* Aixing, you came here to Yangshuo to participate in the Work/Study Program – would you like to introduce yourself?
Yes, I’m a Vietnamese, I’m interested in learning to master the healthy life and the human harmony.
* What is the reason you are here at Wandering Dao?
I’m here to learn more about a healthy, organic lifestyle. That is not just only a physical heathy life but also a mental, spiritual life. Learning and praticing every day makes me feel more with each part of my body, it helps me to get in touch with my root, my soul, my energy. I’m here because I want to master me myself either in physical field or spiritual field.
* What kind of work do you do here?
My main job is to develop the menu, which includes detox diet menu and retox diet menu for using during the retreat and for the restaurant that is being built.
* Were there difficulties or challenges you encountered?
Well, there were some. The first day I came to Wandering Dao, I knew hardly anything about feeling my “dantian.” I had been introduced and done some meditation before but there had not had anybody to tell me that you should breathe to your different organs in your body, and I had never lived in a community like this before. But I always try to keep reminding Master Daniel speech “ When the spirit is low everything becomes a problem, when the spirit is average, everything is a challenge, and when the spirit is high, everything becomes an opportunity.” And I want to have the high spirit!
* What are your favorite tricks you learned so far?
One of my favorite trick is walking meditation. In this practice, our master always by our side and keeps telling us, “feel your dantian, shift your weight, keep your awareness on your dantian…” Walking in the awareness of feeling my “ dantian” give me the feeling of touching the energy, moving it slowly, staying focused, that is such a wonderful feeling!
* Are you able to apply them to your life? How?
Yes, absolutely! I think wherever I am, whatever I do, however I feel, I want to stop everything for a while and breathe from my “dantian”, then do a walking meditation, it’ll help me to keep balance and to be peaceful in any society or any relationship that I’m in.
* What is your most memorable experience so far?
Once, when I did walking meditation, I didn’t open my eyes (in Daoist meditation you should keep your eye lids half opened), so I walked to off the edge, I fell and hurt myself so bad, it took me more than 2 weeks to be healed! Then, my most memorable experience is to keep the eye lids half opened when doing meditation!