How I Became a Daoist Priest

181 How I Became a Daoist Priest1 MICHAEL RINALDINI My search for a religious life began informally as a youth under the deep influence of certain events. Perhaps the starting point was my reading of The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham when I was in high school. This book opened my eyes to the value of a spiritual life and the mean‑ ing of walking a “path” to accomplish certain goals. From the 1970s through the 1990s, I continued my search and explo‑ rations through various world religions. A significant book along the way was Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki. Some of his say‑ ings struck me most powerfully: “So whatever you do, or even though you do not do anything, enlightenment is there, always.” And: “Buddha nature is our original nature.” Reading this inspired me to follow the Buddhist path for many years. Plus, the work led to my first significant insight or awakening ex‑ perience. In addition, I spent six years in and out of Catholic contempla‑ tive monasteries. That was in the 1970s. In the following decades, I con‑ tinued my studies in various forms of Zen, Insight Meditation, and Ti‑ betan Buddhism, including Dzogchen. It was not until the mid‑1990s, and mainly due to health reasons, that I transitioned towards traditional Chinese medicine. At that time I began to train as an acupressure therapist and took qigong instruction from various American teachers. In a very short time, I realized that this 1 An earlier version of this report appeared in The Empty Vessel, Winter 2007. 182 / Journal of Daoist Studies 1 (2008) was the path I had been searching for ever since I first read The Razor’s Edge. By the year 2000, I was firmly established in the Chinese health practices of medical qigong, acupressure, and tuina, as well as immersed in the study of Daoist classics and Daoist meditation. But it was only my first China trip that allowed me to fully experience the deeper signifi‑ cance of following a Chinese path of healing and spirituality. In May of 2000, I traveled to Beijing to study with Master Wan Su‑ jian (b. 1953). Raised in a family of army medical doctors, he had joined the army at age 17 and duly became a Western‑trained physician. During the 1976 earthquake, he performed exemplary service and excelled in various outstanding performance over the following years. Master Wan has received numerous awards for excellence from the Chinese govern‑ ment. He is especially known for his outstanding humanitarian work, including his recent help in fighting the SARS epidemic, and for aiding the poor, disadvantaged orphans of China.2 When I first arrived in Beijing, he was still a military physician, but because of his outstanding performance he had been given permission to open a qigong clinic and training center, combined with a residential school of martial and healing practices for young people. This center, the Bagua Xundao Gong Red Cross Medical Exchange Center, located in the western mountains on the outskirts of the city, also opened its gates to train foreigners in qigong, gongfu, qi‑healing and other Chinese cultural arts, like the Daoist tea ceremony. During this first trip, followed by a second sojourn in 2001, I studied and practiced Master Wan’s way of qigong (Bagua Xundao Gong Qigong) and learned his method of qi‑healing. His Bagua Qigong consists of a set of movements, tonifying the three dantian, purifying the channels, strengthening the jingqi, or harmonizing the Yin and Yang energies. Most of his exercises are performed standing, but some are done lying down, or in sitting cross‑legged postures. A usual practice session lasts about an hour. 2 A more detailed biography of Master Wan is found in The Empty Vessel, Fall 2007. Rinaldini, “How I Became a Daoist Priest” / 183 His qi‑healing is usually undertaken by a group of six to eight prac‑ titioners who stand around the seated or lying patient. Using both hands‑on massage techniques and a nontouching form of external qi transmission, all send or channel universal energy into the patient to‑ gether. Master Wan believes that this group effort is...