Secrets of Golden Bell Cover

Golden Bell Cover is perhaps the most famous and coveted of the methods of Iron Body conditioning and resistance training in the Martial Arts. It is also rarely seen with very few that still know the full method and even fewer that understand its true purpose.

Proper instruction and correct practice of the complete Golden Bell method leads to extra-ordinary ability to resist injury from strikes, blows with blunt objects, and even cuts and pierces from sharp weapons. According to legend, full mastery of this skill could make the body impervious to most any type of physical damage and there are accounts of those who achieved and demonstrated these abilities. Even today, there are high level practitioners that exhibit body resistance that is well beyond the ordinary and give us a glimpse of what is possible with ongoing, sustained practice of this method.

Yet according to the legends, this could take half a lifetime of sustained, severe, devoted practice. Even in ancient times, was this level of body resistance truly necessary? Was body resistance so important that it was worth the decades of effort and toil? Or are there even higher results from this method? Could it be that the true purpose of Golden Bell Cover training is not just body resistance and that the true goal remains a secret?

What is in a name – Golden Bell Cover

The Chinese were deliberate in how they named and described things, and there is meaning to the words they assigned and used that are provide clues about their true nature.

“Golden”

Gold was the highest of all substances and signifies the most highly valued, the superior, and is associated with the most precious, auspicious, with high virtue, nobility, valor, sacrifice as well as godliness, perfection, and spiritual enlightenment.

Gold was so highly valued that the Transformation of base metals and elements into gold was the eternal quest of the alchemist and the highest attainment. This is also a metaphor for the human transformation from base human to enlightened being.

“Bell”

The use of “Bell” is has several of connotations regarding nature and the result of the practice as well as to the various levels or steps to each purpose.

Physically, a bell is solid, extremely strong, solid like the metal it is made of, in this case gold, which is malleable but still almost impossible to penetrate. This connotation supports body conditioning and resistance as a goal or a step in the progression.

Bells are closely associated with temples, with service, compassion, devotion, and aspects of spiritual practice. The sound of the bell signifies the primordial sound of the universe, the Aum/Om of creation, the song of the void which is the source of the Tao, of the eternal and the source of “the ten thousand things”.  Attuning to the sound is a sign post of advancement in the ultimate goal of merging with source.

"Cover"

The use of the word cover is also important. This is not a cover to hide under but rather a cover to protect. It is a shield. The Bell ais a protective shield. This fits with the physical side and the resistance and conditioning, which offers protection, but there is another benefit from this training that is connected to aspect of a protective cover or shield.

Hints of a deeper meaning

So, the use of the term Gold in Golden bell so indicates this is a highly valued, worthy of pursuing and that it is highly beneficial and at the highest levels, transformational. Gold is solid and strong, but in terms of conditioning and resistance, Gold is soft and malleable, and other metals better symbolize strength.  Conditioning and resistance, while a great achievement for combat and defensive uses is not transformational. This points at something more to this training that can be described as transformational.  

And while the training for achieving body resistance is extremely difficult and requires much resolve and commitment, it, in of itself does not fall under spiritual practice as the name Golden Bell Cover seems to imply. 

Hidden in Plain Sight

Look at the shape of the bell below. Compare it to the shadow of a monk, sitting in meditation pose. What do you see? The monk in mediation casts a shape that looks like a bell. The bell represents a monk in deep meditation.

When a seeker reaches a high level of spiritual achievement, an aura is visibly emanated. The highest is a golden aura. A golden bell.

The training methods and practices of Golden Bell Cover result in body resistance and conditioning but also greatly strengthen the Wei Chi that all humans eminate. Wei Chi translates to “Protective Qi” which protects shield us from attacks from external evil, and keeps them from entering body and causing imbalance and illness.

Art Rendering of Vibrating Golden Bell Cover

As the practice continues to advance our golden bell cover becomes greater and extends further outside the body enveloping us in a larger protective cover and the golden bell cover grows and extends further around you. The protective shield begins to vibrate, much like a bell that has been rung.

Big Goes to Small

It all goes back to the 2 exercise routines Bodhidharma taught the monks at Shaolin; The Muscle Tendon Changing classic and the Bone Marrow Washing classic and the fundamental Principle of “big goes to small”.

Movement is needed before stillness can be achieved. If movement is bypassed, the body will break down and the energy will disperse before stillness is reached.

Physically, a healthy functioning body is required to withstand the properly train in stillness. To achieve enlightenment, the energy pathways must be open via the Large cycle and the small cycle. With outer energy flowing through the extremities, achieved by controlled breathing and movement, the small cycle will invigorate the mind. Only then can the full cycle be achieved, connecting energy from the universe and earth, heaven, earth and man.

 A Goal and a Sign Along the Way

Golden Bell is an ancient practice for seeking spiritual enlightenment. It is based on the 2 classic exercises Damo taught at Shaolin. It is a good physical discipline that can be used at various levels. First, its practice can keep the body fit and strong and shares concepts with Qi Gong, Kung Fu, Tai Chi. At the next level, it invigorates the Qi and expands the Wei Qi, or protective energy to ward off external pathogens. As the Wei Qi continues to grow, body resistance is manifests, a sign post of entrance into the higher levels.

Physical health and strength, resistance to blows and to disease, and a clear mind are some of the benefits gained from training the Golden Bell Cover. Each of these attainments can be a goal onto itself.

To the spiritual seeker, these are bonus by-products of the proper training towards spiritual advancement. Golden Bell Cover is a sign of advancement on the correct path to a higher destination.

Golden Bell Cover is a group of practices based on much older methods for spiritual advancement, with the goal of reaching enlightenment. Fortunately, the ancients masters recognized the difficulty of reaching the main goal and deviced these practices with progressive milestones along the way, to provide enrichment and growth to seekers at different points in their journey.