Dedicated to my Tutor, Mantak Chia
Chapter One
Deceive the heavens to cross the ocean
Far, far away, in the Universe, there is a place that can be called Nothingness. Can be, but no one knows what it really is. I have never met any people who came back from that place. But this is not because such people have never existed, we just did not meet with them in time. When they started their journey to WOO-CHI – this is what that place is called – I had not yet arrived in this world. Thus, I can make judgments about it basing my opinions only on the information they left behind on this Earth.
Soon, in the year 2003 Anno Domini, according to my calculations, the stars will be exactly in the most favourable position, the one that would make the way to WOO-CHI the fastest and easiest, and I too will go there.
WOO-CHI is the final destination of all travels, it is a Mecca for the immortal. Of course, I might have left for WOO-CHI earlier, but I like to experiment. According to my calculations, the favourable star position occurs once every 10,800 years. So, I want not only to leave for WOO-CHI, but also to check the accuracy of my estimations.
Yes, I have always liked experiments. When I decided ‘to curb the dragon’, I was still young, and my only wish was to love and to be loved back, just like in my twenties, and it had been like that throughout all my life. That was why I found another way of doing it, not like all others, who feared or worshipped that ‘dragon’. I tamed him, and he became my friend and my support.
Of course, if you fear or worship, you can be giving away to him your pristine energy, JIN, from the very beginning, every month, probably little by little, but still you would be giving it away. And you can even change your life rhythm and cheat on the moon, make the tide periods longer, but all these, whether you recognize it or not, would be your concessions to your fear. No, I decided to make a loving agreement with the ‘dragon’, and he yielded to me. This is how I got the powerful support of his energy and was able to keep my JIN energy intact.
Sisters, however, did not assume my practice, they were just followers, in the direct meaning of this word, very talented, though.
………
They were not contributing anything new to the practice, because they considered it perfect. However, it was freedom that accounted for the perfection of it. I dearly loved Sun Bu’er, I adored both her and her poems. But she started practicing only when she was fifty-one, when a considerable part of her pristine energy, JIN, had already gone, and she did not have to spend so much time to resolve the problems associated with her dragon. This is why she did not value my experience. Besides, she had already had three children.
My first child arrived in this world when I was nineteen, and I gave birth to my beautiful goddess when the date of my birth moved by two centuries away from me.
I first met Sun Bu’er in 1184, when she was just sixty. She was sitting at the edge of a cliff, her eyes closed.
“To stop the Dragon.
When everything remains immobile,
It causes movement.
Yin and Yang are creating one another.
Catch the Jade Tiger
At a blow of the wind,
Catch the Golden Bird in the moonshine.
Follow the process of internal change,
And keep focused
On the cessation and return.
When all the bridges are crossed,
The alchemical energy
Returns to the oven.”
She slowly turned her head and addressed me, although I had not given any sign of my presence.
“Sister, come down and join me. It’s a nice morning today. My children are coming to see me and to celebrate my birthday. Earthly duties are also rewarding. I hope to see all my grandchildren. The tea ceremony preparations are in process.”
“Well, since you have noticed me, there is no point in hiding. I liked your poems, Sister. But what do you mean by ‘immobility’? However, I think, we will talk about it later, and now I want to give you some tea as a gift. You are sure to love it. It grew among peach-trees at the secret slope of Lu-Shan Mountain.”
“I do appreciate, Tea Elder, your calling me ‘Sister’. Your fame is like the tender odour of the eternity for those, who have chosen the Way.
“Please, follow me into the house. Soon, it will be filled with the cheerful voices of my grandchildren. It’s not often that we can allow ourselves to indulge in watching the joyous playfulness of these little rulers of the world.”
……….
This wonderful meeting with Sun Bu’er and her children touched me so deeply, that when I was left alone, I had an irresistible wish to experience maternity again.
It was a risky decision, which involved a great deal of responsibility. It was not hard to guess that no one would have approved of my move, even Sun Bu’er. Over the eight centuries I had preserved my ‘jade cluster’ intact. Now it was time ‘to eat’ one of the grapes of this wonderful garden. Besides, it had been quite a challenge to preserve one’s pristine energy for so long, and there was no way to measure it. How could I know whether my decision would be fateful for me, whether I would be able to get over the energy loss, and, besides, whether I would be able to pass on enough energy to my child?
