Learning Mandarin - Statue healer proves I'm not made of stone

? ?



ENTERTAINMENT / Hot Pot Column






Statue healer proves I'm not made of stone


By PATRICK WHITELEY (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-29 07:15





The bald-headed feng shui master examined my palms, studied my face,
noted my time of birth, stared into my eyes and then slowly shuffled back
behind his table in the quiet little Lijiang restaurant. He sipped his
tea, leaned across the table and asked: "Do you trust me?"

The master had returned from an important project in Shangri-la. The
world-famous city's world-famous giant statue of Buddha had not received
a feng shui checkup in 200 years and the local government had hired the
master to look at the spatial arrangement around the statue. After two
centuries, the flow of energy (qi) around Buddha needed a little
unclogging. After fixing Buddha, the master now had his sights set on me.

I was living in very interesting times indeed.

I met my feng shui master in Lijiang, an enchanting, 700-year-old city
with streets paved in cobblestone and snow-capped mountains looming over
traditional Chinese tiled roof-tops. Many argued it was Shangri-La,
mentioned in James Hamilton's 1933 novel, The Lost Horizons. Hamilton
described a mountain-top paradise where people lived in harmony, reveling
in learning and profound inner peace. In 2002, Zhongdian, in northwestern
Yunnan Province and three hours drive from Lijiang, was officially
declared to be Shangri-La.

The feng shui master had been telling me about his craft and I asked him
if he could do to me what he did to Buddha in Shangri-la. I couldn't
resist.

"Do you trust me?" he asked again with a very serene smile. "It won't
work if you don't trust me."

I felt like he was using a sales line, and I was a bit reluctant to say I
trusted someone I had only known for about 15 minutes. But this gentle
soul was not asking for money. He was just being friendly and sharing his
knowledge. It's the sort of thing that happens to foreigners all across
China every day. For me it was interesting China experience No. 769.
These moments are the reason I came. So I said the magic words: "I trust
you."

He laughed, pushed away his tea and ordered a beer. I later discovered he
loved a quiet beer ... or eight.

The 50-something master said I looked stressed, and should learn to love
myself more. He said my face was balanced and there was no need to be so
ambitious.

Good things would come my way when I was ready for them.

To be ready for them, I needed to live more in the moment. He said life
was about balance. When good things come, enjoy them, embrace them and
get excited for one minute, no more. Then go back to a peaceful, neutral
zone. When bad stuff happens, feel it, wail, but only for one minute, no
more.

Then return to the balanced core. Return to the moment.

It was all good and soon I said goodbye. I wanted to give the feng shui
master something in return but what do you give someone who wants
nothing, and knows the meaning of everything?

What do you give a man who just fixed the Buddha of Shangri-la's qi?

I bought him another beer.

(China Daily 08/29/2007 page20)























Top Entertaiment News ?




* Venice film festival's 75th anniversary edition kicks off
* Angelina Jolie visits Iraq refugees
* Owen Wilson's film future is likely fine
* Jim Carrey gets serious in video plea
* Winehouse's father-in-law urges record boycott





Today's Top News ?




* US opposes Taiwan's UN membership referendum
* Party Congress set for mid-October
* Asian investors, fasten your safety belts
* Doctor killed Beethoven - Pathologist
* Greek fires reach ancient Olympics site





Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours








Learn Chinese, Chinese Mandarin, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet