PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON QIGONG

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• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96-00792R000200200001-3
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• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 28, 1998
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• Publication Date: March 1, 1984
• Content Type: PAPER

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PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON QIGONG
Cyrus Lee, PhD
Edinboro, Pennsylvania
In June 1982, si Research published the paper
Some Theoretical Ideas on the Development of
Basic Research in Human Body Science" by Dr. Qian
Zue-sen (Xuesen), a well known physicist and an
expert on military rocketry in China. In his
paper, Dr. Zue-sen emphasized the interconnection
between the ancient Chinese practice of Qigong and
exceptional human body functioning (a term for psi
coined in China). Some researchers believe that
Qigong can be used for training and facilitating
psi to a larger extent than yoga and related
systems. To date, there have been a number of
excellent publications on yoga in the West, but we
possess very scarce knowledge on Qigong practice.
Therefore, we asked Dr. Cyrus Lee, presently
Professor of Psychology at the Edinboro State
College in Pennsylvania, to share his views on
Qigong with readers of Psi Research. - Ed.
In August of 1982, I had the honor to present (in
absentia) the paper "Qigong and Its Major Models" at the
12th International Parascience Conference held at the
University of San Francisco. The paper was well accepted
and later was published in Chinese Culture journal [1].
Ever since, I have been receiving many letters and telephone
calls asking me various questions about Qigorig, and this
brief article is an attempt to answer at least some of these
questions.
1. The English Translation of Qigong
Qigong has been a practical exercise of both body and
mind of the Chinese people for many centuries, yet there is
no equivalent word for Qigong in English. Joseph Needham
translated Qi or Chi as "breath," "spirit," and "pneuma" in
his opus magnum, Science and Civilization in China [2]; but
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none of these three English words can adequately represent
the Chinese word Qi or Chi. Thus, when I wrote my paper on
"Qigong and Its Major Models" [1], I chose to use a phonetic
translation of "Qigong."
Recently I have read a short article about the English
translation of Qigong in a Chinese journal named Qigong and
Science. According to Mr. Pang Zu-ru, author of the
article, the existing translations such as "breath
exercise," "transcendental meditation," "biofeedback,"
"vital energy," and "pneuma" can not well represent the idea
of "Qigong." Mr. Pang was convinced that "aura almost has
the exact meaning of Qi," therefore he suggested that Qigong
should be translated as either "aura-exercise" or "exercise
of human aura" [3].
Last month Professor Hsu Ding-ming mailed me a copy of
his new book entitled The Chinese Psychic Healing. To this
bilingual text I wrote a short foreword in Chinese and I
quoted the "Hao Ren Chih Qi" of Mencius. The two
translators of the Foreword (Professor Hung Tie-sheng and
James Decker) rendered it as "the splendorous Chi (Qi)." On
this they made a footnote: "The word Chi (Qi) is the
equivalent of Sanskrit Prana. Splendorous Chi seems to be
the equivalent of the Sanskrit Sakti, an all-encompassing
subtle generative power, also identifiable with Love" [4].
Whether or not Qi is the equivalent of Prana, Mr.
Hung's translation is basically phonetic. Whether or not
aura is truly an English word, it does not fully represent
the Chinese word Qi. besides, aura means also "an invisible
atmosphere supposedly arising from and surrounding a person
or thing." It has not only a metaphysical connotation but
also a religious implication, consequently it may be very
misleading. (I still remember the reason why Dr. Charles
Tart had changed his original title of "Spiritual
Psychologies" into "Transpersonal Psychologies," because the
word "spiritual" might be a very misleading word for the
readers.) 1 am quite convinced that if English readers have
accepted Chinese words such as Taifoon and Chowmien, they
can also accept another sinonized word, Qigong.
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 2. The Definition of Qigong
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Once a European scholar asked me: "What is Qigong,
anyway? Is there any good definition for it?" Jokingly but
also seriously, I borrowed Mencius' answer to his disciples:
"It is hard to say."
Qi and Qigong must be rather experienced than to be
defined. Rollo May, a very sophisticated psychologist and
philosopher, has described love in many different ways in
his bestseller book, Love and Will. He did give us a good
definition of love, because he experienced love before he
defined it. I believe if you experience Qigong first, then
you will understand it better.
One of the well experienced Qigong masters is Kuo Lin.
