THE HISTORY OF ER MEI

THE HISTORY OF ER MEI

Er Mei or "The Lofty Eyebrow Peak" is the highest and holiest of China's four designated Buddhist mountains. Towering over the fertile Sichuan plains, it rises steeply to 10,000 feet, and its wes 19519q1617t tern cliffs overlook the great Tibetan Plateau. Er Mei is a rain forest and home to thousands of rare plants, wild animals and herbs which are used for medicine.

Throughout its sacred existence, Er Mei has produced a number of outstanding sages who have brought beacons of enlightenment to the world in Asian history.

In 1227 A.D., one of those sages -- a priest from Wu Dang, the Mecca of Taoism -- made a pilgrimage to the top of Er Mei. At the "Jin Ding" or "Golden Summit" Monastery, the Taoist priest meditated and fasted, as spiritual masters guided his path toward wisdom and enlightenment. When he broke fast, he took the name "Bai Yun" or "White Cloud."

The enlightened master combined no less than 3,600 schools of thought, philosophies and techniques taught to him by his spiritual teachers, and created a hybrid system called Er Mei Qi Gong. It includes: Buddhism, Shamanism, Acupuncture, herbal medicine, Taoist Qi Gong, Pranayana Yoga, aura diagnosis and treatment, iron body, martial arts and more. This system is devoted to maintaining excellent health and treating diseases and ailments, while striving to attain the goal of enlightenment on higher planes.

The Maha Bodhisattva, a great spirit which embodies the mountain, told Master Bai Yun in a pure vision, to take these teachings and pass them down lineage to lineage, master to master, in order to help future generations.

Master Bai Yun chronicled this sacred knowledge in a book called, "The Er Mei Treasured Lotus Canon," lest it be forgotten or misinterpreted. The system remained at the Golden Summit Monastery for seven hundred years.

Seven Hundred Years Later...

In the 1940's, Master Yong Nian, the 10th generation grand master, was at the bottom of Mount Er Mei gathering herbs for medicine when he met an army general who was also a trained medical doctor. General Zhou Quan Chuan, had a nervous disorder and his health was deteriorating. Master Ying Nian befriended the general, treating and curing his ailments. Overwhelmed with joy and gratitude, the general decided to leave all his responsibilities and serve this great man who had restored his health.

During 13 years of service to Master Yong Nian the former general earnestly expressed his desire to become a monk. Master Yong Nian refused. The Master, through dreams and meditation, envisioned devastation coming to Er Mei Mountain and his temple from the terrible civil war that was raging in China. He made a daring decision which included the former general.

The Master ordained a new way of passing on the lineage: alternating between monk and layman (non-monk). In this way, the Er Mei system could leave the mountain and spread among the masses through the laymen. Then, it would return to a Buddhist monk for purification.

Zhou Quan Chuan became the first layman to receive the title of Er Mei Qi Gong grand master. Master Yong Nian then left Er Mei Mountain and went into Tibet, as his prophecy came true. Many of the monasteries on Mount Er Mei were destroyed, including the Golden Summit Monastery.

The newly ordained Grand Master Zhou, went into hiding along China's Silk Road. He healed and taught the public quietly along his path, in order to avoid becoming involved with the civil war.

When the war ended, Grand Master Zhou went to Beijing to seek the Supreme Buddhist Abbot, Ju Zan, who held a similar religious title to that of the Tibetan Dali Lama. Abbot Ju Zan knew of the great Er Mei Qi Gong system through visions and was prepared for Grand Master Zhou's arrival.

After a number of years of studying, Abbot Ju Zan became the 12th Grand Master of the prestigious health system. (The title now passed on to a monk, according to Grand Master Nian's vision.) When China's Cultural Revolution began, Grand Master Ju Zan was imprisoned for eight years, as the Communists cleansed China of all religious influence. In prison, he meditated and saw the future of Er Mei Qi Gong.

The future was a young man named Fu Wei Zhong who began his training on the day he was born in the year 1949. His uncle, who was a Buddhist monk, cared for him as a child. When he reached six years of age, he began his training in Chinese medicine, Qi Gong, internal alchemy and the martial arts. He began treating patients at the age of twelve under his grandfather's guidance. At age eighteen he became a fully recognized doctor and, because of his popularity, quickly opened his own practice. Even though his main concern and training were in the treatment of human suffering, he diligently mastered the martial arts of Xing Yi and Ba Gua by the age of sixteen. Throughout Fu Wei Zhong's childhood he had a recurring dream about a monk he had never met who would change his life.

During the Cultural Revolution, Fu Wei Zhong was ordered to Manchuria where he would serve as a veterinarian. When the revolution ended Fu Wei Zhong returned home and Grand Master Ju Zan was released from prison and returned to his temple.

In 1976, Fu Wei Zhong went to the Guan Ji Temple in Beijing with a fellow Xing Yi master. As they entered the temple, Fu instantly recognized the Abbot to be the monk in his childhood dream. The Abbot, Grand Master Ju Zan feeling Fu's presence turned and said, "Ah, you have arrived. Now, it is time for you to start your training."

After eight years of training at the Grand Master's feet, his Holiness Ju Zan, passed the Er Mei Qi Gong lineage to Fu Wei Zhong and directed him to begin teaching publicly in order to end the pain and suffering of the world and to allow Er Mei Qi Gong to shine like the sun.

In answer to Grand Master Ju Zan's direction, "Er Mei comes from the people; now, let it serve the people," Master Fu went into retreat. This became the starting point of Grand Master Fu Wei Zhong's public mission. He studied the Er Mei Treasure Lotus Canon and developed a new format to teach the system in a manner which would suit the fast pace of modern life. (Currently, the Lotus Canon, along with the sacred bowl and staff, are preserved at a Beijing Museum.)

Grand Master Fu believed that only by training thousands of skilled Er Mei Qi Gong practitioners, would it be possible for millions to restore and preserve their health. He initiated the first "Qi Gong therapy system" at Beijing Hospital and, as a result, he is regarded as the "Father of External Qi therapy." He proceeded to open a number of centers throughout China and has affected the lives of thousands through the Er Mei Qi Gong exercises and treatment techniques.

Er Mei Qi Gong came to America in 1987 through a disciple of Grand Master Fu. In 1993, a group of Americans traveled to Er Mei Mountain to study directly with the great master. In 1995, Master Fu arrived in America to begin teaching and spreading his healing wisdom to all who would listen.