Field visit: Qigong practice and spirit-writing in a Daoist monastery
Date: Oct 27/ Nov 17 (Sun), 2019
Time: 9.20 a.m.-12.45 p.m.
Address: 240, Tong Yan San Tsuen, Yue Long, New Territories
Quota per visit: 25
Time: 9.20 a.m.-12.45 p.m.
Address: 240, Tong Yan San Tsuen, Yue Long, New Territories
Quota per visit: 25
Programme and remarks
9.20 a.m.-9.40 a.m. Reception and remarks
9.40 a.m.- 9.55 a.m. Presentation on spirit writing
9.55 a.m. - 10.15 a.m. Visit the main hall
10.15 a.m.-10.20 a.m. Welcome speech by Kamlankoon representatives
10.20 a.m.-10.40 a.m. An introduction of Kamlankoon's history and teachings
10.40 a.m.-10.45 a.m. 5 minute break
10.45 a.m.-11.15 a.m. The relationship between the Dao and Kamlankoon
11.15 a.m.-11.30 a.m. Observe the spirit writing inside the main hall
11.30 a.m.-11.40 a.m. Observe Kamlankoon's qigong group practice
11.40 a.m.-12.45 p.m. Experience qigong
12.25 p.m.-12.45 p.m. Feedback and questionnaire
12.45 p.m.-1.00 p.m. Q&A session
1.00 p.m.-2.00 p.m. Lunch prepared by Kamlankoon
You will have the chance to practice qigong and observe spirit writing inside the Daoist Monastery Kamlankoon金蘭觀. What is “qi炁”? Why are they practicing qigong 氣功 every Sunday? What is the relationship between gods and believers in a spirit-writing? You may ask our hosts during the visit.
9.20 a.m.-9.40 a.m. Reception and remarks
9.40 a.m.- 9.55 a.m. Presentation on spirit writing
9.55 a.m. - 10.15 a.m. Visit the main hall
10.15 a.m.-10.20 a.m. Welcome speech by Kamlankoon representatives
10.20 a.m.-10.40 a.m. An introduction of Kamlankoon's history and teachings
10.40 a.m.-10.45 a.m. 5 minute break
10.45 a.m.-11.15 a.m. The relationship between the Dao and Kamlankoon
11.15 a.m.-11.30 a.m. Observe the spirit writing inside the main hall
11.30 a.m.-11.40 a.m. Observe Kamlankoon's qigong group practice
11.40 a.m.-12.45 p.m. Experience qigong
12.25 p.m.-12.45 p.m. Feedback and questionnaire
12.45 p.m.-1.00 p.m. Q&A session
1.00 p.m.-2.00 p.m. Lunch prepared by Kamlankoon
You will have the chance to practice qigong and observe spirit writing inside the Daoist Monastery Kamlankoon金蘭觀. What is “qi炁”? Why are they practicing qigong 氣功 every Sunday? What is the relationship between gods and believers in a spirit-writing? You may ask our hosts during the visit.
Introduction
Kamlankoon (photo retrieved from Kamlankoon's facebook page)
The history of Kamlankoon can be dated back to the Qing dynasty when a group of Daoists erected a shrine for one of the Daoist gods Lüzu 呂祖 (Master Lüchunyang呂純陽師尊) in Chaozhou, Guangdong. And in the year of 1900, the Monastery was formally established. And in the early twentieth century when China was in a time of turmoil and struggle, the Monastery first moved to Guangzhou and later further to Hong Kong where they finally settled down by the hill in Yuen Long at the present location. The main gods in the Monastery include the Master Lüchunyang呂純陽師尊, Master Lidaoming李道明師尊, and the Great Guanyin觀音大士—the former two are better known as Daoist gods, but Guanyin is often known as a Buddhist goddess.[1]
The main altar of Kamlankoon (photo taken on Oct 25, 2015)
Qigong practice
Behind the bushes by the hill is where Kamlankoon stands which is indeed a perfect setting for qigong practitioners to meditate and exercise their qi. In the visit, we will have the chance to practice qigong in the backyard of the Monastery. The senior practitioners will teach us to first standstill, then observe our body, breath, heartbeat, and then stretch out and relax. It is “qi” that we will be cultivating—the vital energy or life essence that flows through our body. Our hosts might probably ask you, “Can you feel the ‘qi’?” We will see.
