Ep267: American Chan Master - Gilbert M Gutierrez

In this episode I am joined by Gilbert M Gutierrez, Chan Buddhism teacher and a dharma heir of Master Sheng Yen.

Gilbert recounts his early childhood mystical and meditation experiences, his deep-dive into closed-door internal martial arts and nei gong systems, and the special abilities he both witnessed and unlocked.

Gilbert describes the unusual circumstances leading up to meeting Taiwanese Chan master Master Sheng Yen, and how an arduous meditation retreat and a powerful encounter with Quan Yin changed his life forever.

Gilbert also discusses exorcisms, ghosts, and vexing spirits, and tells stories of the pitfalls of using spiritual healing to sustain terminally ill patients.

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Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro
00:52 - Childhood bardo memories
03:28 - Early meditation experiences
06:05 - A “roaming” Catholic and asking questions
10:26 - Studies at UCLA
11:37 - Studying closed-door martial arts systems
12:44 - Chinese master vs Japanese karateka
15:23 - Things are not as they appear
17:45 - Visionary experiences across time
19:37 - Nāgārjuna’s refutation of time and space
20:32 - True meaning of “no thought”
24:27 - The first level of Chan practice
25:53 - Nei gong studies and building chi
29:07 - Developing Wu Nien and related abilities
33:13 - Demonstrating abilities
34:52 - Meeting a qigong master and becoming his successor
39:52 - Healing abilities of the master
42:32 - Meeting masters and cracking the code
44:15 - Asking why we practice
45:33 - The dangers of using entities to empower your practice
50:39 - Meeting Master Sheng Yen
54:01 - Master Sheng Yen psychically anticipates meet Gilbert
58:59 - Suffering at first retreat with Master Sheng Yen
01:02:44 - Prostrating to Quan Yin and finding life’s purpose
01:06:37 - Metta, Karuna, and Henry Shukman
01:08:44 - Unconditional compassion
01:11:21 - True meaning of the Heart Sutra
01:18:45 - Moving from qigong to Chan
01:25:57 - Exorcisms, ghosts, and vexing spirits
01:29:42 - Buddha-perception and seeing other realms
01:31:10 - How do the Buddhas see the world?
01:35:33 - A vision of Quan Yin
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To find our more about Gilbert M Gutierrez, visit:

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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James

[rogerunderhill]

Really helpful for me. 1 am finish here in Shanghai! Every part was relevant to my interactions with Ch’an practitioners and healers, the use of entities in their practice - apparently revealing the wrong information brought that teacher within an inch of his life. And the entity that woke me up last night. Its presence was very strong (or I have become more sensitive from yoga practice). I am so looking forward to the next one! I wasn’t sure what to make of all those things and ideas as they were completely new to me. This interview really helped me to understand the interaction of the physical, mental and non-physical worlds. It will certainly help me moving forward. Thank you for bringing Gilbert and his wisdom into my mind-stream 🙏

[unapanathero]

Namo Buddhaya. Namo Amituofo. Namo Amitabha

[GCI]

An interview with Grandmaster Wolf would complement this perfectly. How about that?

[vincentzacks]

This man is on a different level, much respect 🙏

[timmullan]

Steve, have you seen this guy's law firm's reviews? Just saying

[DerekGripperGuitar]

Yoh nothing like listening to somebody for an hour telling you why he’s much higher level than anyone else…all to demonstrate ordinary mind. People are hilarious. Xxx

[shemusmcquillaide]

Interesting story. Seems like the biography of someone who was already realized prior to this life. In Chinese esoteric Buddhism it would seem if you don't have some extraordinary continuum from a past life and current life decades of practice you are not going to get any teachings, no admission to Harvard for you. Interesting contrast to Tibetan Buddhism where they will mostly let anyone in and humor them, but you are not going to get much attention or help and you'll get a dressing down as I often do for asking for clarification, things are often confusing and vague and if you don't understand immediately its not meant for you yet then, the teachings are meant to be self-secret, don't push it, so please stop wasting time with your need for precision clarity. You see the few for whom apparently it is meant and the rest of us are kind of an audience. Theres a preponderance of nerdy tech people or finance whizzes as westerners that Lamas seem to prefer I've noticed. This interview gives you a glimpse of maybe those students who are heart sons and daughters of the lama. Gilbert does not seem at all like those rather peanut hearted clueless about life nerds that always disappoint me as to why the lamas is very friendly with. Yes they are accomplished and recognized and rewarded in the west, but look at the west, its rotten to the core. Sometimes I think well maybe its because they need the most help. But I'm not complaining, at least my level of practice allows me the clarity to see that theres much karma and obstacles to get through yet. I used to feel short changed when a teacher would say, "The important thing for you is just to wind it down focus on your work life and just tryin gto be a good person not on becoming a mystical Vajarayana yogi, you are planting seeds by attending teaching now for future lives is the main point." So you can attend teachings and then slowly you begin to realize the lama doesn't take you seriously at all, just go live an ordinary life, and you are welcome to come to teaching, but please . One western yogini who put no restrictions on enrollment let me and anyone sign up for an online Vajarayana course but then neglected to send the Zoom info when the three month course started and when I asked what happened was there a mix up without her knowing me or having ever met, e before, maybe she was psychic who knows she said, "No, there wasn't a mix up. These classes would not be meaningful for you. And I will not be opening the rest of the course to you either." She said they would be having another and different course in three months and she would make sure I got to tak e that one she would email me. She never did and I saw tha the course was held in fact she seemed to have removed me from her mailing list. Sometimes you think maybe it would be better if you were simply told this isnt for you, but if you are let in the door you at least get instructions and teachings and practice at home is very fulfilling and you gradually learn to let your own wisdom work for you as a substitute for having the kin dof close relationship, personal relationship with a lama that you should. I am the kin dof person who practiced hatha yoga four hours per day for 10 years, I practice Dzogchen and Vajrayana similarly for 15 years, but the lamas are never intersted in me and you get talked to like this is your first class ever or worse like you are some kind of disruptive chimpanzee, haha. Even instructions I received on very precise components were clearly left completely ambiguous and you were left thinking you'd have to do do something completely outrageous. The entire class was, Yeah, ok I', good. I asked and recieved an "I don't know. I don't live in your country. So why dont you decide what you should do for that step." People in the class were infuriated with me. I asked them so What are we supposed to do at that step? One guy said, "clearly no on ever does that step!" It was not clear to me, but perhaps I just have not done the practice in other lives as th erest of the particpants had. The again you would see the sme thing at school, the math teache ror whoever would not really explain that much but half the class would understand, it used to infuriate me, the teacher just isn't going to explain and everyone carries on la da dee, easy stuff isn;t it?