“How can I have more freedom in my life?”
“How can I have more freedom in my body?”
These questions lie at the heart of the human experience. They also lie at the heart of Mingjue Gongfu, or pure consciousness training.
Over the past twenty years, I have been treating patients who have wrestled with these questions, not as mental concepts but deep within their cells. Spanning underserved and privileged communities alike, they have endured unspeakable traumas and harrowing health conditions. As an American-trained doctor of internal medicine — a specialist in chronic diseases — I have witnessed their suffering with a fierce desire to heal their illnesses.
Up until I embarked on Mingjue Gongfu practices, however, I hadn’t realized the extent, hidden below this fierce and well-meaning desire, of the reservoir of grief, resistance, and fear. My entire life’s path was fueled by a determination to not accept suffering, to fight it with everything I had. In a contracted state, I was not only limiting my capacity to be a healing presence for others, but for myself, too.
My Personal Journey
The resistance I had toward generalized suffering was entangled with my own. In 2005, as a young doctor and a new mother, I was stricken with complex chronic conditions that affected my immune, hormone, digestive, and nervous systems, leaving me debilitated for the greater part of a decade. This stressed my marriage to the breaking point. And the paradigm in which I had trained offered little to no solutions.
To say that I was drawn to Zhineng Qigong would not be true. Desperation opens minds like nothing else, and this was one of Desperation’s greatest gifts to me. My adventure began in 2014, meaning it took me nine challenging years to find Zhineng Qigong. Or perhaps, it found me. That is, mingjue, or pure consciousness, was slowly making its way back to itself.
Now, another nine years later, I reflect back: I started with fifteen minutes a day of what I considered an obligatory, medical “mind-body rehabilitation exercise.” But I was diligent, and the teachings felt, at once, novel and ancient. At some point, qigong came to feel like eating; if I went too long without it, I hungered for it. And here was the wild part: the healing happened as a side-effect, without trying. By Western science standards, my healing was classified as a “radical remission,” an outcome that defied statistical odds. For Zhineng Qigong, it was nothing special — simply opening to and coming into resonance with the healing laws of nature.
What is Zhineng Qigong?
Qigong is an embodied consciousness practice that aims to transform consciousness, qi (energy), and the body, both to heal and grow in wisdom. Originating from indigenous traditions in ancient China, qigong has continued to evolve as humanity and cultures have evolved. A substantial body of scientific evidence now validates its healing effects on the immune system, inflammation, bone density, cardiovascular disease, physical function, emotional wellbeing, among other significant improvements in quality of life.
There are thousands of lineages of qigong. In the early 1980s, Dr. Pang Ming, founded the lineage of Zhineng Qigong (zhi 智means “wisdom,” neng 能 means “abilities”). Dr. Pang had trained under several grandmasters, studied both Eastern and Western medicine, and mastered several forms of martial arts. In this new lineage, he drew from the teachings and practices of many traditions — including Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Confucianism, medical qigong, martial arts, folk qigong, contemporary science, medicine, and philosophy.
Zhineng Qigong theories and practices aim to describe the laws of the universe and humanity, as well as to consolidate them into a single system for vitality, health, and inner peace. Recognizing the role of modern science to enhance the validity and accessibility of qigong, Dr. Pang founded the Huaxia Zhineng Qigong Center (“Medicineless Hospital”) in China, observing and recording the healing outcomes of the students. “Miracle” after miracle occurred, in many whose conditions were deemed incurable or terminal by their doctors.
Why Mingjue Gongfu?
The core teaching of Zhineng Qigong is conscious transformation. But after decades of teaching tens of thousands of students, Dr. Pang observed many becoming stuck. Their diligence to practice had turned into attachments — whether it be to the theories, methods, or powerful sensations of qi (energy) — and their personal lives and relationships were not necessarily harmonizing either.
So Dr. Pang began to emphasize Mingjue Gongfu, or pure consciousness training. Mastering the body and mastering energy, he taught, come by mastering the mind. When we practice for and from something much bigger than ourselves — the collective field — we come closer to our essence, enlarge our hearts, and reduce the risks of the small self thinking it is the master. We can also release our attachments to practice in a freer state. So, practicing Zhineng Qigong from a mingjue state can benefit not just the practitioner; it amplifies the wellbeing of others, humanity at large, and the natural world.
