Dao did not distance itself from people, but people themselves distanced from the Dao...

History of the Golden Elixir School

... There were four emaciated travellers at dark night on a mountain track. It seemed, to be neither an end, nor a success for their infinite wanderings and tribulations. It was already the second year of their search­, but the real teaching of Dао had not revealed itself yet. so the destiny forced them to encounter new and new frauds in the Celestial Kingdom, who made up the false schools of Dао and were making a travesty for the sake of fame and profit. The travellers decided to camp on a mountain pass, and were slowly approaching it as suddenly at the western edge of horizon an unusual luminescence showed, shining into the height of the sky.

The glow was so unusual and mysterious, that they long stood speechless in place, watching the miracle... It was a long-awaited sign, which signified that they were on the right way! Their happiness was unlimited and they started walking again... So without rest and sleep, they were going for some days, the luminescence kept stabely appearing in the west, but seemed that the light in the West was unreachable and this jorney would continue endlessly.

First one of the travelers stayed behind in a nearby village, making an excuse that his feet were bleeding, then the second one left the team, saying, that he was not ready to continue this adventure, and finally the third detached, without saying a word, he simply lied down on the grass shaking his head, to show, that he would not go any further... Just Zhang alone, who organized this quest for the real Teacher, continued his way. Breaking through bushes and going towards the light, he often began to fall into a silent state of mind, which sometimes alternated with numerous reminiscences of visiting the false schools, which remained etched in his memory.

So, some false representatives of «true schools of Dao» emphasized tuna respiratory exercise and daoyin gymnastics. They did not understand, that tuna and daoyin were ridiculed by Zhang Boduan no less in his book «Wuzhenpian». The others put stress on «methods of working with the mind », calling them xinggong, and «methods of working with body» - accepting them for «minggong» which was even more ridiculous. The third one’s made up themselves their own stages of «the internal alchemy», confusing formations of lead and cultivations of qi, and fooling credulous people ...

«Indeed their name is legion» - Zhang thankfully recalled his first daoist treatises’ teacher, who later helped him not to fall into that Dao-cheaters’ traps, who ruined so many souls, seeking after right Way... These reminiscences gave him strength and at last he reached the mountain, where the unusual luminescence emanated from its peak. The tears welled up in Zhang’s eyes: it meant that so many years of sufferings and searches had not passed in vain... Tomorrow morning he would ascend in a cave to the Teacher and at last would follow his true Path. In his childhood one fortune-teller had predicted this destiny to him. The divination master looked shocked and dropped his divination sticks, stunned to see what the boy's future held...

This was the beginning of our ancient School of the daoist alchemy, which is well known in the whole China and is called «Wu-Liu Pai» 伍柳派 or «Wu-Liu Fa Pai» 伍柳法派 (in name of its founders Wu Chung-xu and Liu Hua-yang, literally «The School (of techinques) by Wu Chungxu and Liu Huayang». Above-mentioned Patriarch Zhang received daoist name of Zhang Jingxu, and became the follower of the most outstanding hermit of those times – the last keeper of an ancient Tradition. Having obtained Dао, Zhang was given a farewell admonition from the Teacher who said

«Nowadays impostors and fake daoists have spread all over the world, pushing their idle fantasies on the people to gain fame and easy money. There are almost no experts left that know methods of cultivating the Dао. You should open widely the gates of the teaching, to assist the true people in obtaining the Dао».

Then Zhang visited different countries and continents, investigated western lands (Asia, India and Tibet) and found out, that, in fact, people knowing the tradition had already vanished. Then he carefully collected all the remainig knowledge of true Schools at that time... He has directed all his strength at the realization of his Teacher’ commandment to restore the potential for achievement the DAO in the world. After returning to China Patriarch Zhang Jingxu during long time taught to his students in the Wudangshan mountains. The most outstanding pupil of Zhang was Li-xu an, who in turn has transmitted techniques to Qao-huan yang, and he, in his turn – to Wu Chung-xu. For the first time he published the School’s texts in a new, comprehensible manner, having removed a lot of confusing terms and metaphors. That made his School the most widespread and efficacious School in respect of Dао achievement methods. In China its became to be called «the shortest ladder to Heaven»... The fame of Patriarch Zhang’s achievements reached the ears of the emperor Min Shi Zung 明世宗，who persistently asked Zhang to stay at his Imperial court. But the patriarch visited the court shortly and politely refused, devoting himself to propagation of the true Dао methods among devotees.

Our School, relying on the continuity and the tradition of the Doctrine by Zhang Jingxu - Liu Huayang, gives a chance to everybody, who is seeking for the real practice, to start achieving the ancient Dао, to avoid wasting time in schools of poseurs and impostors who have fabricated their own systems of «true Dао» by reading books on qigong and by their extravagant fantasy. As the Teacher of Single Yang and the present Patriarch of the School said: «The Wu-liu pai School is a teaching which had continued the flow of DAO and have united the two teachings, those of Daoism and Buddhism, and also incorporated the best legacy of all the schools and sects, that is why we have many students, who have reached the true results».

If you are looking for an ancient system of Dао practice, then our School is exactly what you need. however nowadays everywhere (just as 500 years ago in China ) there are more than enough of empty fantasies of new «inventors of Daoism».

«Toward the Dao or toward the fake Dao» - the choice is yours…

Dmitry A. Artemyev

Abridged Genealogy WuLiuPai
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LAO ZI
老子
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ZHONGLI QUAN
鐘離權
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LU DONGBIN
吕洞宾
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ZHANG JINGXU
张静虚
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LI-XU AN
李虚庵
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WANG KUNYANG
王崑陽
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QAO-HUAN YANG
曹還陽

LI NIWAN
李泥丸
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WU CHUNGXU
伍冲虚
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LIU HUAYANG
柳華陽
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TEACHER OF SINGLE YANG
...

Treatises of the School:

1. 慧命经 "Book of Understanding Life"

2. 仙佛合宗 “Common Teachings of Immortals and Buddhas”

3. 金仙证论 “Confirmatory Teachings of Golden Immortals”

4. 天仙正理直论 “True Principles of Heavenly Immortality”