SUMMARY

After an extended three weeks back in Germany with Rob Hunter, The Traveler spent almost three months training with the best fighters he could connect with in the Western world. As he wraps his final training session with The Hunter, he feels he is not ready to return home, so he sets out, with his personal trainer’s approval, to his next and final stop: a Taoist monastery in China.

SCENE: JANUARY 05, 2020 - FEBRUARY 04, 2023

JACKSON LAU AKA THE TRAVELER

JANUARY 05, 2020, 10:30

I’ve spent about three months training and traveling so far in Europe. Almost three months, and perhaps I’ve grown, but I’m still not ready. And there’s still so much to do, so much to learn… so much to solve. I feel guilty, like I haven’t given it my all, shown my all to my trainers… But I’m still blocked. And I gave them the best that I could. What matters now is I carry what they taught me, and honor it.

Still, there’s this block, and this mystery that I have yet to solve. In between my trainings each day throughout these months, I’ve visited every doctor, every shaman, every mystic I could find… And no one could tell me what’s going on. No one could find out why I blacked out the way I did that night, and how I healed physically overnight. This mystery is beyond them, and myself too. They couldn't tell me why whatever-this-thing-is had a surge in Spain and reactivated in Dusseldorf before my training in Germany, only to become dormant again. There's no pattern.

I contacted my personal trainer, filled him in on what’s going on, how I recently wrapped up training in Germany, and I asked if I could get further clearance to train elsewhere, and suggested to him that I train in martial arts in China. He pointed me to a Taoist monastery hidden in the Luofu Mountain in the Boluo County of the Guangdong province of China, so that’s exactly where I went.

I took the flight out of Berlin and landed in the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport 15 hours later.

JANUARY 06, 2020, 01:30 - 14:30

I spent the night at a hotel, and the next day I took a bus to the foot of the mountain and began hiking my way up to the monastery.

Far shot of Luofu Mountain

Luofu Mountain River

As I get a few levels and pathways up, I notice a dead end – a wall – but that right above me is a cliff. As I scale the wall and pull myself up and look ahead, I notice a little shimmer in the air, and to the naked eye it could be confused for the shimmer seen due to extreme heat, but climbing up a mountain meant a drop in temperature; no shimmer from heat.

Luofu Mountain pathway

I cautiously close the distance between me and the shimmer and I find a small branch at the side, so I use it to poke at the shimmer, finding it to be a cloaking/force field, as when I try to throw the stick at the force field, it repels and actually shoots right past me. “Here goes nothing,” I let out nervously. I put both hands in front of me as I walk into the force field and find I’m able to make it through, however as soon as I walk in, my bag disappears. Not seeing a shimmer behind me, I turn back ahead and find a pathway into a cave lit by green crystals.

Glowing Green Crystal Cave 1

Glowing Green Crystal Cave 2

As I make my way down the path, I notice that the lights from the previous crystals faded out and that only the crystals within my eyesight have lit up, almost as if they’re leading the way, so I keep walking in the direction I see the lights. Pretty soon, I hit a fork in the cave. At first both paths ahead seemed evenly lit, but after inspecting closer, I notice one path being lit slightly more than the other, so I choose that path and all the lights converge down that direction. Pretty soon, the path winds and elevates.

Glowing Green Crystal Cave 3

I keep following the winding, lit path until I notice natural light in front of me some strides away. As I make it to the end, I notice the same shimmer I had seen at that cliff, so I walk through again and I stumble at the entrance of the Taoist monastery.

Entrance of the Monastery

Aerial view of the Monastery

Central/Garden Area of the Monastery

Immediately, I am drawn into what I saw, almost to the point of being lost in the beauty of it all. I’m greeted by the monk who would be my sifu, Sing, Wai-Koeng(^1) (henceforth referred to as Sifu Sing or Sifu) tell them everything, and they decide to take me in and train me in the Taoist martial arts styles that have guided them for centuries. While I train, Sifu Sing could observe me, not just in training, but in helping me figure out what this huge mystery within myself is.

APRIL 30, 2020, 20:00

On the night at the end of my third month, I was pulled aside by Sifu Sing.

