One Hundred Days of Darkness and Light

is the first section in Robert Peng's book,
The Master Key

Installment #24

Chapter Five
My World Opens Up

Two weeks later Wuhui and I were back on Hainan Island. We moved into adjoining apartments and immediately opened up a small Qigong clinic. One of the first people we treated was an old friend of mine from the university who had studied French. After graduating he had lived in Zambia for two years. There he had contracted a virus and lost all his hair, including his eyebrows. He now wore an odd- looking hairpiece. He worked as an interpreter for the foreign affairs department of the city government and often had to travel and meet with high-level officials and foreign dignitaries. 

“Robert, I’m very self-conscious about the way I look,” he confided. “My doctors prescribed hormones to make my hair grow. I’m taking them now and my hair is growing back, but only in patches. And if I stop taking them the hair growth will also stop. But I’m worried about these drugs. They’re toxic, and I’ve been warned that they can cause organ damage. Can you help me?” he asked.

Wuhui and I worked on him several times, and I taught him a Qigong practice to help him boost his Qi. Within three months his hair was growing naturally. He threw out his hairpiece and the hormone pills. 

My friend worked closely with the mayor of Haikou, the capital of Hainan Island. The mayor had been in a bad accident and was experiencing debilitating pain in both his elbows. He came to our clinic at my friend’s request. We treated him three times, and within ten days he was fully recovered. The mayor was a powerful man and very well connected with the most influential business and political leaders of Hainan Island. He directed many of his friends to our clinic, including the national security advisor’s wife, who suffered from a heart condition. She was so impressed with the results of our work that she flew Wuhui and me to Beijing, where we treated top government officials. 

After we established our clinic, Wuhui and I decided to teach Qigong classes again. We spent days creating a detailed five-page flyer that included our biographies, lineage, the Qigong practices we taught, and our class schedule and prices. We posted the flyers throughout the campus of a local university. At our first class only one person showed up. She was a graduate of our university who recognized my name, and we taught her for free. 

A week later a Shaolin monk posted his own flyers all over campus. They read, Shaolin monk. Free Qigong demonstration. Friday night at the auditorium. 7:30 p.m. The words were handwritten on bright white paper in thick red brushstrokes. Three hundred people attended. The event was a huge success. We learned an important marketing lesson from this Shaolin monk. 

The next time we promoted our Qigong classes, we followed his lead. We made large posters advertising our free demonstration and posted them all over campus. A thousand people came and three hundred of them signed up for classes. 

Through a series of introductions, we then met one of the most influential government officials of the island, Chi Fulin, who directed CHIRD, the China Hainan Institute for Reform and Development. 

The institute solicited foreign investments and forged strategic partnerships between Western companies and the Chinese government. Chi Fulin organized conferences attended by world leaders and multinational CEOs. 

“On the first evening of our conferences we usually entertain our guests with a show that includes traditional Chinese singing and folk dancing,” he explained. “I hear that your Qigong demonstrations are exciting and that you speak English well. I’d like you to spice up our show tonight with a Qigong segment. Why not give it a shot and see how the guests react?” 

Wuhui and I did a demonstration that evening similar to the one I had performed at the talent show. None of the dignitaries had ever seen a Qigong performance before. Afterward, an enthusiastic crowd formed all around us. We shook dozens of hands and received open invitations to visit many foreign countries. Chi Fulin was pleased with the warm response and asked us to become a regular part of the program. 

“Robert, some of our guests are inquiring about your Qigong treatments. Would you be open to helping them?” Chi Fulin asked a few weeks later. 

“Sure,” I replied. 

“Good. I’ll arrange to set up a VIP treatment room at CHIRD reserved just for this purpose.” 

We treated a few important guests who reported back enthusiastically to Chi Fulin. Following that positive feedback, we continued to heal a steady stream of guests. 

In July of 1993, after one of our Qigong demonstrations, I was introduced to Bob Hawke, the former prime minister of Australia, by Ruan Chongwu, the governor of Hainan Island. 

“That was an extraordinary show of power,” Hawke said. He had thick silver hair and a formidable presence. 

“Thank you,” I replied. 

“My good friend Governor Ruan informs me that you’re a miracle worker. Well, I’ve got a nagging back injury from golf.” 

“Robert, would you be kind enough to give the prime minister a treatment tonight?” Chi Fulin inquired. 

“Sure, Mr. Chi,” I replied.

I worked on the prime minister, and when I was done he was sound asleep on the treatment table. I left him there and went back home. Early the next morning I received a telephone call from Chi Fulin’s secretary. I was invited to join the prime minister, Governor Ruan, and Chi Fulin for breakfast at the institute. Knowing it would be a formal event, I wore a suit and tie. Ten of us sat at a round table. Prime Minister Hawke was the last person to arrive and sat down between Governor Ruan and Chi Fulin. I was seated directly across from him. He and Governor Ruan talked business the entire time. Hawke didn’t even acknowledge me until the very end. 

