Inspiration from Pain Tempering

Written by: Guo Yong Qing

                              Pain is a very special sensation. It occurs daily in our life under many situations and for various reasons. After reading Mr.Ou’s “The Path of Life”, listening to his lectures and practicing Pan Gu Shengong, according to my personal experiences, I understood the formation of pain has the following information. 

1.   It is an imbalance between energy and material in the body

Pain generally manifests from the conflict and struggle between soul and flesh, flesh and flesh, or soul and soul.  That is, it appears because of an imbalance between energy and material in a body.  When a body contains imbalanced physical elements, it will cause the nervous system to have reaction, and pain occurs. There are many people have experienced about this type of pain. Therefore, people agree with and understand this pain relatively easily. If a pain truly manifests as a result of the physical elements’ imbalance, there are two different methods to relieve it. 

The first method is based on the medical principle by taking medication. The treatment and medical dosage vary according to the body check-up result.  The medication functions to provide the body with the physical elements which the body is lacking.  Otherwise, it will function to neutralize or eliminate any extra physical elements in the body.  This is a good method to make the physical  elements regain balance inside the body through replenishing material with material or eliminating material with material.  People usually apply this method to treat most of their diseases. The second method is to practice a special exercise called Pan Gu Shengong (PGSG) to balance the physical elements inside the body, and then the body will be recovered from disease. By practicing the PGSG, the body can absorb physical elements and positive energy from the heaven and the earth as well as essential energy from the sun and the moon, and these physical elements and positive energies will begin the neutralization, elimination or replenishment function inside the body. As a result, the body and soul become healthier. 

These two methods mentioned above possess a similar function: to balance the physical elements; therefore, one can see, there is no conflict in function between taking medication and practicing PGSG; however, there is a difference between each other in cost and dedication.  In a way, taking medication is a passive method. It Is so because it needs an experienced doctor as well as an appropriate medication dosage to cure the disease. It is also different in relationship to the issue of cost and the possibility of side effects caused by medication. Practicing PGSG is an active method because the result is based on the practitioner’s own effort. It needs the practitioner to dedicate time to practice daily and pay a small fee to learn the PGSG. The result is that his/her body and soul will always be healthy as long as he/she keeps up the practice daily. 

If pain occurs due to the life force or the immunity inside the body become weaker, there is a big difference between the two methods mentioned above.  For instance, for those patients who suffer from AIDS, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis etc., it is a medical fact that there is no medical treatment can effectively cure these diseases.  Why?  It is because the subject which modern medical science and technology studies and can solve is based on material instead of energy. Therefore, medication can’t function to restore human immunity. However, medication can function to stabilize the condition, creating an opportunity for the immune system to intensify and to recover the ability to fight off disease.  Therefore, one can see it is the immunity rather than medication, which really functions to prevent and cure disease.  To cure this kind of disease, the best treatment method is to practice PGSG. The PGSG’s curative function has been confirmed by many examples for more than ten years.  Practicing the PGSG can enhance the immunity to a stronger condition so that one can have a healthier body. This is a correct path to have a healthy body and soul. 

2.   It is when energy is working in the nidus

In order to have a stronger immunity, one needs to work hard with PGSG practices.  There maybe a phenomenon of pain arises with constant practice of PGSG. A specific area of the body may become pain or the feeling of pain is intensified as the disease area called nidus after one practices PGSG.  However  this area originally is no pain before one learns and practices the PGSG.  This pain caused by practicing the PGSG is the second type of pain I would like to discuss in this article.  I strongly feel it is necessary for every practitioner to understand the phenomenon of this pain. The feeling of this pain is the same as the pain caused by physical elements’ imbalance, for both of them are pain; however, their intrinsic qualities are completely different.  The understanding of this information is the key for a practitioner to relieve his/her pain or disease. 

