Zhu You Ke (Subject of Supplication)
()

        What is meant by the Subject of Supplication? In the world of cultivation, this is regarded as belonging to the category of cultivation, which is taught by many people in the course of their imparting qigong. In fact, however, it does not belong to the range of cultivation. It is taught as a kind of knack, incantation or technique. It takes such forms as drawing magic figures, burning incense, burning paper, chanting incantations, etc.. It can cure diseases, and the methods of treatment are rather unique. For example, when someone has grown a boil in the face, the practitioner of this subject will draw a circle on the ground with a writing brush dipped in cinnabar and then he draws a cross within the circle. Next he asks the person to stand in the centre of the circle while he begins chanting incantations. He then dips the brush in the cinnabar and draws circles on the person's face. While he is doing this, he is chanting incantations. He keeps doing this until he finally makes a dot on the boil with his brush. By then he has finished his chanting and he says the person has got well. When the person feels it, it has become smaller and it does not hurt any more. So it does work. However, he can cure such minor diseases but not major ones. What will he do if you have a pain in the arm? After he begins to chant incantations, he asks you to stretch out your arm and gives a puff of air at the Hegu Point (an acupuncture point) of the hand so that the puff will get out of the Hegu Point of the other hand. You can feel a current of wind. When you feel the affected part of the arm again, it is not so painful as before. In addition, such methods as burning paper, drawing magic figures, sticking magic figures, etc. are also used. This is what it does.

        The worldly small ways of the Tao School do not teach the cultivation of life. They are entirely engaged in fortune telling, practising geographical location, exorcizing evils and treating diseases. Most of these worldly small ways adopt the Subject of Supplication. It can treat diseases, but the methods it uses are by no means good. We do not say what it utilizes to heal diseases, but our people who cultivate the Great Law must not use it because it carries very low and very bad messages. In ancient China, the methods of treatment were classified into subjects, such as fracture-setting, acupuncture, massage, acupuncture point stimulation, qigong treatment, treatment with medicinal herbs, etc.. There were many different kinds of them. Each method of treatment was called a subject. This Subject of Supplication was classified as the thirteenth subject. Thus, its full name was called Supplication --- the Thirteenth Subject. The Subject of Supplication does not belong to anything within the range of our cultivation as it is not the cultivation energy achieved in cultivation but something like a kind of magic techniques.