The Story of Shen Bai
The Shen Bai plant (known as Puki'awe in Hawaiian) is a delicate, gentle shrub that can only grow where the air is pure and the mountain mist is clean. Its presence signifies that the mountain is sacred and is ideal for meditation and clarity. Shen Bai was called "plant of the monks." With delicate leaves and tiny berries, this plant does not create fanfare. It is easy to overlook. However, during 40 day mountain retreats, monks would use Shen Bai to symbolize their fasting process -- eating the small leaves for gentle nourishment in the early stages of fasting, and later discovering berries deep within the shrub. As my teacher, Dr. Chang -- a 64th generation lineage Taoist Master -- explained,
"Just when you think you are at your end and need nourishment for the soul and the body, you come across Shen Bai. In the beginning, you use the delicate leaves, chewing slowly, to absorb the purity from clean air and mountain clouds. Near the end of your fast, you work your way into this plant and find a surprise deep within it -- a pink, red, or white berry. Containing the sweetness and essence of this plant, Shen Bai shows you what the meditation reveals:
True beauty is within each of us. It does not need fragrance's publicity, nor flowers that showcase it to others. It radiates humbly for the simple pleasure of being and knows the strength of its essence."
Shen Bai Acupuncture was named after this plant as a reminder of the power of that within us, which is subtle and at times unseen. Shen Bai Acupuncture strives to bring the purist parts of Taoist medicine to help people with any illness achieve a radiant health that needs no advertisement.
"Just when you think you are at your end and need nourishment for the soul and the body, you come across Shen Bai. In the beginning, you use the delicate leaves, chewing slowly, to absorb the purity from clean air and mountain clouds. Near the end of your fast, you work your way into this plant and find a surprise deep within it -- a pink, red, or white berry. Containing the sweetness and essence of this plant, Shen Bai shows you what the meditation reveals:
True beauty is within each of us. It does not need fragrance's publicity, nor flowers that showcase it to others. It radiates humbly for the simple pleasure of being and knows the strength of its essence."
Shen Bai Acupuncture was named after this plant as a reminder of the power of that within us, which is subtle and at times unseen. Shen Bai Acupuncture strives to bring the purist parts of Taoist medicine to help people with any illness achieve a radiant health that needs no advertisement.