Taoist
Master Attains Rainbow Body
From
book ”Qi Gong” by Baolin Wu
Du
Xinlin, known as the Master of the Purple Luminescence, was an
extraordinary modern seer. From his earliest childhood to his
mystical passing
from this plane, he lived his life as something more than a mere man. Tales
of his feats of divination, martial artistry, and healing are
recorded within
the annals of both the Purple Cloud and White Cloud Monasteries.
At
the age of 116, Master Du left the earthly plane. He lived his life
as a towering
mystic and master of the Taoist arts and had decided to dedicate his
passing to a demonstration of the truth of his lifelong beliefs. What
he accomplished
was a manifestation of the power of Oi Gong few have ever attempted
and no one had ever truly succeeded at in the modern era. His accomplishment
is a significant event in Chinese cultural history. To present the
inner teachings of 9 Palaces Microcosmic Orbit Oi Gong is a testament
to his
attainment and the fulfillment of his last living wish.
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Du Xinling in 1987, photographed by Patrick Kelly
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A
few years before, when Dr. Wu was still living with him, Master Du
told him
that he believed that Lao Zi, Wang Chongyang, and all his other
teachers were
waiting for him in the Nine Central Heavens. As Lao Zi's disciple, he
was ready
to join him there. He told the young boy about the Rainbow Body that a
worthy believer could cultivate inside his mortal body and that if
his righteousness merited it, it could leave the body with
consciousness and spirit intact,
instead of physical death, to fly up to Heaven in a rainbow of light.
Transubstantiation
and eternal life that bypasses corporeal death has a long tradition
in the East. It is known as hong hua, literally a form of the word
"rainbow" that can be used as a noun or verb: The Rainbow
Body is cultivated within a righteous person's physical body at the
moment in passing. Taoist and Tibetan Buddhist tradition is peppered
with stories of famous monks, hermits, and high lamas who attempted
this feat by devoting their lives to meditation, training, and
saintly acts. The ones who attained the RainbowBody
were revered forever as saints and Immortals. Those who tried to pass
over by "rainbow-ing" but did not succeed in leaving the
world without a trace of their physical remains left behind were
still venerated , the remnants of their bodies kept enshrined as holy
relics. One such relic had been housed in the White Cloud Monastery
when Dr. Wu was a boy there. It looked like a tiny, shriveled little
man about a foot and a half high, covered in leathery, age-darkened
skin. It was explained to him that if there were any portions of the
Rainbow Body practitioner's body that had not been properly purified
beforehis
or her attempt, it would be left behind in a shrunken, desiccated
form.
Master
Du told young Wu the day and the hour he was going to Rainbow and
made him swear to be there to watch his attempt, no matter what. Soon he
became so focused on his future that he would spend the whole day
quietly whispering, "I'm going, I'm going" to himself. In
the beginning, the boy thought,
"My teacher must be too old ... what is he talking about, all
day long
just saying, 'I'm going, I'm going!' Toward the end, when he had to
return to Beijing for his studies, he remembers pleading with his
master to stop
worrying and continuously talking about it with him, assuring him
that he
would skip school and do whatever else he had to do to be there and
watch him
when he was ready to leave. Even with his childhood of Taoist
training, the
teenage Dr. Wu was still skeptical of his master's unconventional
ways and
crazy ideas. But when that particular day finally came to pass,
Master Du
attained his Rainbow Body. Ever since, Dr. Wu deeply believes.
The
day before he was set to make his attempt, Master Du called his young
student to his side. He told him, "Tomorrow I will be rainbowed.
I am goingto my place in the Ninth Level of Heaven to do my practice
there. I am going to continue my studies with my master Lao Zi and
sit at his feet, learning what he
teaches, but from now on you are going to have to study by yourself.
You're going to have to work hard. Of all my students, you have
learned much, but I am worried for you. You don't study hard, you are
skeptical in your practice, and yet you absorb my teachings so well.
All that I know, I must pass to you because none of my other students
have the wisdom and insight that you barely realize that you possess.
Because of the troubles in China, there is no time or place to find
someone better than you to pass these traditions to."
As
he sat in a tub of hot water strewn with fragrant flower petals,
being washed
by his student, he talked to him at length about the key points of 9 Palaces
and 5 Centers Qi Gong. He told him of the real meaning of martial arts,
When you learn martial arts, you are not going after specific
movements, or
their proper visual form, or if your hand moves correctly or not. You
have to
have the feel of a natural force living within you. If you feel it
rising inside you,
then you can bring it out with power and dynamism. Why does it take more
than one person to catch, control, and subdue an insane person? They have
left behind all the things that have separated them from their
original abilities.
Within your own original abilities lies your power. Why was Wang Xiangzhai
(the founder of yiquan) so successful in his martial arts? Because he
was able to bring out his own personal essence, his own unique force. There
are special trainings to accomplish this. If you just focus on supple movements
it might be good exercise, but if you really want to learn true striking
power, true healing power, true energetic power, the basic foundation is
Qi Gong.
They
talked together like that all night, the student bathing the master,
the
master
transmitting his last words of wisdom, from eight o'clock in the
evening to five the next morning. When Master Du had said all that he
could,he
faced his apprentice seriously. "I know you question what I have
taught you,
but tomorrow I will show you the reality of this knowledge. Of all mystudents,
you are the one with the most doubts. You have difficulty trusting in
me or believing in the teachings. But I believe, because I believe my
owneyes.
