Editor Note
Master Yang, Jwing-Ming has made it his life’s purpose to research and translate all of the available ancient documents pertaining to the subjects of Qigong and Internal Cultivation. His extensive scientific background, paired with his training in Soft (Taiji), Hard (Long Fist), and Soft-Hard (White Crane) martial arts, empowers him with a comprehensive insight on the subjects of human physiology, universal electromagnetic energy, and the relationship between them.
Ancient Buddhist, Daoist, Qigong, and Martial Arts documents are often fragments; each discussing a certain aspect of its training, from the author’s unique perspective based on his or her experience and contemplation. These documents are truly among the most precious artifacts of human history, sometimes passed down in the form of songs and poems, transmitted from teacher to student. Because many documents are only a piece of the puzzle, Qigong and Meditation are frequently misunderstood, or passed-down in an incomplete form. In an effort to preserve this accumulated knowledge, most of Master Yang’s works are written as a stand-alone document, offering readers worldwide a complete overview to the subject matter, as he works toward a ‘Unified Theory’ of Qigong.
Several chapters in this book offer information discussed in Master Yang’s previous works. If you have truly assimilated this information already, you are encouraged to move on to later chapters. However, as Master Yang’s tireless research continues, his insight expands, and it may benefit the reader to humbly read each chapter and again immerse oneself entirely in the subject, starting with its general concepts and theories. Master Yang is fond of scolding his students for neglecting fundamental training, saying “Don’t be a Jedi too soon”. Many cultural and spiritual centers have been destroyed in times of war. It is impossible to know how much knowledge, and how many written works, have been lost forever. It is impossible to know what the future holds for humanity, what humanity holds for itself, or how much of today’s scientific and spiritual information will survive. I share Master Yang’s hope that the interrelated subjects of Qigong, meditation, and human bioelectricity will continue to be researched, and will become an important focus of scientific, medical and spiritual study. In 100 or 500 years, the situation on Earth (and other planets) will be so different that it is nearly impossible to conceive.
We must hope that by then things have changed for the better; that humanity has rediscovered its common spirituality, reopened the third eye, and created a balanced and peaceful global society. If not, I hope someone finds this book.
Courtesy Editor David Silver – Boston, April 2005