But before breakfast ended he turned to the governor and said, “Mr. Ruan, above everything else, the best thing that happened to me on this trip was meeting this guy.” Then he pointed at me. “I feel great. 

I’ve never experienced anything like Qigong before. I’m a convert.” Everything seemed to be going so well, but at about this time I received some sad news from Ling Ying. We had been apart for nearly a year at this point, and the stream of letters that had been frequent for the first nine months began to slow down, then trickled to a near halt. I flew back to the university. Her attitude had changed. Our long-distance relationship was causing her too much pain. She was a second-year student, and the prospect of two additional years apart was too much pressure for her to bear. Teary-eyed, she broke up with me: “Sadly, we won’t get the chance to spend a warm winter together.” 

Prime Minister Hawke returned to CHIRD later that year. The institute hosted his sixty-fourth-birthday celebration, and I gave him another treatment. When I finished, he stood up and held my hand in both of his. 

“Robert, I have three children. My eldest daughter, Sue, has had chronic fatigue syndrome for nine years, and she can barely get out of bed in the wintertime. Do you think you can help her?” he asked. 

“I can try,” I replied.

In March 1994 Sue Hawke flew to Hainan Island. She stayed on the island for seven weeks. During this time she received Qigong treatments regularly from Wuhui and me as well as several of our top students. I also taught her some practices designed to boost her internal power. The combination of the healings and the exercises quickly improved Sue’s condition, and by the time she returned to Sydney she was fully recovered. The story received widespread media coverage in Australia. People were stunned by her profound transformation. She looked ten years younger and radiated healthy energy. Prime Minister Hawke returned to CHIRD in May. He invited me to dinner along with Governor Ruan and Chi Fulin. This time, I was the last person to arrive at the table. When I did, Hawke stood up and shook my hand vigorously. 

“You can’t even imagine how much I appreciate what you’ve done for my daughter. Anything you need—anything at all—I’ll do my best to help you. And you must also share your Qigong with the rest of the world.” 

The prime minister put his arm around my shoulder, turned to the governor and Chi Fulin, and said, “He’s my man.”

To be continued in the next issue of Catalyst...

Click on the following to read:  Installment #1  lnstallment #2  Installment #3  Installment #4  Installment #5  lnstallment #6  Installment #7  Installment #8  Installment #9  Installment #10  Installment #11  Installment #12  Installment #13  Installment #14  Installment #15  Installment #16  Installment #17  Installment #18  Installment #19  Installment #20  Installment #21  Installment #22  Installment #23 

 

 

 

Robert Peng is a world-renowned Qigong Master, healer, and author of the book, The Master Key: Qigong Secrets for Vitality, Love, and Wisdom.

Click here for a free access of the audiobook, 100 Days of Darkness and Light, which is the first section in Robert's book, The Master Key.

Robert's companion resources include:

The Master Key Video Series (4 DVDs of Qigong practices)

The Master Key Audio Series (5 CDs of Qigong practices)

Qigong Ecstasy (45-minute Qigong practice video)

AM/PM Qigong (Two 30-minute Qigong routines video)

Robert was born and raised in Hunan, China. At age eight, he began an intensive apprenticeship under the close guidance of the legendary monk Xiao Yao, an enlightened master known for his profound healing ability and martial arts skill. At age 15, Robert performed a 100-day water fast in a small dark room at a secluded monastery in the remote mountains of Hunan province. He underwent a radical spiritual transformation and awakened amazing healing powers. Master Xiao Yao encouraged Robert to develop his healing skills by studying with other Chinese masters.

After pursuing his training quietly while attending university in Changsha, where he majored in English Literature, at 29 years old he began to teach publicly, and within five years had trained over 150,000 students all over China, Australia, and the U.S. 

With his deep understanding and practice of Qigong, and with extensive life and teaching experience in the western world, Robert has developed a unique way to teach Qigong that people from different cultures can easily understand and follow while enjoying the real essence of this ancient Chinese healing art of wisdom, love, and vitality. 

Robert has been a regular presenter at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, The Esalen Institute, Integrative Health Symposium, and many other organizations and schools.

Together with Bishop Desmond and Pema Chodron, he was honored as one of "Top Ten Heroes of 2013" for his contribution to transform "the ancient Chinese healing art of Qigong into today's fast-growing holistic practices — in addition to use as a spiritual practice for inner balance and peace, Qigong movement is gaining acceptance as a gentle movement for chronic illness and pain."

Click here to visit Robert’s website.

Click here to watch and participate in Robert’s 8-minute Qigong practice, Scooping Universal Qi to Empower our Wisdom, Love & Vitality.