practitioner may fail in the initial stage of qigong practice.

3. Money Matter

Qigong practitioners should be indifferent to wealth and fame, and be contented with what they have so as to maintain a tranquil mind. However, they should have a continuing source of income to support their normal lives. Those who cannot secure necessities of life can hardly keep their minds peaceful and thus cannot practice qigong well.

Nowadays most people can live a fairly comfortable life, but some patients with serious diseases still have to work to support their families. It is very difficult for such people to be indifferent to money matters and practice qigong with the necessary concentration.

However, this is not the case with some patients I knew. They went on working in spite of their serious diseases in order to enjoy a high standard of living, such as maintaining the mortgage for a big house. They failed to see the proper relationship between life and wealth. Which is more important for the patient: to gain more worldly goods at the sacrifice of life, or to be contented with having the necessities of life and concentrate on qigong practice to regain health without unnecessary mental and physical tension? After realizing the proper relationship between life and wealth, I believe, patients and their families will make a correct choice. The obsession with material gains runs against one of the principles in qigong practice—be indifferent to wealth and fame.

4. Location

To attain a desirable result, it is very important for qigong practitioners, especially qigong beginners, to find a suitable place to conduct qigong practice. This is because qigong beginners do not possess sufficient ding (tranquility) power and their minds will wander due to the slightest outside interference. It is desirable to practice qigong in a place with green mountains and rivers and far away from the urban crowded area. If possible, qigong practitioners should often go to famous Daoist and Buddhist mountains to practice qigong, because such places, carefully chosen by the ancient masters, have a fine qi field. Of course, we should not pay too much attention to the location if such a location is not possible. Those who cannot go to the places mentioned above can regularly practice qigong in a fixed place at home, which also can form a qi field.

In brief, the above-mentioned four key elements are essential to successful qigong practice, and they are important not only for ancient qigong practitioners but also for contemporary qigong practitioners.

Master Binhui He is founder of the Taiji Five-Element Medical Qigong, and honorary president of the World Institute for Self Healing, Inc. His first book has been translated into English; this essay is part of Chapter 1, entitled "On Correct Dao." For more information about master He, go to: http://www.wishus.org/masterhe.asp