The 18th Patriarch of YeYoung Lineage Grandmaster YeYoung and his student Master Zhi Hui
Mission Statement
We, as a culture, forge our way through life, continually pushing and striving for our ideal of perfection, or at least what we have been told it is. Once we have achieved that ideal, we soon realize that what we conceived as perfection is anything but perfect. If we are lucky, we are able to perceive the fallacy that additional material gains will make us happy and better technology will save us from our own greed and stupidity. Somewhat grudgingly, a part of us come to acknowledge that there is something missing in our lives, that materialism and technology of the modern world cannot provide to us to make us happy.
Some of us are lucky, and may see that part of the happiness we seek can be found in something so basic as eating pure and simple food, watching the rhythm of the seasons as they unfold, or clouds passing through a cobalt blue sky. If we are truly fortunate, we may eventually see that the happiness we seek truly lies within ourselves. But we continue to fumble and search for a way to liberate ourselves from the prejudices of the doctrines and dogma that prevail in our society. It is then that if we are extremely fortunate, we my happen upon a teacher that can help free us from the confinement of the dogma and false concepts we each imprison ourselves with.
Many of us struggle through life without a teacher to guide us. Too stubborn and filled with pride to admit we cannot find the liberation that we seek without the help of a guide. In this way, we continue making the same mistakes over and over again. We continue to try and use the tools we know best – the classic Western approaches and methodologies of linear observation and analysis, dualism, categorization, and compartmentalization that have been imparted to us since we left our mother’s womb. With these tools we continue try to categorize and rationalize away the events of our life and the world. Only to watch our logic whither as the events of the world continue to unfold differently than we could ever anticipate.
We take these lifelong methods to the utmost extreme, even categorizing and compartmentalizing the very nature of who we are. We view our body as being separate from our mind, and both body and mind separate from our spirit. We work on trying to improve and heal our minds, but ignore the body. Or conversely, we may continually work on healing or strengthening our bodies, without ever considering that part of what may be making us ill or weak is directly related to our minds or spiritual being.
Via this compartmentalization, we fail to observe and to take into consideration (or may choose to ignore) that everything we are, and whatever we do, is inexplicably connected to everything else surrounding us. It is this interconnectedness that controls the flow of our daily life. It is also that when this connection to the greater flow of life is temporarily interrupted or broken that our health, wealth, and personal lives can come into disarray.
More recently, however, there has been a growing trend in Western culture to take a more holistic approach to treating disease and living in general. Much of the basis for this so called “new” approach in the West has been to incorporate techniques developed and rooted in ancient Eastern healing practices and traditions. Unlike the Western notion of knowledge leading to power relying on theory and individualistic approach, the Eastern knowledge emphasizes practice and collective wisdom, which completely depends on the Lineage Transmission. It is with the traditionally transmitted practices, such as Qi Gong and Tai Chi, that it is possible to heal both our body and our mind, to free our spirit and to restore the health, vitality, and a sense of wellbeing that we are all meant to have.
YeYoung Qigong & Neidan teaching and transmission was established in 1428, and the Chen Family Large Frame Taiji Quan was established in the 1600s. I was fortunate enough to find Grandmaster YeYoung and have been a full time disciple of Grandmaster since 2006. During my studies with Grandmaster YeYoung, I have come to lead a more complete and fulfilled life, by using a simple approach of self cultivation that is the result of Grandmaster’s teachings. I have now come to accept who I am, in addition to accepting the natural flow of life without having to continually push and/or manipulate the outcome of events. I have once again learned to trust in myself through the teachings, and in turn, those around me, which has opened up possibilities once only imagined.
I have also experienced (and continue to experience) physical healings related to the thyroid and the respiratory system, which have also been confirmed by Western medical doctors. But I would be remiss to mention the healings of the mind that can only be appreciated by myself, and those who I interact with through the course of my daily life. My personal relationships with others, and my professional career, have flourished under the guidance and teachings offered by Grandmaster YeYoung.
I, Tom Filler, as Master Zhi Hui in the YeYoung Tradition, under the continuing guidance of Grandmaster YeYoung, have devoted myself exclusively to the study of the YeYoung Literati Tradition, including YeYoung Qigong & Neidan, Chen Family Large Frame Taji Quan, Chinese calligraphy, poetry, and the Art of Chinese Tea. It is my mission to increase these transmissions of knowledge to the West and to help my students to achieve a higher state of health and tranquility and to have them connect again to the natural flow of life.
Biography
Born into a white middle class family in Lodi, California, I was raised in a simple manner that emphasized the development of self-reliance, individualism, and strong Christian values. During my early years, what I was taught initially served me well. Those teachings, however, began to fail me as I grew older, and concepts of those teachings continued to fail in the face of an ever-expanding reality. After my tumultuous teen years, my search for a truer life led me to the martial arts and eastern and Toltec mysticism. I studied martial arts for several years from my late teens to my mid-twenties, but came to realize the teachings of the system I studied were flawed, incomplete, and devoid of the truths for which I sought. After this, I became ever more distrustful of any organized belief system, and also without being fully aware of it, of myself, too.
I returned to college in 1988, and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Policy and Planning from the University of California at Davis. During my studies there, I was exposed to an even broader world, which further challenged the teachings of my early years, and added to my ever-expanding conceptualization of life in general. From 1992 to 2001 I worked in the energy industry as a consultant on large, complex, projects. In 2001 I moved to Sacramento to work with the State of California as an Environmental Scientist. It was the culmination of this and other life experiences that catapulted me towards the breaking point of my life in 2005.
In 2005, a serious bicycling accident snapped me like a brittle twig. The pain and suffering originating from both physical injuries, and the mental mayhem from a lifetime of distrust, fear, and anger, eventually became overwhelming to me. At the behest of a close friend, I tried an intensive Qi Gong workshop in the Bay Area to try and ease some of the physical pain. What came from that workshop, however, was a realization that this might be the path to ease not only my physical pain, but also my mental suffering I experienced as well. Little did I know at the time that Qi Gong would lead to something much greater. In 2006, I realized I needed additional training in Qi Gong and searched for a bona fide Qi Gong Master. I was fortunate enough to find Grandmaster YeYoung during my search and have been a full time disciple of Grandmaster ever since then. I currently reside in Sacramento, California.