They say, “It’s been a little over three months since you’ve been here, and even in this short time, you’ve been training well. Further, and perhaps most importantly, I was able to find the origin of your mystery – your gift. After we found out what your gift was, we actually were able to find some texts, all in this one book in our library about it, which we found out is called the Guardian spirit. I tried to translate these as much as I could. There were many pages that were completely faded, or where the markings were unable to be translated, as certain symbols in here were too lost in time. It reads:

"Once every 1000 years, a certain person will be born with a miraculous gift, the gift of healing. This is the work of the Guardian spirit, a spirit of the earth. Where the Guardian goes, growth and love will follow. The Guardian is destined to be a protector and healer of the world. However, should they go about their life unknown of their power, there is potential the Guardian spirit can overtake them, and take their life…"

*The text fades, and the translation takes a written pause. It then picks up again.*

"For a Guardian to fully embrace their gift, they must partake in a rebirth ceremony. That is the purpose of the sacred grounds that this text is hidden in. When the time comes for the ceremony to begin, the Guardian will know what they must do…"

*The texts fade away again, and the translation stops there.*

“Wait, what does it say after?” I ask.

“That was all I could translate before the text itself faded away. But you now understand the full scope of your gift, which is the Guardian spirit. You are The Guardian of this generation, this lifetime… Even now that you know the full truth of your gifts, we suggest you stay with us, train with us, so that you can have the foundation and skills you need to be in touch with your gift, be in harmony with it, and then eventually be ready for this rebirth ceremony and be the Guardian… when it is time.”

I look to my Sifu, “Thank you, for helping me find out the true nature of what is in me. I think you’re right, and I would be honored and humbled to stay with you all as long as you allow me so I can learn as much as we feel I need to learn. Sifu, thank you again.” My Sifu then dismisses me and we head to bed.

>>>

Day and night, for what I can tell was three years, I trained with the Taoist monks by day as they observed me from posture, stance, form, and combat training, and by night where they had me meditate in an isolated room, where they could still keep a watchful eye. Throughout these three years, I learned so much of the martial arts that have guided these monks, as well as the foundational holistic techniques to further get in touch with the Guardian spirit. Day and night, for these past three years, along with all these trainings, my Sifu trained me individually to work with the Guardian spirit and harmonize it with the martial arts they’ve been teaching me, and how to realize my full potential… as a Guardian.

FEBRUARY 03, 2023, 21:00

In the evening at the end of this entire period, my Sifu pulls me aside, saying we need to talk. “I wanted to let you know that with the time you’ve been with us, you’ve shown to have a natural gift for our arts, and that you seem to be very in tune with the Guardian spirit inside.”

I nod as they talk, and the Guardian spirit glows from my center and pulses in agreement with me and with what my sifu says. We both laugh a bit, before they continue, “I believe our trainings has provided the best foundation possible to be able to focus and guide the spirit to be what this world may need most,” my Sifu said, but their voice breaks a little.

My eyes begin to water, knowing what is implied by what they said. “Sifu… is this.. Is this goodbye?” I ask.

“No, it’s never goodbye, and you will always be welcome here. But it is time for you to fulfill your destiny,” Sifu Sing says while taking two steps closer to me and places their right hand on my left cheek. “You can leave tomorrow, and you won’t be leaving the way you found us. There’s a secret exit that will lead you to exactly where you need to be. And before you leave, should you fully embrace your gift, we will perform the rebirth ceremony.”

“Sifu, thank you for everything,” I tearfully hug them and retire to my chamber, deeply meditating, feeling conflicted about all this. As I sink deeper in, the conflicts shed and transform into feelings of peace, and I finally feel this great sense of clarity on what I have to do.

FEBRUARY 04, 2023, 07:15

The next morning, I meet Sifu Sing in the courtyard for final goodbyes. They remind me of the “rebirth ceremony.” At first, I look at them with uncertain and nervous eyes. Then, I close them, going into deep thought, and take a deep breath before reopening my eyes to give them the assurance that I will in fact embrace my gift and be reborn.

