Journey to Europe with Master Ou – Pangu Shengong events in the Czech Republic and Germany

Written by Jason Davis

It is always a great honor to be able to travel with Master Ou and meet Pangu Students from different parts of the world. Most of the touring students that took part on the trip to Europe were from Mainland China with a few from the USA and Canada also participating. The trip included four Pangu Shengong events in the Czech Republic and one in Germany.

Our journey started out in the Historic Center of Prague which is an UNESCO World Heritage site. During the Middle Ages Prague was one of the leading cultural centers of Europe. It is located along the banks of the Vltava River and the beautiful architecture from the 11th to 18th century has been preserved remarkably. It seems that people in the Middle Ages valued artistry and I was amazed by the motifs and elegant touches on all of the historic buildings. Many of the streets were lined with Linden (lime) trees in full bloom that had a wonderful fragrance that could be smelled from far away. One of my favorite highlights was the Prague Astronomical Clock. It was built in 1410 and not only does it keep track of the calendar date and current time but also of such things as the sunrise, sunset, lunar phases (the moon even goes dark when there is a solar eclipse), vernal equinox, zodiac, etc and demonstrates the remarkable observational skills of ancient peoples. On the hour the clock chimes and shows a procession of Apostles, a roster crowing and other symbolic figures moving making for a fascinating show.

Set in such a wonderful backdrop Master Ou taught his first classes in a Wudang & Taichi center in Prague. Den, a local Pangu Shengong instructor, had made the arrangements for the classes. Firstly, I would like to thank him for arranging transportation from the airport when we arrived in Prague and for putting beautiful flowers in our hotel rooms.

I really enjoyed meeting the local students in Prague and was impressed with how intently they listened to Master Ou’s lectures. Master Ou’s lectures were skillfully translated from Mandarin directly into Czech by a talented 22 year old young man.

I also was honored to meet Richard, a Physical Therapist and a Pangu Shengong instructor. He had driven for 1.5 hours to attend the courses in Prague with his sons. I was fascinated to find out that he had learned Pangu Shengong back in 1996 through correspondence and he told us that Pangu Shengong had completely changed his life.

One of the most touching moments during the lecture was when Richard read a letter addressed to Master Ou from the family of one of his patients, Jirina, in order to express their gratitude. Jirina had an unfortunate accident while climbing a rock wall that was 8-12 meters high and she fell. In this fall she suffered a severe head injury. Due to the inaccessible location, the rescue mission took a long time. After she was transferred to the hospital she had an operation due to bleeding in the brain. According to the neurologists, the operation was successful with respect to the injury. In the days that followed the doctors waited for Jirina to regain consciousness. Because a week went by without anything happening, the doctors began to get nervous. CT results did not indicate anything conclusive. Only the magnetic resonance result showed the seriousness of the injury, which primarily involved the brainstem. According to the conclusion of the neurologists based on this test, it was unlikely that Jirina would regain consciousness.

Jirina’s family did not give up on her after this diagnosis, and therefore sought alternative medical means to help her. It occurred to the three people closest to her, her daughter, son, and a friend, that they could call upon Richard, who Jirina knew well and who had helped her before to recover from a painful problem with her shoulder. Richard agreed to come and take a look at Jirina. After visiting her in the intensive care unit, he suggested that he could visit her regularly and teach her relatives and friend the Pangung Shengong method in order to send her energy and keep up their own strength. After a crash course in this method they began to practice it on a daily basis.

Jirina’s family and friends visited her every day and thanks to the Pangung Shengong method, in this hopeless situation they had the feeling that they could do something for her. Together with Richard as a group they sent energy to Jirina. Richard also asked Master Ou to give her long distance healing. Today, after three months in the hospital in Liberec, three months in the Rehabilitation Institute in Kladruby, and a month in the hospital in Kladno, Jirina is able to communicate, to smile at jokes, and to recognize relatives and friends. She sees, hears, talks, and can eat by herself. Her long term memory is in rather good shape. There are problems with her short term memory, but step by tiny step it is getting better. She can control the movements of the left side of her body and is beginning to move her right leg. With help she regularly practices Pangung Shengong, though she is often tired and does not always have much strength, but her close relatives and friend have not lost hope that she will recover. Master Ou encouraged her to keep on practicing diligently and taught her how to use Ou’s Healing Music Therapy. I once again witnessed the profound healing ability of Pangu Shengong and the love that Master Ou and his students like Richard exhibit when helping so many people.

