Charles called me and asked a question, “Dr. Wu
Dhi, how long will I have to practice the
Recharging Qi Gong program to get its full
benefits?” Charles, I’d like to share this old
parable from Burma, The Old Alchemist:
Once upon a time, there was an old man whose
daughter was married to a handsome young lad. The
young couple led a happy life except for one
problem: the new husband spent all his time
dreaming of a way to turn dirt into gold. In those
days, people who did this were known as
alchemists. Soon enough, he ran through all of his
inheritance, and the young wife had to struggle to
buy food each day. Desperate, she begged her
husband to find a job.
“But I am on the verge of a breakthrough!” he
insisted. “When I succeed in turning dirt into
gold, we’ll be rich beyond our wildest dreams!”
Finally the young wife went to her father about
the problem. He was surprised to learn that his
son-in-law was an alchemist, but he promised to
help his daughter and he asked to see the young
man the next day. The young man arrived
reluctantly, expecting a scolding. To his
surprise, his father-in-law confided in him, “When
I was young, I, too, was an alchemist!”
The father-in-law asked about the young man’s
work, and the two of them spent the whole
afternoon in animated conversation. Finally, the
old man cried, “Why, you have done everything I
did when I was your age! You are surely on the
verge of a breakthrough. But you need one more
ingredient in order to change dirt into gold, and
I have only recently discovered this secret.” The
old man paused. “I am too old to undertake the
task,” he confessed. “It requires too much work.”
“I can do it, dear father!” cried the young man.
“Hmm, perhaps you can,” said the old man. He
leaned over and whispered, “The secret ingredient
is a silver powder that grows on the back of
banana leaves. You must plant the bananas yourself
because it’s important that you cast certain
spells on the seeds. Then, when the plant grows,
the powder on the leaves will become magical.”
“How much powder do we need?” the young man asked.
“Two pounds,” the old man replied.
The son-in-law thought out loud. “Why, that would
require hundreds of banana plants!”
Yes,” sighed the old man, “and that is why I
cannot complete the work myself.”
“Do not fear!” said the young man. “I will!” And
so, the old man taught his son-in-law the magic
spells and loaned him enough money to start the
project.
The next day, the young man bought some land and
cleared it. He planted the banana seeds just as
the old man had told him to do and murmured over
them the magic spells. Each day, he examined the
seedlings, keeping weeds and pests away. When the
plants bore fruit, he gently brushed the silver
powder from the banana leaves, but there was
scarcely any powder on each plant so the young man
had to buy more land and cultivate more bananas.
It took several years, but finally the young man
collected two pounds of the magic dust. He rushed
to his father-in-law’s house.
“I have the magic powder!” he cried with
excitement.
“Wonderful!” rejoiced the old man. “Now I can show
you how to turn dirt into gold! But first you must
bring your wife here. We need her presence.”
The young man was puzzled, but obeyed. When his
wife appeared, the old man asked his daughter,
“While your husband was collecting the banana
powder, what did you do with the bananas?”
“Why I sold them,” the daughter said, “and that’s
how we’ve earned a living.”
“Did you save any money?” asked the father.
“Yes,” she replied.
“May I see it?” asked the old man. So his daughter
hurried home and returned with several bags. The
old man opened them, saw that they were full of
gold, and poured the coins on the floor. Then he
took a handful of dirt, and put it next to the
gold.
“You see,” he said, turning to his son-in-law,
“you have changed dirt into gold!”
When we begin a new practice or receive a new
teaching, we always want to hurry up and get the
treasures from that teaching as soon as possible
and get on to the next advanced teaching. As a
spiritual seeker, this is just what we do until we
become a Spiritual Finder(one who finds a
teaching and grows with it). We find a teaching
and work with it until we open up spiritually. How
long does it take? Sometimes a lifetime but, with
the right teaching and teacher, we grow daily as
we practice. The Recharging Qi Gong program is
such a teaching that will be with you for a
lifetime and strengthen your growth mentally,
physically and spiritually. Get the program, work
the program and you will surely turn diet into pure gold as you grow and develop.
I wish you the best in your Health, Wealth and
Happiness.
Dr. Wu Dhi
P.S. Today is the New Moon and it’
s in Virgo. This
is a great time to organize your papers, put your
desk together, go through your filing cabinets, if
you still have one, and clear out those old
papers. And set your short-term goals for the next
2 weeks before the next Full Moon on September
8th.
