Courses and training in qigong from the Daoist and Buddhist traditions
~ The school of Grandmaster Guo Bingsen ~
Teacher: Edith Guba
Tree Qigong
The Exercises to Absorb Energy from Trees come from the Daoist tradition. Edith Guba teaches in accordance with the needs of westerners to exchange their experiences and know the theoretical background.
Daoist tradition developed, on the basis of working with qi, the teachings of the five elements as they are found in Chinese medicine. In this tradition humans are understood as a microcosmos in the macrocosmos: cosmic processes are understood in direct relation to the processes in the human body. All natural and human events are seen as the product of the interaction of yin qi and yang qi and, on a more differentiated level, the five colours of qi are also effective in the cosmos and in the human body.
The communication between heavenly yang qi and earthly yin qi in trees is very strong: they remain in the same place and are very large. In general, tree qi is of a very pure, filtered quality. Each tree has a different energetic character and the colour of their qi is different from tree to tree. Certain types of trees correspond to the five colours of qi, and the colour of their qi has a relation to the five organs of the human body.
The qi of the liver is green, as is the qi of fir trees. The qi of the heart is red, which corresponds to the red qi of apple trees and plane trees. The qi of the spleen is yellow, as is the qi of the willow. The qi of the lung is white, which corresponds to the white qi of the poplar. The qi of the kidney is black, as is the qi of cypress trees.
The colours of qi are not normally visible to the human eye: people whose third eye (tian mu in Chinese, meaning heaven eye) is open are able to see them. Working with the colours is important in the more advanced stages of qigong.
The practitioner visualises the tree as a column in the colour of the tree’s qi. The exercises are practised at a distance to the tree.
The aim of the exercises is not only to see and feel the qi of the trees, initially it is to strengthen the corresponding organs, and then to go on to develop the ability to send out qi, as well as the ability to send out ling (information) over far distances. Working with ling is highly valued in Daoist practice.
These exercises with trees are the result of the experience of many generations of practitioners. They have been developed and improved during hundreds of years of continuous work. As a result, exercises have been established which develop qi without any danger of undesirable side-effects.
The exercises taught by Master Guo are practised at night after sunset or in the morning before dawn. Similarly to the process of photosynthesis, the exchange of qi is different in the light and in the dark: at night trees give qi, during the day trees absorb qi. Further, at night it is possible to absorb prenatal qi from the trees, during the day there is an exchange of postnatal qi.
The trees benefit from the practise too because their metabolism is stimulated.
The impressions and experiences which occur during the practice of these exercises are often outside the realm of everyday experience and need to be evaluated by an experienced master. For this reason, Edith Guba only teaches these exercises for individual practice and does not give permission to teach.
The whole cycle of exercises are taught in a series of courses spread over three years for more advanced pupils at the Dao Yuan School. Requirements for participating in the courses are: practice of Fan Teng Gong or Nei Jing Gong and previous participation in an Energy Field.