LOS ANGELES, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Worldwide Tai Ji Men Qigong Academies held joyful "Lunar New Year Celebrations” online from February 13 to 20, 2022, featuring festive cultural performances, such as Celestial Officials Bestowing Blessings, rhythmic storytelling, martial arts presentations, and energetic dance to shower people with happy energy. At the beginning of the Year of the Tiger, Tai Ji Men dizi (disciples) shared with everyone an abundance of good fortune and five treasures–health, wealth, wisdom, happiness, and joy. For these jubilant events, Tai Ji Men received congratulatory messages from over 700 dignitaries, including those from heads of state, ambassadors of various countries, U.S. Congress members, California state senators, other elected officials in the United States, Taiwan’s Presidential Office, Ministry of Justice, legislators, heads of counties and cities, representatives from all walks of life, scholars, religious leaders, and leaders of cultural organizations and media outlets.
Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, Zhang-men-ren (grandmaster) of Tai Ji Men, stated, “Conscience is the key to a successful life. All of our actions must be guided by our conscience. We take steps to make our plans and wishes a reality, and we continue to work toward our objectives while reviewing and improving our plans and ourselves. The accumulation of good deeds will eventually allow us to progress in life in leaps and bounds, giving our lives immense and lasting value.”
In celebration of the arrival of the Year of the Tiger, Tai Ji Men presented various exhilarating cultural performances to spread good energy and blessings, including a dance drama based on an ancient legend of "The Carp Leaping Dragon Gate," which has a profound meaning and is meant to encourage people to persevere and insist on doing what is right on their life journeys. With conscience, wisdom, and fortitude, as the drama depicts, people will achieve their goals and attain happiness despite the obstacles and challenges along the way.
The celebration also included a reenactment of Judge Bao Qingtian's story. A group of Tai Ji Men dizi dressed as Judge Bao and his gallant assistants combined qigong, martial arts, and theater in a powerful performance that inspired the viewers to usher in a brighter future for themselves and the world by following in the footsteps of these ancient sages and knights-errant who acted with conscience, protected justice, and combated corruption.
“Run forward! Run forward! We have a bright future ahead of us!" The exhilarating "Celestial Horse Dance" was performed by a group of Tai Ji Men youth, who wished that everyone would fearlessly do good deeds in the Year of the Tiger! To foster cultural diversity and mutual respect, beautiful songs in different languages representing various nations and ethnic groups, such as English, Mandarin, Japanese, Taiwanese, Hakka, and Taiwanese aboriginal languages, were presented.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world, and the counterbalance acts of nature have caused natural disasters all over the world. During the events, an animated film "Tigers’ Wish” produced by Tai Ji Men was presented. In the Year of the Tiger, this thought-provoking film highlights important issues, such as respect, war, and environmental protection, encompassing the wisdom of living in harmony with nature and hoping to awaken the conscience of global citizens and inspire them to treat themselves and others with kindness.
Over the years, Tai Ji Men has self-funded trips to 101 nations to promote love, peace, and conscience. Through cultural exchanges, it has brought people closer together, uniting the hearts of global citizens of diverse nations and ethnic origins, and earning accolades from leaders in all circles.
California State Senator Connie Leyva sent her congratulatory message to Tai Ji Men: “I would like to thank you for your important work to spread kindness and joy in homes and communities across our region. The last two years have been very difficult for many people and families. So it is important that we all continue to come together in unity and friendship.”
California State Senator Josh Newman also sent a video message to Tai Ji Men: “May your coming new year be filled with good fortune, health, and prosperity as we not only celebrate another year of life, but the wonderful contributions of your community to our district, to our state, and to our country.”
Santa Clara City Mayor Lisa Gillmor said, “I want to thank Tai Ji Men for its encouragement of physical and spiritual health in our community and beyond. During these uncertain times, we owe our gratitude to organizations like yours for providing nourishment, not only for the body, but also the mind and soul. We cannot thank you enough for the tremendous service you provide to the well-being of our community.”
Walnut City Mayor Eric Ching stated that he is very grateful for Tai Ji Men's hard work and long-term contribution to the community, and that Tai Ji Men has been promoting love, tolerance, and health.
San Jose Councilmember Raul Peralez stated, “The work that Tai Ji Men has done continues to focus on offering peaceful and mindful opportunities for our community that helps to cultivate unity and compassion, and garner goodwill in the community through human relationships and promotion of conscience. Events such as this one help to bring our community together and make our city a better place for all of us.”
San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Ted Alejandre stated, “Thank you to all of you at the Academy for your dedication to preserve and promote the essence of traditional Chinese culture. Let's all take this new year to spread positive energy, advocate for our mental health and wellness, and inspire each other to make a difference.”
“Tai Ji Men has been doing so many good things for the community, promoting love and peace," said Dr. Tony Y. Torng, president of the Board for the Walnut Valley Unified School District, adding, “I'm here to congratulate you and it's an honor for me to join this event.”
Several Tai Ji Men dizi (disciples) shared what they had learned at Tai Ji Men and how it had helped them cope with the stress of the pandemic. Brian Kung, who works in a hospital, said that practicing Tai Ji Men Qigong has helped him strengthen his body and calm his heart so that he is less fearful of COVID-19, and he encouraged everyone to listen to their conscience to overcome the pandemic. Chiwen Su, a visual artist, said, “Tai Ji Men Qigong has helped me stay calm and positive. The low impact exercises ensure better health and peace of mind.” She also volunteers her time to promote a culture of peace with love and conscience. “My Shifu taught me to help myself and help others and do the right thing,” she explained.
In response to COVID-19 outbreak, Tai Ji Men has produced eye-catching, entertaining, and practical animations, such as "Anti-Pandemic Battle'' and “5 Do’s, 3 Don’ts and 6 Tips,” reminding everyone to take preventive measures to stop the spread of the virus. These films have been widely shared in 241 countries and regions around the globe to help global citizens overcome the pandemic. Tai Ji Men hopes that people will follow their conscience, unite to protect the Earth and human rights, and create a sustainable world with love, respect, and peace.
Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy: Tai Ji Men is an ancient menpai (similar to school) of qigong, martial arts, and self-cultivation. It has carried forward the wisdom of Daoist philosophy, one of the highest philosophies of humankind. It is an international nonprofit cultural organization. Its contemporary zhang-men-ren (grandmaster), Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze established the Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy in 1966, and since then it has grown to 15 academies worldwide.
Dr. Hong teaches his dizi (similar to disciples) methods to achieve physical, mental, and spiritual balance, and tens of thousands of families have benefited from his teaching. At Tai Ji Men, martial arts and wisdom have been passed down from the shifu (master) to his dizi. Through this time-honored tradition, the shifu and dizi promote the Tai Ji Men culture and martial arts around the world while embodying what is true, good, and beautiful as well as spreading the ideas of conscience, love, and peace. Over the past half-century, the shifu and dizi have self-funded trips to over 300 cities in 101 nations to conduct more than 3,000 cultural performances and exchanges and have been recognized as “International Ambassadors of Peace and Goodwill,” contributing significantly to making the world a more loving and peaceful place!
Media Contact:
Lily Chen
Representative
info@taijimenla.org
626-202-5268
www.taijimen.org/TJM2016G_ENG
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