HKU students feeling the qi emitted by the senior practitioners, March 2016 (photo retrieved from http://www.kamlankoon.hk/)
Indeed Qi is also the cosmic energy in the five phases 五行 (metal金, water水, wood木, fire火, and earth土) which pretty well depict the pattern of time of year and the orientation of space. For the seasons, spring is wood, summer is fire, late-summer is earth, autumn is metal, and winter is water; for the orientation of space, east is wood, south is fire, center is earth, west is metal and north is water. The five phases can generate or overcome each other, such as water overcomes fire but generates wood, metal overcomes wood but generates water. And the remarkable part is that such pattern of changes in the natural world, and hence the flow of qi in Chinese cosmology, can be embodied in the body practice of qigong. A qigong practitioner can manage the flow of qi between his organs, and the main organs in our body can be classified correspondingly by the five phases—liver is wood, heart is fire, spleen is earth, lung is metal, and kidney is water.[2] And qi is related to health and even longevity: a good flow of qi maintains good health whereas stagnant qi may cause illness. Is that true? You can try to find out more as you interview the practitioners on spot.
Spirit-writing
The "ji" in Kamlankoon (photo retrieved from http://www.kamlankoon.hk/)
Kamlankoon preserves a very important Daoist tradition which probably has a history of more than one thousand years—spirit-writing. Scholars conclude that the spirit-writing rituals were developed in Song Dynasty which began as a form of non-verbal divination by common folk. And later the tradition became an occasion for gods to descend from heaven and deliver prophecies, moral guidance, instructions, or even personal advice to believers. A spirit-writing usually involves a T-shaped/Y-shaped stick (the pen, “ji”乩) which writes autonomously on a plate of sand when the descended god delivers his message. The pen is held by one or two persons, and the words that appear temporarily on the sand will be announced by another one or two persons, which, then, will be recorded and documented by the other disciples.
The incumbent Head of the Shrine Gongzhongcheng (photo retrieved from http://www.kamlankoon.hk/)
The Monastery has kept a rich and nice archive of spirit-writing texts (some available online) which are composed of words given by the Vice-Administrator of the Shrine Simatoutuo司馬頭陀, the Administrator of the Shrine Gongzhongcheng龔中成, as well as the main gods venerated on the central altar, namely, Lüzu, Lidaoming and Guanyin. Very often the administrators come down to decide and settle the Monastery affairs (such as certain dates of celebration or religious events), some other gods will lead a session of standing or sitting meditation right on spot, and occasionally the higher gods may deliver Buddhist or Daoist teachings or lament on the confusion or obscurity of the people in this world. All in all, the spirit-writing tradition is an important ritual that connects gods with man at all levels—individual, monastery, and even the boarder society.[3]
HKU students seeing the spirit-writing ritual, Oct 2015 (photo retrieved from http://www.kamlankoon.hk/)
In one of our previous visits on Feb 26, 2017, our students had the luck to receive a spirit-writing message from the head of the shrine Gongzhongcheng龔中成. And remarkably, the term 明德格物 appeared in the message which is exactly the motto of our university “Sapientia et Virtus.” The message is as follows:
今日喜見佳客滿門,未來社會主人翁, 明德格物,一德二命三風水,四積 陰功五讀書。讀書明理,有理走遍天下,無理寸步難行。三綱五常,倫理道德,品德至上,忠孝廉節仁義禮智信,傳統文化,文可載道,化民崇德,好德、康寧、 富貴、長壽、善終,五福臨門,喜氣洋洋 。人為天地之心,吉凶原堪自主,易有災祥之變,避趨本可預謀,君子待時而動,福自我求;小人昧理妄行,禍由己作 。雪心是也。爾廖雪梅副主席耳熟能詳。
Translation
Today I am delighted to see our court filled up by our honorable visitors here, the future leaders of the society. Sapientia et Virtus. Of first importance is morality, second is fate, and third is geomancy; fourth is accumulation of good merits and fifth is education. Education enhances wisdom. With wisdom you can success in whatever place you go; without wisdom you can hardly make a step. Among the three social orders and five moral norms, ethics and virtues, morality comes first. Loyalty, filial piety, probity, uprightness, benevolence, integrity, rites, wisdom and honesty—this is the tradition and culture which bears morality that transforms the people and upholds morality. Morality, serenity, wealth, longevity and a good end of life—these are the five blessings that arrives with happiness flourishing in the air. Man is the centre of the world; auspices and misfortunes are indeed self-determined; the changes caused by calamities or auspices are easy to take place, but such can be circumvent beforehand. A noble man should wait and move at the appropriate moment and find himself the blessings; whereas an inferior man disregards wisdom, makes absurd moves and brings troubles to himself. This is “snow heart,” a name that your Vice-Chair Xuemei knows very well.
