After I went to an ancient Buddhist temple, I think it was called Shinci Temple (pics and specs to follow) - I went back to Zhejiang University yesterday. It's my second visit there. This time I was able to sit in on a lecture and speak to foreign students who are in various programs and years of study. They were from places like Canada, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Israel. The lecture was among other things, entertaining.
The class was about rebuilding failing immune systems. One recipe for success consisted of black Shitake mushrooms and fresh tofu skins. You must put the tofu skins in boiling water until they get soft and creamy(old tofu skins won't break down), mix this with the recommended dose of "black" shitake mushrooms (ones that are a solid black, the ones with cracking on the sides won't do).
A recipe to get rid of various forms of Hepatitis included the tops of sweet melon (Honey-dew, Cantaloupe - the sweeter the better) where the vine meets the actual melon itself. Take that green part and grind it up into a fine poudre. Snort .05 grms of it two to three times a day. At first a clear mucus runs from the nostrils, over the next week or so the mucus becomes darker and darker. This process continues until the patient is cured. This second recipe was said to be a "secret" from this area of China, Hangzhou, so for the sake of man-kind pass it on.
Please don't quote me on these recipes, It's what I gleaned from the class. So do your own research please. Or find Dr. Wu-Wu Ping (He taught the class), he travels extensively - all over the world, but it sounds like he spends a good portion of his time treating patients in the U.S.. I hope I got this right, but the understanding I walked away with is, that for bacterial infections, western medicine is the best, however for certain viral infections Chinese Medicine is as good if not better than Western Medicine.
It was fun sitting in on Dr. Wu's class. At the end of it I asked, "Where are the best TCM schools in China?" He said that The Academy in Beijing and Shanghai College of TCM are the top. Then I got down to business, speaking with some of the foreign students.
We all agreed that the cost of living in Hangzhou is unlike what it is in the west, very affordable here (it affords one to break out of the rat-race if only for a time). We also agreed that the reasons for being in Hangzhou were in large part it's ties to traditional Chinese culture: tea, silk, medicine, architecture, martial arts, games, mindset, flora. It's nice to be in China and see remnants of the past, which are unadulterated, or at least have been restored, showing respect for their roots.
However part of the Chinese way seems to be a reluctance to teach foreigners. At least this is the blanket accusation I heard from the majority of the foreign students. This I should say is something I have heard in the U.S. too, both from Chinese people and Westerners. However this isn't without reason.
I think the teachers - masters, are looking for proper vessels to pass lifetimes of knowledge to. Their is a responsibility for this to be done, to and for the culture. The culture is Chinese, so why not pass it on to those who understand it as if it were a reflex - other Chinese people.
The other idea is that the reason it isn't passed on is because the teacher you're dealing with really isn't a master, but would like you to believe he is, would like your money, and doesn't really have much to teach you anyway. Therefore this second type of teacher is part conman part practitioner.
My limited experience with true Masters is that they have reached that, "all is full of love" plane of existence. Because they have so much to give, they give it freely, to almost anyone - who will listen and use it well. They do this in part, because of the volume of information they have - which is to say, even if they wanted to, they could not pass all of it to you or anyone else. All they can do is pass on the stuff which best suits your talents and abilities. From which will grow your own universe of knowledge.
Maybe I should just start a tea export company. I will call it, Itinerant Tea Company (ITC). Anyone have an opinion? Again, pictures will be posted later. Peace and Love to all y'all.