Quality Over Quantity
by Master Lee Feng San Shifu
Translated by Sophia Lui
Edited by Ric Meyers
I have been teaching Qi Gong for decades now, and many students who have learned from other schools would eventually come to learn from me. Upon meeting one said to me: “Master Li, I believe you will be able to instantly clear away all the energy blockages in my body with the mere slap of your hand. Could you do that for me? In that way, I do not have to practice to get results. I will pay whatever you ask for.”
I replied: “How much do you have?” He replied: “Can I first pay you $100,000?” I said: “For $100,000 the results will last you two months.” He responded: “How about $200,000?” My answer to that was: “For $200,000, the results will last you one month.”
He then raised the stakes: “I will pay you $500,000!” I retorted: “$500,000? That will last you one week only!” He looked puzzled and said, “I don’t understand.” I explained: “To tell you honestly, if you approach other schools with the same request, I believe they will ask you for your money right away. However, since you’ve come to me, I will have to tell you, sorry, but we do not have instant cures here.”
It seems that there are places where they boast of using “100,000-year-old Ho Shou Wu” herb or “1,000-year-old Lingzhi” herb, which will give you instant results. They claim that, upon consumption, one instantly enjoys the health benefits of Qi Gong that equal sixty years of practice. We do not use such gimmicks here. Any results you get here require personal effort and persistence.
I always believe in the saying: “Quality over Quantity.” Our focus is not on quantity, because, if we do that, quality will suffer, and finally quantity will also be affected. However, if we focus on quality, quantity increases as well, because of improved quality.
Since I started teaching, I have never advertised. Right from the beginning, we have remained very low profile, relying solely on word-of-mouth. The fact that we work continuously on quality is the reason why you are sitting here today, listening to me talk about life.
Therefore, one should focus on quality and not on quantity. Indeed, the reason for chaos, and the so-called economic downturn in today’s world is due to our prime focus on quantity. However, if we can shift our focus to quality, then there would be no chaos and no economic downturn.
“Focus on quality and not on quantity; when quality deteriorates, quantity suffers as well. When quality improves, productivity increases, and returns will improve too.”— Lee Feng San Shifu