This second type of pain caused by metabolism or regeneration process. After a practitioner accepts the gist of PGSG and practices PGSG, the external rational power works with the practitioner’s own immune system and life force together against the nidus.  When a battle between the positive energy and negative energy inside the body happened, it appears in the form of pain. This feeling is similar to the pain that naturally happens after one has a syringe injection or surgery etc. in conventional medical science and technology treatment applied to cure disease.  Of cause, there is a quality difference between these two types of pain and the cause of them. At this moment, the pain here is not to indicate the condition is getting worse, instead, it is caused by the conflict and battle between positive and negative energies. It is but a natural process to eliminate the disease from the body. Therefore, the practitioner should continue to practice PGSG even though he/she feels very painful.  If one continues in this way, his/her condition will constantly improve.  In other words, the body is recovering and will feel more comfortable after absorbing more positive energy by each PGSG practice session.  With further practice of the PGSG, the amount of the positive energy inside the body will increase and become stronger. Therefore, the force that works at the nidus will become stronger. As a result, the pain sensation varies from this conflict until the body has completely recovered. The recovering mechanism is the following. Practicing the PGSG takes in new energy that can break the original balance and achieve a new balance, and a new balance is established after each practice session . It is a process that beginning with a lot of pain to not much pain to no more pain and complete recovery. Xie Yun’s recovering was a good example. Xie Yun is a woman who is living in Beijing, China.  She came down with a fatal cancer in her chest cavity that the doctor could not cure surgically.  After more than one year of practicing PGSG and reading “The Path of Life”, both her life force and immune system became stronger and she has recovered from her disease. This recovery confirmed that PGSG works and she is living proof of this method. The key for this method to relieve the second type of pain is to work hard by conducting oneself to use the following statement as a guide in the society and during the session of PGSG practice: “To have a kind and benevolent heart; to have a peaceful mindset and to have a lenient sentiment.”  At the same time, one should improve his/her understanding of both the material and spiritual characteristics of the Qigong. In this way, when one practices PGSG, his/her ability to absorb the positive energy from the sun and the moon will be greater. As a result, one can surely live a healthier and happier life. 

3.  It is an act of warning and guidance

I am sure one will probably experience this third type of pain I discuss in this article sometime in one’s life.  There is no obvious difference between the feeling of this pain and the other two types of pains I have discussed before.  The two pains I described previously would disappear very soon after I practiced the PGSG. However, the PGSG couldn’t obviously help relieve this third type of pain even though I had practiced the PGSG many times.  Why?  This pain appeared repeatedly. This phenomenon finally caught my attention.  I wondered whether the cause of this pain is from other aspect of my life instead of the pained area.  After I reviewed my action and manner before the pain happened, finally, I found out that I understood or dealt with some problems apparently right but actually incorrect. (In our daily life, when we work with other people and deal with issues involving conscious and unconscious behavior, sometimes we don’t know the actions we make are incorrect because of our prejudice and having a firm belief in our own opinions.)  Through thinking about this seriously, I found out the cause of the problem.  It is because of some of my behavior didn’t fulfill the requirement of the PGSG’ s gist.  After I found out the cause of the problem and admitted the mistake in my heart, this third type of pain immediately disappeared in a second and the body became ease and comfortable.  Therefore, I concluded that the external rational power was warning me by delivering this type of pain. In other words, some of my behaviors and thoughts had violated the external rational power’s requirement. The philosophy of this external rational power warning me is equivalent to the method of an image appearing in a mirror: In our daily life, although we don’t know we have dirt on our body, we often find out by standing in front of a mirror or being pointed out by someone. After the dirt found and removed, the body is clean again.  The external rational power delivered pain to let me know.  When you are not aware of your mistake, the external rational power makes your body become unusual by delivering your body with pain in order to catch your attention, to let you know you have dirt in your body, and which you should take care of immediately. This process of pain delivery is assisting you to locate the dirt in your body.  After you find out the dirt and remove it, the external rational power has accomplished his objective to warn you. Therefore, the pain disappears immediately.   

Although the pain caused by the external rational power is very severe, it actually showed that the external rational power is very kind, benevolent and friendly.  Pain is not the purpose. It is but a method to remind you to correct your mistake, and make you face your behavior squarely. The objective is for you to have a healthier body and purer soul. Therefore, this third type of pain is an act of warning from the external rational power. The best method to relieve this type of pain is to review whether one’s behavior has met the external rational power’s requirement.                                 

4.  It is an act of inspiration

We really have a lot of things to learn, to accomplish and to adjust in our life. Therefore, we will constantly encounter new things and solve problems on the path of our life.  At the end of last year, I experienced the pain which I had never experienced before, although the process, route and area of this pain were the same as the pain I had experienced previously.  At the beginning, I reviewed my behavior right away in order to find out the cause and try to relieve the pain. I would feel better after I practiced PGSG and evaluated my actions. However, the pain appeared again the next morning.  At this time, when the pain appeared, sometimes it was very painful and difficult to bear. Besides, the most uncomfortable thing was that I couldn’t find out the real reason.  In the past, I could usually find out some clues to the cause of the pain, and the pain was relieved very soon after I applied the appropriate action.  However, this time, the pain appeared constantly and repeatedly. It meant that I had not found out the fundamental reason. I was confused and did not know what to do. I had to rely on practicing the PGSG and reading “The Path of Life” as well as Mr.Ou’s writings  to relieve the pain temporarily. 