The next day we headed to Zlin, Czech Republic which is a 4 hour bus ride from Prague. I really enjoyed the beautiful countryside that featured vast tracts of farmland and rolling hills in the background. It actually reminded me of where I grew up as a child, an agricultural part of Canada, and I was very excited to find out from the locals that hockey was the number one sport in the Czech Republic. One notable difference with the farmland was the prevalence of huge poppy fields full of beautiful white and red flowers. The Czech Republic is by far the number one producer of poppy seeds in the world.

On the way we stopped in the City of Brno to grab some lunch and to do some sightseeing. As we got off the bus we were greeted by the smiling faces of Karel and Francisco. They drove almost 100km from Zlin to Brno to greet Master Ou. I had first met Karel back in the fall of 2009 in Hong Kong where we attended an advanced retreat along with 750 other students. I was very excited to see him again and to meet the instantly likeable Francisco for the first time.

As my friend John Paul commented to me “it is always nice to become acquainted with longtime students because they demonstrate kindness, humility and their joy of life is always apparent.”

After lunch our tour guide pointed to a church and told us that is where Gregor Mendel, the father of Genetics, experimented on pea plants discovering the laws of fundamental inheritance. We also heard the tale of the ringing of the Petrov Church Bells. During the spring of 1645 Swedish soldiers attempted to take over Brno for 3 months but the locals had stopped their advances. The Swedish leader Torstenson finally said in a pub, “Tomorrow we shall make our last attack on the city. Before the bells on Petrov strike noon, Brno must be ours. If not, we shall retreat.” The barkeeper overhead this and snuck into the City and told the people of Brno about this. The next day the locals were barely hanging on defending the city and at 11am in a desperate move rang the church bells 1 hour early. The Swedish soldiers retreated and to this day they ring the church bells at 11am rather than at noon.

After the tour we drove the rest of the way to Zlin. There is a core group of very dedicated Tai Chi students of Vincent Chu in Zlin. Vincent encourages his students to learn Pangu Shengong as a foundational part of the training in order to truly develop his student’s kindness, awareness and abilities. Master Ou taught this group of long time students the Advanced Condensed form. After they were done a group of new students arrived to learn the moving form of Pangu Shengong. Everyone was listening to Master Ou’s lecture intently and practicing the form very sincerely.

After the classes concluded we went for supper at the Restaurant U Johana. Karel had prearranged all the food choices and they were all excellent. During our time at the table the students had a lot of questions for Master Ou. His answers were very insightful and motivating. Master Ou always seems to know the optimal thing to tell a particular group to teach them a guiding principle about life. Francisco commented how much he liked the Pangu Shengong song and started humming it. That led to the whole group singing the song together.

Afterwards Karel translated and read a text he had just received from a local Ziln student on his phone. It was from a mother with an autistic son. She talked about how much work it is to raise her son because of his condition. She mentioned that she wouldn’t have the energy to do it if it had not been for Pangu Shengong. She said that she plays Master Ou’s music at the house in the background and how much it had helped to keep her son calm and peaceful. She expressed her gratitude to Master Ou for the improvements she had seen in his condition. Everyone was touched by the sentiment of the message.

The next day we headed to the city of Liberec where we reunited with Richard. He had arranged a class to learn the moving form on the first evening and the non-moving form the next evening. The moving form class was held in an outdoor venue with amphitheater style seating. It was a beautiful setting and the weather was perfect. I was particularly impressed with the size of the crowd and there were over 50 people attending the course. I was interested in a laptop that was set up on the table that Master Ou was lecturing from. I later found out that there was a student learning the moving form on Skype because he was unable to attend the course in person but he really wanted to learn so Richard arranged it for him. Once again I was amazed at how sincerely the Czech students embraced the practice, how insightful their questions were and the gratitude they showed Master Ou for his teaching. After we were done we were treated to a catered meal from one of the students and we ate it outside in a picnic style.