I believe in myself. I know you are a good student. You're a very
smartperson.
You have good comprehension and understanding, you can see things through,
clearly and quickly. You have your own measure of wisdom. If tomorrow
I fail to attain the Rainbow Body, all I ask is that you bury my
remains in the place I have directed you. You can go on with your
life and never think about Taoism again. I have high hopes that if
tomorrow you seewith
your own two eyes that I have indeed succeeded, you will vow to teach the
9 Palaces nine hundred and ninety nine times in honor of the truth
you have
been witness to."
That
day, the temple was decorated with flowers and auspicious banners. Monks
with musical instruments played continuously. Over one hundred people
were assembled, including silent monitors from the Communist Party. Master
Du sat in complete stillness and silence on a silken meditation
cushion embroidered
with dragons. At high noon, the moment for the transition had arrived.
At first he remained immobile. At his side, Dr. Wu momentarily grasped
his shoulder with a small shake. Suddenly his teacher flared with a
burst of energy. Still enclosed in profound contemplation, his body
began to
levitate, spinning straight up from its cushion, rising by itself and
revolving faster
and faster. Turning so fast his body was a blur, he hovered for a
fleeting moment
just above the heads of the stunned onlookers. The solidity of his
form shifted, became indistinct. His outline evaporated into red
smoke; a piercing
ray of red light shot straight through the center of the sun,
transfixing him; and at once, the Master was gone. He had departed.
No trace was
left, except a pleasing fragrance that filled the courtyard for hours
after.
How
can this be understood? How can it be explained? For the rest of the
afternoon, Dr. Wu and his companions were lost in wonder and shocked
speechless.
They had been witness to proof of the heights a lifetime's study
in
Qi Gong could achieve.
White
Cloud Temple & Du Xinlin
excerpt
from Infinite Dao by Patrick Kelly, p 242-244, buy here.
Before
departing China, we chose to do a little sightseeing. A look at the
Great Wall and other compulsory first visit tourist attractions,
served to make clear how little China has retained from its position
as the “country at the centre of the world” of previous
millennia. We investigated many Daoist and Buddhist temples but the
only one where we felt something real still existed was the White
Cloud Temple in Beijing.
It
seems that at the time of the ‘Cultural Revolution’ when most
temples – at least those in accessible locations – were being
self-righteously and systematically ransacked, Premier Zhou Enlai
realising the destruction was unstoppable, had concentrated his
influence on protecting the White Cloud Temple. I had read that
Daoism was previously split between the north and the south. This
temple was the headquarters for the northern branch. Most impressive
was the head sage. In his eighties or nineties we guessed, with a
long white beard, he looked every bit the part. Mostly he sat quietly
inside the main temple building where the other trainee monks would
regularly come for chanting, summoned by the ringing of a bell. We
later learnt his title and name – Dragon Gate Master Du Xinlin.
The
old sage Master Du, was quiet but observant and wishing to
communicate with him we waited patiently in front of him. After about
5 minutes of studying us he began to talk and once begun he continued
non-stop for more than half an hour. He ranged boldly from political
subjects like the persecution they had suffered in the ‘Cultural
Revolution’ to the depths of Daoist philosophy. He said that in the
archives of the temple they had preserved manuscripts on the theory
of Taiji that had been more than a hundred years old and
irreplaceable as far as he knew. All of these were destroyed by
ignorant people in the previous few decades.
He
joked that just like a bad smell seems to linger on, so the traces of
the ‘Cultural Revolution’ were taking a long time to dissipate.
He appeared happy that we were interested in his opinions and
gradually became more outspoken. Towards the end, laughing, he
explained, “When people get old like myself, if they have lived
their lives correctly they will have wisdom based on deep personal
experience and are worth listening to. But common people dissipate
their energy, selfishly seeking only personal comfort. Then, growing
old they became more stupid and a drag on society rather than a
benefit to it.”
We
discovered that this old sage was a teacher of Taiji so we arrived at
5:30 that morning hoping that by practising outside his gates we
might tempt him into revealing something. His hands constantly played
with a set of inter-linked wooden rings – each about 12cm in
diameter – as he talked. It appeared that long years of this
practice had given his hands a soft, flexible, almost ethereal
appearance. I would have enjoyed experiencing his touch at
Pushing-hands. But when we politely asked him to show us something of
his art, he apologised saying it was only for the Inner School.
Talking
to some of the stall holders – the temple had become something of a
market place under Communist control – we learnt that though most
of the workers in the temple we saw were dressed in monks’ robes,
this was just a show for the tourists. Each evening these same people
dropped their monks’ disguise and joined the normal commuters back
to their homes and families. But the few young monks who came at the
call of the bell to the main shrine where Master Du Xinlin sat,
suggested a core of genuine Daoism still existed within his White
Cloud Temple. No trace could be found of him on our subsequent visits
several years later – whether he had died or been ‘officially
removed’, I am unsure.
I
had felt a strong connection with him during our talk and afterwards
he broke his firm and long-standing rule of “no photographs”,
posing serenely for my camera in front of his temple door.
Though
this tour had its high points being my first visit to China, without
the anticipated presence of Master Huang it fell short of
expectations. Within a year we were to be called again by the Master
and asked to prepare for his second attempt on China.
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| Du Xinlin in 1987, photographed by Patrick Kelly |
