We had about an hour wait, so we filed off the bus and started doing Tai Chi and the Eight Brocades, creating much excitement among the local Chinese. They got out of their cars to watch and take pictures with the group Americans. Since highway-closing wrecks are not uncommon in the tunnel a few enterprising locals have developed an impromptu market. They showed up with baskets of fruit and vegetables for sale. A few even brought cigarettes and Bai Jiao for the stranded travelers! We hope the drivers of the other cars aren’t drinking the rocket fuel, but it probably helps the passengers. Once the road was open we headed to Wudang without incident.

Wudang Shan is a protected sanctuary. The natural beauty of the place is evident even at the base. Mountain peaks ascend into the mist like an ancient Chinese painting, while clear mountain streams cascade down the sides. The Feng Shui of the place is sublime; drawing many Taoist hermits over the centuries looking to complete their immortality training and ascend to the celestial realms. But first they had to get up the mountain. In the old days it was a long slow hike, almost a test of the sincerity of the aspirant. Modern roads and tourist associations have made the climb less physically challenging, but there is a test of a different sort!

A view from the edge of the mountain road in Wudang Shan

We had to leave our tour bus and transfer to the mountain’s small buses. They only allow their trained drivers on the roads since they are narrow and winding, clinging to the cliff with a small rail between you and a shear drop to oblivion. Of course, it doesn’t stop the driver from driving like a bat out of hell. Any mishap is likely to result in the entire bus plummeting thousands of feet down the side of the mountain. They zoom with many near misses but, thankfully, no real hits. They have some unbelievable bus driving Kung Fu! One interesting feature is that the front section of the bus has the seats facing each other. This means that as they whip around the curves, you will be thrown across the bus unless you grab the hand rail above your head for the duration of the 40 minute ride. You would be forgiven for thinking that this was part of the monks’ Eagle Claw training. That is, until you notice that the locals have better sense than to sit in those seats. They graciously leave them for the Lao Wei.

Our hotel is in the mountain, just a five minute walk from the Purple Cloud temple. You would have to be a Taoist priest to live closer than this! The teacher we selected for the group joined us for dinner after we checked into the hotel. Master Wang, a disciple of Master You Xuan De, learned both the Xuan Wu and Zhang Sang Feng school martial lineages. A very personable and open teacher, he has vast knowledge of Taoist cultivation practices as well. Already a master become becoming a Taoist priest, he is a lineage inheritor of the original form of Xing Yi, called Xin Yi, which was passed down to him directly from the Dai (Tai) Family. The Dai family is credited with combining martial arts with Taoist practices to create this awesome internal art.

You’ve heard about the famous Wudang Mountain, now these adventurers will get to see it up close. The bravest might even try the stairs! We know they can do it because Grandmaster Chen Quanzhong and his son Master Chen Xili will toughened them up with Chen Tai Chi in Xian. But there will also be plenty of time to relax with gentle Qigong, meditation and body work.

For those who can’t join us, we invite you to experience it vicariously. You can read our itinerary. We’ll post our activities and, later, pictures and video of our Journey to China!

Mr. Hu was very excited when he called. He wanted us to come on over and meet Deepak Chopra. I asked what Deepak was doing in China, promoting a new book?

“No, selling his Indian herbal medicine” he replied.

“Are you joking? Deepak Chopra was in China selling Indian herbal medicine at your place!” Book sales must really be down.

“Yes, and he needs someone to translate from English to Chinese.”

“Okay, so let me get this straight, your friend, Deepak Chopra, is in China, selling Indian herbal medicine, and he doesn’t even have an interpreter.” I had my interpreter ask Mr. Hu.

“Yes,” he said.

“Does he have an entourage or at least an assistant or two?”

“No, I picked him up from the airport yesterday.”

So this is how Deepak rolls…? I thought.

“Okay, we’ll be right over.” It was going to be interesting.

We headed over to Mr. Hu’s place. We had to wade through a sea of people carrying live chickens under their arms to get into the building. Throngs of people are normal in China, but you don’t see live chickens that often in Beijing, at least in the lobbies of office buildings. This building was some sort of innovative live and work development, so I guess you get a little bit of everything. One of the three elevators was out of service, which meant we had to pack in even more tightly than usual.

Mr. Hu’s meditation garden is beautiful. He had one of the best Feng Shui masters in the city consult on the design and layout. It was very quite due to the second layer of windows he had installed – a sharp contrast to the sea of chaos at the entrance of the building.

When we arrived, Mr. Hu’s receptionist greeted us with tea and quickly ushered us into a side room. We walked in and saw Mr. Hu and one of his assistants sitting on cushions. Across from him sat an Indian man smoking a Hookah who I assumed was Deepak. He certainly looked different in person.

Mr. Hu started with introductions. Then he told us that Deepak had been telling him about his Zen philosophy. It must have been a great discussion as Mr. Hu’s English is pretty bad.

Deepak started to tell us about his herbs. They were traditional Ayurvedic medicine and could be inhaled directly. We politely declined his offer to try them. Then he handed us a brochure with a price list. It was put together pretty roughly.

Now, I had never met Deepak Chopra, but I didn’t think he’d be pedaling herbs and smoking a hookah in China. Still, sometimes celebrities fall on hard times…

I leaned over and quietly told my interpreter “This guy is not the ‘real’ Deepak Chopra, but let’s try to avoid embarrassing him and Mr. Hu in front of his staff.”

“Deepak, it’s nice to meet you. Sorry we are late, but could you tell us about your Zen philosophy, my colleague will translate into Chinese for you.” I said.

Deepak said in a high pitched Indian accent “My philosophy is not Zen. It’s much deeper.”

“Really? Okay, what is it then?”

“It is my own unique creation. I invented it myself.”

“That is great, but can you tell us about it”

“My philosophy is so deep there is no way to describe it.”

“Okay, this is also true about direct experience with Tao and Zen. But they still have 10,000 books to point you in the right direction. You have even written a number of books. Couldn’t you at least expound a few words on your philosophy?”

“I am much deeper than that! My philosophy cannot be explained!”

My interpreter couldn’t take it anymore “If you cannot even outline a few basic points for us, how do you expect me to interpret for you? Unless you can give direct mind transmission you will have to use conventional methods to communicate to those less enlightened than yourself!”

At this point, I produced my card and handed it to Deepak. Deepak handed his back in return. At it turns out, his name was Deepak Chopra – Deepak Chopra XXXXXXX. The XXXXXXX part was in small font, under his first and middle name. It looked like some sort of title. Native Chinese could hardly be expected to tell the difference. He simply used his first and middle name to make people in China think that he was the ‘real’ Deepak Chopra!

Copping a famous Guru’s identity and throwing in a few inane comments about Zen probably greatly helped the herb sales. In the US, Chinese Fakirs arrive and pretend to be real Reincarnated Taoist Bodhisattva or Kung Fu Supreme Grand Masters. The wheel turns full circle when an Indian poser shows up in China pretending to be a popular American Guru.

Later, in private, we told Mr. Hu. Ever the good Zen adept, he had a hearty laugh at himself. At lunch he proceeded to use the Koan technique to give Deepak XXXXXXX a lesson in authentic Zen.

“If you speak of Deepak Chopra, then that is not the true Deepak Chopra.”

Tao and Zen, everyone needs a lesson.

Today we leave for the US. We’ll fly from Shanghai to Beijing. Then it’s a direct flight to Washington DC.

This China adventure may be over, but new adventures wait!