Having learned meditation and chi kung for a number of years across Asia, Burgs recognises the connection between the energetic state of our bodies (both gross and subtle) and the ability for us to practice meditation succesfully.

The gross body is what we know to be our flesh, bones, muscles, organs etc. The subtle body are those systems that cannot be seen with visual sight, but with experience, come to be known through clarity of mind. These include the chakra system and the meridian system, and it is through the energetic cultivation of the subtle body that meditation progress can be made.

The practice of energetic cultivation has been at the heart of cultures across Asia for many centuries.

India has its practice of Yoga, which as its basis works to prepare the body for meditation, by opening the body’s energetic pathways using a variety of postures known as Asanas, and then moving onto the controlled breathwork practice known as Pranayama. These two ‘Limbs of Yoga’ as described by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras, start to prepare us for the application of our mind towards meditation and samadhi (concentration). The practice of Yoga works specifically to stimulate and vitalise the pranic energy in our body. Prana is the energy associated with consciousness, and flows through a distribution network around the body known as the Chakra system.

In China, it was the cultivation of the lifeforce within the body that manifested in many forms, turning into what we know today as Chi Kung. Taoist practitioners saw that the lifeforce that supported and sustained Nature and the world around them, was the same energy that nourished their own bodies. This cultivation of ‘Chi’ as they called it, provided a vehicle for these adepts to start tapping into the limitless potential of this gift of life that we are living.

There are many forms of chi kung that are practiced today, but they can mostly be categorised into either Nei Dan Chi Kung (internal cultivation practice) or Wai Dan Chi Kung (external cultivation practice). Wai Dan Chi Kung uses external form to cultivate the chi in our body. Nei Kung uses internal breath work with the emphasis on a concentrated mind to cultivate chi. The Meridian system consists of various channels and pathways that allow the flow of chi in the body, as described by Chinese medicine.

Teaching Chi Kung

Having practiced with masters teaching both types of chi kung, Burgs has brought together the wisdom from these teachers, and integrated it into the way he teaches chi kung, which in turn helps the effectiveness of the practice of meditation.

In his capacity as an accomplished meditator and healer, Burgs is able to generate a powerful, healing chi field within the space he works, and to transmit directly ‘heart to heart’, the essence of Chi Kung practice to the student from the very beginning. This simultaneously works from the bottom up, by gradually introducing the student to the fundamentals of Chi and Chi Kung, whilst giving them a taste to the highest expression of Chi Kung. This way of practice captures the essence of ‘do nothing and get everything’.

The practice leads to a unification of our own body’s chi field with the vast, perfect universal chi field that permeates through all of creation. As such, even beginners can experience profound results with their practice during the course of a weekend workshop or a week retreat with Burgs.

It is through this re-organising effect from our chi kung practice that the attempt to meditate becomes more tangible and more effective.

And what about Meditation?

Burgs completed the Theravadan Buddhist teaching outlined in the meditation manual, The Visuddhimagga as taught by the Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw whilst in Burma. He has also learnt directly from transmission, the Dzogchen teachings belonging to the Longchen Nyingthig lineage of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. The current lineage holder of these teachings is HH Dodrupchen Rinpoche whom he met  in India.

Coupled with his initial training in healing meditation practices taught by Merta Ada, Burgs’ teaching capacity covers large areas of interest to his students. He can give instruction to those seeking their own healing, whether it be physical or emotional, or he can give systematic instruction to those more dedicated students wishing to cultivate their mind. Either way, Burgs is a wealth of information on how to practice meditation using ‘skilful means’.

The range of courses provided by Burgs as part of his yearly schedule, covers most of the teachings he has practiced over the years. The ‘Usada Healing Meditation Retreats’ include both the healing aspects of meditation along with the systematic training of the mind as found in contemporary Buddhist meditation practice today.

These would include the well known mindfulness of the breath meditation (Anapanasati) as the object or focus of our meditation. He also teaches 4 Elements meditation to train one’s mind as a skilful way of paying attention to the body. Then using the Body Parts meditation he shows the student how to heal their body. Combined with the daily chi kung practice to re-organise the energetic body, great results can be achieved.

The Usada Healing Retreat experience is always different as Burgs teaches students a different aspect of these meditations each time. The reason why so many people keep coming back to sit this particular retreat is that over a period of time, with some continued practice at home, students gradually start to fill in their own ‘mental spreadsheet’ of how these meditations work and their effect upon the body and the mechanics of mind.

Other meditation courses taught by Burgs focus on different aspects of meditative practice, such as LovingKindess, which when cultivated correctly has massive benefits to ones experience of life. Also is the teaching of the ‘Higher Mind’ or ‘Awareness’ practice taught in Tibetan Buddhism. The ‘Heart Essence of the Awakened Mind Retreat’ covers this practice to re-establish and develop the connection we all have with this aspect of ourselves. The ‘Advanced Healing Retreat’ and ‘Vipassana Retreat’ allow more practiced students to further their understanding and continue along with their journey of discovery.

Burgs’ unique ability to teach these meditations with clarity, in language that normal everyday people can understand is exceptional. He brings home in easy to understand terms that which has been enshrouded in mystery and confusion for so long. His gift to help those on their journey to realise their full potential is so special. It is through our own healing that we come to realise what it is to be alive in this world, and it is the practice of meditation which allows this transformation to take place.

Whilst these meditations are commonly known to come under Buddhist meditative practice, there is no need for students to become Buddhist or practice Buddhism whilst on retreat. In Indonesia, a pre-dominantly Muslim country, Merta Ada teaches tens of thousands of students his meditation successfully without the need for them to change religion.

The teachings provided by Burgs are strictly functional and have an effect upon the mind and body as experienced by the student whether one is Buddhist or not. Healing comes about as a result of meditative and chi kung practice along with being on retreat. Nothing else.