After many years of practice in qigong, she has the
following description: "Qi (or Qigong) cannot be seen by
your eyes and it cannot be grasped by your hands. But a
Qigong master is different from ordinary people, because he
can apparently realize something moving and promulgating in
his body, something like the electric current circulating
within you and making some tingling feelings" [5].
If you are a scientist or a researcher, you may like to
have a scientific and operational definition of Qigong.
Professor Yang Binjen offers such a definition as follows:
"Qigong is a self-oriented exercise, in which and by which
one specifically mobilizes and utilizes the power-flow of
his own body field" [3]. According to Mr. Yang, this
operational definition can satisfy three basic scientific
demands: (1) it can differentiate Qigong from other similar
exercises; (2) it can summarize the common characteristics
of various kinds of Qigong; and (3) it can reflect some
aspects of scientific methodology as well as adopt some of
the international terminology.
3. The History and Theoretical
Considerations of Qigong
Last year a Canadian researcher of Qigong wrote to me
that he has been very much frustrated because he cannot find
enough primary sources for doing his research. I think this
is true not only in English but also in Chinese Qigong
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literature. Some twenty years ago, Ilza Veith translated
and published an abridged edition of The Yellow Emperor's
Classic of Internal Medicine [6], in which one may find some
relevant material on Qi and Qigong.
Historically the year of 1978 was certainly an
important year for the study of Qi and Qigong. It was in
this very year that The Thoughts of Qi was published in
Japan under the editorship of Professor Hsiao-ye Tse-ging
and his thirty associates [7,8]. This great source book of
Qi and Qigong is divided into four major parts: (1) From
Yin to Han Dynasties, on the Origin of Life and Qi; (2)
From Wei to the Five Dynasties, on the Idea of Qi According
to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism; (3) From Sung to Chin
Dynasties, on the Idea of Qi as Understood by Li-Qi
Philosophies; and (4) From the End of Chin Dynasty to the
Fourth of May Movement, on the idea of Qi in the new
philosophies of Modern China. Unfortunately, there is no
English translation of this comprehensive work as yet.
Although the practical cultivation of Qi or the
practice of Qigong has been equally emphasized in
Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, yet the specific theories
of Qi and Qigong have been formulated only in Taoism.
Perhaps the best and also the earliest Qigong theory is that
of the "Peace Classic," which was composed some time in the
Han Dynasty.
Among the Western psychologists, everybody knows about
the Freudian personality "Trinity." However, among the
Chinese Qigong scholars only few have paid attention to the
"Trinitarian Approach" to human nature by the author of The
Peace Classic. The Qigong theorist stated: "One is the
seed (Chin), one is the spirit (Sheng), one is the breath
(Qi). These three are actually one. Based upon the breath
of heaven, earth and man: the spirit is received from
heaven, the seed from earth and the breath from the
harmonizer (man). Through their interactions there comes
the Tao. . . The three are mutually governed, therefore, if
anyone wants longevity, he must love the breath, revere the
spirit and esteem the seed" [9, p. 728].
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The Chi [Qi is cons, ere o a somewhat like
radiation in modern physics, but there is a
difference in that the Chi concept emphasizes not
only an energy aspect, but also an information
aspect. Thus it is emphasized that Chi makes it
possible for separated bodies to transmit
information as well as energy to one another 111,
p. 17].
In promoting the modernization of scientific
methodology, Professor Hsu Ding-wing has contributed quite a
lot during the past decade. After my own close
observations, I tend to believe that Hsu's psychic healing
technique is actually a combination of the Chinese qigong
and the Western hypnosis. Lately he wrote to me that the
Chinese Parapsychological Association (Taipei) is going to
sponsor an area parapsychological Symposium for the Pacific
countries in March of 1985. Let us sincerely hope that many
eminent scholars as well as serious researchers of different
countries will attend this symposium and perhaps an East-
West dialogue about Qigong can be arranged and exchanged.
By loving the breath, revering the spirit, and
esteeming the seed, one can achieve enlightenment of his own
being. Thus the classic says; "The human body derives trom
the muddy breath, then the breath produces the seed, the
seed produces the spirit and the spirit produces the
enlightenment" [9, p. 739]. Using our modern terminology, I
would interpret that the seed seems to be the physical and
material basis of our body, the breath seems to be the
physiological and psychological development, and the spirit
seems to be the transpersonal and transcendental destination
or goal of our life, without which the human being would
become meaningless.
