Emei, the '"Lofty Eyebrow Peak,” is the highest and holiest of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains, and the Golden Summit Monastery is at its highest point. In 1227 A.D., a priest who lived on the mountain made a pilgrimage to the summit.  Here, the Daoist monk meditated and fasted while spiritual masters guided his path toward wisdom and enlightenment. When he broke his fast, he took the name “Bai Yun,” or “White Cloud.”

The enlightened monk combined the more than 3,600 schools of thought, philosophies, and techniques that had been taught to him by his teachers and created a comprehensive system of health called the Emei Linji School of Qigong—or Emei Qigong for short. The Linji school is the largest Chan Buddhist sect in China. Emei Qigong includes Buddhism, Karma, Kanyu, acupuncture, herbal medicine, Daoist and Buddhist Qigong, Taiji, extra sensory perception (ESP) diagnosis and treatment, iron body, martial arts, and more. This system is devoted to maintaining excellent health and treating diseases while attaining the highest levels of spiritual development.

In a pure vision, the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, a great spirit of Emei Mountain, told Grandmaster Bai Yun to take the teachings and pass them down, lineage holder to lineage holder, master to master, in order to help future generations. 

Grandmaster Bai Yun chronicled the sacred knowledge in a book called “The Emei Treasured Lotus Canon” lest it be forgotten or misinterpreted. This book is currently held in a Beijing museum.