Unlike most healthy babies, Master Zhao was born with many illnesses. His mother futilely sought help for him from different doctors and medications. In desperation, she went to a temple and asked the Buddha for help in his battle for survival. When Master Zhao was five years old, he became the “wall- jumping monk”. According to a well-known local ritual, a sick child becomes a “wall-jumping monk” when he is smacked once on the buttock and then jumps from a stool over the wall. Amazingly, Master Zhao stayed alive after this ritual and is given this title. Then, he spoke his first word at late age of five. Another common ritual is to have a child adopted by a godmother. However, little Master Zhao defied this practice and said to his mother, “Mom, please do not let any godmother adopt me. Because when I call you mother, you will not die. But if I call another woman my mother, you will die.” In Beijing, Master Zhao’s birthplace, these two local rituals are commonly practiced; the people believe these rituals could restore the health of a sick child.
At a young age Master Zhao acquired a special ability that other children did not have. He could see everything, even things that had not happened yet. He was not aware of his clairvoyance and spoke truthfully about what he was seeing. This resulted in him receiving many whacks from frustrated and fearful adults who could not see what he was describing. Being young and forgetful about the painful slaps, Master Zhao continued being honest regarding things as he saw them. One day, when Master Zhao’s grandfather lived with his family, Master Zhao confided to his mother, “Mom, grandpa is dying. He will die soon.” Appalled by such an outrageous and inauspicious claim, Master Zhao’s mother got angry and pinched him very hard. After spending an hour crying from the pain from his mother’s pinch, Master Zhao ran to his mother for a second time saying, “Mom, grandpa is dead.” His mother hurried into grandfather’s room where she found him lying lifelessly in bed. After this heartbreaking episode, everything Master Zhao saw would really happen; however, he learned to keep the premonitions to himself and this lonely silence became his most familiar companion.
The Zhao family moved to the countryside to get away from the turmoil of the city. In summer’s blazing heat, a whole army of spirited country boys took off their clothes and jumped into the lotus pond to cool off. They competed for who could stay in the water the longest. The boys did not know that Master Zhao could not swim and pushed him into a depth of four feet. They anxiously waited for him to come up to the surface. Some of them cried nervously and others ran home to seek help. His nerve-wracking mother, along with others, ran a one-mile dash from her home to rescue her son. By the time help arrived, Master Zhao was already resting ashore with a smile on his face. With a surreal sense of his feather-weight body, he did not have time to think about what had just happened to him. Master Zhao did not have the slightest idea of the impact his unique gift would have on his life.
At the age of seven, Master Zhao was stricken by an illness again. In despair, his poverty-stricken mother pawned wool comforters and took him to Beijing to see Doctor Wei Gong-Yi (魏公宜). The kindhearted doctor noticed the family’s destitute situation and graciously waived his fees. To this very day, Master Zhao vividly remembers: “The walls were full of plaques with inscriptions such as ‘incarnation of Doctor Huatuo (華佗), ’ ‘miraculous healing hands,’ magnanimously responding upon supplication.” Staring at these extraordinary remarks of gratitude and veneration, Master Zhao fantasized about being a doctor when he grew up. Inadvertently, the seed of a compassionate calling sprouted and rooted deeply in his heart.
When it was time for his educational advancement, unfortunately for Master Zhao, college was not an option due to financial constraints. In 1958, forty people from his hometown took an entrance examination to a Beijing armory factory. Master Zhao was one of two people who passed the exam. He officially took his position among seven thousand factory workers.
Master Zhao diligently dedicated himself to his work. Being industrious, he took on every responsibility he could find and did not care how arduous the work was. He did not think twice about helping others in need even though it meant more work for him. His supervisor was impressed by his dependability, sincerity, and kind nature. Master Zhao quickly became his favorite. The dream of becoming a doctor seemed too high a goal to reach for him and too far to even think about. In turn, he placed the seemingly impossible dream in his heart and contemplated it periodically.
Heavy workloads often drove Master Zhao to the hospital. In a twelve-month period, Master Zhao had to be hospitalized fourteen times. One time, in the midst of a heart attack, by the time he walked into the hospital, he was unable to speak and fainted. After many hours, he vaguely heard a female doctor’s voice saying, “This person had a heart attack, but is not dead yet. Bring me the best available device, we need to revive him.” Ultimately, he survived this life threatening ordeal. While he was recuperating in the hospital, his colleagues constantly visited him, brought him meals, and cared for him with tenderness. One of his friends even spent his wedding night in the hospital watching over Master Zhao.
Once Master Zhao was profoundly touched by his friends’ compassion, kindness and love. He felt that the kindness that he had shown others was being returned to him through his great friends. Master Zhao concluded: “In order to be loved, one needs to bestow compassion and love first.” His life-long lingering dream was simmering once again. He sensed that even if he could never become a doctor, he could still live a meaningful life by helping others in need.
Life takes many twists and turns and sometimes spins beyond one’s expectation and control. By a turn of fate or a stroke of luck, the predestined event occurred. Master Zhao crossed the path of Qigong during the catastrophic Tangshan earthquake in 1983. Thousands of refugees lost their homes and fled to Beijing for shelter. Loving and compassionate, Master Zhao organized volunteers, set up camps, and fed the hungry. He gave up his own camp to Mr. Kao, one of the homeless refugees. They became best friends because of Master Zhao’s generous and heartwarming gesture. Master Zhao stated that his own physical condition at the time was as flimsy as a piece of paper: he could be easily blown away by the wind. Mr. Kao informed him about the opening of a Qigong class in Beihai (北海) Park, Beijing. Master Zhao did not believe in Qigong but his mother persuaded him to give it a try. Due to being in an extremely weak condition, he was initially denied official participation. But because of his determination, he was allowed to practice on the side at his own risk. Many years later, Master Zhao reflected back on what happened, “I think I stepped on the earth’s meridian by serendipity.” After a few days of practicing Qigong, the pains dissipated and a torrent of vital energy pumped through his meridians. Master Zhao felt recharged and renewed, and was completely falling in love with Qigong.
With constant and persistent practice, Master Zhao’s Qi became stronger and stronger. Strange phenomena started to happen. The energy generated during his practice often caused fluorescent lamps to explode and electronic devices to malfunction. He could also visualize organs, meridians, and blood movement inside a human body. The practice of Qigong activated Master Zhao’s latent energy and brought out his extraordinary abilities. He began contemplating the possibility of using his gift to heal people. Master Zhao was overwhelmingly enthused by this possibility.
The Huayi Qigong Clinic (華怡診所), the first Qigong clinic officially recognized by the Chinese government, opened its doors in 1985. Nothing made Master Zhao more ecstatic than having his childhood’s dream realized. In his small clinic he healed thousands just by waving his hands and emitting external energy. Deeply touched by Master Zhao’s miraculous healing power, Ai Qing (艾青) , a famous Chinese poet, in appreciation, wrote “The Miracle Hands” in Chinese brush calligraphy. After witnessing Master Zhao’s startling ability and power, Doctor Wu Jieping (吳階平), the president of the Chinese Physicians Association, emphatically stated, “I believe in Qigong.” Seeking Mater Zhao’s renowned healing energy treatment, prestigious government officials, ordinary people, foreigners and Chinese all over the world came to see him. In 1986, he accepted the invitation of the Bell Company to visit Europe. Later, he continued his journey by traveling across the continents to the U.S.A. and finally settled down in Fremont, CA where he has healed thousands of sick people during the past 15 years [If using 2009 as the reference point, then should it be nearly or more than 20 years?].