“Now that you have spent all this time with us, it is time for you to fulfill your destiny as the Guardian of this time. And to start your new journey and fully embrace your Guardian spirit, it is time for you to be reborn. The tether you had in the outside world will be shed, and you will be given a new identity. Now step onto the center of this stone circle, and let your own spirit in, let it reveal who you will now be known as,” Sifu Sing explains.

The bagua platform - Site of Transformation

As I step to the center, the carved inscriptions and the carved outlines of the yin-yang symbol begin glowing green, and soon I’m enveloped in a green pillar of light.

The bagua circle glows green.

Along with my Sifu, eight other monks surround the inscribed area and begin chanting this incantation to initiate and ensure the ritual remains stable. The glowing inscriptions that make up the outer circle suddenly float up in the air and travel upwards the pillar in a helix formation until they collide at the top in a pulsing flash, sending a wave of green energy across the monastery. I open my eyes and take an audible deep breath, as it has spoken to me. “What is your new name, my child?” my shifu asks me.

I turn to them and open my eyes after taking a deep breath. “... Simon Hiu(^2),” I say in an enlightened tone.

Simon wielding a Dao Sword.

Simon gathering peace and focus.

Simon looking to off in the distance.

SIMON HIU (fka THE TRAVELER)

“Simon Hiu, go forth and bring about what you are destined to bring to this world,” my Sifu says as they guide me to the entrance of the “secret exit.”

“Goodbye, for now, my child,” they say compassionately to me.

I walk down the path of the “secret exit,” and as I pass through a gate, I suddenly find myself, bag in my right hand again, and a plane ticket in my left hand, once more at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. My bag all of a sudden feels heavier too, and when I unzip to find out what added weight to it, I find the old book from the monastery on the Guardian spirit, with a handwritten note inside:

“We may not have been able to translate everything in here, but that doesn’t mean you can’t. You have the Guardian spirit within you, it may serve you for this too. Bookmarking the third page of this book is all of the translations we have so far, the ones we read to you. Perhaps part of your first missions is to fully translate and restore this book. Best wishes, Sifu.”

Alongside the book, I find many scrolls, at least ten, each detailed with different stances and forms from various martial arts forms, both more advanced sequences of the arts I was trained in, and even beyond the ones I’ve trained under during my time in the monastery.

TIME: 08:15

Suddenly, I hear:

NOW BOARDING THE FLIGHT TO THE UNITED STATES
NOW BOARDING THE FLIGHT TO THE UNITED STATES

As I hear this over the intercoms, I close the book and zip up my bag, and head to the gates to check in. Next thing I know, I’m on the flight back home. Now begins the more difficult part: mending the wounds I left behind.

NARRATOR

‘’The Traveler, now known as Simon Hiu, boards his flight back to the US. In order to really fulfill his destiny, he must begin by healing the wounds he left behind when he started his journey, not to mention the ones that opened up with his love, David (formerly Max), whom he was reunited with when he was on his way to Berlin, but fell out of touch with ever since he started his training in the monastery. This may prove more difficult than he expects, however, as Simon had lost contact and was isolated at the monastery for three years, with no way to contact the outside world.’’

TO BE CONTINUED in BOOK 2

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Footnotes
(^1) Chinese names are structured as Last Name, First Name. The name presented here, Sing Wai-Koeng, is written in Chinese as 星慧強, uses the Cantonese pronunciation and embodies what a martial arts Taoist monk would be. 星 means "star" (the astral body, star) in English. 慧 comes from the word for intelligent, and 強 comes from the word for powerful. "Sing" is pronounced exactly as it is spelt, if tones were disregarded. "Wai" is pronounced like the word "why", but tighten the long vowel sound, make it shorter, a little blunt. Koeng is pronounced like (Kurng), but the "r" sound is soft.

(^2) pronounced (heew). This iteration is written in Traditional Chinese as 曉, and it comes from the Chinese word for “dawn” or “daybreak”. In jyutping, the Cantonese system of transliterating to English, it is written as “hiu2”, with the number signifying the tone it is read in. Here is the link to hear the pronunciation: https://forvo.com/word/%E6%9B%89/#yue

Published: 2023-02-04, viewed 28 times.