Cultivating the Heart and Refining the Soul: A Summary of the Pangu Shengong Lake Tahoe Retreat in November

“Up in the mountains of California,
Quietly hides beautiful Lake Tahoe, beautiful Lake Tahoe.
The magnificent snow-topped mountains
Embrace and nurture this magical alpine lake, this magical alpine lake…”

The magical alpine lake opened her big heart, extending her gentle white arms to welcome us, 63 Pangu Shengong students from America, Canada and China. We gathered in this exquisite, poetic place, attending a four-day Pangu Shengong advanced program.

Opening the program, Master Ou sang one of his new songs to the audience: “Cultivating the Heart.” He went on to explain the theme of the advanced training. We were there to cultivate the heart and refine the soul.

In the three days that followed, to elucidate this goal, Master Ou gave five lectures, rich with depth and profound with information.

In the first talk, Master Ou explained how to conduct our lives, what it means to be an elevated person, and offered concrete steps on how to achieve what many may see as lofty goals.

During the second lecture, Master Ou discussed the influence of ancient Chinese culture, how ancient sages advocated kindness and respect towards one another, saying that this is how we may learn to have more love and less hate, to maintain a benevolent mindset, as a way to pay closer attention to refining one’s heart and soul at any given moment.

He further instructed us to deepen our understanding, realizing that Pangu Shengong is a more complex and comprehensive system of self-mastery, highly effective, yet with easy-to-master-and-understand methods for cultivating heart and soul, making it clear that the results one can achieve when applying any good method is closely related to one’s willingness to dedicate time, effort and energy to becoming a person with a high quality of kindness and love.

At the third talk, Master Ou explained what love is and how to best express that love, while offering further examples of the importance of cultivating heart and soul.

During the fourth teaching, Master Ou discussed the purpose of study as a means to elevate one’s heart and soul, sharing his own method of study, mentioning the most efficient way to study is first to induce calm and broadmindedness.

For the fifth topic, Master Ou explained in greater detail how to improve the quality of one’s heart and soul, methods to open and expand the heart while having a broader mindset. He suggested the most effective way to achieve this is to employ calm, tolerance, modesty, diligence, and persistence. However, Master Ou said, he recognizes that it is very difficult to achieve true calm and tolerance, and so it is best to begin with true humility and diligence, and these will help to open the door to the other virtues.

His sincere wish was that everyone attending would achieve a leap forward in physical and spiritual health through applying those five qualities. Master Ou emphasized that one portion of effort today will yield 10 times the reward in the future; and that one portion of laziness today could become 10 times an obstacle in the future.

Each person seemed truly engaged with Master Ou’s teaching. We listened, laughed, asked questions, and pondered. Feeling truly inspired and profoundly instructed, we came away determined to be more diligent in cultivating heart and soul from then on.

Towards the end of the program, a snow storm came through, covering the beach overnight with a white blanket. Lake Tahoe became more mysterious and beautiful. Many people were excited, especially those who had never seen snow before. We could all appreciate the beauty of Great Nature’s gift.

To gently close the program, Master Ou led a sightseeing tour around Lake Tahoe. He brought us to Emerald Bay and Sandy Harbor, two of the most beautiful spots on the lake. We sang, practiced the Moving Form, enjoying the peace and beauty, helping us to have a deeper sense of wonder and gratitude towards this great creation, and the unselfish love of Great Nature.

This was a profound and beautiful retreat, and we believe it will lead to a more profound and beautiful journey as we apply Master Ou’s teaching to cultivate heart and soul each day.