今日喜見佳客滿門,未來社會主人翁, 明德格物,一德二命三風水,四積 陰功五讀書。讀書明理,有理走遍天下,無理寸步難行。三綱五常,倫理道德,品德至上,忠孝廉節仁義禮智信,傳統文化,文可載道,化民崇德,好德、康寧、 富貴、長壽、善終,五福臨門,喜氣洋洋 。人為天地之心,吉凶原堪自主,易有災祥之變,避趨本可預謀,君子待時而動,福自我求;小人昧理妄行,禍由己作 。雪心是也。爾廖雪梅副主席耳熟能詳。
Translation
Today I am delighted to see our court filled up by our honorable visitors here, the future leaders of the society. Sapientia et Virtus. Of first importance is morality, second is fate, and third is geomancy; fourth is accumulation of good merits and fifth is education. Education enhances wisdom. With wisdom you can success in whatever place you go; without wisdom you can hardly make a step. Among the three social orders and five moral norms, ethics and virtues, morality comes first. Loyalty, filial piety, probity, uprightness, benevolence, integrity, rites, wisdom and honesty—this is the tradition and culture which bears morality that transforms the people and upholds morality. Morality, serenity, wealth, longevity and a good end of life—these are the five blessings that arrives with happiness flourishing in the air. Man is the centre of the world; auspices and misfortunes are indeed self-determined; the changes caused by calamities or auspices are easy to take place, but such can be circumvent beforehand. A noble man should wait and move at the appropriate moment and find himself the blessings; whereas an inferior man disregards wisdom, makes absurd moves and brings troubles to himself. This is “snow heart,” a name that your Vice-Chair Xuemei knows very well.
As a redemptive society
In the late Qing dynasty and the early period of Republic China (in times when China was in a dreadful state of turmoil and struggles), the spirit-writing tradition formed a significant part of the religious practice conducted by the “redemptive societies”—a wave of religious movements where “syncretic sects” (the term usually refers to religious groups that syncretize Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism, and sometimes even Muslim and Christianity) combine Chinese tradition with philanthropy, social engagement and aspiration to build a new universal civilization.
One scholar observed that Kamlankoon is indeed a newly emerged local Daoist group in Hong Kong which has advocated certain redemptive ideals throughout the years. The group has on one hand achieve “external merits立外功” and on the other hand practice “inner cultivation修內果.” The external merits are based on the social services (e.g. giving out free medicines in the 1970s and 1990s, running free clinic since the early 2000s), and the rituals that aim at universal salvation (e.g. assemblies where believers chant the sutras in order to relieve people’s pain). The inner cultivation refers to the regular classes of qigong practices designed to elevate the spiritual intelligence of Kamlankoon’s followers. Such an organic combination of external merits and inner cultivation have indeed manifested the redemptive ideals of the group.[4]
The believers of Kamlankoon in the celebration of its 47th anniversary (photos retrieved from http://www.kamlankoon.hk/)
[1] Kamlankoon, Jinlan Tekan, 6, 11.
[2] Please read Palmer, “The Body: Health, Nation, and Transcendence” assigned as suggested further reading below.
[3] Please read Jordan & Overmyer, “Background of the Chi” assigned as suggested further reading below.
[4] Chen, "Jidu Daojiao."
[2] Please read Palmer, “The Body: Health, Nation, and Transcendence” assigned as suggested further reading below.
[3] Please read Jordan & Overmyer, “Background of the Chi” assigned as suggested further reading below.
[4] Chen, "Jidu Daojiao."
Suggested further reading
Palmer, David A. “The Body: Health, Nation, and Transcendence,” in Chinese Religion Life edited by David A. Palmer, Glenn Shive, and Philip L. Wickeri, 87-106. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Palmer. The Body.pdf | |
File Size: | 6575 kb |
File Type: |
Jordan, David K. & Daniel L. Overmyer. The Flying Phoenix: Aspects of Chinese Sectarianism in Taiwan, 36-88. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986.
Jordan & Overmyer. Background of Chi.pdf | |
File Size: | 9337 kb |
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Online resource
Kamlankoon website: http://www.kamlankoon.hk/
References
Chen, Jinguo陳進國. "Jidu Daojiao de Fazhan yu Xinyang Weiyu Shijian濟度道教的發展與信仰位育實踐," in Zongjiao Renleixue (vol.5) 宗教人類學(第五輯) edited by Chen Jinguo, 153-188. Beijing: Shehui Kexue Wenxian, 2014.
Kamlankoon金蘭觀. Jinlan Tekan: Yiweinian Sishiwu Zhounian Jinlan Tekan金蘭特刊:乙未年四十五週年金蘭特刊. Hong Kong: Kamlankoon, 2016.
Palmer, David A. “The Body: Health, Nation, and Transcendence,” in Chinese Religion Life edited by David A. Palmer, Glenn Shive, and Philip L. Wickeri, 87-106. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Kamlankoon金蘭觀. Jinlan Tekan: Yiweinian Sishiwu Zhounian Jinlan Tekan金蘭特刊:乙未年四十五週年金蘭特刊. Hong Kong: Kamlankoon, 2016.
Palmer, David A. “The Body: Health, Nation, and Transcendence,” in Chinese Religion Life edited by David A. Palmer, Glenn Shive, and Philip L. Wickeri, 87-106. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.