The other day, when I was reading “Benevolent and Beautiful Flower”, a collection of Master Ou’s lecture, I read a statement written by my teacher Mr. Ou: “One complains before he/she has the qi sensation. However, one is afraid after he/she has experienced some qi sensation. One fears stronger or weaker qi sensation. One is worry about this and that. When one has this mindset, how can one expect to get any result and improvement?”  At that moment, I didn’t pay much attention to the statement.  The next morning, the pain was occurring again just before I left the house for work.  On my way to work, I suddenly recalled the statement I read yesterday and I was shocked.  I wondered if the pain had something to do with the phenomenon described in the teacher’s statement.  In the past, I usually said my experience with qi sensation was not sharp.  Is it possible that this type of pain also has something to do with my words?  In fact, the feeling of being sharp in qi sensation or not depends on from which perspective one is positioning it.  It is true that I’m not sharp in qi sensation compared with sensitive students.  However, I am not the one who has no feeling at all from another perspective. The reason is that I can’t fully understand it yet.  Is the current pain an act of inspiration to inspire and guide me how to properly understand and comprehend the issue of qi sensation?  Is it possible the external rational power wants to let me know the fact that I’m not the one who is not sharp in qi sensation by delivering this pain? For I can feel the pain at this very moment!  If this is really what is happening, I think the reason is that I guessed a lot and ignored it. I have just the kind of mindset about qi sensation my teacher described in his statement. I complained about no feeling. Yet, I feared it when I felt something.  With this mindset, how can I get any improvement and relieve my pain?  I seemed to finally find out the reason that caused the pain.  However, I still felt very painful at this moment. There was no electricity supplied after I got to my factory that day, so I had to operate an electrical generator and do some related work immediately.  At that moment, I felt so painful that I couldn’t keep my back straight.  After I came back to the power room and sat down to take a break, I recalled my supposition on the way to work. I thought it was possible, so I used a little free time I had to practice the non-moving exercise of the PGSG to work on my body.  After I invested three to four seconds into the practice, I discovered the painful feeling obviously disappeared from my chest down.  Suddenly, my whole body became easer and more comfortable. I did not expect the pain to be relieved so quickly.  At that moment, I understood that I had found out the reason that caused this pain. This type of pain delivered by the external rational power is to guide me to understand and comprehend the problem. The purpose is to inspire me to better understand the information which I haven’t fully comprehended. The fact that the pain came to a stop is a good confirmation. The pain disappeared after I had this thought and practiced the non-moving exercise of PGSG for only a second.  However, before I had this new understanding, despite I had practiced both moving and non-moving exercises of PGSG many times, and I had thought about different kinds of solutions, all the things I had done couldn’t help relieve the pain.  I can say that through this pain tempering, I have understood more information and mastered the direction of the path of my life at a certain level, This experience certainly help me to have more confidence in myself. 

In the past, when qi sensation was mentioned, I usually felt a little inferior deep down in my heart. It is because some special ability or feeling happened to many people after they learned, practiced PGSG and read “The Path of Life”, and I never experienced anything like this until now. My mindset is calmer and easier after this pain experience.  I understand that the qi sensation is based on each individual, and I also understand it is normal if one felt no qi sensation.  It is but an alternate method to understand and study. Is it not the same result?  Further more, each one of us has a molecule from Pan Gu, we are sharing the common characteristic of the good merit and the evil merit. In addition, we have to work hard to suppressing the evil merit and raising the good merit. We have our own distinctive characteristics and assignments to temper in our life. Don’t we?  Just like the five sensory organs, they have distinctive functions and can’t replace each other. That is, one should not feel arrogant or shabby. Each one of us has our own function and objective to work hard and to improve.  Therefore, if we constantly purify ourselves, everything will succeed just like a vessel is ready when the water gets there. 

This is the fourth type of pain I recognized. It is an inspiration caused by the external rational power to inspire and to guide us to understand something. The method to solve this type of pain is to spend more time reading book, thinking, and practicing the PGSG to get more experience. If this is the case, we can improve our understanding of life and the universe.  

To summarize it, all pain sensations are part of our “tempering”. They are delivered by the external rational power.  After I experienced these four types of pains and relieved, my body was tempered and I had a profound understanding. The four types of pains have different causes, and need different methods to solve.  The four types of pains are: The pain caused by an imbalance between energy and physical elements inside the body; the pain manifests itself when the energy is working in the nidus; the pain delivered from the external rational power is to warn, to guide our behavior and to inspire us to understand something as well. The writing above is my experience and understanding. However, I am not sure it is correct.  I hope I can understand more information about the relationship between energy and material through continual study, practice and communication with others on the subject of PGSG and “The Path of Life” so that I can walk better and quicker on this path of life.

Translated by: Shila Chan and Vincent Chu

Comment from Olivia Ou: The experience and thoughts of Guo Yong Qing are very typical; it’s worth pondering on and using for reference. Of course, the expression and degree of all kinds of pain will be different on different people, and won’t be the same all the time. However, when you have some pain, if you can have such thoughts (as Guo Yong Qing’s), it indeed will become a good method for you to reduce pain.