The next morning we headed to Germany to tour the city of Dresden. On the bus ride we quickly drove through 3 countries in a span of 15 minutes. We left the Czech Republic, quickly went through Poland and then entered Germany. Master Ou asked the students on the bus if they could notice and feel the differences between the countries. After pondering this question for a while I realized that I need to pay more careful attention to the subtleties of life. He also commented on how wonderful it was to be able to just drive through three different countries without needing to pass through any kind of border patrol or customs. That it was really refreshing that the borders were open and that there was a spirit of cooperation between the countries. I have always been impressed by the collaboration and cooperation between peoples of different countries within the European Union. Of course it isn’t always easy and presents its own unique sets of challenges but I still believe that it is a worthwhile experiment in human cooperation.

That evening we returned to Liberec and Master Ou taught the non-moving form to a full house. The students were really amazed with their experiences from learning this form and had many questions. After the class concluded the students stood up to show their respect for Master Ou. They lined up to have their books signed and to get pictures with Master Ou.

The next day we flew to Zurich, Switzerland and our bus drove us to our hotel in Schaffhausen, Switzerland near the border with Germany. After dinner we all walked to a park along the Rhine River. The river was pristine and majestic. Master Ou talked about the importance of preserving the environment so that we can all live in harmony with nature and share in its beauty. The next day we toured around Schaffhausen and took a boat tour to the Rhine Falls (the largest falls in Europe). As we got closer and closer to the whitewater of the falls I could feel the raw power of nature as the mist soaked my face and our boat had to struggle hard against that incredible current. I realized in that moment how small we really are and how impressive this life really is.

After the day of touring we headed to Radolfzell, Germany for an evening set of lectures and courses. A local Pangu Shengong instructor named Chaoping greeted us as the bus stopped in front of her home. I was impressed with how beautifully kept her yard was and enjoyed the sight of the beautiful flowers. Master Ou did a talk on the essence of Pangu Shengong and Chaoping translated directly from Cantonese to German. It was fascinating because it was the first time I had heard Pangu Shengong taught in German and I was really impressed with Chaoping’s command of the language. After the lecture Master Ou gave the group a healing. After a short break they taught the non-moving form class. The German students had a lot of questions for Master Ou at the end. I didn’t get an English translation but it was obvious they were really interested in the practice and wanted more information.
After the class concluded we had a big outdoor BBQ and once again the weather was perfect. The intention was for everyone to stir fry their own food on the grill but Master Ou took over and cooked for everyone. I am always amazed at how efficient he is and how dedicated he is to his students. After teaching for several hours he didn’t even rest but started cooking right away. His food always tastes incredible and is infused with wonderful energy.

It is always inspiring to learn motivational stories of other people’s successes with Pangu Shengong no matter what country they are from. For example, I later heard more about Chaoping’s story. She had grown up in Guangzhou China and learned Pangu Shengong there. She decided to go to Germany to study Physical Therapy. At the time she knew some English but did not know any German. It was very hard for her in the beginning because a lot of the medical terminology was in Latin and she did not know German which was the language of instruction. She said she did the non-moving form of Pangu Shengong to help her get through it and quickly learned the German language. She really enjoyed Germany and after graduation she was worried about having to leave. One day she saved several people’s lives and became something of a hero in the local newspapers. Eventually she was allowed to stay in Germany because she was considered such an outstanding person for helping those people. Today she is married and helps people with her practice in Radolfzell. It is truly amazing what people can accomplish when they dedicate themselves.

All in all I feel very blessed to have been able to attend this trip. I realize that helping others is really what life is about. We witnessed some amazing things and met some remarkable people. Learning from others about their cultural traditions and getting to eat such wonderful food was such an incredible experience. Being taught by Master Ou on how to become a kinder person was really the most significant part of the trip. Thank you to everyone and especially to Master Ou.