How This Book is Organized
When I began Teacher Wei’s mingjue courses in 2021, it was his second year to offer his Mingjue Gongfu courses through The World Consciousness Community. The contents of this book are adapted from the direct transcriptions of the first two years. At the time, generous organizers and translators from around the world were transcribing his teachings into multiple languages. The material could be dense, however, and there was no go-to reference book for Mingjue Theory or mingjue meditation practices.
This book is intended as a companion text to Teacher Wei’s courses. There is a lot of material, some of which can feel complex. The simplicity, though, is the common thread woven through all the theories and methods: mingjue. As you will learn, mingjue is the autonomous observer within you and every other individual. Awakening this inner observer is inextricably linked to the healing of your thoughts, emotions, and body.
Mingjue is also the collective consciousness. This means that, when we practice mingjue as a community, informed by universal love and infused with universal peace, we are co-creating and co-cultivating a powerful, unified qi and information field. Each individual consciousness is improved by connecting with the collective field. Likewise, the collective field is enhanced by every individual’s awakening state.
There are two main sections: Part 1 covers the theories, and Part 2, the methods and practices. The two sections complement and potentiate each other. They may also be used to complement Dr. Pang’s foundational books, Hunyuan Entirety Theory and The Methods of Zhineng Qigong Science (available as ebooks for purchase at www.daohearts.com/books). For concepts that might feel abstract or unclear, you can nonetheless receive them as a transmission, trusting that your energy and information are already changing. Like other books of enduring wisdom, this book may be read again and again; each time, you will likely discover new truths and understanding.
A few remarks on the text: when the word “qigong” appears in this book, it refers to the specific lineage of Zhineng Qigong. Foreign words are largely italicized only upon first introduction. Theories, concepts, and practice methods specific to Zhineng Qigong and Mingjue Gongfu are capitalized. Other terms, like energy points or gates, are not.
An Experiment in Quantum Awakening and Healing
As I was about to embark on this path, I knew these were the precise lessons I had yet to learn in my own life and work. I did not know, though, that Mingjue Gongfu intersected with the leading edge of neuroscience and quantum physics.
Research studies from organizations like HeartMath Institute in the U.S. have been measuring the power of consciousness and energy fields. They found, for example, when someone feels anxious, scared, or frustrated, the heart rhythms become chaotic and irregular, as do the brain waves. Conversely, a state of calm, gratitude, or compassion brings the heart and brain rhythms into regular, smooth patterns — a state of energetic flow called “coherence,” which is distinct from simple relaxation. When we are in coherence, our bodies function optimally and healing happens naturally.
What’s more, HeartMath scientists measured the electromagnetic field of the human heart to extend some six to eight feet outward. While in a state of coherence, someone can bring others in his or her field into coherence, thereby amplifying the healing potential of everyone in the field.
Imagine ten people in coherence in a single space. Or fifty. And what if the subtler, as-of-yet immeasurable energies worked similarly? For millennia, qigong practitioners have known the power of this conscious, universe-sized field by direct experience. So imagine a hundred people in coherence across vast distances. A thousand. A million. As I have now tasted firsthand, qigong as a collective field isn’t a private mind-body exercise. It is a bold experiment in quantum healing, harmony, and love.
In this spirit, Teacher Wei founded The World Consciousness Community and began amplifying his Mingjue Gongfu courses. The mingjue state is the foundation for all the dynamic movement forms. He always reminds us: Who is choosing to practice? Who is initiating the movements? Who is inhabiting the body, even as it remains independent, enabling us to be in our bodies and the world, but not of them? Who is connected to all other consciousnesses through the collective field?
And for me, in my healing work, Who is witnessing the suffering, with an open heart? Who is making clinical recommendations even as she surrenders to a greater, collective intelligence?
Pure consciousness — the true I. The true we.
When we return home to our true selves, the “inner work” of mingjue and qigong becomes “inner play.” We practice in a free state. We live our lives in a free state. We love ourselves, others, and the world in a free state.
“Always look at your observer,” says Teacher Wei, “and always look from your observer. Then you will experience freedom.”
We invite you to join us in this quantum experiment. And we hope this book can support you in your health and wellbeing.
Cynthia Li, MD
Berkeley, CA, USA