Share Long: > In Fairfield, the two most popular forms of > qigong are Golden Shield and Spring Forest... > Qigong is derived from the Yogacara Buddhist tradition of India. The 'Qi' in 'Qigong' is the Sanskrit 'chit', the pure consciousness described by the founder of the sect, Bodhidharma.
Qigong is derived from the Indian Buddhist Yogacara, or the "Consciousness-only" school (see note 1 below). It is said that Bodhidharma went to China in order to teach meditation. When he got there he was introduced to the Emperor, who asked: 'Who do you think you are? To which Bodhidharma answered: "I don't have any idea. Sir!" (see note 2 below). So, Dharma went on his way, crossed over the Yangtze River and went to Mount Wu Wei. There he founded the Chan School at Shaolin. Although Bodhidarma was already enlightened, he sat in front of a wall, just gazing, for nine years, thus teaching students how to practice meditation and how to transcend. In order to keep his students in good physical condition, Bodhidaruma is said to have introduced to his students the art of self defense called 'Kung Fu' or 'Shi-ba Lohan Shou'. Note 1: According to Shakya's dhyana school: (1) *conciousness* is the only reality; (2) the nature of conciousness is *intelligence*; (3) there is a natural law, causation, which operates in the realm of the relative world of time, space and action. Note 2: In commenting on Bhagavad Gita, MMY has brought our attention to the existence of the gunas, whose concern is action, which, in every case, is the result of the interplay of three constituents born of nature - eternal becoming, termed 'prakriti' in the Gita. However, MMY has called our attention to the fact that nature, governed by the three gunas, is entirely separate from the transcendental field - the field of Being, termed 'Purusha' in the Gita. Work cited: 'On the Bhagavad Gita' By Maharishi Mahesh Yogi II., v. 45, p. 126 VI., v. 1, p. 384