4. The Methodology of Qigong
Basically there are two kinds of methodology by which
Qigong can be studied: first, the extrinsic method which is
also called "the phenomenological analysis;" and second,
the intrinsic which is also named "the introspective
reflection." In the traditional Chinese medicine, although
the extrinsic method has not been rejected or ignored, the
intrinsic method has been emphasized and widely used. Thus
most, if not all, Chinese physicians do believe the basic
principle which says: "When the Yin and Yang are equalized
and harmonized, the seed and spirit are well governed;
however, when the Yin and Yang are separated, the seed and
breath are terminated."
Since the late seventies, there have been several
groups of Chinese and Japanese researchers, who have
initiated quite extensive scientific experiments on Qigong.
For example, in 1978 a group of Chinese researchers used the
9XZ-792 Model of Qigong Information Apparatus, and
successfully transmitted Qigong master Chao's therapeutic
input-message to the magnetic tape, then transmitted the
same to the particular acupuncture spots of certain
patients. After many times of clinical experimentation,
they found the results were very successful [10]. This
apparently confirms the view of researchers from the
Institute of High Energy Physics in Beijing, who stated:
References
1. Lee, C. "Qigong (Breath Exercise) and Its Major Models,"
Chinese Culture, Vol. XXIV, No. 3 (September 1983), pp.
71-79.
2. Needham, J. Science and Civilization in China, Vol. IV:I
(England: Cambridge University Press, 1962).
3. Qigong and Science, Vol. 4 (Canton, 1983), p. 27 [in
Chinese].
4. Ding-ming, Hsu. The Chinese Psychic Healing (Taipei:
Parapsychological Association, 1984), p. 6.
5. Lin, Kuo. A New Methodology of Qi on Applied in
Cancer Treatment (Shanghai. The Scientific Press,
1981), p. 1.
6. Veith, I., Translator. The Yellow Emperor's Classic of
Internal Medicine, 2nd Edition (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1972).
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7. Tse-ye, Hsiao-ging, et al. The Thoughts of Qi (Tokyo,
1978) [in Japanese].
8. Chang-hai, Wei. Chinese Philosophy (Beijing: The
Associated Press, 1982), p. 302.
9. Ming, Wang, Ed. Tai Pin Chin He Chiao (Shanghai: The
Chinese Press, 1960) [in Chinese].
10. Jian, Cao, et al. "What We Understand about Qigong,"
Ziran Zazhi [Nature Journal], Vol. 5, No. 8 (August
1982), pp. 568-571 [in Chinese].
11. Hongzhang, Xu,"& Yongjie, Zhao. "An Approach to Psi
Radiation Signals," Psi Research, Vol. 1, No. 4 (December
1982), pp. 16-20.
Faculty Annex
Edinboro State College
Edinboro, PA 16444
PSI CAN BE LEARNED
(Training Methods and Approaches Developed by
Barbara Ivanova in Moscow)
I. Barbara Ivanova on the Development
of Psi Abilities
Larissa Vilenskaya
As is widely known, the issue of development of psi
abilities is very controversial. Some researchers believe
that the cultivation of these abilities, i.e., the implemen-
tation of a process of learning, is quite possible. Others
think that a majority of the existing methods intended to
develop psi (ESP, PK and/or psychic healing) abilities are
only capable of eliminating the psychological obstacles of
subjects and thus increasing their performance in experi-
ments. Without a detailed discussion of this controversy
and referring readers to the extensive work by Dr. Jeffrey
Mishlove [2], I would like to describe briefly some training
methods developed by Barbara Ivanova, a leading researcher
and healer in Moscow. Her method of training of intuitive
(possibly psi) diagnosis enabled her numerous students to
identify various disorders of the body, as well as locations
of scars, traces of former fractures, operations, etc.
(under clothing and when a person was at some distance from
the experimenter, even at a distance of dozens of
kilometers).
In one of her publications [3], Barbara Ivanova
partially explained her method for increasing the perception
of "intuitive information" (in her terminology). She stated
that during a group training session the leader of the group
instructed the students as follows:
1. Imagine some pleasant event or any picture or
image which pleases you.
2. Try to understand and remember how you have
imagined this - what "place" this mental image
occupied in your mind.
3. "Wipe off" from your "inner screen" everything
that you imagined and create a "vacuum" in your
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